One of the biggest on-field storylines surrounding the LA Chargers during training camp is the lack of success on the offensive side of the football. While that has been great for the defensive side of the ball, it has caused some concern among Chargers fans.
After all, head coach Jim Harbaugh hired an unpopular coordinator choice in Greg Roman, who was not reinventing the wheel during his previous tenure with the Baltimore Ravens and was arguably holding that offense back.
To be fair, Justin Herbert has been in a walking boot with a plantar fascia injury for quite some time now and any offense is going to struggle to find its rhythm without its starting quarterback. However, even with Herbert under center, the Chargers' offense was still trying to get up to speed.
Don't believe us? Just ask wideout Joshua Palmer:
Chargers WR Josh Palmer on state of offense right now: "I think we're still growing as an offense. Even when Justin was here I feel we were still growing as an offense...Now we're in preseason mode so we're just trying to get the nuts and bolts together." pic.twitter.com/IIX86XE89r
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) August 14, 2024
The Chargers' offense is "still growing" even with Justin Herbert
Palmer didn't outright talk about how bad the offense has been during camp and the preseason but he didn't necessarily give it a ringing endorsement, either. This certainly is not what fans want to hear either way, as Palmer hyping up the offense with Herbert would have worked wonders.
If it was any offensive coordinator other than Roman then maybe this would be a non-story but there is going to be more scrutiny around the offense because of the moves the Chargers made. Roman was not the first choice for the fanbase and the team also opted to take Joe Alt over Malik Nabers, who could have added a new wrinkle to the offense.
But with Roman calling the playing and without Nabers, there is more pressure for this Chargers' offense to succeed. The last thing this team, and Justin Herbert, needs is another offensive playcalling coming to town if Roman's offense does not work out this season.
Herbert has been through four different offensive coordinators in five years and has constantly been asked to learn a new playbook. The hope with Roman and Harbaugh is that this can stick, not just be a one-year operation that disappoints fans.
Making matters worse is the fact that Herbert is not getting live reps in practice in this new offense, either. While he can still learn the playbook and pick up the cadences, he is limited in actually executing the offense against an NFL defense.
That is going to have an impact on the team offensively early in the year. With these hurdles and the fact the Chargers have one of the worst pass-catching groups in the sport, don't be surprised if the team gets off to a very slow start offensively in 2024.