Speaker 1: It's a league fifteen to ten touchdown catch.
Speaker 2: What's up? Guys? Welcome into our final Chargers weekly of
Speaker 2: the regular season. As always, joined by Matt mney Smith.
Speaker 2: We are powered by Microsoft Surface. Chargers losing Denver last
Speaker 2: week final game this Sunday, Sofi Stadium Monday. We got
Speaker 2: Blaine Gabbert versus and Stick and a lot to discuss
Speaker 2: after the game. I don't know how much you want
Speaker 2: to get into last week at Denver, kind of an
Speaker 2: uneventful game. I know that Sunday a lot of these
Speaker 2: guys may not be on this team in twenty twenty four,
Speaker 2: and we're kind of going to turn the page to
Speaker 2: a brand new era of Chargers football.
Speaker 1: You know, I think it's worth kind of digging into
Speaker 1: a little bit in terms of that game, because you know,
Speaker 1: they had built Obviously the Raider game was a colossal failure,
Speaker 1: but you watched them take that step and respond and
Speaker 1: played for gift and played a great game and nearly
Speaker 1: knocked off the Bills and ruined their postseason hopes. Didn't
Speaker 1: come together, you know, slipped away from them at the
Speaker 1: end and unfortunate, and I was hoping they were going
Speaker 1: to take that next step get that win, knock off
Speaker 1: the Broncos in Denver officially, you know, even though they
Speaker 1: were eliminated because of the way the other games played out,
Speaker 1: but you know, make sure that you do the eliminating
Speaker 1: of the Broncos, especially with Jared Didham getting the start,
Speaker 1: and you know, they weren't able to do that. And defensively,
Speaker 1: I thought they played solid. Obviously, one just terrible play
Speaker 1: the little Jordan Humphrey touchdown where there were four mistackles,
Speaker 1: a blown coverage and just you know, ugly all over
Speaker 1: the field. But outside of that, you're talking about a
Speaker 1: team that limited Javonte Williams and the Broncos rushing attack,
Speaker 1: and they tried to run the heck out of the
Speaker 1: ball and they just couldn't. You know, they rushed for
Speaker 1: three yards per carry, and really it was bad turnovers.
Speaker 1: You know, Nick Neeman not secure in the football before
Speaker 1: he tried to run it on that fourth down fake punt,
Speaker 1: you know, bobbling it and that just knocked that thing
Speaker 1: off track. And then you know Austin ecklerkroff on the
Speaker 1: football up and losing it for the fourth time this season.
Speaker 1: So the defense played well, you know, and I think
Speaker 1: there's a couple of concerns there. I guess we'll just
Speaker 1: start there, Chris, Like, you know, the one thing that
Speaker 1: I would be concerned about is just corners. I think
Speaker 1: you really have to to think about this secondary moving forward.
Speaker 1: I think you had issues with tackling by the corners
Speaker 1: far too often in that game, and your corners in
Speaker 1: this league have got to be able to tackle. Just
Speaker 1: with the rules. It's a passing league. Flags are getting
Speaker 1: thrown all the time for pi or for holding, and
Speaker 1: that means there's going to be a lot of completed
Speaker 1: passes out there, and you have to be able to tackle,
Speaker 1: and that's just been an issue for this team at
Speaker 1: that position. So to me, that was kind of even
Speaker 1: though it was a good day for the defense, that
Speaker 1: was probably my takeaway is as we push this toward
Speaker 1: next year, you know, so I'll just start there on
Speaker 1: that defensive side of the ball and say, if you're
Speaker 1: going to play quarter in this league, you've got to
Speaker 1: be able to tackle, and if you can't tackle, you
Speaker 1: need to find someone who can.
Speaker 2: I think that's a great place to start, you know,
Speaker 2: save for that little Jordan Humphrey. Somebody told me I
Speaker 2: didn't see the exact number, but next gen stats, that
Speaker 2: was like a zero point two percent chance of being
Speaker 2: a touchdown. Yeah, and it turned into a touchdown because
Speaker 2: of just the ridiculousness of that play in the mistackle.
Speaker 2: So you know, you take that play out and I
Speaker 2: thought the defense played pretty good. But again in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty four, you look at this and I think the
Speaker 2: quarter position is a great place to start. You're gonna
Speaker 2: have to load up at that position. This offseason we
Speaker 2: talked about the edge rusher. We know Tooley's gonna be here.
Speaker 2: Khalil and Joey have massive cap numbers. It's it's safe
Speaker 2: to say we don't know. Has Joey played his last
Speaker 2: game as a Charger. I don't know. Has Khalil Mack
Speaker 2: played his last game as a Charger despite having a
Speaker 2: really good season, a Pro Bowl season, I don't know.
Speaker 2: These are a lot of big decisions that are going
Speaker 2: to be made by the next regime. But this defense
Speaker 2: is going to look a lot different money.
Speaker 1: No doubt, and a lot of it is you know,
Speaker 1: I think a lot of it is just money and
Speaker 1: and what is available on the trade market in terms
Speaker 1: of people being willing to take on that money. I
Speaker 1: think ultimately that's you know, that's what's gonna that's what's
Speaker 1: going to determine maybe who stays, who goes, you know,
Speaker 1: who has a contract, and who has the production that's
Speaker 1: of value to somebody else in the league that you
Speaker 1: can at least unload the salary, take the you know,
Speaker 1: the hit on the cap, you know, with the signing
Speaker 1: bonus and some of the money that you moved around
Speaker 1: in order to keep this team together to make a
Speaker 1: run at the super Bowl this year. So that I think,
Speaker 1: you know, it's basically the Big Four, right is what
Speaker 1: we're talking about. I don't think we need to tiptoe
Speaker 1: around it. It's Khalil, Joey, Teenan, Mike, That's what we're
Speaker 1: talking about. Those are four gigantic contracts that account for
Speaker 1: somewhere around one hundred and I don't remember what the
Speaker 1: number is. It's like one hundred and twenty one hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty million bucks of salary.
Speaker 2: Now it's north of one hundred and twenty m.
Speaker 1: So that's that's where it starts. And I don't know
Speaker 1: if it's two of the four, if it's three of
Speaker 1: the four, if it's all four, if it's one of
Speaker 1: the four, But I would be very, very surprised if
Speaker 1: all four of them we're back on this roster next year,
Speaker 1: considering how bad it went this year, considering the injury history.
Speaker 1: I mean, you have you have two lanes. You've got
Speaker 1: the injury history of Joey and Mike Williams, and you've
Speaker 1: got the age thirty three for Khalil thirty two for
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen. Neither neither is is ideal moving forward, right,
Speaker 1: someone that that you know, two guys that have have
Speaker 1: that struggled to stay on the field with huge cap
Speaker 1: numbers and salaries, and two guys who, according to history,
Speaker 1: probably are going to see it. Listen, these declines do
Speaker 1: not happen gradually. They show up like that for whatever reason.
Speaker 1: In the game of football. There are no gradual declines.
Speaker 1: You have it and then you don't, and it's for something.
Speaker 1: I don't know what it is about this sport, but
Speaker 1: that's typically how it works. So that's that's the risk
Speaker 1: that you take on by keeping any of those players.
