EL SEGUNDO — Maybe the Chargers won’t have a true offensive identity this season. Maybe their running game will take up the slack if their passing game isn’t clicking. Maybe quarterback Justin Herbert will limit himself to short passes and gains when deep passes aren’t available or the other way around.
Maybe, just maybe, the Chargers’ superpower is their flexibility.
Herbert considered the possibility Wednesday that the Chargers will have a game plan that isn’t set in stone from week to week the rest of the way, that they’ll happily adjust on the fly depending on what’s working or what isn’t working or what the opposing defense is doing or isn’t doing.
It might very well come down to a question of want versus need.
As in, the Chargers might want to try this or that, but what they ultimately want is what they need to gain yardage and score points. That’s certainly been the case in games like their victory over the New Orleans Saints this past Sunday, when they opened up their offense for big gains after a sluggish start.
Explosive plays, so rare in the first six games, suddenly were a huge part of the Chargers’ operation. Herbert took off on a career-high 38-yard scramble, for example. He connected with rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey for a 60-yard catch and run for a touchdown, for another example.
“I think you go into a game and have an idea of what you want to do, of how you’re going to attack certain coverages, certain fronts, and it’s all open to change,” Herbert said. “The defense might come out in something completely different, something they haven’t shown, and that’s when you have to adjust and rely on stuff you’ve done in (training) camp.”
In fact, there are times when the Chargers must go back to basics.
“At the same time, if we think we have to win a game by running it and doing certain looks, we’re going to do that,” Herbert said. “We believe in our offensive line and our run game. At the same time, if we have to throw the ball, I think that’s where having both the run game and pass game and blending the two … I think that’s what makes our offense complete.”
So, is flexibility the Chargers’ true offensive identity?
“It could be,” Herbert said. “Yeah, it definitely could be. It could be doing everything (well).”
EXTRA POINTS
Outside linebacker Joey Bosa joined his teammates for practice after he was limited to 20 snaps during his return to the lineup Sunday following a three-game absence because of a hip injury. He wasn’t credited with a tackle and departed the game after it appeared he aggravated his injury. …
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Wide receiver DJ Chark practiced, but was listed as a limited participant. He could make his Chargers debut Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Chark has been on the designated to return from injured reserve list and had been participating in practice on a limited basis because of a nagging groin injury. …
The Chargers signed center Sam Mustipher to the active roster and signed cornerback Kendall Williamson to the practice roster. Mustipher started at right tackle for the Chargers’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, when they were without tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater because of injuries. …
Coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged knowing more about cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.’s shoulder injury than previously disclosed. Harbaugh declined to say the extent of it or whether he expected Samuel to come off injured reserve as scheduled next week. Samuel has been sidelined for three games.
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