The Rise Up, See Red podcast

2024 Cardinals opponent preview: Los Angeles Chargers with Gavino Borquez

Jess continues the opponent preview shows with the sixth of 14 in 14 days about 14 opponents. In this episode, he is joined by Chargers Wire managing editor Gavino Borquez to talk about the Los Angeles Chargers, who play the Cardinals in Week 7. They discuss last season, the offseason with a coaching change and more, and look ahead to 2024.

Duration:: 49m
Broadcast on:: 14 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

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Enjoy the best hour of Cardinals Talk on the Web. Here are your hosts, Jess Root and Seth Cox. Hello Arizona Cardinals fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Rise Up Sea Red Podcast. The best hour of Cardinals Talk on the Web. I'm your host, Jess Root from cardswire.com, the USA Today NFL Wiresat that covers of course your Arizona Cardinals. We're in the middle of our, what are my favorite times of year for the show, not that I don't enjoy all my shows with Seth, but this is a difference of change-up, is that this time of year we're doing the opponent previews as we've done for the last several summers. We line up 14 team previews as the Cardinals face 14 opponents each season and line up usually the NFL, the site editor for the NFL Wiresat for the teams at the Cardinals face. And in this case, as the Cardinals will face the Los Angeles Chargers at home in a Monday night game that will be streaming only on ESPN+ but Cardinals fans don't have to worry that it'll be on local broadcasting thing in the Chargers home area. You don't have to get ESPN+ for that, but Chargers wire managing editor Gavino Borquez, who is also a guy here in the Valley of the Sun. We've had Gavino on in the past, Gavino how you been, thanks for coming on the show again and talking to Cardinals Chargers. Yeah, I've been doing pretty good just like you said, we both live here in the Valley, so just kind of surviving this dead time without football, but also just trying to survive the heat for the next few months. Yes, it is, it's blazing out there these days now. You've got an exciting team to cover, it was not exciting to cover them, I'm sure last season the way things ended. We're talking about the Los Angeles Chargers, we'll do this as we've done in years past, we want to talk about last season, we'll talk about the off season, we'll look at the 2024 season coming up. So, the 2023 Chargers season obviously was disappointing, where they finished 5 and 12 brand instalings, brand instalies, you know, swashbuckling, risk taking, you know, his approach finally wears thin, and they start off the year 4 and 4 and then the wheels fall off. They go, they end up, they lose in three in a row, they win one more and then they lose their final five games to fall to five and 12. What was it about that season that was most disappointing and was there, were there any highlights to what happened? Yeah, so I think if we go back even further the 2022 season when the Chargers did make the playoffs and they played the Jaguars, maybe a lot of people remember that game, maybe they don't, but they had a big lead on the Jaguars. Chargers in the most charger way in the playoffs. Yes, and they lost the Jaguars and then from there, there was kind of this, like, there was hope because they made the playoffs for and say they got them there, but then they kind of carried on to the next season and, you know, they finished 5 and 12. There wasn't a lot going on because they were continuing to lose close games. You had injuries to Justin Herbert, like with this pan, he kind of dealt with that, you know, for half a season, eventually ending on the injured reserve. Joey Bosa went down early on to, fortunately, they had a big year from Colomack, but again, you got the sense that they still were continuing to charger and like on the back half of the season, they're talking like, okay, Staley has to go, is he going to make it for the full season? And they have that primetime game against the Raiders where they lost 63 to 21 and that's where that was a last straw. You know, I was surprised. Raiders seemed that was not that good. No, and that's like the only time where I'm glad the Raiders won because that was a last straw for Brandon, Staley, they let go of him the next day. He was fired. I was surprised because knowing the Spaniels family, they typically let their coaches finish out the season, but they said that they had enough. Gift Smith came in as the interim head coach, he had the most experience on the coaching staff and, you know, they actually played some like good football, even with the East and combined, combined over, they lost three games, but by a total of 10 points, they lost by two to the Bills, 16 and nine to the Broncos and then, you know, lost 13 to 12 into the Chiefs in that, in that meaningless game in a week 18, but yeah, actually, some life and, you know, he's sick, played well, like while Herbert was on the IR and that's kind of like what got him resigned, but, you know, the brand, Staley era, it was short lived when they brought him in, they saw this quote unquote defensive guru after one season with the Rams with all this, this talent on that team and they thought that they would be able to get that same sort