Speaker 1: Hey everybody. Chris Harry with you on the Chargers Training
Speaker 1: Camp Podcast, just four days away from the team's preseason
Speaker 1: opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Today, my guest is quarterback
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers. Rivers and I discussed the team's first season
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles, playing in the stub Hub Center in
Speaker 1: his optimism entering the twenty seventeen season. Philip Rivers joins
Speaker 1: me on the Chargers Training Camp podcast, Philip, how you
Speaker 1: doing doing great? Thanks? Second week of training camp is
Speaker 1: underway and we're counting down of that first preseason game
Speaker 1: Sunday at stub Hub versus Seattle. And Philip, these last
Speaker 1: two weeks have been new for Everybody's kind of like
Speaker 1: the first day of school. How do you think the
Speaker 1: team has made that transition coming up to Coast of Mason.
Speaker 1: I thought it's about as smooth as it could be.
Speaker 1: I really do. Obviously, it's a lot of new, as
Speaker 1: you said, for everybody, a lot of unknown, you know,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of first force those first couple of
Speaker 1: days and getting settled in. But I think the staff
Speaker 1: has done a heck of a job of making it
Speaker 1: as smooth as possible on us players, so we can
Speaker 1: really focus on the football and have a good camp.
Speaker 1: It's pretty seamless at this point, right you guys. You
Speaker 1: guys are here at a hotel in Costa Mesa, and
Speaker 1: right now it's kind of like parallel Paz that the
Speaker 1: complex is being set up for you guys, how et cetera.
Speaker 1: Are those guys to get into the building and everybody
Speaker 1: be under one roof. Yeah, I think exciting. I think again,
Speaker 1: that'll be the kind of the last phase I think
Speaker 1: of that transition. You know, we got to practice the
Speaker 1: StubHub against the Rams last week, as you mentioned, we
Speaker 1: play against the Seahawks here this coming Sunday. So I
Speaker 1: think that's kind of the last step. When we get
Speaker 1: into our new facility and kind of find that that
Speaker 1: in season home, year round home. I guess I should
Speaker 1: say that's when it'll be kind of that last step
Speaker 1: and we can really feel like, all right, we're settled,
Speaker 1: we're here. We gotta feel for camp, we gotta feel
Speaker 1: for the fans, gotta feel for the community all through
Speaker 1: training camp, and then we can really just focus on
Speaker 1: the season. You got a small east of what stub
Speaker 1: Hub can be last week and that joint practice against
Speaker 1: the Rams and phil You've played in just about every
Speaker 1: single NFL stadium. We know the fan experience is going
Speaker 1: to be pretty incredible. What's the biggest adjustment for you
Speaker 1: playing in a stadium like that. Well, I don't know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know that there'll be one once. It was
Speaker 1: good to get over there last week. I think you
Speaker 1: take advantage of these two preseason games in the stadium
Speaker 1: to get a field. I think it's a quarterback. It's
Speaker 1: really more of the sightlines and kind of the feel
Speaker 1: of you know, the backdrop of the end zone, kind
Speaker 1: of getting your depth, perception and all those things anytime
Speaker 1: you're in a new stadium. But that's the same way
Speaker 1: when you go on the road. So I think once
Speaker 1: we get settled in, but I was really impressed by
Speaker 1: the setup and kind of the feel of it. We
Speaker 1: didn't get a full taste of it, but I think
Speaker 1: with that place full, it can be a heck of
Speaker 1: an environment. The fans are on top of you and
Speaker 1: it gets really love. I mean, thirty thousand people. It
Speaker 1: may not sound like it's going to be very loud,
Speaker 1: but I think in that condensed of an environment, when
Speaker 1: you get that place rocking that's gonna be quite the
Speaker 1: home field advantage. I think so. And kind of the
Speaker 1: way the overhangs on both sides, you know, I think
Speaker 1: it would kind of close in the sound. And you know,
Speaker 1: talking to a few guys over there at the Galaxy,
Speaker 1: and I know soccer is a different sport, different kinds
Speaker 1: of cheering and roars in a soccer match, but they said,
Speaker 1: when it gets going, it's loud. They kind of feel
Speaker 1: like the sound's gonna stay in there and it'll be
Speaker 1: it'll be all We will still be able to create
Speaker 1: that home field advantage, even though the numbers won't be
Speaker 1: what we're used to. What was the vibe after practice
Speaker 1: when the guys had their first taste of it. I
Speaker 1: have to imagine that once you're there, you get the
Speaker 1: sense that, Okay, this is gonna be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: In twenty seventeen, yeah, I think so. I think that's
Speaker 1: what most of the guys felt. Yeah, I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: people don't make a big deal. That's smaller than all that.
