Speaker 1: Hey, what is up everybody? Welcome to the Guiltiest Charge Podcast,
Speaker 1: presented by the Chargers Podcast Network. My name is Steven.
Speaker 1: I am the host. Before anybody says anything, this is
Speaker 1: at a University of Utah t shirt. Family friend is
Speaker 1: on the Utah softball team. I have to give them
Speaker 1: a shout out today as they're in the big tournament
Speaker 1: up there in Salt Lake City. So I just had
Speaker 1: to throw that out there. You know, Utah shirt is
Speaker 1: definitely not a cheap shirt. Utah shirt one hundred percent
Speaker 1: of the way. Tyler's joining me as well. Man, Tyler,
Speaker 1: what's up man? How are you doing this afternoon?
Speaker 2: I'm okay. I'm still sick.
Speaker 3: I feel like I've been hit by the Dallas Cowboys
Speaker 3: media bus.
Speaker 2: But I've got my tea here, I've.
Speaker 3: Got my Chargers Pajamason and so you know, I get
Speaker 3: knocked down, but I will get up again.
Speaker 1: There you go, There you go. You know, we were
Speaker 1: joking the other day that we always get sick of
Speaker 1: our break. So it's the beauty of working in education.
Speaker 1: I feel like, as you just get you always get
Speaker 1: sick on breaks. You know, it is what it is.
Speaker 1: So I got a fun show plan for you guys. Today,
Speaker 1: we're gonna be running through some of the biggest moves
Speaker 1: of the off season in the AFC, and then we're
Speaker 1: gonna be kind of trying to sort how we view
Speaker 1: these teams in this conference. So now that we've had
Speaker 1: a few weeks removed from the drafts we've had, you know,
Speaker 1: most of these teams are about ninety five ninety eight
Speaker 1: percent of the way done. We'll see some minor moves
Speaker 1: here and there, like the Chargers did with Nick Williams
Speaker 1: picking him up this past week, but for the most part,
Speaker 1: the dust has settled on the conference and it's a
Speaker 1: stacked conference. So I'm very curious to see how this
Speaker 1: has shaken out between the two of us, so excited
Speaker 1: to dive in. Of of course, we're gonna put a
Speaker 1: lot of Chargers spin on things and the Charge we'll
Speaker 1: be mentioned in terms of the off season moves, in
Speaker 1: terms of you know, sorting, that's where we're gonna spend
Speaker 1: the majority of our time is seeing how the charters
Speaker 1: stack up against the rest of these teams. So it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of fun. As always, Tyler and
Speaker 1: I are fans, we are independent content creators for the
Speaker 1: Chargers channel. We are not employees of the team, so
Speaker 1: the opinions that we share on this channel during this
Speaker 1: video are not reflective of the franchise and the organization's view.
Speaker 1: So we're excited to be here today as always, we're
Speaker 1: excited to dive into this show. But we are fans
Speaker 1: just like you guys. We just happen to be making
Speaker 1: this kind of content. So before we get started as well,
Speaker 1: make sure and do us a favor and go subscribe
Speaker 1: to the channel here on the Chargers Feed, as well
Speaker 1: as our own on the Guiltiest Charged, where we have
Speaker 1: plenty of other content throughout the week. We do really
Speaker 1: appreciate that, all right, Tyler. That being said, we're going
Speaker 1: to dive into the five biggest, juiciest, most relevant moves
Speaker 1: of the off season for AFC teams and how it
Speaker 1: could impact our rankings as well as ultimately the season.
Speaker 1: I think you and I were kind of on the
Speaker 1: same page in terms of the biggest move I think
Speaker 1: everybody kind of is, and that's the Jets acquisition of
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, Jets ultimately sending the Packers a pick swap
Speaker 1: this year at least one second round pick from this
Speaker 1: past year's draft, and then a potential first round pick
Speaker 1: next year, assuming Aaron Rodgers meets some snap count threshold.
Speaker 1: So how do you think Aaron Rodgers impacts the Jets
Speaker 1: this year? Because I think the perception from the Jets
Speaker 1: and what they're sending is that, hey, where you feel
Speaker 1: like we're a quarterback away from really making some noise
Speaker 1: in the AFC. Do you share that same opinion? And
Speaker 1: how do you think Aaron maybe might take them a
Speaker 1: step further than just like making the playoffs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, I do think that this is a team
Speaker 3: that can be considered a quarterback away because I do
Speaker 3: think they have enough pieces on offense, and they certainly
Speaker 3: had a really good defense. But it really did come
Speaker 3: down to the quarterback play, which was both shaky and inconsistent.
Speaker 3: I mean, there was no set quarterback for them. It
Speaker 3: was well, hopefully it was gonna be Zach Wilson, but
Speaker 3: then it was White, and then it was Flacco, and
Speaker 3: it was just like, who can we have but Zach Wilson?
Speaker 3: And then there was that debacle with the whole locker
Speaker 3: room thing, and you know, did you feel like it.
Speaker 2: Was on the offense at all that sort of thing.
Speaker 3: So bringing in someone like Aaron Rodgers, the difference is significant. Like,
Speaker 3: no matter what the Jets last year were with the
Speaker 3: thirty sixth and Epapril played with Flacou, thirty fifth with
Speaker 3: Wilson Rogers in his last year with the Packers, even
Speaker 3: though it wasn't a great year, was still twenty third.
Speaker 2: Is that elite? Is that top five? No?
Speaker 3: But I do feel like he can return more towards
Speaker 3: that upper tier.
Speaker 2: I don't think he's gonna hang in the twenties this year.
Speaker 2: And the Jets are a very good They have very
Speaker 2: good defense, and not the defense. I know that your
Speaker 2: defense wins.
Speaker 3: Championships is the big you know thing that we've always
Speaker 3: heard our whole lives, but not really anymore. But having
Speaker 3: a good defense and a solid offense is certainly very helpful.
Speaker 3: Jet Rodgers can certainly help with the Jets. Jets defense
Speaker 3: was sixth and epa per played last year, fifth and
Speaker 3: dv away, So you know, how good does he have
Speaker 3: to be?
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 3: It's certainly not the easiest division anymore. It used to
Speaker 3: just kind of be the one team and everybody else.
Speaker 3: Now it seems like a lot of these teams are
Speaker 3: reloading in the AFC East. But you know, at minimum,
Speaker 3: I never would have considered the Jets a contender before this,
Speaker 3: or not a contender a playoff team before this, and
Speaker 3: now I kind of have to because if everything plays
Speaker 3: together like it should and Rogers does hit, it's a
Speaker 3: very overall talented team that I do feel as a
Speaker 3: quarterback away from playoff contention.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you look at the Jets in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two and you see, obviously the quarterback position was
Speaker 1: kind of a debacle for them with Zach Wilson and
Speaker 1: you know the guys that you mentioned. So they ended
Speaker 1: the season twenty sixth in DVWAY on offense, and it
Speaker 1: was like all those teams at the end, we're all
Speaker 1: jumbled right next to each other. So they could have
Speaker 1: easily been thirty second. They had a solid run game
Speaker 1: for what it's worth, with the Floor Brother and Brece
Speaker 1: Hall and offensive line, so that kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: booy them up a little bit more than I think
Speaker 1: people would would think. And so you know, defensively, they
Speaker 1: were a top five union on DVOA as well last season.
Speaker 1: So whether or not that can be sustainable for this
Speaker 1: team remains to be seen. You know, defense is really
Speaker 1: you know, it's recently fluctuated pretty heavily for in terms
Speaker 1: of production and E p A and dv A like,
Speaker 1: it's very hard to sustain a top five defense. So
Speaker 1: what's the best way to combat that? You go and
Speaker 1: improve your offense every single year. And so the Jets
Speaker 1: have done a pretty good job, in my opinion, investing
Speaker 1: in offensive line play, investing in skill positions. You know this,
Speaker 1: this wide receiver unit led by Garrett Wilson, who was
Speaker 1: the offensive Rookie of the Year last year, should certainly
Speaker 1: be better than what Aaron Rodgers was dealing with last
Speaker 1: year in Green Bay because you already have a guy
Speaker 1: like Wilson, you obviously bring over Lazard from Green Bay.
Speaker 1: You have Corey Davis in that room as well. So
Speaker 1: I've got a good tight end group with Jack Tyler
Speaker 1: Conklin almost said Jack Conklin, that's the tackle for the Browns.
