Speaker 1: Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome to the God the Charge Podcast,
Speaker 1: presented by the Chargers Podcast Network. My name is Stephen
Speaker 1: and I am the host as always, and joining me
Speaker 1: is my guy Tyler. Tyler, what's upman? How are you
Speaker 1: doing tonight?
Speaker 2: I'm doing fantastic. We've got a lot of Chargers needs
Speaker 2: to get into.
Speaker 1: Let's do it, Yes, we do. We definitely have a
Speaker 1: lot to dive in today. Obviously, the Chargers have released
Speaker 1: their initial fifty three man roster, did a lot of
Speaker 1: cuts today, did a trade yesterday which we'll dive into.
Speaker 1: Lots to really break down here before we get started. Obviously,
Speaker 1: as always, Tyler and I are fans of the team,
Speaker 1: just like you guys. We are very fortunate to have
Speaker 1: this platform and very grateful for it. That being said,
Speaker 1: the opinions that we express on this show and every
Speaker 1: show are not always reflective of the Chargers organization. They
Speaker 1: are ours and ours alone. And yeah, let's dive into
Speaker 1: this Tyler. Before we get started, I do want to say,
Speaker 1: first of all, I think there's a lot of dehumanizing
Speaker 1: that goes on with these with this day in particular,
Speaker 1: you know, there was you know, this is a rough
Speaker 1: day for a lot of guys. You know, players are
Speaker 1: losing their jobs and potentially moving cities. And you know,
Speaker 1: a guy like Dustin Hopkins in particular, gets you know,
Speaker 1: traded from Los Angeles to Cleveland and has to uphurd
Speaker 1: his family and then got a kid on the way.
Speaker 1: So as people want to take the people who are
Speaker 1: leaving the Chargers organization, hopefully some of you are able
Speaker 1: to come back. But wish you nothing but the best
Speaker 1: wherever you end up, and hopefully you get back on
Speaker 1: your feet as so many players have done, you know,
Speaker 1: getting cut and coming back and having a great career.
Speaker 1: So hopefully all of you guys that are maybe a
Speaker 1: little dark today end up in a more positive light
Speaker 1: down the rope.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's not the end all be all right.
Speaker 2: Adrian Phillips was cut what ten different times by the Chargers.
Speaker 2: They end up getting you know, Pro Bowl honors a
Speaker 2: few years in still with the Patriots going strong over there,
Speaker 2: so you know, hopefully these guys find other opportunities. It's
Speaker 2: tough you root for guys to win jobs, but if
Speaker 2: guys win jobs, someone's kind of losing that job, which
Speaker 2: is very unfortunate. So happy for the guys who made it,
Speaker 2: of course, who are sticking around, or at least for
Speaker 2: an hour sticking around. But I'll always keep the guys
Speaker 2: that are cut, that are traded, et cetera in my
Speaker 2: thoughts and prayers and hearts and all that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, percent, all right, we'll go position by position at
Speaker 1: some point, But a lot to dive into here, Tyler.
Speaker 1: What was your biggest takeaway, biggest surprise? What's kind of
Speaker 1: your your broad view of the Chargers roster from today
Speaker 1: as they cut it from ninety to fifty three.
Speaker 2: It was tough to see so many guys go in
Speaker 2: such a quick fashion. It's what's a thousand or six
Speaker 2: hundred something people or whatever it is that are suddenly
Speaker 2: just looking for a new team. So it was a
Speaker 2: lot to see so many guys just go so quickly,
Speaker 2: which I'm not used to. I'll start with the positive surprise,
Speaker 2: which is Elijah Dotson, a guy who you and I
Speaker 2: would have loved to in a parallel universe have put
Speaker 2: him on our initial you know, fifty three that we
Speaker 2: would have guessed for the Chargers' initial fifty three, But
Speaker 2: it just felt like okay for running backs? How do
Speaker 2: you justify that? How do you work that? But it's
Speaker 2: nothing because of you know, what he did in the preseason.
Speaker 2: He was outstanding of all the bubble guys, there's not
Speaker 2: a bubble guy who deserved to be on the roster
Speaker 2: more of those bubble guys because of how he performed
Speaker 2: Austin Eckler. I went back and looked Austin Eckler in
Speaker 2: twenty seventeen as a rookie his preseason one hundred and
Speaker 2: fifty nine total yards. Elijah Dotson very close with one
Speaker 2: fifty five. It was almost exact. I would have freaked
Speaker 2: out if it were exact. But he deserved to be
Speaker 2: out there. He looked fantastic as soon as they gave
Speaker 2: him the opportunity, and then the RB four spot, he
Speaker 2: took it and never let go. So to me, while
Speaker 2: that isn't the biggest surprise, it is certainly the most
Speaker 2: pleasant surprise, I think because he's awesome and charges fans
Speaker 2: have loved watching him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think everybody you know listening to this would
Speaker 1: have advocated for Elijah making the roster, and I think,
Speaker 1: like you mentioned, I think he deserved it. But rationally,
Speaker 1: it was hard for me to justify keeping a fourth
Speaker 1: running back on my prediction list, and people were like, oh,
Speaker 1: you got to keep dots, and I was like, I agree,
Speaker 1: but like, this is a prediction video that we did,
Speaker 1: and you know, obviously we were wrong in that regard
Speaker 1: and very happy to be wrong with Elijah Dotson because
Speaker 1: he has earned it, and you know, stories like his
Speaker 1: are kind of what the NFL is about. You know,
Speaker 1: this is a guy who had to transfer schools to
Speaker 1: seek out the best opportunity, and it was still a
Speaker 1: smaller school. You know, he comes undrafted. After the draft,
Speaker 1: he was quoted as saying that the Chargers were really
Speaker 1: the team that was most interested in him, and really
Speaker 1: almost the only team that was interested in him. And
Speaker 1: so he gets his chance with the Chargers, and initially
Speaker 1: it was kind of a slow opportunity. It really wasn't
Speaker 1: until that first preseason game that the Chargers were like, hey, like,
Speaker 1: let's get this guy a bigger shot, obviously moving on
Speaker 1: from Larry Rountree, who's on the Texans right now and
Speaker 1: probably looking for a practice squad spot with the Texans.
Speaker 1: So Dowson gets his chance and he rewards them. And
Speaker 1: you know, I said after the Saints game that I
Speaker 1: happened to like the Saints game more than the then
Speaker 1: the Rams game, because I thought it really showed off
Speaker 1: more of his arsenal as a running back. And so
Speaker 1: he's absolutely earned this chance, and we acknowledged as much
Speaker 1: that he was, like you mentioned, the best Bubble player
Speaker 1: in terms of the preseason performances, but just kind of
Speaker 1: doubted that the Chargers would actually keep it forth running
Speaker 1: back and turns out they are. So I think that's
Speaker 1: the right place to start with Elijah Dotson, who was
Speaker 1: definitely a fan favorite, you know, getting his opportunity to
Speaker 1: make the Charger fifty three man roster and hopefully he's
Speaker 1: around to state because I think he showed enough good
Speaker 1: signs in the preseason that I think if they had
Speaker 1: decided to cut him, I think he would have been
Speaker 1: claimed because he was one of the best running backs
Speaker 1: in the league in the preseason games. So very well
Speaker 1: deserved opportunity for him, and I'm excited to see how
Speaker 1: this turns out for mister Elijah Dotson.
Speaker 2: Yeah, if you're looking at the rookie running backs, I
Speaker 2: believe he was third in rushing yards and first in
Speaker 2: yards per attempt, and I think by quite a bit.
Speaker 2: So even if you're not paying attention to the games themselves.
