Chargers Bye Week Mailbag: Taking Pulse of the Team, Trade Deadline Inches Closer and More

Answering questions that surround the Chargers as they enter their bye week.

Author:
Nicholas Cothrel
Publish date:
Oct 26, 2022 4:03 PM EDT

In this story:

Welcome to the second installment of the Chargers mailbag on ChargerReport.com. I'll be doing mailbags periodically throughout the season, answering questions from fans about the team.

You can enter submissions to be included in the mailbag by tweeting at me here.

Question No. 1 from @Elbuensebas: What's the atmosphere in the Chargers HQ? Do they feel content with their performance despite the record?

Since the Chargers are now on their bye week, I haven’t been inside the team headquarters following their 37-23 loss to the Seahawks. But from taking pulse of the locker room leading into their first seven games, I haven’t seen or felt the vibe of anything that is worrisome.

I wouldn’t say they're content. The coaches and players know there's several factors that need to be cleaned up for the team to take a jump forward and they've acknowledged them.

I think it's a team that still remains fully bought into Brandon Staley's vision and they've taken accountability when things have gone wrong.

Players like Derwin James, Austin Ekeler and Drue Tranquill to name a few, are leaders who have routinely answered for the team when things haven’t gone smoothly, facing the tough questions.

"No one is pointing fingers. We still believe in everything," James said in the locker room following Sunday's Week 7 loss. "Everything we want is still in front of us. If the playoffs started today, we'd be in the playoffs. So we just got to keep getting better every week and improving."

Question No. 2 from @MichaelDirienz5: Do you see the Chargers moving away from the current coaching department?

I understand the team hasn't clicked to the extent of their expectations entering the season. But they still sit with a 4-3 record and have a shot to make the playoffs.

If you're asking about an in-season shift to the coaching staff, I don’t envision that happening. The way I see it, Brandon Staley, at the very least, is getting this full season to put his touch on the team and see how far he can take them.

On Monday, when asked about offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, Staley acknowledged it's been a much different go around for him and the offense than last season. However, Staley still voiced his confidence in Lombardi calling the offense, remaining committed to him.

Now, if the Chargers fail to get into the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, I would imagine a change to the coaching staff is made. There's no disputing that injuries have held this team back. But they also spent more money in an offseason than they ever before under general manager Tom Telesco, lifting the expectations to greater heights.

Question No. 3 from @Gman7887: Potential trade targets and positions of need?

The most glaring position of need is wide receiver. The injuries have hit their top four receivers in some shape or form.

Telesco hasn't made a trade ahead of the deadline in his 10 years as general manager of the Chargers. But with everything they've poured into this team entering the year, I think anything is on the table.

Ideally, they go after a wide receiver that can challenge defenses in the deep part of the field by getting vertical in a hurry. The Chargers haven’t had anyone who can regularly do that since Jalen Guyton went down with a torn ACL in Week 3.

I think Elijah Moore of the Jets makes the most sense. He's requested a trade out of New York after being underutilized, and his skill set fits what the Chargers need to open up the passing attack. Moore was clocked at 4.32 seconds in the 40-yard dash at his Ole Miss Pro Day.

Other plays rumored to possibly be on the move are Brandin Cooks of the Texans, Chase Claypool of the Steelers and Kadarius Toney of the Giants.

I think these three players are worth considering, but feel less likely. Cooks is quite expensive, carrying a $26.6 million cap hit in 2023. Claypool has regressed each year since his rookie season and provides similar things to some of the receivers already on the Chargers roster. And for Toney, he's been injured quite regularly since entering the NFL.

Question No. 4 from @MorOfUsThanThem: I feel that there is just no zip to Justin Herbert's passes on the majority of plays. I love the guy but how hurt is he? I expect him to be our QB of the next 10-20 years. Will playing him hurt this year have any long-term effects?

Over the last two weeks, I've came away with a similar impression. It looks as if Herbert's passes aren't as firm and his accuracy seems a bit off. I don't think it's an accurate representation of who he truly is. He hasn't forgotten how to throw. My take on this is he's still playing hurt, gutting it out while dealing with a fracture to his rib cartilage that occurred in Week 2.

Has the injury improved? Herbert says it has. But I also think he's playing through more pain than he's willing to reveal. He's as tough as they come, but clearly it's impacted his throwing.

You figure, anytime you twist, raise your arms or maneuver your body in a jerking motion, you're putting some level of strain on your midsection. Now consider that with a serious injury to your ribs like Herbert is going through.

As for the fear of long-term effects, that would be better suited for a doctor to answer. What I do know is that Herbert has continued to say that if he didn’t feel it was safe for him to be out there, he wouldn’t be playing. He's still receiving treatment each week for his rib cartilage, but remains confident in his decision to remain out there.

Question No. 5 from @DCruz829: Do you think Brandon Staley and his staff can turn this season around and get the offense into a rhythm?

Do I think the Chargers are still a contender for the Super Bowl like I thought entering the season? Not so much. Do I think they can make improvements and reach the playoffs? It's certainly possible.

The offense clearly hasn't been as efficient as they were a season ago. But there's many factors that go into it. Herbert's fractured rib cartilage, moving parts to the offensive line and several injuries to the team's skill players have understandably played a part in the offense taking a step back.

One thing you do have to give Staley credit for is making a change if the scenario calls for it. When Rashawn Slater suffered an injury to his biceps and Storm Norton took over for the remainder of the game, and it didn’t go to well, he pivoted to Jamaree Salyer.

Staley did the same thing in Week 6 on defense when J.C. Jackson was having a tough go, turning to Michael Davis for the second half and overtime to finish out the game.

He's not afraid to change it up if something isn’t working and I think that's important. As I've talked about many times in this mailbag, injuries have played a major part.

I think the biggest component to kickstarting the offense, as Staley and Lomabrdi have spoken about nearly each week, is getting the run game going. If they can run the ball, it opens up the passing attack. The Chargers really haven’t ran the ball well all season with the exception of the Browns game, and that looks to be the lone outlier. The Chargers' run game ranks 26th in the NFL, averaging 89 rushing yards per game.

If the ground game can get going, it will ease the burden off of Justin Herbert, who's still playing through a fractured rib cartilage. Right now, they feel very Herbert-dependent, relying on him to play Hero ball, as he's dropped back 50-plus times a game the last two weeks.

*Get your Chargers tickets from SI Tickets by clicking here