Speaker 1: Tyler Conklin and c j Uzama both really good veteran
Speaker 1: tight ends. Briest Hall. They drafted Izzy Yaba, I can't
Speaker 1: pronounce his last name, but the running back from Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: they drafted this year, who a lot of people were
Speaker 1: fans of so the offense should be better just by talent.
Speaker 1: And then you drop in Aaron Rodgers into that picture,
Speaker 1: who I think is past his prime but still should
Speaker 1: have enough to play. And we've seen Aaron in the
Speaker 1: past be very motivated by certain things, and you know
Speaker 1: that led to some MVP seasons from him. So I
Speaker 1: still like, we'll see how we sort the Jets ultimately,
Speaker 1: but I'm still a little hesitant to buy fully in
Speaker 1: to what Aaron has been. You know, over the last
Speaker 1: few months, he seems more bought in with the Jets,
Speaker 1: but I'm still a little skeptical myself of what he's
Speaker 1: going to bring to the Jets.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's completely fine.
Speaker 3: It's it's he's an interesting person to try to figure out,
Speaker 3: that's for sure. So we don't know what's going to happen.
Speaker 3: And you know, the Jets, I don't even sure if
Speaker 3: he's going to be their quarterback the following year. Like
Speaker 3: there's there's so much uncertainty there with him and his situation.
Speaker 3: And last year we saw all these teams get quarterbacks
Speaker 3: and acquire things in the AFC arms race.
Speaker 2: And end up being the Chiefs again.
Speaker 1: So you know, guys like.
Speaker 3: Russell Wilson de Shawn Watson for very different reasons, various
Speaker 3: reasons it didn't work out, So I would understand the skepticism.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and at the end of the day, I respect
Speaker 1: the Jets for going out and taking a big swing.
Speaker 1: I mean, they very easily signed Derek Carr. They could
Speaker 1: have traded for Ryan Tannehill, but they clearly wanted to
Speaker 1: take a big swing and ended up getting Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: So it should be a lot of fun. Man, this
Speaker 1: is gonna be the first time Justin Herbert gets to
Speaker 1: play against Aaron Rodgers, although in New York as opposed
Speaker 1: to in Green Bay. So of course, the one season
Speaker 1: the Chargers are scheduled playing Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers is
Speaker 1: not the quarterback there, but should be fun to see
Speaker 1: what he brings to the Jets. Second one here, what's
Speaker 1: the second move of the offseason in terms of AC
Speaker 1: teams that you wanted to highlight.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's gotta be Sean Pitton to the Broncos. I
Speaker 3: guess it almost has to be by default. After that,
Speaker 3: I feel like there's a cluster of things we could
Speaker 3: talk about, but that's the big one. I think in theory,
Speaker 3: the Broncos should start better than they did last year.
Speaker 3: There won't be those you know, time management gaffs, those
Speaker 3: end of the game gaffs that I Hackett had, which
Speaker 3: is kind of a national embarrassment for them.
Speaker 2: I am assuming that that's not gonna happen with Sean Payton.
Speaker 3: What's really interesting here for this year and really moving
Speaker 3: forward is the dynamic between Peyden and Wilson, two guys
Speaker 3: who kind of want to have their way. I mean,
Speaker 3: not that we know everything about Russell Wilson. Some of
Speaker 3: its speculation, some of it's you know, gossip, that sort
Speaker 3: of thing. But you know, Peyton is entering this organization
Speaker 3: they traded for him. He's going to get his way.
Speaker 3: Russell Wilson is, in theory, like used to having his
Speaker 3: way and things didn't end in Seattle so hot.
Speaker 2: So I think the floor for.
Speaker 3: This team is potentially raised, with the exception of there
Speaker 3: could be a disaster point in here where these two
Speaker 3: personalities maybe don't clash, things don't work out. Suddenly there's
Speaker 3: finger pointing and Sean Payton goes, Nope, not the quarterback.
Speaker 3: I want to run my offense in the end, So
Speaker 3: again I do think the floor is raised. I think
Speaker 3: they start better than they did. They certainly finished I
Speaker 3: think pretty strong. They took it to the Chargers in
Speaker 3: week eighteen, they took it to the Chiefs twice and
Speaker 3: like almost back to back weeks. So there there's good
Speaker 3: players and a good team in there, I think somewhere.
Speaker 3: But I'm more skeptical of the Broncos than i am
Speaker 3: the Jets because I feel like there's there's a potential
Speaker 3: powder cake scenario in there too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean obviously some of that too is how
Speaker 1: you feel about the quarterback. I mean I would I would.
Speaker 1: I would probably take the Jets defense and a vacuum
Speaker 1: over the Broncos defense. But Sean Payton definitely raises the
Speaker 1: floor of the Denver Broncos. Like you mentioned the end
Speaker 1: of game scenarios, and also just like they you know,
Speaker 1: hack it and that coaching staff is and they don't
Speaker 1: have the same kind of like cache, if you will,
Speaker 1: of saying like hey, like we've been there, done that,
Speaker 1: and you know we're gonna do this our way. There
Speaker 1: reports coming out of training camp that it was like
Speaker 1: this is Russ's offense and we're like we're leaning all
Speaker 1: the way into like the Russ approach, and obviously you
Speaker 1: know the he had like his own office on the
Speaker 1: coaching the coaching staff floor and like everything like that.
Speaker 1: So I just like the way that they approached that
Speaker 1: season just was kind of set up for failure from
Speaker 1: the beginning. That's not gonna be the case with Sean Payne,
Speaker 1: and I think some of that is also reflective in
Speaker 1: how they approached their draft, their free agency. I mean,
Speaker 1: they signed two big contracts in terms of offensive linemen,
Speaker 1: in terms of Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers, and those
Speaker 1: are two guys who are better run blockers than pass protectors.
Speaker 1: They draft another running back in this class, you have
Speaker 1: Javonte Williams coming back, they signed some magic p Ryn,
Speaker 1: So Sean Payne's kind of telling us like, hey, we're
Speaker 1: gonna run the ball and we're gonna get back to
Speaker 1: how Russ was successful probably early on in his career.
Speaker 1: So the Broncos are going to be more formidable than
Speaker 1: this past year. But statistically, Russ really hasn't been Russ
Speaker 1: since twenty twenty. So how the Broncos handle this season,
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be very insightful to how they
Speaker 1: view Russell Wilson down the road because there's like some
Speaker 1: injury guarantees similar to how Derek Carr's contract was set up,
Speaker 1: and so the Broncos could get to, you know, we
Speaker 1: twelve and they could be, you know, below five hundred
Speaker 1: and decide hey, like let's let's hang Russ up and
Speaker 1: then we don't have to pay him this money and
Speaker 1: then we can move on in the offseason. So, like
Speaker 1: you mentioned, I do agree for like the Broncos this
Speaker 1: year their floor will be higher. But I'm more concerned
Speaker 1: from a Chargers perspective about the Broncos in the future
Speaker 1: with Sean Payton than I am immediately in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3: Ooh yeah, I like that, And that doesn't make some
Speaker 3: sense because we've It's tough to say because last time
Speaker 3: we saw Russell Wilson against.
Speaker 2: The Chargers it was not pretty for the Chargers. So
Speaker 2: we'll see.
Speaker 3: But yeah, there's only so much longer this can continue.
Speaker 3: I don't know how much more there is to salvage
Speaker 3: with Russell Wilson, but yeah, I could see that moving forward.
Speaker 3: Just whoever Sean Payton brings in next that new era
Speaker 3: that is certainly more concerning, especially if they can do
Speaker 3: it really quickly as early as next year while the
Speaker 3: defense is relatively young and really good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I will. I'm curious about like the negative outcome
Speaker 1: probability here, because the last time we saw Sean Payton
Speaker 1: coaching the New Orleans Saints offense in twenty twenty one
Speaker 1: was not exactly great. I understand that was after the
Speaker 1: Drew Brees era, but the twenty twenty one Saints were
Speaker 1: twenty third in offensive DVA that year, So it wasn't
Speaker 1: like Sean Payton like went out on top and then
Speaker 1: retired and then decided to come back. Like, how likely
Speaker 1: do you think this does not work out for the
Speaker 1: Broncos in the way that they're hoping. I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna say like they're they're probably hoping that this
Speaker 1: sends in a Super Bowl win at some point in
Speaker 1: the future. But like a lot of Broncos fans are
Speaker 1: very very excited about this upcoming twenty twenty three season.
Speaker 1: And obviously we talked about Russell. But what are the
Speaker 1: chances that you think Sean Payton is just kind of
Speaker 1: maybe being a little slightly overvalued right now?
