Speaker 1: Yeah, real, real good today. A lot of competing. You're
Speaker 1: trying to we're trying to get right, we're competing against
Speaker 1: each other. Everything looked good today. Offense want a couple periods.
Speaker 1: Defense want a couple of periods. So, like I said,
Speaker 1: we're competing, we're talking John trying to get the best
Speaker 1: out of each other. That was Keenan Allen after a
Speaker 1: very spirited day four of Chargers Camp. Everybody, Chris Harry
Speaker 1: with you on the Chargers Training Camp podcast A highly
Speaker 1: competitive practice this morning out in Coasta, Mesa. Today, I'm
Speaker 1: joined by Ricky Henny of Chargers dot Com to break
Speaker 1: it all down. But first I sat down with ESPNS
Speaker 1: Eric Williams to get his early takeaways from training camp.
Speaker 1: All right, here with ESPN's Eric Williams on the Chargers
Speaker 1: Training Camp podcasts. Chargers fans know to follow him on
Speaker 1: Twitter at Eric Underscore d Underscore Williams. Eric, things are
Speaker 1: pretty spirited here on day four. Yeah, alright, sorry about
Speaker 1: the Twitter hand. I'll try to make it as complicated
Speaker 1: some underscores, right. Uh. Yeah. I think today's practice was
Speaker 1: a little better than yesterday. I thought yesterday's practice was
Speaker 1: kind of blah and I talked to a couple of
Speaker 1: players about that. I think just kind of being in
Speaker 1: pads for the first time and not understanding what the
Speaker 1: tempo is gonna be. Guys are still kind of getting
Speaker 1: a feel for what it's going to be like, particularly
Speaker 1: with a new training staff or new excuse me, new
Speaker 1: coaching staff. Yes, today was different. You could tell that
Speaker 1: the coaches were like, Hey, we need to pick this up.
Speaker 1: And I thought guys like Trey Boston that are a
Speaker 1: little more vocal, we're helping to kind of bring that energy.
Speaker 1: And I thought the energy level was better today than
Speaker 1: it was on Tuesday. There was there was some chirping
Speaker 1: going on with the offensive defense Philip and going back
Speaker 1: with you need that secondary, you do need that, you
Speaker 1: need that competition. I think it was healthy. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: it's healthy, and it gives them juice. You know, football
Speaker 1: is very monotonous. You're doing the same thing day in
Speaker 1: and day out, and so you really need you need
Speaker 1: ten or fifteen guys like that. So if one guy's
Speaker 1: not bringing it, the other guy's bringing it and that
Speaker 1: helps kind of elevate that competition level. As you talked
Speaker 1: about what caught your eyes today, Keenan Allen looks smooth
Speaker 1: as ever. Travis Benjamin's have a heck of a camp
Speaker 1: as well. You stole the name. Travis is the guy
Speaker 1: that really jumps out. I don't think people really got
Speaker 1: to see the Travis Benjamin that you saw with the
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns last year. And part of that is because
Speaker 1: he had a PCL knee injury the second half of
Speaker 1: last season. In some games, he really was just a
Speaker 1: decoy out there because he really couldn't run like he
Speaker 1: normally can run. But now he looks fully healthy and
Speaker 1: you're really seeing that explosiveness, and I think that's gonna
Speaker 1: help this offense because if you're paying attention to Keenan
Speaker 1: and Hunter Henry, which you have to do because those
Speaker 1: guys will kill you if you don't focus your attention
Speaker 1: on them, Travis is gonna have a better matchup. And
Speaker 1: if you have a slow guy against him, I mean
Speaker 1: good luck, because that guy can get out and if
Speaker 1: he gets a couple of steps on you, I mean
Speaker 1: he's gone. And you really see that the last couple
Speaker 1: of days. So I think Travis is certainly one guy
Speaker 1: that stood out. The other guy is is Trevor Williams,
Speaker 1: who plays cornerback, played a little bit the second half
Speaker 1: of last season for them, was an undrafted rookie out
Speaker 1: of Penn State. He's been running with the starters now
Speaker 1: in place of Craig Meger with Jason Verrett still kind
Speaker 1: of nursing the knee injury, and I just really like
Speaker 1: his the way he competes m He's a tough guy,
Speaker 1: tough minded guy, and he gives them some versatility because
Speaker 1: he can play in the perimeter and he can also
Speaker 1: move inside and play slot when they go five defensive backs.