Speaker 1: And I'm sure that'll be a very uh, it'll be
Speaker 1: a very tough conversation because they're all great players. They've
Speaker 1: all meant a lot to this franchise, even Khalil only
Speaker 1: haven't been here for two years, but what he's meant
Speaker 1: to the development of Tuley and how well Twi Polot
Speaker 1: has played this year and what he's attributed to Khalil
Speaker 1: Mack for why, you know, he feels like he's kind
Speaker 1: of been able to grow and progress so quickly. So
Speaker 1: those are tough, Those are tough questions. And I don't
Speaker 1: remember how we got there to this, so my apologies,
Speaker 1: but I'll just leave it at that.
Speaker 2: No, we started on the defense, and again, right the
Speaker 2: two big price tags are Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa
Speaker 2: and money. For as disappointing as the last two years
Speaker 2: have gone, Khalil Mack has been in the bright spot.
Speaker 2: I don't think he's missed the game, you know, and
Speaker 2: and he's played really at an all pro level this year,
Speaker 2: you know, starting with that six SAC game against the
Speaker 2: Raiders and then just you know, being that presence on
Speaker 2: the other side, and I know it kills Joey to
Speaker 2: not be out there with him. You know. That was
Speaker 2: the big theme this offseason was, you know, Joey's like
Speaker 2: I felt like, I like Khalil down not being on
Speaker 2: the field, and then unfortunately they weren't able to be
Speaker 2: on the field again together this year. So the two
Speaker 2: lanes and I just go back to the history of
Speaker 2: the game, and you know, this is something that Bill
Speaker 2: Walsh always preached, and I know Bill Belichick is like,
Speaker 2: you want to get out from under a contract a
Speaker 2: year early rather than a year late. And that's that's
Speaker 2: the conundrum I guess you have with guys like now,
Speaker 2: I will say this, I think Keenan's game can have
Speaker 2: a little bit more longevity because his game is not
Speaker 2: built on speed. It's built on route running and built
Speaker 2: on just as his football IQ. So I do think
Speaker 2: that you can get some really productive ears out of Keenan.
Speaker 2: Khalil has shown that he's still productive. But like you said,
Speaker 2: sometimes it just happens. And when you weigh the cap
Speaker 2: number with all four of these guys, it's gonna be
Speaker 2: an interesting decision. Like you have the guys who have
Speaker 2: been in and had that history of injury history versus
Speaker 2: the guys who have been productive for you the last
Speaker 2: couple of years. But you just don't know when that
Speaker 2: is gonna fall off.
Speaker 1: My big concern with Keenan would be you know, the
Speaker 1: third down numbers are incredible, right, yeah, But why are
Speaker 1: we in so many third downs? You know, because we
Speaker 1: don't have explosiveness out there. That's you know, we don't
Speaker 1: see that the Chargers. I'm not part of the team.
Speaker 1: The Chargers don't have explosiveness out there. We don't see it,
Speaker 1: is what I'm trying to say. So maybe it's a
Speaker 1: complete reimagining of the wide receiver room that was. We
Speaker 1: like these big bodies, We like these tall receivers. You
Speaker 1: need speed, man, you need to explosiveness out there. It
Speaker 1: was so evident on that field against Denver. This team
Speaker 1: had nothing in terms of juice, and the Broncos just
Speaker 1: packed the box. They were not afraid of anybody beating
Speaker 1: them deep. Patrick Sartan was in Quinton Johnson's Johnston's jersey
Speaker 1: the entire game and he could not get off press
Speaker 1: and just got manhandled every single snap came alive a
Speaker 1: little bit, had a couple of really nice moments against Patrick,
Speaker 1: you know a little bit later in that game, but
Speaker 1: really just got thrown around. And as good as Alex
Speaker 1: Erickson was and he had a great game and a
Speaker 1: couple big catches, he just had no speed. They had
Speaker 1: no explosiveness, and that's not Keenan's game, you know you
Speaker 1: talked about maybe that's why it makes sense. But they
Speaker 1: need it. I mean they need it desperately. So I
Speaker 1: think that's sort of another conversation. Now, you can't just
Speaker 1: go out and buy it. You know, you're gonna have
Speaker 1: to draft it, You're gonna have to develop it. But
Speaker 1: I think it's clear that that is lacking. That as
Speaker 1: great as Mike Williams has been with those fifty to
Speaker 1: fifty balls and in the red zone, as great as
Speaker 1: Keenan has been on third down, like it just there's
Speaker 1: something missing. There is something missing in the running back room.
Speaker 1: There was something missing in the wide receiver room and
Speaker 1: the tight end room where they have got to figure
Speaker 1: out a way how to get explosive and how to
Speaker 1: you know, it goes back to the the Vic Fangio
Speaker 1: philosophy on defense, right, and that's put a lit on it.
Speaker 1: Force them to need thirteen fifteen play drives in order
Speaker 1: to score a touchdown because on your way there, you're
Speaker 1: probably gonna get a penalty, you're probably gonna get off schedule.
Speaker 1: You're gonna need to convert two or three third downs
Speaker 1: and that's where we get you and you settle for
Speaker 1: field goals. And that's just happened to this team far
Speaker 1: too often, where we don't have those three play drives,
Speaker 1: five play drives. Every single one has just been this
Speaker 1: dig your fingernails into the side of the mountain and
Speaker 1: just scale and hope you don't slip on the way up.
Speaker 1: And to me, Chris, that was so evident in that
Speaker 1: Denver game. They would have these great drive starters and
Speaker 1: you'd get a couple first downs and then you're behind
Speaker 1: the sticks and now Rashawan's got a brutal holding penalty
Speaker 1: and you're out of field goal range and you can't
Speaker 1: recover and you can't convert a third down. They were
Speaker 1: zero for their first nine. Like, they got to get
Speaker 1: out of that. They have got to get off that
Speaker 1: treadmill and get back to what we saw in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty where you've got these explosive plays from Austin Eckler
Speaker 1: and you've got these explosive plays from Herbert to t
Speaker 1: Billy and Herbert to Jalen Giton and like Herbert Hunter Henry, Like,
Speaker 1: we've got to get back to that.
Speaker 2: They have to find those guys too, and Jalen Geiton
Speaker 2: and t Billy. It's not like these guys are wide
Speaker 2: receiver one, but Justin would find them down the field.
Speaker 2: And you know, I go back to what we saw
Speaker 2: on Sunday Dolphins Ravens.
Speaker 1: Right say Flowers with a explosive.
Speaker 2: Seventy two yard touchdown, like just like that boom. You
Speaker 2: know what Tank Dell has done in Houston. Like it's
Speaker 2: unfortunate because you don't want to project what Quentin's going
Speaker 2: to be moving forward, because we still need to give
Speaker 2: him a little bit more time. But what you see
Speaker 2: that has happened after him, this team could have used
Speaker 2: it this year and they may have been a little
Speaker 2: bit more effective offensively instead of having to run everything
Speaker 2: from Peenan and being able to withstand the injuries to Mike.
Speaker 2: And that's what kind of leads us to the draft.
Speaker 1: And you brought you know what, Chris, I'm gonna I'm
Speaker 1: gonna jump in there real quick because I think it's
Speaker 1: a great You make a great point. And I just
Speaker 1: had this conversation on Petros and Money yesterday about Jimi Hawkes.
