Uncut: Chargers' Historically Bad 0-8 Start

Only one team in NFL history has won at least 11 games one season and then started the next season 0-8, the Los Angeles Chargers. Let's bring in Ted Wynn, senior NFL writer with The Athletic. Ted, how on earth has it gone so bad so quickly for this Chargers team? Yeah, I think we all expected Mike McDaniel to really make a difference in this offense and I mean, it's not just me, but a bunch of other analysts, guys that really study the game, thought this would be a good fit. And it's gone the complete opposite direction. And last year they were able to withstand some injuries and at least have the run game to hang their hat on. Herbert was still able to create enough with his legs. But in this offense, there's not a lot of room for Herbert to create or to try to create second reaction plays. He has to try to hit these timing patterns and The windows just aren't big enough right now with the receivers they have. Ladd McConkey is in and out of the lineup. He didn't play in the last game. So I think part of this offense and part of this system and part of what Mike McDaniel has asked you to do is to throw the ball, trust your read, and throw the ball blindly at times. And Tua is really good at doing this. But when you do it, there's a certain ceiling to where you can go. And it could be dangerous at times because if you throw the ball into a window, you think it's going to be there, and it's not. It turns into an interception. And we've seen multiple of these interceptions from Herbert where it's just like, why did he throw it there? And it's because he thought the window was going to be there in it and it wasn't. So I think it's just a really bad fit and it doesn't give enough room for Justin Herbert to create, which was one of the factors that really saved the offense last year. Let's zero in on the numbers. Justin Herbert ranks 25th in passing yards. He ranks 26th in touchdowns, only sixth this season. He ranks 32nd in completion percentage, but he is number one in one category, and that would be interceptions with 11. He looks lost out there. Why? Yeah, again, I think Part of this offense, and we saw a lot of this with Tua's, where, you know, they need you to throw these timing patterns and throw into windows that aren't quite open yet. They need you to trust that your read and trust that the window is going to be there, throw the ball there. But right now, the windows aren't opening up and he's throwing blind into these really tight coverages and it ends up turning to interceptions. So I think that that's part of it. And right now. Without Lad McConkey as part of this receiving core, they just really don't have starting-level type of receivers. These guys are just struggling to create any separation. And when Lad McConkey's in there, you can see there's some things that you can hang your hat on to this passing game. But when he's out of this lineup, it's just really not a lot of hope for this passing game to get going. The Chargers were widely expected to have an explosive. offense, and yet they are the worst offense in the National Football League. How could we have all been so wrong about this team? Yeah, I think... We kind of glossed over the fact that some of the personnel doesn't fit what Mike McDaniels wants to do. You look at what he had in Miami and he had a quarterback with very quick release, Please, um... superpower was his anticipation and you know Herbert can't anticipate but it's not the level that Tua does and then we look at Amari Hampton versus the running backs that he had in Miami. You know these were guys that were quick jitterbug type of running backs to get outside. Because he really wants to push the ball outside. It's not just a regular outside zone offense. He wants to toss the ball and get to the edge. And I don't think Hampton is really great at doing that, which is why you see Keaton Mitchell get some more run in this offense than people expected before this season. So I just don't know if the personnel fits, and then you have the injuries on top of it. It's just been a disaster. It kind of boggles my mind to think that, you know, when someone applies for a job, right, you interview the candidate and you make sure that they fit, that their skill set fits your organization. And yet it sounds like this is a complete mismatch. Yeah, exactly. And I thought before the season that he would do what Sean McVay did when they got Matthew Stafford and really change up the offense. When the Rams got Matthew Stafford, they went from this outside zone offense to more of a gap scheme offense to more of a drop back shotgun offense. And I thought Mike McDaniel would make that change and still keep some of his creativity and apply it to a more Herbert friendly offense. But he's really trying to run the same stuff that he's run in Miami, and it just has not worked. And I just don't see it working. But I know they're trying, but I just don't know if it's a fit, and I don't know if it'll ever be a fit. So it's a catastrophe, okay? It's 0-8. You're winless. Why have there not been any significant changes made during this debacle? I mean, I just think, you know, you kind of, I don't know what other avenues you have. Like, I don't know if Jim Harbaugh could take over play calling. I don't know if there's another coach on that staff that could really overhaul his offense. So I think they're just hoping that either Mike McDaniel is able to make the adjustments to make it more friendly towards Herbert, or maybe Herbert could eventually get this thing down. Or maybe they're hoping when Rashawn Slater comes back and they have a little bit of a healthier offensive line. It could look better, but I think the main factor, I don't know if they have a guy on staff that they feel like they could just give this offense to. So who do we put the most blame on? Obviously, Jim Harbaugh is the guy that hired Mike McDaniel, and that has just not been a great fit, as you said, with Justin Herbert. Is Jim Harbaugh to blame for what's going on? It's hard to put the blame on one person when... Things have gone this far south. I think you could put the blame on the GM a little bit, too. I mean, you know, they didn't do enough to address the guard situation. Um, the res- They have invested in the offense as far as using high draft capital to get receivers, but those guys haven't worked out. Quinn Johnston hasn't worked out. Trey Harris hasn't worked out. Amarion Hampton hasn't worked out. So there's a lack of talent on this team. Team, and yeah, I think you can blame Mike McDaniel for not making the proper adjustments. And yeah, at the end of the day, you have to look at Jim Harbaugh, the guy who has final say in a lot of these decisions. But I think there's plenty of blame to go around when things are going this far south. Well, Ted, Jacoby Brissett could make history Monday night. He could beat the Chargers twice in a single season, quarterbacking two different teams. How do the Chargers avoid that? Can they get their first win against the Ravens Monday? I mean, it'll be their best chance. I mean, you have a quarterback that's coming in, just learning the offense. And we saw the Ravens offense really struggle in the last game they played. All right. This Ravens D is good against the run. They're 11th overall in defensive rushing success rate. So I don't know if you're really going to get the run game going against them. hopefully Lad McConkey is healthy and if Lad McConkey is healthy you know maybe you can connect on some big plays because this secondary is susceptible to big plays so i think um The best chance they have is try to connect downfield between Herbert and McConkey. And then defensively, you know, you have a quarterback that doesn't have the whole playbook open to him. And the Chargers defense has been, you know, above average. They kind of got ran over last game against the Texans. But they've been pretty much above average the whole season. So keep it low scoring and just create a few explosives through the air. All right, who's going to win? I think... I almost want to say the Chargers might squeak one out, but I think I'm going to go with the Ravens. I just feel like the Ravens, I think I trust the Ravens' run game. The one unit I trust most in this game is the Ravens' run game and Derrick Henry. So I think they could hang their hat on that. Ouch. That means 0-9 for the Chargers. Hey, Ted, thanks so much for stopping by. Always a pleasure talking football with you. Thanks for having me on. He's Ted Wynn, senior NFL writer with The Athletic. I'm Kyle Kraska.