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Speaker 1: Hey everybody. Chris Harry with you on a training camp

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Speaker 1: edition of Chargers Weekly Coming up. A pair of Dan's

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Speaker 1: joined the podcast ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano and the

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Speaker 1: La Times Is Dan Wicky join me from Chargers camp.

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Speaker 1: But first, running back Austin Eckler sits down to discuss

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Speaker 1: the team's first day in pads, expectations for the offense,

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Speaker 1: and what a difference of your makes all right, Day

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Speaker 1: three of training camp in the books, pads came on

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Speaker 1: today and joining me now running back Austin Eckler. Austin,

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Speaker 1: how you doing man? I'm doing great, doing great. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for having me Pad's brawn today. How do I feel?

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Speaker 1: They were? They were? It felt good to be back,

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Speaker 1: Like I was talking to you a little bit earlier.

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Speaker 1: We haven't had him on since the last last game

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Speaker 1: of the season last year, so it was good to

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Speaker 1: be back. It feels like playing real foot all again.

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Speaker 1: You know, you can start getting pads, popping a little bit,

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Speaker 1: get flying around and feels gonna be back, especially for

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Speaker 1: a running back. Describe the difference between not being a

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Speaker 1: past or mini camps and OTA's and then finally getting

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Speaker 1: the morning. I think you can assess things a little

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Speaker 1: bit more. Yeah. Absolutely, and it's not necessarily our position,

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Speaker 1: but now our on line and D line can start

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Speaker 1: moving each other a little bit more because they do

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Speaker 1: have that protection, and so it gets a little bit

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Speaker 1: more physical between the trenches. So you're getting a more realistic,

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Speaker 1: not necessarily realistic, but more realistic look at what your

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Speaker 1: holes are going to be and how the how the

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Speaker 1: flow of the line and on line is going to be.

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Speaker 1: I want to say, one of the first five plays,

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Speaker 1: you pop one man went over the house. Yeah, the

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Speaker 1: on line did a great job, you know, open up

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Speaker 1: a little seam and then saw some grass and never

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Speaker 1: look back. One thing I told you offline, I love

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Speaker 1: seeing it too. I mean, you've been hitting a hole

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Speaker 1: really hard. But even when you get bottled up by

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Speaker 1: like I think it was Corey Legion I saw specifically,

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Speaker 1: was trying to know he wouldn't let try and let

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Speaker 1: you go. Yeah, he let you go. You kept finishing

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Speaker 1: the run. Explain how important it is just to finish

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Speaker 1: everything you do. Yeah, there's Yeah, there's definitely a multiple

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Speaker 1: things coming out of that. You know, when you're finishing

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Speaker 1: your run, you know you're getting your condition in because

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Speaker 1: you are limited to rep so you want to make

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Speaker 1: sure you're getting a condition out here. And then the

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Speaker 1: other thing is just the mindset about being a ball

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Speaker 1: carrier and finishing each and every single run you have

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Speaker 1: because you never know if you let up and just

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Speaker 1: go down, you never know if who's gonna fall off,

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Speaker 1: or something might happen, you know, wants something crazy might happen.

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Speaker 1: You might squeak out of it, and so it's just

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Speaker 1: a great, great habit to finish all the runs. How

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Speaker 1: long does it take for you guys to really get

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Speaker 1: into a groove because the riggers of training camp are real. Man,

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Speaker 1: it's hot out here. We're day three, the first day

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Speaker 1: in pads. Are you guys kind of getting your feet

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Speaker 1: unto you for now? Uh? Yeah, It's definitely a climb.

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Speaker 1: I think it is with every team for me every

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Speaker 1: year growing up for football. That's how it's always been.

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Speaker 1: You know, you take time off and you do the

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Speaker 1: offseason workouts and anything like that, but you don't can't

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Speaker 1: really simulate you know, the practice intensity and getting the

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Speaker 1: guys together, and then if we finally get the pads

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Speaker 1: on and intensity picks up and so you just kind

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Speaker 1: of get back to you know, what we were used

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Speaker 1: to and get back to the because we have we

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Speaker 1: have all this time to get your mind right and

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Speaker 1: get the plays down things like that. But it's a

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Speaker 1: lot different when we're just in helmets and you know,

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Speaker 1: kind of not hitting each other as hard. But now

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Speaker 1: once we hit each other, now it's a technique that

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Speaker 1: play it comes into play, and the fatigue that comes

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Speaker 1: into play as well. You know, Austin, a year ago,

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Speaker 1: you flash back, you were fifth or sichel on the

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Speaker 1: depth chart. Nobody knew who you were, and you had

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Speaker 1: to earn your way on the football field. Highly productive

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Speaker 1: year man, five total yards, five touchdowns. You had a

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Speaker 1: great offseason. Explain the difference you feel now versus exactly

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Speaker 1: a year ago. It's funny to say that because fred

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Speaker 1: Or Roberts a running back coach. He always tells me,

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Speaker 1: He's like, man, what a difference a year makes? Man's wild.

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Speaker 1: That's exactly right. You know, just getting the year of

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Speaker 1: experiencing you know, coming in, especially when I was coming in,

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Speaker 1: it kind of seems like surreal being in the moment.

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Speaker 1: You know, you love up to it and you have

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Speaker 1: all these legends around you, and you know, these pro bowlers,

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Speaker 1: and you know Phil, he's been playing for so long,

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Speaker 1: he's like, oh my goodness, and you get here. You see,

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Speaker 1: it takes time to settle down, you know as a rookie.

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Speaker 1: Well it did for me anyway. And you know, once

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Speaker 1: you start settling down, you know, you start getting the

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Speaker 1: plays down, and then physically you have to accept physically

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Speaker 1: that you can play at this level. And once you

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Speaker 1: do that and then the mental sparts start coming, then

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Speaker 1: your game starts clicking. And now for the second year,

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Speaker 1: you know, I know what to expect, I know what

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Speaker 1: you know. I need to work on what works for me.

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Speaker 1: And so a year of experience is huge for me

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Speaker 1: in any rookie coming in. We talked about Philip Rivers,

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Speaker 1: Melvin Gordon, Yeah, Gates here last year, Keenan Allen, a

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Speaker 1: lot of pro bowlers, a lot of future Hall of famers.

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Speaker 1: How much did those guys help you along the way

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Speaker 1: last year? Um, I would say the see as far

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Speaker 1: as helping me is them being themselves, you know, seeing

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Speaker 1: them how they work and how they lead. You know,

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Speaker 1: necessarily they do things they basically exactly, it's not like

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Speaker 1: we're talking every day and things like that. You know, Uh,

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Speaker 1: it's a different type of way that I know you

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Speaker 1: pick up things from them by watching. Like even today

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Speaker 1: I ran a route and I wasn't satisfied with the son.

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Speaker 1: I can go over to Keenan and be like I

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Speaker 1: asked him. I was like, what would you have done

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Speaker 1: on this route? And He's like, this, that would I

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Speaker 1: would have done. I watched your route and yeah, you

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Speaker 1: should have done this differently and things like that. Just

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Speaker 1: learning from these guys that have had success and trying

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Speaker 1: to implement that into my game is is huge. And

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Speaker 1: then with Phil especially because he's running the offense and

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Speaker 1: so he's the one we have to be mentioned with

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Speaker 1: and so if something's not right, he's definitely gonna come

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Speaker 1: tell you. And I love that from him because you know,

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Speaker 1: we're trying to be successful and we all need to

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Speaker 1: be on the same page. Well you know where you're

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Speaker 1: staying too right. The bar is set with those guys,

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Speaker 1: and I guess anybody, whether you're a rookie or a

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Speaker 1: savvy vet here, you got to come in with the

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Speaker 1: mentality that you gotta work and you gotta live up

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Speaker 1: to Phillip's expectations and Keenan's expectations. Absolutely and that's what

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Speaker 1: you want, because these guys are want to win. And

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Speaker 1: if you don't want to come in and you're not

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Speaker 1: gonna work Halrd, you want to do your own thing,

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Speaker 1: it's not gonna fly. I promise you, it's not gonna fly.

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Speaker 1: With the guys that we got leading this team. Describe

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Speaker 1: this running back room. You got Melvin in there, You're

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Speaker 1: in your second year, Justin Jackson comes in from Northwestern?

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Speaker 1: What have you seen from Justin and the rest of

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Speaker 1: the guys there? Uh, just the room in general, we're

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Speaker 1: all learning together. You know. I love our room. When

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Speaker 1: we go into our room, we'll watch a film and

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Speaker 1: all assess film, like what could we have done different there?

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Speaker 1: What was you we've done differently here? And we'll go

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Speaker 1: we'll talk about how we feel about to play and

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Speaker 1: about to run and things like that. So I love

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Speaker 1: it because we all build and grow together. And with

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Speaker 1: especially with mel being in there, you know, he's had

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Speaker 1: so much success and so even with him, you know,

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Speaker 1: he's helping us, but we're also helping him too. And

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Speaker 1: I love that he's open to our criticism too. I

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Speaker 1: think that's huge, just being a team player in that way,

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Speaker 1: and with Justic coming in now, he's showing some quickness

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Speaker 1: even in some drills. You definitely got that quick titch

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Speaker 1: to him. So it'll be exciting to see what he's

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Speaker 1: got going on in preseason. It's a great trio too,

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Speaker 1: because all three of you guys can catch the ball

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Speaker 1: in the backfield too. You know, you're very versatile. You

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Speaker 1: can go in there, first down, second down, third down.

