Speaker 1: Hey, what is up everybody? Welcome to the Guiltiest 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 up? How you doing tonight?
Speaker 2: I'm doing great? Man. You know what's better than losing? Winning?
Speaker 2: Winning is great, and winning two in a row is awesome.
Speaker 2: So nice to just be here after two wins. I
Speaker 2: could get used to this, and hey, guess what. You
Speaker 2: can't lose on a bye week, So we're doing great.
Speaker 1: No, can't lose on a bye week. Can get healthy
Speaker 1: on a bye week? Hopefully that's what's happening this week.
Speaker 1: So definitely got some injury stuff that we can potentially
Speaker 1: dive into. Today. We're gonna kind of jump back a
Speaker 1: little bit towards the Chargers and Raiders game, have some
Speaker 1: kind of final wrap up coverage from that, and then
Speaker 1: we're gonna gonna kind of zoom out and to evaluate
Speaker 1: the Chargers where they're at after four games. This is
Speaker 1: when the Chargers are going to self scout a little bit,
Speaker 1: you know. Like I mentioned though, of course I'll try
Speaker 1: and get healthy, but dive into some tendencies dive into
Speaker 1: who has stood out, dive into who you know what
Speaker 1: kind of needs to go right for this team going forward,
Speaker 1: and it should be a lot of fun, should be
Speaker 1: a good conversation before we get started. Tyler and I
Speaker 1: are fans of the team just like you guys are.
Speaker 1: We've been given this platform by the team and are
Speaker 1: very grateful to have this platform and share our opinions.
Speaker 1: At the end of the day, what we share on
Speaker 1: the show is that it is our opinions first and foremost,
Speaker 1: and what we share on the show is not always
Speaker 1: reflective of the opinions of the Chargers organization themselves. They
Speaker 1: are It's just me and Tyle here. We have this
Speaker 1: platform and we're very grateful to be on it, and
Speaker 1: you know, we're going to dive into this game first
Speaker 1: and foremost, and then, like I said, zoom out a
Speaker 1: little bit here, all right, Tyler. So we're recording this
Speaker 1: on Tuesday night. We've had some time to kind of
Speaker 1: simmer and reflect on the Chargers win over the Raiders.
Speaker 1: You mentioned two wins in a row for this team.
Speaker 1: They're two and two heading into the bye week. What's
Speaker 1: kind of your big general takeaway from the Chargers win
Speaker 1: over the Raiders on Sunday afternoon. We have had that
Speaker 1: time to sit back and reflect on it that it was.
Speaker 2: A much needed figure it out game for a lot
Speaker 2: of players or maybe just even parts of the team
Speaker 2: that they really needed heading into the bye week. I'm
Speaker 2: sort of in a way glad they had this game
Speaker 2: in between, you know, the game against the Vikings where
Speaker 2: they lost Mike Williams and then the Bible. But then
Speaker 2: of course they have the Chiefs and the Cowboys coming up.
Speaker 2: I'm glad that they had this game to try to
Speaker 2: sort through maybe a bit of what they wanted to
Speaker 2: work on with him out, who could stand out, who
Speaker 2: would work in this capacity, et cetera. But more than anything,
Speaker 2: I'm really glad this defense got this game. Of course,
Speaker 2: shout out Khalil Mack for having six sacs. That was
Speaker 2: a ton of fun to watch in the stands, especially
Speaker 2: when the Raiders fans are the ones next to you
Speaker 2: watching it and they're going, eh, maybe we could have
Speaker 2: cap that gay. I don't know, but we're happy to
Speaker 2: have Khalil Mack. Of course, it was a solid to
Speaker 2: great day for the defense overall. Sure there are some asterisks.
Speaker 2: Devonte Adams wasn't in there the whole game, a noconnimal starting.
Speaker 2: I get that, but still, you can only play who
Speaker 2: is across from you, right, And we've seen the defense
Speaker 2: occasionally against rookie quarterbacks like Davis Mills against the Texans
Speaker 2: a few years ago, not quite have the performance that
Speaker 2: we were hoping for, especially when they're missing a couple
Speaker 2: of guys, but they performed very well. This defense is
Speaker 2: trending in the right direction. They after that particular game,
Speaker 2: I think are twenty sixth in defensive EPA per play,
Speaker 2: which doesn't sound great, but they were thirty second, and
Speaker 2: in this particular week they were tenth in EPA per
Speaker 2: play as a defense and again missing Drow and James,
Speaker 2: missing three of their safeties, Joey Bosa, you name it.
Speaker 2: So I'm glad this offense got a bitter run to
Speaker 2: start to figure out who they are post Mike Williams,
Speaker 2: and I'm really glad to see that this defense starting
Speaker 2: to build momentum. They finished the game against the Vikings
Speaker 2: and then I think this, as they're easily their best
Speaker 2: defensive performance overall, is this momentum moving forward? I hope?
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm confident that it could be for this team.
Speaker 1: You know, this unit has closed the games out, like
Speaker 1: you mentioned, two weeks in a row, and I think
Speaker 1: the plan specifically from Brandon Staley this week was a
Speaker 1: really effective game plan. And I think first and foremost
Speaker 1: you have to kind of zoom in and talk about
Speaker 1: what the Chargers were able to do against Josh Jacobs
Speaker 1: in the run. In the run game. You know, you
Speaker 1: and I talked on our own channel just about like
Speaker 1: the potential for a Josh Jacobs breakout game. You and
Speaker 1: I had both watched some Raiders film and felt like
Speaker 1: the Raiders were kind of close to figuring that part
Speaker 1: of their offense out. We know the Josh Jacobs led
Speaker 1: the league in rushing last year, and you know, you
Speaker 1: look at three point eight yards per carrying and that's
Speaker 1: pretty decent the overall production. But for me, I think
Speaker 1: you look at the yards after contact per attempt from
Speaker 1: Josh Jacobs, which was only one point four. He didn't
Speaker 1: have a single ex flosive run that went over ten yards.
Speaker 1: He did have some explosive receptions for sure, But you know,
Speaker 1: this run defense has been very much beligned over the
Speaker 1: last two years. In a Brandon Staley but if you
Speaker 1: really take out the Vikings game, which you know, I
Speaker 1: don't know how much they prepared for Alexander Madison to
Speaker 1: be kind of the featured approach there as opposed to
Speaker 1: the passing game. But you look at the Titans game,
Speaker 1: you look at the Dolphins game, and you look at
Speaker 1: this Raiders game, and the run defense has performed very
Speaker 1: very well, you know overall, and just when looking at
Speaker 1: kind of limiting the production there, and to me, that
Speaker 1: really starts with these edge rushers. You know, we've talked
Speaker 1: a lot about Tooley on our show on this channel,
Speaker 1: Khalil Mack the six sacks, but the way that these
Speaker 1: two edge rushers in particular enjoybust is certainly part of it.
Speaker 1: But you know, we haven't really seen him healthy. The
Speaker 1: way that Tuley and Khlio Mac are defending the run
Speaker 1: is such a treat to see because you know, there
Speaker 1: are so many star pass rushers out in the league
Speaker 1: where they're pass rushers first and run defender second, and
Speaker 1: the way that these two are playing against the run
Speaker 1: is really setting the tone for them. You know, the
Speaker 1: second play of the game, the Raiders ran a GT counter,
Speaker 1: which is you know, they pulled the fullback who they
Speaker 1: had motioned over to kind of a tight end formation,
Speaker 1: and then their their left guard and Khalil kind of
Speaker 1: washes down and essentially erases both of the polling players
Speaker 1: and gave Josh Jacobs zero space. Khalil was able to
Speaker 1: finish off the play, but if he hadn't, Eric Kendricks
Speaker 1: was right there Tooley was chasing down from the backside,
Speaker 1: and it's just like all the dirty work that these
Speaker 1: two edge rushers are doing that really stands out to
Speaker 1: me when I watch the tape, you look at the numbers.
Speaker 1: Two lee Ty Polotu is tied for second in the
Speaker 1: league in run stops among edge rushers. He has the
Speaker 1: third highest run stop percentage. Khlumac is not very far behind.
Speaker 1: So that to me, it was the kind of the
Speaker 1: point of emphasis from Khalil, from Joey, from Tuley in
Speaker 1: training camp and so far they have really put that
Speaker 1: out on tape. They have put that out on the
Speaker 1: statue and it's setting the tone for the way the
Speaker 1: defense is. It's kind of rebounding after that Miami game,
Speaker 1: starting up front, starting up against the run from those two.
