Chargers’ inexperienced defense needs to step up against Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray was reluctant to little his precocious standards for the defense, contempt the unit’s 2 sluggish performances to commencement the season.

Murray didn’t privation to marque excuses for a defence that features prima players Derwin James and Joey Bosa, but Murray is realizing that his lofty extremity of turning the Chargers into the champion defence successful the league is going to instrumentality clip with respective inexperienced players.

“For me, it’s highly frustrating due to the fact that I clasp myself and this defence to an highly precocious modular and our coaches clasp america to a precocious standard,” Murray said Friday. “Everybody’s frustrated due to the fact that we privation to beryllium that defense. We privation to beryllium the defence that this squad needs america to be, which is the champion successful the league.”

Murray is 1 of 8 starters connected the Chargers’ defence with little than 4 years of experience. Of those 8 starters, six were first- oregon second-round draught picks. James (2018), antiaircraft tackle Jerry Tillery (2019) and Murray (2020) were selected successful the archetypal round. Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu (2018), information Nasir Adderley (2019) and cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (2021) were taken successful the 2nd round.

The Chargers’ defence has youth, but it besides has plentifulness of potential, which prompted Murray to accidental successful grooming campy that the extremity is to go the champion antiaircraft portion successful the NFL successful 2021.

Chargers wide manager Tom Telesco has invested successful the defence and added to it this offseason by hiring caput manager Brandon Staley, a manager with a antiaircraft inheritance successful the NFL.

But the Chargers are acold from reaching their potential, adjacent with James and Bosa connected the tract and a antiaircraft “guru” calling plays.

The Chargers’ defence has struggled to execute Staley’s strategy and that has allowed the Washington Football Team and Dallas Cowboys to person occurrence connected the crushed successful the archetypal 2 weeks.

The increasing pains outgo them successful the nonaccomplishment to the Cowboys, but the Chargers inactive constricted that high-scoring discourtesy to 20 points (just six implicit the last 3 quarters).

But the Chargers’ hostile Sunday is known for making teams wage for mediocre execution and increasing pains with touchdowns. The Chargers request to flash their sizeable imaginable Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs astatine Arrowhead Stadium.

“You got to beryllium capable to enactment diligent and enactment persistent and enactment accordant successful bid to beryllium capable to bash things that are great,” Murray said. “At the extremity of the day, I deliberation it each comes down to conscionable continuing to person that mentality, proceed to enactment astatine it. Eventually, you’ll person a breakthrough.”

Perhaps the breakthrough tin travel erstwhile it’s slightest expected. The Chargers are seven-point underdogs astatine astir sports books.

But the Chiefs seldom suffer astatine location and don’t person a wont of losing back-to-back games. Last week, Chiefs backmost Patrick Mahomes had his archetypal September nonaccomplishment since becoming the starter successful 2018 erstwhile they fell to the Baltimore Ravens, 36-35.

The five-time AFC West champions person been susceptible connected defense, allowing 32.5 points per crippled this season. The Chiefs are besides allowing a league-worst 202 rushing yards and 469 full yards per game. The Chargers are allowing 162 rushing yards per game, the third-worst people successful the NFL.

But Ravens backmost Lamar Jackson needed to manufacture 36 points to outpace Mahomes and his high-scoring offense.

Chargers backmost Justin Herbert and his discourtesy person stalled successful the reddish portion and are lone averaging 18.5 points per game.

Herbert and his galore weapons should find much occurrence against the Chiefs’ subpar defense, but the Chargers’ defence needs to play its portion if they privation to debar a 1-2 grounds with upcoming games against the Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Ravens.

The Chargers’ inexperienced defence could beryllium forced to turn up due to the fact that they besides mightiness not person the luxury of having Bosa connected the field. He’s questionable to play with injuries to his ankle and foot. Also, seasoned cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is retired with a enarthrosis wounded and antiaircraft tackle Justin Jones, perchance the team’s champion tally stopper, is doubtful with a calf injury.

Tillery volition beryllium needed connected the antiaircraft line. The erstwhile first-round prime has struggled to find consistency passim his three-year career, but the Chargers’ coaches are staying diligent with his development.

“Jerry’s been doing what we ask,” Chargers antiaircraft coordinator Renaldo Hill said. “Obviously, Dallas was tough. They ran the shot well. But helium was successful the places wherever we asked him to be. There are different radical astir america that person to assistance enactment the run. He’s holding immoderate double-teams successful there, and it’s pugnacious a batch of times. We each person to bash better, coaches and players. We person to enactment them successful amended spots.”

Adderley showed betterment against the Cowboys aft a rocky season-opening show successful Washington. Samuel did the aforesaid by containing Dallas’ apical wide receivers and signaling his archetypal vocation interception.

The Chargers volition request their young antiaircraft backs to proceed making improvements against the velocity of Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

“We’re going to person our eyes glued connected a batch of radical this week,” Renaldo Hill said of the Chiefs’ offense. “It’s going to instrumentality a squad effort. It’s going to instrumentality that connection wherever guys are identifying those splits, and what they’d similar to bash retired of those looks. We person to beryllium vocal. We can’t person immoderate secrets backmost there.”

Adderley, Samuel and cornerback Michael Davis volition request a radical effort to bounds Hill, and James is susceptible of covering All-Pro choky extremity Travis Kelce.

As for stopping the Chiefs’ rushing attack, Staley has been pleased with the tally structures, but helium wants players to amended the execution, and helium doesn’t privation to perceive the excuse of having lighter boxes successful his two-high information scheme.

Staley said the antiaircraft strategy creates illusions that they person lighter boxes, but often antiaircraft backs get conscionable earlier the drawback to supply seven- oregon eight-man boxes to halt the run.

But Murray doesn’t caput lighter boxes due to the fact that it allows the secondary to absorption connected stopping the passing game.

Murray is ever up for challenges, but present it’s clip for his defence to execute.

Chargers antiaircraft lineman (99) has struggled with consistency passim his little career, but helium volition request to beryllium connected his crippled Sunday against Kansas City, particularly if teammate Joey Bosa sits retired with an injury. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)