The Bolts are back inside SoFi Stadium this week to face the crosstown Rams.
The Rams are also failing to meet expectations this season with a 3-4 record so far this season. Blockbuster addition Myles Garrett has not played since Week One, but that’s far from their only issue. When it’s all firing, Sean McVay and the Rams are still one of the best teams in the league, so the Chargers need to come as correct a ever (and unfortunately, the next time they do will be the first).
Expectations are likely
low, but they don’t say “any given Sunday” for no reason.
Here are the three things I’ll be watching for when these teams take the field on Sunday.
1.) Can the Chargers secondary take advantage of a Rams WR unit missing Davante Adams?
The Chargers are dodging longtime and All-Pro wideout Davate Adams this week after he recently landed on IR. The Rams offense is now a bit more palatable, but Puka Nacua is still the real deal as one of the most productive wideouts in the league over the past few seasons.
The Chargers cornerback room has held strong with Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart staying healthy this season. Veteran Donte Jackson has been more out of the lineup than in and the same can be said for both Rodney Shelley and Deane Leonard. Cornerback could be a big need this offseason, but that’s a whole other conversation.
With the Rams using a ton of motion pre-snap, I expect the Chargers to play a lot of zone to keep Still or Hart from having to travel across the formation. The lack of Derwin James continues to hurt, but overall they’ve been fine enough without him.
This will be an interesting test for Chris O’Leary. Aside from the continuous short fields given by the offense, the young coordinator has done an admirable job against some of the league’s top offensive play-callers. Showing he has the stuff to take on McVay could be another early feather in his cap.
2.) Will Joe Alt switch to left tackle in his return from a neck injury?
Last season when Rashawn Slater missed the entire season due to a torn patellar tendon, Alt flipped sides from right to left.
This year, Alt is about to return to the lineup without Slater once more. I’m curious to see if they believe rookie Travis, who has played the past few games at left tackle, can continue to do so which would allow Alt to remain at his normal spot.
Alt has been one of the best tackles in all of football. His return is huge. Knowing how bad the offense has been, I would not be surprised to see Burke go to the right side to allow Alt to protect Justin Herbert’s blindside. That seems like the most important thing to cover as far as getting this front five pinned down.
Kayode Awosika was expected to return after the bye, but he remains a non-participant in practice. That leaves rookie Logan Taylor at left guard. Not especially ideal given how rough he’s been as a starter, but that’s what happens when there’s three players at his position hurt ahead of him.
So for Week Eight, Alt is the only returning player who wasn’t healthy before the bye. And again, his return is a big deal, but is it as big as it sounds? The offense wasn’t good when the majority of the team is healthy. How much will it really change for the offense as a whole?
3.) Will the offense look any different post-bye?
This one is as simple as it sounds.
The Chargers chose not to make any massive changes at the bye despite sitting at 0-6. Mike McDaniel not only still has his job, but he will remain the offensive playcaller going forward.
Even if you did not expect McDaniel to get fired last week, you likely also thought there’d at least be some change on the coaching staff. So here the Chargers are, in the same boat that they rode to the league’s worst offense.
Harbaugh has decided that six weeks wasn’t enough to make a decision and with no trades having been made, they whole franchise supposedly believes it’s worth keeping all their assets in order to make an effort towards the unprecedented. No team has ever made the playoffs after starting 0-5. The Chargers are 0-6.
I seriously do not know what the plan is. Will 0-7 force a change? 0-8? Where is the line in the sand?
If Justin Herbert avoids throwing an interception in a game for the first time all season, will that be all the team needs to believe they’ve fixed it? Does he need to do it for consecutive games? It sure feels like the bar is set way to low for things to keep chugging along like they haven’t already been off the tracks since Week One.
