Speaker 1: What's up, guys, welcome into a very special schedule release
Speaker 1: edition of Chargers Weekly and Muddy. We know who the
Speaker 1: opponents are, but when they play it's almost more important,
Speaker 1: right yeah. I mean, look, we've been talking about this
Speaker 1: for a while, right It's going to be an early schedule.
Speaker 1: You know the way it shook out for the AFC
Speaker 1: West this year, having to take on the NFC West
Speaker 1: with the forty nine ers, with the Rams, with the Cardinals,
Speaker 1: three playoff teams last year that you feel like are
Speaker 1: at least either plateaued or sending that's a tough poll.
Speaker 1: And then you get the AFC South with you know,
Speaker 1: the Titans that had the best record in the AFC
Speaker 1: last year and the Colts that you feel a lot
Speaker 1: better about with Matt Ryan the quarterback. So you knew
Speaker 1: it was going to be tough. And the way it
Speaker 1: lays out, I mean, I don't know if you just
Speaker 1: want to jump right into it. I mean the fact
Speaker 1: that we got you know, Raiders Week one at home
Speaker 1: home Sofi Stadium. You know you ended it in Las
Speaker 1: Vegas last year. Let's start it against the Raiders this year.
Speaker 1: You want to talk about a charged atmosphere pardon the pun.
Speaker 1: What a way to get twenty twenty two underway, considering
Speaker 1: how we left it with all that drama in Las Vegas.
Speaker 1: Of course didn't break the Chargers way, But man, I
Speaker 1: that's it's pretty awesome. I mean, we can get into
Speaker 1: that game in particular, but just obviously I want you
Speaker 1: to weigh in on that as well, because I don't
Speaker 1: know if I'd rather have it any other way. No,
Speaker 1: this is It's the perfect way to start the season.
Speaker 1: We talked about starting it where you ended it. It's
Speaker 1: not going to be in Vegas. It'll be in LA
Speaker 1: this time. But you know, listen, we'll go game by game,
Speaker 1: seventeen games, five primetime games, but I think none bigger
Speaker 1: than Week one. Money. We know the storylines from last year,
Speaker 1: Ed Khalil Mack playing his former team and his Chargers'
Speaker 1: debut to the mix, D Davante Adams versus J C. Jackson,
Speaker 1: Ed Josh McDaniels, John Carroll guy gets another John Carroll guy,
Speaker 1: and Staley who coached there. I mean, you talk about
Speaker 1: the ink last year, you add those pieces to it.
Speaker 1: Week one in LA. They hate the Raiders. The Raiders
Speaker 1: hate the Chargers. No better way to start it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like it'll be an electric atmosphere inside the stadium, no doubt.
Speaker 1: We know the Raider fans turn out, and we know
Speaker 1: from last year. You know, with the first year of
Speaker 1: having fans, it's so far Charger fans are going to
Speaker 1: turn out and it's gonna be awesome in the stands,
Speaker 1: it's going to be incredible on the field. And just
Speaker 1: you know, from a football standpoint, if you're asking me, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'd rather have the Raiders early. You know, it's a
Speaker 1: brand new coaching staff, it's a brand new system. It's
Speaker 1: Josh McDaniels, who's been incredible as a coordinator, but we
Speaker 1: know was e battled as a head coach. I'd rather
Speaker 1: get that early. You know, let the Davante Adams and
Speaker 1: Derek carrre getting used to one another in a game
Speaker 1: for the first time. You know, a new defensive system
Speaker 1: with Gus Bradley having moved on and Patrick Graham coming in.
Speaker 1: So like to me, that's advantaged. You know, do you
Speaker 1: want those teams early when the Chargers of everything exactly
Speaker 1: the same now they have new players, but Khalil Max
Speaker 1: played with Brandon Staley, you know before, you know, as
Speaker 1: his as his outside edge, you know, coach and and
Speaker 1: the rest of these guys, especially on offense, I mean,
Speaker 1: the offenses, it's pretty much you know where we left it.
Speaker 1: There's a couple additions, but for the most part, bringing
Speaker 1: Mike Williams back. Herbert's got his top two targets and
Speaker 1: Mike and Keenan and top three in Austin. So you know,
Speaker 1: that's that's a great way to start the season against
Speaker 1: a division opponent that is got some different things that
Speaker 1: they've got to get used to, and we know that
Speaker 1: tends to take a second, you know, to settle in.
Speaker 1: We think back to last year with Brandon Staley right,
Speaker 1: sort of just a weird, close feeling and out game
Speaker 1: in Washington, even though the Chargers seem to out class
Speaker 1: him in terms of talent, and then you lose to
Speaker 1: the Cowboys, and then okay, week three, now we're starting
Speaker 1: to feel good. Now we'd beat the Chiefs and you
Speaker 1: get a little bit of rhythm here Rashaun Slater versus
Speaker 1: Chandler Jones too. I forgot about that little fun wrinkle,
Speaker 1: you know, but we mentioned Davante Adam and j C. Jackson.
Speaker 1: J C. Jackson in his Charger's debut against DeVante Adams.
Speaker 1: But that's gonna be must see. This is a one
Speaker 1: twenty five CBS game, so I imagine this has to
Speaker 1: be a Romo. It's Nansen Romo. Yeah, no question, no
Speaker 1: question that. And you know, just you said we're gonna
Speaker 1: go game by game, but like that also jumped out
Speaker 1: of me. They only have two Fox games. Like that's
Speaker 1: it's crazy to me that that's all they have when
Speaker 1: you think about you know, look, it's right in the
Speaker 1: middle of the year and it's yeah, and it's Falcon Seahawks.
Speaker 1: You know they don't So it's like, I don't think
Speaker 1: we're gonna see Burkhart at all this year, um, unless
Speaker 1: somehow there's a swap that's done. Um, but just two
Speaker 1: Fox games, and you know it's uh because the RAMS
Speaker 1: is Sunday and night Football, and um, you know it'll
Speaker 1: be a lot of CBS. I think we're gonna be
Speaker 1: seeing a lot of Eye and Eagle and UH and
Speaker 1: a lot of Jim Nance. This schedule is kind of
Speaker 1: the way I look at it. Absolutely maybe sprinkling some
Speaker 1: Harlan and that, and that's exactly exactly Kevin Harlan in there. Too.
Speaker 1: All right, we too, We knew about this one prime
Speaker 1: video al Michael is Kirkhirstreet's debut Chargers go into Kansas City.
Speaker 1: I mean, what more can you say about this? This
Speaker 1: is what jumps out to be money. Two Division games
Speaker 1: back to back, and you know, we know that you
Speaker 1: mentioned in the case of the Raiders, a new coach,
Speaker 1: it's gonna take some time for them to get rolling
Speaker 1: a little bit. This is the second year of Brandon's Staley.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be so important for this team to get
Speaker 1: off to a good start, a hot start, especially with
Speaker 1: two straight divisional opponents, one being the Raiders, and then
Speaker 1: you go on the road against Patrick Mahomes a company. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and look, and I think it holds here as well.
Speaker 1: You know, no, Tyreek Hill, that offense gonna be different.