Speaker 1: I'm like, if you're the Lakers and you've got a
Speaker 1: thirty nine year old Lebron James and you've got a
Speaker 1: thirty year old Anthony Davis, and you made the conference
Speaker 1: finals last year. Why are you drafting a developmental prospect
Speaker 1: and Jalen hood Schaffino when Jimi Hakkes is ready to go?
Speaker 1: And you guys expect, You've spent all this money on
Speaker 1: Gabe Vincent and Jackson Hayes and Christian Wood. You expect
Speaker 1: to win the championship this year. So why is your
Speaker 1: first round pick someone that's not going to contribute for
Speaker 1: two years? And I felt the same way about Quinton.
Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, maybe he's gonna be great, but you
Speaker 1: just shoved one hundred and forty million dollars into twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four because you believe you're good enough to win
Speaker 1: this year. You don't have explosiveness in your wide receiver room.
Speaker 1: And and look, it's I get this zy flower saying,
Speaker 1: but here's Jordan Addison, guy that won the Bolitnikov two
Speaker 1: years ago, that is as polished a route runner as
Speaker 1: there is. You know exactly will he you know, is
Speaker 1: the ceiling a little bit lower for him because of
Speaker 1: his size and maybe the speed? Yeah? Maybe, but you
Speaker 1: know what he's gonna do when he gets here day one.
Speaker 1: You know exactly what he's going to do. There is
Speaker 1: no question about how high that floor is. So that's
Speaker 1: that's sort of where the team building thing came in
Speaker 1: and comes in for me, Like, you knew what you
Speaker 1: thought you had this year, So why are you taking
Speaker 1: someone that you told us from the get go? And
Speaker 1: the jump not quite ready? So that's you.
Speaker 2: Know, especially especially with how the wide receiver room was
Speaker 2: already constructed. Josh Palmers, Josh Palmer's big kid, Mike Walliams
Speaker 2: is a big dude. We know what Keenan Allen does speed.
Speaker 2: We're how many times you talk about day Flowers on
Speaker 2: this podcast leading up to the draft?
Speaker 1: Yeah all the time.
Speaker 2: But but take Puka Nakua out of it in the
Speaker 2: fifth round. Just take him out because that's that's an outlier.
Speaker 1: Well and remember for people that they think it was
Speaker 1: such a brilliant pick, yes it was. It turned out
Speaker 1: to be great. Pooka couldn't stay healthy, like that's that's
Speaker 1: why he slid. The guy just could not stay on
Speaker 1: the field his entire college football career. So the Rams
Speaker 1: caught a break. He's healthy and he's when he's on
Speaker 1: the field, he's great, but the guy just had way
Speaker 1: too many injuries and that's what scared everybody off.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but Sam Laport is in the Pro Bowl. You know,
Speaker 2: Michael Mayer had shows, has shown promise. Tank Dell was
Speaker 2: the wide receiver one for CJ. Stroud as a rook right,
Speaker 2: Za Flowers, Jordan Addison. I mean there was a lot
Speaker 2: of weapons. Dalton Kincaid, who I know you were so
Speaker 2: high on coming into this thing. Yea, all these guys
Speaker 2: could have really helped I think this year offensively. And
Speaker 2: I'm still saying that in the same breath as I'm
Speaker 2: proven for Quentin and I think it's a huge offseason
Speaker 2: for him to make to make that next step. But
Speaker 2: here we go, Chargers going to have a top seven
Speaker 2: pick in this upcoming draft.
Speaker 1: It's the worst it could possibly be. Eight is the
Speaker 1: lowest they could go.
Speaker 2: So I see Brock Bowers, I see Roma Dunza, I
Speaker 2: see neighbors from LSU like or what we talked about
Speaker 2: last week. Trade back, get more dudes. Sure, but if
Speaker 2: one of those game changers is there and you compare
Speaker 2: them and kind of revamp your tight ends in your
Speaker 2: wide receivers, room with with a with a Brock Bowers
Speaker 2: or a neighbors. I think that that's probably the route
Speaker 2: to go, and then it would make it a little
Speaker 2: bit more palatable to cut ties with one of these
Speaker 2: guys that you know, you've had such a deep connection
Speaker 2: with it the less several years.
Speaker 1: So the Bowers thing scares me. And I know, I said,
Speaker 1: we wouldn't even be in a you know, the Chargers
Speaker 1: wouldn't even be in a position to draft him because
Speaker 1: he was going to get drafted so high. To me,
Speaker 1: it's history. There's too much history there where. We have
Speaker 1: way too many tight ends that are taken in the
Speaker 1: top five because they're freaks. And it's Eric Ebron and
Speaker 1: it's Kyle Pitts getting taken ahead of Slater and Sewell
Speaker 1: and Jamar Chase. That scares me. The tight end thing,
Speaker 1: It just there's too many. There's too many tight ends.
Speaker 1: Oj Howard in Djoku like, there's so many of them
Speaker 1: that that worry me so that I would stay away
Speaker 1: from the wide receiver. Dj and I were talking about
Speaker 1: this on the way home and they're sitting next to
Speaker 1: each other on the plane and it's interesting because you know,
Speaker 1: think about the names you rattled off right tank dell
Speaker 1: Zay Flowers in the twenties, Jordan Addison in the twenties,
Speaker 1: uh Rareshi Rice in the in the second round read
Speaker 1: for the Packers in the second round. Like, you'll find receivers.
Speaker 1: It has become a receiver game all of these kids
Speaker 1: because the seven on seven and Friday Night Lights are
Speaker 1: coming up as receivers. There's so many of them right now.
Speaker 1: What there aren't offensive linemen, And so the Chargers are
Speaker 1: going to probably be in a spot where Fashanu is
Speaker 1: sitting there and Joe alt is sitting there from Notre Dame,
Speaker 1: and I think that's where the question comes in. Do
Speaker 1: you take that tackle because you have the quarterback? And like,
Speaker 1: what did we see this week from Jordan McFadden Thirty
Speaker 1: nine snaps, not a single pressure. You can find guards,
Speaker 1: you can find centers in the later rounds, but tackles,
Speaker 1: You've got draft tackles high Trey's played solid football. But
Speaker 1: you go through everybody in the NFL's offensive line, and
Speaker 1: I'm telling you right now you want to talk about
Speaker 1: elite tackles, I can say that probably ninety percent of
Speaker 1: them are taken in the first round. So if you
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to have not one, but two elite,
Speaker 1: elite players at tackle and Justin Herbert is your quarterback,
Speaker 1: to me, that that changes the game. That changes the
Speaker 1: numbers for everything, because now you don't have to worry
Speaker 1: about doubling anybody. You can Now you can run, you know,
Speaker 1: with a Sam Laporto, with a musk Grave with that
Speaker 1: tight end now and linebacker's got to cover him. In
Speaker 1: a safety, you can flex your back out because you're
Speaker 1: not worried about having to chip and keep somebody in
Speaker 1: in pass pro and like. So that's what's going to
Speaker 1: be interesting for the next general manager is do we
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to kind of what Detroit has right
Speaker 1: where when they took Sewel, they already had Decker and
Speaker 1: it's like he's a really good tackle. Well yeah, but
Speaker 1: now we can change everything. Now we can completely change
Speaker 1: the calculus because we have two real you know, one
Speaker 1: really really good tackle and one elite tackle. So to me,
Speaker 1: that's something that's going to be discussing. You then also
Speaker 1: brought up what I think is probably the best point,
Speaker 1: and that's trading back. Yeah, and that's you've got three
Speaker 1: quarterbacks guaranteed to be taken in the top ten Daniels
Speaker 1: unless he weighs like one hundred and sixty pounds, which
Speaker 1: is possible. He's very skinny, you know, Daniels. And obviously
Speaker 1: Drake May and Caleable and she's gonna be one and two.
