Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be an interesting summer. Um it'd
Speaker 1: be it'd be nice for him to come out to LA,
Speaker 1: you know, because maybe maybe I'll get to meet him,
Speaker 1: but get to a few games. Yes, it'd be nice,
Speaker 1: you know, cool everybody. Chris Harry with you on a
Speaker 1: new episode of Chargers Weekly. That was a voice of
Speaker 1: running back Justin Jackson talking Lebron James during OTAs. Now
Speaker 1: that the King is a Laker, Mike Trudell of Lakers
Speaker 1: dot Com is gonna tell us what it means in
Speaker 1: general for the LA sports scene and why so many
Speaker 1: NFL players admire Lebron. But first, the great Steve Wish.
Speaker 1: If NFL Network joins me, we talk Chargers AFC contenders
Speaker 1: and Bobby Bethard's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: All right, it's my great pleasure to welcome in NFL
Speaker 1: Networks Steve Wish to Chargers Weekly. And Steve, just a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks until training camp, the off season is buzzing,
Speaker 1: by my man, Have you had a chance to at
Speaker 1: least enjoy summer a little bit? With the emphasis on
Speaker 1: a little bit, Yeah, you know, absolutely, And and you know,
Speaker 1: if there's the NFL calendar shrinks. Every was more than
Speaker 1: one owners meetings and some of the things that players
Speaker 1: are doing in the offseason that we're covering. So yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a tighter window. But what about two three weeks
Speaker 1: you're going to be starting training camps and then headed
Speaker 1: up to Canton to kick things off at the Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame game. Yeah, well, hey, I want to get
Speaker 1: into the Hall of Fame a little bit later. But
Speaker 1: we should have some breaking news here Chargers dot Com,
Speaker 1: your NFL Network colleague, Daniel Jeremiah is joining the Chargers
Speaker 1: radio broadcast team this fall, Steve. He's gonna team up
Speaker 1: with another one of your colleagues, Matt money Smith. We're
Speaker 1: getting one of the best in DJ. Absolutely. I mean,
Speaker 1: Chargers fans should be absolutely excited because you're Danny Jeremiah.
Speaker 1: I mean, besides him just being one of the most
Speaker 1: wonderful human beings you'll ever encounter, one of the most knowledgeable.
Speaker 1: I mean, the former scout. He's got people placed all
Speaker 1: over the league who can give you insight on players, schemes.
Speaker 1: You know, he played in quarterback in college at app State.
Speaker 1: I mean, he understands everything, but his knowledge of the
Speaker 1: players these are players. I'm sure everyone on that roster
Speaker 1: is a player that he is scouted, coming through the
Speaker 1: college ranks at some time and then coming through the
Speaker 1: NFL ranks. He's going to have such a familiarity with
Speaker 1: the players that are on the Chargers rosters, that are
Speaker 1: on opposing rosters, that everyone is going to learn something
Speaker 1: and that you know, you just could not have gotten
Speaker 1: a better person who has all of the ingredients for
Speaker 1: an NFL expert to Daniels, Jeremiah so great higher by
Speaker 1: the Chargers. He brings such a unique perspective to Steve
Speaker 1: because I remember him in the booth for Rams games
Speaker 1: during preseason television. DJ was predicting place and getting them right,
Speaker 1: like in multiple games. Yeah. I mean, look, if you
Speaker 1: if you sit next down to some you know, sit
Speaker 1: next to some NFL scouts in press booth, it's amazing
Speaker 1: press box. I say, it's amazing how they can tell
Speaker 1: you coaching tendencies and what's like way to come in
Speaker 1: the situation or buy this formation. And again that is
Speaker 1: someone who is so well versed and is so knowledgeable
Speaker 1: in every aspect of the game. It's just the thing
Speaker 1: we are regardless of your emotions after it to win
Speaker 1: or a loss, You're gonna come away knowing something better like,
Speaker 1: oh man, a third quarter Jan Jannetemias as he saw
Speaker 1: this and soon as us he came back to help
Speaker 1: the Chargers. You hit on a big play to help
Speaker 1: win the ballgame. X y Z. That's gonna be a
Speaker 1: lot of that. I says. He's such an incredible person,
Speaker 1: a human being. It'll just make everything he does that
Speaker 1: much better. And we can't wait. It's it's just gonna
Speaker 1: make the broadcast that much more enjoyable. And let's get
Speaker 1: into this team, Steve, because I remember seeing you out
Speaker 1: at OTA's earlier this offseason. This is a team that
Speaker 1: closed twenty seventeen strong. They sprinkled in some key editions
Speaker 1: this offseason, and they went really heavy on defense in
Speaker 1: the draft. What do you make of this roster in
Speaker 1: Anthony Lynn's second year as head coach. Well, I think
Speaker 1: everyone really likes it, especially the first two picks in
Speaker 1: the draft. You know, they hit some need spots to
Speaker 1: get Derwin's names. I'm like for him to be there
Speaker 1: with the seventeenth pick for when the Chargers had it is.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's one where when you they'll end and
Speaker 1: they're staying this player fall You're like, Okay, we like him,
Speaker 1: but we didn't think he'd be here. Oh he's gonna
Speaker 1: be here. We gotta take him. It's it's one of
Speaker 1: those things that it's gonna make everything better because and
Speaker 1: Gus Bradley's defense is you can let's use the Seahawks
Speaker 1: as an example. That safety spot, which is more of
Speaker 1: a strong safety but really a hybrid, really a combo safety,
Speaker 1: is super responsible in the running game. They'll put so
Speaker 1: much pressure up front that if there's a leak or
