Speaker 1: Hey, what is up everybody?
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Giftiest Charge podcast, presented by the Charterers
Speaker 2: Podcast Network. My name is Stephen and I am your
Speaker 2: host as always and joining me this afterduce my guy Tyler. Tyler,
Speaker 2: what's up man? How you doing today?
Speaker 3: I'm doing very well. I wave helow with my right hand,
Speaker 3: and if the NFL was wondering, I can also.
Speaker 1: Do it with my left hand. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Usually we get those what if he were left handed?
Speaker 2: Tweets spread out. The NFL decided to do it all
Speaker 2: in one day, which was really funny. We got to
Speaker 2: see what Justin Herbert looked like if he were left handed.
Speaker 1: You know, thankfully he is right handed.
Speaker 2: You know, it makes it look more esthetically pleasing in
Speaker 2: my opinion, but you know, it is what it is.
Speaker 1: So I got a fun show plan for you guys. Today.
Speaker 2: We are going to be talking about the players with
Speaker 2: the most potential to be training camp and preseason in
Speaker 2: stars or breakouts. So this is not necessary like season breakout,
Speaker 2: like we'll do that at some point, but this is
Speaker 2: specifically talking about which players have the best chance of
Speaker 2: lighting it up during the rest of the season schedule
Speaker 2: or off season schedule. I should say in terms of
Speaker 2: training camp for preseason, and then we got some great
Speaker 2: questions via Twitter that will go over as many as
Speaker 2: we possibly can today, so it should be a fun
Speaker 2: off season show. Again, apologize for the poor audio quality
Speaker 2: if it gets to that point for our audio audience.
Speaker 1: You know, this will be my.
Speaker 2: Last episode recording from my vacation, so next week I'll
Speaker 2: be back in my usual studio space. So before we
Speaker 2: get started, as always, appreciate any subscribes comments on this
Speaker 2: channel as well as our own on the Guiltiest Charge podcast.
Speaker 2: And Tyler and I, your first and foremost, are fans
Speaker 2: just like you guys. We are independent content creators just
Speaker 2: happen to be creating this content via the Chargers feed.
Speaker 2: So the expinions, the opinions expressed on this show are
Speaker 2: our own and are not shared by the Chargers organization.
Speaker 2: All right, Tyler, let's dive in here. We've decided to
Speaker 2: do one offensive training camp preseason star and one defensive.
Speaker 1: Let's start with the offense. Who's your choice here? Yeah?
Speaker 3: So, to me, a breakout training camp star is a
Speaker 3: player who you might not have the highest expectations due
Speaker 3: to draft stock or lack thereof maybe they're not a
Speaker 3: roster priority, but they have the capacity to exceed certain
Speaker 3: expectations and pickup buzz and then the fans go, hey,
Speaker 3: like that guy should make the roster, And maybe they don't,
Speaker 3: or maybe they don't contribute at all, but I think
Speaker 3: they can do more in the preseason in the offseason
Speaker 3: than maybe that was expected of them. So to me,
Speaker 3: it's a newer guy that I just watched today. That's
Speaker 3: Mike Ezekey, the rookie undrafted free agent Titan out of UCLA.
Speaker 3: I've tried to go through all the eighteen undrafted free agents.
Speaker 3: It's a lot. It's taking a long time to get
Speaker 3: through all of them. But he really popped me when
Speaker 3: I started to watch him today versus usc and versus Utah.
Speaker 3: Another player who had a really great game against Utah.
Speaker 3: I'm sure, I'm sure you watched that one, Steven. But
Speaker 3: he was actually a receiver for Ucla for two years
Speaker 3: and then he switched two years ago to tight end
Speaker 3: and he's really transformed his body over the last two years.
Speaker 3: Apparently he's picked up thirty pounds and now he's six five,
Speaker 3: two fifty. But he was asked to do a lot
Speaker 3: for UCLA for a guy that is just now switching
Speaker 3: to tight end. Granted, receiver to tight end isn't the
Speaker 3: craziest conversion, but he was asked to do a lot
Speaker 3: for UCLA, and I saw targets on dig routes, on crossers,
Speaker 3: on out routes, seam balls on leak delays, slide to
Speaker 3: the flat wheel routes, something from the backfield. I saw
Speaker 3: a comeback route like you name it in just the
Speaker 3: two games that I watched, so one hundred and six
Speaker 3: yards and three touchdowns in those two games. And then
Speaker 3: as a blocker, I think he had so many different roles, again,
Speaker 3: impressive for a guy who's just learning how to play
Speaker 3: tight end. So he's the point man out wide, he
Speaker 3: was in line, the h back, full back, et cetera.
Speaker 3: And I just think that the charters are looking for
Speaker 3: Maybe they don't keep four tight ends, but I feel
Speaker 3: like they've always almost got there, and for some reason,
Speaker 3: it's always been like a PAC twelve tight end. A
Speaker 3: guy has really stood out and he's almost become that
Speaker 3: fourth tight end for them. They really haven't found that
Speaker 3: guy yet, but I think his potential. Izeki's potential is
Speaker 3: really really high and I think that Kellen Moore, especially
Speaker 3: with you know, some of these later draft picks that
Speaker 3: he's had, has really done a good job of developing
Speaker 3: tight ends. And I think Kevin Koger is a very
Speaker 3: good tight ends coach. So I think when we get
Speaker 3: to training camp, we're going to see this tight end.
Speaker 3: I think fans are going to wonder, you know, who's
Speaker 3: this really big tight end, who's this other guy? And
Speaker 3: I think he's really going to stand out the moment
Speaker 3: we hit training camp.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a really interesting call here.
Speaker 2: You know, I thought about choosing one of the other
Speaker 2: tight ends, Stone Smart, but he was on the team
Speaker 2: last year.
Speaker 1: You know, we saw him make some kind of impact.
Speaker 2: So I figured tight end might be a group where
Speaker 2: we might see somebody emerge in the in the fall,
Speaker 2: you know. And I think Zeke would be a good
Speaker 2: candidate leader because there's there's just some uncertainty behind Donald Parham.
Speaker 2: I mean, we all want trade McKitty to work out,
Speaker 2: as the team invested at third round pick in him,
Speaker 2: but hasn't really happened thus far. I mentioned Stone Smart,
Speaker 2: you know, just some uncertainty there. You know, he hasn't
Speaker 2: been on the field enough he's been injured already in
Speaker 2: his career, so Ezeki does have a good chance here
Speaker 2: to come in and make an impact.
Speaker 1: And I think.
Speaker 2: That that checks the box of like opportunity as well,
Speaker 2: because that was that was kind of the hard thing
Speaker 2: for me to nail down when we're talking about like
Speaker 2: a training camp preseason star, it's all about opportunity.
Speaker 1: So like last year, you.
Speaker 2: And I liked, I think we both liked the running
Speaker 2: back from Buffalo who played in the XFL this year.
Speaker 2: I forget his name right now, but he we barely
Speaker 2: saw him.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: He did not get very many opportunities to carry the football,
Speaker 2: And so there's a bit of that difficulty of finding like, Okay,
Speaker 2: who's going to get enough.
Speaker 1: Opportunities to really shine?
