Fernando Ramirez, who covers the LA Chargers for the Sporting Tribune, joins the show to break down Thursday's preseason game between the Chargers and Lions, discuss what it's like to cover former Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, the importance of Class of 2025 Hall-of-Famer Antonio Gates, and much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's get to the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line and
welcome in. Someone who has covered the Chargers for a
while was at the game last night. Fernando Ramirez of
the Sporting Tribune in sokal joins us here to give
his SUTs on last night. You can follo him on
Twitter at real f Ramirez. Fernando, we appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you hey, I'm doing well. Thank you so
much for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Oh man, it's an honor as well. Tell us a
little bit about your impressions from last night overall.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well, obviously you have to start off with two guys
that have made some noise during training camp, and they
just continued on Thursday night. Now the national the whole
country got to see a little bit more. I know
it's just pre season and you're basically going twos, threes
and fours, but when DeAndre Lambert Smid is done during
practice has been very impressive. He's shown his shiftiness, his speed,
(00:55):
he's able to blow past cornerbacks, and he's done a
really good job of stimulating himself. And it doesn't matter
if it's Trey Lance or Taylor Heineke or Justin Herbert
he has been making place consistently during practice, and he
did it again on Thursday. The one over the shoulder
was just very impressive because it keeps on replaying in
(01:16):
my mind that Greg Roman said, he reminds me a
lot of Brandon Lloyd. And those are the kind of
plays that Brandon Lloyd made, whether it was with the Patriots,
with the forty nine ers, or with the Broncos, he
would make plays like that. So and then if you
go back and look at the touchdown, he put the
double move on the corner, thinking like he's gonna go outside,
(01:40):
he cuts back inside, does this lant and scores the touchdown.
And then Nico Reid and undrafted free agent out of Oregon.
He's made plays in every single practice of training camp
that we've been at. And he's picked off Herbert, he's
picked off I think it was Trey Lance, and now
(02:00):
he picks off Kyle Allen on Thursday night. So he's
the guy that's gonna make this Chargers coaching staff really
rack their brains and think, Okay, do we cut one
of our veteran corners, or do we keep and keep
the undrafted free agent, or do we go with the
veteran and let this kid and risk losing this kid
(02:21):
to somewhere else and him becoming a star somewhere else.
So he's making things challenging for the Chargers coaching staff.
Eleven practices in one preseason game in Fernando.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
I think too often we get wrapped up in the
quarterback position. We know that Justin Herbert's the starter for
the Chargers, and we know that Jared Goff is the
starter for the Lions. But at certain times, I mean,
backups can be important, just as people in Cincinnati a
couple of years ago. Trey Lance. I know it's been
viewed as a disappointment overall, and rightfully so. It's a
(02:56):
third overall choice. Never looked comfortable in San Francis, never
got the opportunity in Dallas, and rightfully so. But he
looked really comfortable. What has impressed you most about Trey
Lance in his first year there under Jim Harbaugh.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
You know it's funny on Twitter people are saying, hey,
justin watch your back, because Alex Smith thought he was
comfortable as well when he was with the forty nine ers.
So but no Trey, and this is what Jim Harbaugh
was saying, about on Tuesday, he said, look, he needs
more game time reps. He hasn't gotten the game time
reps that you would want. And yes he is a
(03:33):
third overall pick, but he needs game repetition. He really
didn't get it in college and he needs to get
it now. And these are the moments where they're they're
doing it with him now. The only thing that kind
of I've been wondering about, and I kind of was
texting back and forth with another NFL writer yesterday where
we were kind of arguing about it, and I said,
(03:54):
right now, Taylor Heinekes quarterback too. I think Trey Lance
will stick around and he'll be coolquarterback Ray and he'll
be the developmental guy for the Chargers. But I think
Taylor brings a lot to that game time experience that
Harbaugh's talked about. But here Dray could reinvent himself and
slowly but surely build himself a nice preseason with the
(04:17):
Chargers and show that he can obviously be that playmaker
that people wanted him. The problem is he was selected
third overall, so everybody expect him to go out there
and be a star. Well, no, it's gonna take him
some time it's going to take him some reps. But
so far in practice, I actually, I mean there's some
throws that he anticipates a little bit late. But I
(04:39):
think he's been better than what I had seen from
him in the past. Last year, I was at Cowboys
camp when they were an Oxnard. I went once or
twice and he did not look the way he has
so far for the Chargers. So he's making he's progressing well.