Speaker 2: Hmmm. I don't know what the percentage would be there.
Speaker 3: It's certainly possible, and I don't know if he will
Speaker 3: ever be able to answer that if he finds out
Speaker 3: or really the Broncos find out that Russell Wilson isn't
Speaker 3: their guy.
Speaker 2: So it's possible, It's very possible.
Speaker 3: I don't know if that this is the greatest Broncos
Speaker 3: offensive corps, you know, compared to what he had with
Speaker 3: the saintsman when they were at their peaks.
Speaker 2: So we'll see, we'll see.
Speaker 1: Yeah, should be interesting to see Brandon State's defense go
Speaker 1: up against the Saints' offense in Denver twice next season,
Speaker 1: So I'm excited for those games this year, all right.
Speaker 1: Next one here that we wanted to get to, obviously
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. There's a lot of interesting discussion between
Speaker 1: the Chargers and Dolphins on social media, mostly regarding the quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: But you know, the Dolphins ultimately winning the Vic Vangio
Speaker 1: sweepstakes this year. Reportedly, Vic had like eight teams lining
Speaker 1: up to offer him contracts, and he's making more money
Speaker 1: than a bunch of head coaches in the league this
Speaker 1: year to be Miami's defensive coordinator. Pretty drastic change too
Speaker 1: from the Patriot It's type defense that they've been employing previously.
Speaker 1: And we're gonna two part this as well, because the
Speaker 1: Dolphins traded for Jalen Ramsey to kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: take their big swing of the offseason. So, Tyler, what
Speaker 1: do you make of the Dolphins approach getting Vic Vangio
Speaker 1: and Jalen Ramsey this year?
Speaker 2: Pretty darn smart.
Speaker 3: I mean, Fangio was the hot commodity out there in
Speaker 3: terms of this coaching cycle, and I don't recall if
Speaker 3: he interviewed for a head coaching job or not, but
Speaker 3: he was certainly the hottest coordinator candidate out there until
Speaker 3: maybe Kellen Moore became available.
Speaker 2: This is in the pairing with Jalen Ramsey. This is
Speaker 2: big for them, and.
Speaker 3: It's sort of opposite of the Jets Roger situation, where
Speaker 3: the offense was really solid, they just needed they never
Speaker 3: really put it together on defense.
Speaker 2: There's too much talent.
Speaker 3: Kind of reminds me of like the Browns, where there's
Speaker 3: so much talent on that defense, but you look at
Speaker 3: the numbers and it's like fifteenth and dv away, twenty
Speaker 3: fourth and EPA per play, Like it's not where they
Speaker 3: really should have been and it's not like that division.
Speaker 2: Last year it was all that.
Speaker 3: Great on offense where it's like, oh my gosh, we
Speaker 3: just you know, the numbers aren't so hot because we're
Speaker 3: playing really great offenses every week. Not really, so, you know,
Speaker 3: I guess in some sense, their own offense made it
Speaker 3: difficult for their defense because they were consistent shootouts. But
Speaker 3: getting Fangio, getting Ramsey, you know, a proven coordinator in
Speaker 3: the AFC, Ramsey a proven cornerback in the AFC and NFC.
Speaker 3: You know, Ramsey sure not his prime self, but still
Speaker 3: a very good corner it could be potentially dangerous. I
Speaker 3: don't know what to make of them because even though
Speaker 3: I think this is a slam dunk awesome set of
Speaker 3: moves for them, it all comes down to the quarterback.
Speaker 3: So what does that mean for their outlook? I'm not sure,
Speaker 3: but we'll talk about that in a bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's a smart approach from them, because
Speaker 1: I think the defense was pretty clearly the weak part
Speaker 1: of their team last year outside of like backup quarterback.
Speaker 1: So you get big Vangie to come in and I
Speaker 1: think just provide a little bit more of a higher floor,
Speaker 1: similar to conversation to like on painting here, with Vic Vangio,
Speaker 1: and like that could have been enough. Honestly, like they
Speaker 1: could have been a much improved unit with just hiring
Speaker 1: Big Vangio. I mean, they've got a good amount of talent,
Speaker 1: you know, Javon Holland. I think Zavian Howard's kind of
Speaker 1: passed his prime, but still still a quality football player,
Speaker 1: Bradley Chubb, Jalen Phillips. They signed David Long, the linebacker
Speaker 1: from Tennessee to play that. You know, obviously, Christian Wilkins
Speaker 1: one of the best defensive tackles in the league, So
Speaker 1: they could have just said, looked at his defense that hey,
Speaker 1: we just need like a better voice in the room
Speaker 1: and we can call it good on that defensive side
Speaker 1: of the ball. But going out and getting Jalen Ramsey,
Speaker 1: I think was a big move. I asked Quinton Johnson
Speaker 1: on our show or on our channel last week, which
Speaker 1: corner he was most excited to go up against. He said,
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey. So that matchup in Week one, I think
Speaker 1: there's gonna be a lot of focus on like Tua
Speaker 1: and Justin Herbert and stuff like that. But on this
Speaker 1: channel last week, we talked about Michael Davis versus Tyreek Hill.
Speaker 1: You know, Big Van g versus Brandon Stadie, Like, there's
Speaker 1: a lot of great storylines in that matchup. So this
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins defense is way more interesting with Vic and
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey than I think it was previously. And when
Speaker 1: you have Josh Allen and division, we have Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: in division and generally playing the AFC, like, it does
Speaker 1: make sense to load up on defensive talent too.
Speaker 3: Quit A Johnson versus Jalen Ramsey. How many times are
Speaker 3: we going to get that?
Speaker 2: Do you think? Because I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't think very much. I don't think very much.
Speaker 1: You know, the approach with the Dolphins and Jalen is
Speaker 1: going to be really interesting to see how he kind
Speaker 1: of shadows people. He had obviously one of his best
Speaker 1: seasons under Brandon Stay in twenty twenty, and one of
Speaker 1: the things that made that marriage, if you will, so
Speaker 1: great was that Jayleen would play in the slot a
Speaker 1: lot more often than he previously had. So Jalen's a
Speaker 1: guy that is not going to be afraid to go
Speaker 1: up against a team's number one receiver if it's a
Speaker 1: slot receiver, and so we might see him glued to
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen's hip, but I think we'll see it occasionally,
Speaker 1: depending on like receiver rotation.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was just wondering because in terms of the hierarchy,
Speaker 3: no offense to Quinton Johnston, but I'm going after the
Speaker 3: other two guys that are making twenty million.
Speaker 2: Dollars a year that are pretty good.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you can tell by week one
Speaker 3: what Quentin Johnson's gonna be and if that's like, Okay,
Speaker 3: that's the guy we're going to take out. Guy we
Speaker 3: have no film on that they just drafted. Who's not
Speaker 3: Keenan out or Mike Williams. No offense to him, but
Speaker 3: I just hey, take you know, take a bantge of
Speaker 3: your matchups. If you want to get two hundred yards
Speaker 3: on two plays against Jialan Ramsey, I'm all for it.
Speaker 1: That would be a great way to start your rookie season. Man,
Speaker 1: go up against Jayles Ramsey, give him a a couple
Speaker 1: of bills. That'd be great. All right, Next one here,
Speaker 1: we're kind of lumping Ravens offseason in general here. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the Lamar Jackson stuff really was the headliner for the Ravens,
Speaker 1: but they hired Todd Mounkin from away from Georgia. The
Speaker 1: last time we had seen Todd Mounkin in the NFL
Speaker 1: was down in Tampa Bay with Jameis Winston and Ryan
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick and all those guys. And I think we've seen
Speaker 1: a very successful Georgia offense over the last few seas.
Speaker 1: And so again like just replacing Greg Roman with Todd Mnkin,
Speaker 1: that would have been enough. You get the Lamar extension,
Speaker 1: you obviously signed Odell Beckham junior, and then you draft
Speaker 1: say Flowers in the first round as well. So this
Speaker 1: Ravens passing attack is really going to look very different
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three than it did in twenty twenty
Speaker 1: two and previously.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good group.
Speaker 3: So you have Bateman, Ode Beckham Junior, Dave Flowers, Devin Duvernet,
Speaker 3: Nelson Agalore, a really good tight.
Speaker 2: End room with Andrews of course leading the way.
Speaker 3: But then Isaiah likely you're tight end h back sort
Speaker 3: of type, Charlie Kohlar. It's a really really good group.
