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Speaker 1: What's up, guys. Welcome into a week eleven edition of

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Speaker 1: Chargers Weekly. Chris Harry with you as always, joined by

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Speaker 1: Matt money Smith. During the twenty twenty one season money

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Speaker 1: tough loss to the Vikings. But I look at this

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Speaker 1: three game stretch coming up, starting Sunday against the Steelers,

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Speaker 1: it's a critical stretch to determine what this team is

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Speaker 1: going to be this year. Yeah, I'll tell you. You know.

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Speaker 1: My stretch went two games before, so I thought about

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Speaker 1: the way this schedule look coming out of the bye,

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Speaker 1: and obviously the Patriots, and now we've seen it back

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Speaker 1: to back weeks, they're a lot better than I probably

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Speaker 1: thought they were when we came out of the bye

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Speaker 1: and the Chargers came out of the bye, and this

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Speaker 1: was kind of the start of their streak, right, They

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Speaker 1: probably looked at this stretch of games and said the

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Speaker 1: same thing, and they have performed admirably and looked like

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Speaker 1: one of the best teams in the AFC. To me,

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Speaker 1: that was a stumble. The Eagles game, I thought was

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Speaker 1: more of a struggle than it needed to be. But

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Speaker 1: that team looks to be a lot better than maybe

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Speaker 1: their records suggests, and they might find themselves back in

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Speaker 1: the mix in the NFC. So we're like, to me,

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Speaker 1: we're in the middle of that, and it's not a

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Speaker 1: good start one and two, you know, going back to

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Speaker 1: that start there, and now you have the Steelers that

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Speaker 1: are really banged up, and I know Brooke is kind

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Speaker 1: of in a little bit. It's going to give us

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Speaker 1: a little bit more insight as to who's hurt and

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Speaker 1: who's on the COVID list and who might be playing.

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Speaker 1: But then you got the Broncos and the Bengals, and

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Speaker 1: to me, that's the stretch, you know, So it's three

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Speaker 1: to four, three after. I feel like this team's got

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Speaker 1: to go three and oz over this stretch, I really do.

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Speaker 1: I think you've got to get out of here with

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Speaker 1: at least four, with at least four wins. That's what

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Speaker 1: I was looking at. You gotta get four of these

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Speaker 1: six and man, it's a it's a rough start. But

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Speaker 1: Coach Staley said it, you know, yesterday to the media.

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Speaker 1: It's time to you know, pull up them bootstraps, them

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Speaker 1: bootstraps and get after it, man, because this is where

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Speaker 1: their season is going to be made or lost. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: start Sunday. And you said, if Brooke prior of ESPN

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Speaker 1: covers the Steelers. She's going to join us a bit

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Speaker 1: later to get this week's opposing view. But money, we're

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Speaker 1: gonna bring up our guy, Jeff Miller La Times to

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Speaker 1: break down what we saw last Sunday and what we

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Speaker 1: can expect against the Steelers. Jeff, I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you just heard us speaking, if you could just go

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Speaker 1: back to Minnesota, what do you think was the biggest

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Speaker 1: reason why the Chargers lost Well. I think we saw

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Speaker 1: at the end of that game that the defense just

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Speaker 1: could not get off the field, just could not get

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Speaker 1: the offense the ball one more time. And what's happened

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Speaker 1: with this team after that nice hot start they had

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Speaker 1: is we've run into that thing you see a lot

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Speaker 1: of times in football where the offense plays well, the

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Speaker 1: defense doesn't play well. The defense plays well, the offense

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Speaker 1: doesn't play well, they can't get it meshed up. And

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Speaker 1: that game on you know, the game against the Vikings

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Speaker 1: was the perfect example of that where they needed you know,

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Speaker 1: the defense has been pretty good a lot of this season.

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Speaker 1: They need to stop there. They just can't get it.

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Speaker 1: And uh so, they weren't able to get the ball

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Speaker 1: back to a quarterback who we've seen. You know, I

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Speaker 1: think everybody would have expected to had the charters got

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Speaker 1: the ball back, they would have at least made it

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Speaker 1: more interesting than it ended up being at the end.

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Speaker 1: And you know, and we've seen in the stretch. You know,

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Speaker 1: you guys have talked about this as a rough stretch,

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Speaker 1: and we've seen this, this offense struggle and when when

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Speaker 1: Herbert doesn't play well, justin Herbert doesn't play well and

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Speaker 1: the offense doesn't perform at a level we've seen, they're

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Speaker 1: gonna struggle. That's just the way it is. So um,

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Speaker 1: you know, they need to get back, uh kind of

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Speaker 1: back into a little bit of a role and maybe

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Speaker 1: get away from some of these really good defensive coaching

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Speaker 1: stabs they've gone up against them, and uh and we'll see.

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Speaker 1: I mean it doesn't you know, we're now we've got

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Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin, who I've been doing this for a while too,

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Speaker 1: so but doesn't that part of it might not come

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Speaker 1: to come to pass. But yeah, it just they're they're

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Speaker 1: just uh, you know, it's the NFL, and these these

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Speaker 1: games are tough, and you saw it. You just see

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Speaker 1: it every week and they're just they become victims of

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Speaker 1: the NFL Jeff, would you if you had to diagnose

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Speaker 1: it or the fans were asking you, which side are

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Speaker 1: you more concerned about the offense or the defense. I

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Speaker 1: think the defense is gonna be okay. That you know,

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Speaker 1: they've been pretty good against the past most of the year.

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Speaker 1: That you know, they've had some issues in the last

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Speaker 1: couple of weeks with that, But you know, I think

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Speaker 1: the run defense is better than it than it was.

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Speaker 1: I think that was the big concern right early on

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Speaker 1: was they couldn't stop anybody. I think we've seen now

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Speaker 1: teams are still running on them and trying to run

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Speaker 1: on them, but they're not getting gash like they were,

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Speaker 1: So I think that's going to be okay. The offense,

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Speaker 1: the concern is just you know, they've it's on them.

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Speaker 1: The offense is going to win games for this team.

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Speaker 1: I don't think there's any doubt about that. And when

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Speaker 1: they they the defense isn't good enough to win games,

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Speaker 1: but I think they're good enough to keep the you know,

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Speaker 1: they're good enough to I mean, the defense isn't gonna

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Speaker 1: have to win games on its own. They just haven't

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Speaker 1: shown the ability to turn the ball over and uh,

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Speaker 1: and just make you big splash plays on defense to

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Speaker 1: turn games. But so it's going to come down to

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Speaker 1: the offense. And and so the offense has got to

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Speaker 1: got to get this sorted out. And I think we've

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Speaker 1: seen in this this stretch that they you know, they've

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Speaker 1: been out coached a little bit, and they they aren't

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Speaker 1: they aren't making adjustments during the game like they should.

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Speaker 1: And I think a lot of that's just, uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: a new system maybe's part of it. Again, I do

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Speaker 1: think it has a lot to do with who they've

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Speaker 1: been playing and and they if I was, you know,

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Speaker 1: more concerned about one one way the other, it would

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Speaker 1: be the offense just because of what we've you know,

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Speaker 1: when this, when this goes bad, they don't look good.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's too many three and outs and they

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Speaker 1: just they seem out of sync and they just can't

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Speaker 1: get it back together. Well, we talk about the offense, Jeff,

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Speaker 1: it seems like we're talking about Justin Herbert the most.

