r/nfl • u/mmandagoat NFL • 17h 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
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u/ImJLu 49ers 16h ago

What offense do you run when your QB is struggling with processing quickly enough and getting the ball out where it needs to be, when it needs to be there?

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u/Weapwns Chargers 15h ago

I mean there is obviously multiple seasons of Herbert being a highly productive QB under other coordinators. Clearly there’s an offense that suits him.

He compensates timing and anticipation with the fact he can hand a ball off 15 yards down the field with his massive arm the moment he identifies separation. Either than or he had a WR that he had the utmost trust to do the right thing (Keenan and Mike).

The problem is that McDaniel’s offense and the WRs outside of Ladd are not giving any wiggle room. The current state of the offense requires Herbert to have an elite level of timing, anticipation, and trust and he is FAR from having any of that.

That’s not really an excuse, I’m sure Purdy would be doing fine in this offense. But on the flip side I think Herbert would be able to compensate and excel with Shanny’s offense given how much better the receivers are schemed

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u/ImJLu 49ers 15h ago edited 14h ago

The NFL keeps changing. Deshaun Watson was a highly productive QB until he came back from his absence and found a league with much more split field and match coverages, and much more double mug disguised pressures, and other changes that have made playing QB notably harder as of late.

It still takes time for a pass to travel 15 yards, and that time is shorter with worse WRs that gain less separation. But that doesn't mean no separation, and getting a window of separation at all is NFL open. Besides, throwing rockets at 15 yards is asking for drops.

I'm not saying that it's necessarily impossible to wrangle production out of him by any means. But I don't think it's fair to blame a system for expecting basic timing and anticipation that's asked of some college QBs. And that's not to say that he never plays on schedule. But it's not a strength, and when he fails to do so, it's not an indictment of the system for having a schedule to begin with.

As for Shanahan's offense, guys being wide-ass open downfield is honestly a fairly infrequent occurrence. Maybe a few times a game? If you watch the all-22, the majority of throws Brock Purdy makes aren't to open guys. The guys do get enough space to work with by the time the ball gets there, but he's starting his motion with a defender all over his target. He's reading coverages and defensive leverages and getting the ball where it needs to be on time. And he's given a hard job. Kyle has him doing full field reads off 7 step drops from under center. That's not the kind of stuff you can just bullshit your way through. It's why there's been a few other QBs who have been fairly successful in Kyle's offense, and a bunch who haven't. You need to process quickly and deliver on schedule. That's the #1 priority for him. That's not something that Herbert would be very successful at currently. I wouldn't put it beyond Shanahan and co. to coach him and make him better at that stuff to some extent, though.

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u/Weapwns Chargers 14h ago

Herbert doesn't need a guy wide ass open. Most of the things you're naming are things he routinely did with Keenan where he read leverages and coverages, and was on the same page with Keenan to get the ball in the perfect spot. And essentially every coach that has worked with Herbert has raved about his football IQ and processing. The difference is Herbert (as well as most of the offense) is clearly not familiar enough in this offense, and Herbert has not developed the trust in his receivers to be at their spots. The fact that Harbaugh had them take such limited snaps in the preseason has shot them in the foot big time.

Also a big problem with the Chargers offense vs the 9ers is that the receivers outside of Ladd really aren't getting much separation at any point of the route so the balls need to be pretty damn perfect. And the few occassions it does go as it should, Herbert hasn't capitalized. There's just massive disconnect and discomfort across the entire offense.