He's taking positive steps forward. But I still think Taylor
Heineke is a QB two for the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
It's a good problem to have Fernando Ramirez of the
Sporting Tribune and Sokel covering the Chargers joining us here
on EXUS and bros fam on Twitter at Real f Ramirez.
He was at the game last night in Canton, watching
the Chargers throttle the Lions. I don't know how much
you take out of game one of a four game
preseason now, because these two teams played in that annual
(05:22):
game and it's quite an honor. But I would love
your view, one thousand foot view of the Lions as
bad as they were last night three turn of five turnovers,
eight penalties. What was your overall assessment of Detroit in
that game.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, I mean, I think Detroit's a physical team. We
all know what Dan Campbell's guys are going to bring.
I thought their pass rush was if it wasn't for
Trey lance elusiveness, I actually thought that they were gonna
they were gonna get If he would have been a
pocket passer, they probably would have gotten multiple sacks on him,
just because there were times where there were kind of
(06:00):
collapsed in the pocket and he would make a move
or two and get himself away from it or stuff
like that. But actually think Detroit is one of those
teams that everybody's kind of wondering what they're going to
be because a couple of years ago we saw the
Eagles went to the Super Bowl, they lost their two
they lost the Super Bowl, they lost their two coordinators,
and then they kind of went all downhill from there.
(06:23):
So everybody's wondering what that is going to look like
for Detroit. But I think Dann Campbell's a hell of
a coach and everybody knows that he's not only a
good coach as a good motivator, so he'll have his
guys ready to go. But no, obviously you have to
be impressed with what he's done so far. I remember
when everybody was making him out to be a laughing stock.
The national media was because of the press conference that
(06:45):
he gave at the opening press conference, and look at
what he's done with the team. Same thing with Sirianni Siriani.
Everybody laughed at him when he was up there and
having a weird press conference, opening press conference, and look,
he's won the Eagles of Super Bowl. So I think
I think Detroit has a heck of a team, and
I really think that people are underestimating him going into
(07:06):
this year.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
How has it been covering Jim Harbaugh because we covered
him here while he was at the University of Michigan.
He's a unique dude, but he's a hell of a coach.
All you got to do is look at his track record.
What's it been like?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's been interesting, to say the least. Last year in minicamp,
I was kind of like he was staring at me.
I was staring at him and like we kind of
locked eyes and I blinked and he goes, you lost,
And I was like what. He goes, yeah, you lost,
and I was like, Oh, I didn't know we were
competing like I was like, okay, like that's pretty interesting.
(07:38):
But no, you understand that three season Jim Harbaugh is
not going to be regular season Jim Harbaugh. He's going
to change, he's gonna met like he's going to go
He's going to be a lot more serious. But no,
the fact that and I've talked to Derwin James, I
talked to other guys like off, you talk to him
outside of interviewing them, and they are really impressed. I mean,
(07:59):
to go from Brandon Salley to Jim Harbaugh, that's like
going from McDonald's to find the Brazilian steakhouses. So they're
really excited about about what Jim Harbaugh brings. They're excited
about where this team is going. I mean, the Charger
would talk about Super Bowl aspiration the players, but it
(08:20):
was kind of like, yeah, we know we have the
talent to get there. But there was always in the
tone of their voice a little but there is no
butt anymore. And the biggest emphasis of this look at
Khalil Mak. Khalil Mack has thought about retiring twice already,
and this time he said, you know what, I took
a little bit longer to announce that I was coming
bick than I should have. He's like, I knew right
(08:42):
away that I wanted to come back. He's like, this
team has something special. I think we're almost there, and
that is true. I really think that if anybody can
bring that charger curse, that chargering and charger curse, it's
Jim Harrow who. I mean, fans obviously are the ones
that say, but if anybody can break that, it's Jim Harbaugh.