Speaker 2: And I think we could have an offensive lineman in
Speaker 2: this category, but someone to generate buzz I think is
Speaker 2: tough as an offensive lineman. So tight end receiver I
Speaker 2: feel like is probably that sweet spot. And a Zekey
Speaker 2: I think fits that mold of like somebody who can
Speaker 2: have an opportunity for a higher role than expected just
Speaker 2: because there's not a ton set in stone in front
Speaker 2: of him.
Speaker 3: Who would the offensive lineman be that you would go
Speaker 3: with just real quick.
Speaker 2: Offensive lineman that I would go with, I'm not too sure, man.
Speaker 2: Johari Branch is really interesting to me, the center prospect
Speaker 2: that we've seen working with the second team offensive times
Speaker 2: throughout the springtime because Coryland's kind of gets those rest days,
Speaker 2: so we haven't really seen brendan heimis necessarily carve out
Speaker 2: a significant role. Maybe Branch can kind of challenge him
Speaker 2: for that last offensive line spot.
Speaker 1: So he's somebody that I think has.
Speaker 2: A quality uh some quality tape working with him, and
Speaker 2: then also has an intriguing athletic background too, So he's
Speaker 2: he probably would be my my one I know, potentially
Speaker 2: third string center is not necessarily a preseason breakout star
Speaker 2: though for most people.
Speaker 3: Hey, you know, I picked tight end five or four
Speaker 3: whatever he is. So here we are, all right, who's
Speaker 3: your offensive guy?
Speaker 1: My my actual offensive guy?
Speaker 2: You know, Poke Williams is kind of the low hanging
Speaker 2: through here because he's he's already started to gain some
Speaker 2: buzz and one of us could certainly take him. But
Speaker 2: you know, I go back to I know fans don't
Speaker 2: fans are kind of you know, on either side of
Speaker 2: the fence. Revisiting potentially Tyron Johnson stories, right, but that
Speaker 2: mold of like speedy receiver who's going to get behind
Speaker 2: the defense and get some deep shots from Justin Herbert
Speaker 2: we've seen kind of carry some weight in in the
Speaker 2: fall and and to me, that guy could be John
Speaker 2: high Tower, and high Tower is a Boise State guy.
Speaker 2: We know how Kellen Moore was a Boise State guy
Speaker 2: one telling one time in his career obviously, So John
Speaker 2: high Tower just fits that mold, right. You know, there's
Speaker 2: there's an opportunity in this offense without Jalen Guiden, and
Speaker 2: Jalen Guyton could return for a training camp, we don't know,
Speaker 2: but John high Tower is essentially a one for one
Speaker 2: replacement from an athletic profile standpoint, where he can push teams,
Speaker 2: push the defense vertically and really get in some of
Speaker 2: that work. So Poke Williams we've seen kind of take
Speaker 2: on some of that boundary jump ball roll. John high
Speaker 2: Tower is the one for me that can kind of
Speaker 2: get over the top of defenses, get some you know,
Speaker 2: sixty yard touchdowns in there, make the crowd go oohs
Speaker 2: and ohs and all that stuff in the stands and
Speaker 2: really start making fans and teams and media members wonder if, hey,
Speaker 2: maybe John high Tower might be the Jalen guitt In replacement,
Speaker 2: so kind of out of the box a little bit,
Speaker 2: but high Towers might pick here for offense.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I do think that. First of all, it is
Speaker 3: Pokey Wilson. For the people that are jumping into the
Speaker 3: comment section at Williams, it's okay, very very close. Almost
Speaker 3: got there, Pokey Wilson. I'm sorry, no, no problem. I
Speaker 3: do think that if something happens with Jalen Guidan where
Speaker 3: he's not ready, I do think the smarter call would
Speaker 3: be go with another player like John Hightower who is faster,
Speaker 3: who is someone who can push and you can push
Speaker 3: the ball down the field with, not that you can't
Speaker 3: with Pokey Wilson, but it's a different kind of vertical thing, right,
Speaker 3: you have speeds to a vertical threat versus like Malcolm
Speaker 3: Floyd vertical threat. I don't know how fast muck co
Speaker 3: Employed was. Maybe he was fast, I don't know, but
Speaker 3: he's typically more the bigger body down the field, sort
Speaker 3: of got high Tower not small himself. Either way, it's
Speaker 3: definitely a guy who can push the ball down with
Speaker 3: and I do think it might mean something when it
Speaker 3: comes to roster cut decisions and whatnot, that he has
Speaker 3: played in the NFL before. He does have hundreds of snaps.
Speaker 3: I think he has one hundred something receiving yards in
Speaker 3: the NFL, which isn't a lot, but it's a lot
Speaker 3: more than some of these undrafted free agency guys who
Speaker 3: have carved like no role for themselves thus far. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I think that especially if Jalen Guiden is, you know,
Speaker 3: not working so well because he's injured for what you know,
Speaker 3: he's still injured, he's coming off his injury. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: think high Tower could be someone that would really stand
Speaker 3: out in camp. And I think we even looked at
Speaker 3: with Sean. You know, there was you know, Keenan Allen
Speaker 3: was always that guy on the inside running you know,
Speaker 3: the out or running a corner. But there was always
Speaker 3: a guy to the boundary that was running that go ball,
Speaker 3: the outside release and that go ball. And Okay, that's
Speaker 3: probably going to be Mike Williams or Quintin Johnson. But
Speaker 3: when you start working with the second team unit, who's
Speaker 3: that guy going to be? And in twenty twenty one
Speaker 3: with Joe Lombardi, it was pretty regularly Jalen Giden, And
Speaker 3: so if Guiden is hurt, the next guy who would
Speaker 3: step into that role I would think is John high Tower.
Speaker 3: Maybe Josh Palmer, but if you want that speedier guy,
Speaker 3: and maybe Palmer is the guy who plays in the
Speaker 3: slot in the second team. You know, high Towers that
Speaker 3: guy who will take the top off the defense, who
Speaker 3: can run that outside release. So yeah, that's a good
Speaker 3: call there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm excited about him.
Speaker 2: We didn't really see him have that you know, full
Speaker 2: off season with the charger of it. He was a
Speaker 2: mid season pickup, so he's somebody I'm curious to see
Speaker 2: if he can carve out a role this year. I
Speaker 2: will switch to defenses, to the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 2: I think for me, you know, I would be inclined
Speaker 2: to at least mention Dyone Henley in this piece. I
Speaker 2: don't think he's not gonna be my choice because he
Speaker 2: was a draft pick, right, but we've already seen him make,
Speaker 2: you know, some really strong impacts and practices in the spring,
Speaker 2: having a couple interceptions. So he is somebody that I
Speaker 2: think will be a training camp star, but not in
Speaker 2: the same kind of vein that we're talking about. My
Speaker 2: choice is going to be Andrew Farmer, the edge rusher
Speaker 2: from Maine College, one of the HBCU colleges, which I
Speaker 2: think is a lot of fun Chargers obviously scouted him
Speaker 2: when they went down to the HBCU combine fits the
Speaker 2: mold of what Brandon Stey traditionally.
Speaker 1: Likes at edge rusher in terms of physical profile.
