Pep Hamilton – Page 13 – Syndication Server

Has the time come for Chargers to fire HC Anthony Lynn?

Head coach Anthony Lynn has done nothing to elevate the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers season has been the same episode on a weekly basis.

Los Angeles has suffered multiple one-score defeats and while it’s easy to point to injuries to key players and in-game hiccups as the reasons for the ongoing woes, it has come down to the coaching.

Coach Anthony Lynn has been unable to get his team over the hump in close games. The Bolts are 3-15 in said games since the start of last season.

In each of their past four one-score losses, L.A. has given up 30 points or more. Meanwhile, the offense, led by rookie quarterback Justin Herbert has been doing everything he can to get them past their problems.

It’s been something new every week that has attributed to their close losses, but the in-game strategy in each of the three phases has been poor and it has been evident.

There was some hope following the Mike McCoy era when Lynn led the Chargers to a 12-4 record and a trip to the playoffs in 2018. But it’s been a downward spiral ever since then.

Last season, Los Angeles finished with a 5-11 record. This season, the team sits with a 2-6 record and they have not shown to overcome their ongoing issues of being able to close out games.

With Herbert being in his first season as a professional, this is the time to let go of someone for a coach that will only be able to continue to maximize his potential, as well as the team around him in order to have success when it comes down to situations like this that have been ongoing.

Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton have had a great amount of success with Herbert. Thus, showing that L.A. doesn’t need to wait until the end of the season to get rid of Lynn. Instead, they can pull the trigger now.

NFL analyst lays out two biggest traits Chargers QB Justin Herbert must improve

With time to develop, Justin Herbert could turn into a successful NFL quarterback for the Chargers.

The Chargers took a swing on who they view as the long-term answer at the quarterback position, drafting Justin Herbert with their first-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Los Angeles fell in love with the physical tools, athleticism, arm strength and the production of Herbert, as he went 29-14 while he completed 813 of 1,273 passes (64 percent) for 10,541 yards, 95 touchdowns and 23 interceptions during four seasons at Oregon.

NFL Media’s Charlie Casserley recently talked about the quarterback battle between him and Tyrod Taylor. Casserley believes that L.A. is going to play the best player and while he think Herbert is capable of starting in 2020, there are two major things he needs to work on in 2020.

“Anticipation. He’s got a fastball. He would be able to throw to wide receivers when they were wide open, and the ball was so quick and the arm was so strong that he wouldn’t have to anticipate. He’s going to have to anticipate and throw the ball earlier. The other thing is his touch.”

Like Casserley mentioned, the biggest concern of Herbert that needs to improve is his lack of anticipation, as he waits too long to cut the ball loose. His touch needs improvement as well, as his placement is a little inconsistent because his front side flies open at times, which impacts his accuracy.

With the help from quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton along with running an offensive system tailored to his strengths and a handful of skill players to distribute the wealth to, Herbert could eventually turn into a successful NFL quarterback.

Projecting the Chargers’ quarterback depth chart

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez assesses the quarterback position heading into the 2020 season.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been breaking down the depth chart at each position for the Chargers.

To finish off this series, we project what the the Chargers’ quarterback room will look like heading into the 2020 season.

QB1: Tyrod Taylor

Taylor is considered to be in the driver’s seat to start, but knowing that there wasn’t any spring practices and potentially a shortened preseason, the chances of him going into Week 1 as the starter is almost certain. Taylor spent two years with coach Anthony Lynn in Buffalo, and has had a full year with the Chargers’ coaching staff and players after signing a two-year contract last March. Taylor is by no means the passer that Philip Rivers was during his time with the Bolts, but the 30-year old offers upside with his athleticism to win with his legs and ability to take care of the football. Taylor is also in a good position with the skill players that he will have to distribute the wealth to, consisting of wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, running back Austin Ekeler and tight end Hunter Henry. To the amount of games started remains to be seen, but if Taylor is winning games then it shouldn’t be a surprise to see him start the full 16-game slate.

