The 2021 season did not go as planned for the LA Chargers. While there was ultimately improvement and a winning record, the Bolts fell just short of making the playoffs despite all of the excitement around the team heading into the season.
The main culprit for the Chargers' disappointing finish was poor defensive play. Los Angeles had one of the worst defenses in the league caused by the team's bad run defense and lack of depth in the secondary. Defensively, the Chargers were not talented enough to withstand injuries.
It did not help that certain players did not live up to expectations. Big things were expected out of Michael Davis after a very solid 2020 season that netted him a new three-year contract. With Brandon Staley as his defensive coordinator, it seemed like Davis was primed for a massive jump in 2021.
Instead, Davis had a relatively disappointing season that led to the team no longer reportedly being high on him. Davis has since seen his place on the depth chart fall but it still looking for a rebound year in 2022 to prove his worth on the field.
Davis does think that he can put the 2021 season in the rear-view mirror as he explained why he struggled last season, blaming off-the-field matters and a breakup with a now-ex-girlfriend.
More from Davis: "It was just a distraction in my personal life with my previous girlfriend. Just everything. Whatever happens off the field comes onto the field and vice-versa. ...This year I was able to eliminate all the distractions and just get back to myself."
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) August 10, 2022
I know some fans are going to dissect what Davis said and put blame on him for letting something off the field distract him when plenty of players deal with things in their personal lives. Some will call it an excuse, but quite frankly, none of us know exactly what happened in Davis's personal life to make those claims.
Davis deserves the respect not only of his situation but of his privacy as well. Hopefully this is a hurdle he has gotten over not just for his personal life but for the Chargers' sake as well.
If Michael Davis returns to form the LA Chargers secondary is going to be lethal.
Instead of potentially criticizing Michael Davis for this answer, Chargers fans should be hoping that this is a part of his life that he has overcome so he can play better on the field for the Bolts.
Davis still has potential and while he didn't play great in Brandon Staley's scheme there are still a lot of things the team can do with him if he gets right. You cannot teach the rare combination of speed and size that Davis has. We have seen him leverage that to play at a higher level before. He can do it again.
If Davis can play like he did in 2020 but this time as the third-best cornerback on the roster then the Chargers are going to be in an excellent position. The secondary already looks much better with the new additions both at the top of the depth chart and in the backend as well. Add in a resurging Davis and quarterbacks won't have a weakness to throw to in this secondary.
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And if Davis cannot rebound then it is clear that he simply is not a fit in Brandon Staley's defense and the team will likely have to move on from him with a small dead cap hit next offseason. We will give Davis the benefit of the doubt last season, but that is it.