Speaker 1: that entire linebacker gets blocked, that's safety has got to
Speaker 1: make tackles in open space. Think of Cam Chancellor, think
Speaker 1: of Kean O'Neil with the foul because that is what
Speaker 1: German James can be, except he's faster. He's probably better
Speaker 1: in coverage, but he plays the type of ferosophy where
Speaker 1: you're not going to have some of those leaky runs
Speaker 1: that you had last season where someone gets passed that
Speaker 1: first line of scrimmage, the middle linebacker gets hemmed up
Speaker 1: and bam, there's a twenty yard run. That's not going
Speaker 1: to happen with Durwin James. Then you get in Woe too,
Speaker 1: who is just a disruptive player off the edge, which
Speaker 1: will allow Gus Bradley and he did this at times
Speaker 1: anyway to line up Boast an Ingram on the same side,
Speaker 1: or to reduce an edge rusher in to tackle and
Speaker 1: really basically play with four pass rushers on that line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. So those two picks and just helping out
Speaker 1: it was a pretty good defense. But to tighten up
Speaker 1: the secondary a little bit, absolutely fantastic. And we know
Speaker 1: the weapons that they have on offense, if they can
Speaker 1: you know, really force landing and healthy, you know, and
Speaker 1: that's still a concern because you had to set back
Speaker 1: and had to go back in and do some minor
Speaker 1: things to that kneede coming off the UCL That's why
Speaker 1: he didn't do a lot in the offseason. But if
Speaker 1: he can get healthy, this offensive line, the tools Philip
Speaker 1: Rivers had has, I should say, is amazing. And speaking
Speaker 1: to Anthony Allen this offseason, he is so excited about
Speaker 1: Mike Williams and Tyrell Williams being you know, just potentially
Speaker 1: big time compliments to Keenan Allen, I mean, the potential
Speaker 1: for the Chargers. I mean, I think that's why You're
Speaker 1: seeing a lot of a lot of hype going into
Speaker 1: the season as the Chargers being the team could beat
Speaker 1: in the AFC West. Well, Steve the offense, I don't
Speaker 1: know if Philip Rivers has played with a better defense
Speaker 1: on paper at least entering twenty eighteen. And you mentioned
Speaker 1: Derwin James. How about the return of Jason Verrett to
Speaker 1: that passing defense that was number three in the league
Speaker 1: last season. How much better do you think this defense
Speaker 1: can be when you consider Listen, Joey Bose is going
Speaker 1: to turn twenty three, I think on Wednesday, Melvin Ingram
Speaker 1: is twenty nine. And this pass rush, you know, a
Speaker 1: lot of it is predicated on how good the secondary is.
Speaker 1: And they're getting even better with the addition of James,
Speaker 1: in the return of Rhett Yeah, I mean, look, if
Speaker 1: Varette can stay healthy, you're getting a very tenacious guy
Speaker 1: to play opposite of Casey Hayward. Okay, so Casey are
Speaker 1: is one of the best corners in the NFL, really
Speaker 1: great ball skills, really great coverage skills. So he didn't
Speaker 1: here's Varette who gives you the same compliment. So you know,
Speaker 1: you think about some of these teams, look at Jacksonville
Speaker 1: last year where you had you know, Jalen Ramsey and
Speaker 1: a J. Booye. You know, you can't work the corners
Speaker 1: like you can with some teams, you can't work the perimeter.
Speaker 1: So that funnels the passing game a little bit more
Speaker 1: in between the numbers towards the hashes where there's a
Speaker 1: lot more traffic in those areas for defensive players to
Speaker 1: the takeaways, and with and with that pressure up front
Speaker 1: making that quarterback pat that ball for an extra second,
Speaker 1: the takeaway opportunities with the varette radically increase. And I'm
Speaker 1: just really keep my fingers cross he stays healthy because
Speaker 1: he's so good and he plays so hard that if
Speaker 1: he can play all sixteen at the level he can
Speaker 1: play at, the Chargers defense is going to be one
Speaker 1: of these defenses we're talking about all seasons, one of
Speaker 1: the most intimidating in the league. Well, you know, it
Speaker 1: was so refreshing to hear Jason talk about how much
Speaker 1: better he feels this year at this time in comparison
Speaker 1: to last year. And I think people may be underestimating
Speaker 1: just how good he is because we haven't seen him
Speaker 1: on the field Steve for two seasons, so to your point,
Speaker 1: if he, if he can stay healthy, you have two
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl corners, Trevor Williams who started fifteen games last
Speaker 1: year and Desmond King, who played in sixteen games. Head
Speaker 1: four starts, you can go four deep at corner, which
Speaker 1: is something a lot of NFL teams cannot do. Well,
Speaker 1: that's what NFL teams You're gonna be good what you
Speaker 1: have to do because you're playing in so many sub packages. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: you know you're gonna have to go at least three
Speaker 1: and sometimes you know, you know, the three dbs, whether
Speaker 1: you have a covered safeties, whatever depends on the makeup
Speaker 1: of your team. But you know, the right questions is
Speaker 1: it's so big and legate question, you know, can he
Speaker 1: stay healthy? And that's just something that's a big question.
Speaker 1: As we know, he's kind of an undersized player who
Speaker 1: plays like a pitbull, so he puts his body in
Speaker 1: harm's way and you know sometimes he breaks down a
Speaker 1: little bit. But if they can get him going, you know,
Speaker 1: again the potential is limitless because we know, we know
Speaker 1: what Gus Bradley can do with two good corners and
Speaker 1: a safety like Derwin. You know, with the kind of
Speaker 1: prototype of Derwin, James offensively. Its sarce of Philip Rivers.
