ESPN’s Chase Daniel: What Game Tape Says about Chargers’ “Disjointed” Offense

Chase Daniel spent 14 years as an NFL backup quarterback, which makes him the founding member of what he calls "the backup quarterback fan club." So when Rich asked him about the rash of backups thrown into the fire through two weeks, he answered from experience.

Daniel joined The Rich Eisen Show from Conway, South Carolina, where he was set to call Liberty at Coastal Carolina for ESPN. The first topic was Jameis Winston and his rough Monday night relief outing for the Giants.

"It's never easy doing what backup quarterbacks do," Daniel said. "I think it's one of the tougher jobs in all of sports." His explanation was about the practice week. Winston "took zero reps with the first team offense whatsoever really since the start of training camp." He ran the scout team, which means running the other team's offense. The offensive line hasn't heard his cadence, and he hasn't thrown with the top receivers.

"With a whole week of practice, he will be better," Daniel said. "But Jameis did not look good at all."

He was blunt about how it feels for Giants fans. Jaxson Dart is out for the year, Malik Nabers hurt his shoulder, and "the hope that we had was so high in this team." He added a sobering number: since 2021, he said, an average of about 11 quarterbacks make it through a season unhurt.

Rich joked that the most popular player in football is the backup quarterback, and the only one more popular is someone else's backup when yours "plays like hot garbage." Giants chatter on the show had already floated Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson. Rich's point was that anyone new can't just walk in and play, so the first job is getting Winston ready.

Daniel agreed, and had a plan. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy "needs to build the entire game plan around what Jameis is good at, because it's completely different than what Dart is." Winston is "better throwing the football in the middle of the field, this play-action type stuff," and the run game has to show up.

He'd give Winston a week or two, but he also had a short list. "I wouldn't mind calling down to Dallas for Joe Milton. I wouldn't mind getting on the horn for Mac Jones, even though it's going to be a little bit more difficult. I wouldn't mind getting on the horn for Jimmy Garoppolo." Milton is the easiest to get, Jones would take a high pick, and "Jimmy G makes a lot of sense." His reasoning: the Giants have "one of the better rosters in the NFC East" and a defense playing well. "You can't let a quarterback injury this early derail your entire season."

Next came the Chargers, and Daniel didn't soften it. "They're running out of time, Rich." They're 0-2 after losses to the Raiders and Cardinals, and the next stretch includes Buffalo, Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, the Rams, Houston and Baltimore. "There's a real possibility, and I'm not just being hyperbolic, that they could be 3-6 or 2-7."

On film, "it just looks discombobulated." Justin Herbert "has not played well whatsoever," but there have been "a ton of drops," and outside of Ladd McConkey and tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, Daniel asked, "who has played well?" Still, he wants Herbert to raise his level. "That's sort of been the whole thing with Herbie. Still hasn't won a playoff game." Mike McDaniel was supposed to fix the run game and unlock play action under center. "It just hasn't gone as planned," Daniel said, calling this week "a must win."

Rich asked which teams he still can't figure out, and Daniel named two. The first was Green Bay. Jordan Love is "a guy who's trending up," Matt LaFleur is an "offensive genius," and yet with injuries on the line and at receiver, the offense is "literally the worst in the league" in pass block rate. "I've just been flabbergasted a little bit with just how they've been sequencing plays." The defense, he said, will have to carry them.

The second was Houston. C.J. Stroud has "taken a step up from last year, but that defense has taken a step down," and the David Montgomery addition hasn't delivered in the run game. The Texans started 0-3 last year and recovered, but "getting in an 0-and-3 hole would be really difficult to come out of."

Cincinnati, on the other hand, has sold him. When the Bengals traded for Dexter Lawrence, Daniel admits he wondered if giving up draft capital for a nose guard would pay off. Now? "He's the immovable object. I mean, he is wreaking havoc." Pressure up front lets the secondary sit on throws. With Ja'Marr Chase's two big touchdowns in Houston and what Daniel called one of the easiest schedules in the league, "you're looking at a team that could easily end up 12-5, 13-4" if Joe Burrow stays upright.

Asked whose film has blown him away, Daniel pointed to Brock Purdy and agreed with Kurt Warner's recent praise. "You watch Purdy play this year, more so than any other year, way more in control." He cited "the anticipation, the accuracy, the efficiency," with George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk and a newly signed Brandin Cooks around him, and Mike Evans pulling coverage away. From the Dolphins game, he highlighted three throws where "I don't know how many quarterbacks in the world can make that throw."

Rich wanted some love for Drew Lock in Seattle, and Daniel, happy to note that Lock went to Missouri, supplied it. He likes Lock's demeanor, "borderline cocky but confident," and credits his heavy preseason workload. "You're getting actual reps on the field." With Jaxon Smith-Njigba, "just throw it up to him. He's down there somewhere." Daniel wants to see how much polish Lock shows running the team while Sam Darnold is out.

On the quarterback who concerns him most over the next month, Daniel went through the list. Drake Maye's film is "a little alarming," but "I think they'll figure it out." Herbert has had "six or seven drops." His pick was Baker Mayfield. "After that extension, all that talk, it just looks like he's pressing a little bit." He still expects Mayfield to be fine.

He also gave Jalen Hurts credit after being "loud about him not playing the position really well." This year "he's been better than advertised," throwing more in the middle of the field and working under center more. Without A.J. Brown to lock onto, "people around him are stepping up," though he flagged the Eagles' offensive line and the loss of Jeff Stoutland.

Finally, Rich asked about Case Keenum, who might start Monday night against Philadelphia with Caleb Williams hurt and Tyson Bagent in concussion protocol. Daniel, a friend of Keenum's, said Keenum told him this summer he hasn't had this much fun playing football as he has under Ben Johnson. Vic Fangio's two-high looks will be tough on a third-stringer, but "if anyone can steady the ship, it's going to be a guy like Case Keenum." The recipe: keep it close, play defense and run the football, since the Bears are "one of the best running teams in all of football."

The segment ended with nobody in studio knowing what a Chanticleer is. Daniel came back on to settle it. "It's a rooster."