Chargers’ offense struggles with Justin Herbert sidelined
A drop in execution and efficiency was to be expected when the starting quarterback was sidelined Thursday by a plantar fascia injury.
EL SEGUNDO — Greg Roman’s offense took a beating during the Chargers’ joint practice with the Rams on Sunday. Quarterback Easton Stick struggled to move the ball against the Rams’ defense, misfiring on throws to his wide receivers. Max Duggan and Casey Bauman didn’t fare a whole lot better.
A drop in execution and efficiency was to be expected when starter Justin Herbert was sidelined Thursday by a plantar fascia injury. Stick, Duggan and Bauman aren’t in the same class as Herbert, who has completed 66.6% of his passes for more than 17,000 yards in his 62-game NFL career.
Stick has started four games, Duggan zero and Bauman zero.
But, for now, Stick is the Chargers’ starting quarterback. Herbert is expected to be in a walking boot on his damaged right foot for approximately two weeks or through at least Aug. 15. Plantar fascia injuries tend to linger and are notoriously difficult to mend without complete rest and ongoing treatment.
If the Chargers’ coaches are concerned, they’re certainly not saying so publicly.
In fact, Roman, their offensive coordinator, said Tuesday, “I think we’re where we need to be,” when asked for his assessment of the Chargers’ offense through 12 training camp sessions, one past the midway point of camp. “Fundamentally, I think we’re getting better every day,” he added.
“We’re putting on the ankle weights a little bit right now,” he said. “We’re working hard. We’re working hard on different concepts. It’s not really results oriented right now. It’s, ‘OK, are we using the right footwork? Are we doing the right things? No, we’re not on this, so we’ve got to go back and fix it.’
“That’s what this process is all about.”
Roman said Sept. 8, when the Chargers open the 2024 season against the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium, is when the results become important. The Chargers have three exhibition games, including Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks, plus 10 more training camp sessions, between now and then.
“Up until then, we’re in a building phase,” Roman said.
Roman praised Stick despite the sixth-year pro’s obvious struggles.
“Easton is doing a very good job,” Roman said. “There’s obviously some plays we’d like to have back, but he does a really good job of understanding the offense, calling the offense, getting everyone organized. He’s off the charts there. Then, as far as he’s executing, he’s doing a really good job.”
Stick’s ability to scramble for yardage and create on the run was evident when he replaced an injured Herbert for the final four games of the 2023 season. Stick completed 63.8% of his passes for 1,129 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in five games overall last season.
In training camp, Stick has improvised on occasion, but the plays called during team drills have been designed for Herbert’s drop-back style. Stick has often seemed like a square peg trying to squeeze into a round hole in the days since Herbert was sidelined. They play to far different strengths.
“Obviously, (Stick’s) style is going to be different,” Roman said. “We’re not really interested in that right now. We’re interested in trying to get better. I mean, we’re not scheming anything. We’re putting our install in. The defense is putting their install in. Sometimes we’d run plays we’d never run against that defense in a game.
“But they’re great teaching opportunities. I would never run some stuff we’re doing against our defense in a game. But guess what? We’ve got to practice it. We’ve got to learn it. We’ve got to say, ‘Here’s why we like it versus this coverage and not this. But if they do spring this coverage on us, the ball has got to go here.’
“Or the run game. We’re running plays against (a defense) we’d never run against. But we’ve got to learn the plays and experience getting blitzed and getting blown up in the backfield. Here’s why we’ve got to do this, this or this to prevent this. You’ve got to go through that. If you don’t, I don’t know …”
Roman trailed off.
EXTRA POINTS
Edge rusher Joey Bosa and safety Derwin James Jr. were absent from practice for the second consecutive day. Linebacker Junior Colson, wide receiver Ladd McConkey and running back Kimani Vidal also didn’t practice. Herbert watched from the sideline with his right foot in a walking boot.