housemd 338 Posted May 18, 2013 CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reports the Chargers are closing in on a deal with free agent Dwight Freeney. Freeney, 33, met with the Chargers on Wednesday and Thursday before skipping town without a deal. His fit in the 3-4 defense is questionable, but the Chargers are desperate for pass-rush help after losing OLB Melvin Ingram to a torn ACL. Pro Football Focus credited Freeney with 34 hurries last season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanbrock 1,684 Posted May 18, 2013 Tampa Bay, Detroit and St. Louis should be all over Freeney. Wonder if he really is pretty much done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted May 18, 2013 I don't think Freeney is done. He was in a 3-4 scheme. Outside of his low sack numbers, he did get like 34 pressures I think and still drew double teams at times. He's not that great against the run though. I don't like him in a 3-4 scheme. Freeney needs to be in a 4-3 system strictly as a pass rusher role. I think several teams could have used him: Broncos, Lions, Bucs, Vikings or the Cowboys who are converting to a 4-3. The Chargers are desperate so they probably offered Freeney the most. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
housemd 338 Posted May 18, 2013 Chargers agreed to terms with DE/OLB Dwight Freeney, formerly of the Colts, on a two-year contract. 33-year-old Freeney recorded 12 tackles and five sacks in the Colts' 3-4 defense last season, but it wasn't a particularly strong fit for his skill set. He was expected to eye a return back to the 4-3, but money talks and the Chargers had a huge need for a pass rusher after losing Melvin Ingram to a torn ACL. Freeney should see significant snaps opposite Jarret Johnson, and the Chargers have already stated that they could tinker their defense to better suit the veteran. Freeney will not lack scheme familiarity. He played in Chuck Pagano's defense in 2012, and Chuck's brother John is the Chargers' defensive coordinator. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AllYouNeedIsLovie 377 Posted May 18, 2013 Apparently the Chargers inked him to a 2 year deal. Wish the Bucs would have gone after him, but they are supposedly content with Bowers and Clayborn. Really don't trust that both of them will play all 16 games this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bucman 891 Posted May 18, 2013 Dominik is dumb for not making a move on Freeney or Abraham, I don't see how the current DEs are good enough to be content with. Decent signing for the Chargers though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AL_Royalty 489 Posted May 19, 2013 Apparently the Chargers inked him to a 2 year deal. Wish the Bucs would have gone after him, but they are supposedly content with Bowers and Clayborn. Really don't trust that both of them will play all 16 games this year. Dominik is dumb for not making a move on Freeney or Abraham, I don't see how the current DEs are good enough to be content with. Decent signing for the Chargers though. Bucs fans derail another thread. How does a career Colt signing with a team in the AFC west turn into a discussion about the Buccaneers? Only at TGP. lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bay 2,003 Posted May 20, 2013 Bucs fans derail another thread. How does a career Colt signing with a team in the AFC west turn into a discussion about the Buccaneers? Only at TGP. lol There's a lot of Bucs fans Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jules 98 Posted May 21, 2013 Good luck Dwight!!! I hope it works out for him there. Great guy. Just don't show up too much against the Colts. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jules 98 Posted May 22, 2013 A friend told me this on another forum: As for Freeney it comes down to who do you trust more Polian or Dungy? Dungy thinks he's a terrible fit with the Chargers because Freeney is not a 3/4 guy. Polian thinks it's a great move because there are no only 3/4 defenses in the NFL and everyone plays a little a 4/3 so Freeney will be able to play third downs and get after the QB. As for the Colts letting him go, I think it was in the works for a while. Many thought he would be let go last offseason when we were cleaning house. He got paid plenty in Indy and quite frankly I feel it was more then just a 3-4 thing.....we are stingy lately when it comes to having/keeping aging vets on the squad in the still rebuilding youth process. Not sure if any Chargers fans ever read this last year but it made me laugh, Chargers/Broncos games just got more interesting: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000087921/article/dwight-freeney-out-to-hit-excolt-peyton-manning "Peyton obviously is the staple of Indianapolis and this organization for years," Freeney told Dameshek and his co-host, Adam Rank. "I went after him in practice year in and year out and never got a chance to hit him. So yeah, I would love to hit him." I don't know what happened between Freeney and the Broncos since so many believed he would go there