LA Chargers: 3 reasons why the Bolts could have the league’s best offense
By Jason Reed
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports – LA Chargers
2. The LA Chargers’ offense is set up to be extremely efficient
The LA Chargers hired Joe Lombardi as the offensive coordinator this offseason. Lombardi is coming over after being the quarterbacks coach of the New Orleans Saints and is going to bring some of that Sean Payton offense with him.
The Chargers’ offensive scheme heading into 2021 has been described as a marriage of Payton’s passing game with Kyle Shanahan’s run schemes. If that is truly what we get in 2021 then the offense is going to be extremely special and extremely efficient.
The passing game is where the Chargers can get even more efficient. Justin Herbert, despite being pressured far too much last season, was still pretty efficient all things considered, especially for a rookie. Now that he has an offense that is going to attack underneath coverages more, his efficiency should go up.
This only works if the Chargers have the right people for job and they absolutely do. This is why it did not work with Matthew Stafford in Detroit when Lombardi was hired to be the offensive coordinator there.
The Chargers have that short-mid yardage option that can create separation off the line of scrimmage in Keenan Allen while also having the passing threat in the backfield in Austin Ekeler. They are this team’s version of Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara and could arguably be even better.
The Chargers already had one of the most exciting offenses in the league last season and that was with terrible playcalling and play design. Now, if the offense is what it looks like on paper, the Chargers will add efficiency on top of the big plays from Herbert.