Speaker 2: Michael Pennock made some money this weekend.
Speaker 1: That's a that's a medical you know, nobody is disagreeing
Speaker 1: with how good of a quarterback Michael Pennix is. He's incredible.
Speaker 1: He should have won the Heisman. It's it's a damn
Speaker 1: shame that he didn't. It's it's actually inexcusable that he
Speaker 1: did it. But the network that pushes the Heisman also
Speaker 1: carries the SEC and not the Pac twelve or the
Speaker 1: Big ten, and so they tend to get their way
Speaker 1: in those things. But he was robbed much like Toby
Speaker 1: Gerhart was robbed, much like Andrew Luck was robbed. And
Speaker 1: the PAC twelve routinely gets screwed in the Heisman trophy
Speaker 1: balloting unless it's someone from USC So hopefully Pennis with
Speaker 1: two acls and a shoulder, that's a lot of surgeries
Speaker 1: before you come out of you know, it's the same
Speaker 1: knee with the ACL So that's that's a concern. But
Speaker 1: and Bnix could sneak his way in there. So that's
Speaker 1: if you can. If you're what we're getting at and
Speaker 1: why we're discussing quarterbacks even though the Chargers of Justin Herbert,
Speaker 1: if one of them is available, Jade Daniels or Drake
Speaker 1: may or somebody is available. When the Chargers are picking
Speaker 1: and you got someone that wants to come up and
Speaker 1: they're back at fifteen or they're at and you think
Speaker 1: about what Carolina gave up to go up to get
Speaker 1: Bryce Young at number one, and like, that's that's probably
Speaker 1: where I would assume the team is really gonna do
Speaker 1: a long, hard look is maybe we trade back and
Speaker 1: get the corner instead, you trade back and you get
Speaker 1: you still get an elite receiver because there's probably five
Speaker 1: that are going to go in the first round, so
Speaker 1: I think that's worth worth discussing as well.
Speaker 2: Especially let's just say there's seven, right and you know,
Speaker 2: three quarterbacks in and go at least before them, you're
Speaker 2: gonna have your choice of one of those tackles, or
Speaker 2: an elite receiver.
Speaker 1: Or or a Dunta or a Harrison, one of those
Speaker 1: that that's four right, top two to top two receivers.
Speaker 2: So if somebody, and we know how desperate teams are
Speaker 2: to find their franchise quarterback and what they're willing to do.
Speaker 2: We saw Carolina last year. If the Chargers can move
Speaker 2: out of that seven and get a mid round pick,
Speaker 2: get a second this year, get a first next year,
Speaker 2: if somebody's really desperate, I mean, that's when we're really
Speaker 2: talking about trying to roster build. And you know there's
Speaker 2: some holes on this roster going into twenty twenty four
Speaker 2: that they never fill and it's not going to be
Speaker 2: just one guy. And I would be you know, for
Speaker 2: as good as like Neighbors is from LSU, I would
Speaker 2: be very hesitant to draft a wide receiver in the
Speaker 2: top ten, knowing how many other needs I need and
Speaker 2: knowing that Justin Herbert can get the football to a
Speaker 2: lot of people, and there's a lot of receivers out there,
Speaker 2: like we mentioned all these guys, man, all these guys
Speaker 2: went in the late first second and beyond, and you know,
Speaker 2: if Justin Herbert can throw to t Billy and Jalen Guiden,
Speaker 2: he could certainly find a guy late first, early second
Speaker 2: and make him do a start too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm looking off screen here for those watching on YouTube,
Speaker 1: not because I'm not listening to what Chris is saying.
Speaker 1: I am, but I wanted to check out Tankathon because,
Speaker 1: you know, I just I think about I think about
Speaker 1: what Houston did last year to go up and get
Speaker 1: Will Anderson, right, and what they were willing to give up.
Speaker 1: And I talked about Miami giving up a one, you know,
Speaker 1: two ones to get Jalen Waddle, what Philly gave up
Speaker 1: to go up and get DeVante Smith. So as you
Speaker 1: look and you see, you know, Houston has got that
Speaker 1: seventeenth pick and you know, actually that goes to Arizona.
Speaker 1: I forgot about that. So because they went back up
Speaker 1: to get Will Anderson. So what I'm getting at is, look,
Speaker 1: maybe it's Arizona. Maybe Arizona decides they want to move
Speaker 1: on from Kyler Murray. They can get a one for
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray, and they're gonna take Jayden Daniels. So they're gonna
Speaker 1: take Drake may Or, They're gonna start over and they
Speaker 1: get a second one. And now next thing you know,
Speaker 1: they want to trade you a couple ones to come
Speaker 1: up and get that wide receiver to help out their
Speaker 1: brand new quarterback and put Elik neighbors with their new
Speaker 1: quarter I think there's so many combinations that could lead
Speaker 1: to the Chargers getting an extra one, maybe two ones
Speaker 1: this year. Maybe you end up getting a one a
Speaker 1: two this year, so now you've got two two's, you
Speaker 1: slide back a little bit, and you've got a one
Speaker 1: going into next year. Like that's the sort of stuff
Speaker 1: that you can get into when quarterbacks are available and
Speaker 1: quarterbacks are valued. And it's got Seattle at fifteen, Denver
Speaker 1: at fourteen, to Tampa at twenty quarterback exactly, Raiders at eleven.
Speaker 1: There are so many as you go through and you
Speaker 1: start looking down, you start looking down the list, and
Speaker 1: you see New Orleans at thirteen, you see Minnesota at twelve.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of opportunities for you to pick up
Speaker 1: that first where you're still gonna get an elite player
Speaker 1: out of one next year, pick up a two or
Speaker 1: a three this year. And that's the sort of stuff.
Speaker 1: And I hate talking about this because it just it
Speaker 1: reminds you of how bad the season went. But unfortunately
Speaker 1: it's it's where we're at. I'll tell you this.
Speaker 2: Chargers fans would rather hear about this than than week eighteen,
Speaker 2: right now, right, Yeah, they want they want to get
Speaker 2: this thing going. They want to jump start on who
Speaker 2: the coach and the general managers gonna be, and they
Speaker 2: want to see how this roster is gonna be further developed.
Speaker 2: And I think the white the running back position, it
Speaker 2: may be a complete expansion, right, it could be. It
Speaker 2: could be a yeah, it could be a complete total reset.
Speaker 2: We we'll see what happens with Austin this offseason. I
Speaker 2: think Josh Kelly's a free agent. I don't know what
Speaker 2: the next coaching staff is gonna think about Isaiah Spiller.
Speaker 2: Obviously he's under contract. But I do think that they're
Speaker 2: gonna have to fight a way to run the football.
