Ep. 379 - Chargers vs Cowboys Preseason Game 3 Recap & 53-Man Roster Predictions | CHARGERS UNLEA...

a n this is your Chargers linebacker Dan Henley and you're tuning in with chargers unleash welcome to another edition of chargers Unleashed J Kepner and D wienstein here with you from the LA football network this is your first time tuning in the show make sure to hit that like And subscribe button on YouTube you can also follow us on Facebook Twitter Instagram Spotify and apple podcast Dan wallenstein the 2024 preseason for the Los Angeles Chargers is officially in the books game three the Chargers get their first and only win of the preseason coming yesterday against the Dallas Cowboys in a much more impressive fashion especially from IT stand the standpoint of offense that we had seen over the prior two weeks lots to get into big names to discuss and ultimately big decisions to be made when it comes down to the final 53 man roster that is ultimately going to be generated here on top of that obviously we are going to be answering your guys' questions whatever you guys have as it relates to the final 53 just in general as far as how this season's going to go you know we like this interaction in these live shows whenever we can Dan wallenstein sir you were out in the middle of a fantasy football draft in Pasadena while this game was going on so I know there is a lot of thoughts that you have probably a lot of physical wh things that you're going through still right now so anyway sir happy Sunday how are you I'm good I'm good Jake good to see you we haven't really got a chance to talk much about this game you and I we both been busy so we're kind of going to be doing this raw together uh while we go through this uh you mentioned Chargers get their first preseason win they get their first preseason offensive touchdown by the way oh also defensive touchdown Which we'll get to uh Jake mentioned it tons to discuss today put your questions comments thoughts in the chat we'll do our best to kind of weave those in as we go Hayden says it Jake what a day uh what a weekend I am still feeling it um we went a little hard in the paint sort of speak and uh shout out to uh the group that I was with uh my fantasy Squad by the way is cooking I felt really good about that but the Chargers game got a lot of us excited and for many reasons which we'll get to uh but I think what makes it crazy is there were names that came off of people's lists until preseason game number three and then they stamped it with ink put it in an envelope shipped it off you're good to go and so the game was amazing for most things sans's quarterbacks we talk to but look uh it's making decisions awfully tough and so the back half of this probably back two-thirds of this we're going to go into it we're going to show the roster go through the the guys we see as locks and we'll go through the bubble and figure out who we believe uh should be on the 53 but Jake I think we have to start the takeaways with just like uh a deep deep bow for Jesse Minter for what this defense looks like stacking bricks week after week throughout the preseason off the heels of training camp six turnovers by this Chargers defense Jake that had to have been the key takeaway underneath that there are things but for how little this offense did Jake the defense held the pale yeah Dan and you even tweeted it out after the game was over just in talk in terms of when was the last time have we seen this Chargers defense feel disconnected and yes it's preseason and yes you know that these games don't necessarily matter when it comes to the bigger picture of things but as it relates to the players they are still important and especially when we're talking about a team that has had depth issues for God knows how long these are the type of things that you love to see as Joe Ortiz has been preaching recycling churning the B bottom of the roster to find any different way that he can in order to ultimately improve it from the last guy on this roster to the first guy and I think that that's quite a display of what you have seen from some of these young names that have come up over these past three weeks who has really came up and made a name for themselves and Dan you and I made our 53 man roster early prediction this past Tuesday that aged like fine milk because we're gonna have to go through it all again and it's GNA be a much tougher decision to make so this is going to be an interesting conversation for sure 100% let's get some of these comments and again we'll get to the roster prediction but some of these I think are part of the game recap as well uh we talked about the defense Ballin Eddie asks will Tony Jefferson now make it over Thomas Harper as safety4 in short how could he not the statline that Tony Jefferson had yesterday was arguably the best defensive statline that I have ever seen in a preseason game two interceptions fourth fumble a sack I forget how many t he had but the man was on 14 total tackles for a guy who was out of the league scouting players last year unheard of and yeah to answer the question there's no way in hell he does not make the 53 am I am I wrong here I don't want to speak for you but am I I I know I don't think that there's any way that you could look at that performance Dan and say that that's a guy that you walk away from or that you choose to possibly put out there for someone else to pick up I just don't see that I think it's in it's an indictment on Tony Jefferson considering remember he was retired came out of retirement and only came to try out for the Chargers he didn't do it with any other team I think that those signs are indicative for him coming on the roster number one and number two kudos to him because he had made some play sparingly here and there throughout the first two preseason games and then we were talking about it because then there was all of this conversation about JT Woods being kind of this virtual chess piece versatile playing playing yes thank you uh he's real not virtual thank you thank you uh playing both corner and safety so when you have that type of Versatility much like there is with a guy like cell or Jordan mcfaden it allows you an extra roster spot to have because you can have a guy now who can play multiple positions and it eases decisions for you a little bit but from the standpoint of Tony Jefferson and another veteran presence that you have now in the secondary after a performance like that I don't think there's any way in hell that the Chargers are going to have a tough decision when it comes to whether or not he makes the 53 man roster I think it's locked I agree I agree we'll get to some of the defensive standouts here but aier comes in with a $1.99 donation a thank you thank you this defensive Ensemble is AFC West boys and it goes on to say that we are winning the West a is feeling good after we preseason game number three winning the West would be a little tough but hey we've seen have we seen crazier things I'm not sure um Tony Jefferson Far and Away was you know gold star number one two and three if you want to call it that but we got to see some fun things you saw interceptions by lots of folks including Jake darling traymon Morris Brash with the pick six with the sack with great coverage and is making it awfully tough to keep him off the 53 and I I see him as a guy that was kind of on that roster bubble and there's some Nuance there because of a Chris rump injury that might put him on which opens the door for a possible Morris Brash spot but I don't know what else you could have done to have a bigger impact in his final showing than what he did and and the whole linebacking Squad in general outside linebacker inside linebacker just looks so much better than it has a year ago or in the years's past shout out to tr Waris Brash made a the most of his opportunity and ran with it and then the first opportunity the other linebacker but come on go ahead kudos to Jake after got it right go ahead look we we still have and this is going to be some of the scenarios that we're going to have to go through when It ultimately ends up coming to the 53-man roster but when you just look at it on the service level I think trond traymon Morris Brash played his way onto this roster I think he ultimately takes Chris rum spot now it's interesting considering that you know the veteran presence that you have now at the edge position when we talk about the big four between Bose Mac dpri and Tuli that's a nice formidable four but you've also seen what he's done in the preseason games we've heard about what he's done in preseason practice we've heard Jesse Minter lawed about him in post-practice interviews talking about his potential his juice is basically at the next level as a situational pass rusher but he has a certain style to him that translates power to speed that I think is so critical for someone of his size coming off of the edge and I think that when you look at the whole of this Edge group that you have I think he rounds it out perfectly so why would you not want to have a guy like this even if even if we're talking situational pass rushing situations to have another guy that has that type of a juice and that type of a size that you can rotate seemingly with some of your veterans and still get good production out of again I know we're talking a a small sample size here we're talking about two preseason games that he really stood out but hey if you want to convince me or anybody else that he doesn't deserve a spot at Edge five I'll listen to you but it's it's hard to argue that in terms of just talking about someone who wants to make this roster I think Draymond Morris Brash did that I would agree and again we're talking about a Chargers defense that was