of product with the Chargers and it never came to fruition. War there, like you got a great season from Khalil Mack at age 32, 17 total sacks, 22 quarterback hits and 21 tackles for loss. Mike William, I'm sorry, Keenan Allen was a pro bowler with over 12, over 100 catches and over 1200 yards. You had Austin Echler with over a thousand yards from scrimmage, but it wasn't nearly the impact that he had, he only averaged three and a half yards per carry. Aside from Keenan Allen and Khalil Mack, would you say that there were any other standouts from last season that you could point to say, hey, there's something to like for 2024? Obviously, he's off the team, but you saw glimpses, like just flashes from Mike Williams before he got hurt, second year, Tulli Tulli-Polo-2, he had a good rookie season. He came in huge while Joey Bosa had missed time, so he's going to be a guy that they're really going to count on this season and I think really just like the edge rushers in general, like I said, with Tulli, you know, he drafted in the second round, he was a really good run defender, but you know, he was able to impact the quarterback as well. I think he had, he tied Will Anderson for the most quarterback pressures among the rookie edge defenders per football focus with like 33, I believe, and then, yeah, like I would say him, Quenson Johnston, they drafted him in the first round, they were expecting to get a lot out of him, it was a dreadful rookie season, dealt with the same issues with the drop passes, and yeah, I just feel like with that team in general, like, you know, Khalil Mac was really just like that standout player. Rashawn Slater, who missed 2022 with a torn biceps, he kind of returned to form as well, having him protect Herbert's blind side like that was huge, they needed him out there, they missed him a lot during that previous season, and that's pretty much it, like there was really no right spots, and a guy that you would think did well, but it was probably his worst season was Derwin James, like he really struggled, and especially like you'd see it on the back end of that season, in coverage, like players were beating him and people were saying like, you see, you know, is he done, like is Derwin a fraud, like people are saying like, you know, they were like saying like he's not the same player, but a lot of that just had to do with what Brandon Staley was just doing with these players, he was having them do too much, it was very complex, and yeah, like the mass number 125 tackles, that's good, not that you'd necessarily want to safety getting that many tackles, but because they use a lot of ways, but I think probably the biggest difference that you would notice is his on ball play, where he only broke up seven passes all year and had the one interception, and that's after, you know, you'd seen him have multiple interceptions, I'm pulling up the stats, he had, you know, he, yeah, he had multiple interceptions he saw the previous two years, he's been a mass tackler pretty much every year, and but that was after, after three pro bowls, you know, he, he's a second team all pro in 2022, he's an all pro his rookie year, it's, he was fantastic. Do you think, do you believe that was more to do with the situation, or is, you know, he's now hitting his late 20s, and he did miss an entire season in 2020, is physically things starting to change for him? Yeah, you always want to look at age in players and, you know, first off point to that, but Brandon Staley was really having him do different things on a snap to snap basis, and I think with that, yes, they call him like this versatile chess piece, but it became like where it was just too complex for him, you know, like I still saw like the same type of player that the physicality, obviously he was probably the best open field tackler, but just like when it came to like covering these skill players, it seemed like he would just lose a step because he was tasked with just doing too much, and again, I put a lot of that on Brandon Staley with what he was asking him to do, because Derwin, again, he's probably one of the most important players on the Chargers team, and when you ask the player to do like too much in one game, that's eventually going to catch up to them, so that's what happened, and, you know, we'll talk about him a little bit, but I expect like a bounce back season under this new system. What is the, like before Herbert got hurt, what would you say about his season, what would you say about the growth that he's made as a passer, you know, we've got NFL experts talking about one of the top quarterbacks in the league, yet he does suffer from the problem that his play doesn't lead to more wins. What is your take on how he played last season and what you've seen out of him in his career? Yeah, so coming out of college, you know, everyone saw Justin Herbert as like this project, he's a very toolsy quarterback, I was probably one of the very few who thought that coming out even before he was drafted by the Chargers that he could really make it in a league and, you know, that's something I'll really stand by, so I'm fortunate enough that he has developed in this quarterback that he has, but I think a lot of it, like as far as like the growth, like you see like the arm talent, that's always there, he can make