Speaker 2: If you're any GM or personnel manager who flips on
Speaker 2: the stat sheet, hello, you know, I'll take the rookie
Speaker 2: who led the NFL all rookies in rushing yards or
Speaker 2: yards per attempt, so totally get it. You know, some
Speaker 2: of these moves are also, you know, partially defensive as
Speaker 2: much as they are just you know, retaining the guy's shirt,
Speaker 2: but it's also kind of like a defensive thing. Hey,
Speaker 2: we want to make sure we get this guy, and
Speaker 2: then you know, when a lot of other stuff happens
Speaker 2: and rosters are more set, you know, maybe we move
Speaker 2: on different things. So we'll see, you know, how long
Speaker 2: he sticks on this four He could be sort of
Speaker 2: you know, we thought the sixth wide receiver that we
Speaker 2: had Keelan Doss making it was just kind of the
Speaker 2: placeholder until jillen Geiden came off the pup list. Elijah
Speaker 2: Dotson could be that placeholder. But for now he's got games.
Speaker 2: He's made the active roster or the initial roster. Excuse me,
Speaker 2: and good for him. Congratulations.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think for me the biggest positive surprise because
Speaker 1: we'll get to some other surprises too. It has to
Speaker 1: be Aj Finley. I like he was the guy that
Speaker 1: you and I both really liked. You know, he was
Speaker 1: our top free agent in terms of the undrafted guys
Speaker 1: to to, you know, come to an agreement with the Chargers.
Speaker 1: We really liked his film at Ole Miss and I
Speaker 1: really liked his traits, and we had him making our
Speaker 1: initial pre training camp roster because we really felt strongly
Speaker 1: about what he would be able to do given the opportunity.
Speaker 1: But we didn't really hear much about him getting a
Speaker 1: real opportunity. You know. It was almost always Mark Webb
Speaker 1: who was released from Raheem Laine who did make the roster,
Speaker 1: who were working ahead of him on the depth chart,
Speaker 1: and even after you know, although he had a little
Speaker 1: bit of that injury, you know, AJ Finley didn't necessarily
Speaker 1: get a ton more opportunities. But he must have made
Speaker 1: quite an impression because he makes this roster. So I'm
Speaker 1: not necessarily surprised based off of the player making it,
Speaker 1: because I really like this player, but based off of
Speaker 1: the opportunity he was given, I don't think that he
Speaker 1: was really considered a favorite. I think for me, I
Speaker 1: looked at that tenth defensive backspot as Taiwan Mullen versus
Speaker 1: Mark Webb, maybe Cam Brown who had some moments, And
Speaker 1: turns out AJ Finley was just kind of quietly working
Speaker 1: in the background and winning a job opportunity. So job
Speaker 1: well done, mister Finley, very well deserved. And I'm excited
Speaker 1: to see what it comes to fruition because I really
Speaker 1: liked his college tape battle mess.
Speaker 2: Yeah, give Derek Ansley, Brenon Staley more dbs. But yeah,
Speaker 2: I was very surprised. This was the biggest surprise. I
Speaker 2: did not see this coming at all. And that's you know,
Speaker 2: we're only fans who can view things from the outside
Speaker 2: looking in, So what do we go off of, Like
Speaker 2: snaptotals who walks out there first? And that's kind of
Speaker 2: really all we have and maybe some tackles and passper
Speaker 2: Gibson and that's it. So you know, you see Mark Webb,
Speaker 2: the guy they drafted, he's out there. He plays thirty
Speaker 2: four preseason snaps, okay, like he's starting. He's even kind
Speaker 2: of starting over Raheem Lane, So he must be with
Speaker 2: the safety that they would like over Raheem Lane. And
Speaker 2: maybe that could technically still be true because Raheem Lane
Speaker 2: might be viewed more as a special teamer, which is fine. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I didn't see this coming, which is funny because you
Speaker 2: and I you talked about him, you were very high
Speaker 2: on him. I'm glad you brought him up the first
Speaker 2: time we did it on this channel talking about the
Speaker 2: undrafted free agents, and then on our initial predictions we
Speaker 2: had him on there before camp, and I would wouldn't
Speaker 2: have guessed this one. If anybody had a perfect bracket
Speaker 2: going into the last safety group, it was busted. I
Speaker 2: didn't see a single person. Yeah, talk about him making
Speaker 2: the roster. It really would have been just like Mark Webber.
Speaker 2: Like our discussion was Mark web or Raheem Lane or both.
Speaker 2: It really wasn't. That was kind of it. It really
Speaker 2: was no a J. Finley in there, But good for him.
Speaker 2: Clearly he's making an impression and maybe even more so
Speaker 2: than Elijah Dotson. This is a very much so a
Speaker 2: defensive move. Somebody out there, or a couple of people
Speaker 2: out there, especially ahead of the Chargers in waiver Priority,
Speaker 2: really likes AJ Finley. Who that is, I don't know,
Speaker 2: but clearly they felt like, look, I know, he didn't
Speaker 2: show a ton maybe like wasn't as flashy and splashy
Speaker 2: as Elijah Dotson. But this guy's gonna get scooped up immediately,
Speaker 2: so we got to hold on to him again kind
Speaker 2: of like Dotson. We'll see for how long. But good
Speaker 2: for him, Like his film College film is great. So
Speaker 2: if Annsley and all these guys can continue to develop him,
Speaker 2: you know, the other undrafted free agents, the other six
Speaker 2: seventh round dbi's and such, I'm all for it. So
Speaker 2: good for him. Congratulations.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you mentioned playing defense here a little bit. Thor Nystrom,
Speaker 1: who is a great draft analyst. If you don't follow him,
Speaker 1: I definitely recommend doing so. After the draft happened, he
Speaker 1: sent out this compilation of like the highest ranked undrafted
Speaker 1: free agents, and I think there are other people who
Speaker 1: did this too. I'm pretty sure NFL never had one,
Speaker 1: but on his list. He did a a compilation of it,
Speaker 1: and GIROD. Clark was one of the highest remaining undrafted
Speaker 1: free agents ranking. The Chargers obviously had him, and AJ
Speaker 1: Finley was right up there with him. You know, A. J.
Speaker 1: Finley was very well thought after in draft circles. I
Speaker 1: know the Bootleg Football podcast guys were big fans of
Speaker 1: his as well. We both liked him, so there's definitely
Speaker 1: a lot to work with here. Again you mentioned this,
Speaker 1: you know, we'll see how long he ultimately does stay
Speaker 1: on the roster. But Brandon State that likes to have
Speaker 1: ten dbs and unless there's like a veteran that they
Speaker 1: really like out there, I think A J. Finley is
Speaker 1: gonna get a chance to be on this roster. Whether
Speaker 1: or not that's you know, active on gain days, we'll see.
Speaker 1: But I think of the placeholders which we can talk about,
Speaker 1: I think AJ Finley is probably one of the ones
Speaker 1: that I'm more confident in staying on the roster because
Speaker 1: I think this is Brandon State he wants. He's a
Speaker 1: self proclaimed defensive back factory. Like this is what the
Speaker 1: Chargers want to do. They want to develop defensive backs,
Speaker 1: and I think AJ Finley is their next in line.
Speaker 1: So I'm excited to see how it works out. I
Speaker 1: really like the blend of like coverage potential that you
Speaker 1: have with J. T. Woods and AJ Finley as your
Speaker 1: second team safeties so to speak. You know, Alohi and
Speaker 1: Durwin can do a lot of the physical dirty work
Speaker 1: stuff of the safety position, and then AJ Finley and J. T.
Speaker 1: Woods can kind of fill them blanks in that regard.
