Alliance... » Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley might

COSTA MESA Cheap Nasir Adderley Jersey , Calif. (AP) — be feeling the most pressure going into Sunday’s AFC divisional-round game at New England.Bradley’s game plan of using seven defensive backs to neutralize Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson resulted in a 23-17 win. His challenge this week is coming up with the right strategy to contain Patriots QB and five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.Bradley isn’t tipping his hand about using seven DBs for a second straight week, saying each opponent is different.“I learned through Larry Coyer when I was in Tampa about the importance of personnel placement,” Bradley said on Thursday. “We talk about personnel placement every week. I think for that game, that was more of a decision we made for that game and every week is different.”Brady said during a conference call Wednesday that the Chargers using seven defensive backs on all but one of the 59 snaps did surprise him and that it could present some difficult matchup problems if they used it again Sunday.“It’s unique. They play tough against the run, but also have the speed and quickness to play against the pass,” Brady said. “They get home quickly. The quarterback is always under pressure because they have a pass rush. The secondary knows you can’t hold on to the ball forever and they jump routes.”In last year’s Week 8 game — which the Patriots won 21-13 — the Chargers played dime (six defensive backs) on 53 of 82 plays. Brady threw for 333 yards and a touchdown, but the thing for him that stuck out about that game was that New England made four trips to the red zone and had just one TD and three field goals.“They’re good at every level. They use a lot of defensive backs at different times and that creates a lot of problems,” Brady said. “They challenge you in every way. Between coaching and scheme, it is a great defense.”The Chargers’ philosophy of getting as much pressure as possible will not change this week. They did a great job of that last week against Jackson, recording seven sacks despite rushing five or more only four times in 59 plays.According to Sportradar, the Chargers blitzed on only 17.7 percent of plays, which was third-fewest in the league. In last year’s game, they did rush five or more on 10 plays and sacked Brady three times.Defensive end Joey Bosa has 6 ½ sacks in seven games since returning from a foot injury, while Melvin Ingram had a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery.“Our defensive line has to put pressure on him. He’s not very mobile, but he does step up into the pocket and throw,” cornerback Desmond King said. “We have to bring pressure up the middle and play good defense in the back end.”Brady is averaging 2.61 seconds to throw according to the league’s Next Gen stats. He will be the third-quickest QB they have faced this season, as Oakland’s Derek Carr and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger averaged 2.55 seconds. The Chargers sacked Carr in two games and got to Roethlisberger once.Brady presents much of the same challenges as Roethlisberger in extending plays and reading coverages.“The way he handles the offense, he’s been in that style of offense for many years, so they’re on the same page,” Bradley said of Brady and the Patriots. “Their offense operates with precision, and they’re all on the same page. As you watch it, you can see it all come together for them.”Besides getting pressure on Brady, another focus will be on taking the running backs out of the passing game. Patriots running backs were targeted a league-high 157 times, while the Chargers allowed 7.0 yards per pass attempt to running backs, which was eighth-worst in the NFL.The best matchup might be Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski against Chargers safety Derwin James. Los Angeles goes into the game allowing only 6.3 yards per pass attempt against tight ends, which was second in the league.“We have to play sound football and correct mistakes. We have to take a look at the notepad between plays and see what windows of opportunity he had and close them up,” defensive tackle Damion Square said. “You can’t try to be overwhelming and get out of place or Tom will find out. Everyone has a job to do.”Welcome to the NFL Youth Michael Schofield Jerseys , Derwin James He wasn’t supposed to be here. There wasn’t a chance he was falling down draft boards. All of his measurements placed him in the top 10. Any mock draft you opened, his name was one of the first ones mentioned. Consistently mocked to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at pick number 7, the former Florida State star who is known as “Pooh Bear” was destined to remain in Florida for his NFL career. Then came draft night, where anything can happen. Any trade can be tempting, a player’s stock could be too pricey, teams could look to build for the future rather than the now. It’s amazing how much could go through an NFL general managers mind in just 10 minutes. But he wasn’t supposed to be on the board. When the Buccaneers traded away the seventh overall pick to the Buffalo Bills, everyone believed that safety Derwin James would be a lock five picks later. A safety with the speed of a cornerback and size of a weak-side linebacker, the Seminoles standout defender was waiting and watching. Waiting to hear his name called and enter the NFL.The Bucs jumped on the clock following the Miami Dolphins selection of Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. Their choice was made for them. It was James that would rebuild their secondary. James would become the face of the defense. In the NFC South, the Buccaneers would rely on him to cause turnovers, fly to the football and destroy receivers across the middle of the field. The boy who grew up just 61 miles away from Raymond James Stadium would return home. He would become the hometown hero, the star of the secondary, the new face of the defense. The Buccaneers got off the phone and announced their selection. It was Washington’s defensive tackle Tevita Tuli驶aki驶ono Tuipulotu Mosese Va驶hae Fehoko Faletau Vea. Most people better know his as Vita for short. James wasn’t supposed to be here. In a way, it might be a blessing that James fell down the draft boards. Vea has been sidelined after suffering a calf injury earlier this preseason. That could have been James. He still could waiting to make his NFL debut instead of earning a starting role. Who’s to say could have been. Instead, James waited patiently inside AT&T Stadium, waiting for his phone to ring. “It has to be soon, right?” So many teams need a safety that are up to pick. Washington went defense, but on the line in the form of Daron Payne. The New Orleans Saints traded up to add to their pass rush with Marcus Davenport. The Oakland Raiders added protection for Derek Carr in the