Speaker 1: But I think the guys, and I think too, there
Speaker 1: is a bias there because it's ours, you know. I
Speaker 1: think our guys take ownership in it, being like, oh,
Speaker 1: this is this is our place, and let's make it,
Speaker 1: make it a special place to play, and looking forward
Speaker 1: to doing that. There's a uniqueness about it that I
Speaker 1: come from the Lakers, and that vibe on a Friday
Speaker 1: night at Staples Center with the special lights looking like
Speaker 1: a Broadway show in the floor seats, there's an ambiance
Speaker 1: to it that goes beyond just work. And I think
Speaker 1: it's gonna be really neat to have that in your
Speaker 1: back pocket for the next three years before you move
Speaker 1: into the Big Palace. Yeah, I think so too. And
Speaker 1: I think too. You know, we get three games at
Speaker 1: home right away after we start off with that opener
Speaker 1: in Denver, Uh, to really get a chance to kind
Speaker 1: of establish that who we are, who we're gonna be.
Speaker 1: You know, we're the new we're the new new guys
Speaker 1: in town. But uh and as you mentioned there, there's
Speaker 1: not be able to get but what just under thirty
Speaker 1: thousand in there. Yeah, So if we if we do
Speaker 1: what we expect to do and get off to a
Speaker 1: good start, I imagine they'll be Uh, it will be
Speaker 1: the hottest tick in town. Coach Lynn comes in Philip
Speaker 1: and we hear a lot about his preparation his attention
Speaker 1: to detail, holding players accountable. What makes coach Lynn such
Speaker 1: a good fit for this roster, Well, I think, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I think one one big positive as he
Speaker 1: was a player in this league. You know, he was
Speaker 1: a player in this league for a lot of really
Speaker 1: good coaches, and then he's been on staffs with a
Speaker 1: lot of really good coaches as a coach, and so
Speaker 1: I think he sees it from both sides. I think
Speaker 1: that helps in his ability to relate to players and
Speaker 1: have that feel factor of setting up schedules and doing
Speaker 1: all those things. And then I think the biggest thing
Speaker 1: is when people ask me to describe me in one
Speaker 1: word is hard, but I use the word matter of fact.
Speaker 1: I just think he's just a matter of fact. And
Speaker 1: I think I think I think he would tell you
Speaker 1: the same that. He just tells it. He just tells
Speaker 1: it like it is. And I think guys appreciate that,
Speaker 1: his candidness, his authenticness. He doesn't try to have this
Speaker 1: certain way to go about it just because he's the
Speaker 1: head coach. It's well, I'm just I'm a hearing coach
Speaker 1: how I've always coached, and and very very matter of fact.
Speaker 1: The fact he's a player. I think gives him even
Speaker 1: more credibility with the guys and uh, it's been good
Speaker 1: so far, and that's all you can ask for as
Speaker 1: a veteran this league. Just a matter of fact, you
Speaker 1: know what your job is, you know what it's what's
Speaker 1: expected of you. And one of the things he did
Speaker 1: was keep some continuity on offense with Ken Wizzen Hunt
Speaker 1: coming back. You know this offense in what ways do
Speaker 1: you see it changing in terms of balance or what
Speaker 1: Coach lynd he had a lot of success in the
Speaker 1: running game in Buffalo. We talk about with Shady McCoy
Speaker 1: and gillis Lee did um, what are you looking for
Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen with this offense? Well, I think, Uh,
Speaker 1: I think certainly anytime uh any head coach, uh which
Speaker 1: side of the ball they they their background is, they're
Speaker 1: gonna have some ideas and some things that they want
Speaker 1: to see. So certainly coach Lynn will We'll have some
Speaker 1: input there. Uh. But I think I think his philosophy
Speaker 1: lines up with what ours has been uh with with
Speaker 1: wiz is we want to be balanced, you know, we
Speaker 1: want to be balanced. We want to run a football,
Speaker 1: we want to mix into play action and and obviously
Speaker 1: we're not afraid to throw it when we need to.
Speaker 1: But um, balance to me doesn't mean exactly fifty fifty
Speaker 1: run pass Sometimes it may mean, you know, with more
Speaker 1: passes than runs. Next game it may be just the opposite.
Speaker 1: It's just, uh, you know, but what that is when
Speaker 1: we were at our best over the years, going all
Speaker 1: the way back from the days when Marty shot numbers
Speaker 1: here and North Turner and Mike and and now coach Land,
Speaker 1: We've we've been best when we've been balanced. And so um,
Speaker 1: the way Melvin ran last year, get Brandon Oliver back, uh,
Speaker 1: the way our guys up front of blocking, I think
Speaker 1: we will be balanced and uh looking looking forward to it.