Speaker 1: So very happy with this that the safety room I
Speaker 1: think is a surprise based off of like snaps. But
Speaker 1: I'm very happy with this room right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, as am I it's a really really okay. Do
Speaker 2: I hesitate and say solid room, I'll wait. I'll wait
Speaker 2: and say it's a solid room. But I even though
Speaker 2: it's an unproven room, I do very much so like
Speaker 2: the guys that are in the room. So I think
Speaker 2: you can feel, I don't know about confident, but really
Speaker 2: happy with who you have because I think you just
Speaker 2: there's a lot of potential within that room.
Speaker 1: I think that's fair. All right, let's go through a
Speaker 1: position by a position here and we'll give some thoughts
Speaker 1: as we go. One of the other bigger surprises potentially
Speaker 1: for some people quarterback. Only two on the roster this year,
Speaker 1: again subject to change, but the Chargers they decide to
Speaker 1: release Max Duggan and only keep Justin Herbert and Easton
Speaker 1: Stick on the roster. This is only the second time
Speaker 1: in the years that they've been in Los Angeles that
Speaker 1: the Chargers have kept just two quarterbacks on the roster,
Speaker 1: the other one being twenty eighteen when it was just
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers and Geno Smith. This year Justin Herbert and
Speaker 1: Eson Stick. What is your reaction to the decision to
Speaker 1: cut Max dug and Tyler.
Speaker 2: I thought this would be what either made or broke
Speaker 2: my bracket, and it turns out it was everything else
Speaker 2: we just talked about. But I thought it was risky
Speaker 2: because to predict that Dougan would not make the fifty
Speaker 2: three because they've kept three quarterbacks, and like we've talked about,
Speaker 2: there's a rule now that really kind of helps you,
Speaker 2: and like there's a kind of another reason to keep
Speaker 2: three quarterbacks, So why cut him this year after you
Speaker 2: just drafted him at the same time, Like we just
Speaker 2: talked about Elijah Dotson, there was just there were too
Speaker 2: many guys I think that played really gosh darn well
Speaker 2: that yes, they're undrafted free agents versus a seventh round pick,
Speaker 2: but those undrafted free agents played a really, really good preseason,
Speaker 2: and I thought it would come down to like Elijah Dawson,
Speaker 2: Gerard Clark who didn't make it, but you just felt
Speaker 2: like you had to get one of these other guys
Speaker 2: on there. So Max Duggan, I hope he develops and
Speaker 2: is great obviously the one him on the practice squad,
Speaker 2: and he's got tons of tools. I think he rebounded
Speaker 2: in that final game. It wasn't so hot to start,
Speaker 2: but to at least rebound, score a touchdown, run at
Speaker 2: least very well, that's great to see. So hopefully there
Speaker 2: is something there for them. But this I think it
Speaker 2: just came down to there's just enough other guys that
Speaker 2: we want to keep. And then, really, as we've talked
Speaker 2: about as well, if Herbert ever got hurt, they'd probably
Speaker 2: just sign another quarterback, whether that's ahead of Stick or
Speaker 2: behind him. I don't think we'd see Duggan this year,
Speaker 2: so I understand why they let him go. So it's
Speaker 2: not a surprise because we predicted it, but I wasn't
Speaker 2: so sure that's for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'd be curious about the data of like fifth, sixth,
Speaker 1: seventh round draft picks in terms of quarterbacks that actually
Speaker 1: like play out the duration of their rookie career or
Speaker 1: rookie contract. Excuse me on the team that drafted them,
Speaker 1: because I think if, like you know, the optimistic view
Speaker 1: is that these guys who are drafted on late Day three,
Speaker 1: they're your long term backup types and you know, that's
Speaker 1: obviously why the Chargers kept Decent Stick around, because they
Speaker 1: were pretty optimistic about his development and wanted to again
Speaker 1: play defense and make sure that he wasn't scooped up
Speaker 1: by another team who might have thought pretty highly of
Speaker 1: him on the draft. And I think also just like
Speaker 1: it speaks to the strength of the Chargers' roster, Like
Speaker 1: I think the Chargers felt like they needed that extra
Speaker 1: spot on the fifty three as opposed to being able
Speaker 1: to have that extra spot on the forty eight because
Speaker 1: of the third quarterback rules. So you know, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's a shame that you know, Max Duggan didn't get
Speaker 1: more opportunity because this team was really invested in the
Speaker 1: development of East and Stick and I think rightfully so.
Speaker 1: But like you said, there were guys who really went
Speaker 1: out there and had some excellent, you know, chances to
Speaker 1: show what they had and showed out well. You know,
Speaker 1: there were guys who were cut today that you know,
Speaker 1: I think objectively should be on this roster, but you
Speaker 1: can only keep fifty three. You know, It's it's part
Speaker 1: of how you work this puzzle. And unfortunately for Max Duggan,
Speaker 1: you know, he's on the outside looking in you know,
Speaker 1: like you mentioned, I think there's some potential there to
Speaker 1: work with and hopefully you can come back on the
Speaker 1: practice squad. But we'll see what happens there. Maybe he
Speaker 1: decides to look for a better opportunity somewhere else.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you have justin Herbert for the next bazillion
Speaker 2: years and hopefully until the day I die, which won't happen.
Speaker 2: But you know, I hope the quarterback forever. There's other
Speaker 2: position groups where you're not really so sure about who
Speaker 2: the next guy is gonna be, you know, running back
Speaker 2: from example, like you got a hold on the Dotson
Speaker 2: because as probably gone next year, and Kelly is a
Speaker 2: free agent next year. Technically you don't know what you
Speaker 2: have in Spiller and you cut Larry round. She's like, yeah,
Speaker 2: let's keep another guy or or tight end. What does
Speaker 2: tight end look like? Next year could be a completely
Speaker 2: different room, So let's make sure we have another roster
Speaker 2: spot to keep Stone Smart for example. So yes, they'd
Speaker 2: be looking for another quarterback two in the future potentially,
Speaker 2: but that's not as pressing, I think is trying to
Speaker 2: hold on to some of these other guys who really
Speaker 2: showed up and showed out at running back tight end,
Speaker 2: et cetera.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's fair. So we talked a little
Speaker 1: bit about Elijah Dotson obviously making the roster. Any thoughts
Speaker 1: here about how this running back room shook out, and
Speaker 1: you know, we can talk about maybe kind of Spelly
Speaker 1: hello Spelly combined the two Spiller versus Kelly here, But
Speaker 1: any other final thoughts on the running back room.
Speaker 2: Here, not particularly, No, it was really just for me,
Speaker 2: are three art or three running backs? Are four? That's
Speaker 2: all it really came down to end off. It's four.
Speaker 2: It's clearly dots, and so no surprises in that regard
Speaker 2: if the fourth guy that was kept, you know, it
Speaker 2: was Dotson the whole way through and through, so makes sense.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I like the blend of roles here. And you know,
Speaker 1: we talked about heading into the preseason that Dotson might
Speaker 1: be the guy, that guy that we kind of liked
Speaker 1: because he has some receiving potential and you know, he's
Speaker 1: a little bit faster. So I do like the composition
Speaker 1: of this room. Although I understand some people wanting three
Speaker 1: running backs instead up four. We'll see how that goes.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, with the way that Kellen Moore
Speaker 1: wants to, you know, get after it on the ground.
