Los Angeles Chargers Training Camp UPDATE: Expectations in Year 2 under Jim Harbaugh & MORE

Los Angeles Chargers Training Camp UPDATE: Expectations in Year 2 under Jim Harbaugh & MORE

Elsagundo, California is our latest stop on our training camp tours. The Chargers are up next heading into year two in the Jim Harbaugh era and quarterback Justin Herbert in year six eyeing football beyond the month of January. [Music] Well, straight from the Bolton Elsa Gundo now joined by two-time Super Bowl champ and CBS Sports NFL analyst Brian McFadness. There’s high expectations for LA in year two of that Jim Harbaugh regime, but just considering that talent and their depth they added in the draft, another year for Justin Herbert and locking down a cornerstone on his blind side, but history hasn’t quite boated well for Harbaugh’s teams in year two. But what’s been your impressions of this team as you stay out there in Elsa Gundo? Well, Keiana, the energy here is very, very high. Uh they’re super optimistic. You talked about the success in year one with coach Harbaugh getting into the playoffs. Uh that was a plus. That was a success. But now they have their eyes on bigger things in terms of not just getting into the playoffs, but trying to get a little more comfortable from what they did not do last year. And it starts with the quarterback in Justin Herbert. He had a really, really good year in year one with coach Harbaugh. 20 plus touchdowns, only three interceptions, his lowest mark throughout his professional career. But we didn’t see the same efficiency in postseason play and that has been the issue for Justin Herbert in terms of what we’ve seen most recently in the playoffs. So being able to have that same regular season success in the postseason is very very important for their ability to make a long run in the playoffs. Yeah, playoffs certainly a big barometer of the Chargers success this season, which we’re going to dive more into in just a bit. But as we’ve witnessed over the last decade, that doesn’t come easy in this division. two things the AFC West isn’t short of, that’s talent and future Hall of Fame coaches, especially now with Pete Carol as the latest Super Bowl winning head coach to join the division. So, be I want to get your rankings. How would you rank this collection of Super Bowl winning coaches with a history of deep playoff runs? Well, Kiana, I think it’s safe to say it’s easy in terms of who the top dog is at the head coaching position in the entire AFC West. It’s Andy Reid. No debate, nothing to talk about. Andy Reed is number one. Then number two for me personally, Kiana, I got to go Shawn Peyton. Of course, he’s won a sticky Lombardi. And seeing what he did in year one with Bo Knicks, being able to get into the playoff, seeing a really, really good player, you know, uh, be able to be developed at the quarterback position. A lot of that has to do with Shawn Peyton. So, I have I have Shawn Peyton number two. Number three, I go Coach Harbaugh. And the reason why I go coach Harball is because Pete Carol was on the couch sitting down a year ago at this time. So with him not being involved in coach and being active, I got to give the nod to the number three spot to coach Harball. But I have Pete Carroll fourth kind of by default because he didn’t coach a year ago. Okay. So just given his year off maybe playing a little bit of a role in how you’re viewing these coaches, which I think when you look at you can look at their entire bodies of work. You can look at what their roster’s on. But I I think I can’t disagree with you where we’re sitting with that number one and number two sitting there in the AFC West. But hey, as I mentioned, the playoffs, that’s going to be a massive barometer for the Chargers success and their future, specifically Justin Herbert, who’s heading into year six, but winless in the postseason, owning an 0 and2 record, and most notably, and I hate to bring this up, but I feel like I have to, blowing that 27 to nothing lead against the Jags back in 2022. But how much, if any, pressure this year is on Herbert, not just to perform, but also prove himself in the postseason? I think there’s an abundance of pressure because of his talent, the skill set. When you look at some of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League just on pure talent and just physical attributes, I think you would have Justin Herbert in every conversation. And that’s why the the barometer is very, very high for a guy like Justin Herbert. So, we’ve seen him flourish. We’ve seen him do more with less, especially a year ago when it came to the wide receivers being able to uh uh make sweet tea with no sugar. But we need to see the same thing happen in postseason play. And you talked about blowing that huge lead against Jacksonville. It wasn’t solely on Justin Herbert, but you know how it is when you’re the star quarterback. You receive more of the blame than any other position on the football field. It’s been that case forever and it’s not changing anytime soon. So to whom much is given, guess what? Much is expected. So that’s what we need to see from Justin Herbert moving forward because when you look at his last two postseason outings as you have see there in your graphic, not the level of production you would like to see from your star quarterback, especially a quarterback like Justin Herbert who’s overly talented, very, very