Speaker 1: You know, it's all new pass catchers, right, it's Marquez, Valdes, Scantlings,
Speaker 1: Juju Smith, Schuster, it's the drafting a sky more. So
Speaker 1: it's gonna be that's gonna be different for them. So
Speaker 1: I think it's good to get the Chiefs early. Now. Look,
Speaker 1: you can say what you want about two years ago
Speaker 1: in Week seventeen, but the Chargers are three and one
Speaker 1: in their last four in Kansas City, they've played well there,
Speaker 1: they've won on Thursday night there, I think about that
Speaker 1: epic two thousand and eight team, you know, twenty eight
Speaker 1: twenty seven two point conversion of Mike Williams. So was
Speaker 1: it your favorite however? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, that was that
Speaker 1: was That was fun because you know, it's it's it's
Speaker 1: either you win or you lose. How often you get
Speaker 1: that in football? You know, one play that is very winnable,
Speaker 1: and that's the difference from the two yard line. You know,
Speaker 1: you get this, you will win the game. You don't
Speaker 1: get this. Now, Little did I know that the Chiefs
Speaker 1: were going to be able to win a game with
Speaker 1: thirteen seconds on the clock that they were trailing against
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional round. I wouldn't have
Speaker 1: felt as good about that call, but in that moment, yeah,
Speaker 1: it was pretty great. Um So, yeah, I think I
Speaker 1: think that's a good you know, and look, it's a
Speaker 1: home game the week before, so when you're talking about
Speaker 1: a short week, you know, I know it doesn't happen often,
Speaker 1: but it does happen where teams will play back to
Speaker 1: back road games and one of them is a Thursday night,
Speaker 1: and that is incredibly unfair logistically to a team that
Speaker 1: has to go back to back roadies on a Thursday
Speaker 1: so their home. If you have an opportunity to really
Speaker 1: make a statement in a division in the first two
Speaker 1: weeks of this season, if you can knock off two
Speaker 1: of the three other squads in the division start out
Speaker 1: two and zero, talk about a way to really set
Speaker 1: the tone for the rest of the season, that would
Speaker 1: be incredible. Do I think that's likely? I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, like I said, I think it favors the
Speaker 1: Chargers from a consistency standpoint personnel wise, but it sure
Speaker 1: as hell. I'm going to be easy no. And you
Speaker 1: know what, Listen, you're gonna have the whole nation watching
Speaker 1: the first two weeks, right. We imagine it's could be
Speaker 1: Dancing Roma week one, it's it's the first Prime video
Speaker 1: game on Thursday night. People are gonna be tuned in
Speaker 1: for that one as well. And I'll say this to
Speaker 1: your point about these Thursday night games, at least it's
Speaker 1: week one to week two, right, You're not You don't
Speaker 1: have a ton of tread on you now at this point,
Speaker 1: you're still relatively fresh going from from Vegas playing the
Speaker 1: Raiders to the Chiefs in week two, so I think
Speaker 1: that's a positive. We get into the rest of this
Speaker 1: first half of the schedule home against Jacksonville, Doug Peter
Speaker 1: sent a company Trevor Lawrence will see and then back
Speaker 1: to back road games Texans Browns start with Jacksonville. I
Speaker 1: don't think Jacksons a push over biting stretch, but this
Speaker 1: is a game the charge to take care of, no doubt,
Speaker 1: you know. And look, it's depending on how those first
Speaker 1: two go. It's kind of nice to see the next
Speaker 1: two against teams that you would say are in that
Speaker 1: process of beginning to ascend. You know, they're tearing it
Speaker 1: down and now they're trying to rebuild it. A lot
Speaker 1: of young players, especially on the Texans. But when you
Speaker 1: talk about the Jacks, yeah, I like their roster, you know,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, we don't know, it's a huge,
Speaker 1: huge swing. We already talked about the draft, but you know,
Speaker 1: Travon Walker over Aiden Hutchinson. I think that benefits the
Speaker 1: Chargers to have him out there early as he's trying
Speaker 1: to settle in, whereas Hutchinson is more of a plug
Speaker 1: and play, you know, what you're going to get type
Speaker 1: of player, But you know those are gonna be too nasty.
Speaker 1: So look at that. You got back to back to Baus.
Speaker 1: Just go through those three weeks for our offensive For
Speaker 1: the Chargers offensive line, you know you've got to deal
Speaker 1: with obviously Chandler Jones and Max Cross and we know
Speaker 1: what Max Crosby did the last time we saw him
Speaker 1: against the Raiders. That wasn't great. Then you go to
Speaker 1: the Chiefs and you get we already talked about how
Speaker 1: much I like Carloftie's you know, you got him and
Speaker 1: Frank Clark and Chris Jones on that defensive line. And
Speaker 1: now for the Jags, you know they draft Trevon Walker,
Speaker 1: and we know Josh Allen is exceptional. He's just not
Speaker 1: talked about because he's in Jacksonville. So you got three
Speaker 1: really good edge rushing tandems or you know, in the
Speaker 1: case of the Chiefs, because so much of their pass
Speaker 1: rush comes from the center of that line. And Chris Jones.
Speaker 1: You know, we're going to get a look at Zion
Speaker 1: Johnson and how the right side of that line, however
Speaker 1: it's configured, is going to be holding up. We know
Speaker 1: the least side is going to be fine based on
Speaker 1: what we saw last year. But the right side, you know,
Speaker 1: the Jags kind of fall into that conversation as well
Speaker 1: as a challenge for that position group in week four. Listen,
Speaker 1: you and I remember December twenty six last year in Houston.
Speaker 1: I mean this is as an opportunity to get back
Speaker 1: at the Texans and Davis Bills and company. And then
Speaker 1: we go to Cleveland Week five, October ninth. You know,
Speaker 1: we were just talking about this. I don't know if
Speaker 1: Deshaun Wats is going to be under center. That may
Speaker 1: be a Jacoby Brisiki. Yeah, I'd be really surprised if
Speaker 1: he were. Um, I can't project what the what the
Speaker 1: NFL is going to do in terms of suspension for
Speaker 1: the Shaun, but um, you know I talked about this
Speaker 1: on the radio show at Petros. I just said, you know,
Speaker 1: when you when when you set the tone like Major
Speaker 1: League Baseball did and suspend Trevor Bauer for two years.
Speaker 1: You know, after that case was dropped by or was
Speaker 1: you know, they chose not to pursue it by the DA,
Speaker 1: and yet Major League Baseball booted him for two years
Speaker 1: based on their independent investigation. You know, knowing what we know.
Speaker 1: I'd be really surprised if DeShawn Watson were there in Noll.
Speaker 1: Look if he is, it's a much better team, uh
Speaker 1: offensively than if he's not. But look, the Browns still
Speaker 1: have issues at receiver. Um. You know they have not
Speaker 1: replaced Jarvis Lantry and Odell Beckham. We know they have
Speaker 1: a and that's the Death's the thing. Chris like Deshaun
Speaker 1: Watson or Jacoby Brissette or Baker Mayfield, he's still on
Speaker 1: the roster. I don't think he's gonna be there, but
Speaker 1: you know, they're just gonna run it, and it's gonna
Speaker 1: be and you know, we're gonna get a real good look.
Speaker 1: And look with the Raiders as well, they drafted Sameer White.
Speaker 1: I like him a lot out of Georgia. So we're
Speaker 1: gonna get a real good look pretty darn early as
Speaker 1: to you know, how is this rebuilt interior of the line.
Speaker 1: You know, But that's the one game where I think
Speaker 1: we'll really see, Hey, we know what they want to do.
Speaker 1: They know that, you know what they want to do.
Speaker 1: But they're still gonna hand at the Kareem Hunt and
Speaker 1: Nick Chubb. You know, thirty thirty five times a game,
Speaker 1: can you stop it? So that's gonna be a nice
Speaker 1: little little bit of inventory for the Chargers to see,
Speaker 1: how you know, Austin Johnson and Sebastian Joseph Day and
Speaker 1: Fojoko and in this rotation, Gaziano on this rotation of lineman,
Speaker 1: you know, and if Abonia, if Tito's in there, you know,
Speaker 1: working his way through that forest. Merrill I can go
Speaker 1: through the whole name salad. But that's that's gonna that's
Speaker 1: what I see there, to be honest, Chris, I see
Speaker 1: back to back road games that are still manageable. Houston's
Speaker 1: not that long of a flight. And I'm not saying
Speaker 1: this for like our own benefit, because we have to travel.