Speaker 2: This is somebody who had you know, eleven and a
Speaker 2: half sacks in twenty twenty one, seven and a half
Speaker 2: acts this past season at Lane College. So there's there's
Speaker 2: legit sack production there, legit pressure production. And I think
Speaker 2: when you at least kind of watch the clips that
Speaker 2: we have obviously, you know, HPCU film is tough to
Speaker 2: come by, but we've seen some clips here and there,
Speaker 2: and there's at least a clear plan for him to
Speaker 2: rush the passer. And I think that's something that was
Speaker 2: kind of lacking with the edge rusher group from last year,
Speaker 2: was just kind of the ability to you know, have
Speaker 2: a plan of attack and make an impact, you know,
Speaker 2: in the in this kind of setting. So you know,
Speaker 2: obviously training camp is a bit tough to really gauge
Speaker 2: where pass rushers are at but in terms of the preseason,
Speaker 2: Andrew Farmer is going to get a ton of reps.
Speaker 2: You know, obviously to Lee and Chris Rump will get
Speaker 2: reps two, but Andrew Farmer's gonna have a chance to
Speaker 2: you know, finish the second half of pretty much every
Speaker 2: preseason game. And so this is more preseason than training camp.
Speaker 2: But physical profile I think is very intriguing for Andrew Farmer.
Speaker 2: You know, there's that group of maybe practice squad edge
Speaker 2: rushers with him and Tys Shelby and Carlo Kemp and
Speaker 2: I think I would give that edge towards Andrew Farmer
Speaker 2: right now just based off of like his physical profile,
Speaker 2: and I think he.
Speaker 1: Will have some really solid moments in training camp.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm really that's a great pick. By the way,
Speaker 3: I'm really curious to see what he does end up
Speaker 3: doing because they had a really solid trio of edge
Speaker 3: rushers they could have picked from last year to maybe
Speaker 3: be that fifth edge rusher depending on how you viewed
Speaker 3: you know, Kyle Vanoy at the time as an edge
Speaker 3: versus linebacker, and they went with nobody. You know, they
Speaker 3: kind of just went with the guys that they had.
Speaker 3: Chris Rohm, Puser III, Eventually they picked up some guys
Speaker 3: later on, but you know, all the guys that they
Speaker 3: rotated with, they didn't work with, you know, until I
Speaker 3: think they needed to later in the season, so someone
Speaker 3: like Andrew Farmer could come in and really be a
Speaker 3: part of that. And you talk about him as a
Speaker 3: pass rusher, I personally kind of liked him more as
Speaker 3: a run defender. Part of that is motor, and I
Speaker 3: guess that is defense that is playing the run, but
Speaker 3: there was so much motor there, plenty of backside chase down.
Speaker 3: I think he does also have a nice as a rusher,
Speaker 3: a nice ben to compliment what he can do as
Speaker 3: a run defender. It's not consistent, but that's completely fine.
Speaker 3: And again we're talking about it undrafted free agent here,
Speaker 3: but there are tools there. And I think that he's
Speaker 3: in a really good situation. I think every defensive lineman
Speaker 3: who joins the Chargers is in a good situation. You
Speaker 3: learn from a good coach, good coordinator, good head coach,
Speaker 3: good players, so you're in a really good situation. So
Speaker 3: I think Andrew Farmer is a really really good call there.
Speaker 3: That's fun. I like that. I'm going to go with
Speaker 3: someone else. Speaking of Lane, but a completely different lane.
Speaker 3: I am going with Raheem Lane, the second year safety
Speaker 3: out of Indiana, who I've loved since I just noticed him.
Speaker 3: And it's one of those things in training camp where
Speaker 3: you go, who's forty one? Like you forgot who that
Speaker 3: number is. You don't really know who that number is,
Speaker 3: but you know watching him. There was one day of
Speaker 3: practice and this is when I figured out who he was.
Speaker 3: They were just doing one on one coverage drills and
Speaker 3: DB's aren't supposed to win, Like maybe you have some
Speaker 3: moments like Dean Leonard had some really good moments, but
Speaker 3: for the most part, you're supposed to lose those one
Speaker 3: on ones. It's just not realistic the offense should win there.
Speaker 3: And yet Raheem Lane, I remember watching him, and I
Speaker 3: really feel like that's the best safety coverage I've seen
Speaker 3: on the team one on one outside of Derwin James.
Speaker 3: It really looked like that kind of coverage, which I
Speaker 3: know sounds like a lot, but this guy did play
Speaker 3: corner at Indiana for three years before switching to safety,
Speaker 3: so all those coverage skills, all those corner like skills,
Speaker 3: those one on one skills are still there. And that really,
Speaker 3: really showed up. But you know what makes him a
Speaker 3: real breakout candidate is he's going to have opportunities. Last year,
Speaker 3: you know a little bit here and there, but he's
Speaker 3: always kind of that fourth guy, fifth guy, I should
Speaker 3: probably say fifth or sixth guy, because you had a
Speaker 3: low heet, you had nas, you had J. T. Woods,
Speaker 3: Mark Webbitt times. But towards the end of the season,
Speaker 3: Ryan Ficken goes, I need to get this guy on
Speaker 3: my special teams. And so they did, right, they elevate
Speaker 3: him to special teams. We've talked about it a bunch,
Speaker 3: but it really does mean something when you're a rookie,
Speaker 3: undrafted free agent and you get called up ahead of
Speaker 3: draft picks at your position to play special teams and
Speaker 3: then you exceed, you know, expectations and you do really
Speaker 3: well with those reps. So not only do you earn
Speaker 3: the trust you know and you'll get called up as is,
Speaker 3: but then you have the payoff for the coaches who
Speaker 3: believed in you. And so I think that if he's
Speaker 3: a core special teamer for them moving forward, I think
Speaker 3: they're going to find more ways to get him involved.
Speaker 3: I think you could see him, honestly as the immediate
Speaker 3: backup in terms of role maybe to Derwin James Junior. Yes,
Speaker 3: A Loohi Gillman is the safety two. Technically JD. Woods
Speaker 3: could be the safety three. But in terms of playing
Speaker 3: closer to the line of scrimmage and what he can
Speaker 3: do there in that one on one coverage, Raheem Lane
Speaker 3: kind of might work his way if he can beat
Speaker 3: up Mark Webb, which he did last year to being
Speaker 3: that guy, and I think if he takes that next
Speaker 3: step forward, I really do think it's possible, again, very possible,
Speaker 3: a lot of ifs that we are looking at sort
Speaker 3: of the same route that Adrian Phillips took, which took
Speaker 3: many years. So I'm not saying he's Adrian Phillips this year,
Speaker 3: but Adrian Phillips right, I think he had like thirty
Speaker 3: special team snaps and then it just slowly built from
Speaker 3: there and it really wasn't until a year like four
Speaker 3: or five where he really finally blossomed. But I think
Speaker 3: Raheem Lane, if he has the trust of special teams
Speaker 3: and he can become that special team's ace, and he
Speaker 3: keeps playing well and he's healthy, I think he's a
Speaker 3: total breakout candidate'm gett I'm not saying he's Adrian Phillips
Speaker 3: this year that I'm saying if he keeps going, I
Speaker 3: think he's a training camp start this year, and I
Speaker 3: really do think he can progress to even more than
Speaker 3: that moving forward.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he So he checks both boxes for
Speaker 2: you in terms of like preseason breakout and potentially a
Speaker 2: season breakout thing if we're talking about somebody who could
Speaker 2: push for safety three, and I think you're right to
Speaker 2: mention that potential role behind therewin James because J T.