Speaker 1: He's entering year fifteen and last year was arguably his
Speaker 1: best year. You know, twenty eight touchdowns, ten interceptions, he
Speaker 1: was only sacked eighteen times, and a lot of that
Speaker 1: was him just getting rid of the football quick. When
Speaker 1: you look at this offense and the weapons that they
Speaker 1: have around him. You mentioned Mike Williams. Losing Hunter Henry
Speaker 1: is a blow, no doubt about that. But if you
Speaker 1: can get Mike Williams in there and some four wide sets,
Speaker 1: I could see him as a target in the red
Speaker 1: zone and much more than that across Keenan Allen, Well, yeah,
Speaker 1: how to get tyro away. It is a big wide
Speaker 1: receiver too, So he's got three big targets. He's got
Speaker 1: three big targets that you can really, you know, do
Speaker 1: some special things with. So it's gonna be interesting because
Speaker 1: one hundred Hendry thing was what was it to blow?
Speaker 1: They had plans and schemes and things really designed for,
Speaker 1: if not him, to get the bulls in the set
Speaker 1: of their players up. So I know they've got Virgil
Speaker 1: Green visions and mainly a blocking tight ended his career.
Speaker 1: But it's funny he came into the NFL's receiving tight
Speaker 1: end Nevada. He played with Colin kaepern and get Nevada
Speaker 1: and he was more of a receiving guy. Yeah. Um,
Speaker 1: so he's got the potential h to be all around.
Speaker 1: But you know, they're gonna need some depth there. Um,
Speaker 1: they're gonna need probably a fullback, you know, to get out,
Speaker 1: you know, to two back sets from time to time
Speaker 1: to throw defenses off. But there's enough creativity, enough big
Speaker 1: play potential. And that's the key here is this defense
Speaker 1: is gonna get the offense the ball with takeaway the
Speaker 1: fourth punt deep and you know, deep in the opposing
Speaker 1: team's territory and whatnot. And when you've got players like
Speaker 1: a Keenan Allen, you know, or Mike Williams who can
Speaker 1: hit that big play that those are game changers. And
Speaker 1: that's why again, I think people are really excited about
Speaker 1: the Chargers because when you look around the division. Okay campus,
Speaker 1: he's got Tyreek hillp he's playing with the first time
Speaker 1: starting quarterback. You know, the Raiders have Amari Cooper and
Speaker 1: they've got a couple other players from both sides of
Speaker 1: the ball. No team has more game changing talent on
Speaker 1: paper than the Chargers, Steve staying in the division. The
Speaker 1: AFC West probably more changes in this division than any
Speaker 1: other division in football when you consider the quarterback position,
Speaker 1: a new coach in Oakland, what do you make of
Speaker 1: the AFC West given all of the changes up and
Speaker 1: down the division, while the Chargers really had the most stability,
Speaker 1: you could argue this offseason. Well, again, that's another reason
Speaker 1: why people are excited about the Chargers is because you know, look,
Speaker 1: Denver's getting a new quarterback in Case teen him in
Speaker 1: Case is gonna be fine, He's gonna do well, and
Speaker 1: no Musk Green's offense, But the offensive line going to
Speaker 1: get any better? Are they going to be able to
Speaker 1: run the ball? Those are question marks with the Raiders.
Speaker 1: They there's not a team in the NFL that comes
Speaker 1: to the season with a bigger question mark. Because John
Speaker 1: Gruden has been out of football for ten years. They
Speaker 1: have really changed this roster where it seems like they
Speaker 1: are signing any free agent who's thirty years and older
Speaker 1: who's got some kind of Gruden or Paul gun though
Speaker 1: some of the other coordinators on the staff, so you
Speaker 1: just don't know. I mean, I think they've got a
Speaker 1: you know a lot of people feel they've got boom
Speaker 1: or bust potential, like they could be really good, like
Speaker 1: Gruden's kind of what they need to take them to
Speaker 1: the next level. That last year was more of the
Speaker 1: anomaly with the way they fell off than it should
Speaker 1: have been. And then look at Kansas City. Their defense
Speaker 1: last year was terrible as a really gotten that much better,
Speaker 1: you know, you you know, they lose Derek Johnson to
Speaker 1: the Raiders. Um, they lose a couple of key players
Speaker 1: Marcus Peters to the Rams. Is that defense going to
Speaker 1: be any better than what it was last season when
Speaker 1: they won the division? But but you just don't know.
Speaker 1: Can Patrick Mahomes, you know, one of the guys who's
Speaker 1: going to be watched most early part of the season.
Speaker 1: Can he adapt because they've got tools on offense. And
Speaker 1: again there's there's all those question marks. Were the only
Speaker 1: question mark around the Chargers is the one where people say, well,
Speaker 1: they're the Chargers. They're gonna you know, they're gonna find
Speaker 1: ways to lose close games, They're gonna get off to
Speaker 1: a swelling star. You know, this is where history kind
Speaker 1: of push that cartoon cloud, that cartoon bubble women. Everyone
Speaker 1: said saying, well, they're loaded, but how many times have
Speaker 1: we set that? And that's that's where they've really got
Speaker 1: to got to sell improved, especially early in the season.
Speaker 1: They can't go blowing games like they did last year,
Speaker 1: because you saw how they came back to han them,
Speaker 1: no doubt, and four the first five are in Los
Speaker 1: Angeles when you also consider the road game at the
Speaker 1: College sum against the Rams of Week three. So it's
Speaker 1: imperative seeve to get off to that fast start this year.
