Game Overview ::
By papy324 >>
- This is a low total game between two teams who favor the run
- The Chargers backfield was a near-even timeshare last week, but J.K. Dobbins vastly outperformed Gus Edwards
- The Panthers backfield was also a timeshare, albeit in a blowout loss that makes it difficult to predict future usage
- Neither team had a WR get 50 yards in Week 1
- Joshua Palmer was the only WR on either team to play above 70% of the snaps
- No WR on either team saw more than seven targets
- Bryce Young looks Zach “frightened child” Wilson bad
How los angeles Will Try To Win ::
The 1-0 Chargers come into Week 2 fresh off an ugly win over the hapless Raiders. Regardless of how the win looked, it counts, and Jim Harbaugh must be pleased with the outcome of his first game as the Chargers head coach. The Chargers had a lot of new faces on offense and were one of the teams with the most questions surrounding how they would use their personnel. Week 1 gave us a good look at how they wanted to play since even though the game might look a little lopsided on the scoreboard (22-10), it was close (9-7) going into the 4th quarter, meaning most of the game was played with a neutral game script. The backfield looks like a mess. Just as everyone predicted, J.K. Dobbins has the highest snap share (58%), with Gus Edwards (42%) nipping at his heels. Edwards barely led the way in carries (11) over Dobbins (10), but Dobbins was much more effective, turning his ten carries into 135 yards and a score versus 26 scoreless yards for Edwards. Dobbins also saw more targets (3) than Edwards (1). Even though Dobbins hit for a big week, if the Charger’s long-term backfield usage remains a near 50/50 split, it’s going to be a tough situation for fantasy. The Chargers’ WR room was up in the air coming into Week 1. Joshua Palmer got the most snaps (81%), followed by Quentin Johnson (67%) and Ladd McConkey (67%). Their usage didn’t match up with their playing time. McConkey saw the most targets (7), followed by Johnson (5), with Palmer (4) looking like a third wheel.
Greg Roman played like, well, Greg Roman in his first game, calling the plays for the Bolts. The Chargers were methodical (19th in pace) and favored the run (24th in pass rate over expectations). They barely threw more (53% pass rate) than they ran (46% run rate), and since this game was close throughout, we can infer this is what a typical game plan will probably look like this season. There seemed to be a league-wide trend of favoring the run in Week 1, with only three teams (Bengals/Chiefs/Rams) posting a PROE above 5% and a whopping 24 teams posting a negative PROE value. That might be small sample size noise, or it might be a reaction to the way teams like the Lions and 49ers have been winning on offense. There is nothing that stands out about the Chargers’ numbers from Week 1. They played at a below-average pace, threw the ball at a below-average rate, spread the ball out between their WRs, and used their two lead RBs in a timeshare. It didn’t look pretty, but it got the job done. Add that the Panthers got whacked (23rd in yards allowed per carry) on the ground, and there is no reason to expect anything different from the Chargers in Week 2.
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