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A Conversation With: The Athletic's Robert Mays

Jul 28, 2024 at 08:00 AM

Eric Smith

Editorial Director

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? Robert Mays, who is the host of The Athletic Football Show.

Here's our 1-on-1 conversation with Mays:

Always look forward to chatting with you, Robert. Off the bat, I'm wondering what you were most intrigued to learn when you were coming to The Bolt?

"I think just how they wanted this team and this season to feel different given the fact that there weren't a lot of splashy additions. You draft Joe Alt with the fifth overall pick, but other than that, you're bringing back most of your offensive line. And then all the transition at receiver everybody knows about, so it's like, 'OK, how is this team going to be better, feel better, feel different on both sides of the ball than it did a year ago?' That idea of, can we we change how we play on offense? Can we change the culture and the vibe, the toughness? It seemed like that was the bet and I was curious if it actually was. And the answer seems to be, 'Yeah, that's what we're banking on here.'"

So, was that your biggest takeaway? What was at the top of your mind when you left the Chargers?

"I think so. From the outside looking in, it feels like this is a team that wants to run the ball well and have everything else kind of splinter off from that. We live in a world now where practice time is so limited and you have to really prioritize the things you want to be good at. This is a team, under the previous regime, that looked at the quarterback and said, 'This is one of the best players in the league and we're going to let him carry us.' It feels like this group is saying that it doesn't all have to be on him. Let's try to make things as easy as possible for him in terms of workload and make that the route to get the best results out of the most important player on the roster."

I'm shocked that you haven't specifically mentioned Jim Harbaugh's name at all during the first two questions...

"That's implicit! I think that's understood and baked in that very idea. At the core of it, that's an expression of who Jim wants to be, right? That's why you bring a guy like Jim in, to kind of set the understanding that we're going to have a tough, physical football team. That trickles down from the head coach. That's the vision and he certainly is the one setting the vision and setting the expectation for how this team is going to feel on both sides of the ball."

You mentioned Justin Herbert earlier. It's safe to say that he's an upper echelon quarterback, but do you think he can also take an even further step?

"For me, it's one of those things where you watch Justin play and he's making the right decision so consistently. I think often over the last couple years, that involved checking the ball down a lot and involved getting the ball out of his hands because there were issues in pass protection. When it starts up front and you build a group where your quarterback understands that 'm going to have time back here, does it allow him to be more aggressive and take more shots down the field? Do we get the see a version of Justin similar to what we kind of got his rookie year where it was a laser show and he was consistently hunting out explosive plays. I think that's a solid bet. If you can make sure you're stout up front ... that could push him to a different sort of mindset and play style than what we've seen in stretches the last couple years."

How much do you think quarterback coach Shane Day's return will help Herbert?

"I think Shane is a really thoughtful coach. I enjoyed my conversation with Shane when I was here this week. It's someone who speaks Justin's language and understands Justin. Greg Roman has done a phenomenal job of building run games in the past and everywhere he's been they have run the ball so efficiently. But having someone who is a little bit more fluent in Justin and what he likes, it's a good marriage and makes a lot of sense. It's one of those things where he can be a translator of sorts to a new staff as someone who understands the way Justin wants to play and how he sees things. It feels like a way to streamline communication very quickly for the new group coming in."