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Speaker 1: How important is that just have that versatility? Does that

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Speaker 1: one guy that just does one thing exactly exactly, so

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Speaker 1: you know we're gonna be in there. We're gonna be

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Speaker 1: a threat. That's what we want to be. And so

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Speaker 1: you got to be able to catch and run the ball,

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Speaker 1: and so we can all do that, and so we're

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Speaker 1: all threats. And I you know, I like where we

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Speaker 1: got going. Also, if I'm a rookie or an undrafted

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Speaker 1: free agent on this football team, I'm on your hip right.

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Speaker 1: I want to see what you did, I want to

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Speaker 1: see how you work, and I want to be the

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Speaker 1: next next Austin Eckler, have guys gravitated towards you, ask

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Speaker 1: you about your journey through the first year. Yeah, absolutely,

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Speaker 1: Some of our even our younger guys in the room

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Speaker 1: I'll tell him, like last year, like for me, like

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Speaker 1: you said, I was six three, I wasn't getting many

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Speaker 1: reps out here. I get four or five reps of practice. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's the whole practice. How did you handle that? I

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Speaker 1: didn't that first at first. You know, I was frustrated.

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Speaker 1: I was like, what am I doing wrong? And I

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Speaker 1: would get reps and I'd play okay, you know, and

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Speaker 1: so I wasn't doing anything to you know, make stand

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Speaker 1: out necessarily, and so I was frustrated with myself and

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Speaker 1: just frustrated I wasn't getting enough what I thought was

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Speaker 1: enough reps. But you know, it just comes down to,

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Speaker 1: you know, you got to keep doing your film study

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Speaker 1: and those opportunities they might be small, but I was

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Speaker 1: getting a few and then ended up making a few

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Speaker 1: plays here and there, and then when preseason comes, it's

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Speaker 1: really really need to be on your game because those

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Speaker 1: are the reps that actually that this is real, this

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Speaker 1: is your real test. And so I would tell the

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Speaker 1: rookies like, hey, if you're not getting a bunch of

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Speaker 1: rep it's mental reps then, because they're gonna get the

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Speaker 1: guys that they know or think they know are gonna

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Speaker 1: be playing and it's your job to prove them wrong

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Speaker 1: that you should actually be, you know, getting more reps,

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Speaker 1: and so it's your job to be ready when your

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Speaker 1: opportunity comes. Was there a moment last year in training

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Speaker 1: camp that kind of aha moment like, Hey, I got this,

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Speaker 1: I belong I know that San Francisco game that week four,

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Speaker 1: A lot of people, you know, they saw what you

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Speaker 1: can do. But was there a moment for you personally

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Speaker 1: just out here at the Jack Himmon Sports Complex or

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Speaker 1: you're like, oh, I belong here. I honestly, I don't

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Speaker 1: think it was out here. I think it wasn't the

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Speaker 1: pre when we got preseason. Yeah, I think it was

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Speaker 1: about the third game. And it wasn't even on offense.

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Speaker 1: It was on special teams. You know, I was having

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Speaker 1: success on special teams, you know, running down I had

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Speaker 1: a few tackles in the first couple games, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I was just doing everything I could to make plays.

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Speaker 1: I was trying everything I could to make plays and

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Speaker 1: you know, stay sound to my technique and ended up

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Speaker 1: even even in the fourth game, you know, ended up

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Speaker 1: making a bunch of players on special teams. And that

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Speaker 1: was what it was for me, Like I didn't do

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Speaker 1: anything crazy on offense. You know, I made a good

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Speaker 1: cut and things like that, and you know, read my

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Speaker 1: routes and picked up my blocks. But it wasn't like

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Speaker 1: I was scoring touchdowns or anything like that. That's why

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Speaker 1: I tell the young guys too, Hey, it's not gonna

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Speaker 1: be flashy. You don't have to go out here and

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Speaker 1: score touchdowns. You know, her be hurdling people like, they

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Speaker 1: want to see you do your job, and I think

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Speaker 1: that's what I was doing. Do your job and make

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Speaker 1: a few plays when they are presented to you. Descrubbed

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Speaker 1: this offseason. You graduated, graduated, Yeah, so that was something

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Speaker 1: that I wanted to get off my chest, you know,

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Speaker 1: so close, and that was what I was going to

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Speaker 1: initially go into my degree, and you know, ended up

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Speaker 1: being here, which I'm glad it worked out like this,

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Speaker 1: but that was definitely something I wanted to get done

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Speaker 1: because you never know, you know, when your degree he's

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Speaker 1: going to come into play in your life. My journey

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Speaker 1: Austin Nickler was on charges dot com early this year.

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Speaker 1: Our video team does an awesome job just in general

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Speaker 1: with a lot of the stuff they do with his

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Speaker 1: long form short form. What was that experience like be

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Speaker 1: a following around by our guys. It was. It was

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Speaker 1: actually awesome because you know, it's a small town in Colorado,

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Speaker 1: so you know, they don't they don't see a lot

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Speaker 1: of media like that, and so it was like a

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Speaker 1: week before prior when they notified our teachers and then

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Speaker 1: they told the rest of the students in my class.

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Speaker 1: And I was in my senior classes, so I'm pretty

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Speaker 1: close with all those people. There's like eight to nine people.

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Speaker 1: They're like, what they were more nervous. Oh that's great. Uh.

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Speaker 1: I thought that was pretty cool. But then they came

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Speaker 1: in and yeah, we were together all day. You know

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Speaker 1: that I got to show those guys, you know where

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Speaker 1: I went to, where I went to school, and you know,

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Speaker 1: did my thing up at Western, and you know, it

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Speaker 1: was just it was just cool for them to experience that,

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Speaker 1: and I was I had fun with them because they

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Speaker 1: ever seen it for the first time. They're like, you

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Speaker 1: experience that with them? Yeah, exactly exactly if they knew

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Speaker 1: the cameras are coming that day or did they have

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Speaker 1: like a little bit of an advanced notice. My classes did.

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Speaker 1: But when we were walking around campus and things like that.

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Speaker 1: In nature, everyone was kind of looking at us like,

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Speaker 1: what's going on? That's girl? Yeah it was. It was

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Speaker 1: a great experience. I had so much fun. Yeah that's awesome. Well, hey,

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Speaker 1: if you haven't seen it, you should have seen it

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Speaker 1: by now. But my journey Austin eckles on charges dot

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Speaker 1: com Austin last thing. Expectations for this football team. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you guys finish a year winning nine to twelve. I

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Speaker 1: know momentum doesn't carry over per se from twenty seventeen

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Speaker 1: to twenty eighteen, but when you look at the talent

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Speaker 1: on this team, starting with the offensive line, guys in

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Speaker 1: the backfield, fill up the wide receiving corps, what are

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Speaker 1: you expectations for twenty eighteen? Hey, as an offense, we're

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Speaker 1: gonna make plays, score points. That's our expectation. We got

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Speaker 1: the guys to make plays and score points all over

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Speaker 1: the matter. If we're running the ball for passing, and

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Speaker 1: I think we're just gonna do that. You know, we

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Speaker 1: keep ourselves healthy, we're gonna be rolling. We just gotta

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Speaker 1: make sure we're starting early and starting fast, and then

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Speaker 1: no looking back from there. It's hot out here, stay cool.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us, and well we'll see you soon.

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Speaker 1: I appreciate it. So the Los Angeles Chargers schedule is out,

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Speaker 1: and boy, it's nice to finally know how we'll be

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Speaker 1: spending our Sundays this fall. How many Charger games did

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Speaker 1: you make last year? Matt? I made twenty four preseason

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

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Speaker 1: you circling for this season? This season, I'll circle the

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Speaker 1: Niners and Cardinals as they play the NFC West, And

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Speaker 1: let's not forget about those rivalry games. Pee. You seriously

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Speaker 1: don't want to miss this. Visit fight for LA dot

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

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Speaker 1: Season tickets on sale now. All right, just wrapped up

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Speaker 1: Day three of Chargers training camp. Very please be joined

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Speaker 1: by Dan Graziano VSPN Dan. How are you, sir? I'm

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Speaker 1: doing great. How are you good? Little West Coast swing

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Speaker 1: for you? Joining your Southern California weather very very much.

