“Best in the West” Chargers Getting Great Praise From Top NFL Analysts

October 7, 2021 Chargers News and Information

The Chargers combination of a balanced offensive approach, defensive dominance, and head coach Brandon Staley’s aggressive, yet brilliant decision-making has pushed the Bolts into first place in the AFC West. With that said, national football analysts shared some of their thoughts on the game, and LACI has compiled some of the best reactions below. The Chargers continued to look like the team to beat on Monday night under the lights with a sound 28-14 victory over the Raiders, also snapping Las Vegas’ three-game winning streak.

Here are the top NFL analysts comments:

Good Morning Football’s Michael Robinson
“They are the team to beat (in the AFC West. They beat the Kansas City Chiefs, who are the defending champions of that division. And they just beat a really good Las Vegas Raiders team. Their quarterback, Justin Herbert, I can’t speak more glowingly of…You can tell the confidence the team and coach have in him. He’s been surgical inside the red zone, and he throws the ball so that way his receivers can do something with it. On the flip side of that, Derwin James, this guy can be a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year every single year…The world is seeing the Los Angeles Chargers figure out how to win.”

The Herd’s Colin Cowherd
“I waited to watch that game and my takeaway is that they’re a 56-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein from being undefeated and they kind of gave that Dallas game away. I don’t trust the franchise yet and I think they’re what Peter Schrager said, ‘being very deliberate with how they’re coaching this team.’ I think Justin Herbert will only get better. I do worry about Austin Eckler’s health. There’s a lot to like and here is the most important thing – their head coach, Brandon Staley, was the Rams defensive coordinator, and he blew the Chargers away in the interview. Every week they have held their opponent to their lowest offensive total. This is a defensive story as much as an offensive story.”

NFL Media’s Jim Trotter
“I think Brandon Staley has done a tremendous job of instilling confidence in this club. The way that the coaching staff has synced up in terms of all three phases of the game and the players believing. The other thing about Staley that has impressed me is that he’s relentless, aggressive, he’s not playing conservatively. He’s out there coaching to thrive. From my standpoint, I think these Chargers are different from the past.”

The Jim Rome Show
“The team is good, man. They are really, really good potentially. They’ve now beaten Kansas City and Las Vegas back to back. They can beat you with Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Or they can beat you with Austin Ekeler…They can hammer you with Joey Bosa or they can beat you with Derwin James…He (Brandon Staley) is the real bleeping deal. Again, we are barely into October, but I have already seen enough to say that he is legit and so is his team.”

Undisputed’s Shannon Sharpe
“Justin Herbert has entered the NFL MVP chat room discussion. Justin, say hello.”

Sirius XM’s Pat McAfee
“This Chargers team is a lot of fun to watch, and Justin Herbert is a baller…Austin Ekeler was getting loose out there. On the flip side of that, the Raiders, not a bad team. I mean, Joey Bosa came out and said Derek Carr looked a little soft out there. He said that we got a couple of hits on him early and it looked like he was in a fetal position. Last night, I think the Chargers proved they’re the better team. That same team, last year, lost a lot of close games. Now, is it them evolving and getting older? Maybe. But also, maybe it’s a little shift in the way things are being presented or the relationship between players and coaches. I’m not saying anything about Anthony Lynn, I’m just saying maybe Brandon Staley was the missing piece for that group to go to the next level. I think that Chargers is going to be awesome to watch.”

Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager
“This isn’t our typical Chargers team. That’s what I got from this, and they’re not coached like a typical Chargers team is coached. They are living free and are willing to let it all out there…The fact that they’re playing and saying, ‘you’re going to have to get us off the field, we’re not going to take ourselves off,’ says a lot. It’s a new Chargers team.”