Thomas Davis: What he brings to Chargers defense

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CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 17: Benjamin Watson #82 of the New Orleans Saints catches a pass against Thomas Davis #58 of the Carolina Panthers in the second quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 17, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Thomas Davis against the New Orleans Saints

The stats:

12 combined tackles
One pass defense
100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps

The final stat there is impressive enough for an older veteran, and Davis played in at least 70 percent of the team’s defensive snaps as the WILL in all but one of his appearances last season. This game, where the Panthers took on the Saints, took place near the end of the year. At this point, the Chargers had already lost both Kyzir White and Denzel Perryman to injury, and would lose Jatavis Brown two weeks later.

The following plays are a selection of both the good and bad of his 75 reps, but not a breakdown of every single snap he played:

1st and 10: Blocked by No. 67 on a run play.

2nd and 5: Shadows the running back to force Brees to hold on and scramble.

1st and 10: Takes on blocking tight end, Kuechly makes the tackle.

2nd and 4: Fakes A-gap pressure alongside Kuechly, drops into coverage. Offensive pass interference on the receiver who ran into him “running a route”.

3rd and 6: Slips past Ryan Ramczyk to tackle the running back right at the line of scrimmage.

1st and 10: Late to react, blocked by lineman, massive gain on a rush.

3rd and 9: Blitzes the quarterback, runs into three offensive linemen. Pass is incomplete, though, with a defensive lineman batting it down.

1st and 10: Beat by tight end, late thanks to play-action pass.

2nd and 6: Rushes the passer, forces a short throw and third down.

3rd and 6: Drops into coverage, finds Kamara and tackles him for a short gain, forcing fourth down.

2nd and 6: Tight end beats him, then he recovers, bats the ball, and creates an interception for the defense.

1st and 15: Tackles Kamara at the line of scrimmage.

3rd and 15: Gets washed out of a screen by multiple offensive players, fortunately no first down.

2nd and 13: Reads screen really well, would have tackled him for a loss if the defensive lineman didn’t read it so quickly first.

1st and 10: Shadows Kamara, gives up catch, but prevents first down. Gain of nine.

1st and 10: Gets blocked nearly to the first-down marker.

1st and 10: Immediately slams down receiver for a gain of one, then politely helps him stand up.

2nd and 8: Taysom Hill is too fast, runs by him for a first down.

4th and inches: Has Kamara lined up for a tackle, Kamara makes a move and gets the first down.

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