Speaker 1: And I think what you saw the last twelve games
Speaker 1: was a little bit of a culture change with coach
Speaker 1: Lynn in his first year. I think once they got
Speaker 1: their bearings, had some really crushing losses at the beginning
Speaker 1: of the year, in large part to the kicking game,
Speaker 1: But once they got their bearings, I think everybody bought
Speaker 1: into what coach Lynn was selling and there is a
Speaker 1: momentum doesn't carry over. I realized that from twenty seventeen
Speaker 1: to twenty eighteen, But there is some good vibes going
Speaker 1: in here with a lot of the same players in place. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and look, the team relocated last offseason. Let's not overlook Yeah.
Speaker 1: Oh by the way, right, I mean yeah. Oh, by
Speaker 1: the way, last season, players are looking to find out
Speaker 1: where they're going to live, where their kids are going
Speaker 1: to go to school, same players, coaches, staffers, how many
Speaker 1: arena are gonna come up from San Diego, how many
Speaker 1: are going to be joining the team. There were so
Speaker 1: many of those factors. Cannot discount that. Okay, so early
Speaker 1: in the season, you've got that then, And this is
Speaker 1: a conversation I had with Anthony Lynn. Were offensively, they're
Speaker 1: trying to figure out what they are because they've got
Speaker 1: this dynamic running back with a head coach who loves
Speaker 1: to run the ball. But yeah, they've got a future
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame quarterback and all this receiving talent. How
Speaker 1: do they figure out their identity? You know? And like
Speaker 1: you said, it took a while, but once they got it,
Speaker 1: and once in Elvin Gordon started to do his thing,
Speaker 1: you know, they realized, Okay, we can be multifaceted and
Speaker 1: we can be good with that. So you know, that's
Speaker 1: that's kind of identity change. And now everyone has been
Speaker 1: in the same place for the most part for a season.
Speaker 1: They're not having to go through some of those relocation issues.
Speaker 1: They're not having to figure out a new coaching staff.
Speaker 1: So those are huge positives because I saw it with
Speaker 1: the Rams. You know that that relocation part where we
Speaker 1: just think, okay, once they get between the lines, it
Speaker 1: changes to football. It's exhaustive and a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of ways people don't think about. The Chargers will
Speaker 1: not have to go through that this year and again,
Speaker 1: if they play up to their potential that's on paper,
Speaker 1: you know they they're gonna be one of the best
Speaker 1: teams in the AFC. Steve entering training Camp, I think
Speaker 1: it's safe to say the NFC. You look at this conference,
Speaker 1: it's loaded on paper, right. I could probably make the
Speaker 1: argument for loaded half the conference as Super Bowl contenders, honestly,
Speaker 1: no joke. And the AFC a lot of the usual suspects, right,
Speaker 1: starting with the Patriots, the Steelers, and the Jags. You
Speaker 1: probably though you gotta through the Chiefs in there, back
Speaker 1: to back champs, the Chargers, I think you throw in there.
Speaker 1: What do you make of these two conferences in just
Speaker 1: the balance when you talk about how loaded the NFC is, Well, okay,
Speaker 1: first off, the Jags became a usual suspect. The caveat
Speaker 1: was the Steelers and Patriots, right, absolutely, well, here's here's
Speaker 1: the crazy thing. Why I don't I think we're kind
Speaker 1: of overlooking some things in the AFC. Andrew much the
Speaker 1: healthy look at that AFC stileth Okay, now you've got Okay,
Speaker 1: we talked about the Jags and they're loaded, right, but
Speaker 1: they still have the fourth best quarterback in the division
Speaker 1: because it's Marcus Mariota. Okay, who they've given more talent?
Speaker 1: You got Andrew Walcombe's healthy, got de Shaun Watson. Okay,
Speaker 1: So Houston has got to be in that mix. Be
Speaker 1: if Deshaun Watson is healthy and half their defense doesn't
Speaker 1: go on ir they you know, Okay, so you got
Speaker 1: to include them in the mix. But those three teams
Speaker 1: I named, I mean, the Colts are probably the one
Speaker 1: you could say that they maybe they're not ready for
Speaker 1: prime time for Tennessee is close, I mean, so so
Speaker 1: let's let's let's look at that. Okay, then let's go
Speaker 1: up to the North. It's Pittsburgh and everyone else. But
Speaker 1: something this is one of those times where you look
Speaker 1: at what Baltimore has quietly done with its roster. Okay,
Speaker 1: then you're throwing the whole Lamar Jackson. Will it motivate
Speaker 1: Joe Flacco or will he or will he with her?
Speaker 1: I've never known Joe Flacco necessarily to with her under pressure.
Speaker 1: Baltimore could be a very very strong team the East. Frankly,
Speaker 1: I don't see anybody competing with the Patriots. I think
Speaker 1: the Bills with all of their changes. You know, the
Speaker 1: Jets are still a year away from being a year away.
Speaker 1: You know in the Dolphins good, you know who knows
Speaker 1: where that team is going to be, so we don't know.
