Optimism is high for Rams and Chargers as NFL season gets underway

Good morning and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday, September 8th. The NFL is back! I’m your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here’s what you need to know to get your weekend started:

Both Los Angeles NFL teams open their seasons on Sunday with high expectations.

Last year, the Rams bounced back from a 3-6 start by winning seven of their last eight games to reach the postseason, eventually losing to Detroit in the wild-card round.

The bounce-back season marked the organization’s return to the top, having won the Super Bowl in 2021 but missed the playoffs the following season.

Optimism for an even stronger season hinges on the health, experience and play of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is entering his 16th season.

The Rams open the season in Detroit at 5:30 p.m. on NBC.

Expectations are also high among Chargers fans, despite a disappointing season.

Last year, the team missed the playoffs with a 5-12 mark, the organization’s lowest win total since 2015.

The Charges weren’t downbeat this offseason, though, and instead asked an important question during this rebuilding phase: “Who has it better than us?”

Los Angeles brought in Jim Harbaugh, of the famous Harbaugh football family and fresh from a national title with Michigan, as its new head coach.

The former Chargers quarterback wins everywhere he goes, leading his last NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers, to the Super Bowl in 2012 and finishing with five postseason wins in four years.

For comparison, the Chargers have won five playoff games this century.

Los Angeles hosts Las Vegas at 1 p.m. at SoFi Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS.

What else does Matthew Stafford have to offer?

My colleague Gary Klein spoke with the experienced Stafford ahead of the season opener.

Last season, Stafford overcame a right thumb injury to lead the Rams to the playoffs and their first Pro Bowl appearance since 2014.

When the Rams open the season against the Lions, Stafford, 36, will be the second-oldest starting quarterback in the NFL, behind the New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers, 40, and just ahead of the Atlanta Falcons’ Kirk Cousins, also 36 but six months younger.

“Every year for me now is just how can I get myself as close to zero physically as quickly as possible,” he told Klein this week. “That takes more time every year and then I have to emotionally fill the tank.”

In a league that is constantly developing young, star quarterbacks, there is still room for players 35 and older.

Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, a two-time NFL most valuable player, led the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, winning one. He reached another with the Arizona Cardinals during the 2008 season, at age 37.

“You don’t recover as quickly as you used to,” Warner told Klein. “But I think there’s a positive side to it, the older you get, the smarter you are, the better you know the game, the better you can handle the ball and make good decisions.”

Stafford is under contract through 2026. Before training camp, the Rams gave in to his request to modify the deal he signed in 2022 after leading the Rams to their most recent Super Bowl title. He will have a salary cap hit of $46.2 million this season, according to Overthecap.com.

Stafford is confident he can continue to play at a high level.

“Trying to make sure that when my opportunities to make plays arise, I can still do it,” he said, “and I feel like I can. I feel like I did it at a decent pace last year and I’m looking forward to the challenge of trying to do it again this year.”

Can Harbaugh revive the Bolts’ static electricity?

My colleague Thuc Nhi Nguyen has done an analysis of Harbaugh’s chances with the Chargers.

Harbaugh, once known as “Captain Comeback” for his dramatic playoff victories with the Indianapolis Colts at quarterback, will attempt to engineer a turnaround for an organization that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2018.

“He wants to win more than anybody, and he’s going to win,” former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf told Nguyen. “He’s going to win. I just thought this was the best game in the world because he’s going to do what’s best for the team to win. … That’s exactly what the Chargers needed.”

Harbaugh’s effort to find every advantage extends to his famous attention to detail. Players are instructed to wear shoes — no flip-flops or slippers — to meetings when they have to get up and walk through a play. In the weight room, they put their shoes in a precise order.

“If you let the little things slide, big things will slide,” offensive lineman Zion Johnson said. “Details are everything.”

When some coaches make such demanding requests or tell eccentric stories like the ones Harbaugh spins, the message can fall on deaf ears, Leaf said. Not when Harbaugh is talking. Players laugh when asked about his meandering stories, but they still follow him to the punch line.

“When you look at him and listen to him, you know he’s real,” Leaf said.

Offensive lineman Foster Sarell noted that Harbaugh often sits with players at lunch and asks about their families and spouses. He participates in Bible study with players.

“He’s a winning machine,” Sarell said. “He’s a culture setter.”

Harbaugh has proven his worth at every level and every stop, leading the University of San Diego to a 29-6 record over three seasons.

He orchestrated what former coach Mike Riley described as “one of the best coaching jobs I’ve ever seen” in turning Stanford, which had a 1-11 record the season before his arrival, into a powerhouse in the Pac-12.

He led the San Francisco 49ers to three NFC championship games in four seasons and then led his alma mater Michigan to its first national championship in 26 years.

He is now the man who must breathe new life into the Chargers.

For more on the start of the NFL season, read the musings of Sam Farmer, who has been covering the league for more than two decades.

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Have a nice weekend, from the Essential California team

Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Cindy Chang, City Editor

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