Bold Prediction Hints Chargers Headed for Disaster…and It’s Totally Fair

There are enough red flags that this Chargers prediction feels fair.

Justin Herbert | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Chargers are a big question mark ahead of Week 1. 

There’s a reasonable amount of hype around the next era of the Jim Harbaugh experience for the franchise, especially in an AFC West that feels pretty wide open. Much of it has to do with the arrival of Mike McDaniel for Justin Herbert, of course. 

But there are concerns. There’s a stunning problem developing on the offensive line in front of Herbert once again. Some notable injuries have already hit the roster before Week 1, too. 

Tack on the usual concerns, like other injuries, tough schedules and an often-overlooked coordinator change on the defensive side of the ball, and perhaps it shouldn’t be so surprising to hear that national outlets have started to predict disaster for the Chargers. 

NFL predictions suggest Chargers, Jim Harbaugh flop

Jim Harbaugh | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton pointed out recently, the Chargers are very often offseason darlings. 

That’s especially true this year because of McDaniel and the team’s efforts to, if nothing else, get some new names on the interior of the offensive line. 

But Moton wrote that while outlining the biggest possible surprises of next season and…picking the Chargers to miss the playoffs for the first time under Harbaugh. The change to coordinator Chris O’Leary is a major talking point there, as is a brutal stretch of schedule. 

“Furthermore, the Chargers face a brutal stretch from Weeks 3 through 10: road games against the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens, plus home matchups with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans,” Moton wrote. “They have a Week 7 bye during that span.”

Fair? 

Unfortunately, yes. 

The theme for the defense has been continuity. Jesse Minter is gone and O’Leary returns to where he coached the defensive backs to take that role. But there’s no guarantee it works. And they’re asking a rookie Akheem Mesidor to step in and produce big in a rotation right away after losing Odafe Oweh. 

The offensive line is a mess and even more concerning. Rashawn Slater already suffered an apparently minor setback this summer. Tyler Biadasz is lost for the season. That means starting a rookie center with Jake Slaughter, a guy who has underperformed consistently at right guard with Cole Strange and the left guard competition is still wide open between free-agent add Kayode Awosika and swing tackle backup Trey Pipkins. 

So yes, the concerns are valid, and those red flags haven’t even mentioned the schedule, the usual wear and tear of a season or other factors. The Chargers are, indeed, a team starting over with two new coordinators. The front office has, yet again, hoarded cap space ($40 million or so) despite major needs. And Harbaugh himself has yet to get the club over the proverbial playoff hump with a win. 

Make no mistake, the Chargers can run the gauntlet, hit the playoffs and finally get a win. There’s a blueprint there, even if the depth chart keeps getting shuffled a bit. But it’s pretty hard to knock anyone with valid concerns or even predicting things go south, either. 

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