COSTA MESA — When new Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman asked during a conversation with beat reporters in February if they could imagine standout quarterback Justin Herbert playing with a great running game, they shook their heads. No one had seen it during Herbert’s first four seasons.
It’s been pass, pass, pass, for the better part of Herbert’s 62 games in the NFL.
But, if Roman and new running game coordinator Andy Bischoff get it right, the Chargers’ offense could transition into a more balanced attack for the 2024 season and beyond. It could be run, pass, run. Or, at the very least, something far less predictable but more effective than in the past.
“We’re trying to create something epic,” Bischoff said Monday. “This morning in our team meeting with the offense, (Roman) used the word epic in front of the guys and defined it. Why not create something different that’s never been done? As much success as we’ve all had in different places in doing different things, none of that matters. All that matters is right now and creating that here.”
Roman and Bischoff worked together for six years with the Baltimore Ravens, under coach John Harbaugh, the older brother of Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers’ new coach. They plan to bring the hard-nosed physicality that was a hallmark of the Ravens’ offense to the Chargers, but with a twist.
The Chargers signed former Ravens running back Gus Edwards to replace Austin Ekeler, who signed last month with the Washington Commanders. Edwards knows that smash-mouth style of running ball very well, having played it and excelled at it for the past five seasons.
The difference is the Chargers have Herbert as their quarterback, a player whose potential seems boundless after throwing for 4,000 yards or more in three of his first four seasons.. Mixing the passing of Herbert with the running of Edwards, plus improved blocking, has the Chargers thinking big.
Or, rather, epic, according to Bischoff.
“We want a group of men that are smart, tough, dependable, vicious players,” he said. “It doesn’t only have to involve the run game. Every down provides the opportunity for a competitive down, and we want that, and we’re going to build that kind of a team through Joe’s and Jim’s leadership.”
Bischoff referred to Joe Hortiz, the Chargers’ new general manager.
NEW BALLGAME
Ryan Ficken, the Chargers’ special teams coordinator, ripped out the kickoff portion of the playbook and put it through the shredder when the NFL announced last month it would go to an XFL-style kickoff format for the upcoming season. The old way had become too stale with too many touchbacks.
The new rules call for kickoffs from a team’s own 35-yard line, as it has been, but the coverage team will line up at the other team’s 40 and the return team will line up between it’s own 30- and 35-yard lines, with a minimum of nine players in that position and either one or two players deep to return the ball.
The coverage team can’t begin its advance until the ball is either fielded or touches the ground inside what’s known as the landing zone or inside the receiving team’s 20-yard line, where the returner(s) are stationed. Onside kickoffs can be attempted only in the fourth quarter.
There is quite a bit more to it than that, but those are the biggest changes.
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Ficken and his fellow special teams coordinators around the league rushed to grasp the new concepts by watching XFL kickoffs on YouTube, of which there are plenty to be found. The videos offered some guidance, but there will be plenty to be learned as spring practices begin in earnest in the coming weeks.
The league’s competition committee approved the new rules for a one-year tryout as a way to “address the lowest kickoff return rate in NFL history during the 2023 season and an unacceptable injury rate on kickoffs prior to that (season).” Teams will be learning as they go, according to Ficken.
“It’ll be exciting,” he said. “Obviously, it’s something we’ve never done or thought about doing before. I think it’s a great idea. Ultimately, what it’s going to do is give opportunities to keep plays in for special teams and make that kickoff return a more viable play. I think it’ll be an exciting play for the fans.”
