The Chargers wouldn’t even be IN the playoffs without Badgle

WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections San Diego Chargers Daily LinksSan Diego Chargers NewsSan Diego Chargers OffseasonSan Diego Chargers HistorySan Diego Chargers HumorChargers PlayersLegend of the Money BadgerNew Youth Craig Mager Jerseys ,10commentsThe Chargers wouldn’t even be IN the playoffs without BadgleyPSTShareTweetShareShareLegend of the Money BadgerWell, it feels good to be in the Divisional Round, even if it means facing a dynasty right in the face. The Chargers have been a very good team this year, though that feeling might not be surprising to the Chargers’ faithful. The team is often pretty good! In fact, that is one of the most commonly quoted difference-makers this year:The Chargers are, for the first time in a long time, not snakebitten. While many of the symptoms of bad luck are hard to quantify, one of the most easily understood and prevalent is in kicking stats.A long, long time ago, in a city not far away...The Chargers sucked at kicking.I’m not telling you anything that you didn’t already know. The revolving door of kickers has been one of the Chargers’ biggest pains in both San Diego and in LA. No lead is safe, and no extra point is guaranteed. Entire seasons ended because of poor kicking.But this year is different. It didn’t start out that way, but it’s that way now. Michael Badgley is the real deal. Even after he aced his initial test with the Chargers and got fired to pave the way for a really, really lousy final Caleb Sturgis game, Badgley has proven his worth to the team in raw, quantifiable ways.The Money Badger differenceCaleb Sturgis, who had a pretty good stint in Philadelphia, was someone that I thought would really do well for the Chargers. Sorry, guys. Apparently, once they leave Philly, kickers are best utilized as Heimlich maneuver test dummies (most recent Philly-alum choke artist Cody Parkey is example F. David Akers remarkably avoided the fate). Still, had the Chargers done the really stupid thing and kept up with Sturgis, we could extrapolate his 69.2% FG and 60.0% XP marks toward the remainder of the season.In the regular season, Michael Badgley made 15 of 16 field goals (45 points)With the Sturgis % applied, that would instead be 11 of 16 field goals (33 points)In the regular season, Michael Badgley made 27 of 28 extra pointsWith the Sturgis % applied, that would instead be 16.8 [17] extra pointsOK, so the Chargers earned a few more points with Badgley. So what?Dear Mr. Spanos Youth Derek Watt Jerseys , when it comes time for it... pay the Money Badger.Jason MichaelsNo, no they didn’t win a few more points with Badgley, they won a few more GAMES. To do this exercise, because not every game has even numbers of FGs or XPs, I am rolling over their value.For instance, week 6: There were 5 XPs (3 adjusted), and 2 FG (2 adjusted, but the next one in week 7 will be counted as a miss).Week 6:Chargers 28, Browns 14(2 of 2 FG & 5 of 5XP)] Week 6 adjusted: Chargers 36, Browns 14 (2 of 2 FG & 3 of 5 XP)Week 7:Chargers 20, Titans 19 (2 of 2 FG & 2 of 2 XP)Week 7 adjusted: Chargers 17, Titans 19 (1 of 2 FG & 1 of 2 XP) ADJUSTED LOSSFor week 9, Sturgis came back in, so we are going to adjust UP for Badgley. Note that they went for 2 (and missed) because of Sturgis’ struggles.Week 9:Chargers 25, Seahawks 17 (0 of 0 FG & 1 of 3 XP)Week 9 adjusted : Chargers 27, Seahawks 17 (0 of 0 FG & 3 of 3 XP)Week 10: Chargers 20, Raiders 6 (2 of 2 FG & 2 of 2 XP)Week 10 adjusted: Chargers 19, Raiders 6 (2 of 2 FG & 1 of 2 XP)Week 11: Chargers 22, Broncos 23 (3 of 3 FG, 1 of 2 XP)Week 11 adjusted: Chargers 19, Broncos 23 (2 of 3 FG & 1 of 2 XP)Week 12: Chargers 45, Cardinals 10 (1 of 1 FG & 6 of 6 XP)Week 12 adjusted: Chargers 43, Cardinals 10 (1 of 1 FG & 4 of 6 XP)Week 13: Chargers 33, Steelers 30 (1 of 2 FG & 2 of 2 XP)Week 13 adjusted: Chargers 29, Steelers 30 (1 of 2 FG & 1 of 2 XP) ADJUSTED LOSSWeek 14: Chargers 26, Bengals 21 (4 of 4 FG & 2 of 2 XP)Week 14 adjusted: Chargers 20, Bengals 21 (2 of 4 FG & 2 of 2 XP) ADJUSTED LOSSWeek 15: Chargers 29 Nasir Adderley Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys , Chiefs 28 (0 of 0 FG & 3 of 3 XP)Week 15 adjusted : Chargers 28, Chiefs 28 (0 of 0 FG & 2 of 3 XP) ADJUSTED ...TIE??Week 16: Chargers 10, Ravens 22 (1 of 1 FG & 1 of 1 XP)Week 16 adjusted: Chargers 10, Ravens 22 (1 of 1 FG & 1 of 1 XP)Week 17: Chargers 23, Broncos 9 (0 of 0 FG & 3 of 3 XP)Week 17 adjusted: Chargers 22, Broncos 9 (0 of 0 FG & 2 of 3 XP)PLAYOFFS:Week 18: Chargers 23, Ravens 17 (5 of 6 FG & 0 of 0 XP)Week 18 adjusted: Chargers 21, Ravens 17 (4 of 6 FG & 0 of 0 XP)Conclusion:Chargers only made the playoffs BECAUSE of the Money Badger!So, as you can clearly see, the move to the Money Badger has more than paid dividends for the Chargers... he has propelled them into the playoffs. Yes, going by the stat line of Caleb Sturgis, the Chargers would have not made it to the playoffs without Michael Badgley, as their regular season record of 12-4 would have instead been 8-6-1. No, I don’t for an instant think that the Chiefs game would have ended in a tie, but even if you take that game down to a coin flip, the Chargers do NOT make the playoffs:The Steelers would have won the North, and the Ravens would have gained the 6th seed.While it would only be sensible to go for 2XP more often if Sturgis was still with the team, that’s, of course, a double-edged sword. What we know and can say with absolute certainty is that going with Michael Badgley instead of Sturgis was the most pivotal personnel move of the team’s entire season. The one game that many credited as a team loss because of Badgley’s kicking, the Week 11 fall to the Broncos, was actually only close because the Chargers made a change. The final score was 22 - 23, and unfortunately marks the only XP miss of Badgley’s career with the Chargers. But he was 3-of-3 for field goals that day, so the adjusted final score with Sturgis in the mix would have been 19 - 23. Michael Badgley had a blocked FG during his record-setting day against Baltimore last weekend, though that still counts as a miss in kicking stats. That puts him at a 90.9% FG rate and a 96.4% XP rate, and those stats are actually down from his regular-season stats because of the block.Wow!Finally, this kid looks and acts like the “whoa Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys 2019 , I’m an Avenger?? Sweet!” persona of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. There’s hardly a Stark difference between the twoOnly, this time around, I don’t fear quite as many ‘snaps’ for this young buck.