every throw, you know, whether it's steep and that's what he's known for is his arm strength, but I would say like his eyes to death definitely gotten better, he's definitely a better processor before he was kind of like in college, you would see it, you'd stare one receiver down and then, you know, throw it or, you know, he just wasn't good with manipulating defenders, so he's definitely improved in that area. A big issue like throughout his whole NFL career has been that offensive line. Last year, you know, you had Kellen Moore come in as the offensive coordinator and I would say a lot of that falls on like the coaching, like just like a protection plans and, you know, he was still getting pressured a lot, like if you looked at the amount of times that he was pressured and sacked, like he, again, he just didn't have that much time and it didn't have to do with like the talent, it did, when Corey Lindsley went out because he was another important player who got hurt and then, you know, eventually he's, you know, right on the verge of retiring now, but yeah, you know, I would still say it stems from just like the protection plans, but there's not like a lot of flaws in his game. One thing that we haven't been able to really see that we saw specifically in that last game in his college career against Wisconsin and the Rose Bowl, was his legs. Herbert's a pretty athletic player for how big he is too and there has, there was never that much like design runs. We saw him run the ball, I think he was probably the most efficient, I don't have the stats next to me, but if you pull up his stats, I feel like he last year was probably statistically the best season as a rusher and again, we'll talk about it in a little bit, but you wonder like, you know, huh, now like with Greg Roman coming in as I was seeing like, he uses legs too, kind of like make him like this, more dual threat quarterback, Josh Allen, ask, you know, I'm not saying he's the type of runner that Allen is, but he uses legs as a threat, not necessarily a lot, but just to keep defenses honest. But again, that's how eventually he got hurt with it with that hand, which is like taking taking a hit and I get it that his hand got caught in, I think it was Max Crosby's face mask and he's going for a tackle and that's how he got his first hand and then he got his second hand, I think it was Zach Allen from when they were playing the Broncos that tackled him, so former Cardinal and that's how he heard his other hand and that's kind of like put him on the IR, I remember correctly, but again, the constant pressure just not having this much much time, now we kind of like are focusing on this whole O-line centric team as like, as they would say, wanting to run the ball and they're hoping that they have better protection for Herbert. So I feel like he just has not gotten that throughout his whole career. Coming up next on the Riceps here podcast, the star of Cardinals talk about what they've done in the off season, the Los Angeles Chargers has come next on Riceps here. 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Obviously the biggest move, I would argue that the biggest move that they made had nothing to do with personnel but it was the coach that they got as they lured Jim Harbaugh away from Michigan where he won the national title last season and he's now their head coach and he brings a coaching staff that looks, you know, you got Greg Roman, a guy he's worked with before. He's got Mark Tresman as a senior offensive system, a guy who's worked with, those are some old names. Mark Tresman has been around for a long, long time. He even worked with Jake Plummer when the Cardinals were, when he played for the Cardinals back in the early 2000s. So tell me what, what has Jim Harbaugh done, how important, how impactful do you think his edition will be just because of his resume and, and what, what have you seen from him thus far? Just an off season, obviously nothing on the field really yet, but is there a different vibe in the building? Yeah, because, you know, with Harbaugh, he's definitely like, what they call like a players type of coach. I think he really lives up to that because, you know, in OTAs and, and many camp he was like, he was working out with the guys to, you know, he was pushing the sled. So things that you see like on the internet, like of him being this like bubbly, weird, wiry guy, like you definitely saw that in the, the couple months when they're on the field. And you know, we talked about a new coach coming in and we always resort to a, a culture shift or a culture change and people always want to resort to that. Well, I feel like with Harbaugh, it's definitely kind of lived up to that because the way that the players talk about him, you know, he has a resume to back it up as well. And just from all of the press conferences and, and just like what the, the bigger name outlets are talking about with Harbaugh that are on site, like he's definitely a guy where it's different than when Brandon Sealy was there like Anthony Lynn was there like these first time head coach is like they have a legitimate head coach who's there and he wants to, to win. He wants to bring the Chargers like their first Super Bowl victory. So there's a lot of excitement in LA and now it's, it's only a matter of what he's