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Speaker 1: Everybody. Chris Harry with you on a training camp edition

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Speaker 1: of Chargers Weekly. Coming up, two thirds of ESPN's fantasy

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Speaker 1: focused podcast joined me from Chargers Camp, Field Yates and

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Speaker 1: Stefan you Bell share their practice observations and also get

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Speaker 1: you ready for your upcoming fantasy drafts. But first, NFL

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Speaker 1: dot COM's Greg Rosenthal joins me to talk all things Chargers,

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Speaker 1: plus one bold prediction on how far he thinks the

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Speaker 1: Bolts will go in twenty eighteen. Please be joined by

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Speaker 1: Greg Rosenthal of NFL dot Com. Greg, we did this

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Speaker 1: last year about the same time. How you doing, man, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't I'm doing great. It doesn't feel like the

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Speaker 1: season really starts till I dramatically overrate the Chargers going

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Speaker 1: into the season. So now as my time, Well, let's

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Speaker 1: just kick things off twenty eighteen. Expectations for the Chargers.

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Speaker 1: What do we got? I think they're one of the

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Speaker 1: three or four teams in the AFC with the strongest rosters,

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Speaker 1: even after losing Hunter Henry and Jason Varet. That depth,

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Speaker 1: and I think they're in a division where any any

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Speaker 1: team almost could win the division. So it's not like

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Speaker 1: I'm just penciling in the Chargers. I've learned over the

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Speaker 1: years not to do that, but I really don't see

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Speaker 1: a reason why they're not a playoff team. I think

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Speaker 1: there's only a few teams I would put the Patriots,

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Speaker 1: the Steelers, and the Chargers that if they didn't make

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Speaker 1: the playoffs I would consider it a disappointment, and really

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Speaker 1: that those would be the only three teams I would

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Speaker 1: I would put in that category. That's how high, even

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Speaker 1: the Jacks, because I think the Jacks have such a

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Speaker 1: shortcoming at quarterback. I think it's going to be tough

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Speaker 1: to be a historic defense year after year. That's really

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Speaker 1: tough to do. And I think they're in a tough

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Speaker 1: division where any of those teams could make it through.

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Speaker 1: Whereas the Chargers. I don't see any reason why the

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Speaker 1: Chargers shouldn't win ten eleven games. We talked about continuity

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Speaker 1: really all off season, and there's been so much change

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Speaker 1: in the AFC West, from Patrick Mahomes, John Gruden to

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Speaker 1: all these new coaches under Vince Joseph Broncos. I think

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Speaker 1: Dan Hilly tweeted out just all his takeaways from Broncos camp.

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Speaker 1: The offense is drastically different, right Yea's Keenum. You get

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Speaker 1: these two young wide receivers Royce Freeman in the backfield.

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Speaker 1: What do you make of the CFCs in twenty eight team?

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Speaker 1: Every team, if things go right for them, can make

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Speaker 1: the play, Like every team has reason to believe a shot,

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Speaker 1: like you said with the Broncos, like they still have

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Speaker 1: some of the pieces whenever you have Von Miller on

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Speaker 1: that defense to make a big impact. But none of

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Speaker 1: those teams have Philip Rivers. And I include the Raiders

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Speaker 1: in that mix where I think Philip Rivers is playing

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Speaker 1: at a really high level, had another great season a

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Speaker 1: year ago, and it's really up to the rest of

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Speaker 1: the team. And I think they they stood by him

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Speaker 1: and they played pretty well on offense from Week five on.

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Speaker 1: I mean that was a top five or six offense

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Speaker 1: from week five on. None of those other teams have

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Speaker 1: Philip Rivers. And none of those other teams have the

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Speaker 1: pass rushers that the Chargers have. The Chargers have all

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Speaker 1: the hard things to get pass rush, secondary quarterback. And

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Speaker 1: so that's when I look at them and I think,

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Speaker 1: like I give them a couple you know, win head

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Speaker 1: start maybe on the rest of the division. If you

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Speaker 1: add up the combined starts of Mahomes, Keenom and car

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Speaker 1: I think still Philip Rivers has them by like nineties

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Speaker 1: some odd starts right exactly. And I love Patrick Mahomes's potential,

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Speaker 1: especially for Andy Reid. He's kind of the X factor

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Speaker 1: in the entire division. If Patrick Mahomes can come out

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Speaker 1: guns blazing, that Chief's team is going to be tough

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Speaker 1: because they can't get much worse on defense than they

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Speaker 1: were a year ago. But again, I still just trust

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Speaker 1: in the Chargers were I swear I'm not a Homer,

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Speaker 1: just like playing to the Charger, you know. I love it,

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Speaker 1: though proud here I grew up in Massachusetts. It's just

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Speaker 1: what I believe. Like looking at their roster top to bottom,

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Speaker 1: having two pass rushers like that, having a quarterback like that,

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Speaker 1: it's so hard to find well to Lesko has done

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Speaker 1: a heck of a job. You mentioned the roster. They

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Speaker 1: always find a guy, right. Trevor Williams was that undrafted

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Speaker 1: free agent a couple of years ago. Austin Eckler came

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Speaker 1: out of nowhere last year. So Talsko has done a

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Speaker 1: great job of not only getting those guys in the first, second,

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Speaker 1: third round, but find those late round and undrafted free agents. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: he has, and that's one of the things I'm looking

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Speaker 1: for it to at practice today and talking to people

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Speaker 1: here and talking to yourself kind of who are those

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Speaker 1: people that are emerging because they I think they needed

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Speaker 1: a linebacker. I'm curious how the offensive line is, you know,

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Speaker 1: coming together and gonna luck. But for the most part,

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Speaker 1: I think they have enough like above average starters that

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Speaker 1: I feel good about them going into the season. You know,

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Speaker 1: Philip Rivers, I believe he was only sacked eighteen times

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Speaker 1: last year, and a lot of that was him getting

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Speaker 1: rid of the football quickly. But the offensive line did

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Speaker 1: play better last year. You add Mike Pounce, a three

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Speaker 1: time Pro Bowler, you add four slamp who we haven't

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Speaker 1: seen yet. Dan Feenie had nine starts last year, so

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Speaker 1: he is another year under his belt. How much better

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Speaker 1: do you think this offense can be when you just

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Speaker 1: look at the depth there on the offensive line. Well,

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Speaker 1: you got to see how Foenie and Lamb come together.

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Speaker 1: People are kind of pencils, right. We penciled him in

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Speaker 1: last year and he got gets hurt. He's still not back,

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Speaker 1: so you don't know what he's gonna be like you

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Speaker 1: don't know, um if Heinie's gonna take a step up.

