The Chargers suffered a 12 point loss to the Cardinals on Sunday after being nearly a 10 point favorite. There also weren't many standout performers on either side of the ball outside of WR Ladd McConkey or the tackle duo. The Chargers looked athletically and emotionally flat for most of the game. Point blank, it just never seemed like a group that was nearly as dialed in as it should be in year three of Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz's regime.
That brings us to the coaching staff. HC Jim Harbaugh took responsibility for the loss at the podium yesterday while explaining a key regret. Harbaugh said he wished he had gotten the team "more reps" in the preseason because of preseason-like mistakes in Week 1.
The Chargers' lack of focus in Week 1 may extend beyond simply not getting preseason reps in their offseason program.
The starters played just one drive vs. the 49ers and two very short drives vs. the Rams. The outside zone running game never got going with any of the three Chargers' backs that are currently on the roster. They totaled 16 carries for 22 yards.
Justin Herbert had a big touchdown to Quentin Johnston in the preseason finale. But outside of that, the Chargers never got true starter reps that showed an ability to sustain drives on offense in the preseason. As far as the defensive side of the ball, the team was also conservative in that phase on which starters they chose to briefly play in the preseason.
Lack of preseason reps can certainly be a contributor to why the Chargers started slow on Sunday. But Jim Harbaugh also uprooted how the team practiced this offseason due to health and injuries. On June 18th, ESPN reporter Kris Rhim asked Harbaugh about more low intensity practices at that stage of the offseason than had been seen in years' past. LA's head coach acknowledged that there was an emphasis on health and dialing back some of the full team activities in practices. It also felt like the Chargers had more true walkthrough days than usual once they got into camp.
Harbaugh mentioned consulting with sports science pros and avoiding catastrophic "early" return to play injuries as keys to the philosophical shift. That makes sense after the team lost Rashawn Slater to a season-ending torn patellar tendon barely a week after he returned to camp practices last offseason.
But at the same time, it's possible the team overcorrected in their approach. And that's not just speculation. As mentioned earlier, Harbaugh brought up the lack of preseason reps unprompted. To come out as flat as they ever have in a Week 1 game under this coaching staff in the first offseason they changed up practice approach means something. That's especially true when so many of the Chargers' errors on Sunday were mental, timing, penalty, and discipline related from new offensive/defensive installs. They also failed to avoid a major offensive line injury to Tyler Biadasz despite the less intense practices earlier on in the offseason.
Harbaugh has time to turn it around this season. It's just Week 1. But it's rather concerning that just one game got him to publicly reconsider his entire offseason strategy. For a coach that's one of the highest paid in the league, it borders on unacceptable.
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