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna be very sad to leave it. I gotta

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Speaker 1: tell you, what, though, is hotting? We got the you

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Speaker 1: know guys don't know you. I got East Coast humidity

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Speaker 1: and I don't miss it. Okay, three days in the

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Speaker 1: Pats came on today for the Chargers. Would you see

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Speaker 1: out there and what have you seen the past couple

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Speaker 1: of days because you're out here earlier as well. Look,

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Speaker 1: I mean it's a good looking team like that. You

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Speaker 1: look around and you see Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen

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Speaker 1: and you see how exciting that can be. And you

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Speaker 1: watch Melvin Gordon run, and you know, you see a

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Speaker 1: team that Scott It's offensive line basically said, and and

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Speaker 1: you you see where it's gonna come from. Obviously unfortunate

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Speaker 1: situation with the tight end, and they're working some younger

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Speaker 1: guys into that mix. It looks like there's gonna be

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Speaker 1: a little bit of a learning curve with that crew,

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Speaker 1: but they have time. Uh, And of course I guess

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Speaker 1: it's always possible that Antonio Gates shows back up. I

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Speaker 1: know they've been talking, but um yeah, I mean it's

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Speaker 1: to watch someone like a Philip Rivers run a training

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Speaker 1: camp practice is fun to see if somebody's doing it

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Speaker 1: a long time, knows what he's doing, has the respect

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Speaker 1: of of his of his teammates, and I think that's uh,

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Speaker 1: I think I think that's cool. I'm interested that he

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Speaker 1: doesn't wear like a red non contact practice ye see

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Speaker 1: a lot of places. Well, I think fifteenth year, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think number seventeen. You know, not to get close

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Speaker 1: to the number seventeen, Yeah, I think that would be

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Speaker 1: there would be some consequences if somebody ignored that number.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, look it's been I think this is a

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Speaker 1: team that expects to contend for big things this year.

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Speaker 1: And I think you know, so if you're out here,

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Speaker 1: training can't be focuses make sure everybody stays healthy. And

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Speaker 1: the couple of days I've been here, fortunately that's been

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Speaker 1: the case. I guess as those are good days. We

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Speaker 1: talked about the tight end position. Obviously, it was huge

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Speaker 1: blow to lose Hunter Henry and you're not going to

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Speaker 1: replace his production with one guy. But Mike Williams coming

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Speaker 1: in here is his first ever training camp practice on Saturday,

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Speaker 1: caught a forty yard bomb from Philip Rivers in the

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Speaker 1: scrimmage period today. What have you seen from Mike and

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Speaker 1: how do you think this team replaces Hunter Henry's production.

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Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of ways you can do it.

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Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of ways you can do it,

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Speaker 1: but the key thing is the middle of the field, right,

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Speaker 1: So yeah, the way Hunter Henry operated in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the field opened up some things for Keenan Allen

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Speaker 1: on the outside, and you know, I think that's a

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Speaker 1: large part of the reason that he had the volume

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Speaker 1: he did. So you have to establish a threat there

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Speaker 1: in order to make sure your offense runs the way

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Speaker 1: it was. And if you can't, if you don't think

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Speaker 1: you can establish that mismatched threat there, then you're gonna

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Speaker 1: have to scheme differently the stuff you're doing on the

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Speaker 1: outside too. So I don't know that Mike Williams is

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Speaker 1: sort of the one for one solution there, because I

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Speaker 1: don't think you're gonna put Mike where you lined up

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Speaker 1: Hunter Henry and expect him to win in those exact

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Speaker 1: same areas. But someone of Mike's talent, if he comes quickly,

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Speaker 1: if he advances in terms of his chemistry with Philip,

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Speaker 1: that will enable you do some other things, right, So

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Speaker 1: I think that's that's what they're waiting to see with

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Speaker 1: Mike Williams and missed a lot of time last years,

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Speaker 1: you know. And you know they look at Rivers and

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Speaker 1: Keenan Allen and see what that connection is like and

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Speaker 1: how much they trust each other. And they know that

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Speaker 1: Mike Williams coming off a rookie year where he didn't

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Speaker 1: play the whole season, has a ways to go before.

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Speaker 1: That's the case with him in the quarter back. So

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Speaker 1: the more time out here the better, The more trust

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Speaker 1: he builds, the better, and then maybe you get to

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Speaker 1: a point where at some point during this season you

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Speaker 1: know you're able to use the both of them in

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Speaker 1: a way that's beneficial to each Yeah, Philip talked about

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Speaker 1: the need from Mike just to have a healthy off

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Speaker 1: season this year. He did, and he had he was great.

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Speaker 1: Note as in minicamp. It's good to see the pads

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Speaker 1: come on and him performing, And it's just I think

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Speaker 1: it's just going to be a matter of chemistry and

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Speaker 1: get on the same page. I think so, And that's

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Speaker 1: an underrated thing. I mean, ye, Like he's got all

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Speaker 1: the talent in the world. Obviously, where he was drafted

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Speaker 1: indicates that, and it's just a matter of being out

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Speaker 1: here and wrapping it and learning the offense and again

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Speaker 1: that timing and that trust with the quarterback, and that

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Speaker 1: just something that simply doesn't happen overnight. You see exceptional

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Speaker 1: cases of guys like an Odell Beckham Junior, who has

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Speaker 1: a supremely successful rookie season. Yeah, I guess Mike Evans

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Speaker 1: and Tampa Bay had a season like that when he

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Speaker 1: was a rookie. But it's not every guy, and it's

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Speaker 1: very natural to need some time, So I would expect

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Speaker 1: that to be the case here. Defensively, Gus Bradley's second

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Speaker 1: year here, they got better and better as the year

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Speaker 1: went on. A twenty seventeen to bring Darwin James in

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Speaker 1: first four picks in the twenty eighteen drafts or on defense,

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Speaker 1: what did you see from this defense just in your

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Speaker 1: you know, early time here, and what are your expectations

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Speaker 1: for this Gus Bratley defense in your too? I expect

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Speaker 1: it to be It seems like the focus is on

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Speaker 1: stopping the run. That was an issue last year. So

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Speaker 1: Darwin's gonna help there, I think so. And I think

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Speaker 1: you know he helps on the back end in terms

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Speaker 1: of the sideline to sideline stuff that he can do

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Speaker 1: it at safety. So but you know, you're asking a

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Speaker 1: lot of a rookie, right so some rookies do it

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Speaker 1: right away and some don't. So which is he will

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Speaker 1: find out. There's no reason to think he won't be

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Speaker 1: able to make a major contribution right away, but some guys,

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Speaker 1: naturally because of who they are, take a little longer.

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Speaker 1: Of course, I think they'll be okay at cornerback. I

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Speaker 1: know it's upsetting about Jason Varette, but it seemed like

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Speaker 1: they were able to fill that production last year and

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Speaker 1: when some of those same guys are back, And of

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Speaker 1: course the edge rush is the makes it go, the

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Speaker 1: superstar element of the defense. So yeah, can those guys

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Speaker 1: contribut in the run game? Can they get more push

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Speaker 1: in the middle. But I think, you know, Gus Bradley's

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Speaker 1: an established defensive coordinat he knows what he's doing. He's

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Speaker 1: got pieces to work with. You know, we talk about

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Speaker 1: the pieces on the offensive side of all, they're just

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Speaker 1: as many on defense. And it's very exciting to look

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Speaker 1: at that roster and see what its potential is. You know.

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Speaker 1: The AFC West, I've talked to so many different people

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Speaker 1: about this division, probably the most intriguing division when you

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Speaker 1: look at all the change really up and down in Oakland,

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Speaker 1: new coach in Kansas City, new quarterback Alex Smith now

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Speaker 1: in Washington, Denver, YEP, new quarterback in case Keenum, a

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Speaker 1: lot of new coaches under Vance Joseph. There was a

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Speaker 1: lot of stability though with the Chargers. When you look

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Speaker 1: at this division, how do you think it's going to

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Speaker 1: shake out? That was a big point of emphasis for

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Speaker 1: the Chargers this offseason. They wanted to bring the coordinators back,

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Speaker 1: all three of them, they say, and really bring that

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Speaker 1: stability because they did feel like they felt they finished

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Speaker 1: the season as the team they thought they were all along,

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Speaker 1: so continue that. A lot of people canna pick the

428
00:17:58,040 --> 00:17:59,560
Speaker 1: Chargers to win the AFC West. It's going to be

429
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,560
Speaker 1: a popular pick. You can tell already based on the

430
00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,600
Speaker 1: coverage they're getting. The only thing that makes me hesitate

431
00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:06,280
Speaker 1: a little bit is, you know, Andy Reid's record of

432
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:08,679
Speaker 1: making the playoffs is really strong, you know. I mean

433
00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,040
Speaker 1: you can Philadelphia and then with Kansas City, so you

434
00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:13,199
Speaker 1: don't like to count them out. But you don't know

435
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,320
Speaker 1: what Pat Mahomes is gonna bring a quarterback. It's a

436
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,320
Speaker 1: big wild card. They have a lot of talent on

437
00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:20,280
Speaker 1: that team on the offensive side, the defense looks shaky

438
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:22,680
Speaker 1: and the quarterback is a youngster who's only played one game.

439
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,280
Speaker 1: So there's going to be an opportunity there for the

440
00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:29,000
Speaker 1: Chargers to take control of that division. And we'll find

441
00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:31,000
Speaker 1: out right away because Kansas City has been a major

442
00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,320
Speaker 1: sticking point. Right, Well, let's be objective. Here's there's no

443
00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:36,400
Speaker 1: two ways around it, right. I mean, they're the back

444
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,560
Speaker 1: to back champs of the division. I think the biggest

445
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:44,000
Speaker 1: question mark is Mahomes, but largely he's been praised universally

446
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,960
Speaker 1: and he's got all the tools. At the same time.

