Dawgs By Nature
We ask about Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, their impressive defense, and more.
This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns have a new quarterback at home as they take on the Los Angeles Chargers. To help preview a few topics from the Chargers’ perspective, we reached out to Michael Peterson from Bolts from the Blue and exchanged five questions with him.
Chris: “Jim Harbaugh is the head coach of the Chargers this year. What are fans’ opinion of him through seven games?”
Michael: “Fans are absolutely in love with Jim Harbaugh. Unlike past coaches, the Charges fan base has been pretty reserved in their criticism of their newest head coach, even after the team dropped a frustrating game against the Cardinals. I’d say in the past, disgruntled fans would not wait long to start pointing fingers at the coach, but this season is seems like more and more fans are willing to think twice and take a closer look at why there are shortcomings before placing blame.
Harbaugh has instilled a culture change that I believe the Chargers have needed for some time. Everyone seems to be on the same page and that’s exactly what we keep hearing from everyone in the building. From top to bottom, the message does not get twisted.
The “Harbaugh-isms” that come out of his weekly press conferences have also been a highlight of his tenure thus far with the franchise. He’s always good for a semi-viral soundbite that will give anyone a good chuckle or at least get your thinking about something you may not have given much time to before. He’s like a philosopher, but in the way of a football coach trying to sound smarter than an actual philosopher (in a good way, if that makes sense!).”
Chris: “The Chargers are only allowing 13 points per game — what have they done to maintain such a high level of efficiency with respect to minimizing points allowed?”
Michael: “In training camp, players like Derwin James described Jesse Minter’s system as ‘simpler’ when compared to Brandon Staley’s from the past three seasons. I believe that’s been the biggest underlying reason for the team’s success. In regards to James’ role this year, he’s playing what essentially amounts to a new role each week that’s dependent on the opponent as opposed to six different roles in any given game. It’s truly been as simple as when they play together and are connected, they have success. No other frills or caveats.
The pass rush, which hasn’t been all that productive in terms of actual sack numbers, is still causing enough havoc to make the secondary’s job easier, and vice versa. At the second level, second-year linebacker Daiyan Henley has been surprisingly good in coverage with his sideline-to-sideline speed and athleticism that he still has from being a former wideout in college. He’s been a great pairing with veteran Denzel Perryman. That’s not an All-Pro duo by any means, but they sure are consistent at handling their weekly...
