CBS LA Chris Hayre Joins Ahead Of Texans vs Charges Match Up

CBS LA Chris Hayre Joins Ahead Of Texans vs Charges Match Up

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Matt Tama Show with Ross continues here. Ross packing
Houston up here in Los Angeles Rockets against the Clippers tonight.
We'll have it for you beginning at eight thirty with
Rockets launch Pad Network pre game at nine and I'll
have to call here at nine point thirty from into
a dome. Right now, let's talk about one of the
other LA Sports teams, the Chargers, and joining us right
now from CBS Los Angeles. He also does a weekly

(00:23):
podcast about the Los Angeles Chargers. We say hello to
Chris Heyry here on the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. Chris.
It's Matt and Ross. Good morning to you first and foremost,
and I we will go to the games itself. Tell
me what it's like. And I had to counterpart on
from the Rams earlier this year when the Texans played them.
How does the Chargers gain attention to the LA Sports

(00:46):
landscape and does this run help them or is it
still when you go to games at so far with
the Chargers, there's a large amount of other teams fans
in the building.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well, you know what, Matt, great to be with you, man.
I think that the hardball effect is certainly real. I've
been with this organization since they moved up to Los
Angeles in twenty seventeen, and I could tell you it's
grown exponentially. I'll also tell you that in Los Angeles
it is a Lakers and a Dodgers town, and there

(01:19):
is a slice of the pie for everybody else, and
if you win, the slice gets bigger. And I've seen
Jim Harball in just two short seasons go back to
back eleven wins with this quarterback, and you're starting to
kind of feel the buzz a little bit. And it's
pretty cool to see both the Rams and the Chargers

(01:42):
really being looked at its contenders in both the AFC
and NFC right now.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, it's certainly a good time for football here in
southern California.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Chris.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
The Houston audience had a chance to see the Chargers
Cowboys game before the Texans last week, and it felt
like to me, and I'm so glad you're able to
owners today. Justin's got a plethora of targets to go
into that offense. I mean, I don't know if it
was a perfect game, because I was here on traveling.
I didn't see the whole thing, but it felt like
to me that Herbert could throw it to about five

(02:13):
different people on the field at any one point during
the game.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
You know, we're doing our podcast today and that's that's
one of the first things we're going to talk about.
This is just the the emergence of some of these
guys that you didn't know we're gonna have a big
as big of an impact as they've had. Trey Harris,
the second round rookie, comes to mind. It used to
be third in Keenan right, It was like, all right,

(02:39):
Keenan's getting the ball third down. Now it's third and
Keenan third and lad Trey Harris's raised his hand. The
rookie Ronde Gadsden, Quentin Johnston, who was actually hurt the
week before h against the Chiefs. Four catches for one
hundred and four yards and just an unbelievable one handed
touchdown catch. So you're right, they have a lot of weapons.

(03:01):
And just the emergence of Marion Hampton to the rookie
running back who has missed a large chunk of the
season with an ankle injury. He returned a couple of
weeks ago, and he was just like a runaway freight train,
Like eighty one yards the touchdown to put him up
thirty four to seventeen. So I go back to last
year and how Justin didn't really have any weapons in

(03:24):
that Houston Wildcard game. It seemed like, you know, they
shut down Quinton Johnston. Lad was the only weapon who
could produce anything through the air one hundred and ninety
seven yards I think ninety It came on that one
play at the end of the game. So, yeah, it's
night and day from last year in terms of the
weapons and just kind of how everybody is kind of

(03:44):
working in harmony.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Here Chris Hayry joining us from CBS Los Angeles here
on the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. Okay, so I'm
assuming that mister Herbert's hand is okay. I know he
was kind of grumpy about it a few weeks ago,
But there was anything that you saw against the Cowboys
that alarmed you at all?

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, No, this was this was the first game this
season where he was not sacked, zero sacks allowed by
this offensive line who's been a big topic of conference.
And make no mistake, it's a it's a broken hand, right,
it's a it's a it's a broken non throwing hand. Uh.
But he has found a way to play with it,
and you know it seemingly is getting better each week.

(04:25):
But to throw for three hundred yards, which is the
most passing yeards that he's thrown for since middle of
October against the Colts, You're starting to see that dimension
of the offense. Since the bye week, since getting blown
out by the Jags, Matt, this team has really relied
on their defense to to win them football games. And

(04:46):
Sunday was the first time where you know, the defense
kind of got hit in the mouth early in the
game against Dak, Who's that's fantastic, But to to kind
of get hit in the mouth by that Dak Prescott
led offense, Justin Herbert had go toe for toe with them,
and then the defense settles down, doesn't allow any points
in the second half, yet Justin continues to go. So

(05:07):
he's unbelievable. He's one of the toughest quarterbacks you'll ever
come across. He makes a hero type play almost every
game and the defense carry the day. But Sunday was
the first time where I was like, wow, if this
passing attack can get in rhythm in the playoffs and
the Churches may have.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Something all right, So With all that being said, and look,
I've been a Herbert guy from a distance, but last
year's wild card game he was atrocious. He has not
had a whole lot of postseason success. Tell me in
your mind, how bad does he need a couple of
postseason wins to build on his resume? I mean, first,

(05:48):
every quarterback needs one that goes without saying, But how
much pressure will there be when the Chargers get to
the playoffs for him to have all the success in
the last handful of weeks the Chargers had if they
come up short and in particular and struggles.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, we'll have these conversations on radio. We'll continue to happen.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
You know.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
It's uh. I think I think that that's been the
biggest thing is Justin has done everything during the regular season.
He hes set records, He's been unbelievable. But until you
do it in the postseason, there's gonna be a lot
to talk about it. There's gonna be a lot to
talk about, Hey, can he win a playoff game? Can
he gets you deep into the postseason? I have no