out on the field for more than twoth thirds of the 60 Minutes of football they were on the field for over 40 minutes to just 19 minutes of offense for the Chargers and the Chargers defense had six turnovers the offense was doing them zero favors honestly the fact that the defense scored seven points plus six turnovers is insane and think about what that how bad that means the offense was that they did six turnovers plus seven points and they still won by just one score and barely because they had an end zone interception the defense looked good and uh there's a question here from Eddie Jake this is probably for you is there less worries now on the defensive line with the signing of tyer tart who has been great and there's no question in my mind that he makes 53 and he's up at the top of the the depth chart of that position are you less worried now with that yes yes personally I loved the signing when when tart was brought in and you heard Jim Harbaugh about it that beginning a free agency they had him high on their free agency wish list of them wanting to bring him in and you kind of Go full circle with this and I I know I had talked about this on a previous episode and I've talked to Dan about this offline you go back and you look at the reasons ultimately why he was let go in Tennessee first of all it was last December right after they had lost against the Houston Texans this was just before the playoffs got underway and he had asked for his release and then you hear the Tennessee Titans talk about you know uh you know not a fit personal misconduct whatever it may be just not you know they'll do the PG13 answer for GMS as they normally try to sugarcoat it just to say you know not give too much into the reasons of why a release was was taking place he was then signed on quickly by the Houston Texans once once they found out that they that the Titans were releasing with them and he finished out the season with them and then ultimately during this off season he signed for the Miami Dolphins shocked then when the Dolphins released him they kind of gave that same type of answer and so I thought about that and I I went back in my head and I started thinking of like the similar reasons of Christian Fon does it just take the right environment the right coaching staff that we have seen so many times before with players where you just need a new environment to try to find yourself and as we heard from Christian Fon he held back no punches in terms of certain things that were going on with the Tennessee Titans coaching staff and his play has been night and day it has so I loved it I think it's a great low-level signing for tart a great veteran presence if you can get tart back to the film and the play that he produced in 2022 that's huge I think it's a huge piece and I think it can round out this interior defensive line group very nicely yeah there's a question here I'm trying to find it um about are we worried about the amount of rushing yards that were allowed by this charg of defense and ler bruan had kind of took the words out of my mouth so I'll put his comment here the Chargers gave up a lot of plays yards specifically but they had 93 plays and we've heard we've talked to Trevor McHugh who knows very much about this new Chargers defense previously Michigan defense and told us exactly this he said their defense will give up yards at times but when it comes down to the Red Zone and when it comes down to giving seven that's where it works he said so they are the epitome of a Ben but don't break defense and so you saw that all over the box score you saw that with I think it was 31 first downs that the Cowboys had but 93 plays and scoring 19 points is bananas so I'm honestly I wasn't worried about that you know one of them was was the long run by Trey Lance which again that was lack of discipline on the outside but for the most part when your defense is out that long 93 plays you're going to give up yards it's you have to so I I wasn't really worried about that I thought the defense played outstanding given the stack of De the cards that they were stacked with yeah for context Dan when you look at it remember there was a period in that game where East and stick had nine straight incompletions two or three series essentially where that were three and out so that the defense got no time to rest and then on the two series that they scored it only took one play Darius Davis takes a Jet Sweep to the house on the first offensive play for the Chargers and then you have the one series with the Deep throw to S foko so again the defense gets no rest on either one of those Series so kind of have to look at in the same picture you know you give credit where credits do to the Dallas Cowboys to put up some of those longstanding drives but at the same time I think I really think that by the end of that third quarter that defense was gassed for as much time as they were on the field so I get it you don't want to see your defense on the field that long you don't like to see a stat stat line like that in terms of the rush yards given up but ultimately I thought the Chargers held their own when it mattered most yeah yeah the def I have it here the defense is Ballin and you love to see the defense actually come through uh finish on these plays you know finish the game on their terms and I think that's huge because that's one of the things that we've seen this Chargers team not do is being able to finish on defense and that's been one of the reasons that folks have been so desperate to see a Chargers team with a defense and this is why do we expect a Chargers offense to ever look that bad which we're to get to here in second we'll talk about the offense don't worry um that you can't help but be excited about what this defense looks like and again that's without Assan Samuel Jr Christian Fulton Joey boa khil Mack Bud Dupri Tuli Derwin alohi like that's a lot of talent that's going to be added to this so I you can't help but be excited uh aier says Jake my baby I love you have a question charges are not looking past anyone for the first three games but do you believe Minter has the week four gam circled on his calendar oh yeah I think that they figured that out as soon as the schedule was released I mean even before the schedule was released you're always going to circle those type of games but 100% uh I still think you approach Us in the same type of manner you know you go out and you handle your business week one and everything following that but just like it is with college and I still think that this is kind of the mentality that Jim Harbaugh is going to try to bring as it relates to game preparation which I think is something that unfortunately the Chargers lacked last year when it came to week-by-week preparation and adaptation and figuring things out on the fly when they got punched in the mouth I think that those things are going to be corrected and I think we're going to see it firsthand so yeah week four you definitely Circle that one but every game matters here and I think that they're going to be fired up for every single one yeah I'm with you uh Goomba or Jumba says the Darius Davis touchdown play didn't help our time of possession no it didn't nether did the Sami foko play fitting that it fitting that that play lasted exactly the same num amount of seconds as Darius Davis's number 12 seconds 12 seconds and crazy that that's the only way they score touchdowns other than those two plays the offense looked like hot garbage for almost the entire game and and we'll get to that here in a second uh junior coulston we got to see him out there choing the bit According to Jim Harbaugh uh he looked good I mean I don't think there's anything too crazy he's on a pitch count but it was great to see him out there and again I the it sucks the append to be stuff like kind of kept him out so I think the he's a little behind the eightball in terms of being able to start and all that jazz but uh we'll see but he's AB abolutely going to be making an impact on this team again the linebacking core is so much better wow than it was a year ago and you know credit to Navaro Bowman like you gotta just take a bower uh that was good anything else on on the defense you wanted to go over other than oh this is a little foreshadowing but did JT Woods show you enough this is where it gets because I want I I want to say that he had a nice game and I think that he's put together good practices and I thought the second preseason game he also stood out nicely and much as like we were talking about this versatility when you start hearing this coaching staff talk about where and we essentially I feel like we've preached about this Dan since M has arrived is this is what JT was is a prime example I think of the Mantra of Jesse Minter in terms of what he believes in put your guys in a best position that is going to help them succeed we've we've all been waiting for JT Woods to take that next step and maybe we were just looking in the wrong spot the entirety of the time when it comes to athleticism and playing Corner JT Woods can absolutely do that yeah brings great size for the corner position and so now you have a guy that you can use as that chest piece between corner and safety and we've documented well now about what Steve cling scale wants his secondary unit to do and essentially be able to play multiple spots be prepared for any type of situation and JT Woods seems like he's turning into the product of that so do I think that there may have been someone else that showed a little bit more than JT Woods to make this final roster yes but at the same time even in this type of a sample size this is the best that we have seen JT woods look and yes we're talking about preseason training camp