Speaker 1: I think it makes sense to keep four running backs
Speaker 1: as well. Yeah, so obviously Chargers only keeping the one fullback,
Speaker 1: mister Xander Horvath, key special teams player. You know, not
Speaker 1: a surprise at all that he ended up making the
Speaker 1: roster because he's a core four special teams player for
Speaker 1: this Chargers special teams unit. So we'll move on to
Speaker 1: the wide receivers here, only keeping five on the initial
Speaker 1: active roster here with Keenan, Mike Williams, Quentin Johnson, Josh Palmer,
Speaker 1: and Darius Davis. I know there was a lot of
Speaker 1: initial buzz and hype around john High Tower unfortunately getting
Speaker 1: injured kind of derailing that. Keelan Dawson is just kind
Speaker 1: of a really steady presence in the preseason. We both
Speaker 1: had six on the active roster initially from Saturday Charges.
Speaker 1: You're going with five here, Tyler, what are your thoughts? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Hi Tower unfortunately, great story for the first few weeks
Speaker 2: of camp and then just grinding halt and you feel
Speaker 2: bad because you see it's like, okay, yeah, this guy's
Speaker 2: gonna make it. Here's his opportunity doesn't happen. So that's unfortunate,
Speaker 2: had DAWs making it. I kind of thought that they
Speaker 2: would lean into like they did with defensive tackle. You know,
Speaker 2: let's switch it up, let's have sixty tackles. So I
Speaker 2: figured going into this year that they would carry six
Speaker 2: wide receivers. They still might, It's very much possible. Jalen
Speaker 2: Guiden on the pup list, so he's got four games,
Speaker 2: he's not going to play, so he's kind of a
Speaker 2: post by thing. So it seems like they're just going
Speaker 2: to go with we're just gonna have Keelan Dawson the
Speaker 2: practice squad. If he clears, elevate him, elevate him. Potentially
Speaker 2: after you do your elevations, you have to sign him.
Speaker 2: And maybe that's where dots and ends up being cut
Speaker 2: because they have to find a spot somewhere. So I
Speaker 2: would have liked to see them keep six. But it's okay.
Speaker 2: I think at least for the first two weeks they're
Speaker 2: gonna have six. In a way, it's just through elevations.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think, you know, we might have misinterpreted like
Speaker 1: the need for a six receiver, and that's fine. You know,
Speaker 1: sometimes he missed these predictions. But Jalen Guidan is really
Speaker 1: that guy, you know, like you mentioned, he's gonna be
Speaker 1: on the pup list to start, you know, I would
Speaker 1: assume that once he's healthy, he's going to be on
Speaker 1: the active roster and we'll see when that is. But
Speaker 1: him stay on the pup list, I think is the
Speaker 1: right decision. Gives him, you know, another basically six weeks
Speaker 1: to you know, continue working on his recovery and maybe
Speaker 1: by that time he looks great and he's ready for
Speaker 1: an active roster spot, or maybe you keep him on longer.
Speaker 1: I don't know. We'll see what happens there. But you know,
Speaker 1: I think this receiver room is fantastic, Like I think
Speaker 1: the potential of this receiver room is so so good.
Speaker 1: I would have liked to have some more flexibility for sure,
Speaker 1: you know, And people will compare it like they kept
Speaker 1: five last year, but this is a very different five,
Speaker 1: Like this is a unit that you feel great about.
Speaker 1: Josh Palmer has taken another step forward. Quentin Johnson has been,
Speaker 1: as advertised, I would say, in training camp, really excited
Speaker 1: to see his rookie debut. Darius Davis, as we've seen,
Speaker 1: can give you some you know, gadget stuff while also
Speaker 1: being like a functional receiver from the slot from time
Speaker 1: to time. So this is a much deeper stable of
Speaker 1: wide receivers that this team can can use, and killing
Speaker 1: Moore can deploys as he sees fit. But I think
Speaker 1: eventually we will see six on the roster because Jalen
Speaker 1: Guiden is going to come back at some point and
Speaker 1: the roster is going to change when he's healthy and
Speaker 1: ready to contribute.
Speaker 2: Yeah, to your point about the five being so different
Speaker 2: than last year, that's kind of where I think we
Speaker 2: did at our misstep, like, well, they need to keep
Speaker 2: six because they didn't last year, and they suffered because
Speaker 2: they didn't have six. They didn't have enough guys. And again,
Speaker 2: when guy comes back, it'll probably be six. But like
Speaker 2: you said, it's very different set of five. First of all,
Speaker 2: everybody's healthy, so that's a that's a good start. And
Speaker 2: then Darius Davis, Quentin Johnson, and Josh Palmer, all those
Speaker 2: guys finished the preseason training camp, et cetera. With stock ups.
Speaker 2: You feel nothing but great about the receiver room. So
Speaker 2: I understand why at least for now, it's five on
Speaker 2: the initial roster.
Speaker 1: Yeah, hundred percent. All right, let's get to the tight ends.
Speaker 1: Here Chargers deciding to keep four again like they did
Speaker 1: last year, obviously being Jared Everett, Donald Parham, Tree, McKitty
Speaker 1: and Stone Smart. I think initially I was a little
Speaker 1: bit hesitant on stone Smart making it, but to his credit,
Speaker 1: he had a really really solid preseason, had some good
Speaker 1: moments in training camp, and particular I think shined in
Speaker 1: the Saints joint practices according to those who were there.
Speaker 1: So what's your reaction here to Stone Smart being one
Speaker 1: of the fifty three? Initially what a story.
Speaker 2: Because he started so hot last year in the spring,
Speaker 2: but then he got hurt so and for an undrafted
Speaker 2: free agent quarterback turn tight end from old dominion, it's like, well,
Speaker 2: that's that's it, you know, that's all you got. But
Speaker 2: they held on to him and they saw something in him,
Speaker 2: and then he started to play in some games, and
Speaker 2: now you've got a guy that you know for the
Speaker 2: next few years. We'll see if they cut him or
Speaker 2: whatever again, but you feel pretty good about his development,
Speaker 2: his trajectory. I think it's early to say this, but
Speaker 2: it's we can, I think sort of say this. It's
Speaker 2: potentially a Gerald Everett light kind of replacement. If ever
Speaker 2: it goes down. His skill set is just a little
Speaker 2: different than the other guys. It's a little bit different
Speaker 2: than Donnad Parham, than Trey mc kitty as a more
Speaker 2: pure receiver type. Is he gonna be your inline blocker?
Speaker 2: Not really, I don't think so.
Speaker 1: Though.
Speaker 2: They can use him and he saw the forty nine
Speaker 2: ers game. They can use him creatively two block like
Speaker 2: they would have Oh, I don't know, like a Utah's
Speaker 2: Dalton Cancade for example. I don't know if you've heard
Speaker 2: of him, you know, I just had to throw that
Speaker 2: in there. But I'm happy for him. What a story
Speaker 2: because not often, he's not often. Do you a guy
Speaker 2: from a not a large school convert from quarterback to
Speaker 2: a different position and then get hurt and then make
Speaker 2: it and then continue to be on the roster and
Speaker 2: then make it again this year.
Speaker 1: Pretty impressive. Yeah, quarterback to tight end, that's a very
Speaker 1: unique transition. You know, there's a lot of quarterback to receiver,
Speaker 1: quarterback to running back, you know, receiver to tight end.
Speaker 1: Quarterback to quarterback to tight end is very very unique,
Speaker 1: and I think it just kind of speaks to the
Speaker 1: work that he's put in. And also, like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: he missed like basically the whole summer he was injured.
Speaker 1: He was on that little crutch with his leg in
Speaker 1: a boot last summer, so you know, credit to him,
Speaker 1: job well done. I really like the development he's shown,
Speaker 1: particularly as like a contested catch artist. Had some great
Speaker 1: moments in the preseason this year in that regard and
Speaker 1: just shows that, you know, the quarterbacks can trust him.