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Speaker 1: But the running game. If you take Austin Ekeler out

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Speaker 1: of the equation, running backs on this team have two

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Speaker 1: hundred and twenty one yards total this season, and one

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Speaker 1: of them was a seventy five yard by Justin Jackson.

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Speaker 1: So take that out one hundred and forty six yards.

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Speaker 1: Justin Herbert is your second leading rusher. Uh, look at

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Speaker 1: what the Steelers, that Steelers Lions game in the way

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Speaker 1: that Detroit ran the football. If this offense is going

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Speaker 1: to get back on track and keep your defense off

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Speaker 1: the field, you have to find a running game, and

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Speaker 1: you have to find it with Austin, but you also

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Speaker 1: have to identify a running back too. And if that's

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Speaker 1: Round Tree or Kelly or Bradwell or Justine Deck, it's

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Speaker 1: got to be somebody because I think November December come,

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Speaker 1: you got to be able to say we can run

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Speaker 1: the football if we need to. You know, Justin Herbert's

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Speaker 1: your second leading rusher. It's almost Thanksgiving, guys, that's not

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Speaker 1: a good stat Yeah, if it's after one week, okay, fine,

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Speaker 1: or two weeks and Justin Herbert has done some stuff,

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Speaker 1: but yeah, you're one hundred percent right. You know, after Austin,

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Speaker 1: there just isn't There's been no there's been very little contribution.

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Speaker 1: And you know, Justin Jackson, we all know what he

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Speaker 1: can do. We've all seen it, but we all also

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Speaker 1: seen him get hurt repeatedly, and I don't know what

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Speaker 1: to feel with him, whether you're frustrated, you know, for him,

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Speaker 1: or at him. Just he just can't stay healthy. He

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Speaker 1: had the big run and you know that, and then

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Speaker 1: he immediately gets hurt. So yeah, they just they have

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Speaker 1: no running game after after Eckler. I mean, I know

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Speaker 1: they like to say a lot of the short passes

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Speaker 1: and that stuff, is there an extension of the run game,

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Speaker 1: And everybody says that. Now I hear a college coach

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Speaker 1: is saying the same thing, and I get that in

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Speaker 1: a way, but it's also it's not the same as

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Speaker 1: handling the ball off, pitching the ball back and a

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Speaker 1: guy being able to run forward and blaster a line

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Speaker 1: and get five or six yards. And you know, they

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Speaker 1: just have not been able to do that consistently enough.

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Speaker 1: And they just need to run a little bit better.

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Speaker 1: It's not like they need to be a running team

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Speaker 1: because they have a really good quarterback and they have

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Speaker 1: some really good targets for him to throw too, so

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Speaker 1: but they do need to be better running the ball,

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Speaker 1: and they just there's just no depth there at all

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Speaker 1: right now. No, I didn't just kind of piggyback that

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Speaker 1: you mentioned it, and we've talked about it before. I

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Speaker 1: just I don't understand why Darius Bradwell is not getting

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Speaker 1: a look. You have rotated Josh Kelly and Larry Roundtree

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Speaker 1: trying to get one of them to be your third

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Speaker 1: back when Justin's healthy. It's nine weeks, I don't, you know.

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Speaker 1: And to me, they need a big back. They need

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Speaker 1: a power back, you know, and that is we have

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Speaker 1: seen that as not Roundtree, That is not Josh Kelly,

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Speaker 1: it's not how they run. Bradwell is a full two

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Speaker 1: hundred and thirty pounds. I just don't I can't figure

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Speaker 1: out why he's not getting that. And to your point, Jeff,

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Speaker 1: with Justin Jackson, like you said it, we all love him, man,

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Speaker 1: he's great when he's in there, but I'd be afraid

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Speaker 1: to make him active. You know, you activate him and

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Speaker 1: what happens if he gets hurt on that first series

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Speaker 1: now you're down to two backs. Like, to me, that

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Speaker 1: is a serious liability. Just activating him on game day

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Speaker 1: has proven to be a liability because he can't stay healthy.

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Speaker 1: Like That's what I circle and say, this to me

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Speaker 1: is the biggest issue of the offense. They can play

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Speaker 1: light boxes too high and forced tend to throw underneath,

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Speaker 1: and they've taken away those shot plays. You know that

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Speaker 1: we got to see those first four weeks of the season.

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Speaker 1: They're gone, you know, because nobody honors the run. And

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Speaker 1: I know that was, you know, just kind of piggyback,

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Speaker 1: and so I'll just I'll shift it to this then, Jeff,

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Speaker 1: do you think it's play calling? Do you think there's

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Speaker 1: or do you think it's a or do you think

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Speaker 1: the play calling is a product of performance? Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: do think that, you know, there's some there, there's some

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Speaker 1: issues maybe play calling wise, and I think we've uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, we've seen a lot of that, and I

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Speaker 1: know it's a lot of it out of necessity, but

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Speaker 1: we've seen a ton of those that dump off stuff.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know, justin Herbert's stats is air yard

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Speaker 1: stats are crazy low. He's just he's not throwing the

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Speaker 1: ball deep and twenty ninth in the league, twenty ninth

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Speaker 1: in the league and air yards right now for the

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Speaker 1: guy that has arguably the strongest arm in the league, exactly,

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Speaker 1: and the one thing we all know he can do

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Speaker 1: right is throw the ball deep, and they just can't

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Speaker 1: do it. And I think, you know, to your point, man,

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Speaker 1: I think you're right. A lot of it is with

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Speaker 1: the defense. They've figured out we're not going to give

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Speaker 1: this up. We're just you know, we're not going to

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Speaker 1: let this guy just sit back there and throw the

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Speaker 1: ball deep. We're gonna make them run the ball. We're

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Speaker 1: gonna make them dump it off, try to throw short,

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Speaker 1: stay patient, try to execute and make at these long

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Speaker 1: marches down the field. And that's not really the way

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Speaker 1: this offense is. Uh, you know that this offense doesn't

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Speaker 1: perform well into those circumstances. We've seen it. And I

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Speaker 1: do think a lot of it has to do with

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Speaker 1: what the defense is doing. I think a lot of

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Speaker 1: it is the play calling, and they've just got to

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Speaker 1: you know, they've got to figure out ways. It's just

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Speaker 1: the same, you know, it's their own football problem. Is

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Speaker 1: you've got to figure out ways to get those big

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Speaker 1: plays that aren't justin Herbert standing back there and throwing

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Speaker 1: the ball fifty yards in the air. And we'll see

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Speaker 1: if they can do that. And you know, you know,

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Speaker 1: Brandon Staley talked about it the other day, where that's

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Speaker 1: what they've got to do. They've got to figure out

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Speaker 1: other ways to get big chunk plays and they're not

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Speaker 1: getting in the run game. We know that, and they've

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Speaker 1: they've got to figure out ways to do it because

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Speaker 1: defenses are not going to allow allow that to happen.

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Speaker 1: And yeah, a lot of it, I think a lot

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Speaker 1: of it is scheming and play calling and that that's

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Speaker 1: got to improve. You know, guys, every game is different too.

