Brandon Staley Refusing To Bench Starters In A Meaningless Game Is Coaching Malpractice

Yesterday should have been a great day for chargers fans. The team was already in playoffs, and the Ravens losing meant that the 5th seed was guaranteed. That meant playing the Jaguars (who beat the tar out of the extremely injured Chargers earlier this year) instead of the Bengals. So now the game vs the Broncos was meaningless. Starters could rest and we could get into the playoffs healthy. 

So going into this game which, again, was completely meaningless for the Chargers, most people expected maybe a quarter of starters in and then it would be Chase Daniel time. Instead, Herbert and the rest of the starters on both side of the ball stayed in for an inexplicable THREE QUARTERS of play in a game that meant nothing. The result? Mike Williams got hurt so bad that he had to get carted off the field and helped onto the team bus after the game. Kenneth Murray went down with a stinger and sat the rest of the game. Joey Bosa had to get looked at by trainers and sat. Austin Ekeler took a MASSIVE body shot from Jozy Jewell. And for what? The Chargers lost anyway in a game that meant ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. 

This is what pisses me off more than anything. "Hindsight is perfect for everybody on the outside". Yes. Literally everybody. Everybody in the world was screaming for starters to come out after the first quarter and the guy who was calling the shots did not. Everyone had the common sense to know it's not worth risking starters in a meaningless game. EVERYONE. Brandon Staley has done a lot of great stuff as HC of the Chargers and deserves a lot of credit. This was one of the most banged up teams in the entire NFL but he plugged the leaks and managed to turn them into a 10 win team. That deserves praise. But his performance with personnel has always been extremely suspect. 

One thing he did last year which pissed a lot of people off was carrying 3 QBs all year, especially when injuries were piling up in other positions. Easton Stick was always around as QB3, though. This year, his most egregious offense was keeping Justin Herbert, who had JUST fucked up his ribs in the previous game, in for the entirety of the blowout loss vs. the Jags earlier this year. His excuse after was that "It was important to Herbert that he finish the game". WHO FUCKING CARES, DUDE. Coaches are like parents and players are like thier kids. Staley wants to be friends with his kids instead of being a responsible parent. Of course the players want to go out there! It is your job as coach to tell them no for the greater good of the team. 

Everything about these injuries were completely avoidable and that falls 100% on Staley. If Williams isn't good to go vs JAX, their chances of winning go down BIG TIME.