Speaker 2: Woods cannot fill that like box safety kind of role.
Speaker 2: That's just not his kind of game, and there is
Speaker 2: a market for that. They draft a Mark Web to
Speaker 2: be that potential kind of player. And I think that's
Speaker 2: the surprising thing about Lane because you mentioned him as
Speaker 2: a former cornerback. He would expect him to have a
Speaker 2: high profile coverage ability and that's just that's an asset
Speaker 2: of his game. But to me, like the strength of
Speaker 2: his game is being in the box. And so you
Speaker 2: know there's gonna be there's gonna be times where the
Speaker 2: Chargers are going to go into their dime package with
Speaker 2: six defensive backs on the field and maybe Derwin James
Speaker 2: is out covering receiver like he was against Keenan Allen
Speaker 2: or Cede Lamb like he's done in the past.
Speaker 1: Maybe he's covering a tight end.
Speaker 2: Maybe they want him playing deep in the shell packages
Speaker 2: and maybe kind.
Speaker 1: Of roaming around a little bit.
Speaker 2: And there's gonna be an opportunity for Raheem Lane or
Speaker 2: Mark Web, you know, in this instance, I think we
Speaker 2: both agree that it's probably Rahem Lane's job to lose,
Speaker 2: to be that six defensive back, come into the box,
Speaker 2: play the run, cover running backs, cover tight ends, and
Speaker 2: I think Raheem Lane can have that opportunity to be
Speaker 2: both a preseason breakout candidate and you know, earn some
Speaker 2: safety three snaps as well for the charges this year
Speaker 2: in the regular season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm really excited to watch him. If if what
Speaker 3: he did in the regular season on special teams is
Speaker 3: a sign of things to come, and if you can
Speaker 3: keep that going through the entire season, like you know, there,
Speaker 3: I'm just I'm just very excited about him because there's
Speaker 3: just something there, there's a spark there, there's something unique there.
Speaker 3: I think he could do something special.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2: If nothing else, I mean, he's going to cover out
Speaker 2: or on special teams again and you know we'll see him,
Speaker 2: you know, make an impact in that regard. All right, Tyler,
Speaker 2: before we jump into questions, anybody else you want to
Speaker 2: mention here as you know, maybe one other name to
Speaker 2: keep an eye on.
Speaker 3: You kind of hit Poke Wilson obviously. I think we
Speaker 3: do have to mention that because he's been out there
Speaker 3: some people. It depends on your definition of breakout candidate.
Speaker 3: I do think that you could say that Chris Rump
Speaker 3: is kind of a training camp breakout candidate because I
Speaker 3: think we're forgetting like he might be pushed away because
Speaker 3: of Tully being the draft pick. But we have seen
Speaker 3: that the Chargers sometimes can take their time with younger players,
Speaker 3: and Chris Rump, in theory, is taking another step forward
Speaker 3: this year. And you know, I asked Morgan Fox about this,
Speaker 3: and we've seen the data for this. Their most successful
Speaker 3: four man group in terms of pressure right involved Chris Rump. Actually,
Speaker 3: their best two groupings involved Chris Rump, although it only
Speaker 3: was like twenty five snaps together or whatever it was,
Speaker 3: But there is something there. So I think that he's
Speaker 3: a potential one. If you kind of change your definition,
Speaker 3: I would potentially say Foster Serrel out there as well,
Speaker 3: which would be a lot and be huge for this team.
Speaker 3: The Chargers want him to be right because he's their
Speaker 3: swing tackle right now. Depending he's at least their pure
Speaker 3: swing tackle right now. We'll see what they do with Solar,
Speaker 3: with mcfatten, et cetera. But I think that the Chargers,
Speaker 3: I think they can develop offensive linemen pretty well. I
Speaker 3: think they've shown that they can get the most out
Speaker 3: of a lot of these guys. But then you also
Speaker 3: have the Duke many Weather factor in there. You do
Speaker 3: the fact that Kellen Moore's offense is hopefully better suited
Speaker 3: to offensive line progression and development than someone like maybe
Speaker 3: Joe Lombardi, where they just had the most dropbacks in
Speaker 3: the league every single game against Nick Bosa. Like, that's
Speaker 3: not great for Foster Serral, but if you can take
Speaker 3: some of that pressure off, I think that would be
Speaker 3: really helpful for him, so potentially him as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's a good one.
Speaker 2: The other name that I thought about mentioning along the
Speaker 2: defensive line is Chris Hinton. Again, we saw him make
Speaker 2: an impact during the season down the stretch when the
Speaker 2: Chargers had a lot of defensive tackle injuries. But there's
Speaker 2: a chance that we don't see th Twito Aguanya and
Speaker 2: or Austin Johnson throughout training camp, right Like, there's going
Speaker 2: to be an opportunity for Chris Hinton, for Gerrod Clark,
Speaker 2: for the rest of these other defensive linemen behind Sebastian
Speaker 2: Jose the Day and Morgan Fox to get some meaningful snaps.
Speaker 2: We've seen, you know, Brandon Fojoco, Forest, Merrill, Cortez Broughton
Speaker 2: in the past couple of years be able to carve
Speaker 2: out some buzz in that regard. And so Chris Hinton
Speaker 2: is my name to watch there. I know there's a
Speaker 2: lot of love for Girod Clark.
Speaker 1: Out there, but Chris Hinton is kind of there. Uh.
Speaker 2: He fits their mold of somebody who can do a
Speaker 2: bit of everything, as somebody who can defend a run
Speaker 2: and run rush the passer. I mean, there were a
Speaker 2: couple of snaps against the Colts where he put Clinton
Speaker 2: Johnson or excuse me, Quinton Johnston, Clinton Nelson in a
Speaker 2: blender a little bit against the Colts in on Monday
Speaker 2: Night football. So Chris Hinton is definitely somebody that I
Speaker 2: am h circling, you know, for the rest of the
Speaker 2: summer months here in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exciting. Another coach at Jade Rodgers pairing there
Speaker 3: to help coach him ups. That's I mean again, if
Speaker 3: you're on the defensive line, you've got great coaches around you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, Tyler, let's get to some of these
Speaker 2: questions here. Again, thank you to everybody who send us
Speaker 2: some questions on Twitter. We'll do that from time to time,
Speaker 2: you know, over the next few weeks. Obviously gonna be
Speaker 2: a little bit tougher to do this during the season
Speaker 2: when we have legitimate things to talk about every single week,
Speaker 2: but wanted to get some of your guys' pressing questions here.
Speaker 2: We'll try and get to as many as we possibly can.