Speaker 1: So when you come out to the West, like I said,
Speaker 1: the Chargers look like the team to beat, but every
Speaker 1: one of those teams could win the division. So I
Speaker 1: know everyone's talking about the NS being stacked and stacked
Speaker 1: and stacked, but there's there's no way you consider and
Speaker 1: tell me that you know the Raiders or the Chargers
Speaker 1: of the Broncos aren't gonna be potential playoff contenders or
Speaker 1: any of those teams any AFC South. And again you
Speaker 1: throw Baltimore into the mix with the Steelers, I think
Speaker 1: the scales are a lot more balanced when you look
Speaker 1: at the quarterback and some of the overall talent and
Speaker 1: the teams in the AFC, well, you make great points, Steve,
Speaker 1: especially in the AFC South, because you're right, Jacksonville take
Speaker 1: the quarterback out of the equation. They probably have one
Speaker 1: of the best rosters in the league. But Andrew Luck,
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson, Marcus Barriotta, those guys can even the playing
Speaker 1: field there. And then in Baltimore, I agree with you
Speaker 1: one hundred percent, whether it's Joe Flacco or if somehow
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson gets thrown into the mix. There, we saw
Speaker 1: a guy like RG three catch lightning in a bottle
Speaker 1: in his first year, led the Redskins to their first
Speaker 1: NFC's title in like thirteen fourteen years. So I think
Speaker 1: there's so many unknowns in July, and I think that's
Speaker 1: what makes it so fun. Absolutely. I mean that's you know,
Speaker 1: that's why the people who do what we get to do.
Speaker 1: You know, we could sit back and we can say,
Speaker 1: oh wow, this seems gonna be this than training camp BAM.
Speaker 1: One injury, bam two injuries. All takes you know, yeah,
Speaker 1: a contract, a contract dispute, or a slow start. I mean,
Speaker 1: no one saw. Nobody saw what happened with the Raiders
Speaker 1: happening last season. You know, we all thought, oh wow,
Speaker 1: Derek Cartin I got hurt the year before. They're a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl contender. I heard that from players who played
Speaker 1: again at them. Yeah, and then last year not much
Speaker 1: changed and they were, you know, they were not a
Speaker 1: good football team. So it's just going to be interesting
Speaker 1: because some team we're not thinking of, some teams I
Speaker 1: should say, are going to get hot, and some teams
Speaker 1: that we're loving right now that we're talking about on
Speaker 1: this podcast are going to flounder. So it's just so
Speaker 1: fun right now because you know, you figure most of
Speaker 1: these teams have a shot. Some teams that we think
Speaker 1: are going to be good, like the Vikings, like the
Speaker 1: falcon But I mean the Eagles, you think, you know,
Speaker 1: one of those guys probably isn't gonna show up. You know,
Speaker 1: you just really never know. Steve, last thing for me,
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame Weekend coming up at the beginning of August.
Speaker 1: You're an authority on all things Hall of Fame. Bobby
Speaker 1: Bethard is going to be in shrine this year. What
Speaker 1: did Bethard mean to the game, primarily at his stops
Speaker 1: at the Redskins and Chargers that fans should know about. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean just a very you know, he was in Washington.
Speaker 1: He paired with Joe Gibbs, right, who was just a
Speaker 1: brilliant mind, really knew how to you know, pair personnel
Speaker 1: well with the exos and knows and and Bobby was
Speaker 1: just kind of, we know what, timmy type of team
Speaker 1: we want. We were gonna pound it, we're gonna run it,
Speaker 1: We're gonna play these three tight end things. So I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get players that really fit and you know, and
Speaker 1: he was easy. You know, Bobby is you know, kind
Speaker 1: of the surfer dude. You know, I think he still
Speaker 1: surf whenever you can. UM. And I think that temperament
Speaker 1: really helped set the tone for a tough physical organization
Speaker 1: UM and for players buying into what Joe Gibbs and
Speaker 1: and that staff he had, we're selling. And then he
Speaker 1: comes out to the Chargers and again he knows talent.
Speaker 1: He was just so well versed in things that the
Speaker 1: coaches wanted to do and assembling tough, tough players and
Speaker 1: guys who, you know, we always see the term guys
Speaker 1: who love football, but guys you know who who put
Speaker 1: that pretty much above everything else. He was always good
Speaker 1: at finding, you know, those types of players and taking
Speaker 1: risk on some older players you know, like at Doug Williams,
Speaker 1: you know, at the end of his career, Oh who
Speaker 1: just comes in. And when Jay Schreider, the starter in
Speaker 1: Washington really you know, couldn't figure it out, it was
Speaker 1: getting hurt, comes and helps him win a Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: you know. So yeah, he just had that. He just
Speaker 1: got such you know, an expensive vault of knowledge and
Speaker 1: history of players and how to, how to and then
Speaker 1: also the persona and the personality to work with the coach.
Speaker 1: So you know, I think it's it's great that Bobby
Speaker 1: Bethard is going in and it just goes to show,
Speaker 1: you know, if you can be creative and nuanced, he
Speaker 1: had brilliant you know, there's a place for you on
Speaker 1: you know, out of this class. Now was a rise
Speaker 1: to three hundred and eighteen after there's been more than
Speaker 1: thirty thousand people involved in Pro football over you know,
Speaker 1: this period of time. You think about that, and that's
Speaker 1: why they say that immortal bust that's going to be
Speaker 1: in those halls. It is an amazing and amazing honor
Speaker 1: and everybody you know, and everybody in there has earned
Speaker 1: that right. Well, it's been a treat for Chargers fans
Speaker 1: get LT in last year and you get Bobby better
Speaker 1: than this year. And Steve, you always do an awesome job.
Speaker 1: We can't wait to see you during that weekend in
Speaker 1: Canton and hopefully we'll see a training camp at some
Speaker 1: point down the line. You got plans to be at
Speaker 1: the jackhambut Sports Complex. I absolutely do. I plan on
Speaker 1: being I'm playing on here the Chargers a lot here.
