Jim Harbaugh
Getty
Jim Harbaugh
The Los Angeles Chargers knew they had to treat this offseason as an opportunity to improve their Super Bowl window. However, they have treated it as anything but. While they have made some signings at positions of need, pundits believe they have not done enough to move the needle in terms of Super Bowl contention.
For a team that has not won a division title in almost two decades and has not had a Super Bowl appearance since the early ’90s, the Chargers really needed a reinvigoration within their squad, but according to Ben Solak of ESPN, did not do enough in that regard.
For Ben Solak, despite several other teams’ lack of movement on the free agency front, he ranked the Chargers last in his list of best to worst NFL free agency periods this offseason. While there was one move that he truly loved, nothing about the Chargers’ lack of urgency assuaged his concerns for this squad.
A Lone Bright Spot in a Quiet Offseason
The one move that Solak ended up liking was that of the Chargers signing Keaton Mitchell from the Ravens. He believes that his speed and explosiveness could be a key factor to livening up the RB room. “All football geeks grinned when it was reported that Mitchell, one of the fastest ball carriers in the league, joined McDaniel in Los Angeles,” said Solak of the move . “Nobody is more creative in the running game than McDaniel, and his ability to get Mitchell the ball in space behind blockers will create easy explosives”.
Mitchell could certainly be a key aspect of how the Chargers will change offensively under McDaniel. However, Solak also addressed the fact that he will jot be running behind that much better of an offensive line. While the team signed Tyler Biadasz and also Cole Strange to help bolster the depth of the line, the moves made weren’t necessarily the most common sense, especially for Strange.
Lingering Concerns Could Define the Season
“The funniest part: Strange’s signing will likely cancel out the fourth-round comp pick the Chargers would have otherwise received for losing Zion Johnson”, Solak said of the unusual move. Still, he was not finished with his qualms, specifically about how the team decided to forego a critical piece that the they neglected.
Odafe Oweh leaving has left a massive hole in the Chargers’ pass rush rotation. The Chargers almost certainly have time to replace him, but the loss of his production was a major point of discussion not just for fans, but for Solak.
“I still think the Chargers are quite a good team,” Solak said of the team’s final chances after the recent moves, “but when they exit the AFC playoffs after getting dominated up front for the third consecutive season, I’ll point to this month as the reason.”
Those words are ultimately a scathing indictment for a team that truly believes that at full strength, they can contend with anyone in the AFC. Unfortunately, maybe not good enough for the likes of Solak and Co.