447
00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,959
Speaker 1: One start and his second starts going to be against

448
00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:53,479
Speaker 1: Joey Bosa Melvin in his defense, It's gonna be interesting.

449
00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:55,840
Speaker 1: And I mean, look, you if you go from Alex

450
00:18:55,880 --> 00:19:00,000
Speaker 1: Smith to anyone else at quarterback, you're gonna have more turnovers.

451
00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:01,920
Speaker 1: Alex Smith's best at protecting the ball that there is

452
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,520
Speaker 1: in the whole league. Now you've gone from Alex Smith

453
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,639
Speaker 1: to an untested young player. Now Andy Reid is to

454
00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,000
Speaker 1: be trusted when it comes to quarterbacks and offense. But

455
00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,240
Speaker 1: they're going to be some issues here with Patrick Mahomes.

456
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:15,760
Speaker 1: He's going to turn the ball over more than Alex

457
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,440
Speaker 1: Smith did. If he doesn't, it'll be a miracle. So

458
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:20,720
Speaker 1: how does he handle that? Right? How does he handle

459
00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,560
Speaker 1: when he struggles, when he loses? How does he handle

460
00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,280
Speaker 1: when the fans are booing him? So all those things

461
00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,159
Speaker 1: we still don't know about this young man who has

462
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,760
Speaker 1: an immense amount of talent and is dynamic enough to

463
00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:33,960
Speaker 1: really fit well into an already dynamic offense and make

464
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,879
Speaker 1: it go. I think you'll see throws from Patrick Mahomes

465
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,560
Speaker 1: that will dazzle you and you'll say, oh, yeah, that's why.

466
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,159
Speaker 1: But how many of those versus how many mistakes or

467
00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,000
Speaker 1: how many trouble spots? And I think that will tell

468
00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,200
Speaker 1: the story of Kansas City season. Sammy Watkins coming into

469
00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,359
Speaker 1: I think people forget about Spencer were as well. He

470
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:52,880
Speaker 1: went down earlier in the year, thrust Kareem Hunt into action,

471
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,040
Speaker 1: and obviously we saw what Kareem Hunts capable of. But offensively,

472
00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,760
Speaker 1: there is loaded is any team in the NFL. Defensively,

473
00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,520
Speaker 1: that's where you wonder a little bit because there's some

474
00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,480
Speaker 1: some leadership. You know, Listen, Marcus Peters has gone, Derek

475
00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,000
Speaker 1: Johnson has moved on to Oakland. You get Eric berryback,

476
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,359
Speaker 1: but it's just a big question mark. There a lot

477
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,000
Speaker 1: of question marks at cornerback. Yes, the linebacker corps has

478
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,840
Speaker 1: been aging for a couple of years. Have they done

479
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,399
Speaker 1: enough to replace what they had there in the front seven?

480
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,159
Speaker 1: So where are they going to be a team that's

481
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,160
Speaker 1: just gonna try and outscore everyone with all those guys.

482
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,920
Speaker 1: You met Travis Kelsey at tight end, you know Tyreek Hill.

483
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:27,680
Speaker 1: They have a lot of speed on that side of

484
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:29,760
Speaker 1: the ball. But I would think that, having not been

485
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:31,119
Speaker 1: to their camp, I would think that a lot of

486
00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:33,560
Speaker 1: the focus in Kansas City this offseason is on getting

487
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,640
Speaker 1: that defense put together, because it definitely looks as if

488
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,800
Speaker 1: that's where the trouble spots are. Let's look at the

489
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,840
Speaker 1: AFC as a whole. Dan Obviously it's the Patriots and

490
00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,080
Speaker 1: the Steelers and everybody else really, but that's how it's

491
00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,399
Speaker 1: been in the past, I'm saying. But now now you've

492
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,800
Speaker 1: got teams like Jacksonville. You have teams you know, can't

493
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,879
Speaker 1: counting out Kansas City, can't count out the Chargers, the

494
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,199
Speaker 1: AFC South, some intrigue there. What are you looking at

495
00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,080
Speaker 1: in the AFC? Yeah, Houston and should bounce back with

496
00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:03,480
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson assuming he's health in it looks like he

497
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,159
Speaker 1: will be to start the season. Tennessee, I think is

498
00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:07,600
Speaker 1: a team that will be heard from. That's a good

499
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:09,840
Speaker 1: looking roster top to bottom, and we'll see what the

500
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,800
Speaker 1: new coaching staff offers there. They want a playoff game

501
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,800
Speaker 1: last year in Kansas City on the road, so obviously

502
00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,600
Speaker 1: they're not to be overlooked. Jacksonville should be strong again.

503
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:21,679
Speaker 1: I like this Chargers team. Kansas City has proven that

504
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:26,159
Speaker 1: they're a perennial contender the North. Pittsburgh looks like the

505
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:28,560
Speaker 1: beast out there, and I don't know if any of

506
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,679
Speaker 1: the other three are going to push him, but I

507
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,280
Speaker 1: could see where it could fall apart for Pittsburgh too, honestly.

508
00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,680
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, they got those stars, but if

509
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,239
Speaker 1: Levy on Bell's unhappy, or if you know, there's an

510
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,280
Speaker 1: injury on the offensive line, you could see where it

511
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,320
Speaker 1: could go south there. Because that locker room's a very

512
00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:46,240
Speaker 1: interesting place. You know, there's a lot of people kind

513
00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,959
Speaker 1: of doing their own thing, and they get it together

514
00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:50,840
Speaker 1: on game day and they always went seem to win

515
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,400
Speaker 1: what ten eleven games, But it's a kind of place

516
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,960
Speaker 1: where things start to go badly. It could fall apart,

517
00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,400
Speaker 1: and then New England whatever, until we see somebody knock

518
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,600
Speaker 1: New England off, just gonna write them in and pen

519
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,680
Speaker 1: at the top of that division. But I think when

520
00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,760
Speaker 1: you look at the AFC versus the NFC. The NFC

521
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,160
Speaker 1: looks like it has more Super Bowl contender type team.

522
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,399
Speaker 1: There's like ten teams that I wouldn't be shocked if

523
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:14,960
Speaker 1: you said, hey, they're going to the super Bowl this year,

524
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:19,840
Speaker 1: it wouldn't shock me. Eagles, Saints, Rams, the Falcons should

525
00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,320
Speaker 1: be a good team, the Vikings and Packers, you know.

526
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,760
Speaker 1: But the AFC, I think there's more opportunity if you're

527
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,760
Speaker 1: a team like the Chargers who wants to take that

528
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,479
Speaker 1: jump into that next level and feels capable of it.

529
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,720
Speaker 1: I think the AFC offers more of that, whereas the

530
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:39,439
Speaker 1: NFC looks a little more stacked with high end teams

531
00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:41,600
Speaker 1: at this point. Dann, we get you at here on this.

532
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,199
Speaker 1: Just looking at this training camp period in preseason, what

533
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,959
Speaker 1: are a few storylines that's you're keeping your eye on,

534
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,520
Speaker 1: not just in the AFC West, not just with the Chargers,

535
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,600
Speaker 1: but league wide, league wide. I want to see if

536
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,720
Speaker 1: there's harmony in New England after all, right, that tumultuous

537
00:22:57,760 --> 00:22:59,760
Speaker 1: offseason they had with a lot of back and forth

538
00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:04,920
Speaker 1: on who's happy and who's not. I'm interested to see. Yeah,

539
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,000
Speaker 1: the NFC East is always interesting to me. Maybe that's

540
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,000
Speaker 1: just because that's my background when I started covering, It's

541
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,600
Speaker 1: like division right, yeah, they always have it. They haven't

542
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,040
Speaker 1: had a repeat champion since two thousand and four. So

543
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,359
Speaker 1: everybody loves the Eagles and for good reason. But Cowboy

544
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,359
Speaker 1: should have a good team. I don't think Washington's a

545
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,159
Speaker 1: bad team, and the Giants have to be better. Just

546
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:24,960
Speaker 1: thinking of Kirk Cousins in Minnesota, does he make the

547
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,240
Speaker 1: most of that opportunity? He was a big offseason story.

548
00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:30,800
Speaker 1: How quickly are the forty nine ers a factor? You

549
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:32,960
Speaker 1: know that with Jimmy Garoppolo and they're a hot finish

550
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,560
Speaker 1: to the season. Is that something they can keep going

551
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,600
Speaker 1: or do they have more building to do? The Seahawks

552
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,359
Speaker 1: have anything left at all? Or are they really on

553
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,200
Speaker 1: the on the down solid? I wouldn't be sincere as

554
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,159
Speaker 1: a team, right if won so much they have the

555
00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 1: coach in the quarterback, wouldn't be surprised to see them

556
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,080
Speaker 1: to sort of rise up and when everyone everyone's counting

557
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 1: them out, right, and so it seems like foolish to

558
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:52,119
Speaker 1: count them out until you see they had allows the

559
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,200
Speaker 1: year last year still one nine yea, so um yeah,

560
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,280
Speaker 1: I mean those are just top of my head. I mean, right,

561
00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,080
Speaker 1: I think league wide all the field stuff. Curious to

562
00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,159
Speaker 1: see what happens with the issue regarding the protests in

563
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,600
Speaker 1: the national anthem um and this new helmet rule. Everybody's

564
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 1: talking about how that's going to be officiated and enforced.

