NFL
By: Brock Vierra
Last week after the Dallas Cowboys playoff loss to the 49ers, I so eloquently called Kellen Moore a scrub. Like the swift hammer of justice that karma is, Kellen Moore is now the offensive coordinator of my Los Angeles Chargers. I am now forced to reexamine my previous statements while trying my hardest to ponder brighter days ahead while my friends and collogues send me messages with the quotes “RIP Chargers season 2023” and “Chargers officially eliminated from the playoffs.” Am I upset? Little bit. Am I scared? Shitless. Brandon Staley has either accelerated or delayed his clock with this hire. I never know with the Spanos family anymore. It’s clear they’re committed to winning but they also seem like they want to be the Cowboys. They requested to interview Jason Garrett for their 2021 head coaching opening, they allowed Jerry Jones to use their owners’ box during the first NFL game at SoFi Stadium and now they have Kellen Moore. Well, let’s look at the good and bad associated with this hire.
The Good: Moore’s offense put up numbers. In his two seasons under Moore where he played 16 games, Dak Prescott has thrown for over 9000 yards with 67 touchdowns to 21 interceptions. All of Prescott’s career highs in the major passing categories have been under Moore and he’s never had a season in which he’s played in at least 10 games where he’s had a losing record as a starter. Dallas has had at least 1 rusher break 1,000 yards in Moore’s four years in charge except for 2020 where Ezekiel Elliott fell 21 yards short. Elliott only played 15 games that season. Moore’s also inheriting the best roster he’s ever had. Justin Herbert is better than Dak Prescott in pretty much every statistical passing category when it comes to season stats and he’s also only 24. Austin Ekeler has been either the league leader or top three in total touchdowns since 2021 and Corey Linsley provides that added protection an intelligent center can provide, something the Cowboys have been missing since Travis Frederick retired. Moore has All-Pro pieces in Herbert, Keenan Allen, Linsley, and Rashawn Slater while boasting one of the better offensive lines in the NFL when healthy.
The Bad: Moore’s biggest benefit is his creativity. His wrinkles in plays turn traditional five-yard gains into twenty-yard gashes. His use of gadget players, “undersized guys” and running backs have given guys like Randall Cobb, Tavon Austin, Blake Bell, Tony Pollard, and Sean McKeon opportunities to carve out roles for themselves. This also has given defenses issues in terms of finding defensive hybrid players that can defend these guys. However, this cuteness has always led to the Cowboys falling apart in the playoffs. These last two playoff losses to the 49ers, especially the end-of-game plays Moore both called and created give major concern considering that the Chargers aren’t a team built to blow the doors off of opponents. In their two matchups against the 49ers, the Cowboys averaged 14.5 points.
The only AFC team to score underneath 15 points in the 2022-2023 playoffs was Buffalo in the divisional round. The defenses in the AFC are no joke with every team in the playoffs from the AFC possessing at least two first-round defensive linemen/ EDGE pass rushers except for the Bengals who only have the monsters of Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson. It’s also evident that the Cowboys’ offensive production would take a dramatic falloff from the beginning to the end of the season which helps explain their poor postseason performance.
The Call: Joe Lombardi didn’t work out for the Chargers but he wasn’t Brandon Staley’s first choice either. Staley attempted to interview Kevin O’Connell and Mike McDaniel but both moves never materialized either through getting blocked or lack of interest in lateral moves. Both are now HCs who took their squads to the playoffs so Staley does have an eye for offensive talent…sometimes. The Chargers were also limited in 2022 due to a slew of injuries that affected every offensive position group so that didn’t help either. Moore has a solid foundation from working/ playing under three offensive-minded head coaches. Chris Petersen, Jason Garrett, and Mike McCarthy were all offensive coordinators and played offense in college before embarking on their coaching careers, just like Moore. The Chargers run game should be re-established to the 2018 days of Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon, Herbert should pass for over 5000 yards again and there’s no reason the Chargers shouldn’t make the playoffs.
It’s a good hire considering the present needs of the team and the available coordinator market. However, if you’re going after a Super Bowl, this hire is very troubling. With that being said, Shane Steichen (former Chargers OC) completely reinvented himself in Philadelphia and is a big part of why they’re in the Super Bowl. On the other sideline, Eric Bieniemy, Matt Nagy, and Andy Reid reinvented themselves after poor endings during their tenures at Colorado, with the Bears, and with the Eagles. Maybe not being in the ever-looming and gloomy shadow of Jerry’s world is just what Moore needs. I just hope I’m wrong about him being a scrub. Bolt up.
