yanksman 3,781 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 KALEN BALLAGERB, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS Chargers OC Shane Steichen said the team's backfield will be determined by "the flow of the game." "It's the flow of the game," Steichen responded when asked how he'll handle the team's committee of running backs. "You kinda go with it and see how it's rolling. See how guys are playing." The Chargers rode Kalen Ballage's hot hand last week for a backfield-high 17 touches, but that was without both Justin Jackson (knee) and Troymaine Pope (concussion) available; Pope has already practiced this week and is expected to return. With Jackson likely out again, it's truly up in the air who coach Anthony Lynn and Steichen will lean on against the Dolphins. Expect Joshua Kelley, Pope, and Ballage to all get a shot Sunday. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TroutFister 551 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 (edited) Kalen Ballage vs Vegas (League worst run defense in football) - 69 yards, 15 carries - 4.6 ypc Troymaine Pope vs Denver (13th best run defense in football) - 67 yards, 10 carries - 6.7 ypc The answer is obvious. Pope based on a limited sample size is better, but good luck trying to accumulate fantasy pts with 3 backs splitting carries. Edited November 12, 2020 by TroutFister 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yanksman 3,781 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 1 hour ago, TroutFister said: Kalen Ballage vs Vegas (League worst run defense in football) - 69 yards, 15 carries - 4.6 ypc Troymaine Pope vs Denver (13th best run defense in football) - 67 yards, 10 carries - 6.7 ypc The answer is obvious. Pope based on a limited sample size is better, but good luck trying to accumulate fantasy pts with 3 backs splitting carries. lol 2 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TroutFister 551 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 (edited) 21 minutes ago, yanksman said: lol you think ballage posted better numbers than pope? do you math bro? also pope, 7 targets 5 receptions. ballage, 3 targets 2 receptions. Edited November 12, 2020 by TroutFister Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yanksman 3,781 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, TroutFister said: you think ballage posted better numbers than pope? do you math bro? also pope, 7 targets 5 receptions. ballage, 3 targets 2 receptions. Im laughing at the answer being obvious. They both did good. Good luck figuring out who will be the hot hand in their next game. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
activeobserver 178 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 7 minutes ago, TroutFister said: you think ballage posted better numbers than pope? do you math bro? also pope, 7 targets 5 receptions. ballage, 3 targets 2 receptions. Popes for sure the better play, and will most likely get the start this Sunday! 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TroutFister 551 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 13 minutes ago, yanksman said: Im laughing at the answer being obvious. They both did good. Good luck figuring out who will be the hot hand in their next game. the "obvious" notion was about who performed better in their limited sample size. Did you fail to read where i literally wrote "good luck trying to accumulate fantasy pts with 3 backs splitting carries" insinuating it was going to be an unpredictable clusterf***? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yanksman 3,781 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 16 minutes ago, TroutFister said: the "obvious" notion was about who performed better in their limited sample size. Did you fail to read where i literally wrote "good luck trying to accumulate fantasy pts with 3 backs splitting carries" insinuating it was going to be an unpredictable clusterf***? Quote The answer is obvious. Pope based on a limited sample size is better No you proclaimed Pope IS better. Big difference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rasrar 255 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, TroutFister said: Kalen Ballage vs Vegas (League worst run defense in football) - 69 yards, 15 carries - 4.6 ypc Troymaine Pope vs Denver (13th best run defense in football) - 67 yards, 10 carries - 6.7 ypc The answer is obvious. Pope based on a limited sample size is better, but good luck trying to accumulate fantasy pts with 3 backs splitting carries. I honestly don't know what can be made of this. Lanes often tend to open up when defenses don't expect the run (see Chase Edmonds performance this past weekend compared to when he was the secondary option with Drake). The Denver game, the Chargers used 3 RBs with Pope being the third option, whereas in the Raiders game the Chargers only used 2 RBs and Ballage was the primary option, ahead of Kelley. It'll be tough to decipher, but if I had to bet, I'd bet on Ballage first, Pope second, and Kelley third. The only thing I am confident about is that Kelley sucks. Edited November 12, 2020 by rasrar 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sizzlebshu 99 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 17 minutes ago, rasrar said: I honestly don't know what can be made of this. Lanes often tend to open up when defenses don't expect the run (see Chase Edmonds performance this past weekend compared to when he was the secondary option with Drake). The Denver game, the Chargers used 3 RBs with Pope being the third option, whereas in the Raiders game the Chargers only used 2 RBs and Ballage was the primary option, ahead of Kelley. It'll be tough to decipher, but if I had to bet, I'd bet on Ballage first, Pope second, and Kelley third. The only thing I am confident about is that Kelley sucks. Agreed that they do not like Kelley. Has ballage been called up yet? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Islanderman 251 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 After all this watch Kelley be the one to come out of this with the most points. This backfield is impossible to predict. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sonny_D 1,962 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 All things equal, go with the guy playing his former team in a “revenge” game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cdd10 1,194 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 5 minutes ago, Sonny_D said: All things equal, go with the guy playing his former team in a “revenge” game. Ballage reverted to the Chargers' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's official transaction log. Analysis: Ballage was elevated to Los Angeles' active roster Saturday, ultimately accumulating 84 scrimmage yards, two receptions and one touchdown against the Raiders as Justin Jackson (knee) exited the game in the first quarter due to a knee injury. With 4.6 yards per carry in his Chargers debut and a workload of 15 rush attempts, it's hard to imagine Ballage not getting another chance with the active roster. If Troymaine Pope (concussion) remains inactive for a second straight game when the Chargers travel to Miami next Sunday, Ballage would surely be in line for another audition. I'm confused, is he still on the active roster? