New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has Justin Herbert adjusting his shotgun stance in his plan to revive the Chargers' offense.
The Los Angeles Chargers have one of the more talented arms in the NFL in quarterback Justin Herbert, but despite his skills, he is still searching for his first playoff win.
The Chargers hope the arrival of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel will change that.
They replaced former coordinator Greg Roman after numerous poor postseason performances with an innovator who they hope will transform the offense around the quarterback to bring an explosive passing attack.
Some of that could include some transformative work with the quarterback himself, as McDaniel is working first on a simple switch of Herbert’s footwork.
To quicken his release and de-emphasize his reliance on arm strength, McDaniel is switching Herbert’s stance to be left-foot forward – his non-throwing foot – in his shotgun stance.
It draws back to his time working under Kyle Shanahan as an assistant when Shanahan was the Houston Texans’ quarterback coach, where he extensively studied stances, finding that Tom Brady and Brett Favre were the only two to switch up their shotgun stance.
It factors into quickness on run-pass option plays and completions to receivers out in space.
To read more about McDaniel’s innovations and how Herbert could stand to make a real jump this season, here’s the full story from Chargers Roundtable writer Brad Magsam.
McDaniel certainly has the resume to back up the experiment.
He led Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa to a complete turnaround in his play. In his first season with the team, Tagovailoa led a top 10 offense, led the league with 4,624 passing yards, and was named to his first and only Pro Bowl.
But now in Los Angeles, he has a quarterback with an elite arm and one willing to throw across the field. The philosophy may need to change a bit, as it’s very run-heavy under Jim Harbaugh.
McDaniel should help with a better balance that leans on all of his quarterback’s physical tools.