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Speaker 1: In terms of time of possession. It's it's a number

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Speaker 1: that you know, you'd have to really dig into the

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Speaker 1: game to fully understand why a team had the ball

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Speaker 1: for as long as it did. But for the last

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Speaker 1: five games, the Charges have played over thirty six minutes

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Speaker 1: of defense, thirty five minutes, thirty eight minutes, and thirty

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Speaker 1: six minutes. That's a lot of defense for a team

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Speaker 1: down a lot of dudes. So, whether that's establishing the

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Speaker 1: run on offense, getting off the field on third down

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Speaker 1: on defense, it's really a combination of things. Jeff, What

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Speaker 1: do you think is kind of that one common theme

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Speaker 1: that kind of ties that together. What do they have

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Speaker 1: to do to kind of flip that time of possession

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Speaker 1: starting on Sunday against the Steelers. Well, what we've seeing

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Speaker 1: a lot recently is the offense can't sustain drives, and

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Speaker 1: you know that that's a big problem. You know, this

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Speaker 1: team was really good on third down. Their third down

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Speaker 1: stats are still good, and they were really good early

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Speaker 1: on in the season. But we've seen it where they

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Speaker 1: just you know this, they've had too many three and ounce.

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Speaker 1: We never saw these guys go three and outce It

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Speaker 1: just was it wasn't an option the first, you know,

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Speaker 1: a few weeks and when Herbert's on and the offense

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Speaker 1: is on, they're not gonna They're not gonna have three

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Speaker 1: and ounce. Well, we've seen a bunch of those lately,

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Speaker 1: and I think it's that if they the offense cannot

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Speaker 1: sustain drives, they've just been out of sync. You know,

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Speaker 1: it just looks you know, and you guys have seen

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Speaker 1: the same thing I've seen is that they just look

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Speaker 1: out of sorts. They look the Herbert doesn't seem locked

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Speaker 1: in with his receivers like they were, and they you know,

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Speaker 1: they just they just seem a little bit too, you know,

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Speaker 1: just a little bit um, you know, not just they're

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Speaker 1: not meshing up. And I think a lot of it

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Speaker 1: is just the offenses are having a difficult time sustaining

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Speaker 1: the stuff and and that's again, that's another way you're

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Speaker 1: going to beat this team is keep them ball away

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Speaker 1: from Herbert. And like we saw last week at the

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Speaker 1: end of that game, that's exactly how the Vikings won

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Speaker 1: that game and put the game away. And that's another

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Speaker 1: thing that if I was coaching against the Charges, that's

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Speaker 1: what I'd do. Is the best way to keep Herbert

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Speaker 1: from beating you and Keenan Allen and Mike Williams is

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Speaker 1: don't let them have the ball. Yeah, you know, Chris,

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Speaker 1: I think it's it's two things that are quite obvious, right,

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Speaker 1: you know, Jeff alluded to one. I want to say,

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Speaker 1: over these last I think it's four. They're averaging right

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Speaker 1: around five plays per drive like that. That can't happen.

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Speaker 1: That's one first down, so there's one and then two.

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Speaker 1: The Minnesota game was a microcosm of it. They are

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Speaker 1: giving up incredible third downs, second down, first in twenty five,

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Speaker 1: first and twenty second and twenty third and twenty you know,

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Speaker 1: like that third and twenty catch to Adam Feeling was

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Speaker 1: just crushing, I mean crushing on that in route that

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Speaker 1: gave them the fourth and two that ended the game.

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Speaker 1: It's a third and twenty and I think you know it. Look,

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Speaker 1: I think there's such great frustration from fans when you

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Speaker 1: have a defense that's managed to get an offense off

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Speaker 1: schedule and instead of keeping your foot on the gas,

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Speaker 1: you play that damn umbrella defense or sticks defense, and

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Speaker 1: that's how you end up with an eighteen yard completion

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Speaker 1: instead of going zero on Kirk Cousins and forcing the

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Speaker 1: ball out of his hands. And you know, trusting that

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Speaker 1: guys and athletes like Derwin James or Kenneth Murray, you're

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Speaker 1: fast enough to make that tackle and make sure it

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Speaker 1: doesn't blow for an explosive play. So like, to me,

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Speaker 1: that's been the big issue is just in this particular scheme,

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Speaker 1: you allow so much underneath that those teams sustain drives

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Speaker 1: and that's what we've seen. They're not able to get

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Speaker 1: off the field and the offense is averaging five yards

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Speaker 1: per play and against look against Mason Rudolph, if that's

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Speaker 1: who it's going to be, I would hate to see that.

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Speaker 1: I would absolutely force the action on that guy. He

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Speaker 1: does not process quickly. I do not want to give

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Speaker 1: him five yards a throw if he's comfortable taking it,

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Speaker 1: because to me, that that makes no sense player, you know,

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Speaker 1: and you saw it. Look, they play their competition. We

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Speaker 1: saw it this week, right, Durwin was up high the

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Speaker 1: entire game against the Eagles. He was out of maybe

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Speaker 1: sixty percent of the plays in that game had nothing

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Speaker 1: to do with him because he was just sitting up high.

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Speaker 1: Against the Vikings, he was all over. I mean, he

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Speaker 1: was in the box like crazy. He's making tackles at

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Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage, He's getting in the backfield. So

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Speaker 1: I'm hoping that's what we see again, Chris, just to

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Speaker 1: kind of because I think that's the most critical part

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Speaker 1: of this conversation about are they going to succeed or

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Speaker 1: are they going to fall off? To me, it's can

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Speaker 1: the defense get off the field and can the offense

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Speaker 1: stay on the field? Money and Jeff os you both.

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Speaker 1: With all that being said, they're five and four and

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Speaker 1: you have everything in front of you. You have the Steelers,

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Speaker 1: you have the Broncos, you're already two and own the division,

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Speaker 1: and then you have the Bengals, another team with five wins.

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Speaker 1: All three of these teams have five wins. Can they

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Speaker 1: get it rolling? I mean, and this Money you mentioned it,

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Speaker 1: if it's if it's Mason Rudolph on Sunday, there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of guys out. There's a lot of guys out

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Speaker 1: for the Vikings game on both sides. It's gonna probably

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Speaker 1: be a good amount of guys out on both sides

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Speaker 1: for this game. That said, this is a game that

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Speaker 1: you should take care of, Jeff, and then Money, I

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Speaker 1: love you as well. Yeah, I know there's been a

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Speaker 1: lot of these games where I wouldn't you know, going

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Speaker 1: into last week's game, I said the same thing. This

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Speaker 1: is a game the Chargers should win. That doesn't mean

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Speaker 1: they will. And we've had that a few now where

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Speaker 1: this is a game they should win and they did.

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Speaker 1: Um and this again, this feels like a game they

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Speaker 1: should win this weekend. But that doesn't, especially in this

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Speaker 1: year's NFL, doesn't mean anything. The one thing I would

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Speaker 1: say in terms of can they get it back together

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Speaker 1: is absolutely And if I'm an NFL fan, this is

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Speaker 1: not the season to give up on your team, right

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Speaker 1: I mean, looking what's happening around the league, don't give

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Speaker 1: up on your team. And I certainly don't give up

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Speaker 1: on a team that's got a winning record right now

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Speaker 1: the case of the Chargers. I mean, there are five

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Speaker 1: and four. We've seen them beat good teams and so

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Speaker 1: I think they certainly can get it back together. I

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Speaker 1: don't think there's any question about that. But you know,

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Speaker 1: these are not, you know, minor you know, these are

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Speaker 1: not minor issues. These are issues that they have to um,

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Speaker 1: they have to fix, and they have to get fixed quick.