going to put on the field. You see that the resume, he's won everywhere he's been from his days back at San Diego, Sanford with the 49ers and then most recently, Michigan to kind of cap off his collegiate coaching career. So yeah, like some exciting times in, in LA and now it's kind of see like what he actually delivers on the, on the field. And the off-season major changes in personnel, obviously they, they trade Keel and Allen, Keel and Allen, they cut Mike Williams. They bring in out there, they, there's definitely some, there's, there's definitely some Baltimore influences that was bringing Greg Roman. So they bring in Gus Edwards at running back JK, JK Dobbins at running back, both who were running backs for Greg Roman in Baltimore. The receiving room though. What's the receiving room going to be? Because it looks like you, they bring in DJ chart and DJ chart thus far in his career has been a very talented quarter, a very talented player who has accomplished not much other than longevity in the league, which, but which in and itself in, in terms of a career is fantastic, but in terms of impact, he's not had it basically since his rookie year. Yeah, with, with DJ chart, he was definitely, so he was one of those post-strapped signings that, you know, I saw as, okay, they're, they're adding more speed into that wide receiver room, which they haven't had in, in many years, you know, if you look back at the previous years, Keel and Allen, Mike Williams, Josh Palmer, like they're not known for their speed. So what are the chargers trying to do? They're getting faster at that position. So with DJ chart, yeah, you're, you're right, very talented player that hasn't done much. He had that pro goal year in, in Jacksonville, but you know, I kind of like look at his time, like as far as like, with the, the Panthers and just like the quarterback situation there too. So I'm wondering like if that had anything to, to do and like if he has a quarterback, like Justin Herbert, who'll probably be like the best, you know, quarterback he's played with, if they can kind of maximize his, his full potential. So I saw that move on like, okay, you know, this is a pretty good move because it's a, the low risk move is very, very cheap to get him over there. And yeah, just as far as the wide receiver room in general, like there's no bona fide number one, because at the very top, you could probably say Joshua Palmer is the number one just given he's the most experienced. He's been the most productive receiver when he's healthy. They drafted Ladd MacConkey, who I wouldn't be surprised if he leads the Chargers and, and targets and, and receptions because he is probably the best, like, separator among the receivers. We saw him at, at Georgia, like he was definitely a fan favorite going to the draft. People thought he could sneak into the first round. The Chargers traded up for him, but he also offers speed as well. Now he's been hurt because he's a very undersized receiver. You look at him, he's very skinny. He's not tall. He's only at five, ten. So you have that, and then you have Quinton Johnson, who, a project, you could say, entering the 2023 NFL draft. And he had a lot of issues that people thought were going to show up in the NFL. And they did, and it was the drop passes. He struggled with separation too, because he's, yes, you know, he's, he's a big guy. He has a size speed, but he's more of the yards after the catch guy. So you really have to design to get him open, and as opposed to, like, fighting through, through a defender, because in contested situations, he wasn't coming down with the ball. I think he only had, like, 31 catches on 62 targets, something like that. But it didn't look pretty, like, he didn't surpass 500 yards. But the hope is that he's going to take a step forward, you know, in a sophomore season, but that's, like, pretty much it. You know, you'll have, you have Darius Davis, who's mainly a special teams guy. And they drafted Brendan Rice, everyone knows the son of Jerry Rice, and Cornelius Johnson, Michigan guys. So in the wide receiver room, it lacks top end talent, for sure. So it's different after losing Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but they did that too. Well, like Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and then Austin Echler too. So basically, their entire skill player core has been turned over, but you add, you add Gus Edwards, you add JK Dobbins, you add, and this is the part which was definitely a Jim Harbaugh thing. They add Will Disli, they add Hayden Hirsch at the tight end position, will continue to be an important position for them. Other than that, were there any other key losses that will be noted outside of Echler Williams and Allen? To a point, you can say Michael Davis, their corner back, he was their number one corner back. Now, Sante Samuel Jr, who's responsible for that, Christian Fulton, who they signed as well, will play opposite of him, another player who talented, you know, coming out of college, what has not lived up to the hype and just like where he's supposed to first round potential. So I would say Michael Davis, you know, I wouldn't say Eric Kendrick's the linebacker. He struggled a lot in coverage. He was a Brandon Steely signing as well, but that's pretty much it. It's really like those skill