Bosa, Bosa, Oh Where Art Thou? Bosa unlikely to play Sunday at the Q

So, as anyone with sight could see, the Charger defense, particularly their defensive line, simply ran out of gas on Sunday at Kansas City. Staked with a 21 point lead late in the third quarter, the Bolts D’ line was worn down, allowing the Chiefs to systematically take them apart, ultimately prevailing in the contest.

It sure would have been a help to have Joey Bosa, their prodigal son, joining in the battle. Bosa, who showed up a month late after the well-documented holdout, has practiced all of one day after signing his deal. And this was only in a helmet, jersey and shorts. Bosa since that day, has been held out of any participation with the rest of his teammates since then due to tightness from a lingering hamstring strain.

Bosa told reporters it was difficult to watch his tired teammates falter down the stretch against the Chiefs and be unable to help them. “Obviously, guys were getting tired and they could have used help from really anybody,” Bosa told reporters on Monday. “And to know I wasn’t able to go in and help my teammates definitely hurt.” (No sh**, Sherlock) “It’s tough, because I missed the whole camp” (Da-ahh) “and I show up, and now I’m hurt and missing a week. So I just want to get out there and play. It’s been too long. I just want to help my team win. I’m looking forward to this week of practice.”

But since Wednesday’s practice will be the Chargers only practice in pads this week, it’s also not likely the Chargers will play Bosa in the game before, at least going through a full padded practice. That means Bosa will miss his second game when the Chargers play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the team’s home opener at the ‘Q’.

Chargers coach Mike McCoy told reporters that Bosa will continue to receive treatment and the team will continue to take a cautious approach to his return to the field. Interestingly, had San Diego not taken Bosa with the No. 3 overall selection, the Jags liked him a lot and might have chosen him in their first round with the No. 5 pick. With Bosa unavailable, the Jaguars selected Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who finished with three combined tackles and a pass deflection in Jacksonville’s 27-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Oh, so he showed up to camp and actually helped his team; hmmm…

But alas, a nonsensical contract stalemate has pushed everything back, and although much of it was of the Chargers doing, to hear Bosa mouth the words that sound like a loyal teammate stings the ears like fingernails on a chalkboard. Not only did he miss the critical on-field conditioning of training camp, but as importantly the classroom learnin’, where he could have the time to adequately absorb his place in the defensive scheme.

So when his body does catch up to the others, he will still be way behind mentally in playing what amounts to a totally new position in the Chargers defensive line, with different responsibilities. So while his athletic abilities will surely make up for some of that (assuming he can get and stay healthy), this reporter will tell you that his overall effectiveness will be greatly reduced. If I’m wrong, I’ll be the first to admit it, but if history is an indicator, his season will be not nearly what it could have been without all the drama.