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Speaker 1: Pouncey is definitely gonna improve their center position. But he's

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Speaker 1: had an up and down career. He's looked like an

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Speaker 1: All Pro some years and then played through injury or

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Speaker 1: been hurt other years, and so he's he's not a

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Speaker 1: guy that I just pencil in and say is gonna

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Speaker 1: be a huge difference maker. He's a little bit of

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Speaker 1: a boomer bust type of guy. But they they should

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Speaker 1: be better on the offensive line. And it's also they

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Speaker 1: lost in so many flukey ways last year, like they're

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Speaker 1: tackling can be a lot better if you really look

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Speaker 1: at the linebacker and in the secondary. And then their

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Speaker 1: special teams of course, really killed them last year, and

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Speaker 1: I hope for their sake they have a plan to

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Speaker 1: turn that around, not just the field goals, but everything

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Speaker 1: special teams, Like you look at the Patriots their top

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Speaker 1: five special teams every year, and that's that really made

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Speaker 1: the difference, I think from the Chargers winning the division

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Speaker 1: or not. And it did start with making your kicks.

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Speaker 1: Caleb Sturgis, Robertoguile, Listen, i't in training camp. You can

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Speaker 1: make all the kicks you want, right, It's all about

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Speaker 1: the game, So I'm intrigued to see how that shakes

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Speaker 1: out over the next four weeks. But you mentioned the

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Speaker 1: linebacker position, and Greg, I think one of the things

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Speaker 1: that really hurt the Chargers last year was Denzil Perriman

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Speaker 1: going down in the preseason, and I think he only

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Speaker 1: started seven games last year. You Chenna Nuosu from USC

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Speaker 1: comes in. Kaiser White, who coach Lena's Raids about already,

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Speaker 1: is probably gonna play that will position. I don't know

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Speaker 1: if he's gonna start, but he's gotten a lot of

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Speaker 1: reps during this offseason. Another guy that they like. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: on paper, it looks deeper. I thought they would have

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Speaker 1: added someone maybe in free agency too, just in case

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Speaker 1: injuries strike again. I think they could use a vetter

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Speaker 1: in there. But you're right, Perraman to me is a

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Speaker 1: tone setter. He's a guy we wrote about in a

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Speaker 1: series we do called Making the Leap that we really thought,

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Speaker 1: based on the end of his rookie season, that he

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Speaker 1: could take a next step. And he reminds me a

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Speaker 1: lot of Melvin ingram just in terms of his attitude.

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Speaker 1: Like those are two guys like when you have. I

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Speaker 1: know why they gave Melvin Ingram all that money even

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Speaker 1: before people knew about him, because man, that guy is

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Speaker 1: so intense every snap, every practice. Those are you need

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Speaker 1: guys like that. He's just kind of a badass. And

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Speaker 1: I would throw Denzel Perriman in that group. So if

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Speaker 1: those two guys are healthy, it makes a huge difference

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Speaker 1: pass rush. You talked about it at the top, Joey

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Speaker 1: Bosa Melvin Ingram. I don't know if there's a better

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Speaker 1: tandem in the league. How important is that position on

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Speaker 1: the football field. Just look at the pay that free

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Speaker 1: agents get. That's how you can judge how they value

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Speaker 1: pass rushers. Melvin Ingram when he signed that contract, people

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Speaker 1: kind of raise their eyebrows, and now it looks like

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Speaker 1: a bargain, Like you see guys like Olivier Vernon making

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Speaker 1: seventeen eighteen million dollars a year. To me, those are

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Speaker 1: two top ten guys at the position. Bosa has a

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Speaker 1: chance to be other world they three years, he has

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Speaker 1: a chance. You don't want to put too much on

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Speaker 1: him early, but he has a chance to be one

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Speaker 1: of the very best player is at his position. If

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Speaker 1: he's not there yet, and yet I don't know if

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Speaker 1: he was better than Melvin Ingram last year. I think

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Speaker 1: you could argue either side depending on you know, at

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Speaker 1: the beginning of the year, Ingram especially was insane. So

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Speaker 1: if the if you don't even know which one of

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Speaker 1: those two guys are better, that's an incredible situation because

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Speaker 1: you don't know where to slide protection. And they're just

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Speaker 1: kind of warriors that snap after snap. They're not taking

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Speaker 1: snaps off at times. They lined them up on the

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Speaker 1: same side. And to your point about Melvin Ingram, usually

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Speaker 1: when you get that big pay day, some people think

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Speaker 1: your production is gonna decline a little bit. He hit

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Speaker 1: his best season after that pay day. He did like

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Speaker 1: you know, just interviewing him, you get a sense like

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Speaker 1: I'm a little guy and like I was afraid by

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Speaker 1: the interview. He's so like intense man, like not afraid,

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Speaker 1: but just I would be afraid if I was one

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Speaker 1: of his teammates to let him down because he just

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Speaker 1: he comes to the field with so much in intensity

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Speaker 1: and you could tell how how it means to him.

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Speaker 1: And those are the guys that pull people along. And

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Speaker 1: I think Joey Bosa is gonna have a better career

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Speaker 1: because he's playing with Melvin Ingram, not just because of

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Speaker 1: the skill set, because he's got a veteran that's showing

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Speaker 1: him the way and that day after day is right

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Speaker 1: along with them with that intensity. I've mentioned Derwin James

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Speaker 1: a lot over the past couple of months, and I'm

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Speaker 1: from the washingt DC area, and I never compare anybody

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Speaker 1: to Sean Taylor, because I think that's an impossible thing

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Speaker 1: to do. But he reminds me of the type of

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Speaker 1: player that before the snap, you're gonna have your eyes

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Speaker 1: on number thirty three because he's going to make a play. Now,

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Speaker 1: obviously we want to see that in the preseason games,

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Speaker 1: but when you saw Derwin James fault on number seventeen overall,

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Speaker 1: what was your reaction that it was such a perfect

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Speaker 1: fit for the Chargers that I was surprised he fell,

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Speaker 1: and I was really surprised the Ravens specifically passed on him.