practices but still if the whole Mantra of training camp is Battle for position competitors welcome what are you going to do to make the final roster I think he's made a case for it I honestly have I honestly do J Rodriguez says if they cut JT I guarantee Tom Tesco will claim him we'll see what happens um I don't have Google translate I don't speak Spanish I believe this is but if anybody wants to translate this I'm not even going to attempt to say this because I'm just going to butcher it and make myself look like a fool uh Corbin says wasn't the problem with JT with his tackling haven't seen that at all recently have you that was just one of his problems I think that's but you have seen some improvement there I I I've seen some I have seen some improvement as it relates to the tackling I have seen some improvement as it relates to where he is and where he needs to be in terms of where the ball's going so his situational awareness I think has also improved and those were two big things that really haunted him over these past couple years agreed guilty is charged is here what's up fellas happy end of pre-season we made it we finally made it fell ladies we finally made it we're so close now start the clock to the NFL draft please for the love of God oh don't we no no we can't do that quite yet oh my goodness uh shout out to guilty is charged Jake anything else any other notes on the defense before we get the offensive side which didn't have nearly as many highlights in the get to the 53 man roster stuff no you just got to put a stamp on it preseason early days for Jesse minter's defense I thought that they've essentially dominated training camp since it begun they have gotten much more wins than the offense has had uh during training camp practices and then you look at these past three preseason games and they've definitely showed up they look different they look hungry and that's what you wanted to see out of a Jim Harbaugh Jesse mled defense yeah interesting question I wonder how Kenneth Murray would look in this defense ask I'm not hi I don't know I don't know we don't need to know uh let's see let's face it says girthy guaris coaching was the issue last few years lots of guys that were look solid pardon my French I don't worry about it Dan well that I mean essentially that's why this entire coaching staff with the exception of Ryan fitkin was torn down to its foundation and built up in the vision that Jim Harbaugh wanted for this team so yes plenty of coaching issues that were problems with this team for the last several years yep yep uh all right offensive standouts Jake and you know very few Dan very few um so great to see Darius Davis and again we talked about this as soon as we heard little Rumblings of oh is he is he a possible roster cut no like no not even Ely close you're never going to cut a rookie allpro returner who probably wasn't utilized appropriately on offense and you're seeing a training camp him being used deep all the time and then you see plays like you saw yesterday where the guy just cooks and he is running in high octane fuel around everyone and just looks like he's gliding it's ridiculous a guy like that can look like that and it's just impressive Darius Davis have a day uh the fact that that was the first touchdown you get was pretty hilarious and then Sam foko you know we talked about this going into the game of you this is a big game for him for Brendan rice which we'll talk about as well so far throughout camp and say what you will about the eastn stick stuff which we'll get to but through all of that through all of the Fire and Flames that was eth and stick Sam foko still bald out and used the opport that was given to him and made it work now that said Brandon rice I feel like just got an unfair shake and they were trying to Pepper him yesterday you could tell this coaching staff was trying to give him the ball and I guess e sck kind of tried but he had like two or three balls that were able to be caught the rest were atrocious and inaccurate and it sucks for bread and rice but again we I don't want to for we fores a little bit Brandon rice it doesn't mean he's not on the team it does not mean he is not on this team because this coaching staff has been very high on him remember what they said back when they drafted him about how high of a grade they had and then you see what he's done with an adequate I say adequate but with Justin Herbert how good he looks in training camp and he's a good he's a target for Justin Herbert so the the dichotomy here is the coaching staff Jake is saying the best guys will play the go those who perform the best are going to be on the roster and if you're looking at just preseason games it's semi foko if you're looking at it in totality it might still be foko because foko has brought it both in Camp as well as preseason but also on special teams but I don't necessarily know if bread and rice hasn't it's only due to the opportunities that he has or has not been given so I don't know thoughts on those two and then continued Dan I received a text message from my dad immediately after the Darius Davis Jet Sweep because Dad's my dad's a d Dallas Cowboy fan but he he was not familiar with Darius Davis's game he was after that I guarantee you all I the only text I got was who was that he is so damn fast so I had to explain to him who Darius Davis was in that short period of time but these are the type of things I thought it was hilarious that Jim Harbaugh also said I didn't think that he was going to be able to make the edge either and then all of a sudden he takes off I mean that that is Darius Davis's game you get him out into open space and he can blow past everybody he makes good angles look bad you hope that these are the type of plays that Greg Roman and Jim Harbaugh are able to call up for Darius Davis and not just use him for special teams reasons as it relates to what the old regime did as it relates to semi foko you still continue that same message competitors welcome make the most of your opportunities even with the poorest quarterback play that was generated over these past three weeks you got to give it to sim foko you really do and I think that outside of his performance offensively you look at what he can also contribute on special teams same reasons for Brendan rice because Brendan rice comes in he blocks his ass off in certain situations even in plays that do not necessarily involve him he can do that on special teams as well if seim foka did anything he just made this decision much more difficult for the Chargers but when you look at the Grand of scheme of things you'd have to say if your team philosophy is competing for a roster spot he's done that and I think he's earned it and Jared Patterson Jake not the foreshadow but do you believe he did enough made a case for it made a case for it when we had Chris Rim from ESPN on here before the first preseason game he said watch out for Jared Patterson and it was specifically not just from what he offered in the Run game but Dan when we were at training camp he was being utilized in the return drills as well so you know that Ryan fitkin is going to look at that special teams that as an asset for them so it's possible and when you're talking about the final 53 is running back a position where you're going to keep three or are you going to keep four if there's one thing I definitely think that Jared Patterson did I I think that he has overtaken the possibility of Isaiah Spiller making this team yes I think that I think that is a given but how many running backs are the Chargers ultimately going to keep by the time that we get down to the 53 man roster is it just going to be three or are they going to keep four Jimmy says teams the team can't cut Patterson in case he doesn't clear waivers it' be too big of a loss if Simmy doesn't clear waivers we'd still be okay I wholeheartedly disagree wholeheartedly disagree I think this charg team will be just fine if Jared Patterson doesn't clear waivers with the top three they have Elijah Dodson Andor Isaiah Spiller or one of the 15 running backs that are going to get cut or have already started to get cut from around the NFL I I disagree with that uh John Lee says foko looks good with all quarterbacks true so far and again we're not talking about this like DFA receiver like foko was a higher draft pick than BR and rice was now Bren and rice was on the board for the Chargers they had a higher grade than when the seventh round came in they got him but foko is no scrub and again if we're just looking at production foko has played better he might be more athletic certainly is more explosive it's going to be tough but I do think this Chargers team likes Brendan rice again we'll we'll talk about kind of the 53 man roster here in a second uh let's see Cody says reports that Chargers had a team of scouts at the Browns preseason game signed that we'll pick up whichever quarterback they drop Dan we've been saying it for two weeks now regardless of what the initial 53 man roster says or the final 53 man roster says you and I have been in agreement that we don't believe that quarterback 2 is currently on this team I don't think I first of all I think it's a little bit of an indication from the standpoint that East stick played the entirety of the game yesterday that the Chargers ultimately go into this season only keeping two quarterbacks which I think is the right thing to do when you look at how many other decisions you have at different positions to make that being said it doesn't give anybody any comfort from the standpoint of how you have watched East stick play over these last three weeks and from what we have seen from GM Joe hortiz you know he's probably gonna have an eyeball on waiver cuts