Jim Harbaugh seeks answers for Chargers’ offense: ‘There’s a lot of work to be done’

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Yes, it was just a preseason game.

And in his first appearance on an NFL sideline as a head coach in a decade, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh appeared in his element.

Wearing Jordan cleats and receiver gloves, the hands-on Harbaugh caught passes for his quarterbacks as they got their arms loose during pre-game warmups.

During the game, Harbaugh had an animated conversation with a group of officials after a touchdown was scored on his defense. Microphones picked up the chat, with the 60-year-old pleading his case for what he called “a blatant hold on the edge” on the play.

“It felt pretty good,” Harbaugh said about being out there after the game. “I’d have to quote the old singing cowboy Gene Autry, ‘It was good to be back in the saddle.'”

However, with quarterback Justin Herbert still nursing a foot injury and not expected to be out of a walking boot until Thursday at the earliest, unfortunately, the former NFL quarterback couldn’t transport himself back in time to his “Captain Comeback” days and take the field for his team.

And after watching the film of his team’s 16-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in an exhibition opener at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, top of mind for Harbaugh will be how to fix an offense consistently struggling to move the football.

Under the direction of backup quarterback Easton Stick, the Chargers managed 21 total yards on the team’s first six possessions, which included five three-and-outs and no first downs. The Chargers had just two plays of 20-plus yards and a 58-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker accounted for the only points on the scoreboard.

Stating the obvious, Harbaugh said the offense must perform better, even with the team’s best player on the side of the ball in Herbert unavailable. The Oregon product is expected to be ready for the team’s season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 8 at SoFi.

“I thought our defense played winning football,” Harbaugh said. “I thought our special teams played winning football. And offensively, we underperformed.”

Stick, who has struggled in practices against his own defense and in a joint practice with the Rams since the Chargers announced Herbert has plantar fasciitis in his right foot 10 days ago, did not have a good showing against the Seahawks.

The North Dakota State product finished 5-of-13 for 31 yards. Stick was sacked twice and had no touchdown passes. He was picked off by Seattle safety Coby Bryant on a pass that was tipped by tight end Hayden Hurst after a hard hit from Seattle defensive back K’Von Wallace.

Stick said the reps were good, but he must play better.

“It’s always a combination of a lot of things, but ultimately not executing at a high enough level obviously to move the football,” Stick said about his team’s offensive struggles. “That starts and ends with me, so it’s frustrating.”

Recent pickup Luis Perez was the most productive quarterback for the Chargers. The former UFL product finished 5-of-12 for 61 yards on two drives in the fourth quarter.

Harbaugh didn’t rule out the possibility of adding another quarterback to the competition for the backup job behind Herbert. However, Harbaugh said that’s part of his team’s overall evaluation process of the entire roster.

“I will talk about starting quarterback controversies when it’s talking about the starting quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “I will be glad to have those discussions. I’m not going to have starting controversies over the left guard, or the right guard or the backup quarterback. Or the third quarterback, or the second running back.

“You have my word if we’re ever into a quarterback controversy, which I do not anticipate at all, but you have my word I will discuss it with you all.”

While the offense struggled, the defense had another strong showing for the Chargers. It included a goal-line stand in the second half, three sacks and a pass defense that held Seattle to 169 yards through the air.

Linebacker Nick Niemann led Los Angeles with 12 combined tackles — including a tackle for loss — a sack and two quarterback hits.

“It was kind of our first chance to put our brand out there on tape, show everyone who we are,” Niemann said. “We’re all new here, so people are going to look at us and wonder what we’re all about. So, I just tried to go out there, play hard and do the stuff that we talked about — communicate, play physical, tackle and do all that type of stuff.”

No. 5 overall pick right tackle Joe Alt also looked solid, according to Harbaugh. Alt didn’t allow a sack in 21 snaps on offense.

What are the expectations for the Chargers?

“It felt great,” Alt said. “It’s always good to get your first little live play with the group you have the most experience with. It was great to be out there with all of them, and kind of get this first one under our belts.”

However, in the rest of training camp and exhibition play, Harbaugh will be focused on finding a backup quarterback to jump-start a stagnant offense without the team’s No. 1 playmaker in Herbert.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Harbaugh said. “Now we’ve begun, which is positive. We’ve got a place to start, but offensively there were some good things, but not near enough. So, it’s back to work. You retool. You regroup. And get back to work on Monday.”

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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