LA Chargers fans are more than familiar with Jon Gruden. He's coached against the Chargers many times across two different stints with the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, he finds himself as a member of Barstool Sports giving out weekly insights and playing in the occasional internet golf tournament.
Gruden has said plenty of great things about Justin Herbert and the Chargers this season. His respect for Jim Harbaugh and the culture he has built in Los Angeles is evident. However, Gruden isn't as high on the Chargers this week, and is saying the quiet part out loud that Bolts fans probably don't want to hear.
Gruden picked the Steelers over the Chargers and doesn't seem to think it will be close despite the Chargers being favored in the game.
"I love the Pittsburgh Steelers in this one. I just think the injury to Joe Alt (hurts) this team," Gruden said. "You can't get hit as much as Herbert's getting hit. The Steelers are going to pepper him. They have too many good rushers, they have a lot of blitzes. It's going to be hard on Herbert the rest of the season without these two tackles."
Jon Gruden backs the Steelers over the Chargers after the loss of Joe Alt
As much as we would love to sit here and pick apart what Gruden said about this game, it's hard to. The Chragers already started the season behind the eight ball with Rashawn Slater injured. With Joe Alt hurt it's a completely different ballgame.
The Chargers are 6-3 this season. They are 5-0 in games Alt was healthy for. In the four weeks from Alt's initial injury against the New York Giants to his return, the Bolts went a palty 1-3 with some ugly losses.
It's not just Alt, either. Bobby Hart is also hurt and his chances of playing do not appear to be great. Hart has actually stepped up for this Chargers team and has played far better than expected. Without him, the Bolts are left scrambling more than they already are.
The addition of first-round draft bust Trevor Penning isn't going to fundamentally change the offensive line, although it is promising that the Bolts decided to do something. This is an offensive line without an identity.
Gruden's right: Herbert can only take so much punishment before it really starts to burn the Chargers. As elite as Herbert is, he's still human. Even the best in the world crumble under the pressure Herbert has faced this season. And Herbert has done much better than most other quarterbacks would.
Mike Tomlin is a great head coach who can sniff out and exploit weaknesses unlike any other coach in the league. Unfortunately, he doesn't need to sniff this Chargers weakness out, as it's pretty evident heading into Sunday.