A Conversation With: Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson

Chargers Training Camp is off and running … and will be a hot ticket this summer for national NFL media members.

Chargers.com will catch up with pundits when they are in El Segundo at The Bolt.

Up next? Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, a senior writer who has covered the NFL for over two decades.

Here’s our 1-on-1 conversation with Robinson:

We appreciate your time, Charles. What interests you the most about the Bolts right now?

“I just think the new staff, the new regime. I love the fit between Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh. Joe having come from a system in Baltimore where they really believe in the fundamental way of building. You build through the draft, you build an offensive, defensive line. To me, I think it’s kind of shown out particularly through Baltimore’s personnel system that that can work for decades at a time if it’s matched with the right coach, and I think Jim, he fits that really well. He talks about simple concepts in football, but I think he really does believe in that. That’s why when people think, ‘Are they going to be a running team?’ Yeah, I think they’re going to be a running team because he believes in that aspect of football and what it does to an opponent and how you build that is like attack the offensive line. He’s being honest about how he wants to build and approach the team building aspect. So I love that it’s a good match. To me, it should energize people to want to see this team because there’s so much talent here. You don’t like to see talent get wasted and there’s no doubt whether it’s the quarterback, aspects of the defense, there’s a number of players here who have a good solid window open in their careers, great players.”

How do you think that GM and Head Coach combination makes an impact on a team in the long term?

“I think a good match at general manager, head coach to put a plan in place and then be patient about building it in some of the simplistic ways that people think. Like don’t murder your cap and free agency, draft players who fit your program and who you believe in and then be patient and grooming them. I think one of the things that I really loved seeing the coverage and then coming out there and seeing it, look at Quentin Johnston. And to me where he is now is a reflection of the change that’s happened. He’s got a fresh start. You can see the encouragement from the staff. There’s a lot of energy there. To me, I’m like, this is great. This is exactly what a guy like that needs and I think it’s emblematic of the staff.

“The reason I come is because I’ve been excited about this team for a number of years and I believe it’s a good match between the GM and the coach here and the staff. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch. At the same time, I’m not sitting here saying they have to be a 12-5 team off the jump. Have some patience. Trust that these guys know what they’re doing, which they do, and see where they’ve come from. See what they’ve learned from. Look at Jim’s resume, look at the program, Joe came out of in Baltimore and how all those personnel, individuals advanced and went on to do good jobs in other places. To me that’s, that’s why I’m excited.”

You mentioned bringing in Hortiz and Harbaugh. What does something like that mean for Justin Herbert entering Year 5?

“I think first and foremost Harbaugh gets an offensive line right. So to me he’s dedicated to running the football and not in a superficial kind of way, like, ‘Hey, we’re going to run the football to incur some damage on the defense but completely beneath the surface, we’re a passing team’. No, he runs the football for effectiveness, he runs the football to, to dominate games in a way that I think a lot of people think that’s a bygone era in the NFL. You can’t win games by being a run team. That’s just not true. And to me, there’s more ways to protect the quarterback than put great skill position pieces around him or find a running back who is dynamic or just simply build up the offensive line. It’s a lot of different things. It’s a marriage of different aspects and you’ve seen them address all of them.”

And what are some of examples where you’ve seen that this offseason?

“They’ve addressed the running back position, they’ve addressed the wider receiver position, although there’s change there and you saw veterans go out the door. I love the addition of Ladd McConkey, I think that’s a fantastic draft pick, I love what he brings to the table. I think the talent is there for Quentin to turn it around pretty quickly and I think what we’ve seen early to me has impressed. The back shoulder [catch] on the sideline that he contorts his body to catch it. That was a great catch in any practice. I think you’ve seen them address meaningful aspects of what’s front of Justin Herbert that I think will help him.

“Alt’s a great pick, refined. One of the complaints you hear a lot of teams say now is you’re getting offensive linemen, you still have to teach them how to be real NFL offensive lineman. He’s not in that mold. He’s a lot closer to being ready when he steps in the NFL to be an NFL offensive lineman, which is great. [Rashawn] Slater is who he is. The components of building the line, building the running game, I believe that and I think that’s true. I think it’s a team that has an ability to run the ball well. If [J.K.] Dobbins is healthy, he is a player with talent, there is talent in that depth chart. I think that’s great, and I also think that Jim’s been great with quarterbacks throughout his entire career in the NFL.”

What player or position group do you think could swing the season for the Chargers this year?

“I think it’s the [offensive] line, I think adding Alt, Slater getting back to playing at that level where you’re looking at like he’s an All-Pro talent and being a team that can balance it out, be run dynamic and protecting Justin in that manner. I think to me, particularly when new regimes come into organizations, I like it when I see them build offensive and defensive lines because I still fundamentally believe that that’s where a lot of football is won, that’s where a lot of championships are still won. To me what when you look at this team, I spend a lot of time focusing on what they do with that offensive and defensive line first. That’s where the program starts to be built or reshaped.”

Final question, what’s your outlook on the 2024 Chargers?

“I want people to have modest expectations because if this team, let’s say they go 8-9, 9-8, I don’t want people to be disappointed in that. There needs to be some patience here because there’s going to be some reshaping. So, to me, I’m trying to keep that in mind. People ask me, ‘What do you think the Chargers are going to do? I think they’re out in the water line and I don’t think people should be disappointed by that. I think there’s, you just have to have some patience and know they have the general manager and you have the right coach who, like I said, with simple concepts, install the things that are going to match the person the personnel.”