Speaker 1: I think they're going to be good. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think you give me a really good, fun and exciting
Speaker 1: team to watch. So I hope to see you soon. Man, Steve,
Speaker 1: you're the best in the business. Buddy, can't thank you
Speaker 1: enough for your time. Thanks a lot, all the best.
Speaker 1: Take care. So the Los Angeles Chargers schedule is out,
Speaker 1: and boy, it's nice to finally know how we'll be
Speaker 1: spending our Sundays this fall. How many Charger games did
Speaker 1: you make last year, Matt, I mean twenty four preseason
Speaker 1: games in sixteen regular season games last year. Which are
Speaker 1: you circling for this season? This season? I'll circle the
Speaker 1: Niners and Cardinals as they play the NFC West. And
Speaker 1: let's not forget about those rivalry games. Pee. You seriously
Speaker 1: don't want to miss this visit. Fight for la dot
Speaker 1: com or call eight seven seven Chargers to share Mats experience.
Speaker 1: Season tickets on sale now. All right, if you're a
Speaker 1: Lakers fan, or really just a sports fan in general
Speaker 1: in LA, you know my next guest. My good buddy
Speaker 1: Mike Trudel of Lakers dot Com Spectrum Sports Net joins
Speaker 1: me on Charges Weekly. Mike, what's up, brother, Chris? Great
Speaker 1: the document. Been loving your work over with the Chargers.
Speaker 1: If the NFL come back in the second, if it's
Speaker 1: been too long, let's go a couple of weeks. A
Speaker 1: couple of weeks, dude, if I'm not mistaken, you're coming
Speaker 1: to us live from NBA Summer League in Las Vegas,
Speaker 1: and rumors you've been out there a little bit too long. Well, look,
Speaker 1: look I wouldn't say too long. So I love I
Speaker 1: love Summer League. It's just the Lakers happen to have
Speaker 1: added the sacrament and So League this year, the new
Speaker 1: California Classics. So the team came from five days in
Speaker 1: Sacramento to here in Las Vegas. And the Lakers never
Speaker 1: lose in Vegas. Chris, this is I think they've won
Speaker 1: nine straight games. Now, when if they win some roll
Speaker 1: here at least until Sunday. So that's that's how it's
Speaker 1: been going, man. But it's been fun watching the basketball,
Speaker 1: especially after all of the news of a certain that
Speaker 1: some of some of the Charger players may have heard
Speaker 1: of about. He's named Lebron James. Yeah. Well, dude, I'm
Speaker 1: thrilled for you and I'm thrilled to have you on
Speaker 1: because we are really at the epicenter of perhaps the
Speaker 1: biggest sports story of the summer, Lebron James. As you mentioned,
Speaker 1: he's a Laker. Now, describe the last couple of weeks
Speaker 1: and what it's been like for you in the organization,
Speaker 1: starting with the news drops, well, especially once when everything
Speaker 1: became official, right, That's that's when everything changed some because,
Speaker 1: of course, like everybody else, you hear of the rumors
Speaker 1: and the team to Lebron is considering. But when that
Speaker 1: announcement went out, in the way that Rob Lincoln described
Speaker 1: it was, he basically got a text message from Rich Paul.
Speaker 1: And you know how if you if you type can
Speaker 1: Grass into a text message on an iPhone, the balloons
Speaker 1: come up, pop up, the confetti, the confetti in the
Speaker 1: blue tretti in the balloon. So that's what that's what
Speaker 1: popped up on Polinka Is at about five o'clock when
Speaker 1: decision was made, and you know, so that he very
Speaker 1: quickly thereafter, Rich Paul sent the same text to Jeanie
Speaker 1: Us and they called Magic and you know, quite a
Speaker 1: quite a moment. Man. It's been building really for since
Speaker 1: Magic and Plinka took over. They made the Lou Williams trade.
Speaker 1: They took up an extra draft kick the ultimately resulted
Speaker 1: in Josh Hart getting drafted. It was the twenty eighth
Speaker 1: pick from Houston, but they traded that down to Utah,
Speaker 1: got Heart at thirty and Thomas Bright in the second round. Then,
Speaker 1: of course they they wanted to make another series of
Speaker 1: moves where they turned a D'Angelo Russell and tim if
Speaker 1: A Mosgof for Brook Lopez and the number twenty seven pick,
Speaker 1: which they then turned into Calcuzma. So talk about hitting
Speaker 1: on your picks and starting to establish you young talent.
Speaker 1: And then they cleared the further space just this February
Speaker 1: when they made their deal with Cleveland to get another
Speaker 1: first round pick, which is now mobner Um plus. You know,
Speaker 1: Jordan Clarkson went the other way with this salary um
Speaker 1: and in all of Baton lare and at junior so
Speaker 1: in the Expirings that came back with Isaiah thomasin fry.