Speaker 3: So you know, we'll see all things go to start
Speaker 3: the season. Of course, you know, just like the Chargers
Speaker 3: in Kellen Moore got to iron some things out, you
Speaker 3: got to learn the offense, gotta work together, that sort
Speaker 3: of thing. But it's a really really good group and
Speaker 3: I really do like that. You know, I don't know
Speaker 3: if it's too late for the Ravens, but they certainly.
Speaker 3: I love the way that they've you know, gather on
Speaker 3: their quarterback as they should have. The money's there in theory,
Speaker 3: the quarter the coordinator, excuse me, is there, and that
Speaker 3: the receiving talent is there.
Speaker 2: So a lot of pressure, I guess, no excuses because
Speaker 2: you have basically everything that you would want. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I think the Raymonds are that sneaky, very dangerous team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent. And it's gonna be interesting to
Speaker 1: see what happens with their rushing game because I mean,
Speaker 1: we've seen Lamar rush for over one thousand yards previously.
Speaker 1: Is that something that goes away? Now that they have
Speaker 1: paid him a bunch of money guaranteed a bunch of
Speaker 1: long term money as well. You have more passing options
Speaker 1: as well, like we talked about. So the Raymonds are
Speaker 1: an interesting team. I think they're gonna look very different
Speaker 1: than what we are used to seeing with Greg Roman.
Speaker 1: Because Greg Roman's thing is like I'm gonna build a
Speaker 1: rushing offense. First, I need me a mobile quarterback. I
Speaker 1: need a great running back or two, and we're just
Speaker 1: gonna run the piss out of the ball. Essentially. That's
Speaker 1: not Todd Munkins Forte if you will. I mean, like
Speaker 1: I mentioned his experiences with Jamis Winston and Ryan where like,
Speaker 1: we're gonna throw fifty times a game, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: let our guys air it out. A little bit different
Speaker 1: down in Georgia. But I do think whence when the
Speaker 1: Ravens come to town with the charters, they'll they'll look
Speaker 1: very different.
Speaker 2: I think so.
Speaker 3: But then if the if the Ravens come to down
Speaker 3: they should just be running the football. So maybe they
Speaker 3: will just call it Greg Roman for a game and
Speaker 3: rush it fifty times.
Speaker 1: That's certainly possible, certainly possible, all right. So we wanted
Speaker 1: to frame our initial discussion here in this way because
Speaker 1: there's been you know, some thought that like the Chargers
Speaker 1: haven't done enough to keep up with these teams in
Speaker 1: the off season. But if you really kind of take
Speaker 1: a step back and look at the AFC moves as
Speaker 1: a whole, the Chargers Landy Kellen Moore I think is
Speaker 1: right up there with biggest moves of the offseason. Certainly
Speaker 1: one of the best non head coach play callers in
Speaker 1: the NFL from what we've seen over the past few
Speaker 1: years with the Dallas Cowboys. So, Tyler, does this move
Speaker 1: belong in the same vein we have replaced it with
Speaker 1: like the you know, like the Browns going in all
Speaker 1: in on the defensive line for example, that's one thing
Speaker 1: we mentioned, or you know, the Chiefs going after Juwan Taylor.
Speaker 1: How do you feel like we can justify Kellen Moore
Speaker 1: Kellen Moore's edition being in this space too.
Speaker 3: I would say it's the third biggest move of the
Speaker 3: AFC and the whole offseason.
Speaker 2: I think, you know, Rogers going to the Jets is huge.
Speaker 3: Payton to the Broncos is huge, sure, but after that,
Speaker 3: I really think Kellen Moore to the Chargers is that
Speaker 3: third biggest move. It's it's huge for the Chargers, I think,
Speaker 3: because I mean, the Chargers asked the question, what if
Speaker 3: we got a coordinator who's.
Speaker 2: Had a top five at worst top.
Speaker 3: Ten offense every single year. What if we took that
Speaker 3: coordinator compaired him with the quarterback who's.
Speaker 2: An MVP candidate, And so.
Speaker 3: There's really nothing to look at that and even just
Speaker 3: looking at the numbers when we first started diving into
Speaker 3: this when they hired him, EPA looks great. DVOA looks great.
Speaker 3: Red zone offense was the best in the league last year.
Speaker 3: They're a balanced team, they spread their formations out more.
Speaker 3: Everything's so great about this That does that mean the
Speaker 3: Chargers are Super Bowl contenders because of the one thing?
Speaker 2: Not necessarily it does have to work.
Speaker 3: But this move is potentially huge because you know, we'll
Speaker 3: see what happens with the defense for the Chargers. There's
Speaker 3: a lot of potential there, but we don't quite know.
Speaker 3: We know that Herbert can be an MVP quarterback. We
Speaker 3: know that Kellen Moore can coordinate a really really good
Speaker 3: offense at minimum. Pairing these two together, I mean, this
Speaker 3: is how the Charges make the postseason. This is how
Speaker 3: the Chargers become Super Bowl contenders. Is how they win
Speaker 3: the Super Bowl? Like, this is a huge move. I know,
Speaker 3: I'm a Chargers fans, of course I'm gonna feel like
Speaker 3: it's a big move, but right, like the.
Speaker 2: Switch from running an offense that.
Speaker 3: Probably didn't work for the players that you had and
Speaker 3: the quarterback that you had that didn't function so well
Speaker 3: situationally that wasn't great in rushing last year. Taking that
Speaker 3: and going to someone who is going to really get
Speaker 3: this offense to reflect what it should be, what it
Speaker 3: could be, that's huge, I mean, and that's coaching.
Speaker 1: That's teaching.
Speaker 2: You want the most.
Speaker 3: Out of your players, your students, whatever as you can.
Speaker 3: You want to set them in the best positions to succeed.
Speaker 3: And I think that the Charges were able to do
Speaker 3: that a bit in twenty twenty one and in twenty
Speaker 3: twenty as well. Twenty twenty two is a whole mess,
Speaker 3: but it really feels like not everything's going away right
Speaker 3: because Kellen Moore came out and said, listen, there are
Speaker 3: things that they did well that we're going to continue doing.
Speaker 3: I think some things in the short game that Justin
Speaker 3: Herbert has learned how to do is really really big.
Speaker 3: I think the way they use certain players, I'm sure
Speaker 3: they'll use them kind of similarly in cerfent situations, but
Speaker 3: just the extra notch the Chargers can jump up because
Speaker 3: of their offense, because of Kellen Moore, I think it
Speaker 3: makes it the third biggest move of the AFC.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I tend to agree, and I think you can
Speaker 1: look at offensive coordinators or play callers in general in
Speaker 1: a similar vein as how you look at quarterbacks, in
Speaker 1: the sense of there are certain coordinators who or play
Speaker 1: callers that you win because of that. Like, regardless of
Speaker 1: who what kind of players you have in that system,
Speaker 1: that coordinator play caller is going to truly elevate every
Speaker 1: player in that system. We've seen that with Kyle Shanahan,
Speaker 1: regardless of who he has at quarterback. I mean, he
Speaker 1: made the Cleveland Browns offense look functional for a year.
Speaker 1: You know he was down in Houston. I mean, he
Speaker 1: made Matt Ryan an MVP candidate and an MVP winner.
Speaker 1: You know, we've seen him time and time again in
Speaker 1: San Francisco. Same thing with Andy Reid, whether it was
Speaker 1: like Kevin Cobb for a year or Jeff Garcia. You know,
Speaker 1: like certain offensive play callers just know how to have
Speaker 1: a functional unit, regardless of who is playing quarterback and
Speaker 1: vice versa. There are play callers who need that talent
Speaker 1: in order to be functional, and then if you lose
Speaker 1: that talent, the bottom kind of falls out, and I
Speaker 1: think the charters previously had the latter with Joe Lombardy
Speaker 1: not to like make this a Joel Lombardi hate thing.
Speaker 1: That's not the goal here. But Kellen Moore, Like, if
Speaker 1: you really look objectively at who the Cowboys have had
Speaker 1: on offense over the last few years, I think he
Speaker 1: is a coordinator that can truly elevate players in his system.
