Exactly. When your division opponent wants to hammerfist his own baubles, let him!
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I think they're absolutely content w/ being 7-9 to 9-7. What I don't understand (and what Lynn cannot just accept) is the idea that Herbert could get them to 11-5 and if he goes 5-11, who gives a shit?

And I think he's correct in saying that Herbert doesn't raise their ceiling beyond 9-7 while he could easily lower their floor.

As htismaq noted - we saw what an impact Mahomes made and it's colored our perception of things. Bottom line is that it just doesn't work that way.

Lynn's living in a very sober reality (that the best his team can hope for is a puncher's chance) and he's trying to operate within it. He understands what he's working with here, IMO, and can't afford the fan's take of "hey, maybe Herbert will be Mahomes". Hell, how's it even fair to compare him to Burrows, who just had arguably the greatest season by a college quarterback in NCAA history.

He understands that the only way to get that ceiling raised is for Herbert to have a truly monumental impact on the offense. The guy I saw last Sunday can't do that. Maybe in 6 weeks he'll be able to do something more than that and in the meantime, Taylor won't do any less than what Herbert did Sunday, IMO.

He's taking hell for being passive here but in a lot of ways I think this is actually an aggressive move. He's NOT willing to just give up games early in the season he thinks he can win with a steady hand at QB and is hoping that Herbert shows development in practice that will allow him to stay afloat with Taylor and then use Herbert in a more aggressive manner later in the season.
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We should.

A high variance passer makes it more likely that LAC can catch lightening in a bottle and beat us - any given Sunday and all that.

But over a large sample size, it also means there are going to be games he pisses away.

When you're the big swinging dick you WANT to see your competition settle for something that isn't high variance. Because the Chiefs are better than them so - duh. But when you're the Chargers, you can't just say "eh fuck it; who cares if we win 5?" They can't afford that mindset, not with an expanded post-season field and a top defense. They have to continue to play for the post-season and trading some ceiling for some floor makes a lot of sense for them over a full season.

We're in a different chair (the Chiefs are the obvious alpha here) so we view this all very differently than Anthony Lynn has to.

He has to work with what he has and it would be irresponsible for him to say "if we can't win 11 games and steal the division - fuck everything, lets just throw the rookie out there and see what happens..."

He owes a more thorough review than that to every other player on his squad.

Anthony Lynn isn't trying to catch US, fellas. Get out of that mindset. He's trying to catch the Raiders. He can do that with Tyrod Taylor being Buffalo Tyrod Tylor. But if Herbert goes out there and makes more mistakes like he made on Sunday, that's gonna be really damn difficult.
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DJ with two great posts back to back.
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Yeah I am sure his thinking is he can sneak in at that new 7th playoff spot and hope to maybe get on a Titans like hot streak. I think he is naive to think that Tyrod can pull that off though.
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And again, I don't think he believes Tyrod will take him to the finish line.

I just think he believes Tyrod is a slightly faster horse right now and for a few more weeks will give him a better chance to keep his head above water while he waits to take the governor off Herbert.

I mean let's face it - he's a half of bad football away from being able to pull this trigger. Whereas if he names Herbert the starter now, he has to ride or die with him.

This gives him more flexibility and more long-term upside, IMO, with little short-term risk.
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Ya'll give Tyrod too much credit and not enough credit to Herbert.

There was a noticeable difference in competitiveness from the Chargers from week 1 to week 2. In week 2 they were chipy and energetic compared to week 1, and i can only assume it's because the QB gave them momentum.

Tyrod Taylor barely completed 50% of his passes against the Bengals and spent most of that game below 50%. They were anemic on offense, and when Taylor did take shots he took them in double coverage and damn near got Mike Williams block knocked off.

Tyrod Taylor is not the athlete that Herbert is and has never displayed the kind of speed and athleticism that Herbert displayed yesterday.

Tyrod Taylor isn't as accurate as Herbert is.

Taylor isn't playing with the kind of fire that Herbert displayed.

Herbert, aside from 1 crucial mistake that i bet he never makes again, played about as well as you could hope a rookie's 1st start could go, and it wasn't against the Bengals, it was against the defending SB champions.
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AND

You're giving Lynn too much credit. Way too much credit.