and who's going to become available so if we're talking about any of the quarterbacks that could become available as it relates to free agency I think the Chargers are going to entertain and look at all of those opportunities to possibly bring in and add a little bit more depth behind Justin Herber yes uh before we get to the quarterback discussion which people are really high on uh in the chat here Jake let's pay the bills real fast while we're paying the bills Jake uh folks listening viewing if you could do 20 seconds leave a review on Apple podcast go hit the Subscribe the like button give us some feedback whatever it is that you guys would like to do but Jake's is gonna be talking about what you should be doing uh with your betting money if you are one of those that like to do it uh have some fun Jake let's pay the bills talk about our friends bet online is the world's most trusted betting platform and your number one source for everything online Sports betting right now you can receive a 50% free bet for up to $250 on your first deposit to bet on anything from the UFC to baseball to Formula 1 racing bet online has every stat every matchup and even live odds and spreads while the game is being played when the game is over head on over to our online casino and get in on a game of blackjack or poker or unwind with one of our 150 slot games head on over to the website today that's betonline.ag to get in on the action just make sure you use the promo code believe for your 50% Free Bet credit on your first deposit up to 250 bet online the game starts here okay so uh Tuesday Cuts Jake Tuesday Cuts but until then we get to talk about e stick being qb2 um we went into this game saying that e sck was playing for his Chargers career right now and he needed to have a good game probably needed to have a great game in my opinion and that was anything but and that's with some good throws like I think if we're talking factually again the bar is very low but has he gotten better this preseason I'd say a little bit but is the better anywhere close to what is the responsible decision to have as a quarterback too for your team with Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh absolutely not absolutely not you saw wildly inaccurate throws you saw bad reads you saw inability to stay in the pocket sure you saw some scrambles and you saw some things that were going that were playing to his Advantage s to speak but he was just missing and you can't have that the thing for me and I know I don't think this is a hot maybe it's a hot take Trey Lance through five interceptions and didn't look that great yesterday obviously I would take Trey Lance over Eon stick I would take Tre laner e and stick now again foreshadowing I think e stick is going to be the qb2 when 53 man roster Cuts come but I'm hoping to All Things holy that dischargers team makes stick qb3 when it's all said and done whether it's via trade whether it's via other cuts that you're seeing you're seeing already quarterbacks getting cut there's a better qb2 that will be available than e stick and I just hope that dischargers team finds him and actually makes the decision we'll see Dan do you think do do you think he starts week one okay take away to 53 do you think he starts week one as qb2 no me neither no and I and I say that strictly based off of this is another refreshing thing that we are not used to at this point in the season look at look at the amount of moves that Joe hortiz has made with this roster since training camp open I don't think that you can tell me that he is not going to possibly look to recycle that particular position as it relates to depth behind Justin Herbert so you keep your eyes open for who's available you realize through preseason that having a backup quarterback is pretty damn important especially in what we've seen over the past few weeks as opposed to other backup quarterbacks and I think that Joe Ortiz is going to definitely keep his ear to the ground for anything that comes available so unfortunately as it stands right now for E stick no I don't foresee that happening and that's strictly because of what we've seen already from Joe hortiz yeah and again this is one of those another reason why we are very happy to have Joe hortiz as the GM and you're watching them consistently churn this roster Jim Harbaugh talked about it afterwards in the press conference that he's going to continue to be Robin to Joe hortiz as Batman during this which I thought was interesting very going to the 53 man roster and Jim Harbaugh basically saying that he trusts Joe hortiz with this process and has a good view on the entire NFL calls him the best in the business Jake when he says he's going to be the robin to when he being Jim Harbaugh the robin 2 Joe hortiz as Batman I heard that and I paused what did you make of that do you believe it or what what is your how did you hear that as well initially I just thought it was very interesting from the standpoint to to try to clarify it in my head so I was trying to sift things around and say like wait a minute it's he meaning that it's Joe or's decision and his decision alone is that what he's doing is he literally giving him the ke right now to make this 53 man roster but then when he says you know I'll be the robin to his Batman and remember this is what Jo hortiz said during his introductory press conference he says at times he's gonna be the robin to Jim Harbaugh's Batman and of occasionally they'll switch up those type of roles for how it's going to be I think when you look at roster construction again we talk about so many issues as it relates to this team over the past couple of years roster construction was a big one thus far without even playing a single regular season game I think Joe Ortiz has made the case that he's pretty damn good at it yeah he's learned from the best of the business in terms of how to construct a competitive roster so Jim Harbaugh if this is indeed true that he's giving him the keys and saying car's yours I'm okay with that it it it made me a little bit surprised because we're not used to something like that yeah we're not used to some to hearing something like that but I'm totally good with this honestly I this coaching staff has given us no reason to not believe them and they've what they say they mean and they have followed through with it this entire offseason so far so I believe them but I I think there's Nuance to this like in my opinion I think this is something where looking externally outside of the Chargers I think it's Joe Ortiz's show I think how this would work and if I again this is just my speculation this is how I would see it working is Jim Harbaugh Jesse Minter Greg Roman and Company they kind of have the lens of who they need or don't need on the 53 so let's say Jesse Minter is saying player X you know what guys player X isn't cutting it we need something better we can go somewhere else one down Joe hortiz go to work refill Joe hortiz outside coaching staff inside but I I I think that also allows that statement by Jim Harbaugh to stay true there's going to be collaboration both ways but I think that Joe hortiz will listen which we've heard from Baltimore as well listens to the coaching staff for what they need then goes out and finds it yeah it's not like it's not like Jim Harbaugh is not going to give any of his opinion as it relates to this I'm sure when it comes down to those last four or five roster spots that require big decisions to make I'm sure that he'll bring him in to talk about it yeah I agree Jimmy says I still can't believe how good this roster is considering the year one of this new regime I mean it is wild the turnover of this roster which we'll get to here when you talk about the 53 um ler Bruins has already added two intriguing tight ends last week or so Fisk and Rex some good pickups uh Francis says he doesn't seem to get in love with his team and that's the best mindset if you want to improve jge says Joe don't tease he says he's going to make some moves and then he makes the moves again Jake you said it Chargers fans are just not used to this not used to it we don't know what to do with our hands when we see things like this happening we're like wait a minute what uh what um Jake are you ready for 53 man Rost for discussion God sure hit me okay so what we did is we are going to try to do the 503 man roster predictions and the way that I think we should do this and Jake I think for you and I there's a subset I think there are 50 guys that are locks in my eyes to make this team so I'm going to put up on the screen here folks can see it it's kind of an ey test so let's zoom in on this puppy all right so the what what we're showcasing right now are the names of the players at positions that are going to stay that we see as locked two quarterbacks Justin Herbert East stick again this is initial 53 what happens at the initial 53 does not mean that is going to be what happens by the time kickoff starts week one against the Raiders but east stick Justin Herbert there are folks here at the bottom that we have on the bubble okay currently 50 GTH Edward JK Dobbins kamani Videl I think those three are locks I think you look at the six receivers and I do think foko is a lock now by the way Palmer makoni Johnson shark Davis those are locks I think voko is now lock as well I think Jim Harbaugh has talked about him belonging talked about how much he's improved talked about how the best guys are going to play best guys we the team there's no way that he says that truthfully and then the other side of his mouth takes out foko we'll do offense first tight ends I think these are the three Hayden Hurst will disly Stone smart and then the offensive lineman we have nine Slater alt