Speaker 2: Yeah, compared to last year where Josh Jacobs had twenty
Speaker 2: six carries for one hundred and forty four yards. I'll
Speaker 2: certainly take seventeen carries for fifty eight yards, and like
Speaker 2: you said, not a single run over ten yards. His
Speaker 2: longest run of the day was nine yards. We were
Speaker 2: very concerned. I think all Charges fans were concerned. When
Speaker 2: you're missing your three safeties and you have a running
Speaker 2: back who's looked like he's going to break out at
Speaker 2: any moment, you know, just breaks that one run, that
Speaker 2: sixty yard run. Oh goodness, here we go again. I
Speaker 2: mean the Chargers last year we saw what four or
Speaker 2: five runs in a row of forty yards fifty yards?
Speaker 2: Those backbreakers didn't have that, and Josh Jacobs never came
Speaker 2: close to that. As a receiver maybe fine, but certainly
Speaker 2: not as a runner. So fantastic there. I'm gonna flip
Speaker 2: it back to you now, because you did watch the film,
Speaker 2: and I noticed today that you pointed this out on
Speaker 2: social media as well. What did you make of the
Speaker 2: Raiders deciding to send more help towards two LEAs than
Speaker 2: Khalil Mack's side, which it clearly did not work. So
Speaker 2: I appreciate them for that, but what did you what
Speaker 2: did you make of that.
Speaker 1: I was shocked to see that approach and listen, like
Speaker 1: Toole's played great, I understand sending help there, but this
Speaker 1: is a revenge game, like the Raiders should know more
Speaker 1: than anybody else like Khalil Mack can do. So for
Speaker 1: them to come out in this game and actively not
Speaker 1: send help to Khalil Mack was shocking. One of the
Speaker 1: most puzzling game plan decisions I've seen in a very
Speaker 1: long time studling tape. And you know, you look at
Speaker 1: Tooley's box score, rights, he has one pressure, right, but
Speaker 1: he has the three run stops, and like it speaks
Speaker 1: a lot about where he's at. But also like I
Speaker 1: can't rip my head around, like you know, the charter
Speaker 1: is prepared for Max Crosby, right, like they chipped the
Speaker 1: double team, they slip protection. That's what you have to
Speaker 1: do against these guys. So the fact that Khalil Mack
Speaker 1: has the six sacks, he has the nine pressure or
Speaker 1: ten pressures depending on what kind of sourcer coming from
Speaker 1: against the Raiders, and they were not sending help his
Speaker 1: way was shocking. I couldn't believe my eyes when I
Speaker 1: was watching how much help they were sending towards Tully
Speaker 1: and nothing towards Khalil. It was very, very surprising.
Speaker 2: Well, just let me know where I have to send
Speaker 2: the fruit basket, the flowers, whatever. I appreciate that you
Speaker 2: keep game planning and we'll see you in a few weeks. Steven,
Speaker 2: after rewatching the tape, what is your big takeaway from
Speaker 2: this game?
Speaker 1: Yeah, my big takeaway is the way that Kellen Moore
Speaker 1: kind of came out and established a rhythm was really
Speaker 1: fun to watch in the first half. You know, the
Speaker 1: second half, I think rightfully. So you can can criticize
Speaker 1: a little bit. Some of that is the Justin Herbert injury,
Speaker 1: the Justin Herbert interception, which I did not love that
Speaker 1: decision that he made to throw that football. But the
Speaker 1: way that Kellen Moore came out in the first half.
Speaker 1: You get the creative touches towards Darius Davis, you get
Speaker 1: some screens, you get some deep passes. I just really
Speaker 1: loved the balance that Kellen Moore came out with in
Speaker 1: this in this first half. And like you mentioned, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of to start the show trying to figure out
Speaker 1: what works and what doesn't without Mike Williams, without Corey Linsley.
Speaker 1: One of the little changes that I really liked is
Speaker 1: that they have been so downhill heavy, and I think
Speaker 1: they were really intentional about attacking the second levels and
Speaker 1: third levels of the Raiders defense. In the run game,
Speaker 1: they were actively, actively trying to get the linebackers and
Speaker 1: the safeties in the corners to be the ones who
Speaker 1: had to come up and tackle Joshua Kelly Isaiah Spiller,
Speaker 1: and it was very intentional in that. In that way,
Speaker 1: they did some quick option passes. But you know, in
Speaker 1: the first game against Miami, they would motion the tight
Speaker 1: end to kind of kind of an HVAC setting and
Speaker 1: they would run wy insert zone and it was a
Speaker 1: downhill approach. It was a great way to get these
Speaker 1: tight ends moving. They've really started to branch off of
Speaker 1: that look, and you could tell that the Raiders were
Speaker 1: prepared for them to motion the tight end and run downhill.
Speaker 1: Well this game they did some counter concepts. They did
Speaker 1: did they did, they did the toss concepts. So you know,
Speaker 1: I just love the overall approach to the game plan,
Speaker 1: and it shows that Kellen Moore is adapting the offense.
Speaker 1: He's you know, coming out with plans to catch other
Speaker 1: defenses off guard. And there are certainly some things that
Speaker 1: you can criticize of the Kellen Moore offense so far,
Speaker 1: but I just have really enjoyed watching his game plans
Speaker 1: and the way that he approaches the first half every
Speaker 1: single week because you can tell that there's always a
Speaker 1: plan of attack, there's always a way for him to
Speaker 1: catch opposing defenses off guard. And that was a real
Speaker 1: treat to watch on tape against the Raiders on Sunday.
Speaker 2: We've been begging for creativity from this offense for the
Speaker 2: longest time, not you know, being so predictable, whether that's
Speaker 2: motion or whether that's using four tight ends on fourth down.
Speaker 2: I mean, you're taking keenan On, Mike Williams, Josh Palmer,
Speaker 2: Darius Davis, Quintin Johnson off the field to run four
Speaker 2: tight ends on fourth down against the Vikings. You get
Speaker 2: a touchdown out of it. You've got a pitch play
Speaker 2: to Darius Davis, You've got another hand off to Darius Davis.
Speaker 2: Everything that they're doing, whether it works or doesn't work,
Speaker 2: I'm so glad to see this offense and Kellen Moore
Speaker 2: just trying out different things. And look, they're still fourth
Speaker 2: in EPA per play like this is still a good offense,
Speaker 2: which is crazy because they're still trying to figure things out.
Speaker 2: They're still working out through things. But I love that
Speaker 2: they're doing that because that just continues to allow me
Speaker 2: to say, Okay, this offense is pretty good, but it
Speaker 2: can reach another tier. It can reach another tier, whether
Speaker 2: it's just execution or just finding a good set of
Speaker 2: plays that really work for them. I love that you
Speaker 2: mentioned they did something against Miami and hey, that worked.
Speaker 2: It worked really darn well. But you know what you
Speaker 2: can't do is the exact same thing over and over
Speaker 2: and over again, usually because teams will prepare for that.
Speaker 2: Even the Raiders, who are kind of shorthanded and not
Speaker 2: the strongest defense, they can prepare for that. So, like
Speaker 2: you said, what they do they change it up. I
Speaker 2: love that we're seeing that from the Chargers, and they're
Speaker 2: only going to get better after the buy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they they set up a few other things that
Speaker 1: I really loved. Justin wasn't able to get there. But
Speaker 1: the first time that they were out there in kind
Speaker 1: of that bunch formation where against the Vikings, they ran
Speaker 1: a ton of wide receiver screens and that was the
Speaker 1: way that they mitigated pressure. They did it, they did
Speaker 1: it again, and the first time they ran it, they
Speaker 1: they were able to get Keenan free vertically. Justin didn't
Speaker 1: have time to get there. I forget if it was
Speaker 1: John Jenkins, the Raiders defensive tackle or which one you
Speaker 1: know Beaten Zion unfortunately like right away and got pressure.