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Speaker 1: Because if it's Mason Rudolph, I mean Duck Hodges, you know,

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Speaker 1: a couple of years ago. Yeah, and you know in

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Speaker 1: the same spot. We know what happened in that game,

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Speaker 1: you know, So even if it is Mason, they still

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Speaker 1: have to fix this stuff. And I do think it's

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Speaker 1: it's it's certainly stuff it's fixable. And I do think

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Speaker 1: based on the way we've seen when this team plays well,

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Speaker 1: we've seen it. We know they can beat anybody. And

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Speaker 1: I do think, yeah, if you're a Charger fan, there's

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Speaker 1: no reason to be sitting here thinking, oh my god,

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Speaker 1: you know, the season's over. We're doing because we've lost

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Speaker 1: three or four. I'm with you, Jeff, like just starting there,

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Speaker 1: Chris with five wins, you're five and four right now,

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Speaker 1: the Chargers are the seventh seed, they're in the tournament. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so you know there's no reason to panic. And you

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Speaker 1: look at the top of the division and you've got

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Speaker 1: a Bills team that lost to the Jaguars and couldn't

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Speaker 1: score a touchdown, and you've got a Titans team that

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Speaker 1: lost to the Jets and is averaging less than two

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Speaker 1: hundred and fifty yards of offense the last three weeks,

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Speaker 1: and they're the number one seed in the AFC. So

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Speaker 1: it is wide open. There are no Juggernauts this year.

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Speaker 1: The Chiefs are not the Chiefs, and the Chargers already

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Speaker 1: got a win notched against them in their own buildings.

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Speaker 1: So look, it's set up. But I think going to

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Speaker 1: what Jeff mentioned and what you alluded to about these Steelers,

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Speaker 1: Mason Rudolph, maybe no t. J. Watt, likely, no Minca Fitzpatrick,

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Speaker 1: all that, Well, we said exactly that against the Vikings.

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Speaker 1: No Denial Hunter, no Anthony bar no Patrick Peterson, no

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Speaker 1: Harrison Smith. This is a defense that's given up three

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Speaker 1: hundred and seventy yards per game and they put up

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Speaker 1: two fifty and couldn't get over twenty points. And I

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Speaker 1: bring that up, I think, just to kind of finish

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Speaker 1: with this. It's a cliche, but I think it's especially

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Speaker 1: true about the Chargers. This is on them that when

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Speaker 1: they run out of that tunnel, they are likely going

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Speaker 1: to be the more talented team most often when they

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Speaker 1: step on that field. So this is on don't drop

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Speaker 1: the ball. Austin Eckler, Jalen Guden Keenan had a drop,

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Speaker 1: you know, don't allow third and twenty, don't allow first

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Speaker 1: and twenty five, don't allow second and twenty like, this

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Speaker 1: is on them to execute, and I think that's why.

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Speaker 1: And to me that I was happy to hear that.

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Speaker 1: That was sort of the theme of Brandon Staley's last

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Speaker 1: presser and he even dropped an F bomb in there

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Speaker 1: and on the all in and stuff. When they were found,

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Speaker 1: it's like, yeah, this is this is crazy, Like you

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Speaker 1: got this team is better, You're the better team, and

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Speaker 1: now you just got to go out there and execute

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Speaker 1: and lose those mistakes. And look, the Vikings found Waldough.

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Speaker 1: You know, they went after to Von Campbell. They found it,

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Speaker 1: and that's on that then is on the coaching staff

415
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Speaker 1: to adjust. Hey, that's this is it. They are attacking

416
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Speaker 1: to Von Campbell eight times, seven catches, one hundred and

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Speaker 1: seventy yards, Like that's fix it. It's right there. It's

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Speaker 1: in front of you, you know, figure it out that

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Speaker 1: that they and I believe they have the ability to

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Speaker 1: do it. And I just have way too much confidence

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Speaker 1: in the roster and the coaching staff to believe that

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Speaker 1: this is going to continue to be a downward spiral.

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Speaker 1: Like I just I can't. Probably I've been able to

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Speaker 1: see it in the past, especially on the offensive line

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Speaker 1: with some of the you know, some of the guys

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00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,840
Speaker 1: they were trotting out there. It's like, look, this ain't

427
00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:22,040
Speaker 1: gonna work. And I think against the Vikings with Adam

428
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,960
Speaker 1: Feeling and Justin Jefferson. You look out there and you

429
00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,040
Speaker 1: see Tavon Campbell and a Looie Gilman and you're like,

430
00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,080
Speaker 1: oh man, this this could be a tough one. And

431
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,960
Speaker 1: it was. But I look at the Steelers and the

432
00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:36,920
Speaker 1: guys they're going to have out there, likely on Sunday,

433
00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,359
Speaker 1: Charges with the better team, and now it's time to

434
00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,280
Speaker 1: start executing and winning these games. This is fork in

435
00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:45,200
Speaker 1: the road for a lot of NFL teams. Mid November.

436
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,800
Speaker 1: You figure out who you are, and the Charges have

437
00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,240
Speaker 1: every opportunity in front of them to get back in

438
00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,400
Speaker 1: this win their next three, get to eight and four,

439
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,159
Speaker 1: and then you have a maybe a softer part of

440
00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,560
Speaker 1: your schedule at the end of the year. I look

441
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,199
Speaker 1: at like Tampa guys too. Like last year, Tampa was

442
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,800
Speaker 1: not clicking at this time. They started to figure out

443
00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,520
Speaker 1: in November and then obviously you have Tom Brady under

444
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,480
Speaker 1: Center's a little bit different story than what we got here,

445
00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:10,800
Speaker 1: but it's just an example of a team that was

446
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:15,280
Speaker 1: not clicking, that found it and was ascending when you

447
00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:17,360
Speaker 1: need to ascend in November. And to say, every team

448
00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:19,760
Speaker 1: goes through a Chris every time. It was every single year.

449
00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,600
Speaker 1: Rarely do you get the fifteen and one fourteen and

450
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,399
Speaker 1: two team. You know, it's it's almost always. There's always

451
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,960
Speaker 1: four to five, three to five losses. Two of them

452
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,200
Speaker 1: are bad, you know, and you're like, what the heck

453
00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,480
Speaker 1: happened over this? It happens to every single NFL team,

454
00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,040
Speaker 1: And it's all about pulling yourself out of it. That's it,

455
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:39,800
Speaker 1: and we'll see if they could do it on Sunday.

456
00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,240
Speaker 1: Jeff Miller always appreciates you being on brother no any time,

457
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,480
Speaker 1: love it. I just I feel like, you know, I

458
00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,240
Speaker 1: sound like such a dwee when when when Matt opens

459
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:54,280
Speaker 1: his mouth and then boys, I gotta I gotta do

460
00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,400
Speaker 1: the whole thing with him. Jeff, Jeff, you two can

461
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,280
Speaker 1: have this. All you have to do is go back

462
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,440
Speaker 1: in time to when you're around fourteen, buy yourself a

463
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,840
Speaker 1: pack of Benson and Hedges, and get after it for

464
00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,160
Speaker 1: the next six years. That's all you need to do.

