San DIego Chargers offensive line has a lot of work to do
By Ernie Padaon
The middle of the San Diego Chargers offensive line is struggling. You can see it when the Chargers are looking to run the fiitball and there are a number of guys in the backfield ready to hit the ball carrier as soon as he puts his hands on the ball. Both DJ Fluker and Chris Watt are getting blown off of the line of scrimmage and getting tossed into the backfield making it difficult for the backs to pick up any steam and get to the hole.
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The expectations are higher from this group. The team needs them to perform at a high level or this season could go down the drain.
Fluker was moved inside from right tackle to right guard and has struggled with the transition in preseason. He doesn’t have any competition at the position and will be the starting right guard when the season opens up. He has the potential to be a good guard, but he has not been good in the early going. There were a number of plays against the Seattle Seahawks in which he was blown off of the ball in the running game.
Chris Watt started playing center for the first time last season. It still is a process for him. As soon as he got the opportunity to start last season, he was injured and had to sit out the rest of the season. He was given the keys to the starting center position this year and he will have to grow into the starting role.
Four different positions on the offensive line have a new player filling their spots. King Dunlap is the only player that is held over from last season and is anchored in at the left tackle position. This group has a lot of growing that still needs to be done together. There will be struggles from this group, but they will have their successful moments. Philip Rivers will make this group look decent. He can get the ball out quickly and can work his magic around the pocket to buy some time. We just need to keep the defenders off of him enough to allow him to make his reads.
The running backs will need more support from the line. We can’t have the backs looking to stutter step out of a tackle as soon as they grab the football. The concerns are there.
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