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January 10, 2025 12 mins
Isaac Lowenkron is the pregame and postgame host for the Los Angeles Chargers Radio Network. He joined us earlier today on The A-Team with Adam Clanton and Adam Wexler. He talks about the Chargers not buying into the words of Rex Ryan earlier this week. He also points out a Texan that maybe you wouldn't expect, as someone who could flip the momentum in this game. 
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're heading into a game tomorrow less than twenty four
hours away, the Texans back in the Wildcard round, so
naturally is a three point thirty kickoff. It's the first
game of the NFL Wildcard Weekend that runs through Monday night.
The Chargers and Justin Herbert come to town, and with
that we have an opportunity to go and check in
on those Chargers. Isaac lohan Kron of the San Diego Chargers.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
See, I waited all week.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
It's Friday, it's a final opportunity, and I actually did
it on purpose, just for a see.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Los Angeles Chargers Radio Network Isaac Lohan Kron to join
us here. I guess I'll start on the injury front.
Was there anything to be made of them activating a
wide receiver for this game? We're pulling him off of
IR because of Quentin Johnston's situation, just even from a
depth standpoint.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, I'll get that to that in a minute. What's
this about Big City Wings in studio? Can you save
me some cool Ranch dry blend please?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
We can do that anytime. Look at this game.

Speaker 4 (00:59):
You know we'll we'll have to save it, but I'm
willing to do it.

Speaker 5 (01:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:02):
No.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
To answer your question, Simi Fojoko, who they who they
activated off.

Speaker 4 (01:08):
Of injured reserve.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
I don't think that's related to Quentin Johnson's injury. My
sense is that Quentin Johnston will definitely play tomorrow.

Speaker 4 (01:20):
The question is will he be at.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
One hundred percent because the reason is attributed to illness
and a thigh injury.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
Obviously, as you guys know, he's coming.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Off the best game of his career against the Raiders
last week. So my guess is he plays. I can't
say for sure how whether it'll be one hundred percent effective.
I'm not sure the semi fajoco thing is one hundred
percent related to that. The other thing from an injury standpoint,
you know, JK. Dobbins was on the injury report this

(01:52):
week because of an ankle injury. He was limited in
practice all week. I'm certain he's going to play. The
question with him is going to be, you know, is
he going to be at one hundred percent effectiveness? They
did elevate another running back earlier today, but he's a
guy who's played on special teams this year. So I
think both of those guys will play. I think the
question is will they be at one hundred percent effectiveness.

Speaker 5 (02:15):
Isaac was what was the hyperbolic statement that you got
a bigger kick out of from Rex Ryan the fact
that this is a bye week for the Chargers, or
the fact that he's already putting Justin Herbert in the
Hall of Fame.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Look, I am shocked that Rex Ryan is picking against
a team that as a player on its roster named
Henry Too Too, and they also have a guy on
their roster named Tommy Togii. Yet Rex Ryan is picking
against that team. It doesn't make sense to me, knowing

(02:51):
what we all know about Rex Ryan.

Speaker 4 (02:56):
That being said, as soon what.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
You're doing there, we all know you're telling us that
Rex Ryan put his foot in his mouth.

Speaker 4 (03:01):
We get it, not the first time, not the last time.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
But I just honestly didn't take that very seriously, and
most importantly, the Chargers didn't take it seriously because you know,
as you guys know as we break down this matchup,
and Greg Roman, the Chargers offensive coordinator, said it yesterday,
this is the fastest defense that they played this season,

(03:26):
and they're a big play defenses, you guys know, I
mean second in the NFL and interceptions fourth in sacks.
They've allowed the lowest completion percentage in the NFL. So
you know, my read on the game is the I
think the Chargers are gonna win on paper. I think
that they're the better team on paper. But at the
same time, absolutely the Texans have a capability to win

(03:50):
this game for sure, and most importantly, the Chargers know
that themselves full well as well.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
What kind of play has the one postseason game for
Justin Herbert and oh it went? What kind of play
is that gotten?

Speaker 3 (04:02):
This week, it's been less about him but more about
it from a team wide standpoint, because you know, he
had a really solid game against Jacksonville. He threw for
two seventy three, did not turn the ball over. But
the issue was more that it was a team wide failure.

(04:24):
I mean, Joey Bosa very memorably had two unsportsmanlike conduct
penalties in the second half of that game. As I recalled,
during Jacksonville's game winning drive, they allowed a long jet
sweep run on a fourth down play that got them
into position for a game winning field goal. Jacksonville during

(04:45):
that comeback pulled off a couple of successful two point conversions,
so I would say it's more of a team wide
narrative than it is a justin Herbert narrative. Now, if
if Herbert, you know, characteristically he say, has a multi
interception game tomorrow and they wind up losing, and you know,

(05:05):
he's done literally a virtually historic job of limiting his
interceptions this year. But if he has like a multiple
interception game against a Houston team that has shown a proclivity,
particularly you know, Derek Sningley and Kylen Bullock, of coming
up with big plays and making interceptions, then I think
he'll probably be the target for the national narrative.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Well, it's been quite some time since Herbert did that.
How about Week six or week seven of the twenty
three season, the last time he had a multi interception game.
How about what should be moving forward? And probably is
even today his number one target. The ninth wide receiver
drafted in twenty twenty four was Lad McConkie, and you
could make an argument, a pretty good one, that he

(05:48):
had the most successful season of all of the wide
receivers drafted. All things considered, he probably played with the
best quarterback, But it did seem rather quick that they
got on the same page. Out of wide receiver that
mconkie is might not have people comparing him to neighbors
or Brian Thomas Junior or things like that, but the production,

(06:08):
especially this back half of the season, it's been up
there with all of the veteran receivers in the league.