He's not trying to play some long game, he's simply loyal to Taylor and he's an old school type coach. I told my nephew after the game that i wouldn't expect to see Herbert because:

1. Old school coaches don't believe in losing your job to injury, and Tyrod Taylor is 1-0 as the starter.

2. Lynn has been wanting to start Taylor since last season. He's a Tyrod Taylor guy. He was always going to give him enough rope to hang himself with no matter what the rookie did.

This has everything to do with loyalty and being stubborn.

If Taylor comes out and plays the way he did in week 1, but the Chargers are LOSING, you can bet your ass the rookie will be out there sooner than not.
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That's what coaches to game managers always seem to overlook.

While your game manager won't throw that bone-headed pick. They will complete 55% of their passes and nab a wtf 10-13 loss against a 1-5 team. If Tyrod loses like that, how much you wanna bet he's spared the criticism from Lynn because of his "veteran status" or some bs logic right that. Heck, Tyrod was a missed 30 yard field goal away from a potential loss like that in Week 1.
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And lastly, no, Tyrod Taylor is NOT Alex Smith.

Tyrod Taylor makes Alex Smith look like fucking Brett Favre.
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I think it's kinda silly to assume that a football lifer who's career and long-term livelihood depend on decisions he makes is just some dumb rube who isn't basing his sit/start decisions on who gives him the best chance to win over the course of a season.

Lynn is extremely well respected throughout the league. I don't think that's by accident.

I'm positive I'm not giving this more thought than he is.
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That is probably accurate though if Tyrod is winning and getting them into the playoffs I think it makes it real hard to replace him later on in the season. Looking at their schedule, I am thinking 8-8 or 9-7 but alot depends on how they play on the road.
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I don't doubt that, either. I have been very impressed by Lynn's teams and they have consistently slowed down Andy's offense and Pat. If your fans are asking "wtf is wrong with our elite offense" four matchups in a row vs. an opponent, then it's time to acknowledge that your opponent is doing something right. IF Herbert turns into 2017 Alex, then SD is going to be a formidable rival for some time.

I just don't agree with his logic here, likely due to being a jaded Chiefs fan in that capacity. For a game Herbert might lose due to a rookie lapse, Tyrod might lose it for underthrowing an open receiver in clutch time. Herbert could also be Drew Lock, and benefitted from a lack of scouting/preparedness on the KC side. Hell, even Osweiler looked like a game manager for half a season. It's like when your Cardinals throw out some BS 29 year old journeyman pitcher who has zero scouting and who tosses a 3~ ish ERA for half a season before signing with another team and getting ass-blasted the next year. It's definitely possible Herbert still has some major gaps that Lynn feels need to be worked through in practice. With the state the Chargers are in, I just don't see Herbert's floor being considerably lower than Taylor's, which is why I disagree with the decision.

It's also worth mentioning that this quote came from an interview that where Lynn was largely super complementary of Herbert and repeated on multiple occasions that he was the QBOTF.

You just know the pressure is going to grow exponentially with each loss where Taylor is under center, and I can't blame Chargers fans who want their QBOTF leading the way, especially after Sunday's performance.
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Of course he thinks Taylor gives him the best chance. It's part of the reason Rivers is gone and why he wanted to bench Rivers last season.

That doesn't make him right.

It's loyal to a fault. You and i both know that that kind of shit runs rampant in the league.

He was NEVER, EVER going to bench Taylor after an injury, the man he appointed to lead this team, the man who he wanted leading this team since last season. And judging by Hard Knocks, the captain and leader of that offense.

He'll bench his ass for poor performance though, especially now after seeing what the rookie can do, his hand will practically be forced.

Ya'll who are remembering Taylor as some competent game manager are thinking back to his Buffalo days....but dudes that was 4-6 years ago.

Lately he's been a freakin' 50% career passer.

I'm telling you right now man, that Chargers offense in week 1 vs week 2 looked like an entirely different animal. And that's with the rookie running a Tyrod game plan.
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They played last year's worst team in the league in Week 1. They played the defending SB champions and division rival in week 2.

Suggesting that their energy level was all because of Herbert is just freaking silly.
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