Chargers’ offensive line injuries raise concerns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | FNIA | NFL on NBC

the Steelers go out there to LA and pull off another one. Indie and then the Chargers, coach, a lot more people might be jumping on this bandwagon with you. Do you think they can go do it? I I think they can, but I don’t think it will be as easy as last week because Jim Harbaugh, knowing that Joe Al, his left tackle, is out, he’s not going to sit back there and say, “Okay, I’m going to throw the ball 50 times and just drop back and let my quarterback get harassed.” He’s going to want to run the football, pound it, come at this defense. So, uh, Pittsburgh’s going to have to stop the run. If they do and they force him to throw, uh, I think it’s going to be a long day for Justin Herbert. And the fact that he’s not comfortable just dropping back and throwing without Joe. I think that’s the story of the game. Can that Chargers offensive line block those guys up there? And I I don’t think they can cons I don’t think they can consistently block those guys. Um, I just think they’re too good. They’re too deep. And I think they going to struggle, coach. And then we saw last week against the Tennessee Titans, the Chargers offensive line. They struggle with some stunts, some some games that the line were playing. And these guys are big, so they struggle with speed and athleticism, and that’s what Pittsburgh has. So I I think this is a tough matchup. The one thing I do think the Chargers will do, and Harbaugh has a he does a great job of, you know, six and seven man protection. He he did it against um the Char He did it against the Chiefs when they played in Brazil. He did it against the Philadelphia Eagles. the second game of the year. It was a lot of six and seven man protections, making sure that Justin Herbert was the number one priority um defending him and and just protecting him. Yeah, I think that’s going to be the key. Can the Chargers run the football so they can throw when they want to throw? And the one thing I do not think you’ll see from a Jim Harbaugh coach team is TJ Watt getting single blocked. as a former quarterback, he’s going to say, “I do not envision myself sitting back there wanting to throw, knowing that this dominant pass rusher is going to get single.” He’s not going to put Justin Herbert in that situation. Coach, you got to treat you got to treat TJ Watt like he’s Micah Parsons. You have him just like that. Wherever he goes, I don’t care if he’s standing up over the center, you tell that running back, wherever he goes, you make sure that you block him and let the line finish off the rest of the guys. Here’s the hard thing for me about LA. At the beginning of the year, I would have said Slater and I would have said Alt are two of the biggest strengths of their team. Two of the biggest strengths of their case to be a Super Bowl team for sure this year. Without both of those guys, I I just don’t I do not see them nearly the same way. They have not played the same. Herbert has not looked even similar to that. I I coach, can they make it happen without those two guys? I mean, those are two huge holes now. I don’t know that they can. And to do it, they’re going to have to be a good running team. And do they have the confidence that they can run? Do they have the backs to be able to run it and pound it? I’m not sure. But I don’t think I agree with you. I don’t think they’re going to beat people throwing the football like they could when those two tackles were healthy. Guys, it’s not just two guys they’re missing. Remember Mai Beckton, too. So that’s that’s almost 66% of their offense of line that’s gone. And I don’t think that they can consistently line up against some of the best teams in the AFC and dominate at the line of scrimmage. And that’s what Harbaugh is all about. That’s why he went out and drafted Joe off. That’s why he went out and paid Mai Beckton $20 million a year and paid Rashan Slater over a hundred million. The strength of that team is on the offensive line. And if they’re not productive, if they’re not healthy, it’s gonna and and Herbert becomes a different quarterback when Joe when Joe A is in there, his vision is down the field like that. He’s not worried about the offensive line. And as soon as Joe and those other other guys are gone, this is what he’s looking at. He’s looking at the offensive line, worried and concerned about the defensive guys. So, um, yeah, that’s that’s that’s the story of the game right there. It is. It is. It’s another interesting pick. Last week felt real real cool, real comfortable picking those Seattle Seahawks. I don’t know that this week’s going to be we’re back to really what the year has been on Sunday night. These pick them style games where you they’re tough, Rod. These are tough to pick. It’s another one. And and I’m gonna tell you something else and coach knows about this more so than me because he’s a former Steeler. The way they travel their fans, it’s going to be like a home like a home game for Pittsburgh. They will. Am I coach? They will. No, you’re right. the Chargers better get that silent count ready to go for the shotgun for sure because those fans are going to be out there. And to me, the the whole key is is uh the LA going to be able to run the football. If they don’t, they won’t win. If they can run it, if they determine to run it and they do run it with success, they’ll give Pittsburgh a lot of problems. Yeah. You expect Mike Tomlin to just load it up and go, “You’re not running it.” I mean, making that statement early in some ways like they did against the Colts. I I don’t think so. I think he’s going to protect his secondary. He’s not going to want to give up the big plays. Uh and he’ll say, “Will the Chargers have that commitment? Will they come out and run it or will they be who they have been and try to win the game with Justin Herbert?” I don’t think they’ll win the game with Justin Herbert uh this this week. But that’s what makes it a tough call. How are they going to play? Can they do it with their running game? Can they do it with play action passes? Um we’ll see, guys. My my my my laptop is about to die out. I gotta go. I’m about to die out. I got the best way to end it. We are out. Peace. FNIA podcast. We’ll see you in LA for the Steelers and the Chargers and Rodney’s computer’s going to take a nap. See you fellas later. [Music] Hi, I’m Mike Trico and thanks for watching. Make sure to hit subscribe for the latest news and highlights from NBC Sports.

Jac Collinsworth, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison discuss the importance of the run game and LAC’s offensive line injuries ahead of the Steelers vs. Chargers Sunday Night Football matchup at SoFi Stadium. #NFL #FNIA #NBCSports
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Chargers’ offensive line injuries raise concerns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | FNIA | NFL on NBC https://www.youtube.com/nbcsports

15 comments

  4. Herbert’s not comfortable? You must not be aware that he’s #2 in passing yards (-14 yds) #2 in passing TDs and #1 in rushing yds for QB’s. Alt hasn’t even played 4 full games. The story is how dominant Herbert has been with an O-line that wouldn’t make most teams practice squad.

  5. Im convinced none of sports media watches Justin Herbert play. He’s single-handedly carrying a terrible team to wins every week and no one wants to say it for some reason

  12. Chargers will waste their time if they think they can run. They need to roll out Herbert and have more quick routes. If you factor in what he is dealing with Herbert should be MVP the way he is playing!

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