pipkins SEL for the tackles Johnson sier High Miss mcfaden for the guards again there's some flexibility there as well and then Bradley Boseman for uh Center again those other folks that have play center too but those are the offense that we have as locks there's other guys again there are three more slots we get to fill but these are the Nam so far that we have on offense Jake any one of these names you want to highlight or discuss no I would I would agree with those nothing nothing else to add as it stands right now it's not it's not to the difficult part of creating the roster yet sweet Jake take the defense away again these are the ones that we have as locks yeah so Edge obviously is going to be a position that is going to be a difficult decision to make when ultimately making the 53 but as it relates to Locks big four Mack Bosa tly Bud Dupri defensive lineman I have the Chargers keeping six I actually don't think that this number fluctuates I don't think that this is one that you necessarily have to worry about unless we're talking about possibly somebody else getting uh cut from a different roster and the Chargers jump on another opportunity much like they did with tart but you have tart Puna for Morgan Fox Tito Scott Matlock and bogby I think those are your core six for your interior defensive lineman linebacker to stands right now much like the edge this is where another interesting decision is going to ultimately end up coming but locks for sure Junior Coulson Denzel Perryman Deion Henley Troy die the conversation of Nick nean will be coming up here momentarily and that will be one that the Chargers might be able to be flexible with as it stands for Corners here we go Asante Samuel Jr Christian Fon cam Hart still Taylor Dean Leonard that makes sense for your core six and then at safety where everybody was having the conversation between JT woods and and Tony Jefferson I think with the game yesterday you just can't see any way that you walk away from that so your starting safety or your safety unit is Derwin James lohy Gilman AJ Finley Tony Jefferson and of course your specialist JK SP JK Scott Josh Harris and Cameron Dicker so Total Defense special teams 27 total on offense 23 total roster count 50 okay so we have 50 guys that we believe are locks this is where it gets tough is the last three and you can go a multitude of different ways and Jimmy says that you need to consider the core special teams players I think that will Factor on to the final roster 100% 100% so what we're gonna do now Jake this is gonna suck is fill in the next three so on the bubble we have Nick nean who apparently is going through some injury we don't know the sever no one's really talked about it honestly so I think he's just in one of those going through something Chris rump is in a boot your Edge player who was having a good camp but he could be on IR Donald baram Jr we know the story with Donald PR Jr Brendan rice is there on the bubble right now safety SL now Corner JT Woods who again has improved the team is trying to put him in a different position to succeed again a high draft Capital granted not their draft Capital but a high draft pick certainly has the skills and size and traits to be a corner and I think has shown real progress Jared Patterson we talked about him if they're going to keep for running back it's probably him and then the udfa Trayvon traymon Morris Brash at Edge so I'll let you go first Jake which one of these guys is a must have in your opinion I'm reverse I'm going to reverse engineer this Dan to make it a little bit easier I'm gonna rattle off quickly who I don't see making the final 53 okay I think unfortunately for Chris rump I think his days with the Chargers are done and I think traymon Morris Brash is the Catalyst to that so I don't see him making the final 53 Jared Patterson now I look at this as this is going to be have to be one of the roster spots that the Chargers are going to have to sacrifice from in order to keep certain guys and Jared Patterson I think the Chargers ultimately end up going with three running backs on their on their starting roster and you cross your fingers that hopefully that he could make it to waivers and the reason I bring up Jared Patterson is because as much as we have talked about Brenan foko or excuse me I literally com combined two names together sorry SEI foko you're thinking Brandon foko yes sorry about that uh Brennan rice I think deserves an opportunity on this team and I was literally thinking especially if you take yesterday's game in a microcosm of how East and stick played you know he's hitting foko down the field for plenty of yards able to connect with Cornelius Johnson in the middle of the field and as soon as he would throw it in the direction to Brennan rice it was almost like you know that ride at Disneyland on Indiana Jones if you look into the eyes of Mara or Mara something bad really happens every single time he looked in Brennan Rice's Direction I feel like that's what was happening to him like Med Medusa caught him in the eyes and something just was a curse as it relates to the throw or the situation or whatever it was you listen listen to what this coaching staff has said about Brennan rice throughout training camp practices again much like people have been talking about in the chat in terms of those guys who can bring special teams versatility I definitely think Brennan rice does that even when the play is not going to Brennan rice he is there contributing to the play in some form or fashion blocking what have you I think he's coming to training camp with that chip on his shoulder and I think that he has done a very good job and I think even earlier this week when the coaching staff was asked about the possibility of them even keeping seven wide receivers I think that that's indicative that they're really giving that some thought so I think that it's a trade-off on offense where you keep don't keep four running backs but you sacrifice one to keep seven wide receivers down and finally at tight end at finally at the tight end spot I I cater this more towards what this coaching staff needs from their tight ends we know the story of will dley we know why he was brought in to add a blocking presence can also be a versatile receiving threat as well Hayden hurse is obviously going to take a brunt of those targets and as it relates to ston smart I think he kind of fits more in the middle as it relates to the skill set that they want from their tight ends so it's close you honestly could say it's a coin flip between Donald Parham and ston smart at this point but if you start thinking about what is it that the coaching staff needs from their tight ends that's where I would give ston smart the edge in that circumstance so that leaves now I already said Brennan rice it leaves Nick nean JT woods and Draymond Morris Brash Nick nean wait so real quick so you have so you have Brandon Rice's part of 53 you know I kind of buried the lead a little bit because I was talking about Jared Patterson so you sacrifice at running back you keep three instead of four which means that extra spot you take to your wide receivers and you keep seven okay so so Patterson's out R we have out right correct and ultimately I don't think that Parham ends up making the cut unfortunately either okay parham's out all right so here I look at this 54 spots 54 players 53 spots Nick Neeman you may be able to utilize that IR spot where the Chargers could get creative if it comes to that type of situation and even if he still needs it from an injury standpoint that you could place him there and still keep him on the roster and not have him count against your 53 because I fully agree he has turned out to be a very very important special teams player and I think for how he has developed under Ryan fitkin and then we saw his prodction nean yes yeah yeah yeah and then when you saw how he turned out in week one of the preseason I don't think there's any way that the Chargers are going to give give him up because of what he brings to that linebacking group and of course how he contributes on special teams he's vital for that unit so that leaves us with JT woods and traymon Morris Brash and ultimately I think that that's the Catalyst Dan I think if you put Nick Neeman on IR to start the season it then gives you fluctuation for both of these guys to ultimately make the team and round out that final 53 man roster spot Draymond Morris Brash has you do you think that Fisk the tight end should be on this list no people are ask about him no and I understand I understand why but I think just in terms of when he came into Camp maybe it would have been a different story if he started with the Chargers earlier in Camp and got a little bit more time with them and and a few more reps um I really don't think that there's going to be much of a shake up at the tight end spot um I don't think that anybody outside of those three has really done enough to do it so when you finally look at between JT Mo or JT woods and traymon mois Brash I think the versatility that they have utilized JT Woods in the fact that they have talked about him playing both corner and safety and when even Joe hortiz himself has talked about not having enough guys in the secondary this is essentially your chest piece to utilize it as you can utilize him as that extra corner or that extra safety so you can say however it looks from a roster standpoint six cornerbacks four safeties and you have one in the middle that can play both positions that's JT Woods as it currently stands right now and traymon Morris Brash this will be an interesting decision on where the Chargers go whether or not they keep four Edge players or they keep five but again if we're preaching the