Has the NFL figured out Mike McDaniel’s offense? 🤔 After Miami’s decline and an 0-3 start in LA, it’s a fair question. And yes…it’s panic time.
Not “fire everybody after 3 games” panic. But this offense was supposed to be a strength. Today the Chargers scored 16 points despite FIVE Buffalo turnovers.
Something isn’t working. But “the NFL figured McDaniel out” might be too simple. Peak McDaniel worked.
In 2023 Miami averaged 401 yards/game (#1), 29.2 PPG (#2) and 5.1 YPC (#1). Motion, speed, misdirection and timing. Tua was almost tailor-made for it: anticipation, quick processing and accuracy. Throwing before the window necessarily looked open.
Then defenses adapted. And here’s where McDaniel deserves criticism: Miami’s offense declined with the QB and personnel his system was built around.
So maybe the better question is: Did NFL defenses adapt faster than McDaniel did?
Now he’s running a different experiment. Herbert isn’t Tua. He’s 6’6”, nearly 240 pounds, athletic with a ridiculous arm.
McDaniel isn’t simply teaching Herbert plays. Herbert spent the offseason changing his stance and footwork to synchronize with the timing of this offense.
Right now, he doesn’t always look comfortable. He’s passed up opportunities over the middle, left structure at times, and today threw an INT he simply cannot throw. Herbert deserves blame too. But can having a player capable of almost anything tempt a coach into asking him to do too much?
Chargers fans have seen something similar before. Remember when people wondered if Derwin James was declining? Under Brandon Staley, his versatility meant he could be asked to do seemingly everything.
Sometimes simplifying a great player’s responsibility doesn’t limit him. It lets his talent take over.
No player has unlimited processing capacity in real time. And I wonder if Herbert’s talent creates that temptation: “He can make that throw.” “Let’s install this.”“He can do that too.”
Suddenly your QB can do almost anything, so you ask him to do everything.
Just because Herbert CAN do everything doesn’t mean you should ask him to do everything. Personnel matters too. Ladd fits the timing game. With QJ? Simplify it.
Let him catch and GO. Slants. Crossers. Screens. Manufactured touches. Let his athleticism work after the catch instead of relying on difficult catches in crucial situations.
Then there’s the OL. LA lost Tyler Biadasz before the season and entered today allowing pressure on 45.5% of Herbert’s dropbacks.
New offense. New footwork. Rookie center. Problems at guard. Receivers learning landmarks. QB learning when to throw before he sees separation. Maybe it’s subtracting.
And this is where Harbaugh comes in. Why does it have to be McDaniel OR Harbaugh? Give me McDaniel + Harbaugh.
Establish the run. Use play action. Let motion create leverage. Then let Herbert’s arm attack vertically and outside.
Near the goal line, football doesn’t always need to become a graduate-level architecture class. 😂 Sometimes the fastest way from Point A to Point B is a straight line — especially with a 6’6”, nearly 240-pound QB behind it.
Josh Allen scored twice on the ground today. Sometimes football can be simple.
So yes, I’m concerned. 0-3 creates urgency. But there’s one reason I’m not burying this experiment: the defense.
If this defense keeps games manageable, the offense doesn’t need to become a 30-point machine overnight. It needs to become functional.
Simplify Herbert. Simplify QJ. Simplify the red zone. Let McDaniel’s complexity create advantages instead of becoming the obstacle itself.
Maybe September is evidence defenses adapted and McDaniel hasn’t found his counter. Or maybe we’re watching the ugly installation period of an offense that hasn’t figured out what it is yet.
Three games can’t answer that. But at 0-3, they don’t have forever.
Narrative: The NFL figured out Mike McDaniel.
Context: We don’t know that yet.
What we do know? McDaniel, Herbert and the Chargers need to adapt. NOW