Speaker 1: Also Keenan Allen. With Keenan Allen coming back, one of
Speaker 1: the things that's really stuck out to me is the
Speaker 1: talent that you have on the outside. With Travis Benjamin
Speaker 1: being healthy and Keenan Allen looks to be in mid
Speaker 1: season form. How important is Keenan Allen to this offense
Speaker 1: and how does it change the way you guys play?
Speaker 1: And you know, he goes out first half of the
Speaker 1: first week of twenty sixteen, and you have to just
Speaker 1: in the fly. Yeah, that was tough. It was tough
Speaker 1: losing to him. He was off to heck of a start.
Speaker 1: No telling what his numbers would ended up last year
Speaker 1: and obviously how much you would have helped us winning
Speaker 1: football games. But getting him back is huge. He's just
Speaker 1: a guy that has a knack for winning against man
Speaker 1: coverage and and then has a great understanding for the scheme.
Speaker 1: He can play any position in the slot outside, So
Speaker 1: it's great to have him back. You mentioned Travis. Travis
Speaker 1: and Tyrelle both I mean their biggest their biggest assets
Speaker 1: their speed. I mean they can really really run, so
Speaker 1: h they are both healthy. It'll be important to do
Speaker 1: our best to keep them healthy and keep them at
Speaker 1: top speed all the time because that is their biggest asset.
Speaker 1: And then and then getting Dontrell him and back was big.
Speaker 1: Getting Dontrell back. He's just he's just kind of a
Speaker 1: little bit of an unsung hero. I think he doesn't
Speaker 1: going to appreciate it in this room. But he's not
Speaker 1: the guy that gets you don't hear his name out
Speaker 1: there a lot. But I don't know what we would
Speaker 1: have done without him last year, and I expect him
Speaker 1: to be a big have a big impact for us
Speaker 1: again this year, and let's see what get Mike Williams back.
Speaker 1: We'll see see who's some of those other guys that
Speaker 1: step up. But it is a good group on now side.
Speaker 1: And then the tight ends. We know when Antonio Gates
Speaker 1: is Hunter Henry eight touchdowns and limited snaps last year.
Speaker 1: I talked to him last week about the progression from
Speaker 1: your one to year two, and he said the game
Speaker 1: is slowing down for him. I know there's high expectations
Speaker 1: for him in twenty seventeen. What have you seen from
Speaker 1: Hunter this offseason? Going into training camp? Hunter has been
Speaker 1: I can't tell how many times I've talked to my
Speaker 1: brother back home and my dad and just said, Hunter
Speaker 1: Henry is awesome. I mean, he really has been awesome
Speaker 1: this offseason. He was awesome last year, but you can
Speaker 1: really see what great strides he's making. I think his
Speaker 1: answer to you is very accurate. I think it's probably
Speaker 1: slowing down for him, and he's he has such an
Speaker 1: understanding now of the offense and what's expected of him
Speaker 1: on certain routes that now he's able to just be himself.
Speaker 1: You know, it's not Yeah, here's how the route's drawn.
Speaker 1: In the book and then put your little touch to it,
Speaker 1: within the within our parameters, and go and and he's
Speaker 1: really he really understands now, I think what's asked of
Speaker 1: him and just really turn it loose and playing. And
Speaker 1: obviously he can't he can't mention the tight ends without
Speaker 1: mentioning Antonio Gates and having him back. I still think
Speaker 1: he'll be a big, big factor for us. Uh, it's
Speaker 1: gonna be exciting. At first touchdown he catches, no doubt,
Speaker 1: becoming the all time leader in history UH for tight
Speaker 1: ends catching touchdowns, which is hard to believe. U with
Speaker 1: credit to him for his what he's done in his career.
Speaker 1: And and then you know, Jeff Crumlin's had a good
Speaker 1: cam Sean McGrath. Uh. Again, it's just kind of the
Speaker 1: does all the dirty work, he makes all the he
Speaker 1: makes tough catches, he's in the trenches blocking, he runs
Speaker 1: down on special team. So it's a good group there too.
Speaker 1: And I know I probably sound like those listening and
Speaker 1: probably sounding like gott Lee. It sounds like he hat
Speaker 1: he got an All Star team. But but we are
Speaker 1: excited about what we have. Obviously, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: factors that go into winning the game on Sunday. But
Speaker 1: keep guys healthy and we're gonna have a chance and Philip,
Speaker 1: but doesn't hurt to go up against that Gus Bradley
Speaker 1: led defense on a daily basis. That's new this year.