competitor's welcomed message traymon Morris Brash has done that so I think he's are in that roster spot oh man okay so there's a couple things in the chat here uh people are kind of flaming Brandon rice they're saying Brandon rice doesn't get separation they're praying Brandon rice is worse than they're saying Brendon rice uh hasn't looked good uh rice dropping passes like okay was rice perfect no did Rice have a drop sure but rice has not looked bad and rice has gotten open and separation throughout camp and preseason has he gotten the ball delivered to his hands often no so like let's let's be honest here about what this is I think everyone would agree that has kind of been an unfair shake for brenon Rice right now they tried getting him the ball with play calling and it just couldn't get there for the most part so this is let me just say as an anote again this is why I'm not Joe hortiz this is why I'm not having to make these critical decisions to build the roster up I fully understand anybody who wants to make a case and justifiably so to help another position if you don't feel like Brendan rice did enough to make this roster I can understand your perception in that as it relates to preseason games simply basing this off of what we've heard this coaching staff talk about what Dan and I have personally witnessed in practice and yes you wish you would have seen it through these last three Saturdays in preseason but I can understand anybody's case that would say no to Brennan rice and wanting to build depth at another position I could understand why you would feel that way this is this is just my own personal perception yes uh L Bruin has a good point that end around from Darius Davis there's a reason why that worked and there's a certain Defender who was literally pushed I should say literally definitely to the sidelines could have been sitting there having a Gatorade due to Brendan Rice's block and seal rice has looked good it just unfortunately hasn't been connected with e stick that's the unfortunate part and we talked about this when Justin was in the boot this was the one downside was it would be an unfair shake for the folks trying to catch this ball and make this team and we're seeing it play out and I think the coaching staff notates that and they acknowledge that 90% of those practices while Justin Herbert was out the defense essentially was dominating the day anyways yep yep Greg Roman said as much about this in the press conference recently so all right this is where it gets hard um $499 donation Jake from Joseph LaVine thank you Joseph uh he says football isn't just a statline rice is clearly getting open and is probably our best blocking wide receiver I don't know about that he's also only 22 playing with the first team all of that is true he is a good blocker for sure that's one of the reasons why he was drafted all right let's get to this um I think it's important to discuss this in a lens of who is going to be who has the potential to be the most impactful on this Chargers team and who has the opportunity to contribute the most on either offense defense and or special teams I see folks questioning if Cam Hart is going to make this team I just don't see this team taking their draft selections prior to round seven and not putting them I think ham Hart has a lot of things that they like is he perfect did he miss some angles yesterday was he a little rough at times sure but he's a rookie and he would be your cb6 or seven but that's a good question like maybe what if they cut cam Hart does he clear waivers again you can't think about like you can't think about it from a defensive perspective of like well I want to keep him because I don't want him to clear waivers or I want him to clear W like you want the best 53 period that's what you're looking for so I don't know the one wrinkle on this Jake is Nick nean I don't know the injury stuff and so there's a new rule where you can have two guys on IR that don't count to the 53 one of which could be Chris rump the other could be Nick nean and if that's the case that makes this a little bit easier but if not that makes it tough I go back and forth I I don't think that Jared Patterson makes his team and I know folks are talking about there being only three running backs and you can't trust those guys to be healthy and all that jazz you know if all three of those running backs get hurt in one game one that's I'm not even going to say it but like come on uh two you've got folks on this team and a quarterback that can kind of ride it for one game if need be then bring folks in on a practice squad again there's also a million running backs that are going to get cut or available I think they can go with three I'm with you it's the JT Wood versus Morris Brash I think if it's me the three I'm adding would be I think they have to have five at the edge you can't just stay with four I think Jesse M is gonna push for that one so I think we're both agree with that Morris Brash is on here correct Jake yes okay so I'm gonna add him here there we go okay so now we're at 51 I think JT Woods I think they're emphasizing defense I think he makes this team as a corner I think he's your seventh Corner would you agree yep got one left so JT Woods is off Trayvon Morris Brash is off it's between Neeman and rice if I I don't wish injury upon anybody but if Neiman's hurt it makes it so easy you put bread and rice on there you're good to go and I think that would I honestly think that would be good I think brenon rice has your seventh wide receiver gives him a chance I think that gives more weapons Justin Herbert which we've all been clamoring for Fitness here Jake says Mitch said he wants to keep five to six safeties and seven to eight Corners I mean he probably wants to keep 10 safeties and 10 corners I mean the way that this the way that this secondary is playing how could you argue that I mean there's a handful of guys that aren't going to end up making this roster that you would love to keep for sure as crucial depth pieces y again I don't know what the latest is on Nick neeman's current injury status I don't believe that he's played since I think it was August 15th shortly after um the Rams preseason game I don't think that he's he's played since so I don't know what the latest is on him as we know with Jim Harbaugh it would just you ask him that question he's just going to tell you that they're going through something so I don't know what the latest is on him and that could be the deciding factor because he's with a group of veterans still that were not part of practicing for a good period of time so he could totally be ready to go as it relates to week one and depending on that that could totally change everything in this projection and again there are several combinations that you could create the 53 man roster with the guys that we were just talking about Chargers could possibly choose to go four Edge players they could choose to go four running backs you could choose a whole different combination of how you want to to make this and it doesn't make the decision any easier it doesn't yeah we have Morris Brash making the team right now Charles ask are you counting the fact that we're losing two quarterbacks yes we currently only have Justin Herbert and E's tick and you could say e or whatever other quarterback would be qb2 maybe in honestly the other option here Jake and again this could be crazy but they can put both on waivers both eats and stick and Luis Perez cut them both not a waivers excuse me cut both just keep Justin knowing that they can bring in either one of e stick or Perez or any other quarterback please as qb2 and if that's the case you get to keep both at least for now that's not a bad that's not bad I mean that' be bold and honestly if the Chargers did that I think Chargers fans would Rejoice yeah there would be party in the streets from a roster standpoint you keep e and stick on this roster with an asterisk next to it essentially right now which which I think is how I think you and I both agree yes it still counts against the 53 but it doesn't mean that it's going to be him as quarterback too I didn't see the comments Timmy saying I guarantee you every single one of the people making negative comments about rice is just repeating the nonsensical blank the director was saying yesterday I don't know what the director was saying I didn't catch it either okay but again look to to each his own in terms of how this is this is almost like it feels like a mock draft Dan everybody can build this roster however it is that they see fit it's why we're not sitting in the GM positions we don't have to make the tough decisions thank the Lord but we we leave that to Joe hortiz and Jim Harbaugh right now you can create this however you want I think Dan and I are just going off of what we've seen at practice when you go back and you listen to these coaches what they've specifically said about Brennan rice or you look at it in terms of the comment that was mentioned here by Jesse Minter in terms of how much guys in the secondary that he would want to keep I think it's indicative of certain things that the Chargers make as obvious anecdotes as far as what they're ultimately going to end up doing and yes the tease about seven wide receivers earlier this week I don't think was an indication one way or the other as far as ultimately what they're going to end up doing but I think if you were to look at this wide receiver group and unfortunately we didn't get to see it in preseason games but we got to see it during training camp and I think that Brenan rice comes in he's a competitor he blocks his ass off he can contribute on special teams and yes I know it didn't show up during game time not all his fault