Tag: Chargers offense

QB Tyrod Taylor ‘hungry’ to lead Chargers in search of playoffs

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is ready to guide the Chargers throughout the 2020 season.

When the Chargers take the field on Sunday against the Bengals, it won’t be Philip Rivers under center. Instead, it will be Tyrod Taylor, who takes over after the franchise had the luxury of having Rivers’ services for the past 14 seasons.

“I’m very hungry,” Taylor said. “I’m excited to lead this group of men but, at the same time, be able to show what I can do. I know what I’m capable of doing. My teammates know.”

Taylor, who was signed last offseason to backup Rivers, will make his first start in two seasons. His last start came in 2018 with the Browns before suffering a concussion, which then led to the start of the Baker Mayfield era.

Entering his 10th season, Taylor brings a new element to the offense, which will feature a larger dose of play action, more quarterback movement in the pass game and a lot more plays on the ground.

Taylor will have arguably the best skill players that he’s had in his career thus far at his disposal, led by wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, running back Austin Ekeler and tight end Hunter Henry.

“I think we have great chemistry,” explained Taylor. “We were able to build on it each day of training camp, and I am looking forward to going out and making plays with those guys.”

Coach Anthony Lynn is eager to see Taylor take the field once again. The two spent a few seasons together with the Buffalo Bills, where Taylor experienced his best playing days.

“I’m excited to see him play,” said Lynn. “Our guys really trust and believe in him. I’m just excited for the young man because he’s very persistent. He’s very patient. He’s waited for his turn.”

The Chargers drafted Justin Herbert with the hopes of him becoming the long-term answer at the position. While Taylor has heard the narrative of when many think Herbert will take over this season, he doesn’t let it get to him.

“It doesn’t add any extra pressure,” said Taylor. “Me and Justin, as well as Easton (Stick) and the whole quarterback room, we have a great relationship. We all teach each other.”

Taylor, who was named a captain for the 2020 season, is out to prove any doubters wrong, and hopefully lead Los Angeles to the playoffs.

“It is time to play against someone else,” said Taylor. “Looking forward to take the field with the group of guys we have here and going out and showing each other but also the world what we are capable of.”

Chargers QB Tyrod Taylor gives praise to WR Mike Williams

Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor praised Mike Williams’ ability to win down the field.

With the Chargers’ offense expected to shift to more of a run-heavy approach due to the change of quarterbacks, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily going to take targets away from the team’s pass-catchers.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who spoke with reporters last week, highlighted WR Mike Williams’ ability as a deep threat. Taylor said 50-50 jump balls are “more like 70-30 or 80-20” when thrown to Williams.

There has been a narrative that Williams’ production will take a dip with Taylor under center.

However, that narrative could be put to bed. Coach Anthony Lynn said Taylor throws one of best deep balls in the game and is really good throwing outside the numbers.

When he was the starting quarterback for the Bills, Taylor ranked 12th in passing yards, eighth in passing touchdowns and 20th in adjusted completion percentage among all quarterbacks on throws 20-plus yards downfield, per Pro Football Focus.

While Taylor’s go-to way of taking care of business consists of running the football and being conservative by throwing to the short to intermediate parts of the field, he isn’t afraid to take chances down the field.

Based on his comment in regards to Williams, the 25-year old could possibly see a campaign similar to the one in 2019, where he led the league in yards per reception (20.4).

ESPN’s Mike Clay projects Chargers’ 2020 offensive stats

ESPN’s Mike Clay revealed his offensive projections for the upcoming season.

Mike Clay is an NFL and fantasy football analyst at ESPN and spends a lot of time going through algorithms and formulas to project player and team stats prior to the regular season.

Clay revealed his offensive projections for the upcoming season.

Let’s take a look at how he believes the Chargers skill players will fare in 2020.

Quarterback

Player C/A Yards TDs INT Carries Yards TDs
Justin Herbert 265/420 3,068 16 11 40 157 1
Tyrod Taylor 69/110 814 5 2 16 84 1

Running back

Player Carries Yards Average TDs Receptions Yards TDs
Austin Ekeler 163 715 4.4 4 64 606 3
Justin Jackson 135 573 4.3 4 27 201 1
Joshua Kelley 78 318 4.1 2 11 86 0

Wide receiver

Player Targets Receptions Yards Average TDs Carries Yards
Keenan Allen 128 83 978 11.7 5 4 25
Mike Williams 92 48 824 17.0 4 0 0
Andre Patton 20 11 149 13.1 1 0 0
Joe Reed 15 9 108 12.1 1 0 0
K.J. Hill 10 6 72 12.1 0 0 0

Tight end

Player Targets Receptions Yards Average TDs
Hunter Henry 82 54 650 12.0 4
Virgil Green 20 13 137 10.2 1
Donald Parham 5 3 34 10.4 0

Touchdown Wire ranks Chargers offense in 2020

The Los Angeles Chargers have a talented crop of skill players, but can they put it all together with a new set of quarterbacks?

The Chargers offense will look slightly different this upcoming season.

At the quarterback position, Philip Rivers will longer be under center. Instead, it will be either Tyrod Taylor or Justin Herbert.