Speaker 1: So those two names are two guys that I've paid
Speaker 1: attention to. I saw Anthony Lean pretty hands on with
Speaker 1: some position groups today, including the running backs. You can
Speaker 1: tell that the running game is gonna be a big
Speaker 1: staple here. Yeah. I mean that's kind of a specialty, right,
Speaker 1: That's kind of what he's known for. And you can
Speaker 1: tell that he's really specific in detail when he goes
Speaker 1: out there and works the running backs, whether it's how
Speaker 1: to line a guy up and a specific type running
Speaker 1: play or pass blocking or footwork. He's always given them
Speaker 1: really specific directions and he'll pull a guy on the side,
Speaker 1: like today, I was over there watching and he was
Speaker 1: working with Derek Watt on pad level in terms of
Speaker 1: pass protection and hand placement, and I think it really
Speaker 1: helps to have somebody that played the position in the league.
Speaker 1: Of course, you know, won a Super Bowl, understands what
Speaker 1: it takes to play at a high level. Obviously it worked.
Speaker 1: You know Buffalo they led the league in rushing last year,
Speaker 1: So I think he knows what's effective. And if you
Speaker 1: partner that with what Ken Wizzen Hunt and Philip Rivers
Speaker 1: can do in the running game, I think it's a
Speaker 1: pretty good marriage. And I think you should have better balance.
Speaker 1: I think they're really going to take advantage even more
Speaker 1: of Melvin Gordon's skill setting what he can do. That's
Speaker 1: the key is balanced, because to your point, if Melvin
Speaker 1: Gordon has a huge year three, that means the passing
Speaker 1: game is home it as well. With all these weapons.
Speaker 1: We know Mike Williams isn't even on the field yet,
Speaker 1: but the fact that Tyrrell Williams looks good and it
Speaker 1: can build off of that twenty sixteen season, that passing
Speaker 1: game should be home in as well. Oh yeah, and
Speaker 1: particularly as you deal with a quarterback that's getting into
Speaker 1: their thirties. Look what Denver was able to do with
Speaker 1: Peyton Manning towards the end of his career. You know,
Speaker 1: Peyton obviously wasn't the same guy he was with the Colds,
Speaker 1: but he still has the same mind, so he still
Speaker 1: can get them into good plays in terms of running
Speaker 1: plays based on what he sees pre snap, and he
Speaker 1: can he'll keep defenses honest because he knows where to
Speaker 1: go with the football. So he still throws with great anticipation.
Speaker 1: So if you have a guy that's workhorse running back,
Speaker 1: you know, for for Denver, it was it was CJ.
Speaker 1: For the Chargers, obviously it's Melvin that has to be
Speaker 1: the focal point of the defense. Then Rivers can kind
Speaker 1: of play off of that, and and then you're gonna
Speaker 1: get chunks and pass play action passing game. Um So,
Speaker 1: I think if Melvin becomes the focal point and Rivers
Speaker 1: is kind of the guy that plays off of it,
Speaker 1: um I think that's a pretty potent offense for the Charger.
