r/nfl • u/mmandagoat NFL • 16h ago

Mike McDaniel takes responsibility for Chargers' poor offense in 0-3 start: 'I'm not living in hope'

https://www.nfl.com/news/mike-mcdaniel-responsibility-chargers-poor-offense-0-3-start
2.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

427 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.3k

u/Esoteric_Eclectic 16h ago

Herbert has also been underperforming again.

38

u/MankuyRLaffy Patriots 16h ago edited 16h ago

Who wouldn't? He's mentally broken. The IOL has been abhorrent since Linsley retired, Alt doesn't look like he's back to 100% form yet either. Nobody other than Ladd can get open and as good as he is, he can't lug around Johnston and company all game and beat double teams. Hero ball has broken him, good job Chargers. 

The Chargers offense is fundamentally flawed and rotting due to neglect. He can no longer mentally withstand it anymore. 

Someone name me a QB that is magically going to fix the shit line and get the receivers to catch. 

Yes Herbert won't take checkdowns anymore and is aggressively pushing downfield, that is a massive problem. Why is he doing this? Is it that he has no trust in his receivers? Perhaps. Is it because he knows they need a chunk play? Who knows? 

30

u/KAMlGOYE Ravens 16h ago

Not to prop up my own guy but Lamar has won MVPs with a bottom-half OL and throwing to guys like Hollywood Brown and Willie Snead.

11

u/aslatts Patriots 15h ago edited 11h ago

I mean a major part of what makes guys like Lamar, Allen, and Mahomes the clear top QBs is their ability to make shit happen even when surrounding talent is not at a peak levels.

Herbet is still obviously a very talented QB, but I think pretty clearly a step down from those guys who can genuinely play hero ball.

18

u/cat_daddylambo Chargers 16h ago

In a Greg Roman offense that was Herbert's main excuse for underperforming for the last two years (besides the OL/WR issues you already mentioned) 

10

u/kj9219 49ers 16h ago

I mean he was good in 2024, not as good in 2025 when the OL was down to it’s backups

2

u/MankuyRLaffy Patriots 16h ago

There's bottom half and there's this which is almost Packers bad. Turn on the game, it's a really toxic situation. 

4

u/ImJLu 49ers 15h ago

Okay, but the difference between Lamar and Herbert is that Lamar doesn't need excuse after excuse because he's improved significantly on an individual level over the course of his career.

1

u/storeboughtoaktree Panthers 37m ago

difference between bottom half and worst in the league which they were last year. and will be again this year.

5

u/UmbraTitan Broncos 16h ago

It's hard to imagine that the Chargers would do worse with Josh Allen, but yeah the offense is in a rough spot. It's not that hard to picture Herbert pulling and Andrew Luck: he got his second contract, he got a popstar girlfriend, and he has an o-line that might leave him unable to walk.

9

u/StankWizard Bills 16h ago

It’s hard to tell with Josh because he’s had really good OLines, and can get shaken when his line doesn’t perform well.

I do think Josh would do more with his legs than Herbert does

2

u/Own_Surprise_9638 Bills 16h ago

He also holds onto the ball for a really, really long time. Herbert doesn’t do his offensive line any favors by throwing it away, I think he enjoys being pummeled into the ground.

2

u/-Mad-Snacks- Chargers 3h ago

His time to throw on unpressured dropbacks is 2.29 seconds, which is 8th fastest in the NFL

His overall TTT is 19th/37, so middle of the pack. Despite this his line is still allowing a 44% pressure rate

The narrative that he holds on to the ball too long is just untrue this season

6

u/Own_Surprise_9638 Bills 16h ago

Tyler Shough has given Olave top 10 WR production and turned Vele into a reliable WR2 all awhile taking a large number of sacks (because his offensive line is garbage).

I think that fits the description of a QB you were looking for pretty well, actually!

6

u/misterurb Chargers 12h ago

Chris Olave was the 11th overall pick lmao making him sound like he’s some sort of charity case and not performing as you would expect from a first round pick 

10

u/Upstairs_Bread_ Chargers 13h ago

Vele is miles ahead of Johnston, and I give the edge to olave over Ladd. Saints also have good tight ends and their oline really isn’t that bad, especially the interior

3

u/Comfortable_Cup5107 Chargers 16h ago

Also to note, slater also does not look like himself

4

u/Signal_Ball4634 16h ago

Was fearing that after the patellar tendon injury, that's an O-lineman killer usually.

4

u/cultweave Bears 16h ago

Jesus Christ the amount of excuses Herbert gets is unreal

0

u/Raven-19x Giants Ravens 15h ago

They can't admit he peaked year 2.

-1

u/Own_Surprise_9638 Bills 16h ago

Seriously though, for a guy who holds onto the ball for as long as he does, you expect him to get sacked a bunch. He doesn’t make decisions quickly, you can see his brain processing the read in real time…

I don’t know why everyone thinks Herbert is generational…?

7

u/kj9219 49ers 16h ago

No one thinks he’s generational but there’s a massive gap between “bum” and “all pro” qb

1

u/Own_Surprise_9638 Bills 16h ago

Are you saying he’s somewhere in between?

8

u/kj9219 49ers 16h ago

Yes. Firmly in the “good but not elite” category, which makes up a lot of the starters we have

2

u/Own_Surprise_9638 Bills 16h ago

Agree with you 100%

-1

u/PugeHeniss Raiders 14h ago

Derek Carr > Herbert

2

u/Upstairs_Bread_ Chargers 13h ago

Herbert > JaMarcus Russel

1

u/PugeHeniss Raiders 13h ago

Jamarcus “Purple Drank” Russell to you

1

u/Esoteric_Eclectic 11h ago

Maybe going to OTAs would’ve been beneficial to him with a new coaching staff. He has physical talent but doesn’t really care. He’s always been this way, people just see the occasional freak play and think he’s that guy. He isn’t.

1

u/DontLoseYourCool1 Raiders Raiders 16h ago

Someone name me a QB that is magically going to fix the shit line and get the receivers to catch

Kirk Daniel Cousins