{"id":287605,"date":"2023-09-05T13:04:40","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T13:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=287605"},"modified":"2023-09-05T13:04:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T13:04:40","slug":"derwin-james-chargers-defense-a-bunch-of-grown-men-coming-together-to-finally-improve-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/nfl\/derwin-james-chargers-defense-a-bunch-of-grown-men-coming-together-to-finally-improve-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Derwin James: Chargers&#x27; defense &#x27;a bunch of grown men coming together&#x27; to finally improve in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Chargers have been waiting for the defense to turn the corner for years, particularly struggling the past two seasons under coach Brandon Staley.<\/p>\n<p>On paper, it&#8217;s a good group that boasts the likes of \ufeffJoey Bosa\ufeff and \ufeffKhalil Mack\ufeff up front, \ufeffDerwin James\ufeff on the back end and newly acquired linebacker \ufeffEric Kendricks\ufeff in the middle.<\/p>\n<p>James sees a defense that will finally put it together for a full season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A bunch of grown men coming together,&#8221; James said, via the Los Angeles Times. &#8220;We&#8217;re not kids. We&#8217;re not little boys. When a bunch of grown men make up their minds and they&#8217;re tired of something, that&#8217;s when things change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>          <span>            Related Links          <\/span>        <\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>              2023 NFL season preview: Fifty-eight things to watch on the road to Super Bowl LVIII            <\/li>\n<li>              Chargers DE Joey Bosa in win-now mode: &#x27;More than ever, I just want to win some games&#x27;            <\/li>\n<li>              2023 AFC win-total projections: Chiefs, Bengals, Bills reign; Dolphins, Steelers miss playoffs            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Chargers allowed 22.6 points per game in 2022, 21st in the NFL &#8212; down from 27.0 (T-29th) in 2021. L.A. gave up a ghastly 5.9 yards per play last season, 29th in the league. The run game was particularly woeful, allowing 5.4 rush yards per play (30th).<\/p>\n<p>The stats are stunningly bad for a group with such star power. Last offseason&#8217;s addition of cornerback J.C. Jackson was supposed to round out the group. Instead, he struggled and ultimately got injured. Bosa missed 12 games last season due to injury.<\/p>\n<p>Adding Kendricks in the middle should help some in the run game, but the entire D needs to take a step forward in Staley&#8217;s third season.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We definitely want to be that dominating group that we all know we can be,&#8221; James said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got the pieces to do it. We&#8217;ve got the guys to change that narrative.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Under Staley, the play of the Chargers&#8217; defense has defined their win-loss record. Los Angeles is 3-13 when allowing 25-plus points and 16-2 when allowing fewer than 25 points since 2021 (third-best such winning percentage during that span, behind only Kansas City and Dallas).<\/p>\n<p>Last year&#8217;s disastrous playoff collapse in Jacksonville underscored the Chargers&#8217; Jekyll-and-Hyde defense. On the first seven drives, they allowed 0 points and 61 total yards and had four takeaways. On the final five drives, they gave up 31 points and 329 total yards with no turnovers.<\/p>\n<p>This year, the Chargers believe everything will finally coalesce.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I really feel we&#8217;re way more connected this year, the whole defensive unit,&#8221; defensive lineman \ufeffSebastian Joseph-Day\ufeff said. &#8220;That&#8217;s what we needed. We needed time to jell with one another.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If everything doesn&#8217;t jell in L.A., Staley could be looking for a new job in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/derwin-james-chargers-defense-a-bunch-of-grown-men-coming-together-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The Los Angeles Chargers have been waiting for the defense to turn the corner for years, particularly struggling the past two seasons under coach Brandon <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/nfl\/derwin-james-chargers-defense-a-bunch-of-grown-men-coming-together-to-finally-improve-in-2023\/\" title=\"Derwin James: Chargers&#x27; defense &#x27;a bunch of grown men coming together&#x27; to finally improve in 2023\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Derwin James: Chargers&#x27; 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