Speaker 1: I'm also looking at the depth behind Melvin. It looks
Speaker 1: like Brandon Oliver is having a good camp to start. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Bo's a real deal. Yeah, you know, he was an
Speaker 1: undrafted rookie a couple of years, just can't stay on
Speaker 1: the field. He had the achilles last year. The year
Speaker 1: before that he has a foot injury, so he hadn't
Speaker 1: been able to finish out. But when he's been on
Speaker 1: the field, he's effective. He led this team in Russian
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago as a rookie when they
Speaker 1: had injuries. Woodhead went down, and think Ryan Matthews was
Speaker 1: injured that year, so he's able to tote the rock
Speaker 1: and even at size at five eight and maybe two
Speaker 1: hundred and ten pounds, he's still a guy that can
Speaker 1: run tough in between the tackles. And I think if
Speaker 1: you watch pass bro he's really good as a pass protector,
Speaker 1: which is why he can be out there on third down,
Speaker 1: red zone. So hopefully he can stay healthy, and I
Speaker 1: think he's a nice compliment for what Melvin does. You
Speaker 1: obviously have great familiarity with Gus Bradley and your time
Speaker 1: covering the Seahawks. It's only one week end, but I've
Speaker 1: asked a lot of people because it seems like his
Speaker 1: imprint is being made on this defense. I think with Gus,
Speaker 1: you know you're gonna get a couple of things. You
Speaker 1: know you're gonna get passion, and you know, you're gonna
Speaker 1: get a guy that can motivate players on a daily basis,
Speaker 1: And I think that's important. A lot of people think
Speaker 1: motivation as you give a raw ross beach and get
Speaker 1: the guys pumped up before a game, But in the NFL,
Speaker 1: really it's motivating players on a daily basis to play
Speaker 1: at a high level. And then that's going to translate
Speaker 1: on game days because when you get to the games,
Speaker 1: it's much easier. So not only that motivation, but then
Speaker 1: holding guys accountable. UM. I talked to Joey Bosa a
Speaker 1: little bit after practice a couple of days ago about
Speaker 1: you know, kind of the difference between you know, last
Speaker 1: year's resume and this year's reuseume. And it's no disrespect
Speaker 1: for John Begano, who's a great XS and an OS
Speaker 1: guy and a good defensive coordinator in his own right,
Speaker 1: but Gus is different because of the accountability piece. He's
Speaker 1: gonna show those lows on film and so you're gonna
Speaker 1: see it and he's gonna call you out and you
Speaker 1: don't care who you are. You don't care if you're
Speaker 1: Joey Bosa or or Dwight Lowry or Brandon mebang, He's
Speaker 1: gonna let you know. So if players know that, understand
Speaker 1: everybody's being treated the same, then you have to give
Speaker 1: that effort and from from the top guy to the
Speaker 1: guy at the end of the roster. Um. So you're
Speaker 1: gonna get that with gus Um, He's he's he's unique.
Speaker 1: I haven't been around too many guys like gus Um
Speaker 1: and I think that was a great get that Anthony
Speaker 1: was able to bring him here. And you know, obviously
Speaker 1: what didn't work out with the Jags, he now comes
Speaker 1: here can be DC and maybe he gets another bite
Speaker 1: at the apple if they're able to have some success.
Speaker 1: We talked so much about Bosa and Ingram and obviously
Speaker 1: these corners in Hayward and Varette, who are a few
Speaker 1: players on this defense that you think can really thrive
Speaker 1: in Gus's system. I think one player that we haven't
Speaker 1: talked about a lot is Jerry Tauschi. In that scheme,
Speaker 1: the LEO defensive end is kind of a pass rushing specialist,
Speaker 1: and Gus always likes really explosive athletes at that position. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Melvin Ingram is an explosive athlete. That's why they signed
Speaker 1: him to the money that they signed him and brought
Speaker 1: him back, and it was important to have Ingram with Bosa.
Speaker 1: But a guy like Jerry can really thrive as a
Speaker 1: guy that's just getting up field and getting after the quarterback.
Speaker 1: And I think what Gus does well is he doesn't
Speaker 1: worry about what you can't do. He's figuring out what
Speaker 1: you can do and puts those guys in places that
Speaker 1: they can be successful based on their talent and skill set.
Speaker 1: So I think Jerry is certainly a guy that can
Speaker 1: do that. I think Corey Tumor because he's familiar with
Speaker 1: the Seahats scheme because he originally was drafted by the Seahawks.
Speaker 1: Gus knows him well as another guy because of his
Speaker 1: speed and his athleticism. You might see him in passing
Speaker 1: situations out in the field when they go five defensive backs,
Speaker 1: as a linebacker that can coveren space and also can
Speaker 1: rush the passer. So those are kind of two guys
Speaker 1: that I point to. Another guy is the rookie undrafted
Speaker 1: guy they got out of by U I think is
Speaker 1: Michael Davis long six two, two hundred pounds. I think
Speaker 1: he run a four to four forty out his pro
Speaker 1: day kind of a Richard Sherman cloone. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: that's high praise. We you know, obviously we need to
Speaker 1: see it on the field. Legita Boom Esque, Yes, Yes, definitely.
