How Joe Lombardi and Justin Herbert have shaped the Chargers’ passing game

Recently there was some angst about the Chargers’ passing game. The past few weeks from Justin Herbert might have eased those fears.

After 12 weeks of NFL action, there was angst in a corner of the football universe.

Angst over the usage of Los Angeles Chargers second-year passer Justin Herbert.

A season ago, Herbert rode his rocket right arm into NFL lore, throwing for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns en route to being named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. In addition to how well Herbert handled pressure in the pocket — according to charting data from Pro Football Focus Herbert posted the second-best Adjusted Completion Percentage (ACP) in the NFL when pressured last year — Herbert also excelled in the downfield passing game.

On throws of 20+ air yards last season, Herbert completed 26 of 67 such attempts for 953 yards and 12 touchdowns, against just three interceptions, according to charting data from PFF.

His ability attacking downfield showed up early in the season. For example, in the Chargers’ loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champions, you could find Herbert excelling in the vertical passing game:

That continued throughout the season, and into the final weeks of his rookie campaign. Take these throws against the Denver Broncos from Week 16:

Given his success in the downfield passing game, many assumed that the Chargers offense in 2021 would cater to this aspect of his game.

Then, the Chargers hired Joe Lombardi, who while having made a few different coaching stops during his career, is best known for two different stints down in New Orleans with the Saints. Lombardi was on staff with the Saints from 2007 until 2013 as an offensive assistant and then quarterbacks coach, and after a stint as the offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions, he returned to New Orleans as their quarterbacks coach in 2016 until being hired this past cycle as the OC in Los Angeles.

Having spent a bulk of his coaching career under Sean Payton, known for an offense rooted in West Coast philosophy, the marriage between Herbert and Lombardi, from a conceptual standpoint, was going to be a curious one to observe.

Over the first 12 weeks of the season, concerns emerged.

During that stretch of play, Herbert seemed almost neutralized as a quarterback. His Average Depth of Target (aDOT) during that stretch was 7.3 yards, tying him with Daniel Jones, Matt Ryan and Ben Roethlisberger for 25th highest in the league. Only Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff had a lower aDOT during those weeks.

While Herbert was successful in the vertical passing game during the first 12 weeks of the season (his ACP of 54.3% of throws of 20+ yards ranked him third among NFL passers) only 8% of his throws topped 20 yards, the lowest percentage among qualified quarterbacks.

The conversation about his usage perhaps reached a fever pitch during Weeks 10 through 12 of the NFL season. Back in Week 10, the Chargers lost to the Minnesota Vikings by a final score of 27-20. In the loss, Herbert’s aDOT was just 5.6 yards, 29th-lowest in the league that week.

Then the following week, it seemed like the Herbert we knew and loved was back during a Sunday night victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the victory he completed 30 of 41 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns, against an interception, and his rocket of an arm was on display on a few deeper throws:

Still, the aDOT that week clocked in at just 5.9, 23rd overall in the NFL that week.

Then in Week 12, the Denver Broncos handled the Chargers, and the Los Angeles passing game sputtered on the road. Herbert threw a pair of interceptions. Yet, even in the loss, there were signs that Lombardi and the offense were perhaps adjusting. Herbert’s aDOT that week cracked 7, clocking in at 7.1. While some of that might have been due to game script, there were also moments on film where you could see the offense taking on more of a vertical identity, or at least finding ways to marry Lombardi’s offensive roots with more vertical concepts. Take this play from that game:

On this play, the Chargers combine a three-level flood concept on the right side with a vertical route and a weakside option route from running back Austin Ekeler. The weakside option route is a staple in Sean Payton’s offense, often used with Alvin Kamara to isolate the RB on an underneath defender with a two-way go.

Here, Herbert throws frontside to Keenan Allen on the deep out, but it provides evidence that the offensive coordinator was finding ways to marry both the West Coast concepts of his background with designs that cater to Herbert’s downfield arm talent.

That game also touched off a discussion between myself and the brilliant Nate Tice about how it seemed Lombardi was constructing the offense overall, which begins here:

Then, last week happened.

In a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the vertical elements of the Chargers passing game were on full display. Herbert’s aDOT from Week 13? 10.3, which was second-highest in the NFL last week. (Interestingly enough, Josh Allen’s aDOT of 11.1 was the highest in the NFL during Week 13, despite playing on a night where he needed to battle wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour).

In the win, Herbert completed 26 of 35 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns, along with an interception. In terms of his vertical passing, Herbert hit on five of seven throws of 20+ air yards for 188 yards and a touchdown, along with an interception. According to PFF that was good for an ACP of 71.4%.

Pretty impressive.

Conceptually, Lombardi called designs that catered to Herbert’s arm while stretching the defense in a variety of ways. On this touchdown to Jalen Guyton, Herbert rolls to the right before uncorking a deep shot to Guyton, who is running a deep corner route from the left slot:

While the throw does hang in the air, allowing the defender time to recover and almost make a play on the football, it is important to draw on lessons from our friend Pythagoras. Herbert lets this pass go from just inside the numbers on the right side of the field, and throwing from his own 47-yard line. The pass travels outside the left numbers, and into the end zone.

How far does it travel? Well, you can draw upon your first Algebra classes, or you can let the minds at the NFL do the math for you:

Then there was this deep shot to Mike Williams, also running a corner route to the left side of the field while Herbert sets up an delivers out of play-action:

The play in question here is a design called “Burner” in the Kyle Shanahan system. It is an under center play-action design that look a lot like the Yankee concept, which consists of a deep post route and then an over route working just underneath the deep patter. On Burner, however, the over route remains in place but the post route actually becomes a deep corner.

On this play, Herbert takes the deep shot and hits Williams with a perfectly-thrown pass, and the Chargers pick up 41 yards on the play.

The marriage of vertical concepts with quick-game options continued in Sunday’s win over the New York Giants. In the victory, Herbert completed 23 of 31 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns. According to Next Gen Stats, Herbert’s Intended Air Yards (IAY) of 8.4 was seventh-highest in the league this week.

As far as the concepts that Lombardi dialed up, we can start with this completion to tight end Donald Parham:

Herbert opens to the right side on this play, to an option route from the slot receiver and a vertical route on the boundary. Seeing the coverage, he flips his eyes to the left, picking up a three-level concept with a route to the flat, a short route from one tight end and the deeper dig from Parham. Herbert attacks the zone coverage on the dig, for an easy completion.

In the second half, Lombardi dialed up a Leak concept for another big play in the passing game, as Herbert comes out of the run fake and hits Josh Palmer up the opposite seam for a big play in the passing game:

Then, of course, there was the weekly throw from Herbert that seemed to melt the internet, and with good reason:

Late in the first half Herbert breaks the pocket and slides to his right, picking up Guyton as he races vertically against a two-deep coverage. The QB uncorks a cannon shot with his right arm, allowing Guyton to outrun the safeties and haul in the throw for a touchdown.

I said last week on the Touchdown Wire Matchup Podcast that where Justin Herbert is going, he does not need the over route. On many concepts such as Yankee or Burner, or on this play here, you might see the quarterback take the over route rather than push the envelope on the deeper throw. But Herbert has the confidence in his arm, and the ability to make the throw, that makes him so dangerous to defend.

In recent weeks, Lombardi has catered to that arm a little more, while still giving Herbert the option for easier throws, such as that over route you see here. But given what the QB can do with his arm, you’ll see more shots like this down the stretch.

Which could be a very good thing for the Chargers.