QB2: Justin Herbert

Anticipation to see the No. 6 overall selection take the field for the Chargers as at an all-time high. But if he redshirts the entire 2020 season, it might be a blessing in disguise. There’s no denying Herbert’s NFL-style tools with his size, athleticism, arm talent and intelligence. But he needs to improve his decision-making, eye discipline and overall consistency to succeed. That is why everyone is hopeful that the hiring of quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton will help with the development of the former Oregon product. Herbert playing this season is still a possibility, though. If Taylor isn’t getting the job done at any given point of the season, then the rookie will likely take over.

QB3: Easton Stick

As the Chargers have undergone this transition at the quarterback position, the one player that hasn’t gotten the attention is Stick. The former North Dakota State product beat out Cardale Jones for the final quarterback spot last preseason. General manager Tom Telesco said the team has high hopes for Stick, but he is still a young quarterback with a ways to go. Los Angeles could see Stick as a long-term backup, especially considering this is the final year on Taylor’s contract. Or their intentions could be to develop Stick enough to the point where he does have upside as a starter or even as a Taysom Hill role given his athleticism, which could garner trade consideration from another team.

Chargers QB coach Pep Hamilton assesses Tyrod Taylor, Justin Herbert

Pep Hamilton is excited to work with both signal-callers this upcoming season.

The Chargers are hopeful that Justin Herbert to lead the team to success for years to come. While he has plenty of talent and experience under his belt, there are certain areas of his game that need refinement.

To mentor the former Oregon product is Pep Hamilton, who was hired to become Los Angeles’ quarterback coach earlier this month.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the two have been unable to do on-field work. Instead, everything has been viral. But Herbert and Hamilton have still been able to develop a connection in the early stages via Zoom.

“We often find ourselves watching ball and talking ball into the wee hours,” Hamilton said Wednesday during a video conference. “I’m excited to see that he’s a student of the game.”

Hamilton is intrigued by Herbert’s skillset. He knows that he may not be ready to take the field Week 1 of the regular season, but he believes once he gets there, Herbert should be in a good position to shine.

“The combination of size, athletic ability and arm talent (is intriguing), but more importantly, he’s had a ton of experience playing in games,” Hamilton said.

“It really helped him staying an extra year at Oregon. He has over 1,200 pass attempts in college and you can’t teach experience. When it’s time for him to play once he’s acclimated to the speed of the NFL game and has a good understanding of what NFL defenses are trying to do, I think the sky’s the limit.”

While Herbert becomes a student of the game for the time being, Tyrod Taylor will be the one under center. Taylor has plenty of experience in the starting role, and especially in Anthony Lynn’s system since the two played together years back with the Bills.

“It’s helpful, especially under the circumstances,” Hamilton said of Taylor. “In a non-traditional offseason, familiarity with all the above is going to be important. We’re going to lose a large portion of time that we would have on the grass because we’re not able to have a traditional offseason.

It’s going to be very important that Tyrod’s understanding and familiarity with coach Lynn and our system, that carries over to the rest of the guys in the huddle. His poise impresses me. I’ve been watching him from afar for quite some time, and I’ve always been impressed with his ability to go out and make plays and more importantly, help his team win games.”

It’s Taylor’s job to lose. The 30-year old will likely stay under center as long as he’s leading the team to wins. If the Chargers start to fall off the wagon, then Herbert will take the reins. The longer Taylor starts, the more Herbert will be able to develop.

Chargers’ Pep Hamilton gives first impression of QB Justin Herbert

Pep Hamilton is already working on improving some of Justin Herbert’s weaknesses from college.

The Chargers made two changes to the quarterback room this offseason. They drafted Justin Herbert in the first-round of this year’s draft, and followed that up with giving him a mentor by hiring Pep Hamilton to fulfill the duties as the team’s quarterbacks coach.

So what does Hamilton think of his new project? NFL Media’s Jim Trotter recently spoke with Hamilton to get an idea how Herbert is doing in (virtual) rookie minicamp thus far.

“I asked him [Hamilton], what did you learn about your quarterback about you didn’t know before? He said, ‘Look, we knew about his intelligence, we knew about his athletic gifts but what I didn’t know is how important football is to him.’