Speaker 1: It's been proven Warren Sharp does a bang up job
Speaker 1: of pointing out team that have to travel X number
Speaker 1: of miles on back to back weeks the type of
Speaker 1: disadvantage that they're at when they have to play an
Speaker 1: early window. Because both of those are early window contests.
Speaker 1: Those are both ten am starts. Thankfully, you know, the
Speaker 1: Texans game isn't like a Sunday night or a Monday night.
Speaker 1: There's a big drop off when you have to play
Speaker 1: on Monday night. Into an early window game. So the
Speaker 1: fact that both of those are early windows and it's
Speaker 1: not a really long trip to Houston, it's about two
Speaker 1: and a half, you know, three back. That's not too bad, No,
Speaker 1: not at all. And then you go from from Nick
Speaker 1: Chubb and Kareem Hunt to Week six when any football
Speaker 1: against the Broncos, Javata Williams, Melvin Gordon, but the headline
Speaker 1: is going to be Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert, Joe Buck,
Speaker 1: Troy Aikman calling that game, and so by stadium money. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and again I don't want to bore the people listening
Speaker 1: with so much logistics talk, but I love that that's
Speaker 1: on a Monday night because you're coming off of Miles Garrett,
Speaker 1: who we know it was an absolute wrecking machine against
Speaker 1: Sean Slater, and you get Rashawn the extra day before
Speaker 1: he's got a deal with either Randy Gregory or Bradley Chubb.
Speaker 1: So I love that you get that extra day in
Speaker 1: there for Slater to just get a little bit more
Speaker 1: recovery time, knowing that those are two of the best
Speaker 1: pass rushers he's going to see all season long. So
Speaker 1: that that to me is a benefit having that on
Speaker 1: a Monday night, getting that extra day, and also, you know,
Speaker 1: for the defense, because we know Russell Wilson, as talented
Speaker 1: as he is, as incredible of as a quarterback as
Speaker 1: he is, he's always been a run heavy offense quarterback.
Speaker 1: And we know what Javonte Williams, the lumber that he brings.
Speaker 1: They just resigned Melvin Gordon. We know he's a big
Speaker 1: back that can really put it on you. So nice again,
Speaker 1: just for that defensive front to get back to back
Speaker 1: games with an extra day arrest against very similar teams,
Speaker 1: I think in the way they want to play. Do
Speaker 1: you like the fact that three AFC West games are
Speaker 1: in the first six weeks? Uh, It's interesting the way
Speaker 1: it shakes out, because remember last year they were all
Speaker 1: at the back end of the season. You know this
Speaker 1: year they're all at the front. So um gosh, it's
Speaker 1: it's interesting. The one and two is interesting. I think
Speaker 1: it's very odd that the NFL chose to do that
Speaker 1: to do especially with one of them on a Thursday.
Speaker 1: To have the Raiders and Chiefs so early in the season.
Speaker 1: You know you're gonna have to play those six games
Speaker 1: regardless at some point. So the fact that you can
Speaker 1: kind of take some inventory and maybe see, you know what,
Speaker 1: what's the rest of our season look like? Knowing what
Speaker 1: we've done in division so far against each of our opponents,
Speaker 1: you know where we at. Um. I do think there's
Speaker 1: something to be said about that, and look, I'd rather
Speaker 1: I guess it's the best way to put is. I'm
Speaker 1: kind of meandering for an answer here and I'm waiting
Speaker 1: for it to come to me, and I think it
Speaker 1: just came to me. If if you tell me we
Speaker 1: get to play those three teams and all every roster
Speaker 1: is at full strength because it's early in the season
Speaker 1: and they're healthy, sign up for that. I'll take the
Speaker 1: Charger's roster against any of those and feel pretty good
Speaker 1: about it. So, yeah, you know what I am. I am.
Speaker 1: I am good with having those early because it means
Speaker 1: you're more likely to be one hundred percent healthy, and
Speaker 1: I'd rather have all those teams be healthy taking one
Speaker 1: another on with the Charger's roster. Yeah. The reason I
Speaker 1: asked that is I'll never forget. And you probably see
Speaker 1: this too all the time, Like at the beginning of seasons,
Speaker 1: Kevin Harland says that he doesn't really pay much attention
Speaker 1: until mid October because of penalties and because people are
Speaker 1: figuring each other out. And I say that because the
Speaker 1: Broncos game is October seventeenth. By that point you play
Speaker 1: three division games. But I agree with what you're saying. Listen,
Speaker 1: the Raiders are going through a new transition here with
Speaker 1: a new coach. The Broncos have a new quarterback that
Speaker 1: you coach is going to look the same new coach
Speaker 1: there too. The Chargers seem to be the most equipped
Speaker 1: early in the year to try to carry over what
Speaker 1: they did last year. And you know, I say, go
Speaker 1: for it, right for six weeks the year. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: like I said, you got no Tyree kill in Kansas City,
Speaker 1: new coach, new coordinators in Vegas, new coach, new coordinators,
Speaker 1: new quarterback in Denver. Now by week six they should
Speaker 1: be settled in Um, you'd think by then they're they're
Speaker 1: feeling pretty comfortable and they kind of know what works
Speaker 1: what doesn't, and they've adjusted. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: you know, like I said, just hopefully Chargers roster's healthy
Speaker 1: and if that's the case, I feel good about them
Speaker 1: going into any game on their schedule. Week seven home
Speaker 1: Seattle Seahawks EA China New WOSU Bowl. Maybe I n
Speaker 1: there you go, Drew Locker, Gino Smith under center at
Speaker 1: this point as we take this, Yeah, I'm still waiting
Speaker 1: for that. I you know, just I feel like that's
Speaker 1: gonna be Baker Mayfield. I really do. I just don't
Speaker 1: know how how you choose to have Drew Locker or
Speaker 1: Gino over Baker. They seem to love un unless they're
Speaker 1: you know, good, good for the good for the Chargers.
Speaker 1: We've seen enough Drew Locke to say great, we'll take it.
Speaker 1: I feel like that's gonna be Baker just because he,
Speaker 1: you know, he comes from this run heavy, play action offense,
Speaker 1: you know Stefanski that they were running in Cleveland. It
Speaker 1: just seems to make too much sense. And we know
Speaker 1: Pete has always you know, before he found Russell Wilson.
Speaker 1: Just think about all the swings he took at quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: just constantly Whitehurst, you know, Matt Flynn, Tavaris Jackson, he
Speaker 1: was always bringing dudes in, you know, And and I
Speaker 1: just don't know how he goes into a season saying yeah,
Speaker 1: we feel good about about Drew Locke or you know,
Speaker 1: Smith being the starter, and neither were making that much money.
Speaker 1: But you know, look, it's Pete Carroll's returned to Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: That'll be a big deal. He does come here every
Speaker 1: single year to play the Rams, so it's not like
Speaker 1: it's something super special, but you know, his Seahawks defense
Speaker 1: always plays pretty darn well. It is a team though,
Speaker 1: that obviously has lost just about every player of note
Speaker 1: that went through that dominant decade of the Legion of Booms.
