When Jim Harbaugh was hired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, a move I was excited for was bringing his defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, with him to the NFL to call the defense for LA. His defenses were incredibly versatile and disciplined while at Michigan, and some of the same stuff that current Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald runs would be implemented with the Chargers.
So far, the hire has been a resounding success. Los Angeles is second in defensive EPA per play allowed, fifth in EPA allowed per pass and is allowing the least points per game in the entire league. In their first year under Jesse Minter, the Chargers’ defense has consistently grown into the unit I was hoping for them to be at the beginning of the season, and that growth has me intrigued for their future outlook as well as Minter’s potential as a head coach. In their 27-10 victory over the Browns, the Chargers held Cleveland to a -0.28 EPA per play and picked off QB Jameis Winston three times. Let’s dive into the film to see why I’m so excited about this Chargers’ defense.
It starts up front in the run game for me. Their ability to stop the run out of 2-high shells has been crucial to their overall success. The Chargers allow the sixth-lowest EPA per attempt in the run game when defending it with a light box (six or fewer defenders), and I largely think it’s because of their mechanics up front in the run game that allow them to be better against the pass. If you can stop the run with fewer defenders, you can devote more bodies to the passing game, a prime example of why coaches emphasize stopping the run so much.
The Browns are running zone to the weak side of the formation, but before the ball is snapped, look at how the Chargers are aligned. They have a defensive tackle on the inside shoulder of the left guard (2i technique), another tackle on the outside shoulder of the right guard (3 technique), and two edge defenders. A normal four man front in a nickel formation. However, the alignment of the linebackers is what makes this go. By putting LB Daiyan Henley directly over the B-gap, this should let him play the ball quicker and avoid getting touched by the left guard, because he has to double on the 2i. LB Denzel Perryman is over the backside A-gap playing the cutback as well, so there’s nowhere for RB Nick Chubb to go. EDGE Khalil Mack forces this run to bounce, and because Henley is unblocked he can fly in for this tackle and keep it to a short gain.
They were also able to stymie the run game out of multiple fronts, and Henley was a big part of that as well. They initially line up in their nickel formation, but instead of lining Henley up over the B-gap, they walk him down to the edge to create a five-man front out their nickel personnel. Then, they bring S Derwin James off the edge at the snap, sliding EDGE Tuli Tuipulotou inside. On the other side, they slant everyone a gap across, forcing RB Nick Chubb to cut back right into Henley.
They’re also getting some superhuman performances along their defensive line in the run game. Watch nose tackle Teair Tart on this split dive action. He’s getting doubled, but he doesn’t give up any ground, keeps the left guard from getting a clean angle on Perryman, and still helps to make this tackle for a short gain. Above all the schematics of the defense, the Chargers are getting really good play from everyone involved in their defense, especially up front.
In the passing game, the thing that stands out the most about the Chargers’ defense is how much space they close. They don’t just cover grass, no. They’re trying to squeeze the air out of all the routes, making all throws tight window passes. Minter has the defensive backs playing at a high level, and it allows them to get really versatile. Here, LA opens with three safeties on third down, but instead of running Tampa 2 like every team does in these three-safety looks, they spin to Cover 1, with S Alohi Gilman going from the hashmarks to the middle of the field as a robber. There’s no space for any of these passes to truly be considered open and it ends up falling incomplete.
This one is really fun, largely because of how Minter aligns Derwin James and Daiyan Henley. they’re both lined up as linebackers, but Henley is walked up to the line of scrimmage looking like he’s going to blitz. This is a fun way of getting into Tampa 2, with James being the middle runner instead of Henley. But watch this play by the second-year linebacker. He gets a tremendous amount of depth and almost picks this ball off. I’ve been excited about his growth in LA, and he could be a potential player if he keeps this up.
The Chargers have the Titans up next, but I’m cautiously excited for their playoff hopes. They have a legitimate defense, and QB Justin Herbert is playing at a very high level. They have a rough stretch of games soon, including consecutive weeks of the Bengals, Ravens, Chiefs, Falcons and Buccaneers, but Minter has this defense rolling and a must see unit.