(09:02):
And the relationship that he's built with Justin Herbert is
something really special because then he's going and saying, Hey,
the only the only thing we need Justin Herbert to
improve is the players around him need to improve to
get up to his level. So so he's done everything
right and I'm really impressed with the way he commands
not only the team, the players, but an organization af
(09:26):
somebody asked me yesterday on another show. They were like,
who's the guy that people get excited to to sign?
Exclude Justin Herbert, but who the fans get excited when
they sign autographs? Are like, oh my god, I want
to I want his autograph. I'm like Jim Harbaugh. They're like,
no way, and I'm like, yeah, Jim tunks the fans,
like fans will throw stuff out to him and they'll
(09:47):
be like, coach, we want to see you at Petco Park. Well,
if they invite me, I'm willing to go down there.
And then, coach, I live. I live in Fresno. Oh really,
let me tell you a story about Presno. So Jim
has been very personable and fans have really he bought in.
The team is bought in, the organization is bought in
as well.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
That's a really good story. They were in eleven games
a year ago. What will it take to catch the Chiefs?
First and foremost? Second of all, Justin Herbert's a really
good quarterback, but he still has improven it in the postseason.
How vital is this season for him?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well, going back to what it's gonna take to catch
the Chiefs, it's gonna be the two running backs that
they signed. I think Omar and Hampton and Najie Harris,
if they're able to come in and be as exclusive
as what everybody thinks they're going to be. I truly
believe that they're going to be the difference makers for
this team, just because they were missing that a year ago.
(10:42):
They didn't have that running back control that Jim Harbaugh
and Greg Roman want because JK. Dobbins he was serviceable,
but he was a home run hitter. He's not one
of these running backs that's gonna tire out of defense
and gash them. They thought Gus Edwards was going to
be that, but Gus Edwards couldn't get himself going. He
was able to really put a stamp on was at
Denver Bronco game towards the end of the season. But
(11:05):
here with those two backs, they're they're gonna be. They're
gonna be playmakers if coach up Wright and everything goes right,
they should be. They should be one of the best
running back tandems in the NFL, especial with the offensive
line that Jim bringing him Kai becked In resigning Rashaun
Slater to a contract extension. So there's high hopes when
(11:28):
it comes to that. But those two guys are gonna
have a lot to do with them being able to
catch Kansas City. The Chargers haven't won the division since
two thousand and nine LT Ladanian Tomlinson's last year as
a Charger. Yeah, this is gonna be very important for
Justin Herbert. Fans are kind of holding out hope on
the well. Peyton Manning didn't win his first playoff game
until his sixth season, and that's core Justin's headed to
(11:51):
right now. Look, Justin Herbert done everything right. He's come in,
He's done a lot of really good things. He's learned,
he's very he kind of has a computer mind where
he knows exactly what's going on. But the thing is,
and Jim's been right, the weapons around him have lax.
So that's kind of been the issue around him is
(12:12):
that his first few years the offense was great, the
defense was terrible, and then last year the weaponry was bad.
Because obviously Keenan, Allen, Mike Williams are gone. He has
no tied end to depend on. He had Lad McConkey,
which was a great revelation, but there was nothing outside
of that. As you can see in the Houston game,
Ladd had one hundred and ninety seven receiving yards and
(12:34):
the next closest was Will Disley with eighteen yards. But again,
I think this is a very important year for Jim
Harbaugh and for Justin Herbert, for the players to be
worked as hard as they are and everything you want
to get those wins under the belt in the playoffs
to show, yeah, this is working, We're getting closer. I've
said this, I think they need one or two wins
(12:56):
in the playoffs to really show that they are they
are a force because that LA super Bowl next year.
I think that's going to be a super Bowl where
the Chargers need to be in to show that all
this is working. They have the right quarterback, they have
the right head coach, they have the right personnel, they
have the right everything. So I truly believe that this
(13:18):
year they need to take a big step forward to
show that this is all working.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Trying to be the second team to win a Super
Bowl in their own building just once like the Rams did.
And I think a lot of people forget the only
team they actually had a better point differential within in
the AFC West than the team that won the AFC West,
the Kansas City Chiefs. Only Denver was better than the
Chargers in that regard. Last thought from me and I
(13:45):
got a minute and a half here, really special night
for a Detroiter but also a former Charger in Antonio Gates.
