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[Fouts2herbert]

Regarding the Packers and John Harbaugh's name being linked to them! I am not usually one to toot my own horn but then again why not from 1/09?! Toot Toot

I would've never placed Harbaugh with the Packers because of the way they run that organization, a coach will never be able to go in there and run the show, the packers have a well established by-committee approach that has made them one of the best run organizations in the NFL...I don't think they will shake that up for anyone one coach, no matter who he is...

[Fouts2herbert]

You can't call plays that the OL can't execute. He can't block for them.
The number of screens he calls... whether they try to run inside/outside...
Motion won't make up for the fact that Austin Decalus can't block Will Anderson or Danielle Hunter.

You can put lipstick on a pig... it's still a pig.
We spend hours talking about which free agent OG's and OC's we wish for.
Hours and hours talking about OG and OC prospects we like... why is that?

There's a weird disconnect... the problem seems so easy to identify in one circumstance; but not another...
Like Chillies says on his film study... players make plays.
And we ain't got them along the OL...

BINGO! that bolded sentence is exactly why so many get frustrated with Roman, he continues to call plays like he still has Slater and Alt in the lineup! He calls these long developing plays that put inferior linemen in positions to fail and Herbert is paying the price...also Greg routinely goes away from what is often working before the opposing team has shown that they can stop it...why?

Also his blocking schemes have been criticized by people that aren't even Charger fans because they make no sense, his over engineering of plays is the exact opposite of what you should do when you have issues and turnover in personnel, keeping it simple should be the rule. Also a cause of frustration comes from seeing Roman do well for one game and then come back in the next and go back to putting his players in bad situations...

People that are into defending Roman need to ask themselves one question...Would Roman be your first choice to pair with Justin Herbert if our OC position was open right now?

[Factotum]

I would've never placed Harbaugh with the Packers because of the way they run that organization, a coach will never be able to go in there and run the show, the packers have a well established by-committee approach that has made them one of the best run organizations in the NFL...I don't think they will shake that up for anyone one coach, no matter who he is...

On the surface of it all, I tend to agree with you but perhaps for the better over all good, compromises to be made will be seriously considered. The Packers are the unique team where John Harbaugh can walk into and then literally have a perennial SB contender despite giving up those picks for Micah Parsons. Packers will have to loosen their purse against John being willing to giving up this total control demand.

Would it not just be delicious irony that the straw which broke the proverbial camel's back, i.e, a missed kick causing John's firing lead him into a situation caused by ineptness of another team's kicker? Hmm!

[Boltjolt]

I would've never placed Harbaugh with the Packers because of the way they run that organization, a coach will never be able to go in there and run the show, the packers have a well established by-committee approach that has made them one of the best run organizations in the NFL...I don't think they will shake that up for anyone one coach, no matter who he is...

Who says John Harbaugh wants to have control? He didnt in Baltimore and Green Bay has drafted well.

[YAC]

But there is another side of football for me. At the end of the day it is entertainment. Most people watch sports to be entertained, just like they watch movies to be entertained. So on that note I would like to see the complete package of Herbert's immense talent unleashed to its full potential, at least for a year or two. I would like to see Herbert light up the NFL and win an MVP award in his career.

I think those of us who have watched the Chargers for decades can confidently say that Justin Herbert is the most purely talented Charger QB we will ever see in our lifetime. I want to see him fully unleashed on the NFL...not turned into a game manager.

I very much agree with this. As for this offseason I hope the Chargers fixate on the o-line, even if that means the defense dips to merely average.

Would prefer a different OC, but let's admit this much: Roman had Justin slinging it the first three games...nearly 900 yards. Running became a necessity to protect Justin's life.

[Chargers8491]

Anyone think if the Bills lose against the Jags McDermitt could be fired? That would be crazy.

[YAC]

Who says John Harbaugh wants to have control?

John Harbaugh says so. He's been telling teams he wants to pick his GM and have control of player personnel.

[sonorajim]

BINGO! that bolded sentence is exactly why so many get frustrated with Roman, he continues to call plays like he still has Slater and Alt in the lineup! He calls these long developing plays that put inferior linemen in positions to fail and Herbert is paying the price...also Greg routinely goes away from what is often working before the opposing team has shown that they can stop it...why?

Also his blocking schemes have been criticized by people that aren't even Charger fans because they make no sense, his over engineering of plays is the exact opposite of what you should do when you have issues and turnover in personnel, keeping it simple should be the rule. Also a cause of frustration comes from seeing Roman do well for one game and then come back in the next and go back to putting his players in bad situations...