565
00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,919
Speaker 1: But on the field, yeah, some intriguing storylines with those teams.

566
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,200
Speaker 1: Sclad ball is back. You're on the West Coast. We're

567
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: gonna get you out here at all in twenty eighteen.

568
00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:19,359
Speaker 1: I'm week to week, my schedules week to week once

569
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,560
Speaker 1: this season. So but I am really enjoying my Now

570
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 1: there's a rumor that you'd like to be out here

571
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:24,879
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit more. I hope they would be.

572
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,840
Speaker 1: They had me in cold place all January. I was

573
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,280
Speaker 1: in like Kansas City and Pittsburgh. I think he can't

574
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 1: give me that Rams game, you know, but yeah, but

575
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,920
Speaker 1: maybe Dan out to some California Chargers have a big year. Yeah,

576
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,160
Speaker 1: and there's more teams out here performing at a high level.

577
00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:39,480
Speaker 1: Better chance. Hope to see out here, man. I can't

578
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,800
Speaker 1: think you enough for your time my pleasure. Christ Well,

579
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,640
Speaker 1: the podcast downloads always go up when my next guest

580
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,280
Speaker 1: is on. Is that true, Dan Woike? That doesn't seem

581
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,159
Speaker 1: like that's true. If the LA Times joints me on

582
00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:55,080
Speaker 1: Chargers Weekly, it's an all Dan podcast. Dan Graziano, Dan Woikey, Dane,

583
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,920
Speaker 1: Dan Quail, Who could get could get Dan on the podcast?

584
00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,920
Speaker 1: Left early Big Indianapolis Coltsan Maybe, Um, it's fun looking

585
00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:03,640
Speaker 1: out here, you know, at this empty field right now,

586
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:08,840
Speaker 1: thinking about all the hard hitting action we saw earlier today,

587
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,280
Speaker 1: real football ish. It was actually an opportunity to kind

588
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:14,399
Speaker 1: of see you know, I was just talking to Austin Ekeler.

589
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 1: You can't tell how a running back looks without the pads.

590
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,159
Speaker 1: He had a good day. Yeah, i'd say anybody, but

591
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,520
Speaker 1: receivers and cornerbacks maybe like quarterbacks. A lot of fightsive line,

592
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:26,520
Speaker 1: defensive line, you can't tell you but you can't. Yeah,

593
00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,199
Speaker 1: you can't tell what they're doing until they get the

594
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,800
Speaker 1: pads on for sure. Um, and then definitely the running

595
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,040
Speaker 1: game doesn't exist you know in Okas, like not at all. Um,

596
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:37,960
Speaker 1: it's funny you mentioned that, Claire. It's something that I

597
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,800
Speaker 1: want to write about at some point during camp. But boy,

598
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:43,480
Speaker 1: it looks and I know this might be border line

599
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,600
Speaker 1: like stranger stuff, but it's common sense, like he's gonna

600
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,439
Speaker 1: be way more involved in their offense this year. It

601
00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,359
Speaker 1: just feels that way that like they didn't know maybe

602
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,399
Speaker 1: exactly what they had last year at this time, and

603
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,040
Speaker 1: this year they know and you can do some fun

604
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,520
Speaker 1: stuff with him. He popped today when I talked to

605
00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:00,880
Speaker 1: him about this. The first five plays. I think one

606
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:02,760
Speaker 1: of those plays he took to the house. Yeah, he's

607
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,679
Speaker 1: hitting the hole very hard. And what I love about it,

608
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,320
Speaker 1: And I mentioned this to him, he's finishing every play.

609
00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:09,960
Speaker 1: I think there was one play where Corey LEAs just

610
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,880
Speaker 1: wrapped him up in one YEA were talking about finishes

611
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,400
Speaker 1: the play. Yeah. No, He's a guy that, um, I've

612
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,159
Speaker 1: been pretty high on for the last year. So he

613
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,560
Speaker 1: was kind of the guy that in sort of randomly

614
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,680
Speaker 1: like I had kind of earmarked I'm gonna put myself

615
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,120
Speaker 1: on the back last year in OTAs is a guy

616
00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:28,439
Speaker 1: that I was really excited to see it because you know,

617
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,399
Speaker 1: he fit this profile that I that I found to

618
00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:34,560
Speaker 1: be fascinating, right, crazy productive, um like record setting production

619
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,560
Speaker 1: right in college. And then he went he went and

620
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 1: tested at the regional combine and he tested it like

621
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 1: through the roof, right, and so it's like, okay, so

622
00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,240
Speaker 1: if he's physically gifted enough to play, and when he's

623
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,720
Speaker 1: played before, he's obviously he's smart enough, productive enough to play.

624
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,920
Speaker 1: Like this is a guy who can still play and

625
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 1: he's a little small, but you know, he made a

626
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,160
Speaker 1: really a bigger impact I think than anybody expected last year.

627
00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:59,200
Speaker 1: To me, he's going to be a big part of

628
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,320
Speaker 1: their offense this year. I think he's like he's an

629
00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:05,639
Speaker 1: X factor guy on offense, a Darren sprowlesi ish uh,

630
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,040
Speaker 1: Danny Wood had like those kind of complimentary backs and

631
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,440
Speaker 1: Anthony Lynn always talks about, I think they got one.

632
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:12,320
Speaker 1: I mean, that's he's gonna be their guy. He said

633
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:14,680
Speaker 1: something interesting to me because I asked him about his

634
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,120
Speaker 1: comfort level obviously from last year to this year. Yeah,

635
00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:21,120
Speaker 1: and he said that he didn't really feel like he

636
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:23,919
Speaker 1: was popping until the preseason games, Like there wasn't a

637
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,320
Speaker 1: moment out here on the field where he felt like

638
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,120
Speaker 1: I'm here. It was it was actually in the preseason

639
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,359
Speaker 1: games where he felt comfortable, and it was on special teams.

640
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,320
Speaker 1: He made a couple of plays on special teams and

641
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 1: then I think everything else was kind of downhill from there. Yeah,

642
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:37,360
Speaker 1: I mean I think a positive way. Yeah, I think,

643
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:39,879
Speaker 1: you know, he didn't really get a lot of reps

644
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,719
Speaker 1: until the end of the third preseason game I think

645
00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:44,800
Speaker 1: against the Rams, and he was that Niners game that

646
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,200
Speaker 1: week four, and then he played really well in Week

647
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,480
Speaker 1: four and that's how he earned like those two preseason games.

648
00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:50,920
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean I remember talking to him, and

649
00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:52,919
Speaker 1: he was a guy who was doing a lot of thinking,

650
00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 1: you know. And I think that's common for rookies, especially

651
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,560
Speaker 1: undrafted ones, who come out here and they don't want

652
00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,040
Speaker 1: to screw up, you know, and when you play with that,

653
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 1: you get kind of handcuffed, you know. And I think

654
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,560
Speaker 1: that's that's a big part of these early parts of

655
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:08,760
Speaker 1: training campus, saying how quickly these guys can kind of

656
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,439
Speaker 1: shake that, and how how soon can you kind of

657
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,280
Speaker 1: balance sort of doing what you're supposed to do with

658
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,720
Speaker 1: your instincts right and kind of getting that and lined.

659
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,520
Speaker 1: And so that's why it's always positive when you hear

660
00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:19,000
Speaker 1: a coach at Anthony Lynn talk about a guy like

661
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,399
Speaker 1: because you're white, the way he has already you know,

662
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:23,800
Speaker 1: to me, that shows that this is a guy who

663
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,239
Speaker 1: early on is playing at a speed and with an

664
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 1: energy that that's impressed the head coach, and that means

665
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 1: he's probably not doing a lot of thinking out there,

666
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:34,160
Speaker 1: and that's good. Yeah, who else stood out to you today? Um,

667
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,639
Speaker 1: let's see today. I I thought Desmond King made and

668
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:39,760
Speaker 1: nice play today. Um he picked off Gino Smith. I

669
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,720
Speaker 1: think Cardell Jones looked pretty good. Um, and kind of

670
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:48,760
Speaker 1: that backup quarterback battle, it's closer than than I think. Um,

671
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,160
Speaker 1: it seems it would maybe be on face failure. It's

672
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:55,560
Speaker 1: an important battle too, because is it it is? It

673
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 1: is because you're always a play away in Philip. You know,

674
00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:00,880
Speaker 1: sure he is an iron man, but you know, you

675
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:02,959
Speaker 1: look around the league. Best job in the world. By

676
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,200
Speaker 1: the way, Philip River's backham that is the best job

677
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 1: in the World's great job. But I'm interested to see

678
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,320
Speaker 1: how this thing plays up because Cardale has been here longer,

679
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,280
Speaker 1: Gino has more experienced, and Coach Lynn knows both of

680
00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:15,760
Speaker 1: these guys from his stops in New York and Buffalo. Yeah,

681
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,000
Speaker 1: it's a really interesting battle, I think. And they're very different.