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Speaker 1: But the Chargers one of, if not their biggest needs

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Speaker 1: was safety. To me, they gave up too many big

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Speaker 1: plays in the running game that was on their safeties

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Speaker 1: last home in the run right off the and he

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Speaker 1: should help in that way. And he's verse at all

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Speaker 1: and you just want to see him set the tone

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Speaker 1: because one thing Gus Bradley's defense is their coordinator didn't seattle,

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Speaker 1: was they were one of the best tackling secondaries in

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Speaker 1: the league. I think that was similar in Jacksonville, and

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Speaker 1: the Chargers are one of the worst. Last year. I

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Speaker 1: just can't think of so many big players that happened

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Speaker 1: where they couldn't get guys down at the second level

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Speaker 1: that turned into forty fifty yard runs and James to me,

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Speaker 1: should help solve that quite a bit. Offensively, Listen, this

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Speaker 1: team was number one in passing offense last year. No

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Speaker 1: Hunter Henry. That was a big blow this offseason. But

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Speaker 1: Mike Williams returns. You pair him with Tyrol Williams, with

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Speaker 1: Keenan Allen, who's had an unbelievable camp. His footwork, Greg

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Speaker 1: It's been a full display, Yeah, to say the least.

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Speaker 1: But Mike Williams another guy. This scrimmage on Saturday, he

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Speaker 1: had two touchdowns, one from Genos Smith, one from Philip Rivers,

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Speaker 1: another nice ball from Gino to Mike Williams. He's stacking

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Speaker 1: very productive days and I think people are sleeping on

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Speaker 1: Mike Williams a little bit. Yeah, because he was so

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Speaker 1: quiet last year and you're just waiting to see and

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Speaker 1: so many of these first round wide receivers across the

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Speaker 1: league have struggled of late. But it's great to hear

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Speaker 1: that if you're hoping for a complete Chargers offense, because

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Speaker 1: Hunter Henry had a chance, has a chance to be special.

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Speaker 1: And I do think Mike Williams can do some of

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Speaker 1: the things that Hunter Henry ultimately would do for you.

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Speaker 1: You know, because Hunter Henry was lining up in the

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Speaker 1: slot quite a bit. That's gonna be what Williams is

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Speaker 1: doing in the red zone catching fade passes like Henry did,

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Speaker 1: so that would be a You're not going to replace

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Speaker 1: Hunter Henry, but if you can add to that complete

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Speaker 1: wide receiver group, those are the best receiver groups right now.

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Speaker 1: If you have every possible type. And Mike Williams is

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Speaker 1: one type, Keenan Allen's another, Travis Benjamin's another, Tyrell Williams.

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Speaker 1: They all have their own skill sets and that's where

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Speaker 1: it makes really tough to defend. They've got like an

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Speaker 1: NBA front court and then like Travis Benjamin running point

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Speaker 1: there and in this fifth wide receiver spot. I'll tell

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Speaker 1: you what Greg Rtavis Scott is another guy from Clemson

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Speaker 1: who's made an impact, and I'm interested to see what

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Speaker 1: he does, especially in this first preseason game. Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: want to see how the offense develops because they really

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Speaker 1: went away from a run first approach early in the season,

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Speaker 1: which I think was the way to go with the

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Speaker 1: talent that they have at with rivers and the receivers.

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Speaker 1: And you see that the most dominant offensive teams has

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Speaker 1: that four pack of NBA like players, the Falcons the

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Speaker 1: Patriots in a different way, but the Patriots really do

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Speaker 1: the I think Kyle Shanahan's offenses over the last few

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Speaker 1: years have had that where it just becomes a matchup

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Speaker 1: problem where no matter how you guard him, one of

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Speaker 1: those guys is going to have the right matchup and

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Speaker 1: then you have the veteran quarterback that finds him the thing.

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Speaker 1: Keenan can play on the inside or the outside, and

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Speaker 1: I think that versatility is going to help the so offense.

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Speaker 1: At least you can't replace Hunter Enry's production, but a

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Speaker 1: couple that with just these running backs, right, Melvin Gordon,

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Speaker 1: Justin Jackson from Northwestern, and Austin Ekeler can all catch

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Speaker 1: the ball out of the backfield as Wall. Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: think Gordon has something to prove this year. I think

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Speaker 1: he's a really good running back. He's a solid NFL starter.

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Speaker 1: I think there's a question whether he's ever gonna be

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Speaker 1: one of those top five to seven guys, the type

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Speaker 1: like Todd Gurley who just got that contract, or like

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Speaker 1: Ezekiel Elliott. I think he and Keenan Allen. This sounds

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Speaker 1: crazy because Keenan Allen's one of the best players in

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Speaker 1: the league. I think Keenan Allen has another level to

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Speaker 1: go where he's like at that Antonio Brown level, like

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Speaker 1: just the best receiver in the league. And I think

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Speaker 1: Gordon he's not gonna get there, but I think he's

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Speaker 1: shown signs because of how complete he is catching the

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Speaker 1: ball that he can get him into another level where

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Speaker 1: it's a little more consistent run after run. Greg Liz

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Speaker 1: shift to just general league storyline. What are you most

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Speaker 1: looking forward to as we enter twenty eighteen? Obviously just

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Speaker 1: a couple of weeks into training camp, but so much

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Speaker 1: has happened. I'll start, well, you could say like a

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Speaker 1: million different things. Yeah that I would knocked I know,

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Speaker 1: I you know what, this is a crazy answer. I'm

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Speaker 1: really cure is how the kickoff rule. And this is

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Speaker 1: a very football dorky answer, but I really think people

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Speaker 1: are sleeping on how much the kickoff rule has changed.

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Speaker 1: Everyone's focused on the lowering the helmet rule, and we'll

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Speaker 1: see how that plays out, but that doesn't sound like

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Speaker 1: fun keeping track of that, whereas people don't understand how

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Speaker 1: dramatically the rules have changed on the kickoffs. They're so complicated.

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Speaker 1: I can't even really explain that. You're gonna see it

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Speaker 1: this weekend. You'll see it a little bit in the preseason.

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Speaker 1: But I think a lot of special teams, coaches and

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Speaker 1: just the feeling that I got, are going to kind

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Speaker 1: of hold their cards close to the vest, and it's

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Speaker 1: gonna be one of those things in Week one where

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Speaker 1: Bill Belichick and some of the other teams that have

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Speaker 1: good special teams start doing some crazy stuff. And I

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Speaker 1: really think the kickoff, which is one of the most

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Speaker 1: fun plays in the game, is gonna end up being

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Speaker 1: a bigger deal and a bigger factor, and there's gonna

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Speaker 1: be all sorts of trick plays and pooch pooch kicks,

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Speaker 1: and there's gonna be something more that's just something like

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Speaker 1: that to me is gonna be a lot different this year.