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zorndogs 107 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 1 minute ago, cdd10 said: Ballage reverted to the Chargers' practice squad Monday, per the NFL's official transaction log. Analysis: Ballage was elevated to Los Angeles' active roster Saturday, ultimately accumulating 84 scrimmage yards, two receptions and one touchdown against the Raiders as Justin Jackson (knee) exited the game in the first quarter due to a knee injury. With 4.6 yards per carry in his Chargers debut and a workload of 15 rush attempts, it's hard to imagine Ballage not getting another chance with the active roster. If Troymaine Pope (concussion) remains inactive for a second straight game when the Chargers travel to Miami next Sunday, Ballage would surely be in line for another audition. I'm confused, is he still on the active roster? I wanna know too. If he's on the practice squad he's not getting any first team reps at all in practice right? What are the rules here now? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Islanderman 251 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 No, in my opinion they are waiting til the end of the week to decide on JJackson. He will probably sit and then they'll call up Ballage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brooklynfinest42 146 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 yeah he was sent down on Monday.. honestly i don't see why he would be called up again because Pope practiced in full unlike last week. And if they call Ballage up for a second time he must become a full time roster spot or cut him by NFL rules. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yanksman 3,781 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 18 minutes ago, zorndogs said: I wanna know too. If he's on the practice squad he's not getting any first team reps at all in practice right? What are the rules here now? No rule that says practice squad guys can't get first team reps. They practice with the team and goto all the meetings. 9 minutes ago, brooklynfinest42 said: yeah he was sent down on Monday.. honestly i don't see why he would be called up again because Pope practiced in full unlike last week. And if they call Ballage up for a second time he must become a full time roster spot or cut him by NFL rules. No teams keep two RBs active for gameday. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PlayTheWaivers 1,886 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 The Chargers are doing the trick that fantasy owners should do- drop your kicker before Sunday and hold onto an additional player. Ballage is protected, so why not just keep the extra roster spot for another player? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rasrar 255 Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 Troymaine Pope is listed as Questionable for Sunday. Fire up Ballage for the revenge game! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Islanderman 251 Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 He's only listed as questionable because he hasn't come out of the concussion protocol, which he will tomorrow. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Olliemets 471 Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 I'm pretty much forced into starting him or Pope this week.. who is the better play? Pope looked like he was filling the Ekeler role 2 weeks back, and he seems like the best fit to do that going forward given his frame and shiftiness compared to Ballage/Kelley. Ballage actually looked pretty good last week, but him and Kelley have pretty redundant skillsets, so I'm scared it'll be a "hot hand" approach. I think I'm going to rock with Ballage due to the fact he got the call last week, and that he's playing against his former team. I'd say he's got the best shot at a TD of the bunch. One upside to the matchup in general is that Van Noy & Christian Wilkins were both late rule-outs due to Covid, and they are likely their two best front-7 guys. Miami has a strong pass D, but they can be beaten on the ground, especially without two high-end starters. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rasrar 255 Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 10 minutes ago, Islanderman said: He's only listed as questionable because he hasn't come out of the concussion protocol, which he will tomorrow. His technical injury designation is "neck" though and not "concussion". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ludawg23 1,982 Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 29 minutes ago, Islanderman said: He's only listed as questionable because he hasn't come out of the concussion protocol, which he will tomorrow. He cleared protocol earlier in the week and has logged three FPs. He was the first guy promoted off the practice squad and Ballage was used in emergency situation only last week when Jackson got hurt. Gut call but I think Pope is the guy while Ballage/Kelley will certainly get touches. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wahl35 251 Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 On 11/12/2020 at 5:01 PM, brooklynfinest42 said: yeah he was sent down on Monday.. honestly i don't see why he would be called up again because Pope practiced in full unlike last week. And if they call Ballage up for a second time he must become a full time roster spot or cut him by NFL rules. It's no more than 2 times. A 3rd time yes. "No player may be activated under this rule for more than two games per season, either regular-season or postseason games. If a player has already been elevated twice under this rule, and the team wants to add him to the roster, it must terminate his practice-squad contract and sign him to an NFL contract, as has been the case with practice-squad players in years past." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tts42572 920 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 3 hours ago, Olliemets said: I'm pretty much forced into starting him or Pope this week.. who is the better play? Pope looked like he was filling the Ekeler role 2 weeks back, and he seems like the best fit to do that going forward given his frame and shiftiness compared to Ballage/Kelley. Ballage actually looked pretty good last week, but him and Kelley have pretty redundant skillsets, so I'm scared it'll be a "hot hand" approach. I think I'm going to rock with Ballage due to the fact he got the call last week, and that he's playing against his former team. I'd say he's got the best shot at a TD of the bunch. One upside to the matchup in general is that Van Noy & Christian Wilkins were both late rule-outs due to Covid, and they are likely their two best front-7 guys. Miami has a strong pass D, but they can be beaten on the ground, especially without two high-end starters. I'm right there with you. Starting one of these 2 guys and bouncing back and forth. I could start Kelley also but I'm done with him. I'm leaning Ballage in the revenge game also. I mean, Pope has never had more than 10 carries in an NFL game. I think he's a Boston Scott type player that will be best used in that change of pace role for a handful of carries with a few receptions maybe mixed in. Just don't think the ceiling is very high. Ballage really has done fairly well in his limited work this year with 18 carries for 82 yards (4.6) and also 11 catches in very little time. So I feel like he could be a capable player. And many forget how he sort of flashed a bit back in 2018 averaging 5.3 ypc over 36 carries at the end of that season. I'm kind of thinking 2019 he really was a victim of just a horrible team and situation. Of course, most likely this is going to be an ugly 3 way timeshare but Ballage should be highly motivated. Still not sure which way I'll go but leaning Ballage. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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