682
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:19,480
Speaker 1: I mean, you see Gino out here with the pads

683
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,960
Speaker 1: on here like that guy looks like an NFL quarterback

684
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 1: for sure. He's bigger than I think. You know, I

685
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,000
Speaker 1: thought he was Cardale for a minute. Yeah, he looked.

686
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:30,120
Speaker 1: He looked like he's a big He's a big guy. Um.

687
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,040
Speaker 1: Cardal has a bigger arm, Um certainly, and I think

688
00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:34,280
Speaker 1: a big thing for him is kind of trying to

689
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 1: figure out how to harness it and then to try

690
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,240
Speaker 1: to play with a little more touch. UM. Gino threw

691
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 1: that pick today. I think that might have been the first,

692
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,840
Speaker 1: maybe the first pick I've noticed of camp. Is that possible?

693
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:46,880
Speaker 1: Was there? No, there was? I think Casey had a

694
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,920
Speaker 1: pick Day one, But it's different animal now with pick. Yeah.

695
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,160
Speaker 1: So I mean like I'm trying to think who else

696
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,320
Speaker 1: stood out today for me? UM, I think Kyle Emanuels

697
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,760
Speaker 1: looked good early on a camp. I think he's a

698
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,959
Speaker 1: guy that he knows his spot is a little bit

699
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:06,400
Speaker 1: in jeopardy, UM, because because you know, you Chendasu, because

700
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,320
Speaker 1: this is a team that is you know, knew that

701
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,920
Speaker 1: needed to get better at linebacker. UM. Craig Meger's played

702
00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,080
Speaker 1: really well, I think as a guy, and he I

703
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,200
Speaker 1: think he has a real chance UM this year to

704
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 1: make the roster and not only that but provide depth

705
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,840
Speaker 1: at cornerback. UM. And like you know you mentioned it,

706
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,720
Speaker 1: Eckler is the guy to me when I look at

707
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 1: their offense, Um, okay, I have an obvious one for you,

708
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:31,480
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen Man. That guy is always open. His footwork, Dan,

709
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 1: I had always I've not seen footwork like that. I

710
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:36,920
Speaker 1: think he's got the best feet in the league. And

711
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,400
Speaker 1: he makes these plays that look routine every day and

712
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,760
Speaker 1: you take for granted. But like today, for instance, another

713
00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,560
Speaker 1: two or three plays it are, You're just like, wow,

714
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,640
Speaker 1: that's goods whenever they It's amazing how he finds spots

715
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:50,719
Speaker 1: on the field not only to be wide open, but

716
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,960
Speaker 1: also where he can then find an extra eight nine

717
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:57,800
Speaker 1: yards afterwards. Like he's just always where he needs to be. Um,

718
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,600
Speaker 1: he's really looked good. I'm really built off the last year,

719
00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:03,320
Speaker 1: I think. So those are kind of the guys that

720
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,600
Speaker 1: have flashed the most. For me. I haven't really you know.

721
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,120
Speaker 1: I thought Justin Jones looked good today too. Another guy?

722
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,840
Speaker 1: Uh um, seventh round pick um? No? No? Who am

723
00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,640
Speaker 1: I thinking of? Who's running back? What's his name? Oh?

724
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,600
Speaker 1: Justin Jackson, Justin Jackson, Tony, Justin's Justin's two double Jay's Yeah,

725
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,640
Speaker 1: Justin Jackson. I'm sorry. Is a guy to me? I

726
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,000
Speaker 1: like this trio a running back because they can all

727
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:26,440
Speaker 1: kiss the ball out of the back. It feels like

728
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:28,200
Speaker 1: that's gonna be the trio that we end up with.

729
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:31,160
Speaker 1: It really does. And I think there are three different

730
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,400
Speaker 1: kinds of runners. To me, he's a guy today that

731
00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:37,040
Speaker 1: looked really comfortable, um in pads, a guy that looked

732
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 1: faster than maybe he'd looked not in pads, and uh,

733
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:42,400
Speaker 1: he's the guy that think it's gonna you know, he's

734
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,720
Speaker 1: Anthony lenn mentioned him after the after practice today. I

735
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:47,040
Speaker 1: think he's a guy that's gonna make this team. Bold

736
00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:50,760
Speaker 1: prediction after one day in pads. Justin Jackson is gonna

737
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:54,520
Speaker 1: make the team. Yeah, bold prediction. I think with these rookies,

738
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,600
Speaker 1: we always we're gonna hike these guys. Oh they look great,

739
00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,680
Speaker 1: they look great, well, because that's who we're watching right, Like,

740
00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:02,360
Speaker 1: you know, it's funny I mentioned like Kean Keenan Allen.

741
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,160
Speaker 1: You know, it's like I mean, he the fact that

742
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 1: he stood out to me is even more a testament

743
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,960
Speaker 1: to him because like you know, like we've seen what

744
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,680
Speaker 1: Philip rivers At are, like Melvin Gorn whatever, like you

745
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:14,360
Speaker 1: know what I mean, like Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram would

746
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 1: both look good. But it's like the guys that I

747
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:18,680
Speaker 1: want to focus on are like the third string defensive

748
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:20,400
Speaker 1: end because that's the guy you don't see that often,

749
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,200
Speaker 1: I don't know about, and that's who you're looking to flash.

750
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,400
Speaker 1: So I think that's that leads to sort of those

751
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,680
Speaker 1: rookie hypis because they're the guys that we watch closest.

752
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:30,160
Speaker 1: Coach Lynn talked about Dylan Cantrell, how he's been the

753
00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:34,040
Speaker 1: most improved wide receiver. He raped about Kaiser White a

754
00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,640
Speaker 1: couple of days ago. Yeah, so these rookies are are

755
00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:39,880
Speaker 1: getting some some pub in practice. I can't wait to

756
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,120
Speaker 1: see it in a game though. So well, we'll see

757
00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:44,760
Speaker 1: what these guys really have in preseason. I think for

758
00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,880
Speaker 1: a guy like Justin Jones, the defensive lineman, you know,

759
00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:50,760
Speaker 1: this is a really a golden opportunity for him to

760
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:52,920
Speaker 1: get meaningful reps, not only a training camp but also

761
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,600
Speaker 1: the preseason with Corey legit out yeah that rotation early

762
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,160
Speaker 1: Yeah no, and I think he, I know, talking to

763
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,520
Speaker 1: a couple of front off people here within the organization,

764
00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 1: he's a guy that impressed them early on in film

765
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:06,920
Speaker 1: before the pads came on. I think obviously once the

766
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:09,160
Speaker 1: pads come on that that helps a guy like him

767
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,600
Speaker 1: a little bit more. Certainly you can be a little

768
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 1: more physical and he can kind of show where he's

769
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 1: at on that front. But yeah, that's an important part

770
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:17,480
Speaker 1: of this defense. They need to be better, I think

771
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:21,040
Speaker 1: in between the ends, be better against the run, against big,

772
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:22,760
Speaker 1: physical runners, and he's a guy that can kind of

773
00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:26,880
Speaker 1: help with that. Really, all the rookies so far, you know,

774
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:29,640
Speaker 1: with the exception of Qusenberry, who's like kind of just

775
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,720
Speaker 1: working his way into a rotation on the offensive line,

776
00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,160
Speaker 1: they've all they're all to me. We realistically all have

777
00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,960
Speaker 1: like little kind of spots on this team. You know,

778
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,120
Speaker 1: you mentioned Cantrill. He's interesting just because that group is

779
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:46,600
Speaker 1: so crowded at wide receiver obviously number five slot. There's

780
00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:48,760
Speaker 1: there's a battle for that right now. Our Davis Scott

781
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:52,000
Speaker 1: can't troll. Even Nelson Spruce had some plays. Sure, I

782
00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:54,480
Speaker 1: mean we assume and uh, I mean Jeremy Davis too,

783
00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,120
Speaker 1: Jeremy Davis among others. I mean, there's there's a crowded

784
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,040
Speaker 1: group there. What's interest about cant Roll. He's such a

785
00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:04,080
Speaker 1: big kid, and you wonder if his future is at

786
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,600
Speaker 1: receiver a little bit. Like you know, like I wonder

787
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,200
Speaker 1: if he's a guy that because he runs really good routes.

