With Justin Herbert sidelined, Chargers struggling to install new offense

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — In a joint scrimmage against the crosstown Rams on Sunday, Chargers backup quarterback Easton Stick tried to do his best Justin Herbert impersonation. 

Afterward, however, Stick acknowledged the obvious: It's hard to mimic one of the most talented throwers in the NFL. 

"Once the ball is snapped, I can't play like Justin," Stick said. "There are very few people in the world that can do what Justin Herbert does. So after the ball is snapped, we're just playing.

"But I think it's trying to make sure I'm communicating the way Justin will, so everybody's on the same page." 

Herbert will be in a walking boot for two weeks as he rests a plantar fascia issue in his right foot. He is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, and the team believes the painful injury will not linger.

With Herbert out, the Chargers offense appeared mired in mud against the Rams. The Bolts kept things simple, sticking with vanilla base plays as they continued to install the fourth new playbook in five years for Herbert.

New offensive coordinator Greg Roman said he stayed with the foundational plays so his players could focus on executing fundamentals and fulfilling their assignments, allowing coaches to evaluate their play.

"We're not trying to manage scenarios," Roman said. "Orchestrating sequences of events is coming. That's called the regular season. Right now, what we're trying to do is get great work in, evaluate some of the younger guys and really sharpen our tools."

It's not just the playbook that's new for the Chargers. They have two new starting receivers, two new starting tight ends, two new running backs, a new right tackle, a new player at center and plenty of new coaches watching and evaluating from the sidelines. 

Predictably, the Chargers and Stick had trouble getting the offense to consistently move the football against the Rams, sometimes struggling to execute basic functions as an offense like getting the snap from the center.

Roman, Stick and the rest of the offense face the challenging task of building an identity and getting ready for the regular season without the team's leader on the field.

"The rest of the offense has to be on point," Roman said when asked how the offense will move forward without Herbert. "And then Justin's got to figure out some of the chemistry things while we get caught up. But no, I don't see it as a problem. I really don't. These guys are instinctive guys. And it's going to be great to get them all together, obviously. That's always good. But that's life in the NFL." 

Herbert's latest injury shows how tenuous the team's ability to create winning football could be in Jim Harbaugh's first season as head coach. Herbert has dealt with his share of injuries during his four NFL seasons. He showed toughness by playing with a fractured rib cartilage two years ago. Last season, he suffered a broken finger on his non-throwing hand early in the season that he played through, then broke the index finger on his throwing hand in Week 14. That injury required surgery to fix, forcing Herbert to miss the final four games of the regular season.

Stick went 0-4 as the starter to finish out the 2023 season, completing 64% of his passes for 1,129 yards, with three touchdown passes and five turnovers. The fleet-footed Stick also ran for 144 yards and a score.

While the Chargers need a healthy Herbert at his best to compete in the AFC West with the Kansas City Chiefs, history also shows they may need someone like Stick in relief to help win an important game during the regular season.

So Stick's growth over the next few weeks while Herbert recovers is also important.

"Nothing beats reps," Stick said. "You can sit there, watch tape and talk about it and all that stuff, but it's football, and it never goes exactly how you expect it to. So nothing beats the reps, and I'm grateful to be getting those right now. 

"My job is to continue to push this thing forward, make sure the offense is moving forward. And we're getting ready for the season as far as installation and getting on the same page." 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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