Speaker 2: We'll probably take about twenty minutes here to get to
Speaker 2: some of these. So first one here we have is
Speaker 2: from Eugene. He says, if J. C. Jackson is healthy
Speaker 2: for training camp and ready for week one, what do
Speaker 2: you think the chances are that jah Jessea Taylor actually
Speaker 2: beats out Sante SEMy Junior for the starting slot role.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is the interesting one. I tweeted this out
Speaker 3: and discussed this and people were like, what how is
Speaker 3: that possible. Okay, is a Santae Samuel junior, the better
Speaker 3: corner I believe so, is a Sante Samuelo junior, the
Speaker 3: better defensive back. I believe so is a Sante Samlo junior. Definitely,
Speaker 3: in the eyes of the Los Angeles Chargers in Brandon Staley,
Speaker 3: the better slot corner than John Taylor. I actually don't
Speaker 3: know if that's as close. It's definitely not as close
Speaker 3: to it. Yes, I'm not entirely sure that they feel
Speaker 3: that way. A Santa Semuel junior has been even inter
Speaker 3: just in brief moments. Benched two years in a row
Speaker 3: in twenty twenty one as a rookie, which is fine.
Speaker 3: It happens. I think everybody got benched. And last year, Okay,
Speaker 3: a lot of guys got benched too, in the defensive backfield,
Speaker 3: but he wasn't necessarily bench as much as we don't
Speaker 3: really want you to be out here playing the run,
Speaker 3: and so we're gonna put in Jaw Taylor instead. And
Speaker 3: we've talked about this a lot, but like, the slot
Speaker 3: has to play the run quite a bit. If you're
Speaker 3: a slot corner, you're going to playing the run quite
Speaker 3: a bit. And the Charges have shown and Brandon Staley's shown,
Speaker 3: we don't really want you on the field right now
Speaker 3: in those situations. Now, can you improve there? Absolutely? Granted
Speaker 3: he's not the biggest guy, but we just saw Michael
Speaker 3: Davis have the best year of his career against the run,
Speaker 3: like significantly better than it ever has been. So it's
Speaker 3: possible Sante Semul Junior could get better there. But as
Speaker 3: it pretends playing the run, I think they might want
Speaker 3: John Taylor there in the slot. Again, I think Assante
Speaker 3: Simo Junior is the better corner. I probably would put
Speaker 3: him out there anyway, because I think he's the better
Speaker 3: corner and the better defensive back. But in the eyes
Speaker 3: of Los Angeles Chargers and in Brendon Staley's eyes, it's
Speaker 3: possible that John Taylor is the better slot corner for them.
Speaker 3: And so I'm I'm giving this a fifty to fifty shot.
Speaker 3: I think both guys have skill sets that are a
Speaker 3: little bit different, their strengths that are a little bit different.
Speaker 3: So I'll say it's about fifty to fifty.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I'm gonna go fifty to fifteen,
Speaker 2: but JA see Taylor is gonna play for this team. Like,
Speaker 2: I think people are you know, penciling as Sante Semi
Speaker 2: junior and as the like one hundred percent he's gonna
Speaker 2: play and be the starting slot corner, and I don't
Speaker 2: agree with that. So I'm probably in between your fifty
Speaker 2: to fifty and like the consensus because I do think
Speaker 2: Jaseah Taylor is gonna play. I think part of that
Speaker 2: is what you're talking about with run defense and also
Speaker 2: Jaia Taylor's ability to bring pressure off of the edge
Speaker 2: at times and be an effective blitzer. You know, Bryce
Speaker 2: Callahan was a great pickup for the Chargers last year,
Speaker 2: but I think his two weaknesses are run defense and blitzing.
Speaker 2: I don't think those are strengths of his game. So
Speaker 2: do the Chargers want to run that back essentially with
Speaker 2: a Sante Sammy junior where your slot corner is almost
Speaker 2: strictly a coverage slot corner. It doesn't really seem like
Speaker 2: that's the plan. I think they would have simply brought
Speaker 2: Bryce Calahan back if they wanted to do that with Asante.
Speaker 2: So I think there's going to be an opportunity for
Speaker 2: Jesseer Taylor to earn that kind of role. I don't
Speaker 2: think he's going to be a three down player. We
Speaker 2: know how much Brandon Sathey wants to play in the
Speaker 2: nickel formation almost exclusively. But I do agree with you
Speaker 2: that there is definitely a role for Jaseer Taylor to
Speaker 2: carve out with run defense, with blitzing, and I think
Speaker 2: that's a significant role, right, Like, I think that's almost
Speaker 2: a starter. Like it's so interesting to me, if JC
Speaker 2: is healthy, the kind of flexibility that you have with
Speaker 2: the three of them, because Michael Davis is almost strictly
Speaker 2: an outside corner.
Speaker 1: I think they kind of experimented.
Speaker 2: With him last offseason, you know, giving him some safety
Speaker 2: snaps and things like that, but he's almost exclusively an
Speaker 2: outside corner. Jac Jackson has logged around four hundred snaps
Speaker 2: in the slot when he was in New England, so
Speaker 2: he's shown the ability to do that. So if j
Speaker 2: C is healthy, you could you could start with JC
Speaker 2: and Michael Davis on the outside and Jaseer Taylor on
Speaker 2: the inside, and then you swap us onto Inforgencer maybe
Speaker 2: that maybe he plays the slot, Maybe jac comes into
Speaker 2: the slot, Assante goes back out wide, so you have
Speaker 2: a lot of flexibility there. But I think definitely, there's
Speaker 2: gonna be a bigger rotation than people are expecting at
Speaker 2: this point in time. I think Assanta Sigmon Junior has
Speaker 2: done a lot of great things for this Charters team,
Speaker 2: especially in coverage. I think he has that that ballhawk
Speaker 2: mentality to come in and change games. We've seen that
Speaker 2: several times seen whether that was against the Colts, whether
Speaker 2: against the Raiders in Week one, that was against the
Speaker 2: Commanders last year in Week one, and we've seen him
Speaker 2: be such an effective coverage player. But that run defense
Speaker 2: weakness is real, and I think that gives an opportunity
Speaker 2: for Jose or Taylor to carve out a role. And
Speaker 2: I know people don't want to hear that, but it's
Speaker 2: the truth.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 2: I think there's gonna be a four man rotation if
Speaker 2: jac is healthy this year at corner.
Speaker 3: Yeah, again, I would lean. I would love Asante Samuel
Speaker 3: Junior out there starting Slaw all the time. I think of,
Speaker 3: you know, years ago with like Desmond King the pick
Speaker 3: six against the Cowboys, pick six against the Seahawks. You know,
Speaker 3: like that sort of stuff is also really needed out
Speaker 3: there too. And like you said, ballhawk with this anti
Speaker 3: Samuel Junior, that's his thing. As far as rotation goes,
Speaker 3: we'll see. I think this is the most notable storyline overall,
Speaker 3: like these four dbs. I think it's the most intriguing
Speaker 3: part of camp, to be completely honest.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I'm curious if they maybe experiment a little
Speaker 2: bit with just here at safety to try and get
Speaker 2: him out there, because if you're talking about like your
Speaker 2: dime package, your best six dbs, like I think it's
Speaker 2: Derwin and Alobi and then these four corners, I really do.
Speaker 2: So you know, somebody is gonna have to cross train somewhere.