players that you point to. And of course, Corey Lindsay, who I mentioned, he, you know, one of the top centers in the league, he was definitely a crucial piece in the protection plans, the run blocking up front, and they replaced him with Bradley Bozeman, again, another former Raven player to replace him. And you know, they're hoping that he can kind of feel that gap and offer, you know, the near the same level of play, you know, he's, he's no Corey Lindsay, but that's a very important position to play, you know, coming off of Corey Lindsay and then going to Bradley Bozeman. So that's what I would pretty much say. Like it's really the skill players that were probably the most significant losses. And we look at the draft, obviously, over at number five overall, they take Joe Alts, the extremely talented tackle out of Notre Dame. You mentioned Lad McConkie. Jim Harbaugh brings back his defensive leader in junior Colston, linebacker in round three. They get a defensive, an Alabama defensive tag, then Justin Eboigba, I think is how you pronounce it. Yeah. Terry Steele, quarterback, Maryland, Cam Hart, physical, big athletic quarterback out of Notre Dame, Kamani Vidal, Roy, out of Troy, running back, you mentioned Rice and Cornelius Johnson. So if I recall, so later is going to stay on the left side. They're going to put Alts at right tackle as a rookie. Yep. So they're going to play Joel right tackle. He played a little bit like in college, like, I think it was for his freshman year, but you can say that he hasn't really played right tackle, but I feel like a guy like him, the athleticism that he offers being six foot eight times. Yeah. He just, just like his dad, you know, just, you know, who played for the chiefs and back in the day. So he, yeah, he's going to go over to right tackle. The former right tackle, Trey Pippkin, he's going to slide into right guard, which was played by Jamari Salier last year. So Pippkin will go to right guard Zion Johnson left guard and then Bradley Bozeman center. So a decent offensive line, I would say, like, you know, they're, what's that? I was going to ask, do you see Alts staying their long term or if they view him, like, because Parrish Johnson for the Cardinals hadn't played right tackle, he played right guard his, his two years ago, and then he played left tackle for Ohio state. Then he played right tackle all last season, but they was always kind of viewed. They, I don't know if they knew that they were going to get rid of DJ Humphreys. They made it easier to tour his ACL, but that they were going to move him eventual to left tackle. Do you see Alts eventually moving to left tackle or is that hedging bets against Slater coming off an injury that way they've got an option if things come up again? Yeah, it's really like if I think Slater were to get hurt, then you would essentially just go all to left tackle Pippkin's right tackle and then Salier right guard is what I think they'll do. But I see him playing right tackle for the rest of his career unless he gets traded or something or they move on from Slater, which that would be the biggest mistake to move on from him. Thank you very, very, very good tackle Slater and, and Alts, great. You kind of, you already mentioned McConkie, do you see, is Colson going to have a role in the defense this year? And is there anyone beyond Alt McConkie, maybe Colson who you view is having an impact in year one? Yeah. So just to kind of touch up on Colson, he's going to compete with day on Emily. Another former third round pick of last year's draft, he'll compete with him to play alongside Denzel Perryman, who they did sign. They've actually brought back to the Chargers where he was drafted in 2016, I want to say. So he's played with the Chargers, but they brought him back again, a downhill thumper here. Not going to get much of him and, and coverage, but Henley and Colson will compete for that starting job. I think eventually they view Henley and Colson as like the starting linebacker's long term. But to answer your question, I see any players that will make an impact outside of those top three rounds. Target still from Maryland fifth round pick. He will be competing for the starting nickel job with just your tailor. So there's a good chance that he could see some playing time, just your tailor struggled this past season. And again, he wasn't Harbaugh's guy, he's, you know, if Jesse Mentor likes still, obviously they see him, they like his ball production coming out of Maryland. He had a lot of interceptions, he's able to just get his hands on the ball a lot. He had a really good mini camp, he was mentioned quite a bit. So that's going to be a competition in training camp that, you know, he could make an impact in his rookie season. The fourth round pick just in a boy B from Alabama, he might be a rotational piece with Puna Ford and Morgan Fox. But as far as those receivers, I know everyone's curious like is Brendan Rice going to play because again, son of Jerry Rice, but I see him, I did a projection piece. I see him making the team over Johnson, but I don't know how much he's going to play in his rookie season, like unless like someone were to get hurt, which Palmer has had injury concerns, a conky as well, you know, like unless someone got hurt, I can't see Rice playing that much in his rookie season. So still a good haul for the target because I mean, if you're able to get at least like three guys who could contribute in their rookie season, then I'd say you did pretty good, you know, so yeah. The first ever Buick Encore GX Avenir is now in stock and short line Buick. It's been said luxury is in the details and Avenir's exclusive embroidered leather seating with a quilted stitching pattern welcomes you to this luxury SUV. 