Speaker 2: They're gonna have.
Speaker 1: To fight a way to run the football, no doubt.
Speaker 1: And look, if it's the head coach that everybody wants
Speaker 1: that ends up getting hired, Jim Harbaugh is not not
Speaker 1: gonna run the football. And that's where that's where the
Speaker 1: tackle conversation comes in. That's where a back in the
Speaker 1: second round comes in, and maybe why you would want
Speaker 1: to trade back get that extra pick in the second round. There,
Speaker 1: you grab your tight end, you grab your your back
Speaker 1: and you're ready to play the style of football that
Speaker 1: that Bo Schembeckler embedded into Jim Harbaugh's brain. You know,
Speaker 1: when he called Bo and said, I'm thinking about being
Speaker 1: a head coach, he said, you're gonna have a full
Speaker 1: back that puts his hand in the ground. Yes, I am.
Speaker 1: You're gonna have a tight end that blocks. Yes I am.
Speaker 1: You're gonna run God's play. Yes, we're gonna run power.
Speaker 1: All right, you can be a head coach. And that's
Speaker 1: that's the foundation on which Jim Harbaugh, you know, builds
Speaker 1: his football teams. We don't have that. The Chargers do
Speaker 1: not have that right now. They they they are the
Speaker 1: you know, in the conversation, is the worst running team
Speaker 1: in the league. And that's the identity of Michigan. They
Speaker 1: they drag you into the deep water and in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter they drown you. They pull you under because
Speaker 1: they're going to be able to tread water longer than
Speaker 1: you are. And that's how they've done it since he
Speaker 1: showed up. They're a physical team. They you know, they
Speaker 1: can take your punches and as long as they've got
Speaker 1: you in their sights, they're gonna beat you. By the
Speaker 1: end of the game, and so that's not what this
Speaker 1: team is. And that's and that's where the head coach
Speaker 1: is going to determine what they need and how they
Speaker 1: want to play and what they want to play with,
Speaker 1: because chances are that the person you bring in is
Speaker 1: probably going to be paired with a GM that has
Speaker 1: a similar vision.
Speaker 2: Man, I'm just when you're you're talking money in that
Speaker 2: identity that the Charges have lacked, especially running the football.
Speaker 2: Like I remember, I think the last really successful year
Speaker 2: they had run the football was when Melvin was at
Speaker 2: his peak powers under coach Lynn and and they mixed
Speaker 2: in Eckler and and it was it was a very
Speaker 2: solid running attack. Have not seen that, have not seen that,
Speaker 2: and that has been such a missing link. You take
Speaker 2: off the Miami game. I want to give the whoever
Speaker 2: somebody on Twitter had a some sort of stat. It
Speaker 2: escapes me the name, but take out the Miami game.
Speaker 2: It was like the worst rushing attack in like the
Speaker 2: last decade.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, it's it's been brutal. It has been brutal.
Speaker 1: And that's where that's why I bring up the the
Speaker 1: right side of the line collapses every time they try
Speaker 1: to run the ball that way. So that's why I'm
Speaker 1: talking about the tackle. That's what I'm talking about, you know,
Speaker 1: And that's where maybe the brock Bauers thing comes in
Speaker 1: because he is a full service tight end. He will
Speaker 1: block his tail off, and he will catch the ball,
Speaker 1: and he will body up guys and he can extend
Speaker 1: plays like he's the full He's the full package. That's
Speaker 1: why you're talking about him. He's George Kittle, He's TJ Hockinson,
Speaker 1: He's you know, he's Travis Kelsey's a different deal. Travis
Speaker 1: Kelsey's more of that receiver. But that's kind of the
Speaker 1: mold that that Bowers is in. Think of Kittle, think
Speaker 1: of Hockinson. He can do at all. And that's kind
Speaker 1: of going back to when Hockinson was traded for a two.
Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, that's the guy that everybody's looking for,
Speaker 1: you know. That's that's what you want. If you're going
Speaker 1: to pay a premium for a tight end, you want
Speaker 1: to pay it for the tight end that isn't just
Speaker 1: a pass catcher, but one that's gonna knock you on
Speaker 1: your tail when they're running the ball. So that's look,
Speaker 1: there's there's a lot of different directions they can go.
Speaker 1: And typically when you say that, it's because there's a
Speaker 1: lot of holes and that you have to fill. And
Speaker 1: so the one thing I would like to see, and
Speaker 1: again we're not privy to everything behind the you know,
Speaker 1: things that are closed off to us practices, meetings, film study.
Speaker 1: But Dan Henley got out there for a couple snaps
Speaker 1: and man, he made a huge tackle, like an explosive
Speaker 1: play saving tackle when Javonte broke through that line and
Speaker 1: Eric Kendricks read it wrong and he was running into
Speaker 1: that gap, and there's day On sprinting over there making
Speaker 1: that ankle tackle, limiting it to like a ten or
Speaker 1: eleven yard rush instead of a thirty or forty yard rush.
Speaker 1: So like to see a little bit more of that
Speaker 1: out there with him, and he made he made a
Speaker 1: tackle right after that, made a stuff at the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage. So I'm hoping we get a little bit
Speaker 1: more of that on Sunday against the Chiefs. No, granted,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a much different looking Chiefs team. You're
Speaker 1: not going to see Patrick Mahomes, it's playing Gabbert. You're
Speaker 1: not going to see Travis Kelcey. You know, I don't know,
Speaker 1: you got to put somebody out there. So they're obviously
Speaker 1: some players out there. Someone's got to play. But for
Speaker 1: that matter, I really would like to evaluate keep McFadden
Speaker 1: out there. Let's see, if you know, if that's something
Speaker 1: moving forward that that you're comfortable with. I might even
Speaker 1: consider playing him at center if Zion's healthy and they
Speaker 1: were working him out at center as well, just because
Speaker 1: of the contract versus Brendan's contract. So that's I think
Speaker 1: that's worth to me. That's this Week eight team. As
Speaker 1: much as I'd like to see Gift get a get
Speaker 1: a win, and as much as I'd like to see
Speaker 1: Easton get a win, I think you owe it to
Speaker 1: the the organization to to really try to put some
Speaker 1: guys out there and evaluate game tape from some of
Speaker 1: these younger players as you go into what's likely going
Speaker 1: to be a pretty big reset in the offseason.
Speaker 2: Speaking of that, let's take a quick break and we
Speaker 2: will get into that reset, the potential head coach of
Speaker 2: the Chargers and GM and what could happen next Monday.
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Speaker 3: the stadium rumble, not your stomach. Go Chargers, so.
Speaker 2: Money this season ends in it happens quick, and then
Speaker 2: Black Monday happens and coaches are let go, and the
Speaker 2: teams like the Panthers and the Chargers who we know,
Speaker 2: the Raiders who we know already need to be looking
Speaker 2: for a head coach process starts to get expedited a
Speaker 2: little bit. What do you think is going to happen
Speaker 2: around the NFL? Like Belichick?
Speaker 1: Seems like it right, that's been the high game going
Speaker 1: down the Obviously, Carolina needs a coach, Washington needs a coach.
Speaker 1: We've already heard that. Rivera's out there. Sounds like Belichick
Speaker 1: and Craft are ready to part ways. It feels like
Speaker 1: that's going to happen. So New England needs a coach.