Speaker 1: So you know, nice to have that maybe after the
Speaker 1: bron those contests. Bye week week eight, you like that
Speaker 1: right in the middle of the season. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: could you could you ask for anything better? I guess
Speaker 1: if you want to nitpick, yeah, week nine to be perfect,
Speaker 1: because it would be exactly in the middle. But we'll
Speaker 1: take We'll take Week eight, and it's nice, considering what
Speaker 1: we're about to get into and what the back end
Speaker 1: of that looks like, to have that by and try
Speaker 1: to get rested up for what is a pretty gnarly
Speaker 1: gauntlet starting in week ten. Yeah, that gauntlet. Four of
Speaker 1: the next five games coming out of the bye on
Speaker 1: the road, and the one home game that's sandwich right
Speaker 1: in the middle is the Chiefs in week eleven. But
Speaker 1: let's just start going from west to East at Atlanta
Speaker 1: November six. Money. This is the second Fox game. This
Speaker 1: is a this is a game coming right out of
Speaker 1: the by that hopefully you could start the sick and
Speaker 1: half of the season on a solid note because the Falcons. Yeah, look,
Speaker 1: you never know, you know, teams can surprise you. But
Speaker 1: it certainly appears as though the Falcons are in a
Speaker 1: full tear down rebuild. They're just collect and talented. The
Speaker 1: fact they didn't take the quarterback kind of tells you
Speaker 1: everything they were just looking for. They took obviously that's
Speaker 1: been Raider and who knows, maybe that's maybe the starter,
Speaker 1: and maybe he'll be the starter, you know, over Marcus Mariota.
Speaker 1: But um, you know, this is a team that's just
Speaker 1: it's just trying to piece it back together. You know,
Speaker 1: they had a lot of a lot of bad contracts.
Speaker 1: They tried to run it. You know, I thought maybe
Speaker 1: they had one more shot at it with Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: and the way they draft the Kyle Pits last year,
Speaker 1: and I look, that's gonna be a challenge trying to
Speaker 1: account for Kyle Pits and Drake London and how big
Speaker 1: those guys are. But at the same time, it's we
Speaker 1: don't have to spend too I don't you know. I
Speaker 1: don't want to disrespect the Falcons. We know the Texans
Speaker 1: got the Chargers last year, and anyone can get got
Speaker 1: as they like to say. So just in terms of
Speaker 1: the way it looks on paper. Great. You know, you
Speaker 1: come out of the bye it's a long road trip,
Speaker 1: and it's your longest road trip of the year, and
Speaker 1: you know it's against a team that's that looks to
Speaker 1: be kind of have their eyes set on twenty twenty three,
Speaker 1: twenty four. Yeah, can't be sleep and come out of
Speaker 1: the by I guess no, that's that's the one thing. No,
Speaker 1: that's a great point. Yeah, make sure you're ready to go.
Speaker 1: Every team can, like we said, any team can win
Speaker 1: any given Sunday in this and this National Football League,
Speaker 1: as they let to see. This next one has some
Speaker 1: juice at San Francisco Sunday Night football first NBC game.
Speaker 1: A lot of fun storylines in this one, the boasts
Speaker 1: of Brothers. We got Anthony Lynn on the sidelines, he's
Speaker 1: just a head coach the forty Niners. Trey Lance probably
Speaker 1: the starter, although we don't know if Jimmy Gill still
Speaker 1: be there at that point, and this is a short
Speaker 1: flight for the Chargers, Bunny Um, it should be a
Speaker 1: lot of fun against an NFC opponent. Yeah, and again,
Speaker 1: you know it's back to back roadies, and this one's
Speaker 1: even a little you get the break of it's a
Speaker 1: little bit later. You know, it's a signif fotball game
Speaker 1: instead of an early window game. So you got a
Speaker 1: long flight home from Atlanta. You know, you probably get
Speaker 1: home midnight one am, right around there at two am,
Speaker 1: and you get a forty nine Ers. You know that's
Speaker 1: a fifty minute flight and it's going to be a
Speaker 1: street fight. You know, we know what the forty nine
Speaker 1: Ers defense looks like. We watched them all last year
Speaker 1: that they needed all of thirteen points to beat the
Speaker 1: Packers in the divisional round. You know, that's how good
Speaker 1: that defense is against that freaking offense with with the
Speaker 1: MVP of the league, and they're able to shut it
Speaker 1: down to the tune of of, yeah, we scored thirteen
Speaker 1: points and we beat the Packers in Lambeaux. I think
Speaker 1: that pretty much says it all. You know, boasted, you
Speaker 1: know bos boasted, Yeah, you could call it. Then it's
Speaker 1: Armstead and bosa Um you know, maybe it'll be an
Speaker 1: old friend alert. They re signed Jason Verrette. They're trying
Speaker 1: to make that happen every single year, you know, and
Speaker 1: every year he keeps he keeps getting hurt. But um,
Speaker 1: it's a tough one. It's Kyle Shane Ann's you know,
Speaker 1: one of the best play callers in the league. His
Speaker 1: offense is put an incredible amount of pressure on you.
Speaker 1: And we just know how talented you know that Damiko
Speaker 1: Ryan's defense is. You know, they did not miss a
Speaker 1: beat after Salo, after Robert Salo left for New York.
Speaker 1: We should know. It's Sunday night. Games between weeks five
Speaker 1: and fifteen could be flexed. This is a potential game
Speaker 1: that could be flexed, although I don't see. I'd be
Speaker 1: very surprised. Yeah, I mean think being in a flex
Speaker 1: position at that point, things would have to go horribly wrong,
Speaker 1: because I would assume even if the forty nine ers
Speaker 1: are sitting at you know, five and four or four
Speaker 1: and five or whatever, just the idea of having Justin
Speaker 1: Herbert on Sunday night football would have some appeal, absolutely,
Speaker 1: all right. The next one is the Chiefs. This will
Speaker 1: most likely be another Nance Romo game. One, twenty five
Speaker 1: CBS and listen, you circle it every year, money right,
Speaker 1: November twentieth, This is right in the middle of the year.
Speaker 1: I think we'll have a pretty good idea of what
Speaker 1: the AFC West looks like at that point. If it's
Speaker 1: all jumbled up, if one team gets the injury bug,
Speaker 1: and maybe it's a little a little bit behind, but
Speaker 1: I expect both the Charges and Chiefs to be humming
Speaker 1: on all cylinders. November twentieth. Yeah, and again, you know,
Speaker 1: you look at the opponent before and it's gonna be
Speaker 1: a street fight. So it's gonna be and that's gonna
Speaker 1: be a technically a short week because it's a Sunday
Speaker 1: night football game going into that game on Sunday, and
Speaker 1: you know, you would expect when you're an offense out
Speaker 1: there and you're taking hits, or you're an offensive line
Speaker 1: and you're trying to block both in armstead, or you're
Speaker 1: getting tackled by Fred Warner in that giant brickhouse of
Speaker 1: a body that he's got, like it's it's gonna take
Speaker 1: a minute to feel better, feel like you're ready to
Speaker 1: go again. So unfortunately, you know, not the shortest of weeks,
Speaker 1: but a sort of short week coming off Sunday night
Speaker 1: football when you got to take on the Chiefs at home.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's the only thing that jumps out at me. There.
Speaker 1: We already discussed the Chiefs. They'll have their rhythm by then, certainly,
Speaker 1: and figure out how those new pass catchers fit in
Speaker 1: and the absence of Tyreek Hill by then. This is
Speaker 1: a tough back half of the schedule. Man. We'll go
Speaker 1: to at Arizona at Las Vegas. The good news, like
Speaker 1: you said, logistic wise, it's quick trips. Both things are
Speaker 1: real quick trips. But Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown,
Speaker 1: that offense is going to be a handful in the
Speaker 1: twenty seven. Yeah. Look, they one ten straight games last year.
Speaker 1: You know, I know it fell apart for them in
Speaker 1: the in the playoffs. They had to deal with some injuries.
