Chargers: Greg Roman's rushing attack needs to improve

The up-and-down running game has been an unfortunate fixture of the Los Angeles Chargers offense under coordinator Greg Roman this year.

Given Roman’s history and Jim Harbaugh’s style, that’s not exactly ideal.

Many things go into the struggles, but center Bradly Bozeman was the first to recently admit the execution of the interior offensive line needs to be more consistent.

“We just got to start faster in the first half and give G-Ro the confidence for us to be able to run the ball,” Bozeman said, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper. “If he calls runs and we don’t get anything out of it, he’s not gonna call runs again. But when you call it and you make them successful, then you can continue to do that.”

Case in point, last week during a loss, the Chargers ran just six times in the first half, the others on play breakdowns where Justin Herbert took off from the pocket. Hiccups in execution, including a penalty, were to blame.

As a whole, the Chargers only ran the ball 24 times, with Gus Edwards gaining just 36 yards on 10 attempts.

Some of the issues can’t be helped, such as losing J.K. Dobbins to injury. Herbert’s ankle injury early in the year tended to make the offense more predictable, too, while the interior of the offensive line will also be a point of emphasis this offseason.

Before then, though, the Chargers need to fix the problems because running the ball well is usually a staple of teams that can make deep playoff runs.

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