Speaker 2: Maybe they want to get just hear Taylor out there
Speaker 2: that much. But I'm excited for just Here, man. I
Speaker 2: really am higher on him than a lot of people
Speaker 2: seem to be. I think he has a very bright
Speaker 2: future ahead of him as as that slot corner kind
Speaker 2: of player. So I think we're both on the same
Speaker 2: page there. Second question here, this is from Gibby. Gibbey says,
Speaker 2: what off season changes slash editions so far have demonstrated
Speaker 2: the ability to make a major difference. What can we
Speaker 2: hope on fur on the defensive side against the run.
Speaker 2: So I think this is more gear towards defensive changes.
Speaker 2: We've talked a lot about Kellen Moore, so obviously I
Speaker 2: think that to me would qualify for this question. But
Speaker 2: let's focus in on the defensive side of things here, Tyler,
Speaker 2: how would you respond to this question in terms of
Speaker 2: big additions on defense that would maybe of give us
Speaker 2: some hope against the run in particular.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's truly. I think the power that
Speaker 3: he displays against the run, It'll take some time for
Speaker 3: him to think to develop as a pass rusher and
Speaker 3: ensure as a run defender, but what he can do immediately,
Speaker 3: even at twenty years old, he's used the power in
Speaker 3: his hands, the motor to at least play the run,
Speaker 3: and I think in that regard, I think you can
Speaker 3: improve the run defense. I think just having that option
Speaker 3: behind Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack hopefully they're all healthy,
Speaker 3: but I think as soon as one of those guys
Speaker 3: went down, it's okay, let's run to the side of
Speaker 3: the third string guy because they just weren't as strong
Speaker 3: against the run. And that's fine. Not everybody's, you know,
Speaker 3: a run defender kind of type. I think Tully right
Speaker 3: now can definitely do that for them. I also think
Speaker 3: just the switch we'll see, but I think the switch
Speaker 3: early to a Lohi Gilman and to be your safety
Speaker 3: too right now instead of this Seior utterly, I think
Speaker 3: is going to pay off in terms of the run.
Speaker 3: You know, sometimes last year it really wasn't the it's
Speaker 3: not that they gave up five yards to carry, four
Speaker 3: yard to carry, whatever it was. It was the fifty
Speaker 3: yard killers, the forty yard killers. And there was a
Speaker 3: stretch there between like Week two and Week seven or
Speaker 3: whatever it was, where every single week it was forty
Speaker 3: or fifty yards and you always saw into Serior Adoley
Speaker 3: just not being able to get there. The rest of
Speaker 3: the defense too, of course, but I think with the
Speaker 3: Lohi Gillman, you're hoping at least you can put a
Speaker 3: lid on some of those. So I think those two
Speaker 3: changes are pretty important.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we talked about j Just Seer's role there
Speaker 2: as well. I think there there's definitely some uncertainty with
Speaker 2: this question. But theoretically the Chargers have upgraded their run
Speaker 2: defense from the slot, their run defense from their edge three,
Speaker 2: their run defense at linebacker one with Eric Kendricks. I
Speaker 2: think that's a pretty clear upgrade in terms of run
Speaker 2: defense from what they had last year with Drew Tranquill,
Speaker 2: but you know, and then Alohi Gillman as well, So
Speaker 2: I think there's a lot of unsettled potential there. The
Speaker 2: other thing that I would bring up, too, is that
Speaker 2: Morgan Fox is a very underrated run defender. You know,
Speaker 2: we've seen him have some really strong moments down the
Speaker 2: end of last season against the run, and at this
Speaker 2: time last year he was heading into a fifty to
Speaker 2: fifty split with Jerry Tillery for that kind of third
Speaker 2: defensive tackle spot.
Speaker 1: This year, that's going to be settled. That's his job.
Speaker 2: They paid him a lot of money to stick around
Speaker 2: rush the passer obviously first and foremost, but his run
Speaker 2: defense is a clear upgrade as well, and so there's
Speaker 2: definitely some areas of concern.
Speaker 1: Obviously.
Speaker 2: You know, the health of Austin Johnson is probably the
Speaker 2: biggest question mark there because you and I have talked
Speaker 2: about him being so good down.
Speaker 1: To start the season last year for the Chargers.
Speaker 2: But theoretically you look at the third defensive tackle spot,
Speaker 2: the linebacker spot, the third edgrusser spot, and that line
Speaker 2: of scrimmage part as potentially clear upgrades so I understand
Speaker 2: the Chargers didn't like go out and make a big
Speaker 2: splash like they did two years ago when they got
Speaker 2: Austin Johnson in his fashion Joseph Day. But in theory,
Speaker 2: I know that's not what everyone likes to hear. But theory,
Speaker 2: the Chargers run defense should be better next year than
Speaker 2: it was this past season. Things just have to kind of,
Speaker 2: you know, click into place here when with health and
Speaker 2: rotational pieces kind of earning those roles. But I think
Speaker 2: from a personnel standpoint, it's not a huge upgrade. But
Speaker 2: the Chargers didn't really need to do that. They just
Speaker 2: needed like solid pieces to come in and earn those roles.
Speaker 1: And I think that will happen. So I'm not.
Speaker 2: Predicting like best run defense in the league, but if
Speaker 2: everybody stays relatively healthy, I think this can be at
Speaker 2: worst like a top twenty run defense, which is you know,
Speaker 2: I think a nine spot upgrade from last year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it feels like special teams for us, right, And hey,
Speaker 3: we kept joking, we just want in the best part
Speaker 3: of the twenties, you know, and say we end up
Speaker 3: with what top ten or whatever it ended up being
Speaker 3: for the Charges on special teams so yeah, I'll take it.
Speaker 3: I think health is big. Morgan Fox talked about he
Speaker 3: just I mean honest, he just knew his roles more.
Speaker 3: They kind of found a way to work him better.
Speaker 3: He gained some like positive weight throughout the season to
Speaker 3: get better against the runs. Just stuff like that I
Speaker 3: think will help. I think going into year two, everyone
Speaker 3: for the most part, like gets their roles. They have
Speaker 3: a defined role, and even like Kendricks, who's a newer
Speaker 3: piece to this team, like his role is clearly defined.
Speaker 3: I think that the Chargers there were so many incoming
Speaker 3: pieces last year. What do I do? Who does this?
Speaker 3: Is Kyle van Noya linebacker? Is your edge rusher? Is
Speaker 3: this guy healthy?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 3: There goes Joey Bosa. I think this year and again
Speaker 3: praying for health, the rules are so much more defined.
Speaker 3: I think they'll be much better just naturally.
Speaker 2: Yeah that too, And I think, you know, another year
Speaker 2: in this system I think should help alleviate some of
Speaker 2: those because a lot of the big explosive runs that
Speaker 2: you're talking about, and a lot of it was just
Speaker 2: like poor alignment issues with the secondary and sometimes the
Speaker 2: linebacker is kind of not adjusting to what was happening.
Speaker 2: Like the James Robinson run from the third week of
Speaker 2: the season, right Like the Jaguars had like four bodies
Speaker 2: over to the left and the Chargers defense never adjusted
Speaker 2: and it was just like the easiest fifty yard run
Speaker 2: you'll ever see. So I'm hopeful that in the system
Speaker 2: with these guys and air Kendricks kind of coming over
Speaker 2: and can clean some of those things up as well.