Speaker 1: Arizona Giants find Chargers need a coach. Word on Tennessee.
Speaker 1: To me, that's a trade. Can they get a one
Speaker 1: for Mike Rabel? If they can, then maybe they decide
Speaker 1: let's let's reset and move on. The Jets sound like
Speaker 1: they're fine that they want to give it one more go.
Speaker 1: Sounds like Atlanta. I think it probably depends what it
Speaker 1: looks like against New Orleans. If they don't get blown
Speaker 1: off the field or maybe they win that game. Then
Speaker 1: Arthur Smith stays, it sounds like they want to keep
Speaker 1: them Chicago. I'd be really surprised if they kept ever Flues.
Speaker 1: But they've played great, They've played really good football here
Speaker 1: to close the season. Sounds like it. But it's like,
Speaker 1: if you're gonna get rid of Justin Fields and you're
Speaker 1: going to draft a new quarterback, and do you really
Speaker 1: want a guy that was probably gonna get fired five
Speaker 1: weeks ago in that quarterback's first season with that offensive
Speaker 1: system that you very well could end up changing the
Speaker 1: following year. You don't want to do that to a
Speaker 1: young quarterback. So that's where that thing is kind of
Speaker 1: interesting to me. And I think it also depends on, Man,
Speaker 1: we got the number one pick, we got Caleb Williams,
Speaker 1: you know, we can maybe really go out and get
Speaker 1: someone here. You know, someone's going to be very interested
Speaker 1: in this job because of how well the Bear's played
Speaker 1: down the stretch, the fact that Caleb Williams is coming
Speaker 1: in on a rookie deal and you've got DJ Moore,
Speaker 1: You've got talent on that roster, you got Montest Sweat
Speaker 1: locked up, So that could end up being like that's
Speaker 1: the sort of discussions that are going to be had
Speaker 1: on Black Monday. Okay, I know we like what Matt
Speaker 1: did down the stretch, but let's let's think about who's
Speaker 1: available and what our pitch is and who we might
Speaker 1: be able to get. Look, it's that's the thing about
Speaker 1: firing your coach. Who are you gonna hire instead? Are
Speaker 1: they better? Are they considerably better? Is it a lateral move?
Speaker 1: Are you just getting rid of the guy in order
Speaker 1: to say we understand the fans frustrations. Here's your red
Speaker 1: meat and your sacrificial lamb. Now we got to go
Speaker 1: find someone that maybe we don't even like as much
Speaker 1: like theirs. That's that's where it comes into the conversation
Speaker 1: with a team like the Bears. Yes, the players like
Speaker 1: Antonio Pierce, Raiders are gonna get a new head coach.
Speaker 1: They're they're going to find someone. Same thing in New Orleans.
Speaker 1: They're saying Dennis Allen is safe. But it's like, is
Speaker 1: he like you really okay with that? With with potentially
Speaker 1: eight and nine this season?
Speaker 2: So I man see, well, okay, So Soldier Field is chanting,
Speaker 2: they're chanting we want fields. DJ Morris come out said,
Speaker 2: I don't want anybody else to be in my quarterback.
Speaker 2: The defense has played lights out the last several weeks
Speaker 2: with Montes sweat at one of those bookend positions. Devontae
Speaker 2: Adams is saying Antonio Pierce is the guy the locker
Speaker 2: room wants Antonio Pierce. So these are these interesting decisions
Speaker 2: that really could affect the Chargers in some of these
Speaker 2: potential destinations for guys like hardball or a college coach,
Speaker 2: or Bill Belichick or Mike Rabel being traded. I think
Speaker 2: I know Washington in Carolina, Carolina, I don't know if
Speaker 2: you want to play for Chepper or not.
Speaker 1: Like that's that's the benefit of there is. I can't
Speaker 1: imagine no matter how big the number is, somebody wanted
Speaker 1: to go play for that guy or going to coach
Speaker 1: for that guy. That's that's where that comes in. Washington's interesting,
Speaker 1: you know, inexplicably, Arizona winning that game and Washington now
Speaker 1: sitting at the number two hole and getting either Drake
Speaker 1: may or Caleb Williams makes that a very interesting spot and.
Speaker 2: And a new and new ownership. Imagine getting Caleb Williams
Speaker 2: who played in his high football and Zach in DC
Speaker 2: coming home and getting getting a blue chip coach.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think film now I think if I if
Speaker 1: I understand it correctly, I believe based on the way
Speaker 1: the season ends, if New England loses to the Jets
Speaker 1: and Washington loses to the Cowboys, I think I think
Speaker 1: New England will jump Washington for the number two pick
Speaker 1: because it will come down to strength of schedule. It's interesting,
Speaker 1: and so.
Speaker 2: The strength the strength of schedule is a game of
Speaker 2: part money. So I saw, I think of Steve Kornaki
Speaker 2: talking about this. Uh, the Saints smoke the Patriots, the
Speaker 2: Commanders beat the Falcons. The Saints and the Falcons play
Speaker 2: Week eighteen, which will determine the strength of schedule by
Speaker 2: like a game, so yeah, which is crazy. And then
Speaker 2: and then if it's tied, then you go to head
Speaker 2: to head. The Commanders beat the Patriots, that actually hurts
Speaker 2: them because drop them behind the Patriots. So that's like
Speaker 2: some of the fun intrigue at the top.
Speaker 1: But I think, and the reason we kick that around
Speaker 1: is because you know, it's the New England job with
Speaker 1: Robert Kraft now becomes a lot more attractive with a
Speaker 1: franchise quarterback moving forward, with either Drake may or Caleb
Speaker 1: Williams moving forward, so you know what kind of owner
Speaker 1: he is, you know what kind of town you're going to,
Speaker 1: how much they support the team, and that then becomes
Speaker 1: a much more attractive job when they have the number
Speaker 1: two pick instead of the number three or four pick.
Speaker 1: But you know, Bill Belichick's going to go out and
Speaker 1: whoop the Jets and they're gonna end up sliding out
Speaker 1: and it's gonna be hilarious and the Patriot fans are
Speaker 1: going to be staring at Drake May and then, no,
Speaker 1: not so much that, because there is no way that
Speaker 1: guy is losing to the Jets in what very well
Speaker 1: could be his last game as the Patriots head coach,
Speaker 1: just knowing the history there that he was hired by
Speaker 1: the Jets, didn't want the job, turned it down, the
Speaker 1: Patriots trade for him, and the rest is history. The
Speaker 1: Patriots become a dynasty and the Jets become a laughing
Speaker 1: stock and a punching bag. So they aren't losing that game.
Speaker 1: There is. If there is one bet I could make
Speaker 1: on Sunday, that would be the bet. Unless Belichick is
Speaker 1: coming back and he and Kraft have already had this
Speaker 1: conversation and it's Uh, let's not. Let's not mess this
Speaker 1: one up. Okay, let's let's make sure And that could
Speaker 1: end up being a hot potato game where Sala is like, Hey,
Speaker 1: we want nothing to do with one of them quarterbacks
Speaker 1: going to New England. You guys get the win, get
Speaker 1: out of there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly exactly, Pats fans maybe watching a lot of
Speaker 2: Jdi Daniels tape. If that's the case, it's the intrigue
Speaker 2: and the fact that the Chargers have a franchise quarterback.