form of left tackle Kolton Miller. The Bills traded up again to find their leader of the defense in middle linebacker Trumaine Edmunds. Then the Los Angeles Chargers were on the clock. It was a no-brainer for GM Tom Telesco when seeing who was available. He had met with James back in 2015 when he was a freshman. He was on his radar back then and now has a chance to grab him. Former Chargers star safety Eric Weddle was out in Baltimore, all the top quarterbacks were off the board, and he passed on Malik Hooker a year before. “You always wait to see if a team is going to call,” Telesco said via Chargers.com. You never close doors. We had decided as it was getting closer that if Derwin is there, we’re going to take him. We’re not even going to look to trade down. But if someone does call, let’s see what happens. Once we were on the clock and Derwin was available, we knew he was the guy we were going to take,”James shouldn’t have been available when the Chargers made their selection at pick 17. He knew, the fans knew it and even the Chargers staff knew it. Never once did anyone believe that James would wind up wearing the powder blue jersey.But boy, should the city known as “La La Land” should be so thankful he did. AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs might have bested the Chargers on Sunday in their season opener, but there was still plenty to be excited for. James’ opening day performance was certainly one of them. Following his excellent outing Michael Schofield Jerseys Stitched , this preseason, Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley named him the team’s starting safety. “I’d put (James’ I.Q.) pretty high now,” Bradley said via Chargers.com “We’re asking him to do quite a few things. He’s playing down (in the box), he’s playing back. We’re putting a lot on his plate because, really, that safety position, we’re trying to find out what combination we want to go with. That means they all have to play both positions. “As a rookie, that’s pretty challenging, and he’s picking it up. Like I said, in the classroom, he’s pretty sharp. He just needs to go out on the field and do it consistently.” He didn’t disappoint his coaches praise Sunday afternoon. James would finish the game with three tackles, two solo stops, a sack, and two pass deflections. It’s safe to say he had a good game. In coverage, James looked locked in and strong turning his hips open. One play stood out more than the rest of his afternoon. Deep in man coverage, James showed great recovery speed to regain some ground of Chiefs wide receiver DeAnthony Thomas. Opening his hips, James does an excellent job reading quarterback Patrick Mahomes short pass in the end zone. Using his six-foot-two-inches frame, James extends his body to get a hand on the football, saving the Bolts from allowing another touchdown. It’s textbook beautiful. On James sack, the safety does a great job on timing the snap to get a head start into the backfield. In a dime formation, he makes Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher look inside, giving him a slight advantage to attack the outside and work back in. From there, James shows off his explosive 4.47 speed chasing down Mahomes from behind. As he tries to extend the drive, it’s too late, James has him pinned. Attacking at the hip, he drags down the quarterback back at the line of scrimmage. It’s safe to say his teammates have noticed it too. “It’s rare to see a young guy with so much talent, so much hype coming in White Corey Liuget Jerseys , with such a desire to learn,” Chargers safety Jahleel Addae said. “He’s been all ears in meetings and when I explain stuff to him here and there. I see a lot of myself in him. I came in as a young player and had older guys help me and show me the ropes.”So James had a solid game. Sure, the Bolts are starting out the year 0-1 by losing to the Chiefs for the ninth consecutive time. It’s frustrating, but it’s not on James. Los Angeles would have lost by 17 if not for James’s cover skills deep down the field. There’s still plenty of holes the Chargers defense will need to fix in the coming weeks if this season is to be successful. They’ll need to get defensive end Joey Bosa back on the field and find an upgrade for outside linebacker Kyle Emmanuel. Hopefully second-round pick Uchenna Nwosu can progress faster and get some more playing time. James, however, has found his role in for the Chargers defense: leader. Showing coverage skills, blitzing ability, great tackling along with solid growth in the open field, James is the real deal. While he might not be perfect in one specific area, he’s a well-rounded athlete who can find success in multiple areas. Taking snaps from all areas of the field, James is not your prototypical NFL safety. He isn’t just a safety; he’s a mix of that with a little bit of outside linebacker skills sprinkled on top. There may be a few hiccups here and there but looking at his first outing, James could become the Chargers most important player down the road. With teams looking to pass more and run less, having his quality speed along with solid footwork covering running backs and tight ends could be a difference maker between ending a drive on a punt or a touchdown. Before Sunday’s matchup, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out a thought on James’s potential. Comparing him to one of the best safeties of all-time, the long-time insider believes that the 22-year-old rookie could one day be just as great as the late Sean Taylor. It’s a compliment, but perhaps too strong. Even with James’s stellar performance Sunday afternoon, Taylor is considered one of the greatest safeties that never was due to his unique blend of cover skills and hard-hitting playing style. Perhaps he would have been the greatest of all-time if not for his untimely death over a decade ago. But James is here to stay. He will make plays and shine out in the sunny state of California. Will he become one of the all-time greats in Chargers history? Who knows, it’s far too soon. For now, let him enjoy the performance, look back at the tape and better prepare for his matchup against the Bills next Sunday in Orchard Park. As the sun begins to fade over StubHub Stadium, Charger nation will have to accept defeat. But in the loss, a star was born. He’s humble, quiet and is ready to make plays for his defense. James will continue to grow as the season goes on, hopefully racking up tackles along the way to what many believe could be a Rookie of the Year like season. So the Chargers didn’t get the win Sunday. They should be thankful still. Thankful that 16 teams passed on their franchise safety. Thankful that number 33 is growing into a star. Thankful they have another corner piece to bring their Bolts out of the AFC West cellar and into legitimate playoff conversation for years to come. But mostly thankful that the Buccaneers selected Vita Vea.