What does that mean to the Charger nation that he's
now in the Hall of Fame? And the first to
ever do it, who didn't play Kylee football and yet
is one of the greatest at his position of all time.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Man, you're only going to give me a minute and
a half, now, I'm kidding. Gates was truly a special player.
You could always go to him, talk to him as
a media person. He was always very approachable, one of
the nicest guys. He would always flash you that million
dollar smile. But when it comes to the fans, their static.
I mean, Gates is one of the greatest tight ends
(14:25):
of all time. Again, he didn't play college football. Nick
Savin told him, you have to choose between basketball and football.
He decided to go basketball. He just he was so
he revolutionized a tight end game, I thought, and he
really was unique. If he didn't get that foot injury,
that plantrofasci itis, and that game against the Titans where
(14:47):
he got hit by Keith Bullock, I think things would
have gotten I think his stats would have been even
more ridiculous just because of that Plantrofasciis gave him a
lot of trouble. But Gates is one of the greatest
of all times. Are human beings and uh and tight
ends and It's truly a special night for him. I
can't wait to hear what he has to say on
Saturday night. But the connection that him and Philip Rivers
(15:10):
had was unique. Fans used to have a sign that
said open the gates and let the Rivers flow, so
that I always remember that sign when I think about
when I think about those two. So yeah, no, I'm happy.
Yeah no, you just got to be happy for Gates.
He truly truly a special guy.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah. One team who wins the AFC.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Oh, I'll go Buffalo. I think Buffalo their stadium. Look,
I'm a WWE guy. Their stadiums closing down. What better
way to inaugurate their new stadium than with a Super
Bowl championship. So I'm going for the storyline. So I
think I think Buffalo wins the AfD. But I think
(15:53):
it's gonna be a very competitive AFC.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah, without question. Hey, Fernando really enjoyed the conversation. Thank
you for the knowledge. We appreciate you getting up early
because I know it was a late night for you.
I hope we can talk again down the road. Keep
up the great work for the Sporting Tribune in SoCal
and we'll be following you on Twitter and all your articles.
Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Today, I appreciate it. Have a great rest of your
guys this day and have a great weekend. Thank you
so much for having me on
Let's get to the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line and
welcome in. Someone who has covered the Chargers for a
while was at the game last night. Fernando Ramirez of
the Sporting Tribune in sokal joins us here to give
his SUTs on last night. You can follo him on
Twitter at real f Ramirez. Fernando, we appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you hey, I'm doing well. Thank you so
much for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Oh man, it's an honor as well. Tell us a
little bit about your impressions from last night overall.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well, obviously you have to start off with two guys
that have made some noise during training camp, and they
just continued on Thursday night. Now the national the whole
country got to see a little bit more. I know
it's just pre season and you're basically going twos, threes
and fours, but when DeAndre Lambert Smid is done during
practice has been very impressive. He's shown his shiftiness, his speed,
(00:55):
he's able to blow past cornerbacks, and he's done a
really good job of stimulating himself. And it doesn't matter
if it's Trey Lance or Taylor Heineke or Justin Herbert
he has been making place consistently during practice, and he
did it again on Thursday. The one over the shoulder
was just very impressive because it keeps on replaying in
(01:16):
my mind that Greg Roman said, he reminds me a
lot of Brandon Lloyd. And those are the kind of
plays that Brandon Lloyd made, whether it was with the Patriots,
with the forty nine ers, or with the Broncos, he
would make plays like that. So and then if you
go back and look at the touchdown, he put the
double move on the corner, thinking like he's gonna go outside,
(01:40):
he cuts back inside, does this lant and scores the touchdown.
And then Nico Reid and undrafted free agent out of Oregon.
He's made plays in every single practice of training camp
that we've been at. And he's picked off Herbert, he's
picked off I think it was Trey Lance, and now
(02:00):
he picks off Kyle Allen on Thursday night. So he's
the guy that's gonna make this Chargers coaching staff really
rack their brains and think, Okay, do we cut one
of our veteran corners, or do we keep and keep
the undrafted free agent, or do we go with the
veteran and let this kid and risk losing this kid
(02:21):
to somewhere else and him becoming a star somewhere else.