465
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,840
Speaker 1: And YouTube could have this very good advice. Kids. You're

466
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:15,159
Speaker 1: not trying this at home. That's exactly right, Jeff, all right,

467
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,200
Speaker 1: love it? All right, guys, Before we get to Brooke Prior,

468
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,120
Speaker 1: a quick note to let you know that Pepsi they're

469
00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:23,880
Speaker 1: passing out the Ultimate Chargers Fan Experience only at seven

470
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,200
Speaker 1: to eleven, Russian scan the code for your chance to

471
00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:30,240
Speaker 1: win some awesome prizes. Bolt up with Pepsi. No purchase necessary.

472
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,760
Speaker 1: Must be eighteen years or older. Sponsor is Pepsi Cope.

473
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:37,560
Speaker 1: For official rules, visit boltibl dot com. Slash seven to eleven.

474
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,560
Speaker 1: I also want to tell you, guys about picks for Popeyes.

475
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,480
Speaker 1: Get this every Chargers game this season. When the Chargers

476
00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:46,760
Speaker 1: defense gets an interception, just show your game recap email

477
00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,960
Speaker 1: to your local Popeyes. Get a free chicken sandwich when

478
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,239
Speaker 1: you purchase a chicken sandwich at regular menu price. All right,

479
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:56,760
Speaker 1: money to get this week's opposing view, let's bring in

480
00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:00,399
Speaker 1: Brooke Prior of ESPN does an awesome job covering the Seers.

481
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,200
Speaker 1: Brook I think we talked earlier this year when Matt

482
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,120
Speaker 1: Feiler became a Charger. It's good to see you again.

483
00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,199
Speaker 1: How are you. I am great. I am looking forward

484
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,080
Speaker 1: to la weather because it is fifty degrees and dropping

485
00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:18,359
Speaker 1: and raining in Pittsburgh, so classic November day here. Well,

486
00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,240
Speaker 1: I think it's about fifty seven today, Brooks. So hopefully

487
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:23,960
Speaker 1: we'll get the cloud cover to get out of here

488
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:25,960
Speaker 1: and give you a heck of a Sunday or a

489
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,560
Speaker 1: weekend at least for you to enjoy. We'd love to know,

490
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,680
Speaker 1: you know, Chris mentioned it when Matt Feiler is here.

491
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:35,560
Speaker 1: It's been playing great on that left side with Rashawn Slater.

492
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,119
Speaker 1: How's the protection been in Pittsburgh because I know that

493
00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:40,159
Speaker 1: was a big deal last year and something they were

494
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,400
Speaker 1: trying to fix this year. Yeah, it's still a work

495
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,560
Speaker 1: in progress here. I think this is a season where

496
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,280
Speaker 1: the Steelers would like to have Matt Feiler back because

497
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:53,520
Speaker 1: the line has been it has been steadily getting better,

498
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,080
Speaker 1: but then there was a drop off two games ago

499
00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:58,320
Speaker 1: and it kind of felt like they took a step

500
00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:00,960
Speaker 1: back in that close when again the Bears and then

501
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,159
Speaker 1: last week and that tie against the lines. Not only

502
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,000
Speaker 1: you know, it's an insult that you die of the lines,

503
00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:10,240
Speaker 1: but to add injury to that, both Trade Turner and

504
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,400
Speaker 1: Kevin Dotson went out with ankle injuries. They're both kind

505
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,199
Speaker 1: of day to day. Neither practiced yesterday, and Mike Tomline's

506
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,639
Speaker 1: he said that he's leaving the light on for those guys.

507
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,960
Speaker 1: He's said he's confident in Trade Turner's ability to come back.

508
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,680
Speaker 1: But I mean, ankle injuries are tricky, so you never

509
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,159
Speaker 1: know how what guy is going to be able to respond,

510
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,960
Speaker 1: especially a big guy like that who needs to be

511
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,600
Speaker 1: able to have that ankle hold up. The line is

512
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,680
Speaker 1: better than it was the first couple of weeks when

513
00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:40,760
Speaker 1: Roethlisberger was getting hit left and right. I mean he

514
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,479
Speaker 1: had a peck injury, a hip injury, all because he

515
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,680
Speaker 1: was taking entirely too much contact. But it has gotten better.

516
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,640
Speaker 1: The run game has started developing behind that line, but

517
00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,880
Speaker 1: as a whole, it's still not you know, I think

518
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,920
Speaker 1: that they revamped the line in the offseason thinking like, okay,

519
00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,119
Speaker 1: know these guys, you're gonna lose the veteran presence that

520
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,080
Speaker 1: you had with guys like Filer and alvill in a

521
00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:07,760
Speaker 1: way and Marquis Pouncy, and you're gonna miss that. But

522
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,000
Speaker 1: they were really bad last year, so it felt like

523
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,960
Speaker 1: it couldn't get much worse, and now they are kind

524
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:15,360
Speaker 1: of seeing it it has gotten. I think it started

525
00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:19,280
Speaker 1: out worse, but it's slowly building back to being a

526
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:21,440
Speaker 1: better product than what they were putting on the field

527
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,440
Speaker 1: a year ago. Hey, Brooke, what was it like being

528
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 1: at that game last Sunday, that sixteen sixteen tie? And

529
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,199
Speaker 1: is it as much as like Ben Roethlisberger means that

530
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,000
Speaker 1: much to the offense or what happened that ended in

531
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 1: that result. Man, I can tell you that I literally

532
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,000
Speaker 1: laughed out loud multiple times in the press box and

533
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:46,400
Speaker 1: also put my head in my hands because I just

534
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:48,720
Speaker 1: wanted that game to end, and it felt like it

535
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,000
Speaker 1: was never going to end, and it felt like each

536
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 1: side it was trying to out dumb the other side,

537
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,920
Speaker 1: especially in overtime with those fumbles. There were penalties, there

538
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,520
Speaker 1: was a miss field goal. But I think the thing

539
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,399
Speaker 1: that the Steelers missed with Ben Roethlisberger is maybe Mason

540
00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,200
Speaker 1: Rudolph has more arm strength right now, and he can

541
00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,240
Speaker 1: throw a deeper ball. The problem was it felt like

542
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,439
Speaker 1: Rudolph was just so wound up and over excited that

543
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,080
Speaker 1: a lot of his passes were high. He was just

544
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,560
Speaker 1: missing guys. And so I think the hope is this

545
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,520
Speaker 1: week that if he does have to play Sunday, that

546
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,480
Speaker 1: they're able to kind of calm him down and get

547
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,640
Speaker 1: him to be more accurate. That was the one criticism

548
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,679
Speaker 1: that Mike Tomlin publicly gave of Mason Rudolph was just

549
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:33,200
Speaker 1: that his pinpoint accuracy wasn't wasn't there. And I think

550
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,560
Speaker 1: that's where Roethlisberger. Yes, he's underthrowing some guys, the arm

551
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,320
Speaker 1: strength isn't what it was, but he's more accurate than Rudolph,

552
00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,119
Speaker 1: and he has the poise that Rudolph kind of lacks.

553
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,920
Speaker 1: Even though it's his tenth start, Roethlisberger has led, however,

554
00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,280
Speaker 1: many game drives. I think he's near the top of

555
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,280
Speaker 1: the category, if not the top of the category for

556
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:56,440
Speaker 1: a quarterback leading game winning drives. But you just lack

557
00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 1: that experience and that kind of calmness in the chaos.