788
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:10,600
Speaker 1: You can see it out there, like he is a

789
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:13,359
Speaker 1: good route runner. Um, can you do stuff? I mean,

790
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,719
Speaker 1: he's gonna play receiver. I don't. I'm not advocating for

791
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:17,440
Speaker 1: him to become a tight end right away, Like I

792
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,040
Speaker 1: don't think that's what's gonna happen. But he's big, especially

793
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,680
Speaker 1: coming to the air raid. I just take a yeah,

794
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:25,480
Speaker 1: not very be a pretty big change, but he's a

795
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,440
Speaker 1: big guy. Like physically, it looks like he's a guy

796
00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 1: who could kind of find places in the middle of

797
00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:31,960
Speaker 1: the field and and you know, post up on linebackers

798
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,480
Speaker 1: a little bit. And you know, he's been impressive. It

799
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:37,960
Speaker 1: really looked like a strong draft class. Drown James has

800
00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:40,640
Speaker 1: looked nice in his uniform. Not on the practice field, ye,

801
00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:42,759
Speaker 1: not there yet, but well, I mean apparently, you know,

802
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,480
Speaker 1: Anthony Lynn said maybe this week, it seems like at

803
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,080
Speaker 1: some point that they're just being extra cautious. But I'll

804
00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:50,960
Speaker 1: tell you this, being around him, like he feels sort

805
00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:53,319
Speaker 1: of like an alpha, like that's like a leader. It

806
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,480
Speaker 1: definitely does. It comes across right, he comes off is

807
00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:00,200
Speaker 1: somebody who is. I said this yesterday too. I I

808
00:35:00,239 --> 00:35:02,960
Speaker 1: hate to make comparisons to Sean Taylor. I grew up

809
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:06,080
Speaker 1: watching Sean Taller, but he's the type of safety that

810
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:07,760
Speaker 1: I think we're eventually going to get to the point

811
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,080
Speaker 1: where you are specifically looking for number thirty three on

812
00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:13,440
Speaker 1: the field before the snap, just to see where he's

813
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:15,200
Speaker 1: lined up, to see what he's going to do next.

814
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:16,520
Speaker 1: I don't want to put a lot of pressure on

815
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,239
Speaker 1: the guy, but that's what he did at Florida State.

816
00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:20,360
Speaker 1: It feels like he's an all positional like he's just

817
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,759
Speaker 1: like a defensive player, right like like his army knife man. Yeah,

818
00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,200
Speaker 1: him a free strong I think he's gonna come off

819
00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:29,000
Speaker 1: the edge. He was rushing the passer. Jimbo Fisher said

820
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,040
Speaker 1: he played corner firm at Florida State last Yeah. I

821
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,200
Speaker 1: think I'll play. I'll play a little will maybe even

822
00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:35,960
Speaker 1: and stuff. Yeah, I mean I think it seems like

823
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:39,239
Speaker 1: maybe his future here is that at least an immediate

824
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,799
Speaker 1: is that free is the place where he can be here. Yeah,

825
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,319
Speaker 1: he can play where he can play the most um

826
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:47,680
Speaker 1: you know, will he play? I mean they can do

827
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:50,160
Speaker 1: a lot of different stuff based on sort of different

828
00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:52,319
Speaker 1: packages in different situations too. I mean, you can play

829
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:54,600
Speaker 1: him close to the line, Jalil can move back to

830
00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:57,520
Speaker 1: free Rayshawn Jenkins has been back there, Desmond King's been

831
00:35:57,560 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 1: back there, Janelle Watkins has been back there. They you know,

832
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 1: they've got guys they've looked at that position. To me,

833
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:03,720
Speaker 1: it's still if you want to put your best eleven

834
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,080
Speaker 1: on the field, like it'll be Derwin. Um, it just

835
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:10,360
Speaker 1: feels like that's kind of the spot for him. But uh,

836
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:13,320
Speaker 1: that's another kind of that's probably the truest starting position

837
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:17,480
Speaker 1: battle that's available right now. Um, that's going on in camp.

838
00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,359
Speaker 1: It's pretty safety. What do you think, kicker right now?

839
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,240
Speaker 1: It's what we got Denzel in there, Javis Brown and

840
00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:26,920
Speaker 1: and cal Emmanuel and cal Emanuel. But these rookies too,

841
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,399
Speaker 1: like they're gonna Paz you're white in you Chinna too.

842
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,759
Speaker 1: Maybe in a third down situations who rush in the passer? Yeah,

843
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:34,759
Speaker 1: I mean I think those guys are gonna push. You know,

844
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:36,200
Speaker 1: if I had to bet on it, I would bet

845
00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:38,799
Speaker 1: on kind of the incumbents to kind of hang out

846
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:40,960
Speaker 1: of their spot early in the year and and and

847
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:43,240
Speaker 1: see how they kind of handle it. Um. J Davis

848
00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:46,520
Speaker 1: Brown is a guy that you feel like it's kind

849
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,320
Speaker 1: of there if he was just a little tougher against

850
00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,200
Speaker 1: the run, if he's just a little better in that

851
00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:51,680
Speaker 1: part of the m And it's not his fault, it's

852
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:54,560
Speaker 1: you know you you're you are your size right. And

853
00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:56,360
Speaker 1: he's a guy who early in the year got swallowed

854
00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:58,400
Speaker 1: up a lot in the run game. Um. I know

855
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:00,680
Speaker 1: he's worked hard to get stronger and to get better

856
00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,520
Speaker 1: in that area, and he'll get a chance, I think

857
00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,000
Speaker 1: because physically he can do some stuff. You know. I

858
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,279
Speaker 1: mentioned how I thought Keen Allen was only always open

859
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:10,520
Speaker 1: today there was one time he wasn't and Jatavis Brown

860
00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:13,600
Speaker 1: was on him on a play right, you know. So, Um,

861
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:16,279
Speaker 1: that's a good sign, um defensively to have you know,

862
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:18,279
Speaker 1: a little depth at a position last year where really

863
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:20,640
Speaker 1: because they had no depth, they had to kind of

864
00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:24,680
Speaker 1: invent their own details. Phillips came in. Is that hybrid? Yeah,

865
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:26,680
Speaker 1: that's another safety we haven't even mentioned yet. You know,

866
00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:28,480
Speaker 1: as a guy that'll be in their mix too. He's

867
00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:30,359
Speaker 1: are in the playing time, no no doubt about that.

868
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,239
Speaker 1: Mike Williams, we didn't even talk about, haven't talked about

869
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:36,400
Speaker 1: the real micdub yet haven't talked about the kickers. He

870
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:38,959
Speaker 1: saw some kickers today. I know, Okay, Well let's let's

871
00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:41,000
Speaker 1: get the kickers in a second. Mike Williams, though he

872
00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,920
Speaker 1: caught a nice forty yard bomb from field today he did. Um,

873
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,440
Speaker 1: he's had a couple of big plays. I think he

874
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:49,360
Speaker 1: hasn't had like the great day yet, um, you know,

875
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 1: and I think it'll be. It's important for him to

876
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,120
Speaker 1: have a big day, whether it's in practice, whether it's

877
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:55,320
Speaker 1: in a preseason get on the same page as Rivers.

878
00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:57,960
Speaker 1: And I think too just for his confidence, you know. Um,

879
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:00,840
Speaker 1: not that I you know, I think Covin is one

880
00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:03,080
Speaker 1: of those tricky things like where it's hard to tell

881
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,440
Speaker 1: exactly where people are at. It just feels like for

882
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:07,640
Speaker 1: a guy who's been as productive as he's been, it's

883
00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,200
Speaker 1: been too long since he's produced right, and you know,

884
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:12,600
Speaker 1: like he like that guy needs to eat right, like

885
00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:15,480
Speaker 1: it gets been too long. So I think, you know,

886
00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:17,560
Speaker 1: he's a guy that needs to have a nice, a

887
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,920
Speaker 1: nice preseason game to really kind of get going and

888
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:22,799
Speaker 1: kind of demand some of those balls that were maybe

889
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,680
Speaker 1: gonna end up Hunter Henry's way that aren't anymore. Maybe

890
00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:28,000
Speaker 1: that's a Mike Williams spot, you know, again, a big,

891
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,760
Speaker 1: physical guy who can kind of operate between the hashes

892
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:32,520
Speaker 1: a little bit. And we've seen him, you know, make

893
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:34,720
Speaker 1: big plays down the side of the field. Yeah, twice.

894
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:38,040
Speaker 1: He had eleven touchdowns and Clemson his last year there,

895
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,520
Speaker 1: and ten of them were in the red zone. So

896
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,120
Speaker 1: that votes well in terms of probably the biggest weakness

897
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,080
Speaker 1: on this offense from last year. I would zone offense. Yeah,

898
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:49,200
Speaker 1: I would think kicker would you think today? I mean,

899
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,600
Speaker 1: we saw Caleb Surgismiss twice. I think both were inside

900
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:54,640
Speaker 1: forty and to me, you know, he's the guy they

901
00:38:54,719 --> 00:38:58,760
Speaker 1: brought in to make those kicks. Aguayo U missed once

902
00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:01,560
Speaker 1: from inside of forty. He made a fifty yarder um

903
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:05,319
Speaker 1: pretty easily. It's such a tricky position to evaluate now.

904
00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:08,720
Speaker 1: It's impossible, it's impossible. It's very it's very difficult. And

905
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:12,680
Speaker 1: the preseason action is I think your best indicator of

906
00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:14,880
Speaker 1: you know, you simulate a game. But yeah, you know,

907
00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:17,600
Speaker 1: who knows. I mean, these are guys who have made kicks.

908
00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:21,400
Speaker 1: I mean, we're talking about the most prolific kicker in

909
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:25,200
Speaker 1: college history and a guy in Caleb Surgis who was money. Yeah,

910
00:39:25,239 --> 00:39:27,560
Speaker 1: so so I mean no, and I think you feel,

911
00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:29,759
Speaker 1: you know, at least in the NFL, you feel good

912
00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:31,960
Speaker 1: about Sturgis when the lights come on. We've seen him

913
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,800
Speaker 1: proved to be that kind of reliable NFL kicker. Aguayo

914
00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:37,920
Speaker 1: hasn't figured it out in the NFL as of yet.