Speaker 1: As a blocker, I think more reminiscent of like a
Speaker 1: Stephen Anderson type, where's you got to get him on
Speaker 1: the move and get going. Like you mentioned our guy
Speaker 1: a Dalton Kincaid, very similar role in that regard, more
Speaker 1: of an h back than he is a true tight
Speaker 1: end as a blocker, but that Gerald Everett insurance, if
Speaker 1: you will. So as a receiving room, I really like
Speaker 1: this tight end room. I think with Donald Parham stretching
Speaker 1: the seams again yards after catchability, Gerald Everett, working crossers
Speaker 1: also can work vertically and soon and smart. You've got
Speaker 1: a lot of potential here as a receiving room. As
Speaker 1: a blocking unit, I'm still very concerned, and you know,
Speaker 1: I want everybody to do well, and I want everybody
Speaker 1: to reach all your potential. But with the way that
Speaker 1: this team wants to run, the wants to run the football,
Speaker 1: and make sure that they're able to run in an
Speaker 1: efficient play acting play action game. I'm concerned. This is
Speaker 1: a this is a unit that I think should be addressed.
Speaker 1: And again I don't I'm not going to call for
Speaker 1: anybody's job, but this is a unit that has to
Speaker 1: improve in the blocking department or the rushing attack is
Speaker 1: simply not going to reach its potential. So ideally that
Speaker 1: from the players that are on the team, and you
Speaker 1: don't have to make any moves. But I'm concerned, and
Speaker 1: I don't think anything that happened in the preseason showed otherwise.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would agree there. Obviously we didn't get to
Speaker 2: see like a ton of Donald Parham blocking a ton
Speaker 2: of film and whatever. But yeah, we'll see It's a
Speaker 2: position group that we've been concerned with for that specific
Speaker 2: reason because it was so worrisome last year and there's
Speaker 2: just so much uncertainty, you know, Donald Parham, consistency with injuries,
Speaker 2: McKitty hopefully rebounding. We'll see Gerald Everett not known as
Speaker 2: an inline blocker, and Stone smart Again. We just talked
Speaker 2: about converted quarterback to tight end. I don't know what
Speaker 2: he weighs now, but he was two twenty six last
Speaker 2: time that they somebody weighed him, I guess and reported it.
Speaker 2: So it's not a great blocking unit. I'm very curious
Speaker 2: through the first four games what Kellen Moore does with
Speaker 2: that blocking unit. Does he rely on that extra tight
Speaker 2: end or do we just say, hey, we've got receivers,
Speaker 2: so we're gonna use receiver and our five linemen. That's
Speaker 2: all we're gonna do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, to your point, like Will Clap has two hundred
Speaker 1: and sixty snaps as a six offensive lineman registered as
Speaker 1: an inline tight end according to BFF in his history,
Speaker 1: I think Jordan McFadden could do very well in that
Speaker 1: regard to as a former offensive tackle. You know, this
Speaker 1: is an offensive coordinator that is not He's not hesitant
Speaker 1: to use extra offensive lineman. He had an infamous hulk
Speaker 1: package that he used in Dallas to get Connor McGovern
Speaker 1: on the field more often. And that is something that
Speaker 1: you can do one percent. You can use extra offensive linemen,
Speaker 1: you know, as much as you want, but at some point,
Speaker 1: like it just kind of limits your options because really
Speaker 1: tough to run play action with six offensive linemen on
Speaker 1: the field because that six one is probably not running routes.
Speaker 1: So yeah, again, ideally the unit improves on their own.
Speaker 1: I do think Donald parm is an underrated blocker, but
Speaker 1: they don't have a true like tone setter at tight
Speaker 1: end like they had with like Virgin Green or like
Speaker 1: Sean McGrath kind of guy, and I think they are
Speaker 1: missing that kind of presence.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm gonna have to start putting some Scott Matt
Speaker 2: Loocke or Jordan McFadden you know, faiths that's right, man. Well, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: we had to get some film out there of them
Speaker 2: catching some passes to keep the defenses honest, because yeah,
Speaker 2: that's what we're leaning on for the full back and
Speaker 2: extra blockers. Hey, gotta throw some past every once in
Speaker 2: a while.
Speaker 1: Yeah all right, let's uh, let's get to those offensive linemen.
Speaker 1: Chargers keeping nine this year I think a bit of
Speaker 1: a surprise, but starting unit obviously stays intact with Rashawn Slater,
Speaker 1: Zion Johnson, Corey Lindley. I almostaid Jordan mcfatten, not Jordan McFadden.
Speaker 1: Jamari Sawier is the starting right guard and then Trey Pipkins.
Speaker 1: Mister McFadden will clap Foster Surrell, and then Brennan Heimus
Speaker 1: another potential surprise here. I think for me, the way
Speaker 1: that I kind of interpreted this is that Will Clap
Speaker 1: has a ton of versatility in his background. He started
Speaker 1: his career at LSU as a guard all him and
Speaker 1: they ended up as a center. He started out his
Speaker 1: career in the NFL as a guard and ultimately has
Speaker 1: decided to go back to center for a variety of reasons.
Speaker 1: So he's a guy that can play all three spots
Speaker 1: on the interior. And I think this team watched what
Speaker 1: Brennan Hymas did at center, the improvement and that he displayed,
Speaker 1: just like the comfort level that he was expressing as
Speaker 1: a center, they decided to keep him around and see
Speaker 1: if that is a player that you can develop long term.
Speaker 1: And so I think you kind of pivot away from
Speaker 1: this idea that maybe Zach Bailey is your swing guard
Speaker 1: or maybe Jordan mcfatten is your swing guard, to hey,
Speaker 1: Will Clap is our swing into your player period and
Speaker 1: then if something else happens, we'll bring in Brennan Heeimis
Speaker 1: or Jordan mcfatten to kind of fill in the gap.
Speaker 1: So that's my interpretation of the decision to keep Brennan
Speaker 1: Hymas instead of Zach Bailey, I am, you know, not
Speaker 1: gonna lie a little disappointed. I thought Zach Bailey was
Speaker 1: their best backup on the team period. In the preseason.
Speaker 1: I thought that he what he displayed on tape was
Speaker 1: a true level of consistency, explosiveness, and he played three
Speaker 1: different positions in the preseason. So I really like Zach Bailey.
Speaker 1: I was pretty surprised that they decided not to keep
Speaker 1: him on the initial fifty three. But it is what
Speaker 1: it is. Like I mentioned, I think some of this
Speaker 1: is defense, with center being such a valuable position. You know,
Speaker 1: teams need centers all the time. We just saw former
Speaker 1: Charger center Dan Feenie get traded because the Bears needed
Speaker 1: a center, and maybe them looking at Brendan Hymis and saying, hey, like,
Speaker 1: we need to protect this guy for now, and let's
Speaker 1: keep working with him and maybe he's he can become
Speaker 1: something down the road and we'll clap can kind of
Speaker 1: fill in the gaps there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm very curious what this and I guess we'll
Speaker 2: never know. To me, I hear your argument, for you know,
Speaker 2: we'll club going to guard and this sort of thing.
Speaker 2: It kind of feels like Aukham's razor in this regard,
Speaker 2: where it's just like the simplest answer is potentially the
Speaker 2: right one, and that's that he was their draft pick,
Speaker 2: and I think that that is something that they're going
Speaker 2: to stick with. They did obviously we just talked about
Speaker 2: tight end with Trey mckittiy, like they're going to stick
Speaker 2: with it and work through it now. I do think,
Speaker 2: and I want to give him credit here. Brendan Himas
Speaker 2: finished the preseason really strong, and that final game was
Speaker 2: about a lot of guys like, Okay, here's your snaps,
Speaker 2: Let's see what you got, you know, even the edge
Speaker 2: rushers that aren't even going to make the practice squad,
Speaker 2: like Carlo Kemp going elsewhere, Tys She'll be going elsewhere potentially,
Speaker 2: They gave them a ton of run in that game
Speaker 2: to just see what do you got? What are you
Speaker 2: going to show us? And Brendon Himas had a really, really,
Speaker 2: really good game and looking at the preseason as a whole,
Speaker 2: like you're looking at not that it was just him.
