Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy has yet to name the team’s starting left tackle. He has insisted on a rotation throughout training camp and preseason and has given players an equal opportunity to win the job. But the answer is clear, and the team will benefit if McCoy just makes it known right now.
King Dunlap deserves to be the starting left tackle.
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Though this will likely become reality soon enough, the Chargers shouldn’t waste any more time or snaps trying out other players at the position. Max Starks and even last season’s left tackle Mike Harris have gotten snaps at left tackle with the first-team offense in practice. However, Dunlap has by far been the best of the three through the offseason and has proven himself so far in preseason. Dunlap has taken most of the first-team snaps since he arrived in San Diego and hasn’t given up a sack in the first two preseason games.
Starks, however, allowed a sack which resulted in a Philip Rivers fumble in Thursday’s preseason loss. Harris, meanwhile, was terrible at left tackle last season and is better suited to be the team’s backup at right tackle.
It makes sense that the Chargers want to be thorough in their search for the team’s most important offensive lineman, especially considering how poor their left tackle situation was last season. However, with the regular season just around the corner, the starting offensive line could seriously benefit if they could work together for the remainder of the preseason. The line needs time to gel, communicate and build chemistry, and every snap they can get together will go a long way in improving their performance.
“The sooner you can declare who your starters are, the better, especially up front on the offensive line,” McCoy said in July. “I strongly believe those guys need to play as much together as possible.”
It’s time for McCoy is stick with his word, stop mixing and matching, and just name Dunlap the starter already.
Kevin Chan is a San Diego Chargers writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