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Speaker 1: And then finally, just the AFC in general. We talked

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Speaker 1: about it at the top. You said you'd be a

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Speaker 1: little disappointed if the past Steelers and Chargers weren't in

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Speaker 1: the postseason. How do you see this thing all shaken

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Speaker 1: out when it's all said and done. I'm gonna roll

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Speaker 1: with the Patriots like every year, just because the Chargers

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Speaker 1: have burned me too much. But I'm gonna put the

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Speaker 1: Chargers into the conference championship game again and hopefully they

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Speaker 1: can pleasantly surprise me when they when they make a

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Speaker 1: Super Bowl as the Los Angeles Chargers. I think, I

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Speaker 1: think it's possible. Football, I've learned that you just want

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Speaker 1: to be one of the six, seven, eight teams that

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Speaker 1: has a chance at the end and then and then

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Speaker 1: you see it's like you can be like the Falcons,

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Speaker 1: who I think have been in that mix the last

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Speaker 1: two years and they haven't gotten it done. But I

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Speaker 1: think the Chargers will get into that mix. Ultimately. I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna take the Patriots over the Packers in the Super Bowl.

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Speaker 1: How about that? I like that? I actually I kind

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Speaker 1: of like that, And yeah, I'd like it if the

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Speaker 1: Chargers were in Atlanta. But the charge is gonna be

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Speaker 1: in London and your guy, you guys are gonna be

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Speaker 1: in London before week one the Around the NFL podcast.

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Speaker 1: Tell us about the podcast? When can you listen? And

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Speaker 1: what you guys a gonna be doing in London? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: three times a week and then we're going to London

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Speaker 1: to tape some live shows, to do promotion, really to

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Speaker 1: get the season going for a week before. I'm so

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Speaker 1: pumped that they're sending yes. But we've been doing it

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Speaker 1: for five years and people seem to like it, so

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Speaker 1: to definitely check it out. And we've been overrating the

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Speaker 1: Chargers for five years and I think this is the

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Speaker 1: year that they're going to prove us right. I love it. Subscribe,

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Speaker 1: give it five stars. Greg, You're the man. Thanks so much.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so. The Los Angeles Chargers schedule is out, and boy,

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Speaker 1: it's nice to finally know how we'll be spending our

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Speaker 1: Sundays this fall. How many Charger games did you make

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Speaker 1: last year? Matt, I made twenty four preseason games in

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Speaker 1: sixteen regular season games last year. Which are you circling

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Speaker 1: for this season? This season? I'll circle the Niners and

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Speaker 1: Cardinals as they play the NFC West, and let's not

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Speaker 1: forget about those rivalry games. Pe You seriously don't want

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Speaker 1: to miss this. Visit fight for La dot com or

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Speaker 1: call eight seven seven Chargers to share Matt's experience. Season

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Speaker 1: tickets on sale now. All right here at Chargers camp

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Speaker 1: with Great Field Yates of ESPN Field. Welcome to La,

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Speaker 1: my friend. It's good to be here. I'm thinking about

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Speaker 1: staying long term, extended stay. Huh good, that's gotta find

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Speaker 1: a place to live. Other than that, we're in business.

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Speaker 1: How has this weekend been for you? It's bit's tremendous.

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Speaker 1: What a beautiful part of the country obviously, and weather

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Speaker 1: has been predictably awesome. But the culture here and within

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Speaker 1: the Chargers is clear, and this team has a lot

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Speaker 1: of talent, but it's clear that there's a mindset too,

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Speaker 1: and they're ready to take that next step. Well, I

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Speaker 1: thought'd be fun do a quick little fantasy whip around here,

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Speaker 1: because Charge is always a fun fantasy team, and you

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Speaker 1: start at the running back position. Only a handful of

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Speaker 1: bell cows out there, Melvin Gordon certainly one of them.

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Speaker 1: Where are you draft in Melvin Gordon? I think it's

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Speaker 1: gonna be someone that floats within the first fifteen picks

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Speaker 1: of drafts. And if you look at the back the

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Speaker 1: backfield depth chart, certainly Justin Jackson, seventh round pick, had

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Speaker 1: a great decoraty college career at Northwestern Austin. Ekeler has

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Speaker 1: been a productive player for them when called upon over

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Speaker 1: the past couple of seasons. But it seems clear that

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Speaker 1: Melvin Gordon is the guy and for that reason, three

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Speaker 1: hundred touches would not surprise lead all this season. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: And you look at wide receiver Keenan Allen, I believe

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Speaker 1: ESPN Standard Scoring Leagues the third highest scoring wide receiver.

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Speaker 1: What do you expect from keenan in in this next

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Speaker 1: year after coming off such a big your PPR monster, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: more of the same. Hundred catches feels like a reasonable estimate.

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Speaker 1: You know, you always want to be careful in terms

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Speaker 1: of over assessing what a guy could be or what

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Speaker 1: he will become. But if Keen Allen doesn't catch one

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Speaker 1: hundred passes like, I don't think it'll be that much

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Speaker 1: lower than a hundred passes. He's such a focal point

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Speaker 1: of the offense. And listen, is he the fastest wide

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Speaker 1: receiver in the NFL. No, is he constantly open. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: the footwork though, maybe the best in the league right

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Speaker 1: up there, it's as good as there is. And for

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Speaker 1: that reason, I think that he's gonna be a guy

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Speaker 1: that's gonna be drafted again. Somewhere. You'll have two Chargers

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Speaker 1: drafted within the top fifteen to eighteen picks, between Keenan

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Speaker 1: and Melvin Gordon. Mike Williams a guy you got to

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Speaker 1: see for the first time this year. Listen. He's strung

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Speaker 1: together very productive days at training camp, had a couple

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Speaker 1: of touchdowns in the scrimmage on Saturday. He looks more

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Speaker 1: and more like that Clemson All American and in some

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Speaker 1: drafts he's going undrafted. When you see Mike Williams on

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Speaker 1: a fantasy board, what round are you looking at? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: there's a time in the fantasy draft exercise where you

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Speaker 1: say to yourself, right, I filled up my starters, and

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Speaker 1: I don't want to draft kicker or a defense yet.