558
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,640
Speaker 1: So I think that a lot of that did lead

559
00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,119
Speaker 1: to the Steelers tie the Lions. Not to mention on

560
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 1: the other side of the ball, the defense couldn't tackle

561
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,920
Speaker 1: at all, and DeAndre Swift ran all over that defense,

562
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,480
Speaker 1: and that is a huge red flag because that's Ben

563
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,120
Speaker 1: Roethlisberger isn't going out there to make tackles. Having him

564
00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:20,360
Speaker 1: back is not going to change that. So the defense

565
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,280
Speaker 1: has to really figure some things out this week otherwise,

566
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:25,680
Speaker 1: I mean, this could be kind of the tipping point

567
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,480
Speaker 1: for the rest of the season for it all to

568
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,919
Speaker 1: kind of finish downhill. I remember when the Steelers were

569
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 1: out here a couple of years ago, we were we

570
00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 1: that the broadcast team were a little upset that it

571
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,040
Speaker 1: was Duck Hodges instead of Mason Rudolph. Have very little

572
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,439
Speaker 1: belief in that guy. I'm wondering, kind of what do

573
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: you think the team thinks of them? Do they believe

574
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:46,920
Speaker 1: in Mason Rudolf when he's the guy that trot's out there?

575
00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:50,119
Speaker 1: You know, I think that that's a tough one to

576
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,639
Speaker 1: really get a good gage on. Because Mike Tomlin, he

577
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,919
Speaker 1: is notorious for speaking to his players through the media,

578
00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:00,600
Speaker 1: through the press conferences, and so yes day when we

579
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,920
Speaker 1: talked with him, or Tuesday when we talked with him,

580
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:05,880
Speaker 1: he was very complimentary. If Mason kind of went out

581
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,440
Speaker 1: of his way to compliment him and then said end,

582
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,479
Speaker 1: by the way, like that accuracy, that accuracy thing that

583
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,639
Speaker 1: wasn't great to me, though, I don't think that's so

584
00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,200
Speaker 1: much a vote of confidence as it is him trying

585
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:22,200
Speaker 1: to publicly encourage Rudolph because you want to you want

586
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,440
Speaker 1: that guy to be as confident as possible. But I

587
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,800
Speaker 1: think that you know, given the amount of time that

588
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,120
Speaker 1: Rudolph has had here to learn, not only behind Ben,

589
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,920
Speaker 1: but they brought in Matt Canada as the quarterbacks coach initially,

590
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,840
Speaker 1: now he's got Mike Sullivan and Canada as the offensive coordinator.

591
00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,840
Speaker 1: It felt like last week was a huge opportunity for

592
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,320
Speaker 1: him to show that he's more than just a career backup,

593
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,200
Speaker 1: and he didn't do anything to change that narrative. Mike

594
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,160
Speaker 1: Tom said he played well enough for them to win

595
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:51,560
Speaker 1: the game, but he has to do more than that.

596
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:56,160
Speaker 1: He has to play better than sixteen points and he

597
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,520
Speaker 1: just has not broken out into the guy that they

598
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,400
Speaker 1: want him to be. And I feel like I keep saying, well,

599
00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,040
Speaker 1: maybe this will be the week, Maybe this will be

600
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,320
Speaker 1: the week. If he does indeed end up playing Sunday.

601
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:09,200
Speaker 1: To me, this is kind of a make or break

602
00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,080
Speaker 1: game for him for the rest of his career because

603
00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:13,960
Speaker 1: he's now had a full week in the game plan.

604
00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:16,800
Speaker 1: Last week he was kind of adjusting to Roethlisberger's game plan.

605
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,000
Speaker 1: This week, it's all him. He's taking snaps with the

606
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,440
Speaker 1: ones on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Typically he just has Wednesday.

607
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,880
Speaker 1: But I said in a hit before the game that

608
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,160
Speaker 1: he's kind of a Toyota camera. He'll get you from

609
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,960
Speaker 1: point A to point B, but it's nothing flashy. But

610
00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,160
Speaker 1: to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, I mean,

611
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:38,320
Speaker 1: you've got to be like much better than that. You

612
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,480
Speaker 1: need to not necessarily be like a Patrick Mahomes Lamborghini,

613
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,320
Speaker 1: but I mean a Mercedes Benz, a BMW is something

614
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,040
Speaker 1: that's more than just serviceable. And right now, Mason Rodolph

615
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:52,240
Speaker 1: is just serviceable. Hey, Brooke, what's the deal with Dwayne Haskins. Obviously,

616
00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:56,480
Speaker 1: his issues in DC were well documented and you heard

617
00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 1: encouraging reports I guess at the beginning of his time

618
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,560
Speaker 1: in Pittsburgh. But and you know he's not going to

619
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,360
Speaker 1: play obviously, and it seems like there's a gap between

620
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,160
Speaker 1: him and Mason Rudolph, a former first round pick. I mean,

621
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 1: is the gap closer than we think or is it

622
00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,800
Speaker 1: just he's just not ready to play football. I just

623
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:15,840
Speaker 1: don't think he's ready to play football. You know. I

624
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:20,080
Speaker 1: do get to watch practice every single day, and I

625
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:23,160
Speaker 1: can tell you that based on what we see, it

626
00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:27,320
Speaker 1: is similar to the preseason performance in what week three,

627
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,440
Speaker 1: their fourth game where he started and it just it

628
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: wasn't great. He has some moments that are that are

629
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:37,200
Speaker 1: really good. I think it was the second preseason game,

630
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 1: one of the preseason games he had, he just played

631
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,880
Speaker 1: lights out and looked like the kind of guy that

632
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,000
Speaker 1: you're like, oh my gosh, he should be the successor

633
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,560
Speaker 1: to Ben Roethlisberger. But then after that it was kind

634
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,640
Speaker 1: of a roller coaster and all culminated in that final

635
00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:54,880
Speaker 1: game that he got to start and it just he

636
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,560
Speaker 1: couldn't get it done. And I think that he looks

637
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,320
Speaker 1: more like that Dwayne Haskins that just as it ready

638
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,520
Speaker 1: right now, and I don't know that he ever will be.

639
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:06,280
Speaker 1: I think that there were a lot of things, you know,

640
00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,320
Speaker 1: mechanics and everything else. Yes, he can throw a really

641
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,600
Speaker 1: nice spiral ball, but he can't do it two, three, four,

642
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:15,880
Speaker 1: or five times in a row. It's it's very hit

643
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,239
Speaker 1: or miss, And to me, he's just not shown the

644
00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 1: consistency that you want out of not only a guide

645
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,840
Speaker 1: to be your number two backup, but a guide to

646
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,040
Speaker 1: be maybe the future of the franchise. He just I

647
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:31,680
Speaker 1: don't think is impressing them in that way at this point. Broke,

648
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,120
Speaker 1: I don't know kind of how forthcoming the team is

649
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,120
Speaker 1: when it comes to injury or players are just kind

650
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,440
Speaker 1: of you your gut on whether or not you think

651
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,760
Speaker 1: you'll see t J. Watt out there, And I know

652
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:45,880
Speaker 1: Joe Hayden has been kind of listed as limited and stuff,

653
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:47,520
Speaker 1: and just that side of the ball, the defensive side

654
00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 1: of the ball, it seems like it's really banged up,

655
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:51,040
Speaker 1: and just kind of your thoughts on who might be

656
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:53,560
Speaker 1: out there and who won't. Yeah, because not only are

657
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 1: those guys hurt, Meanka Fitzpatrick's on the COVID list, he

658
00:31:56,280 --> 00:32:00,320
Speaker 1: definitely will not be out there. I think that TJ.