Speaker 1: You know, they haven't replaced Chandler Jones. I don't quite know.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna pull up there their depth chart right now,
Speaker 1: just to see if I'm forgetting anyone here in this
Speaker 1: second wave of free agency. But yeah, I mean there,
Speaker 1: you know, does JJ Watts still have it? You know,
Speaker 1: he certainly had moments last year, but he's starting to show,
Speaker 1: you know, his age after eleven years in the league. So,
Speaker 1: you know, defensively, I think they've lost a lot in
Speaker 1: just terms of the fact that that uh that Chandler
Speaker 1: Jones has gone and the amount of pressure he puts
Speaker 1: on from from one of those edge spots. With that gone,
Speaker 1: you feel a lot better about taking on that defense. Offensively,
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray just puts an incredible amount of pressure on
Speaker 1: a defense. There's no two ways about it. They brought
Speaker 1: back James Connor and he fit in perfectly with that
Speaker 1: with that offense, they brought back zach Ertz. I still
Speaker 1: think they've got a lot of questions in their in
Speaker 1: their past catch. You know, I don't know if Hollywood
Speaker 1: Brown a one, you know, like he doesn't. He doesn't
Speaker 1: jump out as a one to me. He seems like
Speaker 1: a really good two. So when you're talking about you know,
Speaker 1: Rondale Moore, Marky's Brown, Hollywood Brown, and aj Green, I
Speaker 1: think that's you know, you're feeling all right about that.
Speaker 1: You gotta worry about the middle of the field. But
Speaker 1: that goes into what we talked about with the drafting
Speaker 1: of j. T. Woods, right, Like, this is a great
Speaker 1: Darwin James game. It's like if you're playing JT and
Speaker 1: Nas up high and you can just say, all right,
Speaker 1: if if zach Ertz is your number one, I guess
Speaker 1: who he's gonna have to contend with all game. He
Speaker 1: ain't getting free because Darwin's gonna be glued to him
Speaker 1: and they're gonna have to figure out how to make
Speaker 1: Hay on the outside. And that's when you feel really
Speaker 1: good about, you know, JC Jackson taking on a smaller
Speaker 1: guy like Marky's Brown. Yeah it's Hopkins. Is six game
Speaker 1: suspension six yeah, yeah, uh yeah. So December fourth, December
Speaker 1: fourth is the Raiders money and December fifth, five opponents
Speaker 1: in the acust will have been played. So I think
Speaker 1: the Charges will have a very good idea where they
Speaker 1: stand in the division, if they can win the division,
Speaker 1: depending on what happens in those first five games, then
Speaker 1: you have a whole month to go before playoffs begin. Yeah,
Speaker 1: still five more games after that, and again, look, it's
Speaker 1: four you said it, it's four road trips in five weeks.
Speaker 1: But three of those four road trips are less than
Speaker 1: an hour away on the airplane. You know, it's Las Vegas,
Speaker 1: it's Phoenix and it's San Francin, it's San Jose. So yes,
Speaker 1: that's for other teams. And I cannot say this enough.
Speaker 1: It's not there's not a lot of sizzle to it.
Speaker 1: But logistically this schedule has done the Chargers a lot
Speaker 1: of favors. It really it works for them logistically to
Speaker 1: be playing this level of opponent, you know, and I
Speaker 1: know we'll get into them individually, but from week ten
Speaker 1: on forty nine Ers NFC Championship Game, Chiefs AFC Championship Game,
Speaker 1: Arizona had the best record in football through twelve weeks,
Speaker 1: Raiders made the playoffs. Miami was the same record as
Speaker 1: the Chargers. At nine and eight. Tennessee have the best
Speaker 1: record in the AFCC. The Colts, we feel like at
Speaker 1: nine and last year with Matt Ryan at quarterback, are
Speaker 1: going to be in the playoff conversation super Bowl champion
Speaker 1: Rams and then the Broncos. To close it out like
Speaker 1: that is a freaking gauntlet. So to not have logistical
Speaker 1: nightmares on top of it helps the team a lot.
Speaker 1: It's very manageable, I think is the best way to
Speaker 1: put it. As as we talk out to second half
Speaker 1: of the schedule, man it just it makes the first
Speaker 1: half so freaking important. Like I mean, like like those
Speaker 1: first two games against the Raiders, the Chiefs, Man, you
Speaker 1: gotta get to two and find a way to get
Speaker 1: to two. And even if you're one of one Jacksonville, Houston,
Speaker 1: Cleveland potentially without Watson Denver at home on Monday night
Speaker 1: in the Seattle Seahawks, you got you gotta sweep that, man. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you feel some equity, get some win equity in there,
Speaker 1: no doubt, you know, get some win equity and feel
Speaker 1: a lot better about getting into that. I remember, you know,
Speaker 1: when you get into the back end of the season,
Speaker 1: things can change considerably. Think about Arizona. We just mentioned
Speaker 1: what do they start last year ten? And oh I
Speaker 1: think and then Nuke goes down and Chandler Jones is
Speaker 1: dealing with some issues. Their offensive line gets banged up,
Speaker 1: and they limp into the postseas, So things can change
Speaker 1: on the back end of the season. Is Tennessee, you know,
Speaker 1: is Tennessee screaming from Alik Willis at that point, has
Speaker 1: Ryan Tannehill not played as well? They've got no A. J. Brown.
Speaker 1: You know, is Derrick Henry going to start showing where?
Speaker 1: You know? By that time at the Seas. So things
Speaker 1: can certainly change when you get to the back half
Speaker 1: of a schedule, and that goes for the Chargers as well.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, as as it stands today on
Speaker 1: May twelfth, it's a it's a pretty hairy you know,
Speaker 1: weeks ten through eighteen. Yeah, you bring up a good point.
Speaker 1: We're doing this in May. You don't know what's happened
Speaker 1: with injuries. Every team's different from year to year. But
Speaker 1: just on paper, because this is all we got right now,
Speaker 1: that that back half is tough, and we go from
Speaker 1: back to back road trips Arizona, Vegas to three straight
Speaker 1: AFC opponent it's that are probably all playoff contenders. Miami
Speaker 1: December eleventh at home, Tennessee December eighteenth at home, and
Speaker 1: then we'll get into at Indie Monday night. But let's
Speaker 1: just start with the Dolphins. A new look Dolphins team.
Speaker 1: Tyreek Hill, you can't avoid him. You'll see him in
Speaker 1: Miami with with Jalen Widdle on the other side, a
Speaker 1: pretty good running game and a new coach from that,
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan Tree. Yeah. Look that to me, of all
Speaker 1: the games right there at the back end, that's the
Speaker 1: one I circle as a flex alert possibility. You know,
Speaker 1: if the Dolphins are playing well and the Chargers are
Speaker 1: playing well, then that's one where I could see getting flexed.
Speaker 1: You know, that can end up being a Sunday night
Speaker 1: football game. I just think it's that big. You know
Speaker 1: the fact that Miami has been taken so much incoming
Speaker 1: for passing on Herbert to take Tua. They feel like
Speaker 1: this is the year with this coach, and you know,
Speaker 1: signing to Toronto Armstead getting you know, those tackles settle
Speaker 1: Eikenberg in his second season and getting that kind of
Speaker 1: right at the offensive line, You're going to see the
Speaker 1: tour that we thought we were going to get. And
Speaker 1: if that's the case, you know, if if Mike McDaniels
Speaker 1: is brilliant of a play caller, is he's billed to
Speaker 1: be the next Kyle Shanahan, then that's that's going to
Speaker 1: be a serious sizzle matchup. We know the defense has
Speaker 1: been really good. Now will it fall off with the
Speaker 1: departure Brian Flores. Maybe I wouldn't be surprised if it
Speaker 1: did a little bit. But that's that's when I circle
Speaker 1: and say that could be of all the ones that
Speaker 1: I'm looking at in the back end of the season
Speaker 1: that because CBS ain't gonna let go of the Chiefs game.
Speaker 1: They already let go of the one to Amazon on
Speaker 1: Thursday night, so that's not happening the Raiders. I guess
Speaker 1: technically that could be one that could get flex that
Speaker 1: wouldn't surprise me. So those are those are your two.
Speaker 1: Those two back to back weeks could end up being
Speaker 1: your Sunday and at football games. Yeah. And then to
Speaker 1: subber at the Titans in a loaded AFC. I think
Speaker 1: everybody forgets here with the number one seed just because
Speaker 1: maybe they're out of sex seeds some of these other teams.