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Speaker 1: I want to start taking what I would call lottery tickets,

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Speaker 1: right flyers on guys Mike Williams kind of player that

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Speaker 1: he's drafted in the tenth, eleven, twelfth round and maybe

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Speaker 1: he doesn't start for you right away, maybe he never

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Speaker 1: starts for you, but if he becomes a player that

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Speaker 1: some people around here believe he can become, he's going

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Speaker 1: to be a massive part of this offense. The biggest

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Speaker 1: impediment to success for Mike Williams is at the wide

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Speaker 1: receiver group is so good here? Yeah, Keenan's obviously locked

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Speaker 1: into number one. Got Tyroll Williams, who's not going to

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Speaker 1: give away that number two job easily. Travis Benjamin so

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Speaker 1: much speed, and that's just the top four because there's

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Speaker 1: more to it. When you look at the tight end

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Speaker 1: position to the lass on Hunter Henry obviously stings. I

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Speaker 1: think Mike can help in the red zone. Ten of

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Speaker 1: his eleven touchdowns at Clemson came in the red zone.

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Speaker 1: So you're not gonna make up for the production of

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Speaker 1: Hunter Henry. Fully, it's going to be a committee situation,

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Speaker 1: but I think Mike can help there. Yeah, Mike certainly

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Speaker 1: is a big body, and you know, in the red zone,

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Speaker 1: the field reduces. There's not as much the teams can

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Speaker 1: do defensively in terms of their schemes and their coverages,

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Speaker 1: and a lot of the best offense in the red

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Speaker 1: zone is guys with physical attributes who are just superior

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Speaker 1: to their opponents, to their defensive players, whoever's covering them.

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Speaker 1: Mike Williams. It's almost the power forward theory, right, you

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Speaker 1: throw it up, you help him go for an alley

427
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,040
Speaker 1: oop or let him try to grab a rebound. And

428
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:24,800
Speaker 1: how many defensive backs come close to size and Mike

429
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,480
Speaker 1: Williams The answer is very few. And so I think

430
00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,080
Speaker 1: that Philip Rivers is probably one of those quarterbacks that

431
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,080
Speaker 1: trust means a lot more so than I feel like.

432
00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,720
Speaker 1: That's what I think that VET veteran quarterbacks value so much.

433
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,600
Speaker 1: And you'd imagine then, after another year in training camp together,

434
00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,600
Speaker 1: that Mike Williams probably much further along in that regard. Defensively, listening,

435
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,520
Speaker 1: you always wait to the end, did you have the defense?

436
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,000
Speaker 1: But you're looking for sex, you're looking for turnovers, you're

437
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,480
Speaker 1: looking for potential ways to score. The charges have all

438
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:52,840
Speaker 1: those ingredients. Yeah, they have all those ingredients. And not

439
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,240
Speaker 1: only is Melvin Ingram going to be a sack machine

440
00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:59,280
Speaker 1: this year, evidently he can handle punts as well. He

441
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,560
Speaker 1: could do it all. I'm handling some funts during funt return,

442
00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,720
Speaker 1: which from what I understand, is a regular thing for

443
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,560
Speaker 1: him during training camp. Let's get points for the athletic

444
00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,360
Speaker 1: three ak and not that we will see that during

445
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,280
Speaker 1: during the regular season, but fun to see just how

446
00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:13,760
Speaker 1: nimble and athletic Melvin Ingham really is. One of the

447
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,040
Speaker 1: NFL's elite players. Not just a good pass rusher, not

448
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,320
Speaker 1: just a good outside linebacker, maybe one of the you know,

449
00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:22,840
Speaker 1: twenty or so best players in terms of raw physical

450
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,760
Speaker 1: abilities the league has field. As charges fans get ready

451
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,439
Speaker 1: for their fantasy drafts, what are a few tips, a

452
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:31,600
Speaker 1: few things to keep an eye on, maybe some sleepers

453
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:33,920
Speaker 1: that people are talking about. Start a kit right here.

454
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,439
Speaker 1: Let's begin with this positional value matters. Don't take a

455
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,359
Speaker 1: quarterback early. Take your running backs, take your wide receivers early.

456
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:41,879
Speaker 1: If you're gonna take a tight end, it's got to

457
00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,399
Speaker 1: be somebody like Rob Gunkowski who is such a difference

458
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,920
Speaker 1: maker at that spot. Sure beyond that again, wait in

459
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,399
Speaker 1: your quarterback. There's so many good quarterbacks. Philip Rivers, who

460
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,320
Speaker 1: could be one of the five best fantasy football quarterbacks

461
00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,720
Speaker 1: this year, is being drafted, and like twelfth round, the

462
00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,359
Speaker 1: thirteenth quarterback off the board, and just wait on a quarterback.

463
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,800
Speaker 1: Also incorporate some lier tickets. Like we were talking about earlier.

464
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,400
Speaker 1: I'm Mike Williams type of the player that you think, Hey,

465
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,600
Speaker 1: I don't know for sure what the role is right now,

466
00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,400
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna take a flyer on him and see

467
00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,919
Speaker 1: if he proves to have a lot of upside. Also

468
00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,640
Speaker 1: be patient on kickers and defenses. I prefer to take

469
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,800
Speaker 1: him in the last three rounds, takers in the final round,

470
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,320
Speaker 1: defense in the final three rounds. A lot of ways

471
00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,000
Speaker 1: to be smart in your draft room that can help

472
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,400
Speaker 1: you get a decided the edge going into the season. Finally,

473
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,119
Speaker 1: my favorite is rookie running backs. A few that you

474
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:29,879
Speaker 1: have your eye on A twenty eighteen. So let's go

475
00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,080
Speaker 1: for the non sequon Barkley Division because obviously that's the given, right,

476
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,160
Speaker 1: It's right, he's the Gay vn Darius guys for the Redskins,

477
00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:37,280
Speaker 1: becoming more and more of a given as the days go.

478
00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:41,080
Speaker 1: I think beyond that, though, shod Penny, a player that's

479
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,200
Speaker 1: maybe wasn't expected to go in the first round, but

480
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,920
Speaker 1: Seattle didn't take him thirtieth overall for no reason. They

481
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,359
Speaker 1: have aspirations for him. Sonny Michelle's dealing with in the

482
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,639
Speaker 1: issue right now and knowing him, but he's an intriguing player.

483
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:52,280
Speaker 1: Keep an eye on him. And then the third round

484
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,359
Speaker 1: running back that everybody's hoping can be this year's Kareem

485
00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,480
Speaker 1: Hunt or Alvin Kamara. I don't mean be one of

486
00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:58,160
Speaker 1: the best running backs in football, but be a guy

487
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,879
Speaker 1: that exceeds his draft value. Is real draft value? Is

488
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,040
Speaker 1: Roy streaming for the Denver Broncos. Seems to be an

489
00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,240
Speaker 1: open competition for the running backs spot there in Denver. Yeah.