659
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 1: Watt is kind of a wild card. I mean, I

660
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,160
Speaker 1: think that he would like to be healthier before getting

661
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,480
Speaker 1: out there. Knowing that, I mean, this is the toughest

662
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,080
Speaker 1: part of their schedule. You don't want to drop a

663
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,640
Speaker 1: game to an AFC opponent. I think that that creates

664
00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:18,560
Speaker 1: a little bit more urgency in him returning versus some

665
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,960
Speaker 1: earlier games this season where he was binged up. But

666
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:25,160
Speaker 1: I don't he remember which game he didn't play early on,

667
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,240
Speaker 1: but I think that they felt better about him missing

668
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:32,400
Speaker 1: games earlier versus later. His MRIs did come back negative.

669
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,160
Speaker 1: That's what Adam Schefter was told on both his hip

670
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,920
Speaker 1: and his knee, So that's encouraging. It looked incredibly painful,

671
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,520
Speaker 1: but Mike Mike Tomlin said like t J. Watt does

672
00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:47,520
Speaker 1: things that other people couldn't, So if this is anybody else,

673
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:50,000
Speaker 1: I think there's a zero percent chance that he's out there.

674
00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,160
Speaker 1: But because it's t J. Watt, he's gonna grit and

675
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,640
Speaker 1: bear it as best as he can. Now whether or

676
00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:58,840
Speaker 1: not that means he's going to be super effective playing hurt,

677
00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,480
Speaker 1: that's another story. But today Keith Butler talked about the

678
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:05,800
Speaker 1: defensive porter coordinator talked about how Alex Highsmith needs to

679
00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:10,240
Speaker 1: step up, Taco Charlton, Derek Tusca. The problem is, though

680
00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:12,960
Speaker 1: I didn't like this trade when they made it, I

681
00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 1: understand that they kind of had to, but Melvin Ingram

682
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:19,080
Speaker 1: forcing his way out in Pittsburgh is something that really

683
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,600
Speaker 1: haunts them now because you'd feel a lot better about

684
00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:25,240
Speaker 1: giving t J. Watt rest that he probably needs to

685
00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,680
Speaker 1: get fully healthy for this gauntlet if you had Melvin

686
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,200
Speaker 1: Ingram to step up there. Because the drop off to

687
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 1: me from Melvin Ingram to Taco Charlton is pretty significant,

688
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:39,560
Speaker 1: and I think that that's really gonna hurt Brook. What

689
00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,680
Speaker 1: are the Steelers saying about the Chargers as they prepare

690
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,440
Speaker 1: to go east to West? And you mentioned it, this

691
00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:48,880
Speaker 1: is a critical game for both teams. With this whole

692
00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:53,120
Speaker 1: AFC jumbled up, this could have wildcard implications. Yeah. The

693
00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,600
Speaker 1: phrase that sticks out to me when Mike Thomlin gives

694
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,239
Speaker 1: his I mean, I think this week it was an

695
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:02,080
Speaker 1: eighteen minute opening statement um where he fully breaks down

696
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:06,600
Speaker 1: the opponent. He mentioned Austin Ekeler is being worrisome and

697
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:10,440
Speaker 1: to me that is just, yeah, that is concerning just

698
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,319
Speaker 1: the Chargers run game as a whole, because of the

699
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,839
Speaker 1: way the Steelers haven't tackled very well recently, and so

700
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:22,960
Speaker 1: I think when you look at just the that is

701
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:26,279
Speaker 1: the to me, the biggest area of concern is the

702
00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,080
Speaker 1: Steeler's ability to tackle. You could put out like a

703
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,400
Speaker 1: fourth string running back at this point and the Steelers

704
00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:37,160
Speaker 1: would probably struggle to tackle him. I mean, the scores

705
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 1: that they were giving up against the Lions were just bad. Um.

706
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:43,319
Speaker 1: I think that Herbert is a little bit of a

707
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:46,800
Speaker 1: different challenge than some of the guys that they faced recently.

708
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:48,880
Speaker 1: But I mean they've still gone up against some of

709
00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:54,479
Speaker 1: really good young quarterbacks fields. Um, I'm drawing a blink

710
00:34:54,520 --> 00:35:00,480
Speaker 1: on everyone else that they faced. Yeah, that I skip

711
00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:02,680
Speaker 1: over that one, and that's right. I just completely forgot

712
00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:07,720
Speaker 1: everybody else that they played. Ye Joey Burrow, joe Yeah, exactly, Burrow,

713
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,279
Speaker 1: he was a problem. But I think that this defense, yeah,

714
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,080
Speaker 1: not only can they not tackle Herbert's ability to stretch

715
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:17,000
Speaker 1: the field with guys like Keenan Allen, who Tomlin brought

716
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:20,120
Speaker 1: up as being a problem Mike Wallace, I mean, I

717
00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:23,160
Speaker 1: think that this defense, as thin as it is right

718
00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:25,319
Speaker 1: now with injuries, and then you factor in all of

719
00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:29,040
Speaker 1: these incredible eligibles, as Mike Tomlin calls them, that's going

720
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:32,520
Speaker 1: to be an issue. And I think that the Chargers

721
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,760
Speaker 1: offense can exploit this defense in a way that teams

722
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,520
Speaker 1: already have started to do, but they are going to

723
00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,120
Speaker 1: take that to the next level. Last thing for me,

724
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:41,640
Speaker 1: Brooke kind of the same thing on the other side.

725
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:43,560
Speaker 1: And now the Chargers run defense has been a lot

726
00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:46,680
Speaker 1: better since the return of Justin Jones, especially last week

727
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:49,960
Speaker 1: against Alvin Cook. Their best easily their best performance in

728
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,839
Speaker 1: that facet of the game. But what can you tell

729
00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:55,480
Speaker 1: us about Nashi Harris some incoming when they drafted him

730
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:57,480
Speaker 1: with all the holes they had on the offensive line,

731
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,080
Speaker 1: but it seems like he's now kind of proven the

732
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:03,879
Speaker 1: front office folks right with everything he's done these last

733
00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,400
Speaker 1: few weeks. Yeah, exactly. I mean a lot of that

734
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:08,880
Speaker 1: I think is credit to the offensive line getting better,

735
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:13,200
Speaker 1: But I think Naji has learned to be patient in

736
00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:16,200
Speaker 1: the NFL and understand that a gain of three and

737
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:20,279
Speaker 1: four yards isn't anything to kind of just blow off

738
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:22,560
Speaker 1: like it's just three or four yards. It's an NFL

739
00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,080
Speaker 1: three or four yards, and that is significant just to

740
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,879
Speaker 1: get that kind of just to move the ball just

741
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,040
Speaker 1: a little bit. He's a guy that's really resilient. I mean,

742
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,960
Speaker 1: his snap count is up there. I don't remember what

743
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,480
Speaker 1: his total number of touches is, but it's up there

744
00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,920
Speaker 1: with the most in the NFL for running backs, and

745
00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,759
Speaker 1: they just I would say that they're running him into

746
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,319
Speaker 1: the ground, but he's shown that he's really resilient. He

747
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:47,839
Speaker 1: focuses a lot on recovery. He told me he does

748
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,880
Speaker 1: yoga because he wants his body that when he gets tackled,

749
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:53,040
Speaker 1: he doesn't want it to be in an unfamiliar position.