Speaker 1: But you're right though, you know Derrick Henry in mid December,
Speaker 1: No A. J. Brown trailing Burks in the mix now,
Speaker 1: and is Ryan Tannehill going to be able to keep
Speaker 1: them afloat? They were pretty good defense. Um, it's just
Speaker 1: another game where if we talk about the AFC West
Speaker 1: and you've played five division opponents already, if you're in
Speaker 1: the wildcard hunt, you may be competing with teams like
Speaker 1: the Dolphins and the Titans. Yeah, and look, the one
Speaker 1: thing about the Titans set defense is good. You know
Speaker 1: that whatever the offense may be you know, Contrailer j
Speaker 1: Simmons's first game was against How can I forget it?
Speaker 1: I mean it was it was basically the end of
Speaker 1: the season. You know, it was a chance for the
Speaker 1: Chargers to say, okay, let's shake off these these early issues.
Speaker 1: And you know it was the fumble at the goal
Speaker 1: line from Melvin Gordon like three different times, um to
Speaker 1: lose that game. But yeah, I mean you're talking about Simmons,
Speaker 1: Harold Landry and Bud Dupree, who I thought did okay
Speaker 1: last year started to come on lay. But look at
Speaker 1: the back end, you know, with with Christian Fulton and
Speaker 1: with where I'm anxious to see if Caleb Farley overcomes
Speaker 1: that back injury that limited him last year, because man,
Speaker 1: he was an incredible cornerback at Votec before that back injury.
Speaker 1: And Kevin Byrd out there, I'd say, look, that's a
Speaker 1: good defense and that you would expect to be a
Speaker 1: pretty tight, nasty, you know, street fight again. I'll say
Speaker 1: that that word again. Style of game that you would
Speaker 1: expect from like a San Francisco to Tennessee and just
Speaker 1: the way they want to play. Week sixteen, December twenty
Speaker 1: six Why didn't I football in Indianapolis, get your get
Speaker 1: your Saint Almost Resie and for Christmas night money, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll take a pass on Saint Almost for Christmas evening.
Speaker 1: But look, I'm stoked. I'm happy for the guys and
Speaker 1: for the coaches that they get a Monday night football game,
Speaker 1: you know, instead of having the Colts on Christmas Day
Speaker 1: when you're flying out on Christmas even spending Christmas even
Speaker 1: waking up Christmas morning in Indianapolis without your family, or
Speaker 1: you got to fly your family out and have Christmas
Speaker 1: in the hotel when you've got a ten am game,
Speaker 1: you know Pacific time. Like that's a big break for
Speaker 1: the Chargers to pull the Colts when they're playing all
Speaker 1: their games on Christmas Eve, three games on Christmas Day
Speaker 1: and one on the day after Christmas. You know, we
Speaker 1: just did it last year. We left it like noon
Speaker 1: to go to Houston on Christmas Day. So and everybody
Speaker 1: I liked. Did it work out on the field, No,
Speaker 1: But that was you know, that was the COVID game
Speaker 1: for both teams. You know, half the roster was gone
Speaker 1: with COVID for that game. Mike Davis got pulls in it.
Speaker 1: Mike Davis got pulled off the field, you know, right
Speaker 1: before kick was told he couldn't play, so like it
Speaker 1: was just that was the COVID game more than the
Speaker 1: Christmas game. I think that's you know, that's settling. I
Speaker 1: think for the players that you get to eat, spend
Speaker 1: Christmas Eve, wake up with your family if you got
Speaker 1: little ones, like so many of them do, they're opening
Speaker 1: gifts and stuff, and then you can make your way
Speaker 1: to the facility and get on out to Indianapolis. Because
Speaker 1: it's a Monday night football games, You're not gonna have
Speaker 1: to leave until probably one or two o'clock Pacific time
Speaker 1: to get there, you know, in your window of eighteen hours.
Speaker 1: So I think the Colts are going to be a
Speaker 1: really good team this year. I just I look at
Speaker 1: that team and I think, you know, like you said,
Speaker 1: if the things don't go well in the division, Chris,
Speaker 1: and you're talking about fighting for wild card spots. This
Speaker 1: is a big one. Um they traded for in Goackway.
Speaker 1: They already have one of the best defensive tackles in
Speaker 1: the Forest Buckners. And I love Quitty pay and I
Speaker 1: think he's going to be great in his second season.
Speaker 1: Next level. Darius Leonard tackling machine, one of the best
Speaker 1: linebackers in football. Next level, they bring in Stefan Gilmour
Speaker 1: um so defensively and Gus and Gus is coordinating, you know,
Speaker 1: So that's that's um hey, look where Gus go's, Janiknackway goes.
Speaker 1: It should have been a no brainer once I mentioned that.
Speaker 1: Um So, look, that's gonna be a tough game, and
Speaker 1: and it's gonna be one where you know, you hope
Speaker 1: there's you're not eating too much Christmas Ham, you know,
Speaker 1: and you're able to work it through your system, all
Speaker 1: the parodies or the yams or the ham or the
Speaker 1: or whatever it is that you you choose to Tomali's
Speaker 1: on Christmas. I hope they've made their way through, because
Speaker 1: that's gonna be a tough one. And offensively, you know,
Speaker 1: I love you know, John Hadia, not like Jonathan Taylor,
Speaker 1: you know in the interior, that line opening up giant
Speaker 1: holes for him to run through. Money. If the division,
Speaker 1: let's say it does go well, right, it's just as
Speaker 1: important because I mean, these are AFC games, and if
Speaker 1: it comes down to Week eighteen, and like the Chiefs
Speaker 1: are four and two in the division and you're four
Speaker 1: and two in the division. If you beat Miami Tennessee
Speaker 1: in Indianapolis, that may decide what's happening in terms of
Speaker 1: field advantage in the Division two. So for if it
Speaker 1: goes not well or if it does go well, this
Speaker 1: is almost like the second playoff season here in December.
Speaker 1: I guess these AFC opponents that are all going to
Speaker 1: be competing for a wild cards. That's a great point. Yeah,
Speaker 1: right there in that stretch, Miami Tennessee colts outside your division.
Speaker 1: But you know your first tiebreaker had to head a
Speaker 1: second tie breaker division record, third tiebreaker conference record, fourth
Speaker 1: tiebreaker common opponents. So you know, there you go. It's
Speaker 1: those are that's that's a great point. Those are three,
Speaker 1: even though they're not in division, incredibly important game just
Speaker 1: because they count toward that particular tiebreaker that comes into
Speaker 1: play and came into play last year, so you know,
Speaker 1: and then and that's why you know the Pittsburgh ended
Speaker 1: up getting in. So this next one is not a
Speaker 1: division game, it's not a conference game, but it may
Speaker 1: have the bigness of any game on the seventeen game schedule.
Speaker 1: It's the Rams and Chargers on Sunday Night Football on
Speaker 1: New Year's Day. It's a Chargers home game on NBC
Speaker 1: Money against the Super Bowl champs. I think that this
Speaker 1: has a little bit of extroduce Brandon's Daley Sean McVeigh
Speaker 1: Rams Chargers. I mean, this is a great way to
Speaker 1: kick off twenty twenty three. Yeah. Look, I know maybe
Speaker 1: it's I don't know if you would call it petty
Speaker 1: or what, but yeah, it's the biggest game on the schedules.
Speaker 1: To me, it really is. I mean, I get the
Speaker 1: Chiefs and you want to win your division and the
Speaker 1: players won't say that, and that's fine. Are the players,
Speaker 1: you know, they can say the Chiefs games and the
Speaker 1: Raiders games and the Broncos games are all equally the
Speaker 1: biggest games on their schedule every year. But to me,
Speaker 1: this is the one you both play in the same stadium.