490
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,480
Speaker 1: Dan Haley NFL Network said he looks to be the

491
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,760
Speaker 1: bell cow there at this point in the preseason. So

492
00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,639
Speaker 1: CHARGES fans always want to get their own guys, but

493
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,280
Speaker 1: you have to be smart. Do we talk about on

494
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,280
Speaker 1: the podcast how you and Dan look alike? Really doppelgangers.

495
00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:19,200
Speaker 1: That's a good thing. That's good. Dan's my guy from DC,

496
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:21,040
Speaker 1: So I'll take that any day to week. Field you

497
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,640
Speaker 1: the man, Thank you? All right, we have the fantasy

498
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,760
Speaker 1: focused podcast covered here on CHARGES weekly. Field Gates just

499
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,639
Speaker 1: joined us now joined by Stefania Bell. Stefania, how are you.

500
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,080
Speaker 1: I'm good. I'm good. I'm always good. When I'm in California.

501
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:35,800
Speaker 1: You said you're in California. Girl At heart, I am,

502
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 1: and so I love coming back and now this is

503
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:40,560
Speaker 1: my second year in a row coming to this camp.

504
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,480
Speaker 1: So I couldn't be happier than spending a day outside.

505
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 1: It's a good day to come out because this day eight,

506
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,399
Speaker 1: these guys have gotten their legs under him. What'd you

507
00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,640
Speaker 1: see out here today? Well? I saw a healthy Mike Williams.

508
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,320
Speaker 1: That was the first big difference to me. And literally

509
00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:57,399
Speaker 1: a big difference. I mean, the guy is an imposing

510
00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:01,360
Speaker 1: physical specimen. It's a underful to see him back out

511
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,600
Speaker 1: here and healthy, and he's got everybody excited. I heard

512
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:07,720
Speaker 1: there was a scrimmage where he looked pretty darn good

513
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,240
Speaker 1: the other day. So certainly for the folks that listen

514
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,159
Speaker 1: to us on the Fantasy Focused podcast, they want to

515
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,520
Speaker 1: hear like who are the big playmakers? Who's going to

516
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,119
Speaker 1: be scoring? And certainly Mike Williams is one of those guys.

517
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:21,680
Speaker 1: Where's he going in drafts right now? Stefind it because

518
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 1: obviously it's early August. I think in a couple of weeks,

519
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:27,199
Speaker 1: two three weeks, you're really going to start to draft

520
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,720
Speaker 1: for your league. At this point in time, where is

521
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,439
Speaker 1: Mike Williams going? Interesting? You know, it's interesting. Off the

522
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:35,480
Speaker 1: top of my head, I can't tell you exactly where,

523
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,199
Speaker 1: but I did a mock draft a week ago and

524
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,760
Speaker 1: he was definitely somebody that was going below where I

525
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,240
Speaker 1: think you would expect if he ends up where we

526
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,400
Speaker 1: think he yes right, I mean it was definitely mid

527
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,360
Speaker 1: to later rounds ten Team League PPR. I don't think

528
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,200
Speaker 1: that people really know what to expect. I think people

529
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,040
Speaker 1: look at the Chargers offense as you have all these

530
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,280
Speaker 1: different potential pa as catchers. Keenan Allen certainly proved himself

531
00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:05,560
Speaker 1: last year and obviously became a favorite target. So he's

532
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,640
Speaker 1: rated about where you would expect him to be. And

533
00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:10,439
Speaker 1: I don't know if people are like as Mike Williams,

534
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,040
Speaker 1: a wide receiver too or a wide receiver three based

535
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:14,919
Speaker 1: on how the offense would use him. I would say,

536
00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 1: based on what I saw and when I'm hearing, this

537
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: guy should be a wide receiver too. Field called him

538
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,760
Speaker 1: a lottery ticket, like one of those guys that you

539
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,280
Speaker 1: want to take a fall right and you see what happens.

540
00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:28,879
Speaker 1: Because we talked about this earlier, just the loss of

541
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,440
Speaker 1: Hunter Henry, you can't replace his production with one guy.

542
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: But in terms of Red zone offense, Mike Williams can

543
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,480
Speaker 1: be very helpful in the red zone. The Charges also

544
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:39,240
Speaker 1: have some other weapons to maybe make up for some

545
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,800
Speaker 1: of that production. But Mike is in a position where

546
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:45,600
Speaker 1: he has had a full, healthy off season, something that's invaluable,

547
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,120
Speaker 1: especially for a guy in a second year. And not

548
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:52,760
Speaker 1: only that he was not healthy, but when he wasn't healthy,

549
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,040
Speaker 1: so he really didn't get a chance to integrate in

550
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,760
Speaker 1: camp with these guys and learn the offense. And when

551
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,400
Speaker 1: he did show up for a few games, he's still

552
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,280
Speaker 1: a rookie who hasn't been able to jell with the team.

553
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,280
Speaker 1: So now you combine the fact that he is healthier,

554
00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:08,399
Speaker 1: and I thought he said something very interesting when he

555
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:10,960
Speaker 1: was talking to us. Everybody knows he had a disc

556
00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,280
Speaker 1: problem in his back and this was the issue, so

557
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,200
Speaker 1: people tend to think his back bothered him, and he said,

558
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,359
Speaker 1: it really wasn't my back, it was actually my leg

559
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,720
Speaker 1: and he was having numbness in his leg and weakness,

560
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:23,840
Speaker 1: and that means a nerve was irritated because of the

561
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,120
Speaker 1: problem in his back. But that means you can't run

562
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,840
Speaker 1: full speed, you can't open up on your stride, So

563
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,159
Speaker 1: it's not just that his back was hurting him. He

564
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,040
Speaker 1: literally couldn't use the physical attributes that make him what

565
00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,399
Speaker 1: he is. It's great to see him out here one

566
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,199
Speaker 1: hundred percent. Another guy had a breakout year last year,

567
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,719
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen. And we always knew that Keenan headed in him.

568
00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,280
Speaker 1: He played sixteen games coming off to a ACL from

569
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,199
Speaker 1: the year before. I think he was the third highest

570
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:53,119
Speaker 1: scoring wide receiver in ESPN Sanders scoring leagues. What can

571
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,560
Speaker 1: you say about what Keena did last year? It was amazing.