750
00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:55,759
Speaker 1: So he twists himself into all kinds of ways so

751
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:58,920
Speaker 1: it feels more normal when it happens. But I think

752
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 1: he's figuring out how to hit the holes he's already

753
00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:05,719
Speaker 1: been good at it. Runs, run after contact, and the

754
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,719
Speaker 1: stiff farms the hurdles. I mean, he's everything that he

755
00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:10,680
Speaker 1: was billed to be. I think it just took a

756
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,239
Speaker 1: little bit for him to get going because he had

757
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:17,440
Speaker 1: to adjust the the NFL game. He had to adjust

758
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:19,880
Speaker 1: to not having the Alabama offensive line in front of

759
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,840
Speaker 1: him and going against an NFL defensive front. But the

760
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:24,960
Speaker 1: biggest thing for him is just the Steelers have to

761
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,240
Speaker 1: keep him healthy. He popped up on the injury report

762
00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:30,080
Speaker 1: last week with a foot injury that didn't seem to

763
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:32,359
Speaker 1: cause him any problems, but he's had two hundred yard

764
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,560
Speaker 1: rushing games, including last week against the Lions, and with

765
00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:38,799
Speaker 1: the Steelers not knowing who their starting quarterback would be,

766
00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,560
Speaker 1: you would think they'd adjust the game plan to be

767
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:45,680
Speaker 1: centered more around Harris. But last week they didn't run

768
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:48,200
Speaker 1: the ball maybe as much as they should have, including

769
00:37:48,239 --> 00:37:51,040
Speaker 1: in some goal line situations where they went four downs

770
00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:53,120
Speaker 1: at or three downs at the goal line thing from

771
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:55,680
Speaker 1: the five, and Harris didn't get the ball on any

772
00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:57,520
Speaker 1: of those touches and they ended up settling for a

773
00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:01,680
Speaker 1: field goal. It was pretty rough thing. The coaching staff

774
00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:03,759
Speaker 1: has had to answer to you this week, but you

775
00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:05,959
Speaker 1: would hope that with a full week to game plan,

776
00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,000
Speaker 1: they understand like the offense has to go through Najie

777
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,240
Speaker 1: Harris this week. There is no alternative. Brooke, fantastic insight.

778
00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:16,680
Speaker 1: Always love catching up with you. Safe travels to the

779
00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,120
Speaker 1: West Coast and enjoy your weekend before you get the

780
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:24,440
Speaker 1: SOFI Stadium. Thanks guys, Thanks Brook. All right, Bunny, as

781
00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:26,879
Speaker 1: we wrapped this up, good stuff from Brooke, really good

782
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,600
Speaker 1: insight and Jeff as well, and just listening to Brooke.

783
00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:34,120
Speaker 1: We talked about it with Jeff getting the running game

784
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:37,560
Speaker 1: going for this Chargers team. The Lions ran all over

785
00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:41,279
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh last week. You got Filer, Slater and Lindsley on

786
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:44,800
Speaker 1: that left side. Man use them no doubt. And again,

787
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:46,719
Speaker 1: kind of going back to that conversation, we have what

788
00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,120
Speaker 1: you have. I think it's so important for them to

789
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:52,480
Speaker 1: have the right three running backs. You know that. I

790
00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:55,080
Speaker 1: know that Justin Jackson is practiced and limited this week,

791
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 1: and again he's got to be one hundred percent. He's

792
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,319
Speaker 1: not seventy percent for me, and he's act if he's

793
00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:02,360
Speaker 1: got to be one hundred percent to have faith that

794
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,560
Speaker 1: he's going to make it through all sixty minutes. And

795
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:06,360
Speaker 1: then I think you've got to have an honest question.

796
00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,759
Speaker 1: If it's not Justin Jackson, do you want both Josh

797
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,959
Speaker 1: Kelly and Larry Roundtree up or is it finally time

798
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,759
Speaker 1: to give Darius Bradwell a shot at this Because of

799
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:16,440
Speaker 1: how important the running game is going to be, I

800
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:18,719
Speaker 1: think to this team moving forward to try to open

801
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,600
Speaker 1: things up for Justin Herbert so those shot plays can

802
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,480
Speaker 1: come back. So I'm anxious to see how they decide

803
00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:27,320
Speaker 1: to play it on Sunday. You've set it a million times,

804
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 1: I've echoed it. They were the Patriots game was huge.

805
00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:34,240
Speaker 1: You know the Eagles game was huge, and the Vikings

806
00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:36,040
Speaker 1: game was huge, and they lost two of the three,

807
00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:38,799
Speaker 1: and man, losing three or four would be really tough

808
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:40,960
Speaker 1: considering how banged up the Steelers are and the fact

809
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:42,359
Speaker 1: that this is home and so far, they gotta start

810
00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:44,319
Speaker 1: winning games at home. You know, they have lost three

811
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:46,640
Speaker 1: games now at so far. They gotta start winning games

812
00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:49,240
Speaker 1: at home. You get to established that home field advantage.

813
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:51,120
Speaker 1: You got to win games in the AFC. I mean,

814
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:54,520
Speaker 1: there's no silver lining to a loss in the NFL money,

815
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:58,359
Speaker 1: but losing to the Vikings an NFC team, fine, I'd

816
00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:00,960
Speaker 1: rather lose that one than lose the Pittsburgh on Sunday

817
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,360
Speaker 1: and then lose it to Denver or Since. In the

818
00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,400
Speaker 1: next three they're all AFC games, Steelers, Denver, Since. And

819
00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:09,640
Speaker 1: to me, you do that and you're eight and four

820
00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:12,520
Speaker 1: through twelve games and you're feeling really good. You still

821
00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:15,440
Speaker 1: have Houston on the schedule, you still have home games.

822
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:17,759
Speaker 1: You know, you get your home game against Denver, your

823
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,480
Speaker 1: home game against the Chiefs. Get to ten, ten and

824
00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:22,279
Speaker 1: seven's gonna get you in in the AFC this year,

825
00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:24,759
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. But I think so it's so

826
00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 1: important for them to get these next three games starting

827
00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:28,920
Speaker 1: with Sunday. And the one thing I said, I know

828
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,200
Speaker 1: they've struggled as of late, but banking those two division

829
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:35,640
Speaker 1: wins in September huge, that's huge. That's huge. But you

830
00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:38,000
Speaker 1: have to be able to execute on Sunday and the

831
00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:40,239
Speaker 1: next two weeks and really moving forward for that to

832
00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:43,040
Speaker 1: mean anything. So yeah, I always love doing this with

833
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:45,520
Speaker 1: your brother. We'll see you on Sunday. That's gonna do

834
00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:49,600
Speaker 1: it for us. Be sure to download the Chargers Podcast Network.

835
00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:51,439
Speaker 1: We got a bunch of great podcasts on. They're running

836
00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:54,960
Speaker 1: for History with LT episode three on Friday. Have a

837
00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,480
Speaker 1: great weekend. We'll see it so Fi Stadium for Matt

838
00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:01,839
Speaker 1: Money Smith. I'm Chris Harry USh