Chargers Notebook: Packers review, Shane Steichen, Gus Bradley

Chargers defensive tackle Damion Square shined against Chicago and Green Bay, has he taken the next step as a player? How has he been compared to Brandon Mebane?

The simple answer to the first question is, absolutely. I’ll get into why here in a moment, but first I want to answer the second question more in depth.

Mebane was active in the first six weeks of the season. In these six weeks, the Chargers defense had three games where they gave up more than 120 yards, and in two of those games, the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos rushed for 203 and 191 yards, respectively. In the two games Mebane has missed, the Chargers gave up 162 yards on the ground to Chicago, and only gave up 45 yards on the ground to the Packers.

This is why I wanted to answer the second question first because truthfully the defense is so inconsistent as a whole that you can’t really pick and choose where the problems were. What I can tell you is that on tape, Mebane is much slower than Square, but both don’t have the anchor necessary against the run.

They both give up too much ground and allow the runner too much space. That said, Square has improved every week in that sense, giving up less and less ground as the defensive tackles around him played better, which we will get to later.

Square just can’t really be compared to Mebane, as they are two completely different players, but if you forced me to answer, then I would have to tell you that Square is better. He is more versatile, he offers more as a pass rusher, and he is beginning to show more as a run stopper. The simple answer is that Square is better now.

Now, the first question. I’ll let this clip do the talking.

Damion Square. pic.twitter.com/U8WMd1R51W

— Jason Balliet II (@Syntari13) November 6, 2019

The speed and hand usage that Square displays here is game wrecking and is something the Chargers haven’t seen from any of their defensive tackles this year. If Square can continue to improve on passing downs, it is going to free up so much for the defense.

Aaron Rodgers was forced to give up on the play before it even started, throwing the ball so fast that the intended receiver wasn’t even turned around yet. This is the kind of stuff that makes Aaron Donald a game wrecker.  Not comparing Square to Donald, but this play gets you excited for what this Chargers front can do down the stretch.