Speaker 1: What have you seen from Gus and just what that
Speaker 1: defense was last year and compared to this year, and
Speaker 1: how the personnel fit, what Gus lakes to do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that transition has been really good. You know,
Speaker 1: I've gone against for the most part, the same defense
Speaker 1: in training camp for thirteen seasons, you know, and and
Speaker 1: throughout the season, so it was new for me going
Speaker 1: against Gus's defense. Obviously, we have some history playing against
Speaker 1: his time in Jacksonville. Play the Seahawks every preseason, similar scheme,
Speaker 1: played the Falcons last year's similar scheme, so we had
Speaker 1: some familiarity. But I think the biggest thing I've seen
Speaker 1: is one the guys have really bought into it and
Speaker 1: embraced the change. And then I think what Gus has
Speaker 1: done too, is he's he's really he's always wanting to
Speaker 1: improve and get better. There his scheme, him his thoughts
Speaker 1: and the defense, and and I think that he's he's uh,
Speaker 1: you know, we've we've he's made us better, and I
Speaker 1: would like to think that we've made we've made the
Speaker 1: defense better at different tweaks he's made throughout the camp. Oh,
Speaker 1: we made to do this and do that, And he's
Speaker 1: certainly done that to us offensively, I know, I know
Speaker 1: Wiz and I and the whole offensive staff and the
Speaker 1: guys have appreciated the challenge of going against just a
Speaker 1: different scheme because it helps you in the long run
Speaker 1: when some coverages and things come up when you get
Speaker 1: in the season. And in Casey Hay where Jason rerec
Speaker 1: coming back when you have an elite corner tandem like that, again,
Speaker 1: in practice, it makes your wide receivers better, It makes
Speaker 1: the offense in general better. How have those guys progressed
Speaker 1: in Gust's system? Yeah, I think they fits him. It
Speaker 1: fits him great. Um, case he's had an awesome camp.
Speaker 1: Les he'd be more personal two one Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: so they mix it up. And but Casey's case, he's
Speaker 1: had an awesome camp. He's really picked up where he
Speaker 1: left off. I think Jason he knows easiest way back
Speaker 1: in But um, he made some places actually in practice
Speaker 1: that just like Okay, Jason's looks like his old self,
Speaker 1: so I think those are gonna come. It's a slow build.
Speaker 1: I've been trying to tell him how he needs slow build.
Speaker 1: We need you in thirty five days. You know, we
Speaker 1: don't need you right now. So just keep improving and
Speaker 1: keep feeling more and more confident and and and get healthy.
Speaker 1: And so it's great to have those two guys out there. Philip,
Speaker 1: how excited are you this upcoming season? Like I said,
Speaker 1: it's it's there's been a transition, but I feel this
Speaker 1: renewed energy among this team, embracing this community, and I
Speaker 1: wanted to go out there and get wins for Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: How is this different besides the obvious for you this year? Well,
Speaker 1: I think, uh, it's different just in that way. It's
Speaker 1: a new communities and new in some ways it's it's
Speaker 1: it's a new fan base. In some ways there's Charter
Speaker 1: fans I know that have pulled for us, even where
Speaker 1: down in San Diego that will still still be fans.
Speaker 1: So h But I think the newness, just like anything,
Speaker 1: you know, I think there's always that unknown and that
Speaker 1: a little bit uncertainty and as but as it slowly
Speaker 1: gets here, you do get excited, and I think we're
Speaker 1: a team that's that's tired of losing. You know, we
Speaker 1: at four and twelve and five and eleven, we were
Speaker 1: hungry to win. And I think we now have a
Speaker 1: group of guys, a new kind of core group of
Speaker 1: guys mixed in sprinkled in with some veterans that that
Speaker 1: uh that have would take. So I think I think
Speaker 1: we we all you know, I think every team this
Speaker 1: time of year thinks, oh, we're we're gonna be awesome,
Speaker 1: We're gonna win a super Bowl, you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: everybody kind of a month of hope right now. It is.
Speaker 1: But I really don't know, and I'm by no means
Speaker 1: predicting that coming off you know, two years where we
Speaker 1: and win more than five games. But I really believe
Speaker 1: we have a chance. You know, I think there are
Speaker 1: some teams they know they're in transition. Yeah they're gonna
Speaker 1: fight like crazy, but now we're not there yet. But
Speaker 1: I think that we have a chance. And I think
Speaker 1: that the players feel that the guys aren't guys, we're humans.
Speaker 1: We know, you see what we have, We see what
Speaker 1: we have, we see what we're capable of. And I
Speaker 1: think That's what makes us excited is to know that, hey,
Speaker 1: we're in a heck of a division. It's a tough division.