Speaker 2: Zion and Jamari obviously contributed. Jordan mcfadt and Zach Bailey contributed.
Speaker 2: But the team rushed for six hundred one rushing yards,
Speaker 2: and I think they're going to look at Brendon hypisiness
Speaker 2: and say, like, yeah, he gets you. He should get
Speaker 2: a ton of credit for that. For at least in
Speaker 2: that regard, they performed very well. I think he performed
Speaker 2: very well. It really just comes down to, you know, before,
Speaker 2: really early on, before training camp, we talked about questions
Speaker 2: that we had that we needed answering in training camp,
Speaker 2: and one of the first ones I talked about, if
Speaker 2: not the first one, was Okay, when Rashawn Slater and
Speaker 2: Trey Pipugan throw off the field, who are the tackles?
Speaker 2: And I feel like I know less now than I did,
Speaker 2: because to me, with Zach Bailey, you felt like, Okay,
Speaker 2: Foster Carral's your swinging tackle. If a Shawn goes down,
Speaker 2: Foster Cerol goes over there. And if you have Zach
Speaker 2: Bailey on your team and something happens in right tackle,
Speaker 2: he looked great in the preseason, so there's your other tackle. Whatever.
Speaker 2: Now I'm not really so sure. Now, again, this is
Speaker 2: initial roster. Things might change. Everything we're talking about now
Speaker 2: by the time it airs tomorrow could be completely different.
Speaker 2: But for right now, I don't have that question answered
Speaker 2: yet of what is the plan at backup tackle, And
Speaker 2: as we've sort of gathered throughout the preseason in training camp,
Speaker 2: is that a good plan? We'll find out or hopefully
Speaker 2: we never do, but if we find out, if we
Speaker 2: have the opportunity to, we will eventually find out.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I think like the way that I interpret this
Speaker 1: roster right now is that if anything happens on the interior,
Speaker 1: we'll Clap goes in at any three spot. If anything
Speaker 1: happens at offensive tackle, Foster Srell goes in. If anything
Speaker 1: else happens after that, then you have Brendan heeimis Jordan
Speaker 1: McFadden And did I say we'll clap and Brendan Heeimus
Speaker 1: excuse me to film in the gaps? After that? Had
Speaker 1: at little brain part there. That's okay. So I think
Speaker 1: this team trusts their ability to kind of workshop it
Speaker 1: and figure it out, and you know they've they've shown
Speaker 1: a good enough track record that I think we should
Speaker 1: have some trust in that. So again I thought Zacharly
Speaker 1: should enough to make the roster. I thought to me
Speaker 1: he was a lock, and I wish him well if
Speaker 1: he ends up on the practice squad again, great because
Speaker 1: I think that would be a fantastic depth option to have.
Speaker 1: So we'll see what happens there. All right, let's shift
Speaker 1: gears talk about the defense here as we're running out
Speaker 1: of time, Chargers keeping six defensive linemen Morgan Fox, Christopher Hinton,
Speaker 1: Austin Johnson, Sebastian Joseph Day, Scott Madlock, Scott Mattlock, and
Speaker 1: Nick Williams. To me, this is a Christopher Hinton positive story.
Speaker 1: I think this is a great opportunity for him. And
Speaker 1: you know, Sebastian Joseph Dy highlighted it today. He was
Speaker 1: a guy who, you know, maybe potentially left college a
Speaker 1: little bit earlier than some might of thought, goes undrafted,
Speaker 1: signs with the Falcons, gets cut, signs with the Giants,
Speaker 1: gets cut, gets signs with the Chargers, and play some
Speaker 1: key moments down the stretch of last season, and was
Speaker 1: getting first team run without Austin Johnson on the team
Speaker 1: this year. So, Tyler, what do you make of the
Speaker 1: decision to keep Christopher Hinton. I know a lot of
Speaker 1: fans out there wanted Gerrod Clark on this roster too. CJ.
Speaker 1: Koya sounds like he's going to be back on the
Speaker 1: practice squad. But what do you make of how this
Speaker 1: room got sorted out?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I guess I'll start with Drawd Clark player,
Speaker 2: absolutely deserving to make it. I think based on his
Speaker 2: preseason play, wouldn't have been surprised. It wouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 2: It would be surprised to me if he was the
Speaker 2: fifty fourth guy, you know, just like I just just
Speaker 2: couldn't do it. Had to keep Dotson or Smart or whatever.
Speaker 2: So bummer there. But I get it. Christopher Hinton, great story.
Speaker 2: I did not see this coming. And then suddenly day
Speaker 2: went off camp. You're like, oh, I guess Chrishinton is
Speaker 2: making the roster. And then that was it, Like there
Speaker 2: was no really other debate discussion. He was out there
Speaker 2: with the first team with two guys hurt, and he
Speaker 2: looked good and he played well, and I was so
Speaker 2: surprised to see how he could function as a not
Speaker 2: just a run stopper, because that is ultimate well Dirod
Speaker 2: Clark will be, that's kind of a specialty. He had
Speaker 2: some pressures throughout the preseason, but he is a run
Speaker 2: stopper and maybe that is Chris Hinton more so too.
Speaker 2: But he saw some great, great pressures. I think a
Speaker 2: sack or two from him in the preseason. So give
Speaker 2: Jay Rodgers whatever he wants. Man, if you have a
Speaker 2: player who you feel really good about, who's been with
Speaker 2: you now in your second year, second season, not really
Speaker 2: two full seasons, I feel good about him, keep him
Speaker 2: and keep him in that rotation because you know, you
Speaker 2: really don't know a whole lot about some of these
Speaker 2: undrafted free agents and how they might respond to an
Speaker 2: NFL game. You don't know what's happening with Otito. We
Speaker 2: have honestly, I mean you might, but it seems like
Speaker 2: that's a mystery. You've seen Chris Hinton play, You've seen
Speaker 2: him in the NFL. You've seen him play. He works
Speaker 2: with coach Ed, he knows the guys he's lining up against.
Speaker 2: You know, again, if you have Sebastian just Up, Dave Morgan, Fox,
Speaker 2: and Chris Hinton out there, those are three guys that
Speaker 2: all train together. So I just think chemistry knowing about
Speaker 2: him more and just he played good football. It's a
Speaker 2: good move, and it was This six is not a surprise.
Speaker 2: It's a solid group that only get better when Otito returns.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a group that I think is going to
Speaker 1: be underrated and nationally, I mean, how often do we
Speaker 1: see all the draft punnits wanting on a No's tackle
Speaker 1: in the first round this year? And I'm already seeing
Speaker 1: that it's happening again for next monk the next draft season.