is there I don't want to answer this question of which one of these guys I want because I I do believe that right now I think Nick nean will make a bigger impact to this team than Brandon rice Nick ne is a core four guy I think you're going to see you can argument I can understand that so I might have to I might have to go Nick nean here and I like this might this might be a last second audible because I just going by production like I'm trying to think is there anybody else on here that would be a cut candidate like the cam heart if we're just looking at who's been playing the best I would argue cam Hart is has been less productive and has been has made less plays than Brenan rice has a receiver would you agree with that I just don't see them getting rid of Cam Hart I just I can't let's just I'm glad I got to do this before you did Dam it sorry oh man uh I'm take I'm gonna take an easy way out Jake on this I'm gonna say Brenan rice makes it Nick neeman's on IR everybody's happy if that if honestly if that happens that would be kind of best case scenario for folks looking at it no I don't think Scott Matlock is a cut candidate I don't at all you go back to what Jim Harbaugh talked about him in terms of his work ethic him he's defining his leadership the their everyday kind of the Ted stuff like he's not going anywhere uh I agree Neiman is the best nean is the better player like if I'm going based off of everything that they have said to us as a coaching staff I think if it had to be between Nick nean and Brendan rice I think it's gonna be Nick nean so this is tough man we talked about this earlier this is going to be a tough one I can't remember a tougher 53 man roster discussion in of like guys that feel like they are qualified to be on a 53 and again it's a credit to this staff and Joe Ortiz and all the scouts and all the I mean for how much change they've had look just we've seen in previous years under different regimes guys who have come in and played their asses off and have earned roster spots ultimately not end up making this team we know this we've seen Dan and I have talked about it in not a good mood when those certain things have happened and we have questioned the regime at the time when that took place and again not to say that we're going to ultimately that the decisions here are ultimately going to be right like I said it depends on what the coaching staff wants and I go back to we're not used to this we're not used to this with Joe Ortiz at the helm or Jim Harbaugh at the helm it depends on how they're going to want to build this team which they have essentially been in lock step ever since they joined this franchise so I think they have a great idea for how it is that they want to be is it going to be something that everybody's going to agree with absolutely not I guarantee you by the time that we get to the final 53 man roster and we're going to week one we're still going to have questions about certain guys that either made this roster or not made this roster this is why this is a tough decision to make uh again who are we right we're just two jabronies trying to make a 53 man roster prediction um what we would do might be different than what the Chargers would do I think I'm trying to take the lens of what I believe the Chargers should do and I do think it's and if I if it was down to this decision I think it would go with Nick Neeman if he's healthy that's fair it's fair I understand like I know you don't like it but I understand why you make that choice I get it do you think that it's between because I think a lot of people are saying it's between foko and rice and I just don't see it that way I don't think it's a decision between the two of them no uh I think Sima foko locked his roster spot yesterday I think prior to this game you maybe could make that argument because if you give both of these guys one more opportunity in that game basically say who goes to show out most now again I say this from the standpoint of Brennan Rice's lack of production in preseason games it's definitely not all his fault no do you East stick was throwing the ball a hell of a lot better to seei foko than he was to Brennan rice there's nothing that Brennan rice could do about that in that situation no let's go through this real quick like there's some people in the comments six from La Bron 6ts are a lot and only tart and fox have had recent good play Puna Ford not going anywhere we know that tyer tart been a stud Morgan Fox I think he's perfect for this system uh Tito I'm not sure to be honest but I think he's a lot you've heard Jesse M praise Tito said he made a step forward this offseason uh Scot byock I think we talked about a boy they put a fourth round pick they invested in that I don't think that they go back on that I just I don't but if we're going just solely on production you can make the case that a bo be could be a cut candidate I just I can't see it happening uh you go look at offensive lineman I don't see any one of these guys not making it I think they they like high Miss's versatility Foster serel I think has actually looked good uh this last week you know the top five are making it McFadden's Been Everywhere he's kind of like your tight end four sort of they're not going to only keep two tight ends maybe you maybe you have like a phantom four tight end because hell we've even been hearding things in training camp about them using Scott Matlock as a tight end for Christ's sakes they put him in at fullback yesterday and someone who's going to be able to play on both sides of the ball much like Jordan mcfaden we saw him out in motion during training camp practices and used it as a fullback in jumbo packages so maybe that's how they're looking at it in terms of things that they can do but that's the versatility of how you construct this roster according to laa Bruin Matt money Smith said on the radio that foko was told he made it I mean I wouldn't be surprised so that's all we got Jake if it was up to you right now do you think it's if it's between rice and Neiman and they're both healthy who do you think they take if I if I if I put my Harbaugh hat on yeah I would probably lean towards Nick nean that's what I that's what I would do if I was thinking in that type of a mindset if both were healthy if it's a situation where Nick ne is not healthy enough to start the year then maybe you get that type of break you're still going to have to make a decision when he's healthy ultimately at what you're going to have to do which is not going to be easy it's not going to be fun but if both players are healthy I think Neiman gets the ND yes it's gonna hurt though it's Gonna Hurt we'll see we'll see I'm sure you hard to see other teams Jake put in their Some Cuts haven't been made public you're seeing some players uh out there that are now available um this is going to be hard this is going to be hard uh is there anything else we wanted to discuss here we went through preseason game number three we went through the 53 man roster what we see as the path forward you know I think big rocks right this team has gotten better week over week in the preseason take out the quarterback situation this defense looks a whole lot better A whole lot different running game looks a whole lot better I do think that Justin Herbert has a lot of weapons and that's been the hardest part is watching this offense the way it is without the guy who makes it all run it's just hard anything else Jake before we get out of here no the last half of that episode sucked I hated m going through that much like we teas that was going to be a hard decision and the Chargers have hard decisions that they have to make over the next few days but in the bigger picture of things when you have a roster that has been struggling especially from a depth perspective like the Chargers have these decisions should be hard get the best 53 man roster that you can create however that looks however you want to invest in certain positions more at running back less at corner less at linebacker more at D tackle more at tight end more at wide receiver however you want to construct it it's tough It's really tough H um ah this is hard but again like it should be to your point that means they're doing this Jake let's take like three minutes three to five minutes tops we'll do rapid fire here if you have any last questions or comments put them in here we'll do our best to kind of answer these or criticisms or criticism how much we suck we'll take those two we do not mind uh let's start getting to these Fitness says who makes the practice squad oh God did you just see the decision that we just had to make I can't see that right now good Lord I appreciate the question because now what is it 17 uh practice squad spots or I can't remember the exact number but um that's gonna be I mean I think you're going to have a good collection of depth pieces on that roster based on the names that we have not talked about but guys who have flashed throughout preseason elsewhere as well yes and and you would hope that some of the names that we haven't talked about are the ones that are immediately going to go as practice squad candidates and all of a sudden the Chargers are going to have a stronger practice squad than what they've had in previous years which is good to know yep uh let's see rapid fire here we go uh who do you want to see as qb2 if all the backups are let go so if it's not stick not Perez if Huntley becomes available that's an option if it means that the Chargers have to whether or not he's cut or if they have to trade for him DTR is also an option for the Chargers we saw what was it Mike White that was just released this morning from the Miami Dolphins as an option I mean it's it's hard to