Speaker 2: Mat I have to believe that that's the number one
Speaker 2: chip for a coach. I get to coach Justin Herbert, right,
Speaker 2: count me in, right, as opposed to we think Caleb
Speaker 2: Williams is going to be really really good. He probably will, right,
Speaker 2: But we don't know. Drake may could be amazing, He
Speaker 2: could be Justin Herbert two point zero. We don't know, right,
Speaker 2: We don't know Jayden Daniels or Michael Pennix and all
Speaker 2: these all these guys are such a crapshoot in the draft.
Speaker 2: But when you have an established guy and you have
Speaker 2: maybe the ability to make more decisions about the personnel,
Speaker 2: and you get to live in Manhattan Beach, right, and
Speaker 2: you get to have a brand new facility in Elsa Gundel.
Speaker 2: I mean, those things kind of all stack up, and
Speaker 2: you look at the kind of the landing we talked
Speaker 2: about the landscape of the AFC West. You know, I
Speaker 2: know that the team's going to look drastically different in
Speaker 2: terms of personnel. And there's some cap potential hurdles this offseason,
Speaker 2: but the cap goes up every year, and once you
Speaker 2: make these tough decisions this year, if you're looking at
Speaker 2: this as like a five year plan.
Speaker 1: Look, it's important to look. We all want Harbaugh. I
Speaker 1: know that because I talk to people every day and
Speaker 1: I was just out last night. I was out last
Speaker 1: night and everywhere it was we were. You know, I
Speaker 1: don't mean to name drop, but I end up going
Speaker 1: out to this this callaway golf thing that a buddy
Speaker 1: of mine and my friends at Travis Matthew wanted me
Speaker 1: to go to. So I go out and I run
Speaker 1: into to Bill Simmons and he's an old friend. I
Speaker 1: know him through Jimmy, and so we start chatting and
Speaker 1: as we're talking, he's asking me about Harbaugh and you
Speaker 1: think you're gonna get Harball, And I'm like, I don't know,
Speaker 1: but it certainly seems to line up. It feels like
Speaker 1: the organization really wants him, and it feels like it
Speaker 1: makes sense for him to come. And who walks over,
Speaker 1: and again I'm dropping more names. David Chang walks over,
Speaker 1: who's a good friend of Bill's, who was there, and
Speaker 1: he's a huge Washington fan, and he's barking about, Oh no,
Speaker 1: we're getting Harbaugh. They're gonna spend all the money. You
Speaker 1: can't tell You mean to tell me, I'd rather go
Speaker 1: get Herbert than get Drake May and be able to
Speaker 1: start over. And he even likes McCarthy, so they can
Speaker 1: trade back and draft McCarthy and he can get his guys.
Speaker 1: I bring it up to point out they might that
Speaker 1: may be what Harball wants May. He may want McCarthy,
Speaker 1: and he may want Washington, and he may want to
Speaker 1: fight with the Eagles and the Cowboys every and the Giants,
Speaker 1: you know, for a division every year. That would certainly
Speaker 1: fit his personality. And if that happens, Okay, there are
Speaker 1: other guys out there. There are other quality coaches out
Speaker 1: there that if for whatever reason, it's not Jim Harbaugh,
Speaker 1: maybe it's Dan Quinn who took the Falcons to a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl maybe and won a Super Bowl as a
Speaker 1: DC with the Seattle Seahawks and has one of the
Speaker 1: best defenses in the NFL this year. And who knows
Speaker 1: what's gonna happen with the Cowboys when they get into
Speaker 1: the playoffs. So it could be Jim Schwartz who has
Speaker 1: managed to somehow help Kevin Stefanski guide the Browns to
Speaker 1: eleven wins, maybe twelve without a quarterback, without the center
Speaker 1: of their offense because the defense had been so dominant.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's Ben Johnsson who is resurrected the Detroit Lions
Speaker 1: franchise offensively and has got a mon Ross Saint Brown
Speaker 1: as an All Pro and Jared Goff is now a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl quarterback. Like there are other options, there are
Speaker 1: other guys that will be available. And let's just you
Speaker 1: know what, let me just kind of pull up the
Speaker 1: standings real quick, Chris, because that's what's interesting about this
Speaker 1: is and I get it, man, I want Harbaugh. I
Speaker 1: would be beyond excited if Harbaugh is the guy. But
Speaker 1: I go into standings and I'm looking at the playoff picture.
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel, Jacksonville, Jay well that's Doug Peterson,
Speaker 1: so Buffalo Bill Sean McDermott, first time head coach, Kevin
Speaker 1: Stefanski Brown's first time head coach. The Colts are right
Speaker 1: now the seventh seat, our old friend Shane Steichen the Texans.
Speaker 1: If they beat the Colts, Demiko Ryan's first year as
Speaker 1: a head coach, ends up in there. Who's behind him?
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton all behind him, So Mike Rabel
Speaker 1: in the fourteen hole. You go to the opposite side
Speaker 1: and you've got the Detroit Lions at three with Dan Campbell,
Speaker 1: first time head coach. You've got the Eagles who were
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl last year with Nick Sirianni. The Rams,
Speaker 1: of course, got McVeigh as a first time head coach
Speaker 1: and a thirty two year old. The Packers Matt Lafleur,
Speaker 1: first time head coach. Like it can work, it Kevin
Speaker 1: mcconnam with the Vikings last year with thirteen wins. Like
Speaker 1: it can work. It works. It's not the end. It's
Speaker 1: not the end all be all that for some reason,
Speaker 1: Jim Harbaugh decides or the Chargers decide that there's just
Speaker 1: a better fit somewhere else. It's because that's gonna happen quick.
Speaker 1: I think the Harbaugh things probably win or lose the
Speaker 1: National Championship. That's gonna progress pretty quickly because I think
Speaker 1: when you look at there's there's really no there's no coordinators.
Speaker 1: With San Francisco. The dan Quinn thing might string it
Speaker 1: out if they make their way all the way to
Speaker 1: the championship round, right, that'll that'll take till the end
Speaker 1: of January before you'd be able to hire him. Ben
Speaker 1: Johnson with the Lions, that could take a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: But you know, Mike McDonald with the with the Baltimore Ravens,
Speaker 1: who are the one seed, Like there's to me, the
Speaker 1: Harball thing happens pretty quick. I think a team wants
Speaker 1: to blow him out of the water with the deal
Speaker 1: and offer him. You know, Michigan's offered him ten years
Speaker 1: twelve per. I think you can structure. You know, the
Speaker 1: floor is going to be fifteen for him, So it's
Speaker 1: fifteen per. You don't have to worry about nil, you
Speaker 1: don't have to worry about recruiting. And if you want
Speaker 1: your ten years, win a super Bowl will guarantee you five.
Speaker 1: You win a super Bowl, there's your other five. We'll
Speaker 1: lock in the other five, you know, because then it's
Speaker 1: worth it.