915
00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 1: Certainly the talent is there, and the second round pick

916
00:39:41,239 --> 00:39:44,440
Speaker 1: the talent, I mean, the Bucks thought so yeah, and

917
00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:46,759
Speaker 1: I mean I think you know, but there's also a

918
00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:50,839
Speaker 1: reason why he's here competing, you know, for a job

919
00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,399
Speaker 1: from second position too, right, I mean, and I thought

920
00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:55,560
Speaker 1: that was interesting after practicing Anthony Land kind of made

921
00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:58,280
Speaker 1: that clear that it, Yeah, it's a competition, but Caleb

922
00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:00,440
Speaker 1: Sturgis is the Chargers kicker right now and it's on

923
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,359
Speaker 1: Agua to take that. And I think, you know, so

924
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:06,920
Speaker 1: it's not a situation where they're in here both starting

925
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,400
Speaker 1: you know at the UH at the starting line, you know,

926
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:11,400
Speaker 1: to run run a race the same distance, right like,

927
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:13,239
Speaker 1: Aguia is gonna have to do more work. He's gonna

928
00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:16,120
Speaker 1: have to look more consistent. Um. You know, obviously I

929
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,359
Speaker 1: think the leg is bigger. It seems like a bigger leg,

930
00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:21,040
Speaker 1: But you know, they just need someone to make kicks

931
00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:23,160
Speaker 1: that you can't miss, like you can't miss thirty five year,

932
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,800
Speaker 1: especially especially if you're a team that struggled in the

933
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:29,080
Speaker 1: red zone, like you have to make your kicks, and

934
00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:31,600
Speaker 1: and they struggled there last year obviously. Um. You know

935
00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:34,239
Speaker 1: we were talking about this earlier. You really don't want

936
00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:35,640
Speaker 1: to be in a position where these are questions as

937
00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:37,279
Speaker 1: about your football team. But like we were talking, like,

938
00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:40,120
Speaker 1: what's the NFL record for kickers used in the two

939
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,799
Speaker 1: season span, because if they used two this year, it'll

940
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:45,960
Speaker 1: be six and two years for the Chargers, which, um,

941
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:48,839
Speaker 1: for a pretty important part of your game to get right,

942
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,200
Speaker 1: that's a big deal. So they really needed to shore

943
00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:55,080
Speaker 1: that up. I still feel like Sturgis is the guy. Um,

944
00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:56,600
Speaker 1: I just would have liked to have seen him make

945
00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:59,040
Speaker 1: those kicks today. Um, But like like you said, you know,

946
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:01,640
Speaker 1: you make your kids today and you miss him. You know,

947
00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:04,440
Speaker 1: on game day, it doesn't matter, of course, sam Is

948
00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:06,960
Speaker 1: sam goes vice Hersa right, Like, you know, they'll take

949
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,520
Speaker 1: all the messes in the world out here if they

950
00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:10,799
Speaker 1: know that, you know, when it counts that he's gonna

951
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:13,760
Speaker 1: put it through the uprights. Yeah, the margin for error

952
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,560
Speaker 1: is so thin in the NFL, especially at the beginning

953
00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:19,400
Speaker 1: of the year, where you know, it's almost like everybody's

954
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:20,960
Speaker 1: trying to figure themselves out. I was trying to like

955
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,720
Speaker 1: that that first part, those first four games are almost

956
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:26,360
Speaker 1: like a second wave of preseason that you're trying to

957
00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:29,279
Speaker 1: figure everything out, and then I think you ultimately get

958
00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:32,920
Speaker 1: into your groove in October. So when those games are close.

959
00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:36,160
Speaker 1: The competition in the NFL from one to thirty two, man,

960
00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,040
Speaker 1: there's not a big difference. You gotta make those kicks. Yeah, no,

961
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:40,960
Speaker 1: I mean I think you said right. I mean, it's

962
00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:44,120
Speaker 1: we saw how important it was last year. It was ultimately, well,

963
00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:46,879
Speaker 1: it wasn't the reason necessarily why they lost those games.

964
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:48,160
Speaker 1: That it happened to be plays at the end of

965
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,080
Speaker 1: the games, like there are other things that happened. But

966
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:51,920
Speaker 1: you know, that's a team that's one made kick away

967
00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:55,120
Speaker 1: from you know, making the playoffs or not. You know,

968
00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:57,920
Speaker 1: that's one made kick away from maybe you know, putting

969
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:00,840
Speaker 1: that momentum into real action, you know, at such a

970
00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:03,960
Speaker 1: high level in the playoffs versus you know, rebuilding a

971
00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:05,719
Speaker 1: little bit, you know, and and not that they're in

972
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:08,640
Speaker 1: a rebuild. This feels like more of a continuation of

973
00:42:08,719 --> 00:42:12,520
Speaker 1: last season. But you know, excuse me that, like those

974
00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:14,680
Speaker 1: little things like you're talking about margin of victory, margin

975
00:42:14,719 --> 00:42:16,560
Speaker 1: of air, I mean, in those moments you know, whether

976
00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:19,640
Speaker 1: it's a kick, whether it's a blown assignment that leads

977
00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:22,839
Speaker 1: to a key first down penalty, um, all of these

978
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:25,080
Speaker 1: little things kind of crept up on them in key moments,

979
00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:27,160
Speaker 1: and and that's where they need to get better. If

980
00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:29,160
Speaker 1: they can get a little bit better on the margins,

981
00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:31,120
Speaker 1: I think there's really no question that to me, this

982
00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:33,080
Speaker 1: is a team that you know, should make the playoffs

983
00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:35,040
Speaker 1: a share. I feel that way after one day in

984
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:38,480
Speaker 1: Pat's Chris, let's go, let's jump the gun. Is that

985
00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:40,920
Speaker 1: what you're writing about today? No, that's not what I'm

986
00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:43,359
Speaker 1: writing about that. You've been more than gracious with your time.

987
00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:46,279
Speaker 1: What are you writing about today? What do you go

988
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:48,000
Speaker 1: I'm gonna write about it? I think you know how

989
00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:49,799
Speaker 1: hard it is for the guys that like to hit

990
00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:52,399
Speaker 1: um in the summer. You know, I had a chance

991
00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:53,840
Speaker 1: to talk to Dan Feeney, I had a chance to

992
00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:56,439
Speaker 1: talk to Damian Square about you know, when you get

993
00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:59,279
Speaker 1: to work technique for three months and you don't really

994
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,000
Speaker 1: get shipping into it, man, and you don't really get

995
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:02,640
Speaker 1: to do anything, and then finally you get to hit

996
00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:04,239
Speaker 1: a little bit. We're gonna talk a little bit about

997
00:43:04,239 --> 00:43:07,480
Speaker 1: the kicking tomorrow, um, a little bit about some of

998
00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:09,160
Speaker 1: the running backs, I guess, and we'll just kind of

999
00:43:09,160 --> 00:43:10,960
Speaker 1: see where it goes from there. You're staying cool out here.

1000
00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:13,600
Speaker 1: It's been all right. Today has been better. Today it

1001
00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:15,880
Speaker 1: was better. It was a little better. A little breezy

1002
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,920
Speaker 1: was nice. I mean, that's the thing. It hasn't been hot.

1003
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,040
Speaker 1: I'm just like, not that tough. It's the problem. You've

1004
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:25,160
Speaker 1: been out here too. Yeah, that's the issue. It has

1005
00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:26,320
Speaker 1: nothing to what the heat. It has to do with

1006
00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:28,719
Speaker 1: the fact that I am like the consistency of like

1007
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:31,560
Speaker 1: room habitor, Margarine. You know, it's like start of my

1008
00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,200
Speaker 1: level of toughness, and so if it if it gets

1009
00:43:34,239 --> 00:43:36,920
Speaker 1: above like seventy forty degrees, I'm just like, get me

1010
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:39,719
Speaker 1: out of here. This is too hot. Dan woikey a

1011
00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:42,480
Speaker 1: ratings magnet downloads are going up all right. I can

1012
00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:45,319
Speaker 1: hear him. The surveys, We've all these different surveys we've

1013
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:50,080
Speaker 1: been doing. Dan Wykey performs very high charge weekly. Thanks

1014
00:43:50,120 --> 00:43:52,080
Speaker 1: Funny all right, take care and then'll do it. A

1015
00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:55,000
Speaker 1: big thanks to my guy Dan Woikey, Dan Graziano and

1016
00:43:55,040 --> 00:43:57,640
Speaker 1: Austin Ekeler for joining me, and of course thanks to

1017
00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:00,600
Speaker 1: you all for listening. Remember find us on Apple Podcasts

1018
00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:03,200
Speaker 1: and while you're there, please leave a review help spread

1019
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:07,400
Speaker 1: the word. Remember next open training camp is Wednesday, August first.

1020
00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:10,560
Speaker 1: Visit chargers dot com slash camp for all the details

1021
00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:13,279
Speaker 1: and we look forward to seeing you there again. Thank

1022
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:16,040
Speaker 1: you so much for listening, and until next time, I'm

1023
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:16,720
Speaker 1: Chris Hayry