Speaker 1: But it's just like the concept that Kellen Moore is
Speaker 1: coming into these plans and saying, hey, like we've shown
Speaker 1: this previously, we know you're going to be prepared for it,
Speaker 1: but let's have this counter approach to it. You know,
Speaker 1: the Darius Davis toss play, the vertical catch to Keenan
Speaker 1: he that they did come down with was another kind
Speaker 1: of variation of the screens that they have been kind
Speaker 1: of work workshopping every single game. So it's just it
Speaker 1: really sound approach to start these games and catch these
Speaker 1: defenses off guard. Like you mentioned, they're performing at a
Speaker 1: top five clip in most metrics. We just need to
Speaker 1: get some of this translated. Towards the second half of
Speaker 1: that Raiders game, and I think they could have put
Speaker 1: them away, but you know, there was a couple decisions
Speaker 1: I didn't love from Kellen and from Justin to In
Speaker 1: the second half, Like there was that the Charger's second drive,
Speaker 1: they got pinned deep on the two yard line and
Speaker 1: they threw three vertical routes and I'm like, you need
Speaker 1: some space to either punt this ball or get a
Speaker 1: drive going. And I didn't love that particularly, But overall,
Speaker 1: like you zoom out and you look at this Kellen
Speaker 1: More offense and there's like a very clear identity. There's
Speaker 1: plans every single week. He's adapting every single week. They're
Speaker 1: playing to their players' strengths for the most part, and
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert has the most attempts of twenty eight yards
Speaker 1: or more in the league right now, he's seventh highest
Speaker 1: in a dot. Like they're doing everything that we wanted
Speaker 1: them to do. There's just some things to tweak and
Speaker 1: clean up up, for sure, but so far, so good
Speaker 1: for the Kellen Moore offense.
Speaker 2: Yeah, even Justin Herbert's turnover worthy play rate it is
Speaker 2: I think double, then that's still very small double for
Speaker 2: Justin Herbert is still one of the best in the
Speaker 2: league in terms of turnover worthy play rate, but he's
Speaker 2: throwing it down there. Look, I didn't like the decision either,
Speaker 2: of course, the interception in the stands. Even just from
Speaker 2: where I was standing, it's like, well, I don't quite
Speaker 2: understand that decision. But again, like they are trying different things,
Speaker 2: and what do you get out of that? You get,
Speaker 2: you know, an a dot that is beyond anything that
Speaker 2: he's ever had in his career. I don't think it's
Speaker 2: ever been over eight, and it's currently over nine for him.
Speaker 2: There the big time throw rate is higher as well
Speaker 2: as the Big time play rate is higher. So these
Speaker 2: things like I don't think Justin Herbert's going to throw
Speaker 2: interceptions like that every game. It's not like him. But
Speaker 2: I love that he's just testing the possibilities what this
Speaker 2: offense can do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Like sheer probability numbers would indicate that some of
Speaker 1: these deep balls are going to be connecting at a
Speaker 1: higher level. You know, even without even when Mike Williams
Speaker 1: is out there, you just felt like they were due
Speaker 1: for like a really like big, productive, explosive you know,
Speaker 1: vertical game. And they've been explosive without you know, connecting
Speaker 1: on a ton of these you know, bomb throws from
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert. So I think they're third in explosive passes.
Speaker 1: I think think their fourth overall in explosive plays this year.
Speaker 1: So the Kelamore offense has been a treat to watch
Speaker 1: on film. You know, there's clear plans, there's like I said,
Speaker 1: there's adjustments. It's just been like very sound and I
Speaker 1: think that's what the Chargers needed on offense. And then ah,
Speaker 1: by the way, they're letting Justin Herbert just throw bombs
Speaker 1: down the field and I'm excited to see him start
Speaker 1: conecting with those more often.
Speaker 2: Was was his fifty one yard or to Palmer the
Speaker 2: longest throw of his of the year so far?
Speaker 1: Oh? Good question. I want to say yes, because I
Speaker 1: think the the deep throat to Keenan in Week one,
Speaker 1: I think was the longest pass of the season up
Speaker 1: until that Joshua Palmer pass. H Yeah, cool, So we'll
Speaker 1: check on that for sure. All right, Tyler, let's get
Speaker 1: to our game ball segment and then we'll kind of,
Speaker 1: like I said, zoom out a little bit and see
Speaker 1: where the Charges you're at. Who's getting your game Ball
Speaker 1: of the week this week?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm going in a different direction with this one.
Speaker 2: It's nearly impossible right to play in the NFL and
Speaker 2: start in the NFL, It's infinitely more difficult to play
Speaker 2: and to be out there when dealing with loss, and
Speaker 2: in particular the loss of your father. And I don't
Speaker 2: care if Eric Kendricks had two run stops or he
Speaker 2: had twenty run stops, I don't care. He went out
Speaker 2: there and went to work with a burden that I
Speaker 2: couldn't possibly imagine and showed more poise than any of
Speaker 2: us ever could ever hope to in an impossible situation.
Speaker 2: So performance whatever a million tackles or zero, doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: Like Eric Kendricks gets my game ball and my respect
Speaker 2: and my admiration.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we talked about that on Saturday when the news
Speaker 1: came out, and just you know, the human element of
Speaker 1: football is right here with Eric Kendricks on the field.
Speaker 1: Like the stat sheet isn't like amazing. He had a
Speaker 1: good amount of tackles, but you know, the game plan
Speaker 1: here was really really sound, and Eric Hendricks was kind
Speaker 1: of the key piece there. They had him do the
Speaker 1: deep Tampa two drop on several occasions and he really
Speaker 1: confused Aidan O'Connell. I think that was kind of the
Speaker 1: focus point there. There were a couple of instances where
Speaker 1: you know, he's just dropping in basic kind of cover
Speaker 1: two and was able to match with Hunter, Renfro, Jacobe Myers,
Speaker 1: Michael Mayer. So Eric Hendricks was all the way locked
Speaker 1: in in coverage, and I think the Chargers like really
Speaker 1: were able to take advantage of Eric Hendricks being out there. Like,
Speaker 1: I think this was a I don't want to say
Speaker 1: vintage Eric Kendricks game because I still think he's a
Speaker 1: really good player, but what he did against coverage I
Speaker 1: think was really a key in allowing the pass rush
Speaker 1: to get home. Aidan O'Connell's average time to throw was
Speaker 1: two point seventy five seconds on which is a really
Speaker 1: high number. You know, generally speaking, you want your quarterback
Speaker 1: around like two point five, So to have that extra
Speaker 1: quarter of a second is huge for your pass rush
Speaker 1: if they can get home. And obviously Khalil Mack was
Speaker 1: able to do that all day long. So I'm glad
Speaker 1: you shouted out Eric Hendricks because I thought, even if
Speaker 1: the statue didn't ploy it show it necessarily, I thought
Speaker 1: he played a phenomenal game on Sunday.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so I can only imagine in wonder
Speaker 2: and guess who your game ball might go to?
Speaker 1: Then I think it does have to be Khalil, Like
Speaker 1: you know, six sacks is a historic day. You rightfully
Speaker 1: shouted out Eric Kendricks. But one of seven players I think,
Speaker 1: or no excuse me, one of five players to get
Speaker 1: six sacks in one game. Derek Thomas did for the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: did it twice, which is crazy to me.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: So Khalil's just it was just in rare air and
Speaker 1: we felt, like I said on our show, I felt
Speaker 1: like he was due for a big game. I didn't
Speaker 1: think six sacks was going to be the big game,
Speaker 1: but I just thought that he impacted the game outside
Speaker 1: of the sacks, like the run defense. You know, he
Speaker 1: got a batted pass in the in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 1: I just thought this was like truly an all around
Speaker 1: the lead performance from Khalio Mack and one that I
Speaker 1: think was was great to see. I will say like
Speaker 1: on a lower level, the Chargers are dealing with some
Speaker 1: injuries obviously, and I thought Dean Marlow looked really good
Speaker 1: on tape. I thought he did some fantastic things back there.
Speaker 1: He had a couple of chances on the football. I'm
Speaker 1: sure he wishes that he was he would have been
Speaker 1: able to come down with those, but he got his
Speaker 1: hands on the football twice. He had a couple of
Speaker 1: run stops. He played the run well. I think they
Speaker 1: really trusted him in the deep part of the field too,
Speaker 1: and he was really able to read and react at
Speaker 1: a high level. So you know, on a on a
Speaker 1: smaller level. Uh, you know, it's hard to beat out
Speaker 1: some some all time performances, but Dean Marlow stepped up
Speaker 1: in a big, big way for this team without Derwin James,
Speaker 1: although he Gillman j T. Woods, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: they're gonna they're gonna need him for the next few
Speaker 1: weeks as well after the bye because J. T. Woods
Speaker 1: is on the non football on this list, although he's
Speaker 1: banged up. Durwin's banged up, so they're gonna need Dean Marlow.