Speaker 2: All right, Third question here from E Wing, a Fighter pilot,
Speaker 2: one of the long time supporters of the show, so
Speaker 2: appreciate him. He asked, we were ten and seven last year.
Speaker 2: Surely with an upgrade at offensive coordinator, that's worth at
Speaker 2: least one win, and he said speed and depth at
Speaker 2: wide receiver is worth another win and healthy team and
Speaker 2: a healthy team is worth another win. So he wants
Speaker 2: to know if it's reasonable for us to see the
Speaker 2: Chargers go thirteen and four this upcoming season in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three. So I think this is probably the more
Speaker 2: optimistic side of things, and I understand like this is
Speaker 2: part of that offseason. I will point out obviously that
Speaker 2: last year the Chargers were one in seven against playoff teams.
Speaker 2: They handled their business against teams they should have won,
Speaker 2: and that should be commended because that's been a weakness
Speaker 2: in the past. You know, they had an easier schedule
Speaker 2: last year than they will this year.
Speaker 1: So that's the first thing that I'll point out.
Speaker 2: It's not just a one for one swap here, because
Speaker 2: the Chargers are going to have a much more difficult
Speaker 2: schedule this year. There's fewer games against teams that they
Speaker 2: should definitely win against with a more difficult schedule. But Tyler,
Speaker 2: how would you respond to this question outside of the
Speaker 2: schedule differences.
Speaker 3: That's how I would respond to it, to be completely honest.
Speaker 3: I mean seriously, like I get the upgrades for the Chargers,
Speaker 3: like there should be a better team. They are, I
Speaker 3: think a better team. They have plenty of depth now
Speaker 3: for the most part. But the rest of the NFL
Speaker 3: gets better too, Like the Chiefs got a lot better
Speaker 3: on defense. Let's not forget about that. It's possible the
Speaker 3: Broncos are a better team. The Raiders are not so great.
Speaker 3: But you know, things could work out for other teams.
Speaker 3: But it's the schedule is so much more difficult for
Speaker 3: the Chargers this year, and there's not that stretch of
Speaker 3: Baker Mayfield rams, Nick Foles, colds and that sort of thing.
Speaker 3: Ryan Anaho on one foot, Now there might be yeah, yeah,
Speaker 3: So I can't really go out and predict, you know
Speaker 3: that the Chargers are going to go thirteen and four
Speaker 3: because of the rest of the NFL. Right, yes, the
Speaker 3: Chargers got better, but so did a lot of the NFL,
Speaker 3: and so did their schedule. Their schedule is tough. And
Speaker 3: then just as it is as a Chargers fan, we know, listen,
Speaker 3: I could go through every game and pitch to you
Speaker 3: several ideas and reasons why they're gonna beat every single team.
Speaker 3: I can tell you why they're gonna beat the Mac
Speaker 3: Jones led Patriots, and yet are we picking them to
Speaker 3: beat the Patriots? I don't know. You know, I could
Speaker 3: pitch you twenty ways they beat the Broncos in Denver
Speaker 3: the last ten years, and here we are wondering why
Speaker 3: the heck they can't win in Denver. So it's just
Speaker 3: naturally as a Chargers fan, it's whatever I think they
Speaker 3: can do minus won for a game that they should
Speaker 3: have won, minus probably another one for health reasons. So
Speaker 3: I think like eleven and like if they go eleven
Speaker 3: and six, I genuinely think that's a good season. And
Speaker 3: a step forward, like maybe even a big step forward,
Speaker 3: maybe depends on who they beat and how they do it.
Speaker 3: I think eleven and six, even though it didn't seem
Speaker 3: like a lot in the record, I think that does
Speaker 3: mean a lot, and that does mean positive momentum heading
Speaker 3: into the postseason, which is where it matters anyway.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, when we did our game by game
Speaker 2: prediction a few weeks so we will settle on eleven
Speaker 2: and six different games obviously in there as wins and losses,
Speaker 2: But I think Ewing is definitely right about the improvement, right, Like,
Speaker 2: I think we can all agree that Kellen Moore is
Speaker 2: going to be an upgraded offensive coordinator. I mean, we
Speaker 2: just had the show this week earlier this week with
Speaker 2: Sean Sayed, and you know, it's impossible for me to
Speaker 2: like contain my excitement about the offensive side of the
Speaker 2: football and Justin Herbert being healthy and Quentin Johnson, like,
Speaker 2: I think that that unit can carry this team to
Speaker 2: a special, special season. You know, does that translate to
Speaker 2: thirteen and four, I'm not sure yet. I think because
Speaker 2: of where the Chargers play in the AFC and in
Speaker 2: the AFC West, it's hard for me to really get
Speaker 2: to thirteen wins for this team. But the potential is there, absolutely.
Speaker 2: I think there's just some other things that would have
Speaker 2: to click together for this team to really get me
Speaker 2: to thirteen wins. So I think we'll see ten to
Speaker 2: eleven wins, maybe twelve, depending if some bounces of the football,
Speaker 2: But we'll feel much better about this team heading down
Speaker 2: the stretch that we did then last year if everybody
Speaker 2: stays healthy. I think, you know, there was some doubt
Speaker 2: in a lot of our minds about really how good
Speaker 2: that team was. You know, you look at statistics like
Speaker 2: DVOA and EPA pri play that they were not a
Speaker 2: ten win team. You know, that's a team that traditionally
Speaker 2: wins kind of maybe eight games, maybe nine. So you know,
Speaker 2: the schedule really boosted their win total last year.
Speaker 1: This year, the schedule is gonna be much more difficult.
Speaker 1: So I think the.
Speaker 2: Potential for the Chargers have a truly special season is
Speaker 2: there one hundred percent. Whether or not that seeps into
Speaker 2: me predicting thirteen and four, I think is another story.
Speaker 3: Yeah for me. It also just starts with the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: So what do you ewing or what do I think
Speaker 3: the Chiefs record is going to be I think it's
Speaker 3: better than the Chargers. So what is their record fifteen
Speaker 3: and two? Then if the Charges are thirteen and four,
Speaker 3: you know, like I just think that the Chiefs are
Speaker 3: realistically maybe like I don't know, fourteen and three or
Speaker 3: whatever it is, thirteen and four. I hate these new numbers.
Speaker 3: It used to be so much easier. Guys. I'm dying
Speaker 3: doing math right here right now.
Speaker 1: Charges.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I took biology for a reason. What was
Speaker 3: I even talking about? Anyway? I think the Chargers are
Speaker 3: maybe like a game or two below the Chiefs. So
Speaker 3: if you say that the Chiefs or Charges are thirteen
Speaker 3: and four, then the Chiefs might have had one of
Speaker 3: the greatest regular seasons ever.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just it sucks, man. We're the team behind
Speaker 2: the current dynasty right now. So it's it's really tough
Speaker 2: for me to like get on board with, like, yeah,
Speaker 2: like the Chargers are gonna win thirteen fourteen games. It's like, oh,
Speaker 2: they're like, the Chiefs are a better team. They have
Speaker 2: they are, as much as we want to think otherwise.