Speaker 1: The Rams just won the Super Bowl last year. The
Speaker 1: Chargers are trying to climb that mountain in Los Angeles
Speaker 1: as well. We know it's all about winning in this city.
Speaker 1: And you know, I don't think anyone would argue that
Speaker 1: the Chargers have the more exciting team with the way
Speaker 1: they play, specifically on offense, that they've they've got more
Speaker 1: sizzle by having Justin Herbert in Derwin James. You know,
Speaker 1: if you want to play the Aaron Donald's card, I'll
Speaker 1: put you know, Aaron Donald's the best player in football.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to argue that. But in terms of
Speaker 1: who do I want to watch play defense, I like
Speaker 1: watching Derwin James and Joey Bosa played defense just as
Speaker 1: much as I like watching Aaron Donald. So you know,
Speaker 1: it's a huge game, and it's it's beyond the field.
Speaker 1: It's it's a game that is beyond the field. This
Speaker 1: is how you know. This is our this is our roster.
Speaker 1: And I'm speaking for the Chargers, I guess, which they
Speaker 1: probably don't want me to do, so I'll just say
Speaker 1: this is the Chargers roster. This is what it looks
Speaker 1: like when Justin Herbert takes the field. This is the
Speaker 1: style of football that Brandon Staley coaches, and you can
Speaker 1: compare and contrast with what's going on on the other sideline.
Speaker 1: And for someone calling the game, it's very exciting and
Speaker 1: I'm very excited selfishly that I will be sitting and
Speaker 1: DJ will be sitting in the booth where we call
Speaker 1: home games, and JB and Maurice Jones, Drew are going
Speaker 1: to have to move their asses down about two hundred
Speaker 1: feet to do the game in Sofi Stadium from the
Speaker 1: visitor's booth. I will not be able to get enough
Speaker 1: of that. I will be wildly excited by that being
Speaker 1: the case on Sunday night. The whole world's watching too.
Speaker 1: I think that's that's what gives us another layer, is
Speaker 1: that this is an NBC game, and you know, you
Speaker 1: covered sports in this city for so so long. If
Speaker 1: the Chargers can put together an awesome season and then
Speaker 1: in week seventeen take care of the Rams en route
Speaker 1: to the playoffs, I mean this takes you another jump
Speaker 1: here in the city. And with Justin Herbert as your quarterback,
Speaker 1: I think the sky's the limit. And look, I think
Speaker 1: the big part of that is and I say it's
Speaker 1: that big of a game because the Rams just won
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. If the Rams didn't just win the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, I don't necessarily feel the same way about it.
Speaker 1: And I say, yeah, it's a big deal. It's head
Speaker 1: to head, it's you know, you're you're both in your
Speaker 1: infancy here in Los Angeles in terms of big picture,
Speaker 1: and there are still a lot of fans hearts and
Speaker 1: heads to be won over and you're fighting for that. Hey,
Speaker 1: we want to be the team of Los Angeles. But
Speaker 1: the Rams just won the Super Bowl, you know, and
Speaker 1: you can't take that away from them. So what you
Speaker 1: can do, though, is knock them off at the back
Speaker 1: end of the season. We know how hard it is
Speaker 1: to repeat. And we also know because I, like you said,
Speaker 1: I've been doing this a long time an old man,
Speaker 1: but I remember them. I think about the Ben Holland
Speaker 1: UCLA teams. You know, they went to back to back
Speaker 1: to back final fours and there just wasn't a lot
Speaker 1: of juice there because of the style that they played. Now,
Speaker 1: when you look at the names that were on those
Speaker 1: teams should have been you know, I mean with Russell
Speaker 1: Westbrook and and Zach Levine and Kevin Love and are
Speaker 1: not Zach Levine but Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook and
Speaker 1: those guys out there, uh, Aaron of Flower Like, they
Speaker 1: should have had sizzle, but they just didn't because of
Speaker 1: the style of play. So to have the Chargers play
Speaker 1: football in the manner they do um with the players
Speaker 1: that populate this roster currently, that's an exciting game and
Speaker 1: I think it could go a long way. If it
Speaker 1: we look, we just every single week I would I
Speaker 1: would show up at Sofi Stadium. I was treated to,
Speaker 1: you know, a wildly entertaining product every single week. The
Speaker 1: Steelers game, the Browns game, the Raiders game, the Chiefs game,
Speaker 1: like you know, and then we went on the road.
Speaker 1: It was the same, you know, the Raiders game to
Speaker 1: end the season, the Chiefs game in Kansas City, like
Speaker 1: it was. It's just the Bengals game. Like They're just
Speaker 1: a fun team to watch, and I'm excited that you can.
Speaker 1: You're gonna be able to do it. And the Chargers,
Speaker 1: the Chargers, they're gonna be wearing their powder blues and
Speaker 1: the Rams are going to be forced to wear those
Speaker 1: stupid bone uniforms that look like they threw their whites
Speaker 1: in the washing machine with a brown T shirt. So
Speaker 1: that's gonna make me happy to Rose Bowl January second,
Speaker 1: January first MS Chargers. All right, I don't know who
Speaker 1: makes that decision that is that? Is that a John
Speaker 1: Spano's decision. Who comes up with the uniform schedule, whoever
Speaker 1: comes up with the uniform schedule. I want powder blue
Speaker 1: with gold pants, so the Rams have to wear bone.
Speaker 1: That's that's of paramount importance in that contest. If you
Speaker 1: take anything from this podcast, cutting it like the forty
Speaker 1: seven minute mark, there you go, stupid bone. Week eighteen
Speaker 1: at Bronchos, who knows man? Who knows? Well? There's what
Speaker 1: I know? Bles game? Who knows what? What? What's going
Speaker 1: to be needed to begin to the playoffs? Could be
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson just at Herbert in prime time. Could mean
Speaker 1: absolutely nothing. I hope it means nothing for the Charger's sake.
Speaker 1: What I do know is our um our trip to
Speaker 1: Denver is going to be tested because year in and
Speaker 1: year out, we get unseasonably warm games in Denver. It
Speaker 1: is crazy. We show up there, it's November and it's
Speaker 1: sixty degrees. We go there and it's Octoba, end of
Speaker 1: October and it's seventy five degrees. Like, what is how
Speaker 1: we continued to dodge the eight inches of snow and
Speaker 1: the ten degree temperatures of Denver? So January, what is
Speaker 1: it seventh or eighth? Yeah, that's gonna be tested. It
Speaker 1: is certainly going to be tested of clear skies forty
Speaker 1: to sixty degrees at kick because that's what we've had
Speaker 1: for the last five years. So we'll see what we'll
Speaker 1: see what Week eighteen has in store for us. All Right,
Speaker 1: I want to end the pot on this. If I
Speaker 1: gave you a pair of tickets for three home games
Speaker 1: this year, rank them go three to one or one
Speaker 1: to three whatever we three, all right, so let me
Speaker 1: see let me go through this. Okay, Well I already
Speaker 1: said the Rams, um. You know how important I think
Speaker 1: that game is. But like, look for entertainment purposes, I'll
Speaker 1: go number one. Give me the home opener, you know,
Speaker 1: give me, give me Raiders. That that'd be the one
Speaker 1: i'd take first, just because you know, there's something specially
Speaker 1: about the first week of the season. It's the Raiders.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'll take I'll take Raiders one, and then
Speaker 1: I will take then I'll take the Rams, take the
Speaker 1: Rams two, and I'll take the Chiefs three. You know. Otherwise,
Speaker 1: like you know, I look at the Jags, the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: you got Miami in there. I wouldn't mind seeing the
Speaker 1: two of versus Herbert Bowl. That could be fun, actually,
Speaker 1: and I do get to see the Chiefs every year.