Speaker 1: And I think that he definitely showed some good things
Speaker 1: on tape.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what a pleasant surprise. I mean, you never knew.
Speaker 2: And this really felt like the here comes DeVante Adams
Speaker 2: sort of game, or it comes Jacoby Myers breaks out
Speaker 2: or whatever. And I think the longest pass completed it
Speaker 2: was twenty five yards, which is sure technically still an
Speaker 2: explosive pass, but you know what it's not. It's not
Speaker 2: forty it's not fifty. It's not one of those game
Speaker 2: breaker big passes they have allowed, and Dean Marlin was
Speaker 2: a huge part of that. I know the PFF has him.
Speaker 2: I think it at zero passes broken up. I could
Speaker 2: have sworn there was more than that. I could have
Speaker 2: sworn he was in on more than that. So him
Speaker 2: protecting the post was phenomenal and I was honestly surprised,
Speaker 2: pleasantly surprised to see him out there and playing so well,
Speaker 2: because again, you have a lot on your play it
Speaker 2: after the buye and he can play like that and
Speaker 2: just protect the post kind of in a way you
Speaker 2: haven't really seen since. Like it felt bury Trey Bostony,
Speaker 2: you know, to me, the way he was protecting the post,
Speaker 2: I thought, that's very long ago, but that's kind of
Speaker 2: how it felt, you know, like he's always the security
Speaker 2: guy back there, so it had to have. That from
Speaker 2: a guy who was just brought to the practice squad
Speaker 2: of a month ago or whatever, is really impressive.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought he played well. I thought Will Clapp
Speaker 1: played pretty well too. I know people were worried about that.
Speaker 1: I thought Will Clapp deserved a shout out too, so
Speaker 1: so good depth players. I think you know, the team
Speaker 1: obviously needs these guys to play well without some of
Speaker 1: their star players, and I thought some of them had
Speaker 1: some really good moments on Sunday. All right, So we're
Speaker 1: gonna zoom out here a little bit. Like we mentioned,
Speaker 1: the Chargers were able to get to two and two
Speaker 1: here and really right the ship, and I think most
Speaker 1: of their goals are are still right there in front
Speaker 1: of them. You look at this AFC as a whole,
Speaker 1: and there's no undefeated team right now. You know, the
Speaker 1: Chiefs and the Bills, the Ravens and the Dolphins are
Speaker 1: each three and one, and then like half the conferences
Speaker 1: two and two right now. So, Tyler, where where do
Speaker 1: you kind of want, like envision the Chargers in the
Speaker 1: AFC right now? Both of us kind of had some
Speaker 1: really strong expectations for this team heading into the season
Speaker 1: two and two, with this schedule that they have coming up.
Speaker 1: Where do you kind of see the Chargers fitting in
Speaker 1: from an AFC perspective?
Speaker 2: So before the season, I predicted they would not win
Speaker 2: the division, but they would be one of the I
Speaker 2: think the fifth or sixth seed in the AFC, and
Speaker 2: I definitely think that is still in play. Unfortunately, right now,
Speaker 2: the Chiefs are still one of the class teams in
Speaker 2: the AFC, and again, until they collapse for whatever reason,
Speaker 2: I'm going to continue to assume that they're going to
Speaker 2: win the West. And they are three and one and
Speaker 2: they are leading the West right now. Again no surprise.
Speaker 2: I think the Chargers, in terms of the games that
Speaker 2: they won and the games versus the games that they played,
Speaker 2: I would have loved to see them be three and
Speaker 2: one at this point, lose to one of the Dolphins
Speaker 2: or the Titans, but handle business against the Vikings and
Speaker 2: the Raiders. Two and two isn't terrible. What I think
Speaker 2: really benefits them the most isn't necessarily where they're at
Speaker 2: as much as other teams. I think that, for example,
Speaker 2: the Jets, losing Aaron Rodgers five minutes into a game
Speaker 2: helps them tremendously when it comes to that game. If
Speaker 2: you had asked me right now, looking at the Chargers
Speaker 2: as they were as we've watched them, if they had
Speaker 2: Aaron Rodgers and we're going to assume that he played well,
Speaker 2: would they beat the Jets? I'd say no. But with
Speaker 2: Zach Wilson out there, you feel a lot better now
Speaker 2: that team's still going to fight, don't get me wrong,
Speaker 2: but it just helps that much. The Bengals are definitely
Speaker 2: not the team that they were hoping to be this
Speaker 2: season at all, and they are potentially just out of
Speaker 2: the postseason picture as is. So I think the Chargers
Speaker 2: are in a really good spot one because I think
Speaker 2: they're building some momentum even with some injuries, although they
Speaker 2: will get some guys back after the buye. But also
Speaker 2: the AFC has just not quite been exactly as strong
Speaker 2: as we would have thought, but we'll see. It is
Speaker 2: very early, of course, so many things can change. But
Speaker 2: I like where the Chargers are at right now, and
Speaker 2: teams like the Steelers and the Jaguars this week that
Speaker 2: are ahead of them in the sixth and the eighth seed,
Speaker 2: they are playing some difficult teams this week or yeah,
Speaker 2: this week is the Jaguars are playing the Bills this week.
Speaker 2: The Ravens are playing the Steelers this week, and I
Speaker 2: think those two teams in front of the Chargers will
Speaker 2: both lose, and again I think that'll benefit the team.
Speaker 2: Although again the Chargers don't win, so they don't get
Speaker 2: a win here, but they might get some help in
Speaker 2: the long run.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think The biggest thing that's benefited the Chargers
Speaker 1: that's outside of their control is how the AFC North
Speaker 1: has looked so far. You know, I think I was
Speaker 1: bullish on the Steelers as a casual fan. I loved
Speaker 1: with ideas in the draft, and you know, Mike Tomlin
Speaker 1: is just such a great coach. But you know, they
Speaker 1: have been one of the worst offenses in the league
Speaker 1: through four weeks. So have the Bengals, and some of
Speaker 1: that is health related to Joe Burrow, right, But these
Speaker 1: are two teams who had like legitimate division title hopes,
Speaker 1: who had you know, the Bengals were considered a clear
Speaker 1: Super Bowl threat heading into the season, and now they're
Speaker 1: kind of scraping and klawon to try and get back
Speaker 1: in relevant. We'll see where kind of the health goes
Speaker 1: of both of those two quarterbacks. But you look at
Speaker 1: the Bengals right now, and they they kind of got
Speaker 1: like their butts kicked against the Titans. And you know,
Speaker 1: we saw the Chargers against the Titans a few weeks ago,
Speaker 1: and to lose that game as a Bengals fan, you know,
Speaker 1: twenty seven to three, like that's that's got to be
Speaker 1: pretty disheartening for the way that that went down vintage
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry performance, you know, which against the Bengals defense
Speaker 1: he didn't really see coming. So those two teams being
Speaker 1: it kind of stuck in the mud as they are,
Speaker 1: is very beneficial for the Chargers. You mentioned the Jets.
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers reportedly says he's gonna play again. I don't
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's I don't know where that's
Speaker 1: gonna end up. But weirdly enough, like the AFC South
Speaker 1: is kind of good right now. I mean that any
Speaker 1: of the Colts are too and two, the Texans are
Speaker 1: too and two, the Jags are two and two. So
Speaker 1: I think the AFC is still pretty muddy as we
Speaker 1: thought it would be. It's just kind of like different
Speaker 1: teams you feel better about right now. But I think
Speaker 1: the Chargers have this opportunity ahead of them to really
Speaker 1: gain some separation. You know, I'm worried about the Cowboys
Speaker 1: right I think the Cowboys defense is fantastic, But the
Speaker 1: Cowboys played forty nine Ers this week. It's a primetime game,
Speaker 1: and they're gonna have a semi short week, you know,
Speaker 1: playing with the Chargers next Monday after that. You know,
Speaker 1: that's kind of a schedule favor for the Chargers after
Speaker 1: a bye week, so you have this opportunity against the
Speaker 1: Cowboys and then against the Chiefs to really start creating
Speaker 1: some separation from those other teams that we're talking about
Speaker 1: that are kind of struggling right now. So if you
Speaker 1: can get to three and three, if you get to
Speaker 1: if you can get to four and two, then I
Speaker 1: think the Chargers can really like create some true, true
Speaker 1: momentum and you know, still reach their potential this year.
