The offseason is a time of countless rankings and lists of the best teams, quarterbacks, receiving cores, defenses etc. as I’m sure we all know by now.
Does anybody really pay attention to any of it? Because I do. And it’s apparent that way too many people are writing off the Chargers thanks to how they ended their 2022 campaign.
It’s annoying, but at the same time, the victory lap is going to be that much sweeter after proving so many wrong as far as I’m concerned. And I believe the 2023 Chargers will have the capability to make that potential victory lap probable.
With the regular season officially just a week away, here are four potential storylines Chargers fans should feel very encouraged by the prospect of and hopeful that they’ll manifest:
1. Kellen Moore, the forgotten offensive guru
It’s pretty clear by now if you want to win championships in this era of football, then you need either a stout offensive-minded head coach, a stout offensive coordinator, or both. Offense, of course, is the way to go in today’s NFL.
I can think of few offensive minds who have been better for their teams than Kellen Moore was for the Dallas Cowboys since becoming their offensive coordinator in 2019.
That 2019 season, the Cowboys were sixth in points per game (27.1), second in passing yards per game (296.9), and first in total yards per game (431.5).
Moore got hit with a sophomore slump in 2020 with the ‘Boys only scoring 24.7 points a game, but in 2021 he made a fierce comeback and led Dallas to be first in points per game (31.2), first in total yards per game (407.0), and tied for second in passing yards per game (282.4). That team they tied with? The Chargers.
Then in 2022, Moore once again led the Cowboys to another big season as they were fourth in scoring at 27.5 points a game.
Dallas has been one of the top offenses in football under Moore and he only had Dak Prescott to work with most of the time.
Too many people are sleeping on the fact that there is now a pairing of one of the best OC’s in the game with one of the best quarterbacks in Justin Herbert.
I say “one of” very lightly. We all know in our hearts that he’s QB1 in this league. He had to deal with Joe Lombardi's offense and he was still elite.
Moore finally gets an elite quarterback and Justin Herbert gets an elite play-caller for the first time since his rookie season.