-Jason “I didn’t expect this to be quite so definitive” Michaels Empty seats. Anemic football. Bad vibes.Home field hasn't meant any advantage in recent years for the Browns, who entered this season with three wins in their last 27 home games at FirstEnergy Stadium, dubbed "The Factory of Sadness."Madness has been the norm so far this season.The Browns (2-2-1) have played two overtime games already at home and rallied to win a nationally televised Thursday nighter to end their 19-game winless streak and breathe life into a fan base that couldn't take much more misery.Lifeless for years, the Dawg Pound is howling once more, and Browns coach Hue Jackson begged Cleveland fans to bring the noise for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers (3-2)."I want them to be as loud as they have ever been," Jackson pleaded. "This week our players will need that. We need that assistance for them. They have been outstanding, but boy, we need a little bit more from them this week, too. "Jackson's hoping a roaring crowd will make things tougher on Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who is off to one of the best starts of his 15-year NFL career. Rivers has thrown 13 touchdown passes and two interceptions, and Jackson believes Cleveland's crowd can be as disruptive as any of the Browns' 11 defenders."He's one of the best that have played the game," Jackson said. "It does not look like he is slowing down at all. He is one of the top quarterbacks in this league, bar none. We need 12 people when they are on offense, and the 12th person is going to be our crowd."Rivers often resets his offense before the snap, changing the plays after taking a look at how the defense is aligned. The Browns experienced that last season in a 19-10 loss to the Chargers."We've just got to do a better job of bogeying and disguising and making it harder for him to do that," Browns linebacker Joe Schobert said. "I think being at home this year, where it will be harder for him to make checks if we have a loud crowd, will be an advantage to us. It will be harder for them to change every single play that will be perfectly what they want."Rivers enjoys playing in Cleveland."It is a great, kind of an old-school NFL atmosphere," he said.But while the setting may feel dated, Rivers knows there's nothing out of style about the Browns and their young defense, which is leading the league with 15 takeaways. After playing against the Browns last season, Rivers felt it was just a matter of time before they jelled."It did not feel like they were an 0-16 team or 0-14, whatever they were when we played them last year," he said. "It was a good football team. They just did not find ways to win. I remember our guys walking away with a heck of a lot of respect for that defense."This time Youth Nasir Adderley Jersey , the Chargers will also have to deal with a hungry Cleveland crowd that has watched rookie Baker Mayfield lead two wins already."We feed off of the crowd's energy," Mayfield said. "We need to continue that, and this needs to be a place that people need to fear coming to play. It needs to be so loud that they can't communicate, and it needs to be a harsh place for an offense to come in."OFF TARGETIn a season of balls going wide right, wide left and clanking off uprights around the NFL, the Chargers and Browns have had more than their share of kicking issues.The Chargers have missed a league-leading four extra points, the Browns are tied for second with three. The teams are also near the bottom in field-goal accuracy: San Diego is 9 for 12, Cleveland 8 for 12.Chargers coach Anthony Lynn gave kicker Caleb Sturgis a tepid vote of confidence by signing a new holder last week, but Sturgis has been slowed by a quad injury. The team signed Michael Badgley, a rookie from Miami who could kick against the Browns.Meanwhile, Cleveland's on its second kicker: Greg Joseph, who missed a field goal and PAT last week before knuckling through a 37-yard field goal to beat Baltimore in overtime.RECORD BEAKERBrowns wide receiver Jarvis Landry didn't set out to catch the most passes in league history over his first five seasons. But that's what he did.Landry surpassed Larry Fitzgerald (426) last week and enters Sunday's game with 429 receptions. Landry said he idolized Fitzgerald and never considered the mark until he was well on his way."I broke the second-year mark, then the third, the fourth and now the fifth," he said. "That is when it kind of hit me, and it has been like that ever since."JOE PROThe Browns will honor retired left tackle Joe Thomas , by adding 10,363 鈥?the number of consecutive snaps he played over 11 seasons 鈥?into the team's ring of honor.Thomas never missed a play before suffering a torn triceps midway through last season."I will never forget walking on that field when he was down there and him not being able to get up, understanding that this might be it," Jackson said. "To watch and look back on his career and see what he has done, man, that's amazing to me. Nobody else has ever played that many consecutive snaps, and I do not know if anybody else will do that again for a long time."