572
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:57,600
Speaker 1: I was a believer. I'm gonna get myself a little

573
00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,240
Speaker 1: crydit here. One of the things that made me believe

574
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,399
Speaker 1: he'd be ready to produce from the outset was that

575
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,800
Speaker 1: when he tours Acale the prior season, it was very

576
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,120
Speaker 1: early in the year. And yeah, if you're going to

577
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,200
Speaker 1: do it early, I mean, if you're going to tear

578
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,399
Speaker 1: your ACL, you're better off doing it early because you

579
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:18,360
Speaker 1: have that much more time to rehab. And another thing

580
00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,479
Speaker 1: that's interesting was when I was asking him, how does

581
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,399
Speaker 1: he feel this year in camp compared to last year,

582
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,640
Speaker 1: He's like, not really that different. And you know, most

583
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:29,320
Speaker 1: guys one year removed, we'll say, oh, I'm doing X

584
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,080
Speaker 1: Y and z now and at this point last year

585
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:34,919
Speaker 1: I couldn't. But that reflects back to how long he

586
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,439
Speaker 1: had to rehab and how advanced he was by the

587
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:38,840
Speaker 1: time they came to camp, so it was really just

588
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,320
Speaker 1: a matter of getting playing time underneath them. He essentially

589
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,359
Speaker 1: had an entire twenty sixteen season to recover, and then

590
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,560
Speaker 1: last year we saw it early in camps. The final

591
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:49,199
Speaker 1: last year, when you look at him and where he's

592
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,320
Speaker 1: drafted looks like early second, mid second. I think you'd

593
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:54,920
Speaker 1: be comfortable with him as your wide receiver one oh,

594
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,159
Speaker 1: without a doubt. And you know, Philip Rivers seems to

595
00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,840
Speaker 1: be a guy who, once he established, is like a

596
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:04,119
Speaker 1: good rapport and confidence that's going to be a go

597
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,920
Speaker 1: to guy. And the thing I keep hearing about Keenan

598
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,240
Speaker 1: Allen is that he can do things in so many

599
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 1: different situations. And with the loss of Hunter Henry, like

600
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:15,160
Speaker 1: you referenced, you may see Keenan Allen in the red

601
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:19,840
Speaker 1: zone being targeted more frequently. So if for fantasy purposes,

602
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:24,159
Speaker 1: that's you're already boosting the value of somebody who people

603
00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,480
Speaker 1: know he's an established wide receiver one you know, probably

604
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:29,920
Speaker 1: the first charger that's going to come off the board

605
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,600
Speaker 1: and fantasy drafts. Melvin Gordon. That's all you guys talking

606
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:36,359
Speaker 1: to Melvin entering his fourth season. He's gotten better in

607
00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,400
Speaker 1: each year. What are your expectations for Melvin? Because there's

608
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,120
Speaker 1: not a ton of bell cow running backs and you

609
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:44,760
Speaker 1: look for that early in drafts. He talked about the

610
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:46,960
Speaker 1: ability to stay healthy being his skill set. He said

611
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:48,760
Speaker 1: when he came in the league and people would tell

612
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 1: him you gotta stay healthy, you gotta say healthy, he

613
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: was like, why do people keep saying this? And then

614
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,440
Speaker 1: he had much more of an appreciation for it as

615
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:57,720
Speaker 1: he's gone through these first few years in the league.

616
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,360
Speaker 1: And it's hard. I think running back is the most

617
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,960
Speaker 1: vulnerable position. You're getting hit all the time. You got

618
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,440
Speaker 1: to go through people to accomplish anything. So I think

619
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,480
Speaker 1: he appreciates sun and he by his own definition, he's

620
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,000
Speaker 1: working very, very hard at it. You know, he did say, look,

621
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,000
Speaker 1: we have a lot of pass catchers, so you know,

622
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,440
Speaker 1: even though he believes he is as capable of catching

623
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,760
Speaker 1: the ball as anyone, he knows that that's going to

624
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,400
Speaker 1: be spread around. But we also referenced that eighty seventy

625
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,640
Speaker 1: yard touchdown running had last and he kind of lit

626
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:29,920
Speaker 1: up when we talked about that, and he's like, man,

627
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,680
Speaker 1: I really haven't. I hadn't gotten a free run like that.

628
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,800
Speaker 1: So I think, you know, it's the maturity in the league,

629
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,120
Speaker 1: right And I think now that he's been here and

630
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:42,040
Speaker 1: has established himself, I think that it's smart that he

631
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: will continue to grow with this offense. You know, he

632
00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:46,960
Speaker 1: was on Adam Schefter's podcast I listened to on the

633
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,240
Speaker 1: way in this morning. One of the things he mentioned

634
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,720
Speaker 1: was his ability to just finished strong and you saw

635
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,120
Speaker 1: that last year. I think he's hoping for a quicker

636
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 1: start this year. But the ability to play it your

637
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,000
Speaker 1: best essentially at the end of the year. It's so important,

638
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,000
Speaker 1: especially from a fantasy perspective in your playoffs, right, because

639
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,560
Speaker 1: nobody wants to see somebody taper off at the end

640
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:08,480
Speaker 1: of the year because that's when you need them the

641
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:10,720
Speaker 1: most the most, and it's hard. You know. Look, I

642
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,200
Speaker 1: feel for these guys because you're trying to ask them

643
00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:16,120
Speaker 1: to think about things like that, and I think when

644
00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,760
Speaker 1: they're in the thick of it, they're trying to get

645
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:19,520
Speaker 1: from one week to the next and do it's best

646
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:22,840
Speaker 1: for the team. So the Chargers offense as a whole

647
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 1: is interesting because you have some potential superstars here, but

648
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:30,000
Speaker 1: you also have a depth of weapons in both the

649
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,680
Speaker 1: run game in the past game that make it hard

650
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:35,360
Speaker 1: to anticipate who's really going to be the guy that

651
00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:38,200
Speaker 1: you value the most in the offense to find you,

652
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 1: from a fantasy perspective, all around the league, we're looking

653
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,920
Speaker 1: at guys that we're injured last year, and Odell Beckham,

654
00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 1: David Johnson, Deshaun Watson, Andrew Luck. What do you have

655
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:50,840
Speaker 1: your eyes on in terms of those guys and how

656
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,720
Speaker 1: they're going to bounce back and where get draft them? Well,

657
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,520
Speaker 1: I don't really know where you take and Andrew Luck

658
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,120
Speaker 1: right now. I mean, to me, this is why I

659
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 1: always encourage people draft late, you know, because we're going

660
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,960
Speaker 1: to see some preseason action from Andrew Luck as soon

661
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,200
Speaker 1: as next week, which three weeks and so much happens,

662
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,080
Speaker 1: and that's where to me, it's the eyeball test. How

663
00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,240
Speaker 1: does he look when he's working at game speed? You

664
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:16,920
Speaker 1: know that we're I'm thrilled that he's back at throwing.