Speaker 2: I mean, if they can even get one of the
Speaker 2: wins against the Cowboys or Chiefs like that is incredibly impressive.
Speaker 2: I know no one's going to love three and three,
Speaker 2: but you go one and one in those games and
Speaker 2: you're feeling pretty good against the Cowboys or an excellent team.
Speaker 2: They are much better when they're healthy, believe it or not.
Speaker 2: I know the Cardinals beat them, but they look significantly
Speaker 2: better than of course, the Chiefs are the Chiefs. Another
Speaker 2: team that I think helps a lot too. What is
Speaker 2: one of the teams that we've picked every single year
Speaker 2: basically for the Chargers to lose in this particular place
Speaker 2: against this particular team, that's Denver, And I think that
Speaker 2: look I get it, no matter what with this Broncos team.
Speaker 2: There's always an issue when the Chargers go to Denver.
Speaker 2: But this Denver team is really bad. Like this Denver
Speaker 2: team almost actively looks like it's tanking, except for occasionally
Speaker 2: on the offense when they look all right. But this
Speaker 2: defense is not nearly what I thought it was going
Speaker 2: to be. So I think things like that help. I
Speaker 2: think the Patriots being one and three, we'll see where
Speaker 2: they are at the end of things. Of course, again,
Speaker 2: another team and it's at Foxborough that gives the Chargers fits.
Speaker 2: But games like that, of those potential swing games, I
Speaker 2: think starting to lean more in the Chargers favor as
Speaker 2: long as the Chargers can stay healthy and those teams
Speaker 2: are kind of still not finding their footing just yet.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think playing those teams late in the season
Speaker 1: is going to be helping. I mean, they play the
Speaker 1: Broncos in Week fourteen and then again in week seventeen.
Speaker 1: The Broncos could be active shoppers at the deadline here
Speaker 1: coming up in the next few weeks. Their season could
Speaker 1: essentially be over. The Patriots, same kind of thing there
Speaker 1: in week thirteen. They play the Raiders again in week fifteen,
Speaker 1: it's in Vegas on a Thursday night, but that's another
Speaker 1: team that could be sellers at the deadline. So the
Speaker 1: back half of the schedule for the Chargers, I think
Speaker 1: a lot of people were worried about, but I think
Speaker 1: after four weeks you probably feel really good about it.
Speaker 1: You just have to get past this two game window
Speaker 1: I think is the toughest two game window on the
Speaker 1: schedule remaining coming out of the bye week. But that's
Speaker 1: where the Chargers at. Like I said, if you can
Speaker 1: get three and three, you're in a great spot because
Speaker 1: this schedule eases up pretty nicely for the Chargers after
Speaker 1: that that Week eight game against the Chiefs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll talk about the game next week, of course,
Speaker 2: but Kellen Moore's gotten now two weeks and an extra
Speaker 2: Sunday to prepare for his former team, So it should
Speaker 2: be a good one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it should be a good one. All Right. We're
Speaker 1: gonna dish out some awards here for the Chargers. We
Speaker 1: do this every single year on our channel, and hopefully
Speaker 1: you guys enjoy the segments here, you know, quarterly awards,
Speaker 1: mid season awards. It's always fun to kind of revisit
Speaker 1: things and see where they're at for this respective team. Tyler,
Speaker 1: let's start with your favorite storyline of the season so far.
Speaker 2: Oh, favorite storyline of the season. I think it's going
Speaker 2: to be how Keenan Allen has found the fountain of youth.
Speaker 2: I think this was a player that was potentially a
Speaker 2: trade candidate or a cut candidate, certainly this offseason and
Speaker 2: potentially even next offseason. Gone, No, thank you. I'm just
Speaker 2: going to have the best start to my career and
Speaker 2: I'm going to throw for a touchdown. I'm going to
Speaker 2: have four hundred and twenty four receiving yards thirty five catches,
Speaker 2: the highest yards per route run of my entire career,
Speaker 2: and I'm going to show you that I plan on
Speaker 2: being here for a very long time. Keenan Allen is
Speaker 2: my favorite player on the team. I got my season
Speaker 2: tickets the same year that he was drafted. And you know,
Speaker 2: a lot has changed for this team. They've changed cities,
Speaker 2: they've changed stadiums a couple of times. Keenan all has
Speaker 2: been a constant and I've been dying for him to
Speaker 2: get his deep playoff run, you know, Super Bowl if
Speaker 2: he can, obviously, and him turning back the clock and
Speaker 2: being one of the best receivers in the league, both
Speaker 2: in terms of rosstats, efficiency, oh and no drops. By
Speaker 2: the way, It's been an awesome storyline. I've loved watching
Speaker 2: him play so far, and he's only going to continue
Speaker 2: to rock up numbers and really inge towards that Larry
Speaker 2: Fitzgerald kind of career where he just continues to be productive.
Speaker 2: And I think as en route too if he can
Speaker 2: continue to play this well for much longer with Justin Herbert,
Speaker 2: and I don't see why I should doubt him trending
Speaker 2: towards getting to those Hall of Fame kind of stats.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you want you add in some potential postseason
Speaker 1: successes and potentially a Super Bowl that would definitely cement him.
Speaker 1: There some people asking me this week about like what
Speaker 1: did the Raiders do to see if Keenanlake was being limited?
Speaker 1: I think, you know, the Chargers were not able to
Speaker 1: get to him on a couple of things because of pressure.
Speaker 1: They didn't run a ton of plays in the second half.
Speaker 1: So I don't think the Raiders necessarily, like did anything
Speaker 1: to limit keenanel on this week since you brought him up,
Speaker 1: I do want to mention that out, but I think
Speaker 1: that's a good one storyline for me has to be
Speaker 1: too Lee man like tu Lee, and the way that
Speaker 1: he has played has just been a true treat to watch.
Speaker 1: And like we felt good about his run defense, we
Speaker 1: felt good about his ability to you know, just like
Speaker 1: create some hustle snaps. But he's actively in the defensive
Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year conversation through four and I think
Speaker 1: rightfully so. I mean, he's taking double teams away from
Speaker 1: Khalil Mack, which is so funny to see on tape still,
Speaker 1: but you know, it's just elevating the floor of this defense,
Speaker 1: and I think things are really starting to round into
Speaker 1: form for that specific union as a defensive line, as
Speaker 1: an addresser group. So what Tooley is doing right now
Speaker 1: for me has to be my favorite storyline.
Speaker 2: You and I have been discussing different awards we could
Speaker 2: hand out today best play on defense, may be best
Speaker 2: player at their position, and what we've been the most
Speaker 2: wrong about best storyline, best play, best player, defensive player.
Speaker 2: I feel like Tooley could win all of them. He's
Speaker 2: been awesome and that's why he is one of the
Speaker 2: best storylines. If you went first and said Keenan, I
Speaker 2: would have said, Tuley, what he's done is phenomenal. Again, again,
Speaker 2: I disagree with the game plan from the Raiders, but
Speaker 2: have at it. Taking pressure off of Khalil Mack and
Speaker 2: freeing up Khalil Mack that's wonderful. And obviously we've seen
Speaker 2: him free up Joey Bosa as a rusher as well.
Speaker 2: What he's done in through the first four games as
Speaker 2: a two way player against the run and as a
Speaker 2: pass rusher has been outstanding. The Chargers got themselves as
Speaker 2: steal and you know, you rarely hear about draft steals,
Speaker 2: but that tends to be more where we think they're
Speaker 2: going to be drafted versus where they're actually drafted. In
Speaker 2: this case, you know, I think second round is kind
Speaker 2: of where Tully was supposed to go. And the Chargers
Speaker 2: just found themselves one of the best edge rushers in
Speaker 2: the draft in the second round. And this was a
Speaker 2: pretty good edge group overall, like some guys at the
Speaker 2: top are very good. A lot of depth of this
Speaker 2: group as well. The Chargers needed to find and they
Speaker 2: really could have found any one of like fifteen different
Speaker 2: edge rushers on Day one or Day two, and they
Speaker 2: found the one that might be the defensive rookie of
Speaker 2: the Year front Runner, Like, that's that's pretty darn good
Speaker 2: heck of a pick.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it was. Chris Rahm for ESPN did
Speaker 1: a feature on Killing Max Day and he asked Khalil
Speaker 1: like what his favorite sack of the six was, and
Speaker 1: he said the first one because it also involved two
Speaker 1: le because it was like something that they've been workshopping,
Speaker 1: something that's been like a work in progress for them.