Speaker 1: We gotta work cut out for us, but we we
Speaker 1: we can get it done. It's not a task that's
Speaker 1: too tall. And I think all that as to excitement
Speaker 1: get you out of here on this fight for LA.
Speaker 1: Speaking of fight that's been the mantra this offseason, I've
Speaker 1: seen some some videos come out this week that it
Speaker 1: really it kind of jacks you up a little bit.
Speaker 1: What do you want football fans in Los Angeles to
Speaker 1: know about Philip Rivers and the Chargers that they may
Speaker 1: not know right now? Well before I answered that, I
Speaker 1: feel like I mentioned everybody but the old Line. So
Speaker 1: most let's get the old Let's get the Old line
Speaker 1: in there. I'm super pumped for those guys too. We
Speaker 1: talked about all those skilled positions and we got weapons everywhere,
Speaker 1: but it really can't go without those guys up front.
Speaker 1: Bringing Russell Okung and he's been awesome there left tackles,
Speaker 1: get him away from a division rival to yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: still inn a division rival. Mouf Slaus in the left guard.
Speaker 1: You know, Spencer Pulley has been in there at center.
Speaker 1: Dan Feenie's mixed in there too, Kenny Wiggins their right
Speaker 1: guard along with Fiene and however that whole thing shakes out,
Speaker 1: Joe Barkstell has kind of been a staple over their
Speaker 1: right tackle. So it's a good group. They like one another,
Speaker 1: they're like being around one another, and they're working well together.
Speaker 1: So they're the key going all the way back to
Speaker 1: were earlier in this interview, the run game being balanced
Speaker 1: be in this. All those weapons Keenan Gay's Hunter they get,
Speaker 1: they really make it go and they take great pride
Speaker 1: in that and protecting and and blocking in the run game.
Speaker 1: And for a slimp ib resis tough injury. You never
Speaker 1: want to see that. A heartbreaks for him. But you
Speaker 1: do have some guys that can step in and make
Speaker 1: an immediate impacts, no question. Those guys I mentioned. You're
Speaker 1: throwing at Chris Harrison, who's played a lot of snaps
Speaker 1: for US last year. Tyreek is coming on and doing
Speaker 1: some nice things. So it's a it's a it's a
Speaker 1: it's a deep group and it'll all play play its
Speaker 1: way out. But you ask about what what what LA
Speaker 1: fans may not know? You know, I think I think
Speaker 1: in the whole fight for LA, in my mind, how
Speaker 1: that hits me is, Hey, we're here amongst a lot
Speaker 1: of other sports teams professionally and in college and and
Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of other things to do,
Speaker 1: uh in Los Angeles. So we're not just gonna walk
Speaker 1: in here and then we're like, oh cool, we're charters fans,
Speaker 1: you know, So we have to earn that. And that's
Speaker 1: what I see it as, Hey, why should we pull
Speaker 1: for you instead of not just the Rams or the
Speaker 1: UCLA or USC or whoever it is. Why should that
Speaker 1: kind of be our favorite team? And I think, uh,
Speaker 1: at least what I hope UH comes to is that
Speaker 1: you see a group of guys that that play with
Speaker 1: a great deal passion. We're gonna play with a great
Speaker 1: deal passion and energy we're gonna play together. And then
Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of recognizable faces on this
Speaker 1: team that that people can resonate with, both that were
Speaker 1: awesome in college and that have turned into really good
Speaker 1: pro players, and um, so I think it's just it
Speaker 1: can become a team, uh, that that LA's proud of
Speaker 1: and and I really think we do have to earn it.
Speaker 1: But I think too. I think we're I think we're
Speaker 1: an authentic group. You know, we're not. There's not a
Speaker 1: lot of there's not a lot of h you know,
Speaker 1: hiding behind the curtain with us, And I think we're
Speaker 1: just you kind of see what. You get a lot
Speaker 1: of real people in this locker room on this team,
Speaker 1: and I think, uh, people anywhere or whatever. Sitt again
Speaker 1: can appreciate that. The first step is Sunday against the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: the first preseason game at StubHub Center. He's Philip Rivers.
Speaker 1: Philip can't thank you enough for your time. Thank you
Speaker 1: all right that he'll do it. For today's Chargers Training
Speaker 1: Camp podcast, a big thanks to Philip Rivers for joining
Speaker 1: me and a reminder to download the Chargers app for
Speaker 1: iOS and Android and be sure to follow all the
Speaker 1: Chargers social media platforms and Chargers dot com to stay
Speaker 1: up to date for all things related. We did to
Speaker 1: training Camp. Until next time, We'll see you soon.