Speaker 1: And I'm not just talking about Dak Like we saw
Speaker 1: them maintain a top fifteen offense with Cooper Rush. Yep,
Speaker 1: it wasn't as great with Andy Dalton. Like objectively, I
Speaker 1: don't know like what happened there, but you know, you
Speaker 1: look at the offensive line injuries, you look at the
Speaker 1: lack of receiving talent. I mean last year, like really
Speaker 1: it was Ceedee Lamb and Dalton Schultzen. It wasn't much else,
Speaker 1: and they still had a top ten passing offense. And
Speaker 1: so you look at what Kellen Moore can do in
Speaker 1: terms of elevating an offense, and you pair him with
Speaker 1: a quarterback who is capable of elevating an offense, and
Speaker 1: I think this charged offense is going to be legitimately
Speaker 1: a top five unit. And that's even before you talk
Speaker 1: about like adding Quentin Johnson getting a healthier offense around
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert. So I agree I think this Kellen Moore
Speaker 1: pairing like it's kind of simmer down. There hasn't been
Speaker 1: a ton of national attention on it recently, but I
Speaker 1: think it is one of the moves that will help
Speaker 1: define the twenty twenty three season in the AFC. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, And you've already started to see some of the
Speaker 3: influences of this. I would not have thought they'd go
Speaker 3: get another receiver in the first round and go three
Speaker 3: wide receiver sets, and then the way that they're probably
Speaker 3: going to have six wide receivers on this roster ins
Speaker 3: that of five or really like four and a half
Speaker 3: or even four, you know, the previous years with just
Speaker 3: the pure returner types. It just seems like that Kellen
Speaker 3: Moore's coming in to change things in a way that
Speaker 3: it's just a little bit different than it was before,
Speaker 3: just in terms of roster management. And so if that's
Speaker 3: kind of how things are shaping up, it's going to
Speaker 3: be a big change on the field.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I one hundred percent agree. And we've seen some
Speaker 1: great breakdowns from Brett Coleman on this channel of the
Speaker 1: x's and o's and things like that. But just philosophically,
Speaker 1: I think the Chargers are really going to be, you know,
Speaker 1: in a much better standing point with Kellen Moore. And
Speaker 1: I think, like we've talked about before, like adaptability is
Speaker 1: something that Kellen Moore is really going to bring to
Speaker 1: this team. And that's something that I had really probably
Speaker 1: since Ken was a Hunt was around, you know, back
Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen with that team. So Chargs fans have
Speaker 1: kind of settle down on the Kellen More hype, but
Speaker 1: I think hopefully after this show they can kind of
Speaker 1: you know, get back into this into the swing of
Speaker 1: things in that regard. Absolutely all right, So for the
Speaker 1: second part of our show, we're going to share our
Speaker 1: screen here. We're gonna bring up the handy downy tear maker,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna sort some of these teams out, some
Speaker 1: of these moves and see how these teams really stack up.
Speaker 1: We're not gonna spend a ton of time talking about
Speaker 1: the teams that we really like know a lot about
Speaker 1: in terms of like being bad or being good. So
Speaker 1: we have this tearmaker sorted out here. Again, this is
Speaker 1: AFC only, so we're gonna sort it into Super Bowl
Speaker 1: contender that's the top tier. Obviously, teams that were pretty
Speaker 1: confident are playoff teams, teams that are a fringe playoff team,
Speaker 1: teams that are kind of a middle of the pack team,
Speaker 1: and then Tyler has it in the back. Hello, Caleb Williams.
Speaker 1: You know teams who we think are going to be
Speaker 1: pretty bad. Although some of the teams that are bad
Speaker 1: are just drafted the quarterback. We'll see how that one goes. Tyler,
Speaker 1: let's talk about the teams quickly that we're like very
Speaker 1: confident in their placement. I think we can all pretty
Speaker 1: confidently say the Chiefs are the super Bowl contender. They're
Speaker 1: the champs. They've won the AFC West eight years in
Speaker 1: a row. Like, they have the best quarterback, the best coach,
Speaker 1: So it has been so very comfortably. Chiefs are a
Speaker 1: super Bowl contender. Who else do you think is a
Speaker 1: super Bowl contener in the AFC?
Speaker 3: Yeah, the one that consistently seems to outperform themselves in
Speaker 3: the playoffs, and that's the Bengals. So I think of
Speaker 3: the AFC, I think the Chiefs and the Bengals are
Speaker 3: one and two. I think the Bills kind of like
Speaker 3: last year, you could make the case that they're maybe
Speaker 3: more talented or of the better quarterback or whatever, But
Speaker 3: the Bengals just been hanging in there and.
Speaker 2: The Bills for whatever reason.
Speaker 3: Granted it wasn't like Josh Allen's fault they lost to
Speaker 3: the Chiefs. That was just a shootout that somebody had
Speaker 3: to lose the two years ago. But I think these
Speaker 3: two are are the class of the AFC right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, in terms of sure things, one hundred percent, I
Speaker 1: agree there you mentioned next seeding expectations. I think the
Speaker 1: Bills for whatever reason, have just not been able to
Speaker 1: get over that hump. You know, trading for or signing
Speaker 1: von Miller rather was supposed to be that move, and
Speaker 1: then Vaughn ultimately got injured, so maybe that changes. You know,
Speaker 1: they obviously drafted my guy, Dalton Kinkay this year, but
Speaker 1: until they really proved, I think we kind of have
Speaker 1: to cool down a little bit on the Bills hype. Okay,
Speaker 1: so you have them that playoff team, I would have
Speaker 1: them at for sure playoff team. Yeah, I would still
Speaker 1: pick them to win their division, but in terms of
Speaker 1: like they're one hundred percent of Super Bowl contender, I
Speaker 1: think we have to My personal opinion is that we
Speaker 1: should cool down a little bit on that hype.
Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, I agree. I thought I was going to
Speaker 3: be the only one saying that. So, yeah, I agree,
Speaker 3: there very talented team here, but like Super the Chargers,
Speaker 3: ish you got to prove it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's not. There's like no holes on that team.
Speaker 1: Like their offensive line is good, they have good running back,
Speaker 1: they have obviously Josh Allen. Their receiver room is good.
Speaker 1: I think they're tight end room now with with Kincaid
Speaker 1: and Dawson Knox is good. Defensive line is you know,
Speaker 1: runs ten deep. The linebackers are solid. I just like
Speaker 1: they just kind of have to like do it for
Speaker 1: me first. All right, let's for sure bad teams. I
Speaker 1: think we can definitely pencil in the Colts and the
Speaker 1: Texans there. Personally, some people think the Colts can be
Speaker 1: pretty maybe a middle of the pack team, but I
Speaker 1: think they're gonna be bad, and I think the Texans
Speaker 1: are gonna be bad as well.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's so tough because the strength of schedule. I
Speaker 3: think for all four of the AFC South teams is
Speaker 3: like five best because they play each other. And so
Speaker 3: I think that, you know, there's a team that can
Speaker 3: maybe like like if I had to pick it, it would
Speaker 3: be the Colts to kind of jump to middling team
Speaker 3: hopefully believe in like Shane Styke and Richardson and stuff
Speaker 3: like that, they do have a good nucleus of talent,
Speaker 3: but they're also like, it's so tough to say because
Speaker 3: it was so such a dysfunctional franchise last year with
Speaker 3: the hiring of Jeff Saturday. You know, we saw the
Speaker 3: Charges play them and you know, Austin Eckle even laughed
Speaker 3: at the idea that they were going to continue with
Speaker 3: the quarterback the next week because of how bad it
Speaker 3: like a decision that was really bad. Then Yeah, right,
Speaker 3: so you know, we'll certainly see. But I think that's fair.
Speaker 2: It's the halo.
Speaker 3: Hello, Caleb Williams. Slot They're not going to go get
Speaker 3: Caleb Williams, I don't think.
Speaker 2: But yeah, they're they're they're. If I had to pick
Speaker 2: two teams to be the bond of be these.
Speaker 1: Two that that specific phrasing is probably a little bit
Speaker 1: more applicable to the NFC teams, But I think the
Speaker 1: principals is is fair. I think I could understand an
Speaker 1: argument for the Titans to be in that conversation. But
Speaker 1: Mike Rabel's such a good head coach. They still have
Speaker 1: Tarrick Henry and they still have Tannel. I would probably
Speaker 1: make them a for sure middling team. Like I think
Speaker 1: they'll probably end up like a seven and ten kind
Speaker 1: of thing. What do you what do you make of them? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I would agree.
Speaker 3: It's it's sort of Mike Tomlin with the Steelers. I
Speaker 3: think the Steelers are better this year, but the way
Speaker 3: that they just consistent can assistancy for that team. I mean,
Speaker 3: that Titans team was pretty down and out and they
Speaker 3: really battled with the Chargers till the very end at
Speaker 3: home or at the Chargers.