Speaker 1: So a group that I think is underrated. But Christopher Hinton,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, him making the roster really comes
Speaker 1: down to versatility because I think that he can play
Speaker 1: all spots across the line. He can be a run
Speaker 1: defending nose tackle if you want him to. He can
Speaker 1: be a pass rushing three tech or a pass rushing
Speaker 1: five tech. I think he can play all across the
Speaker 1: line and do it well. And again, this is a
Speaker 1: guy who was a five star recruit, went to Michigan,
Speaker 1: shine at Michigan. Again, maybe came out of school a
Speaker 1: little bit too early, but this is what the NFL
Speaker 1: is about, you know, finding a guy like Christopher Hinton
Speaker 1: and turning him into a quality player and getting him
Speaker 1: in a right situation with Jay Rodgers and learning from
Speaker 1: behind guys like Sebastian, Joseph Day, Austin Johnson, Morgan Fox,
Speaker 1: and I think it's it's super cool to see it
Speaker 1: come to fruition. I wish to Rod clark well, I
Speaker 1: hope he's able to come back on the practice squad,
Speaker 1: because that's a guy who was like very clearly the
Speaker 1: top in the league in terms of run stop percentage
Speaker 1: among all defensive tackles who played in the preseason. There's
Speaker 1: a very defined role for him, though, and I think
Speaker 1: that just kind of limited his opportunities because I think
Speaker 1: Jay Rodgers, Brandon say they like these guys who can
Speaker 1: play all across the line. That is Christopher Hinton, that
Speaker 1: is Nick Williams, that is Scott Mattlock, that is Austin Johnson,
Speaker 1: it is Sebastian, Joseph Day, heck even Morgan Fox. So
Speaker 1: that's hey, I want to learn how to play against
Speaker 1: the center more often and fight double teams. So this
Speaker 1: is a good group. I feel really good about this group,
Speaker 1: especially that Austin Johnson is healthy. How healthy we'll see.
Speaker 1: But I like this group a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, me too. The last couple of years they've held
Speaker 2: onto another guy to make the initial fifty three was
Speaker 2: really good at stopping the run. Forest Merril nose tackle,
Speaker 2: Brandon Vogo no tackle. But ultimately when it came to
Speaker 2: the entire season outlook until injuries happened. They want a
Speaker 2: guys who could do more than one thing, and Christina
Speaker 2: can do that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, moving on here outside linebacker, slash edge rusher,
Speaker 1: whatever you want to call it, no surprises Joey Bosa, Klumack,
Speaker 1: Chris Frump and two Lee tweet Polo tu We've talked
Speaker 1: a lot about this unit on this channel, on our
Speaker 1: own channel. I think this is the best edge situation
Speaker 1: that the charges you've had in a few years here,
Speaker 1: But did you have any thoughts about this group before
Speaker 1: we move on?
Speaker 2: No, not about these four. I feel very confident about them.
Speaker 2: We've talked about them, and we'll see who the one
Speaker 2: EDG dresher is. Sounds like Andrew Farmer would be like
Speaker 2: the sort of priority there with you know, with Carlo Kemp,
Speaker 2: it seems like he's destined to go elsewhere and not
Speaker 2: make the practice squad. So Andrew Farmer showed a lot.
Speaker 2: I think he'll be the guy that ends up on
Speaker 2: the practice squad.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Kemp was I think just a little timing here
Speaker 1: could have gone along way for him. I think if
Speaker 1: he had had this kind of preseason last year. I
Speaker 1: think you would have made the roster last year. But
Speaker 1: I think no real surprises with this four making the
Speaker 1: ultimate four or initial fit four. I guess all right,
Speaker 1: let's get to the linebackers. Inside linebackers again, no real
Speaker 1: surprises here, Dayon Hanley, Eric Kendrick, Kenneth Murray, Nickneman, and
Speaker 1: amon ogbang Lamiga. What are your thoughts here, Tyler?
Speaker 2: Honestly, if you asked me who was the defensive surprise
Speaker 2: to make the team, I would have said, Okay, like
Speaker 2: Michael Jones or Blake Lynch or something like that. So
Speaker 2: I figured maybe like this could be the area. Turns
Speaker 2: out it was Aj Finley for the safety group. Nope,
Speaker 2: feel good about this group. You have a good combination
Speaker 2: of you know, a veteran, a hopefully ascending Kenneth Murray,
Speaker 2: special teams guys, a rookie draft pick you feel really
Speaker 2: good about. So again, slightly unproven still, but you still
Speaker 2: feel good about about some of these guys.
Speaker 1: And I think it's a union that has a lot
Speaker 1: of potential but definitely needs to click together here. I
Speaker 1: think obviously Eric Canwicks is a big part of that.
Speaker 1: Dan Henley had a really fantastic preseason, very curious about
Speaker 1: what really is his role because you know, from a
Speaker 1: snap's perspective, it always felt like Amen and Nick Neeman
Speaker 1: were ahead of him on the depth chart. But we'll
Speaker 1: see how that changes throughout the course of the season.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Michael Jones. I thought he was really fantastic
Speaker 1: in the preseason games, especially against the Saints and the
Speaker 1: forty nine Ers. Really instinctive linebacker. I think he's a
Speaker 1: little bit limited in coverage duties, but he's a guy
Speaker 1: I definitely want to circle for a potential practice squad spot,
Speaker 1: and hopefully by the time you guys are all listening
Speaker 1: to his that has already come to fruition. So he's
Speaker 1: a guy that I definitely want to see them continue
Speaker 1: to work with going forward.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I had we have so much. We have limited
Speaker 2: time right to do what we do and to look
Speaker 2: at these undrafted free agents, and when you have a
Speaker 2: bazillion of them, it's hard to keep track of all
Speaker 2: these guys. So I didn't prioritize linebacker one bit because
Speaker 2: you know, they were keeping the guys that they were keeping,
Speaker 2: right like that was and they did. But Jones, over
Speaker 2: the course of the last couple of games, And I'll
Speaker 2: be completely honest, I noticed him out of comedy, out
Speaker 2: of a funny bit because of the way that he
Speaker 2: helped Dan Henley secure the interception, and then he, you know.
Speaker 1: Played.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I'm like okay. And then I looked up
Speaker 2: him and the numbers and I'm like, okay, maybe I
Speaker 2: should pay attention to him more. And he looked great.
Speaker 2: So as the I don't know how many practice squad
Speaker 2: linebackers they usually keep, but I hope he's one of them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. Could I agree more?
Speaker 2: There?
Speaker 1: All right, let's get to the defensive backfield. We talked
Speaker 1: a little bit about AJ Finley. No real surprises otherwise
Speaker 1: in terms of the safety group and cornerback group. Obviously
Speaker 1: Michael Davis, J C. Jackson, and as Sante Samuel Jr.
Speaker 1: Along with Jasa Taylor and Dean Leonard make up the
Speaker 1: cornerback group, and then again the safeties being Derwin James,
Speaker 1: Alohi Gillman, Raheem Lane, and obviously AJ Finley. But regarding
Speaker 1: the cornerbacks, Tyler, are you at all surprised that maybe
Speaker 1: Timon Mullin or Cam Brown didn't make this roster? How
Speaker 1: do you feel about that? Group.
Speaker 2: No, I'm not surprised. I think you feel very confident
Speaker 2: in your five corners. We'll see what Jac's health, of course,
Speaker 2: how that all plays out. Honestly, even without J. C. Jackson,
Speaker 2: you feel pretty good about what you've seen from Assante
Speaker 2: Semler Jr. You know what you having. Michael Davis, Dean
Speaker 2: Leonard I argue has been one of the best guys
Speaker 2: of training camp in the preseason. Just a phenomenal improvement
Speaker 2: from him over the last year and a half or so.
Speaker 2: So he's been great. Joy they feel good about. So
Speaker 2: no surprises here. If Mullan made it cool, I get it.
Speaker 2: If Cam Brown made it cool, I get it. But
Speaker 2: no surprise they didn't.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, time one. Mullen I think was a guy
Speaker 1: who grew on me a lot, you know, just seeing
Speaker 1: his physicality that he brought to the table in the
Speaker 1: preseason kind of redundant. Unfortunately with the Sante and you
Speaker 1: see Taylor on the roster, you know, Derwin's gonna play
Speaker 1: in the slot a lot. You know, we'll see what
Speaker 1: happens in terms of other slot defenders, but you know,
Speaker 1: it's tough to find a role at that star position.