In the backfield, there will no longer be a No. 25 as Melvin Gordon is now currently a part of the Broncos. To fill the void is rookie Joshua Kelley.

The offensive line will feature a couple of new members – guard Trai Turner and tackle Bryan Bulaga. The same applies for the wide receiver position with the additions of rookies Joe Reed and K.J. Hill.

So how does this remodeled offense stack up against the rest of the units in the NFL?

Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield ranked all the league’s offenses, and Los Angeles placed 25th out of 32 teams.

Here is what Schofield had to say:

Like the New England Patriots, the Los Angeles Chargers face something of a transition at the quarterback position as the 2020 season looms. Philip Rivers, a mainstay with the organization for over a decade, has moved on to the Indianapolis Colts. Looking to pick up the baton are a pair of quarterbacks, veteran Tyrod Taylor and incoming rookie Justin Herbert. There are weapons around whomever wins the starting job, including Keenan Allen and Mike Williams at wide receiver and tight end Hunter Henry, but whether it is Taylor or Herbert, the Chargers might expect a step back offensively over the next season or so.

Like Schofield mentions, all eyes are on the quarterbacks. For more than a decade, the Bolts had the luxury of having a proven veteran who played at a high level. Now, they enter the season with two signal-callers who don’t necessarily have the experience or a skillset as a passer.

Because no one knows how the quarterback play will shake up, I mentioned how this could be an area that makes or breaks the 2020 season. The skill players are there, but that doesn’t matter if the team is unable to get the most out of Taylor or Herbert throwing the ball.

Along with that, the offensive line is still a slight mystery. From the center position (Mike Pouncey) all the way to the right tackle spot (Turner and Bulaga), the line looks stout. However, the quarterback’s blindside is still a mystery after failing to address the left tackle spot this offseason.

The Chargers roster on the offensive side of the ball is talented, but it’ll all fall on the coaching staff’s shoulders to implement the best system to play to Taylor’s and Herbert’s strength in order to them into the most optimal position to succeed.

Chargers’ offense needs rapid red zone improvement

The Chargers haven’t been able to close out games, but they also haven’t been able to score points.

The Los Angeles Chargers have found nearly every single way in the book to lose games. Each of their losses has been within seven points or less.

How are the Chargers getting so close to winning contests, but struggling to come out on top? One of the biggest issues that has required detailed attention all season, but has not improved is the Bolts’ inability to score points in the red zone.

It just so happens that’s where two of their games were lost — running back Melvin Gordon’s fumble vs. Titans and quarterback Philip Rivers’ game-ending interception against the Chiefs.

The team has been by haunted within their opponent’s 20-yard line by turnovers and simply settling for field goals, which is why the Chargers are No. 22 in scoring this year, averaging just 19.8 points a contest.

Through 12 games, the offense currently has a red zone efficiency of 46.34%, which is 26th in the league, per Team Rankings. For comparison, last year they had a percentage of 64.41%, which was eighth-best in the league.

“I think when you go back and look at certain things,” Steichen says. “Obviously, you want to put our guys in the best position. Sometimes, they make a play, but obviously, we have to do a better job of looking at what we’re doing. Whether it’s the situation where we’re running it or we’re throwing it.

Obviously, it’s a cat-and-mouse game when you’re playing against defensive coordinator. You might think he’s going to be in a two-deep shell and then he plays man. There’s that we have to do a better job of self-scouting and trying to see what they’re going to be in,” offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said on red zone woes.

One of the biggest issues is that they aren’t utilizing the right players. Wide receiver Keenan Allen is getting the majority of the looks, but it’s nearly always short of the sticks on quick slants or flats.

Allen, who is the best receiver on the team, is nearly always getting open but he may not be the top option on third-down situations in the red zone.

You’d think that the Chargers would take advantage of wide receiver Mike Williams’ size and leaping ability to finally help him score for the first time this season on jump ball situations. But they haven’t and instead have used him on shorter routes or teams are sitting in his routes because Rivers will stare him down from the get go.

And then there’s tight end Hunter Henry. Henry has gotten a fair share of red zone looks, a few of which have resulted in touchdowns. But it’s not on a consistent basis and lately he’s been running posts or crossing routes, which means that Rivers will read the linebackers and if he doesn’t like it, he’s going elsewhere which hasn’t been working.

Another reason why the team hasn’t been able to find success when the field shrinks is because far too often they seem to forget about running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler and rely heavily on Rivers to get the job done, especially within the five.

Lastly, which ties into all that’s been mentioned. Get creative with the play-calling to create mismatches and get players open. Despite this touchdown being just shy of the red zone, it shows what they need to do.

Ekeler and Gordon ran a route to the left, Gordon went into the flat and Ekeler on a wheel route up the sideline. It froze up the linebacker and Ekeler was wide open for the score.

The bottom line is that it’s puzzling that a team with so much talent on the offensive side of the ball has struggled to find an identity in the red zone. In order to be more efficient the Chargers need to do a better job with play-calling, route combinations to set up mismatches and run the ball more in tight quarters.

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