5 CRITICAL NFL TRAINING CAMP BATTLES PART 2

BY ADAM GREENE

As the Los Angeles Chargers open training camp under national scrutiny as the league has seen fit to force the Hard Knocks cameras from NFL Films into their facilities, a key battle will be taking place; and it’s all happening inside head coach Anthony Lynn’s head.

The Chargers spent the No. 6 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft on Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. Herbert is obviously the guy they feel could be their next franchise quarterback, replacing the departed Philip Rivers who took himself and his 573 kids to Indianapolis to play for the Colts.

Was it too high to take Herbert? Should L.A. have picked the best player available and scooped up a possible quarterback in the second round? No one knows just yet as Herbert’s performance on the field will dictate exactly how history looks back at his selection. Of all the first round busts to come and go in the NFL, it’s the quarterbacks that get stuck with the “reach” moniker more than any other position and it’s all based on their value to the team.

If you grab an Aaron Rodgers, you’re a hero. If you pick a Christian Ponder, you’ve basically set your pick on fire and tossed it into a porta-john.

For the Chargers, their most important camp battle is between their possible future and a guy that’s made a career out of being a placeholder.

2. TYROD TAYLOR vs JUSTIN HERBERT

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

First off, I’m not going to crap all over Taylor here, a solid NFL back up and arguably one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the league. A league, I remind people any time I can, that does not presently have 32 starting-level quarterbacks. The fact that Taylor could very well be the No. 28 best QB in the league is a problem. It shows that the NFL must do more to develop quarterbacks and the NCAA must do a better job supplying them. It’s why a minor league like he XFL is so important and we’re all lucky Dwayne Johnson decided to take the hit and buy the minor football league from Vince McMahon.

Taylor is a good player. He has a winning record as a starting quarterback, 23-21-1, and helped the Buffalo Bills make the playoffs in 2017 under first-year head coach Sean McDermott. He has earned a job in the league and will keep one until such time as he decides to hang up his cleats and Microsoft surface tablet. If the Chargers don’t cut him, Taylor will have collected in his 10 years in the league an astounding $55.295 million.

But he’s not the future of the franchise or a franchise quarterback. Is Herbert? Nobody knows, but here’s how you don’t find out; leaving him to rot on the bench.

Los Angeles isn’t a bad team, roster-wise, but they have a bad coach. Lynn is overmatched every Sunday, hired by an owner, Dean Spanos, who flatly does not care if his team wins or loses. If Lynn is comfortable with his job status, he should roll with Herbert and let the rookie take his lumps. There’s no way the rook can beat out Taylor in training camp, especially since there have been no OTAs or rookie camps, but if Herbert is the guy, it will pay off later.

But Lynn has reason to believe he won’t see that “later.” If he feels like his job is on the line this season (and it should be), he’ll start Taylor Week 1 and stick with him way too long, hampering Herbert’s development while, honestly, setting the team up with a high draft pick for the next head coach.

If Lynn believes in himself, he should hang his hat on Herbert. Nothing would be worse than riding Taylor for eight or nine weeks and then getting fired before Christmas.

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