Speaker 1: So yeah, you know what, I'll I will spurn the
Speaker 1: Chiefs for the Miami game because I'll have already selfishly
Speaker 1: seen them, and yeah, so let's go. Raiders would be
Speaker 1: my number one, Rams my number two, and let me
Speaker 1: get out there. See that teal, see that deal of
Speaker 1: Miami and the two A Herbert Bowl. All right, I
Speaker 1: had mine written down already. Have Raiders one week one,
Speaker 1: I have Broncos two, Russell Wilson week. That's true primetime game.
Speaker 1: Those are always fun. Yeah, you know what, I'm going
Speaker 1: back to the Rams because at Sunday night football or
Speaker 1: something about primetime that's a lot more fun. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: then three I had the Rams week seventeen, and there
Speaker 1: you go. I don't know, just talking about it makes
Speaker 1: me kind of want to move it up a little
Speaker 1: bit more. But we'll keep it with those three Rams,
Speaker 1: with Broncos, good home schedule, brocosms, you know, good home schedule. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the AFC West is a gauntlet. You got those three
Speaker 1: games and then you got the Rams, the Dolphins, the
Speaker 1: Titans that were the best record in the AFC last year, Henry,
Speaker 1: we both didn't have the Chiefs in the home schedule.
Speaker 1: That's how the home schedule is. Yeah, and that's stupid.
Speaker 1: If I do have to make it three, you should
Speaker 1: have just made it one like one, or I want
Speaker 1: to make it three. I want to make it interesting.
Speaker 1: All right. Yeah, I've been asking the same question for
Speaker 1: the away games. Pair tickets, three games on the road
Speaker 1: with your buddies. What are you picking? Um? Okay at Chiefs?
Speaker 1: For sure, I love Arrowhead, love that stadium, Love that
Speaker 1: atmosphere is going to be that's number one. Uh number two?
Speaker 1: No Texans, no Browns, uh no Falcons at forty nine.
Speaker 1: But I hate that stadium and stadium is such a
Speaker 1: piece of junk um. It's just not a great place
Speaker 1: the way they designed it. But it's close Arizona. Okay.
Speaker 1: So one at Chiefs, two at Raiders, uh three, how
Speaker 1: about this at Broncos. I'm doing the three AFC West games.
Speaker 1: You're just you're just hoping for sixty degrees January seventh?
Speaker 1: Could I think it's I just don't think. I think
Speaker 1: it's gonna be something. I am banking on it being something.
Speaker 1: And those are three awesome atmospheres like they are. Just
Speaker 1: you know that it was electric inside Allegiant last year
Speaker 1: in Week eighteen. It's always it's my favor. I think
Speaker 1: it's the best tailgate in all of football at Arrowhead.
Speaker 1: I don't think anything's close. Maybe the Packers, but the
Speaker 1: Chief's tailgate is spectacular. And hey Charger fans, if you're
Speaker 1: going out there, uh, you know what, I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: say it yet. I'm gonna wait because I don't know.
Speaker 1: I tickets don't go on sale yet and I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna let somebody steal it from me, So I'm gonna
Speaker 1: wait to share that little nugget. Um Arrowhead is Arrowheads
Speaker 1: awesome and and obviously mile High is great. It's so
Speaker 1: fun to be at a Bronco game, you know, incomplete.
Speaker 1: When they screamed that on third down, the whole place shakes.
Speaker 1: It's it's a really fun place to see a game.
Speaker 1: I got Chiefs one. Uh. I got forty honors too,
Speaker 1: just because of the storylines. And it's Sunday night football.
Speaker 1: And I know it's not in San Francisco, but you
Speaker 1: make a weekend of it, sure in your weekend in
Speaker 1: Santa Clara. And then the Raiders. I'm with you, man.
Speaker 1: Like I thought that atmosphere was awesome. I didn't know
Speaker 1: what to expect it allegiant, but like their house band,
Speaker 1: it was like it's the perfect Vegas it's great. It's great.
Speaker 1: It's all it's Vegas. It's great. See now I'm looking
Speaker 1: at him, I'm like, you know, maybe San Francisco because
Speaker 1: it's prime time, but now I just uh. Levi's Stadium
Speaker 1: is one of my least favorite stadiums in all the NFL.
Speaker 1: I don't know why they're They should be the Santa
Speaker 1: Clara forty Niners, right, they're not even closest. I just
Speaker 1: it's like, I just mean, like the way they built
Speaker 1: the stadium, it's just seats everywhere, Like it is way
Speaker 1: too big, it's way too spread out. It never gets
Speaker 1: that loud. It's there's just there's something weird about it.
Speaker 1: It's it's not you know for me, like that's part
Speaker 1: of it. I'm the kind of person that when I
Speaker 1: get to a stadium, I want to walk around, I
Speaker 1: want to check it out. I'm walking through the concourse,
Speaker 1: I'm checking out whatever their monument park kind of thing is,
Speaker 1: and and Levi's just has none of that. And their
Speaker 1: fans are jerks, so there's that too. It's you know what,
Speaker 1: it's easy for chargist fans. You get to you probably
Speaker 1: you probably get a decent seat there. The Colts are
Speaker 1: my honorable mention. Like I just I don't know. I
Speaker 1: got a salt spot for Indie. But it is the
Speaker 1: Sember twenty six. You've got to travel on Christmas, like selfishly,
Speaker 1: for me, I'm gonna probably fly home it spend Christmas
Speaker 1: with you know, our family, with my parents, and then
Speaker 1: drive down. But that was the only reason I left
Speaker 1: the Colts off. It's like, you know, if you've got
Speaker 1: to travel there, well, now you're traveling on because you're
Speaker 1: losing time. So you're traveling on Christmas Day. Now they
Speaker 1: do have a red eye, so I guess technically, if
Speaker 1: you want you celebrate Christmas, you have a great time.
Speaker 1: You take the red Eye to Indie, spend all day
Speaker 1: in Indie hanging out, and then go to the money
Speaker 1: in football game. It's not a bad deal. We're giving
Speaker 1: you options. We talked a lot of logistics, a lot
Speaker 1: of logistics. This was a logistics podcast more than anything.
Speaker 1: You're welcome everybody. It's fun though, brother, I mean lista,
Speaker 1: it's May twelfth, and we now know how to plan
Speaker 1: out our fall a little bit better. Circle some dates
Speaker 1: and if you're a fan, like I said, this is
Speaker 1: a perfect time to start playing those trips to Kansas
Speaker 1: City to Vegas, San Francisco to Indy whatever. Yeah, get
Speaker 1: after it, get after it. It's fun to go on
Speaker 1: the road. For the most part, fans, believe it or not,
Speaker 1: are pretty polite and cool when you're on the road.
Speaker 1: The drunken fights that you see are the outliers. They're
Speaker 1: not the norm, you know. And I've been walking around
Speaker 1: the parking lot and I got to wear Chargers gear
Speaker 1: to call the games. Everybody's usually been super cool at
Speaker 1: all these places, so I can't encourage you to go enough.
Speaker 1: It's it's a lot of fun. And hey, let's get
Speaker 1: you in there on week one. Huh on Charger fans,
Speaker 1: Let's let's pack that place on Week one against the Raiders.
Speaker 1: That thing. Yeah, let's let's get that thing going. The
Speaker 1: revenge factor man, the stewing for an entire offseason just
Speaker 1: to play them on week one and get out of
Speaker 1: the WI Mac get get after his former team about
Speaker 1: all that stuff, dude, I can't wait. Uh, we'll be
Speaker 1: back next week. We'll probably talk a little bit more
Speaker 1: rookie mini camp and and OTAs. But this was fun,
Speaker 1: but oh yeah, I enjoyed it. Got to talk about
Speaker 1: flights and hotels and parking lots. It was great. It's
Speaker 1: all about logistics, all right, Guys for money, I'm Chris
Speaker 1: has been charges weekly