The LA Chargers dropped yet another ugly game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7, ending a three-game winning streak for the team. The Bolts are now 4-3 on the season with losses to Seattle, Jacksonville and Kansas City.
The way that Chargers Twitter reacted to this game you would think that the team was 2-5 instead of 4-3. To be fair, things have not necessarily been easy for the Chargers this season and there is a world in which they are worse than 4-3.
If Cade York doesn't miss the game-winning field goal in Week 5 and the Broncos don't muff a punt in overtime in Week 6 then the Chargers would be either 2-5 or 2-4-1. They have not had a single definitive win, which is not a sustainable formula for success.
Is the sky falling? No. But if anything, we all learned a pretty simple truth about the Bolts in their Week 7 loss against the Seahawks.
The LA Chargers are a mediocre football team.
And to be quite clear, there are a lot of teams that fall in this mediocre grouping. There has been a lot of parity in the league this season and there really only looks to be three "great" teams: the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Then there are the two surprising New York teams, and then around 20 mediocre teams that can beat each other on any given night.
The Chargers fall into that mediocre grouping. They beat divisional foes like the Raiders and Broncos, but lose to seemingly inferior teams in the Seahawks and Jaguars. They put together elite halves against both the Browns and Texans, only for the other half to be terrible.
A lot of fans are blaming the coaching staff for the results thus far this season. That is definitely part of the equation but it is not the entire equation. Can the coaching and play-calling be better? Absolutely. There is no denying that.
However, the problems are much deeper than that and if you think firing Joe Lombardi is going to fix things then you are going to be let down. This is a top-heavy roster that has battled injuries. The front office has done a poor job, yet again, filling out depth in key areas.
Any team would struggle when it loses its best edge rusher and tackle, but there are other areas that the Chargers absolutely could have addressed. There absolutely should be more offensive line depth, but there isn't. There absolutely should be more receiver depth, but there isn't.
Just look at who Justin Herbert was throwing to at the end of the Seahawks games. It was a glorified preseason game out there. His best receiver was a special teams lifer. Alongside him were two practice squad guys.
This team had plenty of chances to add receivers. They didn't. And as a result? The room is mediocre. The top two is talented, but outside of Allen and Williams, it is a disaster.
Speaking of Herbert, he hasn't been himself after hurting his ribs, either. Herbert has made some questionable throws and bad decisions in recent games. He doesn't seem like he is playing with as much confidence. This isn't the same Herbert from last season and the injury probably plays a big role in that.
When absolutely everything goes right for this Chargers team it still can be a Super Bowl contender. The first half against the Chiefs in Week 2 showed that. The Chargers looked miles better than the Chiefs in that half and that was the best football they played all season.
That being said, what the team failed to prepare for was when things didn't go perfectly. It never goes completely right in the NFL and the front office and coaching staff did not do enough to prepare for when things inevitably went wrong.
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There has never been a team that needs a bye week more than the Chargers. They might be playing worse than a 4-3 record but that is still their record nonetheless. Now it is up to them to make changes in the bye week and take their season back before it is too late.