Speaker 2: Home and so far. So yeah, I'll say middling.
Speaker 3: It wouldn't surprise me if suddenly we see them winning
Speaker 3: games and oh my gosh, look at that. They're you know,
Speaker 3: ten and seven, nine and eight or something. But I
Speaker 3: think middling team is fair.
Speaker 1: All right. Anybody else that you think is definitely a
Speaker 1: middling team or definitely a bad team.
Speaker 2: Ooh.
Speaker 3: I think the Raiders are a middling team, which my
Speaker 3: dad's not gonna look like. But I'm gonna add them
Speaker 3: there because I don't really know what the quarterback move
Speaker 3: does for them.
Speaker 2: I don't know if that makes them better or worse.
Speaker 2: They certainly think it's gonna.
Speaker 3: Make them better, but I don't. I just don't really.
Speaker 3: There's too Like we talked about on our recent show,
Speaker 3: there's gonna be potentially five of their draft picks that
Speaker 3: could start by Week one, two or three because they
Speaker 3: have so many holes on the roster, and so that's
Speaker 3: great for a rookie class, but it's just not the
Speaker 3: greatest team. Uncertain about the coach, and I think when
Speaker 3: it comes to record, they are going to be the
Speaker 3: third or fourth team in the AFC West, So I
Speaker 3: think they're gonna kind of hang around middling team and
Speaker 3: the Broncos. I barely feel more confident about them. To
Speaker 3: be honest, I'd be fine putting them in middling or fringe.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll get to them in a second, But I
Speaker 1: think the Raiders like they have too much talent right
Speaker 1: now to be a bad team outright. In my opinion,
Speaker 1: if they had gone out and drafted a one of
Speaker 1: these rookie quarterbacks, I think that maybe changes things. But
Speaker 1: Jimmy g is solid enough where I think that's not
Speaker 1: going to take their offense. And then you're talking about
Speaker 1: Devontae Adams, You're talking about Hunter Renfro, Colton Miller, Jacobe Myers,
Speaker 1: like Josh Jacobs, Like, that's a pretty good to potentially
Speaker 1: very good, you know, supporting cast defensively, I think their
Speaker 1: defenses is a big time working progress. But you still
Speaker 1: have Max cross Be, you still have Chandler Jones, Like.
Speaker 1: They have some pieces that I think will keep them
Speaker 1: from totally bottoming out as long as they stay decently healthy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think they'll like they're not beating the Chiefs
Speaker 3: this year. My dad thinks the Chargers gonna beat them twice.
Speaker 2: We'll see the Broncos.
Speaker 3: They've somehow maintained a great record against the Broncos over
Speaker 3: the last few years. But yeah, I just think they're
Speaker 3: gonna win some games that maybe they shouldn't, but then
Speaker 3: they're gonna lose a lot of games that they should.
Speaker 2: Middling team, Yeah, I think that's fair.
Speaker 1: All right, let's sort through some of these other teams here, Tyler,
Speaker 1: who do you want to start with in terms of
Speaker 1: this bottomer because I think this is the meat of
Speaker 1: the AFC, if you will, there's a lot of teams,
Speaker 1: a lot of you know, overcrowded fighting for playoff spots here.
Speaker 1: Who do you want to start with next.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there really is.
Speaker 3: I was trying to run through this earlier today, and
Speaker 3: there's so many good teams in the AFC, it's really frightening.
Speaker 2: I'll start with the Steelers, and I.
Speaker 3: Think that because they have two other teams in their
Speaker 3: division that are I think going to be better than
Speaker 3: they are, that that makes them a fringe playoff team.
Speaker 1: But that's kind of what they are.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's that's the Mike Tomlin Steelers is they're
Speaker 3: this fringe playoff team. And think of the draft that
Speaker 3: they just had with Joey Porter, Junior, Broderick Jones, Darneld Washington,
Speaker 3: Keanu Benton, Corey Trice, Like they had one heck of
Speaker 3: a draft, arguably the best draft onto a very competitive
Speaker 3: team with a very good football coach. So, you know,
Speaker 3: I think guys like their teams, like the Ravens, like
Speaker 3: the Bengals, like we talked about, they're probably going to
Speaker 3: be better, and I would assume that they would be.
Speaker 2: It really comes down to the quarterback, right.
Speaker 3: You put Lamar Jackson on the Steelers, very different conversation,
Speaker 3: but Joe Burn the Steelers, very different conversation. But Kenny Pickett,
Speaker 3: you know, wasn't awful for them. There's a lot of
Speaker 3: positives there, but I think just this, the floor of
Speaker 3: this team is just so high with Mike Tomlin that
Speaker 3: they have to be a fringe playoff team, especially after
Speaker 3: the draft they just had.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I thought that last year like was
Speaker 1: gonna be the year where they you know, ruined their
Speaker 1: streak of never having a losing season. Yeah, they ended
Speaker 1: up winning nine games, So I mean Mike Tomlin is like,
Speaker 1: like you mentioned the definition of a fringe playoff team
Speaker 1: at this point in time, I do think that there's
Speaker 1: a chance they could make the playoffs for sure. You know,
Speaker 1: the AFC is stacked, right, but you know, Mike Tomlin
Speaker 1: has just provides such stability with that team that, like,
Speaker 1: I probably would pick them to be that team who
Speaker 1: missed the playoffs last year that will make it into
Speaker 1: the next year over teams who have, you know, more
Speaker 1: uncertainty like some of the ones there at the bottom.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, where do you want to go next?
Speaker 1: Uh? Yeah, let's I'm gonna put the Ravens in the
Speaker 1: playoff team you mentioned, then we'll kind of go AFC
Speaker 1: North year.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: You know, Lamar Jackson has like an eighty percent winning
Speaker 1: percentage as a starter since he's been in the NFL.
Speaker 1: So it's we just know what we're gonna get with
Speaker 1: this Ravens team under John Harbaugh. I think the defense
Speaker 1: is gonna be better. I think we'll see a big
Speaker 1: step from Kyle Hamilton. I mean, Tyler Linnerbaum, their starting center,
Speaker 1: should take a step forward. And then I just believe
Speaker 1: in like what they've done, like I mentioned in the
Speaker 1: passing attack with Todd Monkain with Odell who I don't
Speaker 1: think is I don't think he's worth of the worthy
Speaker 1: of the contract they gave him, but I think he'll
Speaker 1: be Like I mean, we're talking about a team that
Speaker 1: was like Devin Duvernet was their wide receiver to down
Speaker 1: a playoff stretch last year, like he's he's going to
Speaker 1: elevate the floor. And then you have to say Flowers
Speaker 1: as well. So I just really believe in in their
Speaker 1: passing attack as well as you're talking about JK. Dobbins
Speaker 1: on on on the ground. So I'm a believer of
Speaker 1: the Ravens, maybe a little bit too much, but I
Speaker 1: think we can pencil them in as a for sure
Speaker 1: playoff team.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, I think that's completely fair for them because
Speaker 3: it's a good football team and and sort of like
Speaker 3: Tomlin harbod, this team's gonna be pretty consistent as well,
Speaker 3: so Lamar, all things are good, no distractions at this point.
Speaker 3: You know, the hell should be their good offense. So
Speaker 3: you know, I think the kind of there's a couple
Speaker 3: of teams to talk about in the playoff team tier
Speaker 3: that are really jocking for like who's that third team?
Speaker 2: I think the Rains are a really good strong case.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say next. I don't think they're in
Speaker 1: the same kind of tier in terms of like how
Speaker 1: much I trust them, But the Jags are alone. There's
Speaker 1: no way that the Jaguars are not a playoff team.
Speaker 1: So I think we kind of just have to put
Speaker 1: them in it because like these other teams, they're all
Speaker 1: gonna be bad, like the Tennessee Titans, Like maybe they
Speaker 1: win seven eight games, but maybe the Colts wins seven
Speaker 1: eight games. But the Jaguars are gonna kakuwalk to a
Speaker 1: playoff spot. Man.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're They're at minimum a well coached team. It
Speaker 3: seems like Tremor Warre's taking that step forward. If Calvin
Speaker 3: really hits this is a team that could go pretty
Speaker 3: far in the playoff playoffs.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean the Calvin Ridley move was a move
Speaker 1: that we thought about talking about in terms of the
Speaker 1: biggest moves of the offseason, even though it happened like
Speaker 1: during the season, you know, they they had three pass
Speaker 1: catchers go over eight hundred yards or something like that,
Speaker 1: and it was like guys that people were not super
Speaker 1: high on, Like Calvin Ridley is a bona fide wide
Speaker 1: receiver one, So I think that's gonna pay some dividends
Speaker 1: for them. All right, Tyler, who do you want to
Speaker 1: go to next?
