Scout's Take: San Diego Chargers
Underrated: Danny Woodhead
Danny Woodhead was working in the shadows of all the criticism that was going Melvin Gordon’s way. Woodhead has done nothing but produce since he got his first opportunity as an undrafted free agent with the Jets. This guy has carved out a career for himself as a niche player, but he is just a hell of a football player. He can run in between tackles, he can make plays in space out on the perimeter, catch balls out of the backfield, not the biggest guy in the world, but he will put his body on the blitz and block. He is a very good and productive piece to have in your program. Largely overlooked and widely underrated, he is the type of guy everyone would love to have.
Overrated: Joey Bosa
It was a curious pick. They kept it quiet the whole time in terms of what they were intending to do. There wasn’t any chatter about them taking Joey Bosa. For a young player, who is a tweener fit for their 3–4 system and needs to ingrain himself and learn the system and endear himself to his teammates, [the holdout] was just curious. He’s not getting that practice time, and not getting into football shape. It’s different than running around in whatever facility he was working out in, it’s different to go at it and physically have those type of confrontations where you are throwing your body into other grown individuals amongst the strongest in the world. It takes a little bit of getting used to. So in terms of him being productive this season, not having that time, he will have a hard time. And there will be such high expectations, and he puts some unnecessary pressure on himself to perform.
In a military town, support for Colin Kaepernick and his message flourishes
Extra Point
The uncertainty with their stadium and city situation. How is that going to affect the dynamics and chemistry of the team? These type of issues hanging over, it’s almost like a cloud of uncertainty over the team. That has a way of being a distraction for the team. The players will deal with questions all season: “Are you guys leaving?” “Are you going to L.A.?” “Are you staying in San Diego?” Anything that takes the players’ and coaches’ and the front office’s attention away from doing their jobs is a distraction. They have had some players, like Philip Rivers, be pretty vocal that they don’t really want to move to L.A. He is a veteran and a leader in the locker room. So do other guys feel the same way that he does? Who knows. But it is a situation there, and how it will ultimately be resolved among the Spanos family and the city of San Diego will be very interesting to see if it will be disruptive to the team.