People that are into defending Roman need to ask themselves one question...Would Roman be your first choice to pair with Justin Herbert if our OC position was open right now?

Yeah. He got us to the playoffs. Going against Harbaugh and shaking it up today doesn't make any sense.
In the coming offseason? Maybe. For me a lot would depend on how we do in the playoffs. Win the Super Bowl and I'll love him forever.

[Factotum]

Anyone think if the Bills lose against the Jags McDermitt could be fired? That would be crazy.

This league is a monkey-see-monkey-doo type of business among its owners. If this year's trend of clearing up the house of the old guard after a pivotal loss catches on (either for the POs or when in the POs) I will not be surprised at all if both McDermott and Tomlin are relieved from their jobs.

[Boltjolt]

John Harbaugh says so. He's been telling teams he wants to pick his GM and have control of player personnel.

Do you think Harbaugh told that guy that? He is a radio personality in Cleveland. I dont take those seriously.
Im sure he will get paid very well though.

[YAC]

He is a radio personality in Cleveland. I dont take those seriously.

He works for ESPN. Can't imagine he would pull such specific terms out of his butt. But given his employer...perhaps.

Widely known that Liam Coen got to pick his own GM when going to the Jags. Jim Harbaugh picked his own. These top coaches can demand a ton of their own terms.

[Boltnut]

BINGO! that bolded sentence is exactly why so many get frustrated with Roman, he continues to call plays like he still has Slater and Alt in the lineup! He calls these long developing plays that put inferior linemen in positions to fail and Herbert is paying the price...also Greg routinely goes away from what is often working before the opposing team has shown that they can stop it...why?

Also his blocking schemes have been criticized by people that aren't even Charger fans because they make no sense, his over engineering of plays is the exact opposite of what you should do when you have issues and turnover in personnel, keeping it simple should be the rule. Also a cause of frustration comes from seeing Roman do well for one game and then come back in the next and go back to putting his players in bad situations...

People that are into defending Roman need to ask themselves one question...Would Roman be your first choice to pair with Justin Herbert if our OC position was open right now?

Greg Roman's blocking schemes aren't overly complicated. However, they require competent players to perform specific functions. It's why they drafted Joe Alt in favor of Trey Pipkins. OT's have to be above-average pass blockers... able to defeat good edge rushers on a regular basis without help from RB's and TE's. An offense is exponentially better if you can get TE's and RB's out into patterns. Make a defense cover four or five different receiving options rather than just two.

Outsider criticism is probably coming from people that don't understand gap/power blocking concepts. I didn't understand the concepts until I dedicated myself to understanding them. They are vastly different than the zone blocking concepts employed by most teams nowadays. There are so many fallacies being thrown around... I couldn't possibly address all of them. So let me address a couple that you've brought up...

"Long developing plays" claims. It's true that Roman's offense requires longer routes (at least one) to spread a defense vertically. It creates space, manipulates safeties, and allows WR's space on mid-level routes. McConkey was the benefactor of this play design last year (even when we had no TE's or other WR's). But this design relies upon OT's that can win their matchups. Even more importantly, it relied upon a running game. If you have an effective running game, you can run play-action and keep the opposing LB's out of passing lanes because they have to play the run. We saw it happen in games 1-3... when Joe Alt was healthy. Unfortunately, the IOL has been really bad at run blocking this year... even worse than last year. Injuries to both starting RB's haven't helped. Roman had to completely change his scheme... with brand new OT's (Decalus, Hart, and Penning). As you know, these OT's have profound deficiencies. Even more concerning, was the fact that they had to learn a new scheme, responsibilities, protection calls... all while developing chemistry with new line-mates. The fact that they had any success is surprising.

I would say the injuries and highly deficient players (in particular the OT's)... put Roman in a bad situation, rather than Roman putting them in a bad situation. By mid-game 4, we had Alt, Slater, Najee, and Mack out of the lineup... and Omarion Hampton would break his ankle soon after that. With no running game (and super-poor OT's)... LB's and safeties had exponentially easier jobs to defend against both run/pass. Defenses flooded the passing lanes... even the shortened routes weren't enough consistently.

I'm actually amazed we're in the playoffs at all. The fact that we are the 20th ranked scoring offense (with the 32nd ranked OL) is a testament to Justin Herbert.

There are many more fallacies I would like to address... but I've already gone long enough.