Speaker 1: When you look at the length, his ability to press
Speaker 1: and his ability to run, which is important as a
Speaker 1: press guy, you he'd be able to have that catch
Speaker 1: up speed to knock those passes down. And that's kind
Speaker 1: of one of the key things with that Seattle cover
Speaker 1: three is they like those long, lanky guys that can
Speaker 1: kind of shorten those windows and knock balls down. And
Speaker 1: then obviously you needed a racer on the back end.
Speaker 1: You know, they needed Earl Thomas, you know, Dwight Lowry
Speaker 1: and Trey Boston for now would be filling that that
Speaker 1: role for him. A lot of guys that we've mentioned
Speaker 1: here just in the less ten minutes, the injury bug
Speaker 1: has gotten to them. When we talk about Benjamin and
Speaker 1: Allen and Brandon Oliver. I mean the list goes on
Speaker 1: and on, and this team was really snake bitten by
Speaker 1: injuries in twenty sixteen. If you can largely be healthy,
Speaker 1: this team has a real shot in the FC West. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think this is the fifth year now for general
Speaker 1: manager Tom Tolesco. I think this is the most talented
Speaker 1: roster he's had since he's been with the Chargers and
Speaker 1: kind of building it, you know, from the time he's
Speaker 1: been here. But you're right, they have to stay healthy.
Speaker 1: I think they finished with twenty six players on injured
Speaker 1: reserve last year. That was the second most in the NFL.
Speaker 1: A lot of those guys were impact players. You mentioned
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen. Jason Vrett was another guy, a Pro Bowl
Speaker 1: caliber player that wasn't able to finish out the season.
Speaker 1: Brandon Oliver, Danny Woodhead who signed in free agency with
Speaker 1: the Ravens, A bunch of guys that you were counting
Speaker 1: on to be impact players on game day that were
Speaker 1: not available. If you can have those guys healthy and
Speaker 1: for the duration of the season, I think this team
Speaker 1: can compete for a playoff spot. I think I picked
Speaker 1: him to go nine and seven this year because I
Speaker 1: think that's where they're at terms of the talent level.
Speaker 1: I have a friend tis quarterback obviously in Philip Rivers.
Speaker 1: But you got to keep the guys on the field.
Speaker 1: You know, Mike Williams already, we're not going to see
Speaker 1: him for training camp because of the back issue. You
Speaker 1: have four s lamp go down today with a knee
Speaker 1: injury and you hope that it's not serious. But you
Speaker 1: know that's your first two picks in the draft right there.
Speaker 1: So you got to figure out a way to um
Speaker 1: to practice at a high intensity level but still come
Speaker 1: through healthy. Eric Williams get thinking of your time today.
Speaker 1: You can follow him on Twitter at Eric Underscore d
Speaker 1: Underscore Williams. Nice job, check it out, Thanks so much. Sure, thanks,
Speaker 1: all right, Day four is in the books. Please be
Speaker 1: joined by Ricky Henny of Chargers dot Com. Ricky, what's up, buddy?
Speaker 1: How are you doing? Matt him? Believe it's day four? Righty?
Speaker 1: It's gone so fast, it's unbelievable. It's I think at
Speaker 1: this point of camp, days almost kind of run together. Right,
Speaker 1: We're in second day. Yeah, And funny because coach Lim
Speaker 1: just like, all right, this is the hump day. You
Speaker 1: guys reached into the players. This is what what we told
Speaker 1: them today. You reached the hump day. From here on out,
Speaker 1: this is the grind and this is when you build
Speaker 1: that camaraderie, that toughness, and that team. Yeah, yesterday was
Speaker 1: the first day in pads and I think Gus Bradley
Speaker 1: Mitch he wanted the intensity raised a little saw that
Speaker 1: today and you saw it in day four, right. My
Speaker 1: favorite part was Philip ri versus Philip Rivers today. Let's
Speaker 1: just say that he was he was, you know, getting
Speaker 1: chirpy out there, and he was poking towards Kesey Hayward
Speaker 1: quite a little bit. Say hey, speed kills out there, Casey,
Speaker 1: speed kills. He saw that. You know, we wore you
Speaker 1: guys out in one on ones. But it's a good
Speaker 1: natured banter because you know, the defense had their moments.