Speaker 1: It just kind of clicked and Tooley was able to,
Speaker 1: you know, take both of the Raiders blockers with him
Speaker 1: and then freed up Khalil for a really nasty loop
Speaker 1: and finish and this trio and really, you know, Chris
Speaker 1: ruff in here as well. You can really tell that
Speaker 1: they all just feed off of each other. You know,
Speaker 1: Joey Bosa gets that sack against the Vikings and gives
Speaker 1: a huge running hug to Tuley. Right this week, Tooley
Speaker 1: gets a run stop and he does he does his
Speaker 1: tea right, and you see Khalil Mack right behind him
Speaker 1: doing the tea also, And I just I love that,
Speaker 1: you know, seeing the camaraderie of this group has really
Speaker 1: stood out to me, and they love playing with each other,
Speaker 1: that the energy that they all bring just feeds off
Speaker 1: of each other and Tooley's taking attention away from them.
Speaker 1: They're taking away attention from Tuley and it just it
Speaker 1: just works like the three of them, it just works
Speaker 1: so well. And once Joey gets healthy, like I think,
Speaker 1: really this edge Rusher group.
Speaker 2: Is going to be pretty scary once we get to
Speaker 2: that point. Yeah, that's that's disgusting. So we've now had
Speaker 2: the Klimax six a game. We've had two lead be
Speaker 2: excellent throughout the year. Joey Bossa has had some great
Speaker 2: moments but limited and they're all going to be back
Speaker 2: after the buy. It seems like they're all going to
Speaker 2: be back and as healthy as they could be after
Speaker 2: the BUYE. That's going to be nasty. We'll see if
Speaker 2: Kansas City enjoys their regrets, maybe perhaps their decisions at
Speaker 2: tackle and we'll see what they got that. I could
Speaker 2: see them having a huge game, that one.
Speaker 1: For sure for sure. All right, let's do best play
Speaker 1: on offense, Tyler. I think for me, my choice is
Speaker 1: pretty clear. I think that you have to go with
Speaker 1: the double pass. I think that's been something that we've
Speaker 1: been waiting for. You know, Keenan has been talking about
Speaker 1: how much he wants to throw a touchdown pass for
Speaker 1: the last few years, and obviously coming in the game
Speaker 1: that Mike Williams becomes injured, I think just only adds
Speaker 1: to that. But kind of harkening back here, it was
Speaker 1: something that the team was setting up and setting up
Speaker 1: and setting up, and then right as they did it,
Speaker 1: you know that they were going to hit on it. Frankly,
Speaker 1: Keenan could have thrown a touchdown to Joshah Palmer in
Speaker 1: that instance. They were both wide open and a ton
Speaker 1: of grass to run. So super cool moment, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, looking back on it, and obviously means more
Speaker 1: because of Mike, you know, getting that touchdown in that
Speaker 1: game that he gets injured. But it's just been something
Speaker 1: that has been building for years and for this offense specifically,
Speaker 1: like they've been really kind of harping in on that
Speaker 1: specific look. So double pass for me, best play on
Speaker 1: offense so far. I love that.
Speaker 2: I love that josh Palmer and Mike Williams are so
Speaker 2: wide open that keenan On had to read the defense,
Speaker 2: no doubt he had to like make a decision of
Speaker 2: which wide open person he was going to throw it to.
Speaker 2: Like you talked about the offense set that up in
Speaker 2: the same way they set up the touchdown pass to
Speaker 2: Keenan in the Titans game off of throwing it up
Speaker 2: to Mike usually on a screen. Oops, there's goes Keenan
Speaker 2: on that way, set up a screen this way, or
Speaker 2: throwing to Mike Williams this way. Love that. That's a
Speaker 2: fantastic one. That was going to be one of my
Speaker 2: choices for sure.
Speaker 1: For me.
Speaker 2: It's a bit recency biased, I guess. But the fadeaway
Speaker 2: three point or whatever you want to call it, not
Speaker 2: necessarily a game winner, but the game ender from Justin
Speaker 2: Herbert against the Las Vegas Raiders, I mean, and the
Speaker 2: story was perfect right like a is he clutches? He not?
Speaker 2: I don't know, National media. It was the throw of
Speaker 2: the day with the game on the line, third and ten,
Speaker 2: backed up at your own eleven. Raiders fans are getting loud.
Speaker 2: There's no Mike Williams to help you. There's no Mike
Speaker 2: Whimsic like, go catch that phenomenal pass right, No Cord
Speaker 2: Lindsay to protect you. No Austin Eckler as your security outlet.
Speaker 2: You've got a fractured finger or whatever it was. You're
Speaker 2: the AFC West rival across from you. You've got to
Speaker 2: get it done. There was pressure in his face, moved up,
Speaker 2: flicked it through it like it was nothing. And watching
Speaker 2: that from the stands from my side, we were in
Speaker 2: that end zone and you're just going, no way, did
Speaker 2: he just hit this? Boom Josh Palmer. Sideline goes wild,
Speaker 2: crowd goes wild, and I really thought that the Raiders
Speaker 2: were gaining momentum to go win that game. Herbert went, Nah,
Speaker 2: don't worry about it. Throws at fifty one yards, game over.
Speaker 2: And that was my favorite play on offense so far
Speaker 2: this season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, cool as the other side of the pillow man.
Speaker 1: That was so just much fun to watch on tape.
Speaker 1: It was great to watch on TV too. You know,
Speaker 1: during the broadcast, Trent Green, who has been harping on
Speaker 1: the fact that Justin has this splint on his finger,
Speaker 1: he can't crypt the football. They're not gonna be able
Speaker 1: to throw it downfield. They're not gonna be able to
Speaker 1: go under center, and then for Justin to come out
Speaker 1: and and Trent Green is actually like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: they're gonna throw the football, like he was shocked that
Speaker 1: they were gonna throw the football and Justin just dropped
Speaker 1: a dime, you know, fifty yards in the air to
Speaker 1: Joshua Palmer. So just like casual pocket management, that was
Speaker 1: That was a great one and I think very deservative
Speaker 1: of the best play on offense. All right, so let's
Speaker 1: do best play on defense. What's your choice here?
Speaker 2: So I'm gonna go recency bias again, and I'm going
Speaker 2: to go with the Santai Samuel Junior's pick against the
Speaker 2: Raiders and a that we just saw. I'm sure we
Speaker 2: said all the things, you know, AFC West rivals, all
Speaker 2: that sort of thing. But I've been talking about this
Speaker 2: defense and in particular how we as fans in the
Speaker 2: stands need something to believe in and we need to
Speaker 2: believe that this defense is going to get it done
Speaker 2: in the end. You know, the more belief we have
Speaker 2: they're going to come up with a big play, the
Speaker 2: more we're going to cheer, the more we're going to
Speaker 2: you know, support the team as much as we can
Speaker 2: and show up to these games. And again, believe there's
Speaker 2: a feeling in the stands even if nobody says it
Speaker 2: that you know, Justin Herbert will get it done, or
Speaker 2: you know, maybe the defense isn't going to hold in
Speaker 2: this particular spot. We've needed some positive momentum that this
Speaker 2: defense is going to hold. And again I thought the
Speaker 2: Raiders were going to go and win that game. And
Speaker 2: Sante Samuel Junior steps in front of the pass and
Speaker 2: gets an interception, and you know, maybe we won't talk
Speaker 2: about the run back or the lack of run back,
Speaker 2: I'll say that much. But in that moment, and it's
Speaker 2: very different when you're sitting in the stand, there's an
Speaker 2: exhale and a sort of a different kind of like
Speaker 2: exclamation that you make when there's relief and you realize
Speaker 2: like you were so nervous and so tense because you thought,
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, the Chargers might lose this game. Because
Speaker 2: here come the Raiders and they're moving. The exhale and
Speaker 2: the excitement following that interception and turning to my mom
Speaker 2: to my left and giving her a huge hug and
Speaker 2: jumping up and down. That was the play on defense
Speaker 2: for me of the year. One because it did help
Speaker 2: the Chargers beat the Raiders, and two because we believed,
Speaker 2: like we started to believe, you know, the defense can
Speaker 2: get it done. Because Sante Samuel Junior picked it off,
Speaker 2: and so now just again, but the next time we
Speaker 2: see the Chargers, like it'll be the next game against
Speaker 2: the Cowboys, and maybe we'll cheer just that much harder,
Speaker 2: that much louder, because you know what, even if the
Speaker 2: other team, the Cowboys, gets right to the three yard line,
Speaker 2: we still have a chance. And looked, I mean like
Speaker 2: the previous week the Vikings, they got to the one
Speaker 2: yard line and the Chargers kept them out. And this
Speaker 2: time the Raiders were almost there to high this game up.