So he's making things challenging for the Chargers coaching staff.
Eleven practices in one preseason game in Fernando.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
I think too often we get wrapped up in the
quarterback position. We know that Justin Herbert's the starter for
the Chargers, and we know that Jared Goff is the
starter for the Lions. But at certain times, I mean,
backups can be important, just as people in Cincinnati a
couple of years ago. Trey Lance. I know it's been
viewed as a disappointment overall, and rightfully so. It's a
(02:56):
third overall choice. Never looked comfortable in San Francis, never
got the opportunity in Dallas, and rightfully so. But he
looked really comfortable. What has impressed you most about Trey
Lance in his first year there under Jim Harbaugh.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
You know it's funny on Twitter people are saying, hey,
justin watch your back, because Alex Smith thought he was
comfortable as well when he was with the forty nine ers.
So but no Trey, and this is what Jim Harbaugh
was saying, about on Tuesday, he said, look, he needs
more game time reps. He hasn't gotten the game time
reps that you would want. And yes he is a
(03:33):
third overall pick, but he needs game repetition. He really
didn't get it in college and he needs to get
it now. And these are the moments where they're they're
doing it with him now. The only thing that kind
of I've been wondering about, and I kind of was
texting back and forth with another NFL writer yesterday where
we were kind of arguing about it, and I said,
(03:54):
right now, Taylor Heinekes quarterback too. I think Trey Lance
will stick around and he'll be coolquarterback Ray and he'll
be the developmental guy for the Chargers. But I think
Taylor brings a lot to that game time experience that
Harbaugh's talked about. But here Dray could reinvent himself and
slowly but surely build himself a nice preseason with the
(04:17):
Chargers and show that he can obviously be that playmaker
that people wanted him. The problem is he was selected
third overall, so everybody expect him to go out there
and be a star. Well, no, it's gonna take him
some time it's going to take him some reps. But
so far in practice, I actually, I mean there's some
throws that he anticipates a little bit late. But I
(04:39):
think he's been better than what I had seen from
him in the past. Last year, I was at Cowboys
camp when they were an Oxnard. I went once or
twice and he did not look the way he has
so far for the Chargers. So he's making he's progressing well.
He's taking positive steps forward. But I still think Taylor
Heineke is a QB two for the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
It's a good problem to have Fernando Ramirez of the
Sporting Tribune and Sokel covering the Chargers joining us here
on EXUS and bros fam on Twitter at Real f Ramirez.
He was at the game last night in Canton, watching
the Chargers throttle the Lions. I don't know how much
you take out of game one of a four game
preseason now, because these two teams played in that annual
(05:22):
game and it's quite an honor. But I would love
your view, one thousand foot view of the Lions as
bad as they were last night three turn of five turnovers,
eight penalties. What was your overall assessment of Detroit in
that game.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, I mean, I think Detroit's a physical team. We
all know what Dan Campbell's guys are going to bring.
I thought their pass rush was if it wasn't for
Trey lance elusiveness, I actually thought that they were gonna
they were gonna get If he would have been a
pocket passer, they probably would have gotten multiple sacks on him,
just because there were times where there were kind of
(06:00):
collapsed in the pocket and he would make a move
or two and get himself away from it or stuff
like that. But actually think Detroit is one of those
teams that everybody's kind of wondering what they're going to
be because a couple of years ago we saw the
Eagles went to the Super Bowl, they lost their two
they lost the Super Bowl, they lost their two coordinators,
and then they kind of went all downhill from there.
(06:23):
So everybody's wondering what that is going to look like
for Detroit. But I think Dann Campbell's a hell of
a coach and everybody knows that he's not only a
good coach as a good motivator, so he'll have his
guys ready to go. But no, obviously you have to
be impressed with what he's done so far. I remember
when everybody was making him out to be a laughing stock.
The national media was because of the press conference that
(06:45):
he gave at the opening press conference, and look at
what he's done with the team. Same thing with Sirianni Siriani.
Everybody laughed at him when he was up there and
having a weird press conference, opening press conference, and look,
he's won the Eagles of Super Bowl. So I think
I think Detroit has a heck of a team, and
I really think that people are underestimating him going into
(07:06):
this year.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
How has it been covering Jim Harbaugh because we covered
him here while he was at the University of Michigan.