Speaker 1: Trevon rud had two picks today. The good thing. Look,
Speaker 1: this is what you want to see in camp. If
Speaker 1: the defense is good one day, you want to see
Speaker 1: the offense come back and do better than next day.
Speaker 1: And that's what it's been like. And yesterday these cornerbacks
Speaker 1: had a very strong day. Today it's safe to say
Speaker 1: the White House in the in the passing game one
Speaker 1: the day Keenan Allen has been in mid season four
Speaker 1: it seems like all training camp. And then another guy
Speaker 1: whose turn heads is Travis Benjamin wrote about him on
Speaker 1: Chargers dot Com yesterday and today more of the same
Speaker 1: a seventy yard bomb from Philip. He was catching everything
Speaker 1: in sight. And what I love with Travis is that, look,
Speaker 1: we know those seventy yard bombs are in his arsenal.
Speaker 1: He led along with Tyrell Williams the NFL for most
Speaker 1: catches in the league of forty yards plus. He had
Speaker 1: six of them, and he was hurt last year. He
Speaker 1: was banged up with the game with Daggie injuries. So
Speaker 1: when you see him out there and not just doing
Speaker 1: the deep bombs, he caught some intermediate passes and then boom,
Speaker 1: he was gone. And that's when Philip you had that
Speaker 1: speed kills and he's been able to stop on a dime. Travis,
Speaker 1: to me, has been one of the clear cut standouts
Speaker 1: of Chargers camp. Oh, there's absolutely no doubt. And it
Speaker 1: starts with the running game. We saw Anthony Lynn pay
Speaker 1: a lot of attention to the running backs today, get
Speaker 1: a lot of hands on and struck bread and butter.
Speaker 1: It's his bread and butter, and I think if they
Speaker 1: get this running game going, listen from year one to
Speaker 1: year two in Melvin Gordon's career in the NFL, you
Speaker 1: saw a lot of a lot more men in the
Speaker 1: box last year, trying to stop Melvin with a healthy
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen, Tyroll Williams, Travis Benjamin at one hundred percent
Speaker 1: this offense, Man Sky's the limit. It absolutely is. It
Speaker 1: was kind of route about the esterday and I was
Speaker 1: talking about the defense. Is for years that everyone's been
Speaker 1: talking about the Chargers offense, and that's to be expected
Speaker 1: with Philip for Russ and Antonio Gates and then you
Speaker 1: add in Tyroll Williams at a thousand yards you know
Speaker 1: coming in last year is an unknown. But I want
Speaker 1: to talk about the defense right now because there are
Speaker 1: some stars and they are starting to be known just
Speaker 1: as much as the offense. Joey Bosa is a legit
Speaker 1: superstar in this league. I think it was Daniel Jeremiah
Speaker 1: yesterday you said he believes he could really lead this
Speaker 1: league in sacks. Melvin Ingram I mean, and then obviously
Speaker 1: in the back end with Casey Hayward and Jason Varette.
Speaker 1: You need a well balanced team and I think this
Speaker 1: year's twenty seventeen Chargers, and like I mentioned earlier, you're
Speaker 1: seeing one day one unit doing better than you know,
Speaker 1: winning that day, and then the next date it's the
Speaker 1: other unit. It's not just the offense winning over and
Speaker 1: over and over again. So that's the balance. You need
Speaker 1: to be good on all three phases. Special teams included.
Speaker 1: It starts with the corners with Verette and Hayward. Then
Speaker 1: you get the guys up front with Ingram and Bosa.
Speaker 1: But I think a lot of people are are kind
Speaker 1: of sleeping on the linebackers and the depth, some of
Speaker 1: the depth on this football team. Maybe we talked about
Speaker 1: Denzel Perryman. This guy's a thumper. He is he is.
