Running back Melvin Gordon’s rookie season with the Chargers was a disappointing one as Gordon ran for 641 yards and no touchdowns on 184 carries while fumbling five times and then had knee surgery after the season.
That’s led many to wonder if he’ll fulfill the promise that made him a first-round pick and it’s also apparently led to more questions on that front than coach Mike McCoy wants to answer. McCoy was asked about Gordon’s need to improve once too often at Chargers camp and his reply was also a reminder that Gordon doesn’t take the field alone.
“I’m going to make one thing clear about Melvin, ok?” McCoy said, via the team’s website. “It’s not Melvin Gordon [that is] the running game. Let’s make that clear right now. I want to stop talking about him individually. In order for Melvin Gordon to have success in our system, the other 10 guys have got to do their jobs better. And Melvin’s got to do his job better, too. He’ll tell you some things he has to clean up. But I get a little sick talking about one guy on offense when there are 10 other guys out there. I want to make sure from day one [to point out] the entire team has got to run the ball better.”
There’s no doubt that the Chargers need better production from their offensive line, something that’s reasonable to expect if they don’t have to constantly tweak the lineup because of injuries. If the blocking is improved, it will be up to Gordon to make defenders miss and hold onto the football in a way he couldn’t as a rookie. Get all of that at once and McCoy’s aversion to Gordon questions will probably disappear.