smart, athletic, and he has a cannon attached to his shoulder. Absolutely. And you’re looking at that performance from last year, those four interceptions. Well, that was a season high for Justin Herbert coming in that loss to the Texans. But you said doing more with less. Well, it doesn’t help Herbert when he’s down a reliable wide out. Free agent addition and former Charger Mike Williams announcing his sudden retirement just ahead of the start of training camp. Now with Williams out, the Chargers now have the youngest receiving core in the NFL. But how do you envision them just adjusting this season without that veteran option now? I’m very very concerned because a year ago we saw Lad Maki emerge to be wide receiver one for Justin Herbert and he did not disappoint. But when you talk about a team like the Chargers Keiana having you know high expectations someone else is going to have to come to the party. Lad Makanki cannot be the DJ. He can’t be the guy serving drinks. He can’t be the guy you know making sure everyone is accommodated. He needs help. So someone else is going to have to come to the party and bring some chips, bring some dip and that is needed to happen throughout this process in training camp. Lad Mani did not practice today and the passing game wasn’t overly efficient. So you can tell some of the younger guys are still trying to figure things out and that’s why I believe when you look at the overall career for Justin Herbert, this might be that one year where he’s going to have more pressure on him to make the other players around him better because of the lack of experience. You have you see it there, Lad Mcconkey, Quinn Johnson, and Trey Harris. Trey has yet to catch a pass in an NFL game because he’s a rookie, but because of the depth or the lack thereof, he’s been anointed as the number three wide receiver option for this said team. So, those are high expectations for a young guy coming into the fold and he’s going to hear his name called more than none. So, I believe when you look at the quarterback like Justin Herbert, no question he has the talent to make some of those other guys better, right? But he’s going to have to do that week in and week out because unlike a year ago, they’re not going to surprise anybody. When you play against the Chargers, regardless of what week it is, Kiana, you’re going to give them their best effort because you know they will be a well coached team. They’re going to play hard and you don’t want to allow them to get the the nod up on you in terms of the win column. So this is a very very pivotal year in terms of the pass catching position because I do believe especially with Mike Williams, the unexpected retiring from Mike Williams. It really puts this wide receiver room in concerns in terms of depth. Yeah, it put a lot of pressure on this young group because like you mentioned and I love the analogy, Lakoni can’t be the DJ, the caterer, the bartender, the host. He can’t put together the entire party. He’s going to need a little bit of help in what you called a pivotal year. The Chargers should at least be feeling at least confident in their latest backfield edition. Chargers first round rookie Omaran Hampton catching plenty of attention so far through camp. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman saying Hampton looked spectacular. His words this week in padded practices, but I want to get what you saw of the rookie out there in LA. Oh, he’s very, very explosive. You can tell he has the unique contact balance that is needed for outstanding running backs. He has a burst. He has the quickness. He has everything you would want your running back to have plus more and he is hungry. I had an opportunity to talk to Amaron oneonone. Man, he is excited about this opportunity. And unfortunately because of the injury to Naji Harris, the veteran who they signed uh from the Pittsburgh Steelers uh this past offseason, he hasn’t been able to participate. So guess what Kiana has received so many of the reps in terms of running with the ones, getting uh acclimated with quarterback Justin Herbert. So, this could be a blessing in disguise for Marian Hampton because even when Naji Harris comes back, I do believe it’s going to be a duo type of situation in the back field. You look at Greg Roman where he’s come from. You look at coach Harball throughout his coaching career, they love utilizing multiple backs, but just that one two combination of big physical pre uh runners that could provide the element that is needed for this offense to be really, really good is something that I expect to see, especially when Naji Harris is cleared and ready to go. Absolutely. The Chargers may be having that onetwo punch, but also maybe you’re dropping some fantasy gems for everybody listening right there. So, I’m going to pocket that one right there. BMAC, as always, thanks so much out there in LA. Stay cool. Well, it’s a tale of two tapes for Justin Herbert. Last season, he threw for over 3,800 yards with 23 touchdowns, just three interceptions. He owns NFL records for completions and passing yards for players across their first five seasons, but 0 and2 across his postseason career. Chargers added playmakers around them. Could 2025 be the year the tides turn for Herbert in the playoffs?

Bryant McFadden joins CBS Sports HQ from Los Angeles Chargers Training Camp.

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