Speaker 2: Let's go to the Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 3: So I think we should try to get seven teams,
Speaker 3: like two Super Bowl contenders, and then five in the
Speaker 3: playoff team tier because there's gonna be seven playoff teams.
Speaker 3: I think the Dolphins fit there as a playoff team.
Speaker 3: I again don't know about the quarterback situation, but this
Speaker 3: kind of comes down to like the forty nine Ers
Speaker 3: Shanahan thing, where listen, the system is the system, and
Speaker 3: the system is good and the system works and has worked.
Speaker 3: Really comes down to health obviously, But I think I
Speaker 3: would consider them fringe if not for guys like Fangio
Speaker 3: and Ramsey.
Speaker 2: That just changes things for me.
Speaker 3: If you can crank out somehow a top twelve defense
Speaker 3: maintain that same offensive efficiency, I think you're considered a
Speaker 3: playoff team.
Speaker 1: I don't know how them. I don't know if what
Speaker 1: they did on offense is really sustainable because so reliant
Speaker 1: on explosive plays and big time touchdowns from Tyreek Hill
Speaker 1: and Jayson Model in particular. Like the NFL posted a
Speaker 1: clip of Tyreek Hill and his touchdowns last year and
Speaker 1: like three of them were like the defender fell down,
Speaker 1: like against Michael Davis, the fumble thing, you know, Like,
Speaker 1: I just don't know how sustainable the Miami Dolphins offense is.
Speaker 1: And they don't really have like a counter punch like
Speaker 1: that was the thing with their offense last year, is
Speaker 1: like when push came to shove and you couldn't get
Speaker 1: those explosive plays, like what is your alternative? And they
Speaker 1: they lean more into the explosive plays. They drafted Devon
Speaker 1: h Chin, who's another speedy guy, and like, ye, that's
Speaker 1: their thing. But I'm a little skeptical of the Dolphins
Speaker 1: this year, at least on offense. Like we just talked
Speaker 1: about the defense, and I think defense is gonna be better.
Speaker 1: But then you also add in the fact that the
Speaker 1: AFC East is there's not a bad team in the
Speaker 1: AFC East. Man Like, it's gonna be difficult for these
Speaker 1: teams to really kind of elevate themselves. So I personally
Speaker 1: would put the Dolphins into fringe off team.
Speaker 3: Is there an AFC team you put over them?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it is the Jets. Unfortunately. I just
Speaker 1: I think Aaron Rodgers is gonna come out for for souls,
Speaker 1: as Scotland Maddock.
Speaker 3: Would say, yeah, the notable, great legend Scott Scott Matlin.
Speaker 2: I don't mind that. I don't mind that fringe playoff team. Again,
Speaker 2: on record, I think playoff team.
Speaker 3: But I understand why the Jets would be considered a
Speaker 3: playoff team because we just talked about that's a that's
Speaker 3: a huge move for them, and you know, significantly more
Speaker 3: even a new situation about Rogers than.
Speaker 1: You do to a Yeah, and I think there's just
Speaker 1: gonna be better synergy there. I mean, Nathanie Hackett is
Speaker 1: is he failed in Denver pretty miserably, but you know
Speaker 1: he's Aaron's guy, So I think there's gonna be some
Speaker 1: good synergy there. How much are you buying the Sean
Speaker 1: payn hype ten Let's let's go there next.
Speaker 2: I will go for.
Speaker 3: Jeez luise, Okay, we got we left ourselves with the
Speaker 3: teams other than the Chargers that I feel like are
Speaker 3: the most difficult to figure out for various reasons.
Speaker 2: I think the floor is going to be higher.
Speaker 3: But I either have them at fringe or middling team.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I can consider I don't. I
Speaker 2: don't consider them a playoff team.
Speaker 3: Personally, They're not a bad team. I just feel like
Speaker 3: it's the team that I have to see it. So
Speaker 3: if I had to guess, because their defense is already
Speaker 3: so good, I'd say fringe playoff team.
Speaker 2: But things have to work, and like we talked about earlier,
Speaker 2: I don't know if they will.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's fair, and that's probably where I
Speaker 1: would put them as well. I don't like Sean Payton
Speaker 1: is going to be good for the Broncos. I just
Speaker 1: I still don't think they have enough to like have
Speaker 1: a super high ceiling with Russell Wilson at quarterback in
Speaker 1: the way that he's played, so I think that's fair.
Speaker 1: The Patriots, I think also like the Steelers we kind
Speaker 1: of just have to put them as a fringe playoff team.
Speaker 1: I think that defense is so good to the point where,
Speaker 1: like we know that they're gonna be a top ten defense.
Speaker 1: And you know, Bill O'Brien, I don't think is a
Speaker 1: great play caller, but he's certainly better than Matt Patricia.
Speaker 1: So you know, I think the Patriots, until proven otherwise,
Speaker 1: are at least a fringe playoff team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 3: And man, they got Gonzales. Like I almost considered Gonzalez
Speaker 3: one of the biggest moves of the AFC because if
Speaker 3: you could have and a Sauce Gardner kind of effect
Speaker 3: for that defense, that's huge for this defense in Bill Belichick.
Speaker 3: So but a fringe playoff team again kind of in
Speaker 3: everybody in this year, it's all about the quarterback question marks, right,
Speaker 3: we don't really know about the quarterbacks.
Speaker 2: So not a bonafied playoff team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And to your point, I mean we've seen Bill
Speaker 1: Belichick turn undrafted free agents into elite corners. Man, Like,
Speaker 1: what's he gonna do with Gonzalez? I cannot wait to
Speaker 1: see ye? All right, Browns, I personally would put the
Speaker 1: Browns in middling team just because what we saw from
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson last year was so bad that it wasn't
Speaker 1: just like it wasn't like, oh, like there's some clear
Speaker 1: rest like he was like one of the worst quarterbacks
Speaker 1: in the league last year. So that's where I would
Speaker 1: put them personally. I tweeted out the question of like,
Speaker 1: which of the non playoff teams would you pick to
Speaker 1: make the playoffs, and a lot of people said the Browns,
Speaker 1: And I understand why. They've got a very talented roster.
Speaker 1: They added Elijah Moore in the offseason, who we both
Speaker 1: really liked in the draft. Yeah, but until we see
Speaker 1: otherwise from Deshaun Watson, I just I cannot trust him because,
Speaker 1: like Jacoby Brissette was a clearly superior quarterback in Cleveland
Speaker 1: last year. So I just I'm hesitant on the Browns
Speaker 1: to say the least.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel like there's just so much talent that
Speaker 3: I would clean fringe playoff team.
Speaker 2: But then Deshaun Watson stuff.
Speaker 3: Man, there was a good but three weeks to start
Speaker 3: the season where it was like one touchdown maybe, Yeah,
Speaker 3: you could bear like the defense is finally playing Okay,
Speaker 3: they couldn't get anything going, So there's definitely a scare there,
Speaker 3: but I think the trade for Smith, the trade for
Speaker 3: Elijah Moore, I think that does help things. They have
Speaker 3: so much talent on defense. I just the coordinator has
Speaker 3: never really put it together. So I'm fine with them
Speaker 3: at middling team. I could see them being a fringe
Speaker 3: playoff team. But they're also in the division with the Bengals,
Speaker 3: the Ravens, the Steelers, who I think are better than
Speaker 3: they are or are more consistent than they are, So
Speaker 3: I think middling team is fair.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, Tyler, we'll spend our last few minutes
Speaker 1: here talking about the Chargers. Where are you placing them
Speaker 1: as of May twenty first, twenty.
Speaker 3: Twenty three, Well, thanks for making me go first, I'm
Speaker 3: going to place the Chargers as a playoff team. I
Speaker 3: think they are easily a playoff team. I think anything
Speaker 3: less than that it was certainly a failure. But I
Speaker 3: believe in the Chargers team to be a playoff team.