He's a unique dude, but he's a hell of a coach.
All you got to do is look at his track record.
What's it been like?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's been interesting, to say the least. Last year in minicamp,
I was kind of like he was staring at me.
I was staring at him and like we kind of
locked eyes and I blinked and he goes, you lost,
And I was like what. He goes, yeah, you lost,
and I was like, Oh, I didn't know we were
competing like I was like, okay, like that's pretty interesting.
(07:38):
But no, you understand that three season Jim Harbaugh is
not going to be regular season Jim Harbaugh. He's going
to change, he's gonna met like he's going to go
He's going to be a lot more serious. But no,
the fact that and I've talked to Derwin James, I
talked to other guys like off, you talk to him
outside of interviewing them, and they are really impressed. I mean,
(07:59):
to go from Brandon Salley to Jim Harbaugh, that's like
going from McDonald's to find the Brazilian steakhouses. So they're
really excited about about what Jim Harbaugh brings. They're excited
about where this team is going. I mean, the Charger
would talk about Super Bowl aspiration the players, but it
(08:20):
was kind of like, yeah, we know we have the
talent to get there. But there was always in the
tone of their voice a little but there is no
butt anymore. And the biggest emphasis of this look at
Khalil Mak. Khalil Mack has thought about retiring twice already,
and this time he said, you know what, I took
a little bit longer to announce that I was coming
bick than I should have. He's like, I knew right
(08:42):
away that I wanted to come back. He's like, this
team has something special. I think we're almost there, and
that is true. I really think that if anybody can
bring that charger curse, that chargering and charger curse, it's
Jim Harrow who. I mean, fans obviously are the ones
that say, but if anybody can break that, it's Jim Harbaugh.
(09:02):
And the relationship that he's built with Justin Herbert is
something really special because then he's going and saying, Hey,
the only the only thing we need Justin Herbert to
improve is the players around him need to improve to
get up to his level. So so he's done everything
right and I'm really impressed with the way he commands
not only the team, the players, but an organization af
(09:26):
somebody asked me yesterday on another show. They were like,
who's the guy that people get excited to to sign?
Exclude Justin Herbert, but who the fans get excited when
they sign autographs? Are like, oh my god, I want
to I want his autograph. I'm like Jim Harbaugh. They're like,
no way, and I'm like, yeah, Jim tunks the fans,
like fans will throw stuff out to him and they'll
(09:47):
be like, coach, we want to see you at Petco Park. Well,
if they invite me, I'm willing to go down there.
And then, coach, I live. I live in Fresno. Oh really,
let me tell you a story about Presno. So Jim
has been very personable and fans have really he bought in.
The team is bought in, the organization is bought in
as well.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
That's a really good story. They were in eleven games
a year ago. What will it take to catch the Chiefs?
First and foremost? Second of all, Justin Herbert's a really
good quarterback, but he still has improven it in the postseason.
How vital is this season for him?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Well, going back to what it's gonna take to catch
the Chiefs, it's gonna be the two running backs that
they signed. I think Omar and Hampton and Najie Harris,
if they're able to come in and be as exclusive
as what everybody thinks they're going to be. I truly
believe that they're going to be the difference makers for
this team, just because they were missing that a year ago.
(10:42):
They didn't have that running back control that Jim Harbaugh
and Greg Roman want because JK. Dobbins he was serviceable,
but he was a home run hitter. He's not one
of these running backs that's gonna tire out of defense
and gash them. They thought Gus Edwards was going to
be that, but Gus Edwards couldn't get himself going. He
was able to really put a stamp on was at
Denver Bronco game towards the end of the season. But
(11:05):
here with those two backs, they're they're gonna be. They're
gonna be playmakers if coach up Wright and everything goes right,
they should be. They should be one of the best
running back tandems in the NFL, especial with the offensive
line that Jim bringing him Kai becked In resigning Rashaun
Slater to a contract extension. So there's high hopes when
(11:28):
it comes to that. But those two guys are gonna
have a lot to do with them being able to
catch Kansas City. The Chargers haven't won the division since
two thousand and nine LT Ladanian Tomlinson's last year as
a Charger. Yeah, this is gonna be very important for
Justin Herbert. Fans are kind of holding out hope on
the well. Peyton Manning didn't win his first playoff game
until his sixth season, and that's core Justin's headed to
(11:51):
right now. Look, Justin Herbert done everything right. He's come in,
He's done a lot of really good things. He's learned,
he's very he kind of has a computer mind where
he knows exactly what's going on. But the thing is,
and Jim's been right, the weapons around him have lax.