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It's very apparent with what they did in the offseason with the editions of Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and then Kamani Bidal, if you want to mention him, but with the edition of Joe Alt II, it wasn't just to protect Herbert, but we're going to run the ball, will this see? It's obvious. So, it's going to start there and everyone's wondering is Herbert going to take a step back? No. I think they're going to implement a balanced approach to be able to pass the ball just as much as they do run the ball. Mind you, the Chargers haven't had a good running game in years. Even when Melvin Gordon was there and Austin Efler were there together, you can't really say that they've had a dominant running game and they've had to rely on Herbert. So, that's been another reason why Herbert has taken a beating as much as he has or the expectations for him are so high because they haven't had a running game, Selena. So, I think with Greg Roman, he's going to run the ball. He's going to try to wear teams out and then implement play action, allow Herbert to take some shots down the field and yeah, because they wouldn't have added these receivers if they didn't think like, okay, screw it. We're not going to pass the ball, we're just going to run the ball every single play. So, I think we kind of just see this balanced offense and like you mentioned earlier too, they brought in Mark Trussman who will have some say in that offense. They have Marcus Brady, a passing game coordinator as well too. So, they have the coaches and it's not just Greg Roman who's going to have the final say like, let's just run the ball down their throats but they want to be able to like run the ball efficiently. So, that way they're not just like one dimensional like they have been in the past. If we look at what are now, car boss playoff guy, he's a playoff coach. Do you think the Chargers in the AFC West in that AFC can push and compete for playoff spot? I think they do. In my prediction, I have them going 10 and 7 in his first season. The reason for that, you know, I'm not one of those guys where every year the Chargers have high and high expectations, there's a lot of hope for them but not only do you have car boss, you have Herbert but they have the second easiest schedule in the NFL. So that helps a lot and when you kind of like combine all those, like I don't see them being like a 6 and 11, 7 and 10, like at the very least like nine wins. Like I just can't see them falling short under that mark even like with the first time like your first season head coach, he's been, the car boss been here, he, you know, unless like injury happened to Herbert, that's the only way I can see the Chargers falling short of expectations but they have like these top end players at key positions, you know, they're going to affect the quarterback like with their, their edge rushers, that's their prior strongest group. We didn't really talk about it but Jesse mentors, their defensive coordinator, he kind of comes from like that Mike McDonald tree, it was Baltimore too so he was definitely the best defensive coordinator like you would say in college football, he's proven and I think he's what he has is going to match well with the players that they did on defense, you know, they kind of overhauled that side of the ball. So I just, I see a 10 and 7 at the very least like a 9 and 18 and I'm not trying to be bias here by any means but like, yeah, like if it was a different head coach and what they had and this was a roster, I would probably say like, okay, 7 and 10, like they just don't have that experience at the, at the head coaching spot but it's Jim Harbaugh now, like am I saying they're going to win the Super Bowl? No, like if they just at least get to the playoffs, then I would not be surprised. What do you think, what do you think they're sealing is then? So you're saying about 10 wins, what do you think they're sealing for the season in terms of wins and then how far they can go in the postseason? I think they can win a playoff game but then beyond that, I think, you know, I could see them getting knocked out because we're talking about going into conditions like a Buffalo or Kansas City for that matter. That's where I can see like getting a little dicey and then just like falling short because again, we're talking winter weather so if they have to play and something like that, then that's where I'm like, okay, you know, it'll be tough for them. But if we're talking like two years down the road, they finally like put together like this dominant roster, then we're talking about a time where the Chargers are going to be serious contenders to finally win a Super Bowl like, you know, they have those foundational pieces that like those key positions like right now but they're still lacking a little bit of depth