Speaker 1: As Brandon Stateley likes to call it, so definitely just
Speaker 1: want to circle him and Cam Brown for the practice squad.
Speaker 1: But we'll see what happens there. To your point about
Speaker 1: Dean Leonard, I think one thing I do want to
Speaker 1: highlight here is that, like you can make a real
Speaker 1: real argument that the two most improved players on the
Speaker 1: team from last year to now are in this defensive
Speaker 1: backfield being Dean Leonard and J. T. Woods, And those
Speaker 1: are two spots that we really needed to see that improvement.
Speaker 1: And and so I think, you know, definite tip to
Speaker 1: those guys who have really come out, worked super hard
Speaker 1: and put it out on the practice field, took it
Speaker 1: to the preseason games, and hopefully we can see some
Speaker 1: of that improvement you know, come to shine in the
Speaker 1: regular season.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we've been Harley. I've definitely been singing Derek Ansley's
Speaker 2: praises as the guy who was the DB's coach and
Speaker 2: now the defensive coordinator. You just feel great about him
Speaker 2: and the development of these guys in the charges. To
Speaker 2: continue with that, I mean j T. Woods, I know
Speaker 2: it's not really what we're talking about it in today,
Speaker 2: but he's improved tremendously and I think you just see
Speaker 2: that statistically on film, Etcjean Leonard looks. I mean again,
Speaker 2: the transformation, what he's done over the last year and
Speaker 2: a half or so since they drafted him last April
Speaker 2: is tremendous. So good for him, good for this group,
Speaker 2: you feel really good about him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, Last, but not least, the specialists on
Speaker 1: the team. Again, there was only one punter, only one
Speaker 1: long snapper, so JK Scott, Josh Harris, making it definitely
Speaker 1: not a surprise. We got to see an actual legitimate
Speaker 1: kicking battle, although Hopkins was injured for a little bit,
Speaker 1: but Cameron Dicker ultimately ends up winning the position battle
Speaker 1: beats out Dustin Hopkins, who gets traded to the Cleveland Browns. Again.
Speaker 1: We talked about this a little bit earlier. I want
Speaker 1: to Wishusin Hopkins very well man like. He saved the
Speaker 1: Chargers from a really tough spot in twenty twenty one,
Speaker 1: was fantastic for that team down the stretch and literally
Speaker 1: left every ounce of energy that he possibly had on
Speaker 1: that field against the Denver Broncos. One of the coolest
Speaker 1: moments to see him kick that game winning field goal
Speaker 1: basically on one leg. So Dustin Hopkins. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you're listening to this, but I do want to
Speaker 1: wish you well because you are one of the best
Speaker 1: kickers in Chargers' recent memory, so hopefully you experienced nothing
Speaker 1: but success in Cleveland. That being said, I'm very excited
Speaker 1: about Cameron Dicker. Man. I think Dicker has earned this opportunity.
Speaker 1: He was like ninety three percent all throughout the summer,
Speaker 1: and I think Charges fans should be really really excited
Speaker 1: to see Dicker and his potential be the Chargers kicker
Speaker 1: sho'ly so heading into twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: Three, Yeah, feel great about it again. And Ryan Fick
Speaker 2: and we trust, and in Cameron Dicker and previously Dustin Hopkins,
Speaker 2: we trust. It has been a joy to know that
Speaker 2: I got married this year and I might actually make
Speaker 2: it a few more years because the Kickers have finally
Speaker 2: brought my stress levels down, like I am going to
Speaker 2: be able to start a family, I'm gonna have kids.
Speaker 2: I'll go on a honeymoon next year because these Kickers
Speaker 2: have stabilized the position. And everyone I talked to in
Speaker 2: the stands every single time we're up in the stands,
Speaker 2: and they would whoever it was you named the list
Speaker 2: of people over the last few years. They go out
Speaker 2: to kick and we just stood there, like, please, just
Speaker 2: anything close to within the uprights would be great. If
Speaker 2: you could hit seventy eight percent this year, that'd be awesome.
Speaker 2: And turns out Dustin Hopkins over ninety percent.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: The Washington for whatever reason, decided to cut him, and
Speaker 2: we went thanks, and we never really looked back. He
Speaker 2: was awesome for the Chargers, watching him beat a division
Speaker 2: rival on primetime on one leg where after he kicks
Speaker 2: every kick he falls over because he can't land it
Speaker 2: after he kicks. For him to do that, and then
Speaker 2: not that he did this, but get himself traded for
Speaker 2: a draft pick, like, salute to you, Dustin Hopkins, man,
Speaker 2: I appreciate you. Cameron Dictor, you're here now. Jesus took
Speaker 2: the wheel and now you are the kicker for the
Speaker 2: Los Angeles Chargers for the foreseeable future. I think this
Speaker 2: is a guy that I'm hoping like a Justin Tucker,
Speaker 2: for example, although Dustin Tucker's a whole different story. I
Speaker 2: hope he's the kicker that they can land for years
Speaker 2: and years and years and years and years and years
Speaker 2: and years and years again, I'd like to start a
Speaker 2: family and have my blood pressure stay nice at a
Speaker 2: manageable level.
Speaker 1: So your hopes of starting the family are arresting on camera?
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. His career, yeah pretty much. If he misses
Speaker 2: the first kick, check in on me. You know, we'll
Speaker 2: see how it goes. But yeah, if he misses the
Speaker 2: first kick against Miami, yeah, check in on me.
Speaker 1: I'm dead. I'm dead. It's amazing. Yes, obviously, hope Cameron
Speaker 1: Dicker experiences nothing but success. But the Chargers, you know, again,
Speaker 1: these stories that the Chargers have on the roster are crazy.
Speaker 1: He was he signed with the Rams as a punter.
Speaker 1: He was gonna punt for the Rams after his college career.
Speaker 1: And you know, he's the guy who did both at
Speaker 1: the University of Texas and ultimately decides to stick it,
Speaker 1: to stick to the kicking profession, and it's really worked
Speaker 1: out for him. So I'm excited about Cameron Dicker. I
Speaker 1: know that there's been some concern about his leg strength.
Speaker 1: He had a fifty eight yarder at Texas. He's looked
Speaker 1: good from very far out at training camp. You noted
Speaker 1: during the scrimmage he was kicking from like sixty yards
Speaker 1: out and not like one hundred percent accuracy, but definitely
Speaker 1: had the leg to get it there. So I'm excited
Speaker 1: about Cameron Dicker and hopefully we can, like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: have him around for the long haul.
Speaker 2: Yeah, can't wait for the postseason game winning field goals.
Speaker 1: Yes, speaking into existence? All right, Tyler, any other thoughts
Speaker 1: about this roster before we head out of here tonight.
Speaker 2: Nope, let's play football. Well, you guys play football. I'll
Speaker 2: have to talk about it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll talk about it. Yeah, that's gonna do it
Speaker 1: for us today. Hopefully guys enjoyed it. I know previously
Speaker 1: our shows have been releasing on Tuesdays. They're now going
Speaker 1: to be up on Wednesdays throughout the regular season. So
Speaker 1: hopefully you you know, set those notifications, subscribe to the channel,
Speaker 1: and maybe throw us a bone at our own channel
Speaker 1: as well. We always great greatly appreciate the support. Thanks
Speaker 1: to Tyler for joining me, thanks to Greg Kim for producing,
Speaker 1: especially thanks to the Charges of course for giving us
Speaker 1: this platform. That's gonna do it for us. We'll see
Speaker 1: you guys next time. As always, both top