(06:27):
doubt that he can. Right. It's it's just every season
is different. Every opponent you come across is different the
the that Texas game. It was just you know, he
threw three interceptions all season, uh, to throw four in
that game. And I get it he was he was
pressing because the Texans got momentum in that second half
and never let up. But yeah, that's gonna be that's

(06:51):
gonna be the topic of conversation until he does it.
But what's fascinating about the playoffs this year, Matt, And
it goes to the Texans too. Anybody can be any seed,
you know. You know, the Texans could somehow went out
and the Jacks drop a game and they're they're winning
the South again. You know, the Chargers went out and

(07:14):
they win the West. Right, they control their destiny now
because they beat the Broncos early in the year. They
could be as high as the one seed of the
two seed, as low as the seventh seed. This is
a wide open AFC with no Patrick Mahomes uh, probably
no Lamar Jackson, no Joe Burrow, and anybody can win
this thing. It's just about matchups and and who's going

(07:35):
to be the grittier team who doesn't make any mistakes
in January.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
It's so crazy, Chris, seven different NFL towns all in
the AFC. I think they've got a shot to be
playing on Super Sunday, and it kind of makes it wonderful,
you know, I believe it. Yeah, I just couldn't believe.
When was it de Rich Eisen said that we're all
going to miss the Chiefs in the playoffs. I'm like,
you know what, Kansas City might miss it, but nobody
else could. It gives two craps about whether or not

(08:01):
the Chiefs are the playoffs. Now thought it was one
of the dumbest things I've heard in a long time.
But that's neither here nor there. Chris Hayry from CBS
in Los Angeles joining us. All right, so not that
I let Vegas determine everything. But the over under on this, Chris,
is thirty nine and a half. That would tend to mean,
even though the Chargers are a small favorite in this game,
that they're expecting this to be a twenty one to

(08:23):
eighteen type of football game. How do you envision Again,
Texans defense will be the best the Chargers probably have
seen in quite some time. But the Chargers and again,
the Cowboys defense was atrocious. You saw that last week.
But let me tell me, can a Chargers win a
low scoring, close game. Can their defense do enough to
keep this thing close? The Texans offense has been better

(08:44):
as of they didn't play a lot really well last week.
But what is it going to be like for Justin
to face maybe his best defense he's seen in probably
in two months.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
You're right, I mean, so the Broncos are a super
Bowl caliber defense to Houston Texans are super Bowl caliber defense.
But you know, go back to just the two weeks
before the game against the Cowboys. You know, I know
Jalen Carter didn't playing that game, but Philly secondary is unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
They won a low.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
Scoring overtime game twenty two to or twenty I think
it was twenty one eighteen, something like that, twenty two
to nineteen. The next week sixteen thirteen over the Chiefs
in fifteen degree weather. So this defense, this defense is
ready for it. And I think that the Chargers defense
is just a small rung below those other defenses that

(09:36):
I mentioned. They've been awesome since getting hit in the
mouth against Jacksonville after the bye, they have seemingly a
Pro Bowler, an all Pro on every level of their defense.
Derwin James named to his fifth Pro Bowl today Tooley
Towoy Polo two has been unbelievable, thirteen sacks for him,
same as Daniel Hunter. And to have to have a

(09:58):
guy like Dayon Henley who's coming on as of late,
a very sticky secondary with veterans like Tony Jefferson. I
do think that the Chargers defense is.

Speaker 3 (10:09):
Going to be the unit that carries the day for
them if they're going to make a run in the postseason.
You know, you know, I don't put too much stock
in how close that game was against the Raiders for
the Texans. Something tells me that they were probably looking
a couple of weeks ahead. And every every team in
the NFL is going to have these these close games
against another NFL team. So C J.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Stroud has looked really good this year in spots and
I do I see I see a twenty four twenty
one game, maybe a twenty seventeen game. Watch watch us
get their Saturday Matt and it's a it's a forty
two thirty five game. Who knows, But I do think
both of these defenses.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
Are going to show up on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
All right.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
Most important question for you, Chris, how does in Los
Angelino going to prepare for seven inches of rain here
in California next three day.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
You know what I'm anchoring tonight, and I just I
have a sneaky suspicion some of our sports HiT's may
get killed if it's four watch five because when rain
hits Los Angeles, people get upset about it and it.

Speaker 2 (11:17):
Gets a lot of coverage.

Speaker 3 (11:19):
I feel bad for you that you're here this week
and we're getting rain when we've had beautiful weather.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
The last couple of weeks.

Speaker 3 (11:25):
But that's just I guess the way it goes.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
Mate. Who knows, though, Matt, you may be back here
in a couple of weeks for a playoff game. We
don't know what's going to happen over here over the
next few weeks in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (11:35):
That's true. Just just lead your lead your eleven o'clock
newscast with Rockets beat Lakers or Clippers, I should say,
and I'll feel a lot better I talk it because
I need a victory in the worst way. Chris, thank
you so much for the time. John Ireland, the Lakers
Voice recommended you, and you have not disappointed front. I
really appreciate you coming on my show today.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
Mat you the best, John's the best too. Hope you
have a great week in la Man.

Speaker 1 (11:58):
Thanks Chris very much, Chris, heyy