NFL insider puts NFL teams on notice, sets high expectations for Chargers
Every NFL team wants to be a part of the race during the season. However, although they flailed out of the playoffs in the Wild Card last year, Tom Pelissero says many teams will be chasing the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.
Pelissero shared that take in an appearance on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ earlier this week. He said that their team is simply too talented to ignore, especially considering their major change on the coaching staff.
“I mean this is a team that made the playoffs last year. But I don’t think there’s been enough discussion about the LA Chargers just because of how talented people in the league view that roster to be,” Pelissero said. “They are in a transition. They brought in Kellen Moore to run the offense. We know the numbers that Kellen Moore’s offenses in Dallas have put up.”
The big reason why people are overlooking Los Angeles is their 31-30 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their final game of the season. They blew a 27-point lead back in mid-January that sent them off into the offseason on a god-awful note.
However, Pelissero makes the point that, overall, the Chargers were unhealthy for most of the season. Considering they won double-digit games without several big names from their roster, he thinks that LA is looking at a big boost heading into this season.
“I know that there’s this hyper focus on what happened in the playoff game last year against Jacksonville in the second half when they let the lead slip away. But that has kind of overshadowed the fact that, in my opinion, Brandon Staley was a Coach of the Year candidate a year ago. I mean you look at the games that they won? And, yes, they’ve got Justin Herbert, a really bright, young quarterback,” explained Pelissero. “But they did it with their top-three receivers almost never all healthy at the same time. You had LT Rashawn Slater, one of the best young offensive lineman in the game, miss almost the entire season. JC Jackson, who they gave a boat load of money to in free agency, basically missed the entire season. Derwin James was beat up, Joey Bosa missed a whole bunch of time.”
“Just think of that list,” Pelissero said. “You’re almost getting a bunch of extra free agents and draft picks back. On a team that somehow still, last year, won 10 games. And now brings on an offensive coordinator who’s really got a strong track record within the NFL.”
A substantial issue is, well, they play in the same division as the reigning Super Bowl champions in Kansas City. However, once you take everything into account, Pelissero doesn’t see any reason that the Chargers can’t be right in the thick of it in the AFC race as early as this upcoming year.
“Does that mean that they can potentially take the AFC West? Can they push for the AFC Conference Championship? That all remains to be seen,” Pelissero said.”
“But if you just look at what they’ve got on paper? And I didn’t even mention the draft,” said Pelissero. “It’s a really impressive group. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Chargers vs. Chiefs continues to be one of the epic budding rivalries in the NFL.”