not consider a lot of quarterbacks over what we had to witness for the first three preseason games yep I'm with you uh let's see do we get an alternate helmet this year I don't think we do I don't believe so uh let's see why is Woods safe after years of missing tackles I think he doesn't have to make those tackles when he's out the outside corner I think he has all the physical traits to be an outside corner and I trust the coaching staff to make him into that any Universe QJ doesn't make it did you listen to the Jim Haron press conference no I don't think I know that this is you know Universe 616 or one5 or whatever it is we're talking about in the grand Multiverse calculus but no I think Quinton Johnson makes the roster in any of those universes yep let's see where else was here um Brad says you guys killed it on today's show thank you Brad appreciate that uh we got the practice squad question in here already uh is Hurst okay I know he took that shot again Breon number 764 throw terrible throw that left him hanging out to dry uh I think I think he's gonna be fine by the time week ones comes around yes um Miguel says I didn't see but any full backs on the roster no but you can say yes if you want to count Scott Matlock and Jordan mcfaden after the first pre or training camp week I think it was maybe Tuesday Dan or Wednesday the following Tuesday or Wednesday when we got the uh notification that Ben Mason had gotten released that was a pretty good indication of what the Chargers are going to utilize when they're going to have a full back in there you saw it yesterday with Scott Matlock we've seen it before whether it's practice or preseason game with Jordan mcfaden I think it's their plan but ultimately I think this run game in general is going to be better hell make it versatile Goomba says best Chargers acquisition so far outside of the coaching staff and I'll put outside of Joe hortiz as well so I think is is player specific best Chargers acquisition and there's a lot of names here you got the running backs you got the tight ends got pman Christian Folton you've got tyer tar Buddha Ford Buu PRI you know I'll go hand in hand with and because I'll relate it to another question that was here in the chat I'll go with the combination of Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins and I will say that from the standpoint of all of a sudden this running back room is now a pretty decent staple of talent when you've essentially been looking for just a running back two to spell Austin Eckler for the past several years and we were never able to find that somebody was asking in here from a fantasy standpoint would they take Gus Edwards or JK Dobbins I would take JK Dobbins honestly I think when it comes between when it comes between the 20s I think he's going to be the one that's going to fill up that stat line I think he's motivated he's obviously healthy I think he's going to show off that explosiveness that we saw in Baltimore and ultimately that we saw from him at Ohio State so I would roll with him I think what they have done to revamp the running game in general and that's at multiple different spots that's where I would put most of my praise yeah and I'm not I'm not doing draft picks I'm just doing free agent acquisitions here um I think the one that I was most proud of is probably the will disley one just because of just because of like how night and day the weakness into a strength and dley the Chargers hadn't had a blocking tight end like that since Stephen Anderson does everybody remember who step Anderson was it's been a long time yeah I I think I might go I think I might go will dley but the one that might pay off the most CHR fton has looked really good at at camp and during preseason when he's played and I have talked about at nauseum how scared I was with the current cornerback room but Fon has gone off Look At You comeing full circle Dan very proud of it's crazy for me to say this but if that pick can play out and you get your CB1 for that price still 26 years old on a one-year deal you could turn him into a Reclamation project for this team and all of a sudden you got some good good stabilization at the cornerback unit lowrisk High reward in my opinion yeah but there's a lot I forgot DJ CH is in there we mentioned tyer tart um let's see let's get a couple more in here uh am I missing any ah L Bruin what position are they most likely to pick someone on the waiver wire apart from quarterback I would say depending on how many running backs they ultimately keep and if you keep an eye on that stable you could possibly look there I would say interior defensive line possibly I know we just rattled off six but much like tart if there's a name on there that the Chargers possibly were high on during free agency or someone that they would have vested interest in in yes and then you look at the position that Dan has been talking about that Joe Ortiz has talked about you never have enough good corners or you never have sorry you never have enough Corners in general so Dan has been clamoring and has still been uneasy since the draft has concluded that he believed that the Chargers needed to add another quarterback and I fully understood why and at times I even agree with him but then you see the secondary play the way it's been and it's been extremely impressive but I still don't think that because of that you turn a blind eye to any of these free agents that may become available so those are be the three positions I'd watch out for yeah I'm I'm with you uh last say thanks guide great show great show officially Raiders week FTR I'm with you lots of folks are excited about DJ CH as well last one Jake from Miguel who is a sleeper not much production but deserves a shot at making the team I think like Brandon rice would be a clear answer to that clear you can make the argument whether or not you want to keep JT Woods on this roster or not and I can understand both sides of the coin I think this is the best that we have seen him and I think from the standpoint much like you've seen from Jordan mcfaden where the Chargers are utilizing him at different positions or Scott Matlock at different positions the fact that they have now started to utilize him at corner where it may be a better fit for him I think that that may end up earning the roster spot versatility in the cornerback room is something that Steve clink scale has preached since his opening press conference it's a product of that yep we didn't talk about this but tight end three we'll see what the roster Cuts look like but sure your current tight end 3 Stone smart could there be someone that comes in that could provide more than that I'm not sure we'll find out Tuesday we'll be here soon enough two more days two more days and we'll probably start getting some news prior to that but the Chargers are in a good spot considering where they were at beginning this season before they got the coaching hires and the staff and the GM and before the Keenan trade and before the alt pick and before makoni and before kson and all think about how much change we've seen and now we're on the brink of knowing who the 53 is again the initial 53 not game day 53 but we leave that topic for another day Jake anything else I went a little long here but clearly this is kind of a big time for Chargers fans and for the team anything else want to discuss before we get out of here it's a good Sunday dude good Sunday for football conversations in general cannot believe we're finally at close to the week one season Dan I talked about the drolls of June and July having to get through that just hoping that football season returns I was ready for week one as soon as the NFL draft was over with but to watch this team develop over these last several weeks due training camp it's I I may be speaking for Dan here as well but just the vibe if you have been out to practice to watch this team to watch this coaching staff to see how different it looks not just in the vibe and how it's carried out but how you actually see this coaching staff connecting building growing players and then ultimately seeing the results of them that it's been such a refreshing thing to witness over these last several weeks so got to give it to this organization to Joe hortiz to Jim Harbaugh and trickle down to all the corresponding coaches and players that are attached to it it's going to be a hell of a ride and I cannot wait to see what it looks like in real time yes just dropped my pen um Charles asks are you having a cut show yes we will be doing a cut show we might actually do a live cut show shout out to all all of the Chargers fans we had a grip of you in this chat today yes it's almost as if Chargers fans are excited about Chargers swiftall being back Who would know who who would have thought fascinating uh this was a fun one I appreciate everybody for contributing again if you have not done so already it helps set a ton please hit that like And subscribe um on YouTube you can find us anywhere you get your podcasts uh leave a review leave us some constructive criticism leave a comment let us know what you do who was your last bubble roster selection between who the last two guys you have to pick and who are you going to actually choose let us know we'll go through the comments we'll try to kind of reply and get to you guys as we go but thank you so much for tuning in for taking a part of this with us for Jake you can find him at Jake T hefer myself at danw sports thank you guys and gals so much for tuning in enjoy the rest of the weekend cross your fingers for the 53 men roster Cuts we'll see what happens but until then this has been charges the leash have a great weekend and we will talk to you soon have a great day everyone bye byebye