Speaker 2: The Chargers got the interception. So to me, that that
Speaker 2: belief building, that belief is so huge with this team
Speaker 2: and for fans.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you want to talk about things you can believe in.
Speaker 1: The Chargers right now in the red zone are performing
Speaker 1: at a really high level on both sides of the football.
Speaker 1: In the last three games, the Chargers are only allowing
Speaker 1: a red zone touchdown on forty six percent of their
Speaker 1: respective drives. That's eighth best in the league right now.
Speaker 1: And you know, credit to Brandon say, they's unit. Man,
Speaker 1: they've really stepped up and answered calls in the red
Speaker 1: zone and come up with crucial, crucial, you know plays
Speaker 1: it to win these games and you want to talk
Speaker 1: about Asante's play, like I think Kenneth Murray's interception is
Speaker 1: right there with it too. Something that you know, Dania
Speaker 1: Popper wrote about was that Nick Neman had prepared and prepared,
Speaker 1: They saw this look on film and they were waiting
Speaker 1: for it and waiting for it all game long. And
Speaker 1: then the Vikings finally go to it and Nick Neman
Speaker 1: makes a play on the football, bats it back to JT. Woods,
Speaker 1: who batted back to Kenneth Murray, and you know, it
Speaker 1: just was the again building things. I think is something
Speaker 1: that we've kind of talked about today on this show.
Speaker 1: Everything was building towards that specific moment because the Chargers
Speaker 1: were so prepared for that specific look that the Vikings
Speaker 1: ran so frequently, and they finally went to it and
Speaker 1: literally with the game on the line, and Nick Nemon
Speaker 1: read it out perfectly, made a great play on the
Speaker 1: football in place of Eric Kendricks, who is dealing with
Speaker 1: all this stuff with his dad and not able to
Speaker 1: play in Minnesota. So it's these role players got to
Speaker 1: step up in these key moments. Nick Nemon did that, JT.
Speaker 1: Wiz did that, Kenneth Murray did that, and they were
Speaker 1: able to win that game as well. So again, the
Speaker 1: red zone defense has been really, really solid for this team,
Speaker 1: and these plays are specifically why they're doing what they're
Speaker 1: doing in the red zone right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you and I are on the same page. That
Speaker 2: would have been my other pick if I didn't pick
Speaker 2: the other one that I just had, because I mean,
Speaker 2: that was really the start of the Chargers finally finishing defense.
Speaker 2: And now they've done it two weeks in a row. Well,
Speaker 2: and behold they are two and oh during that two
Speaker 2: week span.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, let's do best or biggest surprise thus far? Tyler,
Speaker 1: what's your answer there?
Speaker 2: I think it has to go to Kenneth Murray, and
Speaker 2: in particular week two and week three when he was
Speaker 2: the green dot guy, and he was again in week four,
Speaker 2: but Eric Kendricks came back. I think that I, at
Speaker 2: least and many fans were unsure of how things would
Speaker 2: go with Eric Hendricks out, with Kenneth Murray getting the
Speaker 2: green dot and Derrick Henry and Tajy Spears next. And
Speaker 2: what did Kenneth Murray do? He had maybe the best
Speaker 2: game of his career. Brandon Staley says, it's the best
Speaker 2: game he's seen from Kenneth Murray in the two and
Speaker 2: a half years that he's been here, And yeah, I
Speaker 2: would certainly agree. I am pleasantly surprised by how he's
Speaker 2: played this season, because look, there's a lot we can
Speaker 2: say about training camp and how good he looked, but
Speaker 2: that is training camp. Things can change, not everything holds
Speaker 2: over into the regular season. But Kenneth Murray, in particular
Speaker 2: in Week two and Week three when he had to
Speaker 2: be the guy, looked really really strong playing downhill. You know,
Speaker 2: I think in particular, you know, statistically more productive in
Speaker 2: Week two against Derrick Henry and then you know, solid
Speaker 2: in Week three as well, but also came down with
Speaker 2: that Week three interception and just set the tone for
Speaker 2: the Chargers defense. So the Chargers, you know, it's not
Speaker 2: close against the Titans. If he's not playing well, I
Speaker 2: know they lost. It's certainly I don't think a win
Speaker 2: against the Vikings when things are close. They really needed him,
Speaker 2: and so that has been a big surprise for me.
Speaker 2: He's currently on pace for the most tackles, run stops
Speaker 2: and pressures of his career.
Speaker 1: There we go love to see that. One biggest surprise
Speaker 1: I think Kenneth Murray's a good choice. I like, there
Speaker 1: are some smaller ones that I think we could talk about,
Speaker 1: but I want to give a shout out here to
Speaker 1: Jamari Sawier. Not because I'm necessarily like prize that he
Speaker 1: is playing well, but the way that he has just
Speaker 1: transitioned to playing guard has been seamless, like he is
Speaker 1: just really playing at a very very high level. There's
Speaker 1: some kind of id issues, especially against stunts that need
Speaker 1: to get corrected between him and him and Trey Pipkins.
Speaker 1: That was Max Crosby's last sack of the day. It
Speaker 1: was Jamari just kind of held on for too long
Speaker 1: on that stunt gave Max Crosby essentially a free runway
Speaker 1: happened in Week one against the Dolphins. But if you
Speaker 1: just kind of isolate him in like one on one situations,
Speaker 1: both as a run blocker and as a pass blocker,
Speaker 1: the dude is just stonewall out there, like he is
Speaker 1: actively shutting down these other defensive tackles. Jeffrey Simmons obviously
Speaker 1: got him a couple of times. He gets everyone. He's
Speaker 1: potentially defensive player of the Year right now in the NFL.
Speaker 1: So the way that Jamari has just come in and
Speaker 1: beat and been such a calming presence for this team. Again,
Speaker 1: I knew that he was good, right. We all know
Speaker 1: that Jamari Sawier handled his business at left tackle, but
Speaker 1: the way that he's playing at guard should give Charger
Speaker 1: fans a ton of confidence, I think in what this
Speaker 1: offensive line can do, hopefully when healthy, if Corey Lindsay
Speaker 1: is able to come back from his medical situation. But Jamari,
Speaker 1: like he's just been nails man like, He's just calm
Speaker 1: and collected out there. He has answers for what opposing
Speaker 1: defensive tackles are doing for him, and if you dare
Speaker 1: and try and bowl rush him, you will lose. Like
Speaker 1: he is so strong up there at the point of attack,
Speaker 1: and it's just been so much fun to watch him
Speaker 1: just step in and ride away, just be nails for
Speaker 1: this team.
Speaker 2: One of my favorite players. Jamori is awesome. As he
Speaker 2: said himself, the only starter on the offensive line who
Speaker 2: can go to the bank and pull out his entire account.
Speaker 1: Poor guy.
Speaker 2: But hey, man, like he said even the interview when
Speaker 2: I interviewed him after he got drafted, like he didn't
Speaker 2: care where he got drafted, where he went. He's here.
Speaker 2: He's a Charger now he's gonna give the team everything
Speaker 2: that he he has. And I loved watching him on
Speaker 2: film in college. I loved talking to him. I've loved
Speaker 2: watching him in practice, even watching him at left tackle.
Speaker 2: And we thought he'd be good, right Like he was
Speaker 2: projected to be a guard, and so we thought he'd
Speaker 2: be a good guard. But there's that big switch from me.
Speaker 2: You just played an entire season at left tackle. Now
Speaker 2: go figure out right guard. Go flip sides and go
Speaker 2: to the interior and figure it out. And to see
Speaker 2: and to hear that he has is awesome. And when
Speaker 2: they showed his face during the national anthem, I knew
Speaker 2: the Charges were going to win. He just was like,
Speaker 2: Jamari is the nicest guy in the world. He's got
Speaker 2: to be like him. Joshu Ma Kelly, some of the
Speaker 2: nicest guys on the team. I'm not. It's very different
Speaker 2: Sebastian Joseph Day as well, Like, I would never cross
Speaker 2: that guy. Jamorrow is awesome. Yeah, don't don't bowl rush
Speaker 2: that guy. That is a former five star recruiter, played
Speaker 2: at Georgia and shut down Aiden Hutchinson at tackle. He
Speaker 2: is not afraid of anybody and he'll take care of business.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, well our last one here. I want
Speaker 1: to frame this as more of like an outstanding player conversation.
