Chargers head coach Brandon Staley said the team “didn’t do enough on defense” in last Sunday’s 41-38 loss to the Lions and the numbers bear that out.
They gave up 533 yards without sacking Jared Goff or forcing a turnover in the kind of performance that’s popped up too frequently for a team that entered the season with playoff aspirations. We’ve seen other teams make big changes to their operations in recent weeks in response to that kind of ineffectiveness, but the Chargers have not done the same.
Staley calls the defense for the Chargers and he said on Wednesday that he will continue to do so. Staley added that the team has not considered making any major changes to the way things go on that side of the ball.
“We have not,” Staley said, via Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. “We believe in how we play, and we believe in the guys that we’re playing with. You’re going to make adjustments throughout the year but nothing significant.”
Comments from Chargers players suggest that more tweaks are needed. Cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor said they “sit in the film room week after week fixing the same mistakes” and linebacker Kenneth Murray said “we all feel a sense of urgency to get things fixed,” but it doesn’t look like there’s going to be trying anything radically different to make that happen.