Welcome back to the Chargers Mailbag!
We'll be running one of these every week during the regular season, so send in submissions for the Mailbag here on Twitter or by sending me an email.
Off we go...
How disappointing was Monday night's loss to you? I feel like the Chargers couldn't keep up with the Ravens (Fred via email)
A happy early Thanksgiving to the Bolt Fam! Let's get to this week's Mailbag.
In terms of Monday night, I side with the sentiment Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh expressed postgame.
"We'll regroup. They played better football than we did tonight," Harbaugh said. "But more importantly, we know what kind of team we are and what we're capable of."
Was the loss disappointing? Sure, especially since the Bolts held an early 10-0 lead.
But in the grand scheme of things, give credit where credit is due.
The Ravens are one of the gold standards across the league in terms of success over the past few decades.
The Chargers are trying to get to that level, and the parallels are obvious when you dive into the connections between the franchises.
There's obviously the Harbaugh brothers. Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz spent 26 years in Baltimore before joining the Bolts. And there are plenty of players, coaches and front office members who were previously with the Ravens.
Are the Chargers there yet? Probably not, something that was evident Monday night.
But are the Bolts on the up and up? 100 percent.
I'm not going to guarantee the Chargers are going to win a Super Bowl anytime soon.
However, there's no doubt they will be among the AFC's toughest teams to play against in the coming years. Heck, they probably already fit into that category.
Give Harbaugh and Hortiz another offseason or two to keep constructing the roster in their vision.
With those two leading the way — along with Justin Herbert — the Chargers have a bright, bright future.
We'll have to see how much time, if any, Dobbins misses going forward.
The Bolts running back has been awesome so far this season. (And if you missed this feature on him, check it out now).
In the short term, if Dobbins can't play against Atlanta, then Gus Edwards would likely elevate to the top spot.
Hassan Haskins would also take on a bigger role, as would rookie Kimani Vidal, who has been inactive the past few games.
Each of those backs has certain runs that fit them, so Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman could tweak a few things within the offense. That said, the core scheme will stay the same.
And yes, it's a good thing the Chargers have an elite quarterback in Herbert to boost the offense in multiple ways.
Herbert's legs have been an added dimension of late since getting healthy, and we all know he can make any throw on the field.
Every team has to deal with key injuries at some point in a season. Let's see how the Chargers offense responds with six games left if Dobbins has to miss any time.
For their efforts? An easy 'A.'
One thing you can't discredit the Bolts for is how hard they play. Harbaugh and his staff have clearly instilled that work ethic and mentality throughout the roster.
As for the overall game, the grade obviously isn't an 'A' because of the result.
But if we take a big-picture look, kind of like I did above, the Chargers remain in a strong spot both this season and going forward.
And with a 7-4 record, there is still plenty of work to be done.
The Bolts might need to win three of their final six games to safely get into the playoffs.
That's why Sunday's game in Atlanta is so critical. Yes, it's an NFC opponent, but the goal is to bank as many wins as possible right now so that you give yourself as much margin for error as possible down the stretch.
Could we see DJ Chark play on Sunday?
To recap: the Chargers wide receiver got hurt in training camp and missed the first eight games of the season. He was then active in Week 10 and played just one snap against the Titans before being inactive the past two games.
The Chargers wide receiver group had an up-and-down game Monday night against the Ravens, especially in terms of dropped passes.
Perhaps we see Chark get a chance to play and try to add a jolt to the position group in Atlanta.
While we're on the topic of wide receivers, I wanted to use some of this space to mention Quentin Johnston.
Look, we all saw the drops he had Monday. There's no need to rehash them here and Johnston himself said postgame that the onus is on him to be better in those situations.
I'll add that, despite Monday night, Johnston is a much-improved player than he was a year ago in pretty much every facet of his game.
And the Chargers will need him to contribute down the stretch as they look to secure a playoff spot.
You know who else realized that?
Herbert. Here's what he said Monday night.
"He's a fighter, you trust him," Herbert said. "I'm going to keep throwing him the ball and that's what we did out there.
"Unfortunately it didn't go our way tonight, but I know he's going to be the first one in the building and he's going to do everything the right way," Herbert added. "He's a truly great teammate, great guy, and he's going to go make some plays. He's got a lot of good football left in front of him."
That's leadership at its finest.