Speaker 1: So that's that's the nitty gritty Chris of how they
Speaker 1: just got in position to be able to have a
Speaker 1: player like Lebron, a X level player come in. And
Speaker 1: I mean, man, when you get when you get a player,
Speaker 1: the best player in the league, to come to your
Speaker 1: team for free, for nothing, without having to send back
Speaker 1: as of assets, it's just it's such a massive boon
Speaker 1: for the organization and just immediately, you know, thrust you
Speaker 1: into the playoff picture and immediately puts you in positions
Speaker 1: to continue building by adding another player. Um, So it's
Speaker 1: really really big in that sense. And look, I think
Speaker 1: they also had to check the rams in the Chargers
Speaker 1: for bringing in a bunch of a bunch of stars
Speaker 1: into Los Angeles on the football sides. Well, Mike, I'm
Speaker 1: just fascinated with the admiration did other professional athletes have
Speaker 1: for guys like Lebron and guys like Obe. Kobe obviously
Speaker 1: spoke to the Chargers on the first day at training
Speaker 1: camp last year. We talked to so many of our
Speaker 1: guys during the finals, and obviously some are Lakers fans,
Speaker 1: and some of them are like strictly Lebron guys, like
Speaker 1: Julie Lady is a Lebron guy. I think someone as
Speaker 1: Darwin James who his favorite NBA team was, and it
Speaker 1: was Lebron James. So I mean, a couple that with
Speaker 1: him joining the most iconic basketball franchise of the world,
Speaker 1: you have like the perfect storm that I think is
Speaker 1: even unique to the Lakers. Well, that's true, and I
Speaker 1: think that, you know, it's interesting, there's a certain part
Speaker 1: of Lebrons game to me that that appeals maybe even
Speaker 1: a little bit more to an NFL player because Lebron
Speaker 1: could be an NFL player. He could play tight end.
Speaker 1: I legitimately think that Lebron could have made the NFL
Speaker 1: and if you will tell him me otherwise, I mean
Speaker 1: there's he's first of all, he's a better all just
Speaker 1: athlete than any of the tight ends that in the
Speaker 1: in the NFL. You think about the basketball playing type
Speaker 1: tight ends, you could run down this as much than me,
Speaker 1: but of course the most fament starting with Antonio Gates,
Speaker 1: who were like the who who give me three or
Speaker 1: four other Chris who are some of the tight ends
Speaker 1: that basketball and college. Yeah, like like a Tony Gonzalez
Speaker 1: and Jimmy Graham, those types of guys, And but it
Speaker 1: starts with you know, obviously Tony Gonzalez is a Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer, but you know, Antonio Gates in five years
Speaker 1: or or Lager is going to be in Kent as well.
Speaker 1: And I mean that that's a guy that is the
Speaker 1: perfect example. He I think he was in the Elite
Speaker 1: eight when he played basketball in college. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: think Lebron I mean, dude, I mean, if we can
Speaker 1: borrow him for a couple of games, so you know,
Speaker 1: let me know, Well, there's that. So it's that I
Speaker 1: think that's part of the where that admiration comes from.
Speaker 1: And then of course just the fact that he's the
Speaker 1: best player in his sport for all these years now,
Speaker 1: and you know that's gonna get you loved. And also
Speaker 1: what Ron has never taken a single sideway step off
Speaker 1: the court, and I think that's something that to be
Speaker 1: admired as well. And you know it's gonna be fun, man,
Speaker 1: I'm getting I'm looking for you off to tell me
Speaker 1: when the Charter players are going to be at Staple Center,
Speaker 1: because I'm sure that some of the guys on on
Speaker 1: the rare off day will be coming to check out
Speaker 1: Lebron in person. No. I talked to him during the finals,
Speaker 1: and I just throughout the potential of him coming to
Speaker 1: LA and I think it was Jalil said, well, if
Speaker 1: it happens, I'm gonna be at all the games. So
Speaker 1: I know that these guys are going to be a
Speaker 1: staple center. It's probably gonna be a second home for
Speaker 1: them during the fall. But dude, I'm of the mindset
Speaker 1: that believes, you know, a rising tide kind of lifts
Speaker 1: all boats, meaning that the attention that Lebron brings to
Speaker 1: this city really only increases the eyeballs on the overall
Speaker 1: you know, sports landscape in LA, especially when you win.
Speaker 1: And I think you know, the Chargers, the Ramps, both
Speaker 1: of these teams have put together competitive teams on paper.
Speaker 1: Do you view that in the same blends that that
Speaker 1: rising tide lifts all boats? Yeah, for sure, No, I do,
Speaker 1: And I think in some ways, you know, I was,
Speaker 1: I was listening to Mason Arland the other day and
Speaker 1: they were talking about it. In some sense, it's it's
Speaker 1: it lifts all boats, and it also becomes a little
Speaker 1: bit of an arms race, you know, because in LA
Speaker 1: there's there's so many different options and now particularly with
Speaker 1: the new stadium that's going to be built, there's come up.
Speaker 1: You know, there's there's just so many eyeballs and so
Speaker 1: many people want to live in LA so many sports
Speaker 1: years and so are the Dodgers going to add a star,
Speaker 1: you know, to try to stay up with this? Uh?
Speaker 1: The Chargers if they can, you know, find a way
Speaker 1: to win ten eleven games, you know, this year. And
Speaker 1: then you know, either the NFL's the NFL Hill Chris,
Speaker 1: because I'm gonna throw it back to you, like this
Speaker 1: does to be a little bit different because you know,
Speaker 1: they're their name stars. So those are usually the quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: but sometimes but you can have the best player in
Speaker 1: the team, can be a defensive tackle or or a
Speaker 1: left tackle on the offensive side that people just don't
Speaker 1: owe that much about and it can make the team
Speaker 1: get a lot of wins. So it's it's a it's
Speaker 1: interesting the way that the NFL fits in where NBA
Speaker 1: players and of course Lebron being the best example, are
Speaker 1: are they these transcended stars themselves? And then in the NFL,
Speaker 1: you know, you get it's a little bit more about
Speaker 1: the team in the locker room. So that that's what
Speaker 1: I'll be curious, you know, how that differentiates itself. You know, man,
Speaker 1: I was just thinking about this. You started with the
Speaker 1: Lakers and O eight, so you covered Kobe, you covered
Speaker 1: his last two titles. You're in the building daily with
Speaker 1: Irvin Magic Johnson, and here comes the best player in
Speaker 1: the world. You've consistently been surrounded by basketball royalty man
Speaker 1: for the last ten years. What are you most looking
Speaker 1: forward to in covering Lebron? Just obviously I know you've
Speaker 1: covered him when he's come from Cleveland in Miami, but
Speaker 1: just having him in the building daily. Yeah, So I
Speaker 1: think that the stuff, the off the court stuff is
Speaker 1: one thing. And you know, Kope was actually always great
Speaker 1: with the media for you know, some people that might
Speaker 1: not know and you think about Kobe and a what
Speaker 1: a crazy, die hard, competitive guy he is, but he
Speaker 1: always he was very smart also, it's a very smart individual.
