00:00How about the chargers? You know,
00:02they get Mike McDaniel in there as their new offensive coordinator.
00:05They've got Jim Harbaugh, who I think is just a winner everywhere he goes.
00:09I call Jim Harbaugh, Adam. He's a fist with a mouth on it.
00:13That's the kind of guy you get there when you're talking Jim Harbaugh.
00:16What are your expectations with that charger team this year,
00:20especially with those coaches in the building?
00:23Fascinating division, you know, across the board.
00:25I think it's crazy that so many people just assume Kansas City is going to win this thing
00:30when you have a rebuilt, remodeled chargers team right behind it.
00:34Obviously on the odds board, a Broncos team that did what it did last year,
00:37and even a Raiders team that probably isn't going to be a playoff team.
00:40But I think at least once it gets Mendoza in there is going to be maybe fun to watch,
00:46maybe a little frisky for lack of a better word.
00:48But in terms of the chargers, I like this team a lot.
00:51I really do, but there's no doubt.
00:53And it's not just Harbaugh, really, it's Herbert.
00:56There's a team that has things to prove.
00:59You know, on the offensive side, beyond the quarterback, we'll get to him.
01:02Lad McConkie was amazing as a rookie.
01:05Last year, not so much.
01:06Quentin Johnston took steps forward last year, kind of disappeared at that point.
01:11Aranjay Gadsden was someone that really sort of came on intermittently as a rookie.
01:17It was inconsistent, but again, I'm not beating him up for it.
01:20He was a rookie.
01:20I think there's real opportunity for growth here in this second year.
01:24And injuries really plagued that team last year because Amari and Hampton, who was drafted to be the bell cow
01:30back.
01:31I mean, they just had it was week after week.
01:33A different running back was getting hurt and the offensive line was shattered.
01:37I mean, by the end of the season, there was no protection for Herbert whatsoever.
01:41But again, it all comes back to the quarterback because this is someone that we just want to, you know,
01:49like in Mean Girls, like quit trying to make fetch happen.
01:52We keep trying to make Herbert happen.
01:53Herbert has been around for seven years at this point in time.
01:57And he can have really dynamic, incredible regular seasons and perennially be in the MVP conversation and the playoffs roll
02:05around and the guy is a ghost.
02:07He's 0-3.
02:08He has never won a playoff game.
02:10Last year, got embarrassed, only put up three points against the Patriots in that outing.
02:16You know, you think back to four turnovers against the Texans, blowing a massive lead more on the defense than
02:22it was him.
02:23But that first playoff game, how badly that went against the Jaguars.
02:26Things have just not gone well, ultimately come playoff team when time when it needs to go well for Herbert.
02:33And people is if things go south, you know, things are off to a slow start.
02:39You know, you know how this works.
02:41I mean, I listened to years of it with Tom Brady and Giselle Bunchen.
02:43And people are going to start pointing at Justin Herbert and say, it's Madison Beer.
02:48He's distracted.
02:49It's the engagement.
02:51This is a problem.
02:52Get her out of his life.
02:53You know, I think they're going to be a good team.
02:55I think he's going to be really solid.
02:57I think he does need to avoid some of the noise because it is going to follow even in a
03:01place like L.A., which is more of a superficial fan market.
03:04You know, a little bit of a bandwagon market.
03:06But Mike McDaniel, honestly, may be their most important offseason acquisition.
03:10Because while I never really had great respect for him as a head coach, even when things were going well
03:16at the beginning there with the Dolphins, there's no question.
03:19The resume speaks for itself as a play caller and offensive coordinator and what he did with San Francisco and
03:24now what he hopes to do with L.A.
03:25So, assuming Harbaugh truly just gives him the reins, and I believe he's doing so, I think this team could
03:31put up a lot of points, be a lot of fun to watch.
03:33And the question will be, can the defense be as good as it was?
03:38Yeah, I almost took Justin Herbert's man card away with the footsies on the sidelines there with his girlfriend there
03:43at camp.
03:44So, again, here, we'll move over here to the Hammond Bears, and let's go to the Hammond Bears here and
03:51get Chicago.
03:52What do you think that looks like, 2.0 with Ben Johnson and with Caleb Williams?
03:58Well, I don't know if it's great that you've got the head coach coming out and saying, you know, our
04:02goal is to break the NFL's single-season scoring record.
04:05You know, he's worried about putting up damn near 40 points a game.
04:08And I appreciate sort of talking big, dreaming big, but, like, how about a championship?
04:13How about that's the goal?
04:15You know, the Bears last year were a blast, right?
04:18They were, you know, it was like the Bucs two years ago was the Bears last year.
04:21It was the cardiac Bears.
04:23It was the team they just, you know, fourth quarter, you could never count them out.
04:26They were always interesting, always dangerous.
04:29There was just no quit.
04:30Caleb Williams certainly got a lot better under Ben Johnson than he was previously.
04:35The, you know, the completion percentage was down.
04:39That was still a little bit of a problem, but he was getting rid of the ball.
04:42He took far fewer sacks.
04:43He was, you know, the yardage was up.
04:46The touchdowns were up.
04:47And I think he's going to continue to grow, as you would hope and expect the number one pick does.
04:52You've got a lot of talent.
04:54Loveland, you know, in terms of the pass catchers, kind of like Vegas, right?
04:58You know, you're talking about the weapons in Vegas.
05:00Starts with Brock Bowers.
05:01You're talking about the weapons in Arizona.
05:03Starts with Trey McBride.
05:04Well, you talk about the weapons in Chicago, at least in terms of pass catchers.
05:07It starts with Loveland and what he can continue to do.
05:11But I like Adunze.
05:12I like Burden.
05:13I don't think it's going to be massively problematic for them losing more, as good as I expect him to
05:19be in Buffalo.
05:20You know, Swift, obviously, is solid.
05:22I do worry a little bit entering the year about the injury to Kyle Menungai, because as a rookie, he
05:28was such a vital part of that offense.
05:29I mean, he sort of quietly put up, you know, basically a thousand total yards between what he did in
05:35the rushing and receiving game.
05:36And you want to make sure that you can kind of timeshare that thing, split that backfield in the way
05:42that made it so successful last year.
05:43But the offense is going to be the offense.
05:45The question is, obviously, can it get stops?
05:48And, you know, it's a it's a winnable division, but it's not an easy one with, you know, the Lions
05:53expected to take a big step forward.
05:55Everyone's always going to respect the Packers, you know, especially when Micah Parsons gets back.
05:59And, you know, I don't know.
06:01We'll see what Kyler Murray can do with the Vikings.
