Justin Herbert is gearing up to play in his fourth offense in the five seasons he’s been in the NFL: Shane Steichen, Joe Lombardi, Kellen Moore and now Greg Roman.
Herbert called Roman’s scheme “difficult and complex,” but he’s continuously becoming more comfortable with the playbook.
“I’ve done a good job of getting in the playbook,” Herbert said. “As the quarterback, you have to know the ins and outs of the offense, you have to know every role, you have to know it all.
“If [someone] comes to you with a question, it’s either, ‘Here’s the answer or I’ll go find the answer for you.’ But the [coaches] in the quarterback room have done a great job supporting me and I have felt comfortable picking it up,” Herbert added.
Out of all the playcallers Herbert’s played under, Roman is the most run-heavy philosophically. That is why everyone is wondering how that’s going to work with Herbert, who is known for arm.
“Selfishly, as a quarterback, I would love to throw the ball every time and understand that we can throw the ball downfield,” Herbert said.
“But I do think that there is something to being able to do it all, to hold a defense accountable and to understand that a run game starts a pass game, and having a good pass game opens up the run game. So I think that complementary football that we always talk about, I think that’s only going to help us as an offense.”
If Herbert isn’t throwing the ball a lot in a game and it’s more predicated on the run, he’s okay with it as long as the Chargers are winning football games.
“One game, maybe we throw the ball 30 times. One game, maybe we throw it 15 times,” Herbert later added. “As long as we’re finding a way to win and being able to do both, I think we’ll be a talented and successful team.”
Herbert shared what the ultimate goal of the offense is.
“Completions, touchdowns, explosives … that’s the goal,” Herbert said.