665
00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:18,920
Speaker 1: You want the guy to have success after such a

666
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:20,920
Speaker 1: difficult year where he wasn't able to play at all.

667
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,880
Speaker 1: But there's definitely something different in his body language. There's

668
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,840
Speaker 1: definitely something he's more involved. He's obviously practicing full go,

669
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:30,720
Speaker 1: but he hasn't played football in two years, so that

670
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: is a mitigating factor. Is is he going to be

671
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,600
Speaker 1: a little bit rusty in terms of four quarters of

672
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,480
Speaker 1: running at full game speed even if he's healthy. So

673
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:42,200
Speaker 1: there's a difference between being healthy enough to play and

674
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,840
Speaker 1: being in shape to play a football game at top

675
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,479
Speaker 1: level for four quarters. So that's to me, that's one

676
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:49,320
Speaker 1: of the things I'm looking at from all these guys.

677
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,920
Speaker 1: I think Deshaun Watson, he's young, he's been through it

678
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:53,960
Speaker 1: before with ZL I think he'll be in good shape.

679
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,960
Speaker 1: Odell Beckham is showing signs of being able to make

680
00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:00,400
Speaker 1: these one hand to grabs in practice, looks for going

681
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 1: over back. Whereas all the things where you're looking at

682
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,120
Speaker 1: how agile is he on that ankle after that surgery?

683
00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 1: To me, the only thing left with him is how

684
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:10,160
Speaker 1: does he look in traffic, you know, when there's people

685
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:13,160
Speaker 1: under his legs, which is how he got hurt. Is

686
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,280
Speaker 1: there any apprehension is he still going to go up

687
00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,560
Speaker 1: and make those tough catches. Those are the kind of

688
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:19,520
Speaker 1: things that I'm looking at just to see how they

689
00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,800
Speaker 1: passed the eyeball test. And to your point, with the

690
00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,880
Speaker 1: guy like David Johnson, we talked about Keenan Allen injuring

691
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,680
Speaker 1: himself early in the year. Similar thing happened with David Johnson.

692
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,360
Speaker 1: He should be full god looking like a top five

693
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,560
Speaker 1: pick as well. I'm not even worried about him at all.

694
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:33,479
Speaker 1: I think, you know, there was a point last year

695
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:35,200
Speaker 1: we were wondering if he was going to come back,

696
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,240
Speaker 1: and you know, the Cardinals were out of it early,

697
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,160
Speaker 1: there was really no reason to press him back into action.

698
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,280
Speaker 1: I think that paid off. You know, this is a

699
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,760
Speaker 1: good thing. It was his wrist had that much more

700
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,680
Speaker 1: time to heal. I've mentioned this before on our podcast.

701
00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,440
Speaker 1: We saw him play in a charity softball tournament for

702
00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:54,640
Speaker 1: Larry Fitzgerald. Hed time run ye. I mean he's turning

703
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,480
Speaker 1: his wrist the bat and he's got enough power to

704
00:32:57,520 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 1: hit a home run. I think his rist is pretty good.

705
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:01,959
Speaker 1: So funny, we'll get you out of here on this.

706
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,120
Speaker 1: What are you looking forward to this year in twenty eighteen.

707
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,360
Speaker 1: There's so many storylines, there's a lot of intrigue, a

708
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:10,200
Speaker 1: lot of things that people are talking about what are

709
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,760
Speaker 1: you most looking forward to of these next three weeks

710
00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 1: we start the regular season. I mean, to me, Andrew

711
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,320
Speaker 1: Luck is really the biggest story for me because I

712
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,520
Speaker 1: find the pt and me just wants these guys who've

713
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,600
Speaker 1: had a they've had a tough break, and you want

714
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,760
Speaker 1: to see them have success because we love the comeback story.

715
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,120
Speaker 1: Right So after a year like last year where people

716
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:34,040
Speaker 1: were wondering can you ever be the same again? I

717
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:37,040
Speaker 1: certainly hope and expect that he will be. And so

718
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,560
Speaker 1: he is my most interesting storyline to watch this year.

719
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:43,600
Speaker 1: And then you know, for the rest of the thing,

720
00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,080
Speaker 1: for me, it's just really a shakeout and personnel. How

721
00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:48,520
Speaker 1: does it work? Who ends up? I'm very curious over

722
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:50,840
Speaker 1: the preseason who looks like the guy? You hear all

723
00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:54,880
Speaker 1: these rookies always impressing in camp. Everybody's impressing a camp, right, Like,

724
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,040
Speaker 1: I haven't heard of too many that are unimpressive, but

725
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,520
Speaker 1: a couple of also the wide receivers who had injury

726
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,360
Speaker 1: issues last year, like a John Ross who didn't get

727
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:08,720
Speaker 1: to do much. It was sort of injured before camp

728
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,920
Speaker 1: and then kind of carried that through into the season.

729
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:14,960
Speaker 1: But you're hearing good buzz about him, like what can

730
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:16,680
Speaker 1: he do for a team this year? So I think

731
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,200
Speaker 1: some of those guys will go under the radar and

732
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:21,239
Speaker 1: could really break out. And you got one right here

733
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 1: and Mike Williams. So those are the kind of storylines

734
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,960
Speaker 1: that I'm interested in. Mike's certainly been the talk at

735
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,680
Speaker 1: camps to find you. We're thrilled to have you in LA.

736
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:30,879
Speaker 1: Maybe we can get you out to the West Coast.

737
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,239
Speaker 1: War author always tell us to my guess, especially coming

738
00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,200
Speaker 1: from east, and the idea right now, you don't have

739
00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:38,560
Speaker 1: to sell me that, just I'll give you their number.

740
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:40,279
Speaker 1: You call all my bosses and tell them I need

741
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,040
Speaker 1: to come out here more often. We'll do. Thank you

742
00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:44,480
Speaker 1: so much, thank you, and that'll do it. A big

743
00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:47,680
Speaker 1: thanks to Stefania Field and great for joining me, and

744
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,399
Speaker 1: of course thanks to you all for listening. Remember find

745
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:53,480
Speaker 1: us on Apple Podcasts. While you're there, please leave a review,

746
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,600
Speaker 1: help spread the word and a reminder. Several open training

747
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,919
Speaker 1: camp practices this month at the Jackhammet Sports Complex. Visit

748
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,759
Speaker 1: Chargers dot com slash camp for all the details. We

749
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,239
Speaker 1: look forward to seeing you out there and until next time,

750
00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:07,160
Speaker 1: I'm Chris Harry M