Speaker 3: The question just comes down and see whether I believe
Speaker 3: they're a super Bowl contender or not. I can run
Speaker 3: through enough permutations where I say you do this, this happens,
Speaker 3: and this happens. Yeah, super Bowl contenders. The Chargers could
Speaker 3: go out and beat the Chiefs. They couldn't go out
Speaker 3: and beat the Bengals. They've done that, right, But it
Speaker 3: comes down to proving yourself at this point. So if
Speaker 3: the Chargers had won a game in the playoffs last year,
Speaker 3: gone a little bit further and shown over the last
Speaker 3: two years, three years or whatever with Herbert that they're
Speaker 3: consistently a good team, a playoff team, a prepared team,
Speaker 3: and a team that can win big games in big
Speaker 3: moments in the postseason, then yeah, super Bowl contender because
Speaker 3: this is a really, really, really talented team that I
Speaker 3: mean they drafted a wide receiver three for their offense
Speaker 3: because they're really stacked overall, and that wide receiver three
Speaker 3: is gonna be really solid for them. It's just about
Speaker 3: proving yourself. And I think this group that playoff team group,
Speaker 3: and I think the Chargers are kind of with the Bills,
Speaker 3: where this is a really freaking talented team and if
Speaker 3: they have the MVP on their team and they're a
Speaker 3: top three team in the league and they win the
Speaker 3: one seed and they make it far in the playoffs,
Speaker 3: totally makes sense. But you just got to prove it.
Speaker 3: And I think that the Chiefs are the class of
Speaker 3: the AFC. I think the Chiefs win the division. So
Speaker 3: I have the Chargers just below them as a playoff team.
Speaker 1: I think that's fair. And you know, I think the
Speaker 1: Chargers certainly have the ceiling to get to that Super
Speaker 1: Bowl contender. There's just like, there's no way for me
Speaker 1: to look at the Chargers as if they stay relatively healthy.
Speaker 1: It's a big geft for every single team, right, But
Speaker 1: if the Chargers stay relatively healthy, they're going to be
Speaker 1: better than they were last year. I Mean, we just
Speaker 1: spend you know, ten minutes talking about Kellen Moore and
Speaker 1: how he elevates the ceiling, how he's going to be
Speaker 1: one of the moves that defines the offseason. So how
Speaker 1: can you not have them as a playoff team, right?
Speaker 1: I Mean, Justin Herbert is going to be healthy this year.
Speaker 1: You know, the odds are that Keenan Allen, Mike Williams
Speaker 1: are not going to miss as many games as they
Speaker 1: did last year. Joey Bosa the same kind of thing.
Speaker 1: So this this team has such a high ceiling because
Speaker 1: of the quarterback, because of the skilled players around him,
Speaker 1: because of the talent on defense, and I think, like,
Speaker 1: like it's hard for me to envision a scenario where
Speaker 1: they don't make the playoffs. I know it's may I
Speaker 1: know that's it's on paper, everything like that, But I'm
Speaker 1: just I'm such a believer in what Kellen Moore can
Speaker 1: bring to this table. Year. At this time, we were
Speaker 1: talking about Justin Herbert as like our pick for MVP, right,
Speaker 1: because we were such a big believer in what leap
Speaker 1: he could have in year two in that system. It's
Speaker 1: a better system around him. This year. He's not gonna
Speaker 1: have broken ribs, He's not gonna have a torn labram
Speaker 1: like Justin Herbert, is gonna be healthier, and I think
Speaker 1: he's gonna put up huge numbers for this team. So
Speaker 1: the schedule is more difficult. I think the AFC is better,
Speaker 1: but I think the Chargers are going to be better.
Speaker 1: I think they're gonna be more explosive. I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna be more efficient on offense. I think they're gonna
Speaker 1: have better talent on defense. And so it's just it's
Speaker 1: hard for me to put them in another spot. And again,
Speaker 1: we're on the Chargers channel, we're Chargers fans. Of course
Speaker 1: we're gonna say this kind of thing. Sure, but it's
Speaker 1: if you look objectively at this team, they have too
Speaker 1: much talent for me not to put them as a
Speaker 1: clear cut playoff team.
Speaker 3: Yeah, easy decision for me. It really comes down to it.
Speaker 3: And we'll get into this on another show where they
Speaker 3: actually rank among these teams. So we have them in
Speaker 3: a tier with five other teams. But are they more
Speaker 3: three or are they more seventh? That's another conversation.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you mentioned h that was a great point too,
Speaker 1: But you mentioned like having to prove it. How much
Speaker 1: time are you giving the Chargers before you buy into
Speaker 1: the hype again? Like is this something like mid season?
Speaker 1: Is this like I gotta wait until the playoffs? What's
Speaker 1: your timeline in terms of like, Okay, at this point,
Speaker 1: I could see myself buying them as a as a
Speaker 1: super Bowl contender.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be weird, But there's there's a point in
Speaker 3: Week one where if they win that game, which seems
Speaker 3: really early, but you're playing a team with a lot
Speaker 3: on the line, a very you know, solid team. I
Speaker 3: consider them a playoff team, you consider them a fringe
Speaker 3: playoff team. That's one point where things have to start.
Speaker 3: You win that game, I think my outlook for the
Speaker 3: season changes, But In terms of buying them as a
Speaker 3: legit contender and getting back into that hype, you need
Speaker 3: to win.
Speaker 2: A playoff game. You win the playoff game.
Speaker 3: Almos dropped my tee. You win that first playoff game,
Speaker 3: and then I can start believing in it. And frankly,
Speaker 3: I think that overall with the Chargers, it's going to
Speaker 3: take well, either a super Bowl win this year for
Speaker 3: me to believe in as contenders or consistent showing up
Speaker 3: in the postseason at least in the divisional round every
Speaker 3: single year, because that's what they should be doing. This
Speaker 3: is a really talented team with a really talented quarterback.
Speaker 3: So in terms of buying what their outlook for most
Speaker 3: of the year, you know, yeah, win Week one and
Speaker 3: I will like, hey, that's great. This is a really
Speaker 3: talented team, a good offense. You just faced you just
Speaker 3: checked a ton of boxes. That probably means that Kellen
Speaker 3: Moore had a really solid opening and showing Herbert looks healthy.
Speaker 1: So I feel good about the rest of the season.
Speaker 3: But in terms of buying the hype, got to win
Speaker 3: a playoff game, like it's going it's going to have
Speaker 3: to take a playoff win for me to believe in them.
Speaker 2: And then they just have two more to win or
Speaker 2: one more to win or whatever to get to the
Speaker 2: super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I totally get that. In terms of the Week one,
Speaker 1: that's definitely gonna set the tone for the season. I
Speaker 1: think that's a very important game. I think by the
Speaker 1: time that we see the Chargers against the Ravens and
Speaker 1: the Jets, I think we'll know about it the team
Speaker 1: for this upcoming season. I think we'll know really how
Speaker 1: confident to feel about this team making a playoff front
Speaker 1: the end of the schedule is very difficult. But if
Speaker 1: they are sitting or if they leave the Meadowlands, you know,
Speaker 1: on Monday Night football and they are what's that Week nine?
Speaker 1: Are they six and two? Are they seven and one,
Speaker 1: or are they kind of four and four, five and
Speaker 1: three kind of situation. So we'll know by the Jets game,
Speaker 1: like how confident we should be in this team heading
Speaker 1: down the home stretch. And I think we'll be pretty
Speaker 1: confident at that point. But again, like you said, I
Speaker 1: totally understand you want to see them in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Kind of a tone for that loss against the Jaguars.
Speaker 1: How fun would it be if they got to repeat that?
Speaker 1: Man got to really just go back to Jacksonville and
Speaker 1: come out on top next time. That'd be a lot
Speaker 1: of fun.
Speaker 3: No, you're gonna send me it's an early heart attack,
Speaker 3: so never say that again.
Speaker 2: It's on the show.
Speaker 1: Sorry, sorry, all right, that is going to do it
Speaker 1: for us today. So hopefully you guys appreciated the content
Speaker 1: and the conversations there. I always like to kind of
Speaker 1: take stock of where the team is at after everything
Speaker 1: the dust has settled, before training camp starts and everything
Speaker 1: like that. So hope you guys enjoyed it. Tyler, any
Speaker 1: final thoughts before we head out. Nope, thanks for having
Speaker 1: us all yep. Appreciate the Chargers as always for having
Speaker 1: us on here. Appreciate Greg for producing today as always,
Speaker 1: make sure and subscribe to the Charters channel, subscribe to
Speaker 1: our channel as well. We appreciate all you guys over there.
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for us. We'll see you
Speaker 1: next time.
Speaker 2: Hold up,