where some other teams like, you know, Kansas City may have, you know. So yeah, and I know I've gotten this asked a lot too but will they win the AFC West? They won't. Not this year. I think Kansasans, they'll go 13 and four or whatever, they'll, they won the division this year. No, that's a tough ask. That's a tough ask. And as we look at that week seven game against the Cardinals, how would the Chargers view the Cardinals on their schedule? What type of game do you expect that to be at this point? Is that a expected a win a hope to win challenge or stealing a win? Yeah, well, we saw the game what two seasons ago and that went down to that was a crazy game. We saw how that that ended up in the Chargers win and it wasn't it wasn't easy by any means. And I wouldn't be surprised if it's another close one because the Cardinals are now like I feel like a sneaky decent team, like, you know, me living in Arizona. That's the hope is that they can be like they've got sick, they've made improvements defensively. The offense shouldn't be a problem this year. And if the defense is something other than atrocious, they should, you know, they could like, I don't, I'm not going to predict them to the goal of the playoffs. I just think they'll be in the mix at the end. I think they'll be in the mix down to the down to the end of the regular season. And at which I'm, you know, hopeful for because me being a guy who lives in the Valley too, like, you know, we know what the sports scene is like here. So if we can kind of at least get a decent Cardinals team, then, hey, I'm happy for it. But as far as that game and specific, I see it being a close one too. I'm really curious to see how a cornerback like a Sanjay Samuel Junior will deal with like the physicality and like just Marvin Harrison Jr. That should be, you know, a fascinating matchup, you know, because Sanjay Samuel Junior is pretty undersized. And that kind of could be a mismatch right there. I'm really curious to see how the run defense is going to play because like, I like the backfield of the Cardinals. I think that Trey Benson was a great addition to that backfield. And you know, that's another thing that the Chargers have struggled with. And until I see it on the field, like I, they're still a team who's like struggled against defending the run. Like I don't know if you've ever watched the Cardinals game and again, running backs will just run all over the Cardinals. And that's where like Brandon Sailing, like, what is this? And, you know, I expect them to get better, obviously, but until I see it on the field, you know, I could see that running game of the Cardinals, taking advantage of the defense too. So definitely a fascinating matchup. You bet it's not on, on national TV, like you got to accept. They say it's on national TV, but we'll be running opposite another Monday night game and you have to stream it. Yeah. Like if you're outside of the, the Phoenix and L.A. markets, you're going to have to look for the game to find it. And I, I cannot, I just Cardinals Chargers, even with Justin Herbert and Kyle and Murray still, that just doesn't move the dial for most people that they're, they're not going to go look for that game when they can just turn on the regular Monday night game. That's on ABC. But it should, it should still be a good game because again, there's hope for the Cardinals this season and then with the Chargers, there's again, like every other year, there's a lot of hype. But let's see if they can live up to it. And with that, we will wrap up this edition of the Rise of Secret podcast. Let's start. I'm going to have our opponent preview with Gavino Borgas of Chargers, where to talk about the Chargers. Gavino's work, you can find over the Chargers wire, one of our NFL wire sites, Gavino anywhere else that they can find your work, social media, whatnot. Yeah. I'm on, I'm on Twitter. It's just my name, Gavino Borgas, there's no underscore, nothing like that. So it's just Gavino Borgas is, I'll be more active on there with train camp coming up, just posting my thoughts and all of my takeaways pieces. So yeah, I'll start cranking up the work as I'm sure you will, too. Oh, yeah. As things make for you, all of this stuff. All right. Thanks, Gavino, for your time. We'll be back again soon. Thanks for listening. We'll be back again soon with another, either, well, depending on when this gets published, but probably more opponent previews. That's Gavino Borgas. I'm just root. Thanks for listening as always. Crossover to new possibilities with the first ever Buick Invista. Now with Shortline Buick, refined, versatile, intuitive, tech friendly, cargo loving, and best of all, Invista is fun to drive. The flowing exterior of the Invista is easy on the eyes and inside you will experience a quiet ride, thanks to quiet tuning with active noise cancellation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and wireless charging will keep you connected. Visit Shortline Buick today and experience all Buick has to offer in its new lineup of vehicles. At Shortline, you do the drive-in. We'll do the rest. We all have somewhere we're trying to get to. As the largest energy producer in Colorado, Chevron is helping meet rising demand. And we're working to do it responsibly. 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