Chargers News: How Jim Harbaugh Intends To Preserve Justin Herbert
For the entirety of his career, a shaky run game, questionable/injured weapons, and poor defenses have left Justin Herbert having to play the role of Superman for your Los Angeles Chargers.
As a result, he has been banged up regularly, dealing with rib, shoulder, and finger injuries over the past couple of seasons, with a fractured index finger on his throwing hand landing him on injured reserve this past season.
Fortunately, new head coach Jim Harbaugh has new plans to specifically avoid a heavier load for Herbert. On The Rich Eisen Show, Harbaugh explained his plan for Herbert, whom he considers Herbert to be a top "three-to-five quarterback in the league."
"[We] do not want to screw this up," Harbaugh said. "I feel confident that we're gonna put him in the position to help our team get to where it wants to go."
“[We need to protect] him. We need a run game," he continued. "We need to be able to be balanced so he doesn’t have to be Superman every single play."
"Like Vince Lombardi would say, blocking. We gotta protect him," Harbaugh added. "Add the play-action game, which comes off a really good running game. We were in the 20s in the run game. We gotta get better in the run game."
Luckily, Harbaugh has already made a big stride in that direction: hiring Greg Roman as the team's offensive coordinator.
A historically good run game coordinator, Roman brings a breath of fresh air that the team hasn't had in years. With Herbert at the helm, head coaches Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley failed to establish the run, and with poor defenses, the team was forced to over-rely on passing the ball, especially down the stretch of crucial games.
All of this paired with a poor offensive line, and Herbert was a lock to get seriously injured at some point or another.
A top-5 draft pick helps tremendously too, with increased buzz surrounding the Bolts selecting Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. His ability to impact both the run and pass as a blocker and receiver are generational, and adding that element of physicality and versatility to the Bolts offense should cover the exact needs that Harbaugh mentions.
In general, Harbaugh speaks for Bolts fans everywhere when he discusses the team's obvious issues in so many key areas, and how it is integral both for Herbert's success and health, but for the team more broadly to improve on those weaknesses.