Speaker 1: I mean when the Pats come on, you can see
Speaker 1: him trying to hold back yesterday today as much as
Speaker 1: he could. But today I saw him go stride for
Speaker 1: stride with Keenan down the field. I don't know if
Speaker 1: you solve that, but he was keeping up with the
Speaker 1: speedy keys. Trust me. Knowing Denzel, he's like he didn't
Speaker 1: know about that all day until tomorrow. But no, you're right, Denzel.
Speaker 1: Look it's kind of crazy because two years ago he
Speaker 1: was this young pup and now he's the leader of
Speaker 1: this unit. But there's I mean, this linebacking group. To me,
Speaker 1: this is where I'm most curious about because there's a
Speaker 1: lot of unknown there. There's only three now, and I
Speaker 1: mean they used to be a three four now we're
Speaker 1: a four three. Although that part of that's just semantics, sure,
Speaker 1: But three guys who I've really loved watching and I'm
Speaker 1: gonna have a story on them soon are these undrafted
Speaker 1: free agents because they are really showing out. James Annualu,
Speaker 1: Mike Moore and Nigel Harris. They're fast. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know how they went undrafted. I'm excited for the
Speaker 1: fans to watch these three guys in the preseason games
Speaker 1: because every year it happens, and the Chargers have the
Speaker 1: best track record of undrafted free agency. Look, I mean
Speaker 1: look at Totio Gates right and guys like Malcolm Floyd
Speaker 1: in the past, Christelman, Jalila Die. I think these linebackers
Speaker 1: right now, they're the guys these fans are gonna love watching. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Tom Teleisko has done a great job of not only drafting,
Speaker 1: but getting guys after the draft is undrafted free agents, Ricky,
Speaker 1: get you out of here on this. What do you
Speaker 1: expect to see practice off tomorrow? What do you expect
Speaker 1: to see Friday? Before they get to StubHub Center this
Speaker 1: weekend gonna be exciting, hope a little fresher. I mean, look,
Speaker 1: they were out there doing doing well, but obviously a
Speaker 1: day off leads to some fresh legs. Hope that adds
Speaker 1: to enthusiasm level up a notch higher, and the fans
Speaker 1: are gonna be excited to see what. You know. I
Speaker 1: know a lot of fans talking to them out here today.
Speaker 1: They've been loving Chargers camp all this stuff they have
Speaker 1: out here, and a lot of them said they're coming
Speaker 1: back Friday, and then of course I'm looking forward to
Speaker 1: Saturday already. I'll be honest. I mean, you're in StubHub
Speaker 1: for the first time against the Rams. I mean, come on,
Speaker 1: this is football, man. What's better than that? You've been
Speaker 1: around this team all off season in mini camps. How
Speaker 1: excited are these guys to get to Stubhube Center. Actually,
Speaker 1: that feel that atmosphere because it's gonna be something unlike
Speaker 1: anything we've seen in the NFL. It's true. Every single
Speaker 1: player that's been there, and I'm mean every single one
Speaker 1: without exception, was like, all right, I want a game
Speaker 1: day to come right now, because though every seat is
Speaker 1: really amazing, the crowd's gonna be right on top of
Speaker 1: you in a way that the NFL has never seen.
Speaker 1: And that's look, they go on the road, they see that,
Speaker 1: but they know the impact that a home crowd advantage
Speaker 1: can have and they really feel like stup Up can
Speaker 1: provide that. Now, like you're saying, this is gonna be
Speaker 1: the first test of Chargers football in stump Up Center.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be a lot of fun. He's Ricky Henry
Speaker 1: of Chargers dot Com. Follow his work. He does outstanding work,
Speaker 1: and Ricky, we will see you on Friday. Mar Man
Speaker 1: look forward to outstanding here by you too, Chris. Hey,
Speaker 1: thank you Vin. All Right, that's it for today's Chargers
Speaker 1: Training Camp podcast. A big thanks to Eric Williams and
Speaker 1: Ricky Henny for joining me. The team is all Thursday.
Speaker 1: They'll be back at it Friday at the Jackhammet Sports Complex.
Speaker 1: Visit Chargers dot com for all the details. You also
Speaker 1: want to hit the site for exclusive training camp content
Speaker 1: and coverage of Ladanian Tomlinson's induction into the Pro Football
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame. Until next time, we'll see you soon.
Speaker 1: M