Speaker 1: I think if you frame it as MVP, I think
Speaker 1: that's very clearly Justin Herbert, and this might still very
Speaker 1: well be Justin Herbert. But most outstanding Player I think
Speaker 1: allows a more kind of wider scope. And you know,
Speaker 1: Justin has been awesome. We talked about him a ton
Speaker 1: on our last episode on this channel, being after the
Speaker 1: best game of his career, most outstanding player to me, shocker.
Speaker 1: I'm going back to the offensive line. I'm going back
Speaker 1: to Rashawn Slater. I think he had his worst game
Speaker 1: of his career against the Raiders, and he was still outstanding,
Speaker 1: Like he was still playing at a really high level.
Speaker 1: You know, the things that he's able to do physically
Speaker 1: are just insane to me. Every single week. There was
Speaker 1: a rep where Max Crosby is trying to turn the
Speaker 1: corner and he spins on him and Rashawn like loses
Speaker 1: a step. But then right as Max Crosby is about
Speaker 1: to hit Justin Herbert, Rashawn just steps right in front him.
Speaker 1: Anchors down. You're not touching my guy. Just the recovery
Speaker 1: skills on a week to week basis are really just
Speaker 1: insane for me to watch. The transition for the run
Speaker 1: scheme is an underrated storyline for him because you know,
Speaker 1: it was a lot of outside zone at Northwestern. You know,
Speaker 1: the Chargers in the first two seasons of his career
Speaker 1: a lot of outside zone. It's a lot of getting
Speaker 1: him on the movement, getting him on the edge, getting
Speaker 1: him up to the second level, and he was awesome
Speaker 1: at that. But this year they're doing a lot more
Speaker 1: gap scheme, they're doing a lot more counter, they're doing
Speaker 1: a lot more power concepts, and some draft analysts would
Speaker 1: have said, like, hey, like, if you're gonna get Rashaan
Speaker 1: in a power scheme, he's got to play guard. And
Speaker 1: right now he's just blocking the run at an incredible rate.
Speaker 1: ESPN has him in the top ten in run block
Speaker 1: win rate right now. His run block grade on PFF
Speaker 1: is really high, and you see it on tape. You
Speaker 1: see him just moving folks in the game, setting the edge,
Speaker 1: ceiling the backside edge. He's just doing everything that the
Speaker 1: Chargers could ask of him. And oh, by the way,
Speaker 1: like he can just be left on an island against anyone.
Speaker 1: There were a couple of times where the Chargers against
Speaker 1: the Raiders were max protecting and you got a double team,
Speaker 1: a double team, a double team, and then Rashaan one
Speaker 1: on one because you know that that guy is just
Speaker 1: nails and can shut down that side. So again, I
Speaker 1: won't be grudge anybody for trusting Justin Herbert and mentioning
Speaker 1: him here, But Rashaun Slater, to me, just is is
Speaker 1: playing at a truly like all pro level right now
Speaker 1: and he absolutely should be recognized with that kind of
Speaker 1: honor at the end of the season. He's been lights
Speaker 1: out for this team so far.
Speaker 2: I've never seen he rarely loses, but I've never seen
Speaker 2: a Chargers offensive line but at least not for some time,
Speaker 2: that could even lose ninety nine percent of his REP
Speaker 2: and then still finished with a win because it's just
Speaker 2: that last second switch to power and anchor that he
Speaker 2: can flip. And it's every week you see Brendon Thorn,
Speaker 2: Duke many Weather, Jeff Schwartz, like anybody Baldy's breakdowns, it's
Speaker 2: always Rashawn Slater. Oh, maybe he might lose the first
Speaker 2: half of the REP and then it's just he shuts
Speaker 2: it down the second half. You know more about offensive
Speaker 2: line play, you can appreciate it more. But just even
Speaker 2: just from my perspective and any general fan perspective, you
Speaker 2: have to admire what he can do. Anytime you can
Speaker 2: watch offensive line play and just see highlights that aren't
Speaker 2: even necessarily pancakes or knocked down, just elite offensive line play,
Speaker 2: it's awesome to see. Like I love watching him play,
Speaker 2: and that would have been the person that I had picked,
Speaker 2: because I had we had talked about Tooley, We'd talked
Speaker 2: about Keenan Allen, So in that case, I will go
Speaker 2: with Justin Herbert. We've talked about Keen, we talked about Tuley,
Speaker 2: we talked about Rishawn Slater. But this game is not
Speaker 2: nearly anywhere close to to and two they're somehow like
Speaker 2: zero to five if they don't have Justin Herbert, like
Speaker 2: they somehow lost an extra game. If they don't have
Speaker 2: Justin Herbert. The guy has been nails, and every single
Speaker 2: game he's put the team on his back and been
Speaker 2: everything that you wanted from him, and in some cases more.
Speaker 2: You know, we said that the game against the Vikings,
Speaker 2: we both agree is the best game we've ever seen
Speaker 2: him play. Maybe some agreed, disagree, fine, but considering the circumstances,
Speaker 2: I thought that was his best game and you agree
Speaker 2: with me as well, you know, the fadeaway fifty one
Speaker 2: yarder against the Raiders to put things away. The way
Speaker 2: he's played. The awesome thing is he's played so well
Speaker 2: and is I think with more wins, inching towards getting
Speaker 2: to that MVP conversation at some point. But there's so
Speaker 2: much more to go with this offense and so much
Speaker 2: more room for him to go and this offense to go,
Speaker 2: and he's going to get there, like the offense is
Speaker 2: going to get there with health, they're going to continue
Speaker 2: to be excellent. And he's trying different things. This is
Speaker 2: one of these smartest guys in the NFL, obviously coming
Speaker 2: out of college. Very intelligent human being. I respect anybody
Speaker 2: who's a science major. Is one myself. The difference is
Speaker 2: I can't go on the field and do what he does.
Speaker 2: He is just awesome and the fact that he's doing
Speaker 2: this in an offense that he's had to learn after
Speaker 2: learning another offense, after learning another one, after having to
Speaker 2: learn three different ones in college is incredible and I
Speaker 2: just love that he is trying things out and letting
Speaker 2: things go while still playing at an excellent level. I mean,
Speaker 2: if the Vikings, we get his excellent play against the Blitz,
Speaker 2: against the Raiders, we get movements and the way that
Speaker 2: he can juke out this player stiff from this player,
Speaker 2: maneuver in the pocket. I mean, just outstanding play from
Speaker 2: him overall. And you've got some big games coming up.
Speaker 2: You got that game against the Cowboys, got the game
Speaker 2: against the Chiefs. Those are just the kinds of games
Speaker 2: for Justin Herbert rises to the occasion. Whether the team
Speaker 2: wins or not, I don't know, but I know that
Speaker 2: Justin Herbert is going to be excellent. And so for me,
Speaker 2: you know, call it MVP, call it best player, you
Speaker 2: name it. Justin Herbert's my guy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you get primetime Justin Herbert with Kellen Moore's offense.
Speaker 1: Then three of the next four games for the Chargers.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be a ton of fun to see what
Speaker 1: he's able to do in those situations. So a bit
Speaker 1: longer of a show today than we have done in
Speaker 1: the past few weeks. Hopefully you guys kind of enjoyed
Speaker 1: our emphasis on the game and kind of zooming out
Speaker 1: and seeing where you know, it's kind of taking stock
Speaker 1: of where the Chargers are at in the conference as players,
Speaker 1: as coaches. That was kind of our goal today. So
Speaker 1: hopefully you enjoyed the show. Appreciate the Chargers for letting
Speaker 1: us have this platform. As always, Appreciate Greg him for producing.
Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us today. We'll be back
Speaker 1: on the at the same time next week to preview
Speaker 1: the Dallas Cowboys Monday night football game, so it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a ton of fun. Cannot wait for that matchup
Speaker 1: and really excited for the next quarter of the Chargers
Speaker 1: football So appreciate all you guys for tuning in. That's
Speaker 1: going to do it for us. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 1: As always, Both up,