Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
When the San Diego Chargers announced that Mike McCoy would be taking over the reigns as head coach in 2013, the first thing that came to mind was offense. The Bolts struggled mightily in that area this past season and there really was little explanation for the prolonged and extreme difficulties. If McCoy’s track record with the Denver Broncos suggests anything, however, it is that those struggles may soon be coming to an end. For quarterback Philip Rivers and the San Diego offense, that is definitely encouraging news.
This past season, the Broncos and Chargers were on the complete opposite spectrum of the offensive universe. Under McCoy, Denver ranked fourth in the league averaging 397.9 yards per game offensively. For the Bolts, it wasn’t pretty in 2012 as they ranked next to last in the NFL with just 297.2 yards per game on average.
This one hundred yard disparity is both hilarious and frightening at the same time if you are a Chargers fan. For a team with Rivers under center, one of the best tight ends in the history of the game in Antonio Gates and a running back that was supposed to set the world on fire in Ryan Mathews, these numbers just aren’t acceptable. Especially considering the fact that a supposed offensive genius in Norv Turner was pulling the strings, it’s really hard to explain where the Bolts went wrong.
The offensive line would certainly be a good place to start. This sieve of a unit surrendered 49 sacks in 2012 which ranked 29th in the league and had Rivers on the run way more than those numbers indicate. San Diego also ranked next to last in yards per carry in the running game averaging just 3.6 yards per tote. Stats like these are very telling as to how an offensive line fared throughout the year and the results aren’t good for the Chargers.
While new General Manager Tom Telesco can’t fix the entire line in one offseason, if he can just find a few pieces to work in and the unit can stay healthy, things shouldn’t be so dire. McCoy can also scheme more for a makeshift line any have Rivers run more rollouts or moving pocket plays where the defense gets going one way and the protection shifts to create more time. Misdirection on the running game would also help a great deal to run some counter plays and get defenses on their heels, second-guessing themselves.
There are plenty of possible solutions around San Diego and clearly McCoy made some suggestions regarding those fixes in his interview to get the job. The answers may not come overnight, but this team has some pieces to make it work in year one. Expect McCoy’s arrival in San Diego to be met with open arms by the players on offense and some serious improvement to materialize very quickly out on the field.
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