Speaker 2: So and then who are you in competition with? You're
Speaker 2: also in competition with no doubt the Raiders. They're in
Speaker 2: your division. You know, Like if you think that Pierce
Speaker 2: isn't going to be the guy, and it's very possibly
Speaker 2: that he won't be the guy, that Mark Davis just says,
Speaker 2: you know what, I need another big fish. I'm going
Speaker 2: to go try to get Harball too. So you're gonna
Speaker 2: be a competition with some of these other teams. I
Speaker 2: think with Chargers fans that I'm sure, like you said,
Speaker 2: we hear these guys uh in girls all around the
Speaker 2: country on x on Instagram, in person. I think the
Speaker 2: fact that they have gone first year head coach the
Speaker 2: last three years is the only reason why it's like, okay,
Speaker 2: maybe it's time to change it up. Like I'm with you.
Speaker 2: You could very well get a Ben Johnson and he's
Speaker 2: awesome and you go to the playoffs right away. You
Speaker 2: could you could very well get one of these first
Speaker 2: time coordinators and bring them in a guy like Raheem
Speaker 2: Morris who did it before and I think probably deserves
Speaker 2: a head coaching job. Somewhere you could do that and
Speaker 2: you could have success. But based on how the last
Speaker 2: three have gone and how they've ended, really I shouldn't
Speaker 2: say they've gone, but how they've ended. That's why hardball
Speaker 2: seems so glaring, and so.
Speaker 1: You don't have to change offensive coordinators. He's gonna he's
Speaker 1: gonna determine. He's going to determine what offense you run.
Speaker 1: He's a winner from the second he steps in the door.
Speaker 1: What he did with San Francisco, I keep I should
Speaker 1: look it up. I keep saying I think it's forty
Speaker 1: four and sixteen. But what he did with San Francisco
Speaker 1: and obviously Michigan, Stanford, San Diego, he's won everywhere he's gone.
Speaker 1: You have no concerns. He's like, he's Mike Tomlin, He's
Speaker 1: Andy Reid, He's John Harbaugh. These dudes that love football,
Speaker 1: that just want to compete and can't help themselves. It's
Speaker 1: all they think about. That's what you need. And so
Speaker 1: that's did he.
Speaker 2: Work closely with Pep Hamilton and Michigan too, Like you know,
Speaker 2: when Pep was the quarterback coach Justin's rookie year. I
Speaker 2: mean it's it's just he has NFL connections. I'm not
Speaker 2: saying like Pep to the to the Chargers too. I'm
Speaker 2: just saying like he has NFL connections, he knows, oh yeah,
Speaker 2: the personnel.
Speaker 1: It's like I said to me, I think it's a
Speaker 1: no brainer for the team, and I would assume that's
Speaker 1: what they want. It's just whether or not he wants you.
Speaker 1: We all want things well, you know, but it takes two.
Speaker 1: It takes two to dance. And if if you ask
Speaker 1: him to dance, there's a chance that he says no
Speaker 1: because he wants to dance with somebody else. And that's
Speaker 1: something that's out of your control. So you control what
Speaker 1: you can and you make a compelling offer, and you
Speaker 1: certainly feel like you're pretty attractive with Justin Herbert and
Speaker 1: Rashaun Slater and an AFC West that has the Raiders,
Speaker 1: that has the Broncos that are going to cut Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson and take a thirty nine million dollar cap hit
Speaker 1: on that contract this upcoming year, and a Chiefs team
Speaker 1: that looked totally vulnerable all season long without you know,
Speaker 1: Tyreek Hill and certainly took a step back on the
Speaker 1: offensive line. So at a fourth place schedule, exactly in
Speaker 1: a fourth place schedule the first year you're here, so
Speaker 1: Tooba works out.
Speaker 2: So obviously, man, we're speculating because we were not there yet. Right,
Speaker 2: we got one more game to go. But a week
Speaker 2: from today, money, we're gonna have a lot, you know,
Speaker 2: we're gonna know if Michigan is the national champion. We're
Speaker 2: gonna know who needs a head coach. We're gonna know
Speaker 2: some of the candidates that are out there that are
Speaker 2: out there imediately, uh and probably safe to say that
Speaker 2: we will have maybe a little bit more concrete news
Speaker 2: to talk about, not saying that there's gonna be a
Speaker 2: higher made, but like you know, well, the speculation and
Speaker 2: stuff can be ramped up.
Speaker 1: Like the one thing that they tend to do is
Speaker 1: they announce who they're interviewing. So we're going to at
Speaker 1: least get that. We're going to find out who they're
Speaker 1: interested in, what what what coaches are they interested in?
Speaker 1: You know, between between like you said, the end of
Speaker 1: the season on Sunday and the next time we do
Speaker 1: this on Thursday, we'll probably have at least one, maybe
Speaker 1: two coaches that have been interviewed by then.
Speaker 2: It sucks because you don't want to talk about terrible
Speaker 2: right now. A year ago, we're going to Denver and
Speaker 2: in the playoffs and get ready for Jacksonville, and you
Speaker 2: know the excitement and and all that stuff that that
Speaker 2: you know, fans they live for. You know, you get
Speaker 2: to the postseason in January May, there's nothing better. Uh So,
Speaker 2: it's been a very disappointing season, but we're trying to
Speaker 2: push it forward with the hope that that springs eternal
Speaker 2: every off season. And and there's a lot to look
Speaker 2: forward to because I think whoever comes in here, those
Speaker 2: they got the quarterback, and it'll it'll be a nice
Speaker 2: breath of fresh air for everybody as as they kind
Speaker 2: of turn the page, build the culture, move into this
Speaker 2: new practice facility, No doubtfully, get back.
Speaker 1: On tre no doubt. I'm with you one hundred percent. Facility.
Speaker 1: That's the other thing they have to sell. Brand new
Speaker 1: facility right next to Lax, right next to Sofi La traffic.
Speaker 1: You don't have to worry about it. Man, you're gonna
Speaker 1: live in the South Bay and you're gonna be ten
Speaker 1: minutes from the facility. You're gonna be fifteen minutes from
Speaker 1: so far. You're gonna be ten minutes from Lax. Welcome
Speaker 1: to the Chargers. You've got a house on the beach
Speaker 1: you want to live in you or you can go
Speaker 1: up on the hill live live in Palace Verdies. It's
Speaker 1: gonna take you twenty five minutes to get to work,
Speaker 1: not an issue at all. And it's they got a
Speaker 1: lot to sell, no doubt. It's an attractive job. I
Speaker 1: have no doubt about it, especially if you give somebody
Speaker 1: long term security five years, you know, with an option
Speaker 1: for eight or something like that. If you win a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl for one of these top tier candidates and
Speaker 1: they're gonna end up with somebody good, I'm excited about
Speaker 1: that future. And they're gonna end up with a great
Speaker 1: draft pick and the potential for even more draft picks.
Speaker 1: And that's what it's gonna take. It's it's it's gonna
Speaker 1: it's it's gonna take a lot to try to get
Speaker 1: this thing turned around. Coming off a season that that
Speaker 1: ended like this, Well, happy to.
Speaker 2: Year, guys. One more game. I want to see these
Speaker 2: guys finish, finish the season the right way, and then
Speaker 2: we turned the page and we get ready for a
Speaker 2: new era of Chargers football. For Matt Muddy Smith, I'm
Speaker 2: Chris Hayry. This has been chargers weekly, powered by Microsoft
Speaker 2: Service