Speaker 2: I think the Chargers have the potential to have lighting
Speaker 2: in the ball strike this year, and you know, get
Speaker 2: to those fourteen wins and win the division. Absolutely, it
Speaker 2: can happen every single year, but it's just the realistic
Speaker 2: part of me can't really see that happening. So again,
Speaker 2: the offense is going to be so much better this
Speaker 2: year than it was last year. I don't know if
Speaker 2: that's going to translate to winning the division in thirteen
Speaker 2: fourteen wins. Yeah, all right, next question here, potentially our
Speaker 2: last one here.
Speaker 1: This is from Robert.
Speaker 2: He says, is there a chance that Bosa and Mac
Speaker 2: break the all time sack record for a duo It
Speaker 2: currently sits at thirty nine. He wants to know where
Speaker 2: they break that forty barrier or is Dolman and.
Speaker 1: Millard's record safe.
Speaker 2: So I think doman record, their record has come dangerously
Speaker 2: close to being.
Speaker 1: Broken over the past couple of years.
Speaker 2: I want to think like Alden Smith and Jason Smith
Speaker 2: came close one year. Obviously, Joey Bosa has not surpassed
Speaker 2: his career high of twelve and a half that he
Speaker 2: set as a rookie. It's been some time since Khalil
Speaker 2: Mack has had more than twelve sacks as well. So Tyler,
Speaker 2: what kind of potential are you setting for Joey and
Speaker 2: khalil As as a duo heading to twenty twenty three.
Speaker 3: I think the sacks almost don't even matter. To be
Speaker 3: completely honest, it's always, at least for Joey Bosa been
Speaker 3: the per play stats. Thirty nine is the records of
Speaker 3: forty to break it. I think they've both their best
Speaker 3: years if you combined them, I think they were under
Speaker 3: thirty combined, So it would be a big jump for them.
Speaker 3: So do I think they get it? Not necessarily, and honestly,
Speaker 3: I think that I hope that they keep these guys
Speaker 3: fresh enough where the sacks don't really matter, right, we
Speaker 3: really want the per play stats to look good, to
Speaker 3: be good, I want them to be healthy. They started
Speaker 3: last years and I think eighty percent of the snaps
Speaker 3: they were out there. That's a little bit much. So
Speaker 3: hopefully they kind of peel things back just a little bit. Yeah,
Speaker 3: forty's a lot. It'd be great and that would be
Speaker 3: one of the most fun seasons if they do that.
Speaker 3: But I think I think forty is out of reach.
Speaker 3: I'd say like a good sixteen to seventeen each would
Speaker 3: be really really nice and I think realistic because of
Speaker 3: you know them individually, maybe not so much. But together
Speaker 3: you saw it against the Raiders. It looked like it
Speaker 3: was magical. So I think they're healthy. Then, yeah, I
Speaker 3: think thirty five it should be reachable. Forty is a
Speaker 3: whole like another jump that I don't know if they'll
Speaker 3: be able to reach. We'll see.
Speaker 1: Yeah, forty I think is probably too much.
Speaker 2: You know, at this time last year, I was doing
Speaker 2: my Joey Bosa rewatch them the twenty twenty one season,
Speaker 2: and before the season I predicted a seventeen sax season
Speaker 2: from Joey Bosa. Obviously he gets injured, that didn't come
Speaker 2: to fruition. But I do think that there's a chance
Speaker 2: for Joey to have a career season this year, you know,
Speaker 2: being fully healthy for the first time, being able to
Speaker 2: come in with a full offseason. And Khalilly gets the
Speaker 2: same kind of conversation too, right, because Khalil was coming
Speaker 2: off the foot injury at this time last year, he
Speaker 2: was not working with the team in the spring. He
Speaker 2: was still working his way back from the foot surgery
Speaker 2: that ended his twenty twenty one season with the Bears,
Speaker 2: so ultimately led to his trading to the Chargers. So
Speaker 2: I think the potential for Joey to have a career
Speaker 2: high season is definitely there. You know, we've seen him
Speaker 2: have these great seasons alongside Melvin Ingram and obviously Uchenna
Speaker 2: and Moosu in that mix as well in twenty eighteen,
Speaker 2: so I think Joey can definitely have a career high season.
Speaker 1: Still.
Speaker 2: I know people are kind of down on him after
Speaker 2: the way the season ended, but Joey's one of the
Speaker 2: best ed Russians in the league still. In my opinion,
Speaker 2: I'm hopeful that the goal for Khalil Mack in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three is more geared towards efficiency the per play stats,
Speaker 2: because I think he was kind of worn down in
Speaker 2: the middle of the season without Joey, Bosa and Kylin
Speaker 2: and always still kind of trying to figure his role out.
Speaker 2: So I'm hopeful that two Lee Twequoalow two brings a
Speaker 2: greater efficiency for Klumac, keeps him a little bit more fresh.
Speaker 2: But then obviously we'd bring the sack total down. So
Speaker 2: I think the potential is there for these two to
Speaker 2: be dominant the season. Absolutely, does it lead to forty sacks,
Speaker 2: that's probably a little bit much for me. I think
Speaker 2: we right Now, if I had to like predict, I
Speaker 2: would say we probably see Joey hit like around fifteen,
Speaker 2: Clue maybe gets back to ten for the first time
Speaker 2: in a couple of seasons, and I think with twenty
Speaker 2: five ish, maybe thirty if everything goes right, I think
Speaker 2: you feel great about that season for the two of them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that would be fantastic. And again, there, what they
Speaker 3: do on the field goes so much beyond just the sacks, right,
Speaker 3: It's the pressures, it's the ability against the run, it's
Speaker 3: the double teams, it's the stunts and et cetera. So
Speaker 3: it doesn't really matter to me at the end of
Speaker 3: the day if they get forty or not, although it'd
Speaker 3: be great if they did, yeah, a hundred percent.
Speaker 2: But I do think that people are going to remember
Speaker 2: what these two look like when they're both healthy, when
Speaker 2: they both have a full off season, when they both
Speaker 2: have a running mate who can properly take attention away
Speaker 2: from the other one. Obviously, both of them have to
Speaker 2: stay healthy this year, which is so crucial for this
Speaker 2: team to reach their potential. But I'm optimistic that these
Speaker 2: two play the majority of this season together this year. Yeah,
Speaker 2: me too, man, all Right, that's going to do it
Speaker 2: for us today. Appreciate everybody for tuning in. Like I
Speaker 2: said earlier, make sure and subscribe to the Chargers channel here.
Speaker 2: Make sure and send us where they get these charge
Speaker 2: podcast channel a subscription as well, and let us know
Speaker 2: what you guys think of the comments. Who's your preseason
Speaker 2: breakout potential star candidate?
Speaker 1: Who?
Speaker 2: What do you think of our predictions here on this show?
Speaker 2: And as always, tuned for our next episode. We're hopefully
Speaker 2: working in an interview with a high quality guest on
Speaker 2: our next show, but we'll keep you guys posted there
Speaker 2: all right. Appreciate Tyler, Appreciate Greg Kim and Ben Chernoff
Speaker 2: for producing the show today. That's gonna do it for us.
Speaker 2: We'll see you guys next time, and as always, welcome