Speaker 3 (06:15):
Absolutely, And going into this season, people were penciling into
Chargers number one receiver as DJ Shark, who wound up
missing the first half of the season with a groin
injury and wound up with just four receptions all season long.
But McConkie has been amazing from day one, and there
was there was a particular stretch during the course of

(06:37):
the season. I would say it was it was roughly
about two thirds of the way through the season when,
for one reason or another, McConkie was essentially the only
dependable wide receiver that the Chargers had. So you knew
on a gotta have it play, particularly on third down

(06:58):
and medium third down and long. You knew that the
ball was going to him. The defense knew the ball
was going to him, yet they still couldn't stop him,
and he still converted. That was I think the most
impressive part of an extremely impressive season. The fact that
there was a point in the season where on God

(07:20):
to have a place. The defense knew it was going
to lad mconkey and they still couldn't stop him. And
as you guys know, what's fascinating tomorrow is he very
well could be matched up against his college teammate for
two national championships at Georgia in Kamari Lassiter.

Speaker 5 (07:37):
Jim Harbaugh this time last year was getting prepared to
win a national championship right here in Houston. What has
year one of the Jim Harbaugh experience been like there
in La Oh?

Speaker 3 (07:49):
It's been manna from heaven for Chargers fans because from
a Chargers fans standpoint, especially, there was no Plan B.
It was Jim Harbaugh or bust. And that was Charger
fans put literally all their eggs in Jim Harbaugh's basket

(08:09):
when they you know, fired Brandon Staley and Tom to LESCo.
Towards the end of last season, I mean, we had
callers to our shows because they were in town for
the Rose Bowl and it was around his birthday. I'm
not sure how the timing lined up, but we literally
had callers calling in after you know, Charger games last
season singing Jim Harbaugh Happy Birthday on the air they had.

(08:32):
You know, Chargers fans stalking this too much of a word,
but I would say recruiting him when Michigan had their
team day at Disneyland before the Rose Bowl last year,
and in so many ways, tangibly and just from just
from an organizational soul standpoint, he's transformed the Chargers. I

(08:54):
mean from a statistical standpoint. You look at the pass
defense thirtieth in the NFL last year, seventh this year,
scoring defense goes from twenty fourth to first. But just
as sort of a CEO and a leader of this team,
some of the moves he's made with bringing Jesse Minter
as the defensive coordinator, Ben Herbert as the lead strength

(09:14):
and conditioning guy, even the rehab from injuries seems to
have gone quicker than it has last season. Just in
all aspects of the organization. The results speak from themselves.
Just as a thought exercise earlier today, I went and
looked at their schedule and there are five or six
games that the Chargers won this season that last year's

(09:36):
team before Jim Harbaugh would have lost. And you know,
there hasn't been too significant of a change in personnel
between this year and last year's team. In fact, from
a personnel standpoint, you know they lost Austin Eckler, Mike Williams,
and Keenan Allen, So you could actually make the argument
that maybe they were not as good on paper going
into this season as they were last year.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
You probably could.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
But I think looking back at it now, noting what
they do did do to try to accommodate those wide
receiver losses. Clearly we have already talked about McConkey. You
really mentioned. The last thing I wanted to get to
was probably what he did with his defensive staff. They
hadn't been in the top twenty in points allowed defensively
for four seasons, obviously none of the seasons with the
previous head coach. I am curious though they're number one

(10:19):
in scoring defense obviously number one and fewest points allowed.
I do think the offense probably plays a little bit
of a role with how few turnovers they had and
field position and things that go along with that. But
in looking at some of what they did, teams can
and have moved the ball against them, but they don't score.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
What is it that they're doing so well?

Speaker 3 (10:39):
It's just they're phenomenal in red zone and goal to
go situations. I mean, they're first in the league in
red zone touchdown percentage and their third in goal to
go defense, and I think from a run stopping standpoint,
they're really good in short yardage goal line situations. I

(10:59):
think a big reason for that is Derwin James, who's
had a career year and really a career renaissance. I
think he's being used in a much more effective way.
I mean, he had a career high ten tackles for
loss this season. But at the same time, while they
have ranked first and third in those categories, you know,

(11:19):
as you mentioned anecdotally, there have been stretches this year
where they have been susceptible to big plays. And oddly enough,
I look at a guy like Damian Pierson if I'm
a Chargers fan, and you know, no disrespect to Joe Mixon,
who's a Pro bowler and a thousand yard rusher, but
Damian Pierce is a guy who obviously, you know, ninety

(11:41):
two yard touchdown run against the Titans whatever. You know,
Tennessee was already out of it. But I remember very
well two years ago this guy ran for one thirty
one against the Chargers, including a seventy five yard touchdown
run in that game. So he's the guy who has
big playability. So certainly, you know, their numbers and their
defensively speak for themselves. But there have been certain, you know,

(12:04):
anecdotal moments throughout the season where they have been vulnerable
to big plays.

Speaker 1 (12:09):
Well, I'll take that and walk you out the door
with the numbers. Conversely, the Chargers, as you mentioned, first
in red zone defense, third in goal to go percentage defense,
the Texans twenty seventh and thirtieth defensively, respectively.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
Great defense. It's exactly the opposite.

Speaker 1 (12:26):
They have not been good in those situations where the
Chargers have really good stuff, very entertaining matchup I think
we're in store for and Isaac, we certainly appreciate your
time this afternoon.

Speaker 4 (12:37):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (12:37):
And I can't wait to try that boneless wing basket
for Big City Wings.

Speaker 4 (12:41):
Appreciate your time, guys, thank you.

Speaker 5 (12:43):
I love this guy absolutely, and Big City Sam loves
him too.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
He does
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