So that's kind of been the issue around him is
(12:12):
that his first few years the offense was great, the
defense was terrible, and then last year the weaponry was bad.
Because obviously Keenan, Allen, Mike Williams are gone. He has
no tied end to depend on. He had Lad McConkey,
which was a great revelation, but there was nothing outside
of that. As you can see in the Houston game,
Ladd had one hundred and ninety seven receiving yards and
(12:34):
the next closest was Will Disley with eighteen yards. But again,
I think this is a very important year for Jim
Harbaugh and for Justin Herbert, for the players to be
worked as hard as they are and everything you want
to get those wins under the belt in the playoffs
to show, yeah, this is working, We're getting closer. I've
said this, I think they need one or two wins
(12:56):
in the playoffs to really show that they are they
are a force because that LA super Bowl next year.
I think that's going to be a super Bowl where
the Chargers need to be in to show that all
this is working. They have the right quarterback, they have
the right head coach, they have the right personnel, they
have the right everything. So I truly believe that this
(13:18):
year they need to take a big step forward to
show that this is all working.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Trying to be the second team to win a Super
Bowl in their own building just once like the Rams did.
And I think a lot of people forget the only
team they actually had a better point differential within in
the AFC West than the team that won the AFC West,
the Kansas City Chiefs. Only Denver was better than the
Chargers in that regard. Last thought from me and I
(13:45):
got a minute and a half here, really special night
for a Detroiter but also a former Charger in Antonio Gates.
What does that mean to the Charger nation that he's
now in the Hall of Fame? And the first to
ever do it, who didn't play Kylee football and yet
is one of the greatest at his position of all time.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Man, you're only going to give me a minute and
a half, now, I'm kidding. Gates was truly a special player.
You could always go to him, talk to him as
a media person. He was always very approachable, one of
the nicest guys. He would always flash you that million
dollar smile. But when it comes to the fans, their static.
I mean, Gates is one of the greatest tight ends
(14:25):
of all time. Again, he didn't play college football. Nick
Savin told him, you have to choose between basketball and football.
He decided to go basketball. He just he was so
he revolutionized a tight end game, I thought, and he
really was unique. If he didn't get that foot injury,
that plantrofasci itis, and that game against the Titans where
(14:47):
he got hit by Keith Bullock, I think things would
have gotten I think his stats would have been even
more ridiculous just because of that Plantrofasciis gave him a
lot of trouble. But Gates is one of the greatest
of all times. Are human beings and uh and tight
ends and It's truly a special night for him. I
can't wait to hear what he has to say on
Saturday night. But the connection that him and Philip Rivers
(15:10):
had was unique. Fans used to have a sign that
said open the gates and let the Rivers flow, so
that I always remember that sign when I think about
when I think about those two. So yeah, no, I'm happy.
Yeah no, you just got to be happy for Gates.
He truly truly a special guy.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah. One team who wins the AFC.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Oh, I'll go Buffalo. I think Buffalo their stadium. Look,
I'm a WWE guy. Their stadiums closing down. What better
way to inaugurate their new stadium than with a Super
Bowl championship. So I'm going for the storyline. So I
think I think Buffalo wins the AfD. But I think
(15:53):
it's gonna be a very competitive AFC.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah, without question. Hey, Fernando really enjoyed the conversation. Thank
you for the knowledge. We appreciate you getting up early
because I know it was a late night for you.
I hope we can talk again down the road. Keep
up the great work for the Sporting Tribune in SoCal
and we'll be following you on Twitter and all your articles.
Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Today, I appreciate it. Have a great rest of your
guys this day and have a great weekend. Thank you
so much for having me on
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