after Peyton apparently courted him too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OakBlack 28 Posted May 24, 2013 Dwight Freeney was a dominate DE in a 4-3 defense in his younger days with the Colts. The indoor artificial turf make him even a faster player. When it got loud and the LT had a hard time hearing the snap count, it was all over after his first step. But then the Colts decided to make him a 3-4 LB. It’s not a coincident that his sack numbers dropped to only 5 last year. With Freeney being 33 years old and most likely having limited snaps, I don’t think it was smart for Freeney to continue in a 3-4 defense. He had much more success as a 4-3 DE. I thats why I feel he would have been a force in ATL, Detroit, or Minnesota, instead of San Diego! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted May 24, 2013 Chargers are rehauling their defense very nicely. If he has anything left at all, it will be a fine signing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted June 11, 2013 It's a misconception that Freeney's production suffered due to a switch to the 3-4. He still rushed the passer as a down end over 80% of the time and on the rare occasion that he rushed standing up he looked fine. They almost never dropped him into coverage and while his run defense was lousy, that's always been true even when he was a 4-3 DE. The real issue for him last season was his high ankle sprain that he played through for the first half of the season. He said himself that that's the only thing that was holding him back. And according to PFF, his pass rush production was very Freeney-like over the season's second half when he was healthy. He also was working under a guy (Manusky) who I think is a lousy defensive coordinator. I think John Pagano will use him effectively. If the Chargers are smart with it, they'll reserve him almost exclusively for their nickel and dime packages. We use even fronts in those sub packages, so he would be doing what he does best. And we were in those sets about 60% of the time last year, so he would definitely get used. I think using him that way would be the perfect scenario of playing to his strengths, mitigating his weaknesses, and keeping him fresh over a 16 game season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
housemd 338 Posted June 12, 2013 Yeah,he is primarily a 4-3 DE but it's not like he's gonna suck ass as a 3-4 OLB. He's not done and Chargers definitely got a much needed improvement at pass rusher. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crash 105 Posted June 18, 2013 A friend told me this on another forum: As for the Colts letting him go, I think it was in the works for a while. Many thought he would be let go last offseason when we were cleaning house. He got paid plenty in Indy and quite frankly I feel it was more then just a 3-4 thing.....we are stingy lately when it comes to having/keeping aging vets on the squad in the still rebuilding youth process. Not sure if any Chargers fans ever read this last year but it made me laugh, Chargers/Broncos games just got more interesting: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000087921/article/dwight-freeney-out-to-hit-excolt-peyton-manning I don't know what happened between Freeney and the Broncos since so many believed he would go there after Peyton apparently courted him too. They didn't want to overpay for him since we have some younger guys that they are really high on. Freeney would have just been a 3rd down rotational guy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
housemd 338 Posted September 30, 2013 A source tells NFL Network that OLB Dwight Freeney sustained a torn quadriceps muscle in Sunday's win over the Cowboys. The Chargers are still trying to determine whether Freeney will land on injured reserve. Regardless, it's a big blow to the Chargers pass rush. Through the first three games, Freeney racked up 13 quarterback hurries, three quarterback hits and a half-sack while playing on 72.3 percent of the snaps. Former first-round pick Larry English is going to have to step up opposite Jarret Johnson. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Turry 755 Posted October 2, 2013 Dwight Freeney - LB - Chargers Charges placed OLB Dwight Freeney on injured reserve with a torn quadriceps, ending his season. He's undergoing surgery. Freeney signed a two-year, $8.75 million deal in May, but it's quite possible his Bolts career is over after only four games, as he's due no guaranteed money in 2014. Freeney wasn't making a huge box-score impact before going down, but had graded out as Pro Football Focus' No. 8 3-4 outside linebacker. He was generating consistent pressure despite notching only 0.5 sacks. Larry English is sliding into the starting lineup opposite Jarret Johnson. Source: Michael Gehlken on Twitter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KempBolt 498 Posted October 2, 2013 Sucks. I would like to trade for Jabaal Sheard or Everson Griffen is we can. But only if the price is right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