And he told me that with Justin, one of the things is he wants more. He wants to understand all the conceptual things behind a play design. He wants to know the why, as opposed to just the what. And Pep told me that’s important because you have to understand and see the big picture to succeed at the position,” Trotter said.

One of the things that Herbert struggled with in college was not seeing the entire field and being late to locate coverage. In Oregon’s system, he did benefit from pre-determined reads at times, but that will have to change at the next level.

To work on this, Hamilton has already given Herbert an assignment during the offseason training.

“What Hamilton told me is that he’s given Herbert an assignment. And he wants him to basically make a mental checklist of everything he goes through while watching NFL defenses.

Pep said, ‘when you see a little, you see a lot. When you see a lot, you don’t see anything’ and by that, what he means is that Herbert should be focusing on certain keys pre snap to know what a defense is going to do and what that coverage is going to be,” Trotter said.

Hamilton has worked with many NFL and some college quarterbacks, including Andrew Luck at Stanford and with the Colts. The Chargers are hopeful that he will help elevate Herbert’s game as he looks to be the long-term answer at the quarterback position.

5 bold predictions for Week 5 of the XFL

Will the Dallas Renegades be able to keep Bob Stoops from going under .500 after five games in the XFL?

The XFL reaches its midpoint with the Houston Roughnecks looking to remain perfect. The Tampa Bay Vipers face the LA Wildcats on the West Coast, as 1-3 teams look to avoid falling out of playoff hope.

Cam Phillips will resurface

The Houston Roughnecks went to 4-0 with their Texas Throwdown victory over the Dallas Renegades. They catch the Seattle Dragons in Texas this week. Jim Zorn’s Dragons are 1-3 and feel like they are headed for oblivion. The one hope is BJ Daniels, who stepped in and provided a spark at QB. The odd part of the Houston victory last week was the lack of production from Cam Phillips, who was dominant in the first three weeks. Phillips had a lone catch for nine yards. Look for him to reconnect with P.J. Walker and fill up the stats sheet.

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7 things we learned in Week 2 of the XFL

The future is bright for Greg Olsen, Pep Hamilton, P.J. Walker and Cardale Jones.

The XFL is through two weeks, there has been some good, bad, and, of course, ugly.

McGloin may not be built for this league

Matt McGloin taking on anyone and everyone around the New York Guardians may have made for great television. However, it did show the quarterback has brought an NFL attitude to the XFL. And that doesn’t work. Hard to believe Kevin Gilbride will want to keep him around. For sure, Winston Moss of the LA Wildcats would have shipped him out. In general, with a few exceptions, quarterback is the weakest position in the league.

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How to Watch St. Louis Battlehawks vs. Houston Roughnecks, XFL Football Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch St Louis Battlehawks vs Houston Roughnecks Live Online.

The undefeated St. Louis Battlehawks (1-0) head to Houston to take on the Roughnecks who also won their first game of the season. Can the Roughnecks increase their lead in the XFL’s West division with a win at home or will the Battlehawks get their second straight victory? We’ll find out Sunday afternoon at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

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St. Louis Battlehawks vs. Houston Roughnecks

When: Sunday, February 16
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

St. Louis was one of three teams in the XFL East division to come away with a victory in the league’s opener. The Battlehawks edged the Renegades 15-9 in Dallas. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completed 20 of 27 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown. Ta’Amu, who played collegiately at Ole Miss, also rushed for 77 yards on nine carries. Former Florida running back Matt Jones led the team with 21 carries and 85 yards, while Keith Ford scored the lone rushing touchdown. The Battlehawks defense was also stout, holding the Renegades to just 58 yards rushing. Linebacker Terence Garvin was all over the field with eight total tackles (two of those for a loss) and one sack.

In the XFL West division, Houston sits in first place after a 37-17 trouncing of the visiting Los Angeles Wildcats. After being down 17-12 late in the third quarter, the Roughnecks took the lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback P.J. Walker to wide receiver Sam Mobley. That series was part of a 25-0 run for head coach June Jones. It’s no secret that Jones’ offenses like to air the ball out. Walker finished the day 23 of 38 for 272 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. If St. Louis wants to stay in the game, it starts with limiting Walker and the passing game.

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