Speaker 1: Always took time to explain and it talks to the
Speaker 1: media what was going on with him and the team.
Speaker 1: I was appreciated about that about Kobe and thought that
Speaker 1: was underrated, and Lebron is very much the same way.
Speaker 1: So he's I think he kind of makes her job,
Speaker 1: you know, from a whether you're a reporter or any
Speaker 1: kind of media member. Um, he makes that easy because
Speaker 1: he's willing to talk intelligence about basketball, and so that
Speaker 1: part I'm definitely looking forward to, and I think it'll
Speaker 1: be more of the same as how it was with Kobe.
Speaker 1: But the thing that I'm looking forward to most is
Speaker 1: just watching him play basketball. Not really, I mean, he is,
Speaker 1: he is a there and there are certain that I
Speaker 1: think then you can you can go down them on
Speaker 1: the chargers where it's just seeing this skill level in
Speaker 1: person is just fun. Man. It's just that's why ultimately
Speaker 1: I'm in the business. It's just I enjoy watching that
Speaker 1: and then getting to just sort of try to describe
Speaker 1: it and share it to people. And it's a it's
Speaker 1: one thing to watch le Bron and TV, but when
Speaker 1: you've seen all six eight, you know, two hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty plus tons of muscle moving at that speed, um,
Speaker 1: with that level of skill, it's just it's something to behold,
Speaker 1: and it's it's really a you know, and I want
Speaker 1: to say, it's basically a once in a lifetime type
Speaker 1: thing to watch him. And so that's that's me is
Speaker 1: what's going to be pretty cool. Last thing, brother, I
Speaker 1: want to get you out here on a football note,
Speaker 1: because you're on radio in the city, you're plugged in. Uh.
Speaker 1: It's the second year with two NFL teams in Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: Both teams on paper looked to be pretty good. I
Speaker 1: think there's a lot of expectations for both the Chargers
Speaker 1: and the Rams. What are your thoughts on this Chargers
Speaker 1: team in twenty eighteen with the way they finished last
Speaker 1: season and just all the movement in general in the
Speaker 1: NFL this offseason. Yeah, so, so my take on the
Speaker 1: Chargers was just that they Okay, I have to be
Speaker 1: careful with the way that I say this, but there's
Speaker 1: always the kudo would it should have? And there were
Speaker 1: a lot of wins left on the table last year
Speaker 1: and for whatever reason, Right, sometimes it was it was
Speaker 1: an ill timed interception. Sometimes it was early in the season,
Speaker 1: right it was miss field goals and in something as
Speaker 1: slight as that, and what was that tour games where
Speaker 1: that made an impact? I mean that that right there
Speaker 1: changes the entire season. And so I think that they're
Speaker 1: just do man. I feel like the Charger due to
Speaker 1: get some better luck this year, and I think it
Speaker 1: sounds like that the coach should to have another year
Speaker 1: of really getting his system in getting the players us,
Speaker 1: you know, having some new draft packs, picks, in getting
Speaker 1: and getting posted. But all the time, like there's there's
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff to me that's perculating. They could
Speaker 1: lead the Chargers to being right there in the mix
Speaker 1: in the NFL. That's what you need, right. It's not
Speaker 1: like going to the season when you know, we all
Speaker 1: think the Warriors are going to win and then they win.
Speaker 1: You know, I don't know who's gonna win the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl this year? Yeah, and why not? The Rams are
Speaker 1: the Chargers. I mean, there's there's certainly, to me, enough
Speaker 1: enough talent um if things bounce the right way. And
Speaker 1: that's how that's one thing about the NFL that we
Speaker 1: all love. It's just it's that that unpredictable picture in
Speaker 1: the any given Sunday um, if at least you're a
Speaker 1: talented enough team, and I think that the squad that
Speaker 1: you're coverings got that talent, well, dude, the city's buzzing.
Speaker 1: It's like the perfect storm. With training camp a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks away for the NFL teams, the Lebron news,
Speaker 1: just everything in general, the Dodgers, the Angels. Uh, it's
Speaker 1: a good time to be in LA. Can't thank you
Speaker 1: enough for your time, brother, and uh we'll catch up
Speaker 1: soon when you get back from Vegas. All right, my pleasure, Chris,
Speaker 1: I love the pod, keep it up, Thank you soon,
Speaker 1: and that's gonna do it. My thanks to Mike and
Speaker 1: Steve Weish for joining me, and of course thanks to
Speaker 1: you all for listening. You can find us on Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: and while you're there, please leave a review, help spread
Speaker 1: the word. A reminder, Training camp just a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks away, fourteen open practices at the Jackhammet Sports Complex
Speaker 1: starting on July twenty eighth at ten am. Visit Chargers
Speaker 1: dot com slash Camp for all the details that we
Speaker 1: look forward to seeing you out there soon. Have a
Speaker 1: great weekend and until next time, I'm Chris Hayry