Last game took
a
while,
that was the
rest of the campus, also I've ever been a part of it as
a competitor for sure,
to watch the playoffs unfair of how they do. Good
to see you championship game and then the Super Bowl
that was a tough month for me,
Stephen month of those I've had. And
that I think it was a good night for me because I got
a lot of work
in that month and I
took the head lifts with
myself. Number one, our team organization.
How we did things,
like those
after-action reports and All Phases and
I got a lot of work on as hard as it was.
I think it said the streets for that type of season we've had
and
but it was definitely good.
Brandon Stanley, Peter King
on the car ride to work.
That is such a that is a neat thing to watch
and listen to and guys get
Axed. And there may be a little more open than they would be in
any other setting. So, well done there, Peter and let's
start with the Chargers. One of the teams you visited on your
training camp tour.
Can they emerge from this cluster of teams? When you've
got the Broncos and the Raiders? And the Chiefs, can
the Chargers somehow navigate not just their way to
the playoffs, which were waiting for
but get to the top
of that division.
Here's kind of the way I look at the AFC West,
so every team in the AFC West is had significant changes.
What team has had the fewest significant changes to
absolutely what they need to do if they were going to win
the division
and that to me is the Chargers.
If you look at Kansas City,
Kansas City has got four new receivers on offense.
If you look at
They've got a new quarterback and a new coach, running a new
scheme. If you look at the the Raiders
they've got a new coat
with a lot of new elements and
you know, I have no idea who's playing the right side of their
offensive line but that could be a real real issue.
And and you look at the Chargers and you say okay like
they got a new quarterback
they got a new password. Sure,
they Got a new couple of new defensive tackles, but what
really
has changed drastically?
I don't think a lot.
And so to me, they have the best opportunity to hit
the ground running in September.
Now that is, if JC Jackson doesn't miss a lot of time on
defense and assuming
that they're significantly better, which they will be
against the Run than 4.8 yards, a carry last year. And we can
About everything
we can talk about fourth and one from their own 18. We can
talk about this being wrong, that being wrong.
The Chargers were home.
After game 272, for one reason,
and that reason is because they allow 4.8 yards per rush in
down the stretch of this season of That season. They could not,
they had a paper mache run defense and Josh Jacobs
one game to 72 for the Raiders.
So I think they have a really good chance Mike
You know, of taking a major step in 2022.
My big concern about the charters twofold. First,
you mentioned JC Jackson if he's back, if he's able to
contribute, they have so many guys injured every year. I just
can't help, but wonder whether it is the product of something
other than bad luck. And, at some point, it is
how you're doing your flexibility, how you're doing
your strength training? What your nutrition is, are you
properly hydrated? Because I IC gotten, you know, this
experience watching all the games at once guys are getting
I sold in every way possible and they pop
up in their fun.
If you're getting too many clusters of injuries every
year, there's a deeper problem, you have yet to solve that is
keeping you from having your best guys on the field, if
the Chargers gonna have their best guys on the field for more
often than not, they are a playoff team
walk right through the door and become very dangerous. If they
have those players in the postseason. Number two
and I love Brandon Stanley as a coach. I'm so sick of this
whole fourth down thing. Here's the best approach to
fourth-down
be unpredictable.
Don't be too predictable. One way or the other. Always keep
the other side on their toes about what you're going to do
when you play the Chargers now, you know, they're going to go
for it, they're going to go for it, they're going to go for it,
they're gonna go for
it other teams, you know. They're not going to go for it.
I think the best approach is to always have
that other team,
not quite sure what you're going to do.
So you have maximum Advantage when you choose
to roll the dice strategically
and the combination of all the
formulas and I still reject the Logic of a lot of these
formulas because they look backward, not forward and they
ignore a broad array of broad array, I tried
to say Variety in a row at the same time. Abroad verrier,
thank you very much, Sims ISM
of factors that
affect how you should be thinking in the moment. How
should I be thinking in this moment in this circumstance? Is
it right? Or is it wrong to go for it? And I think that it's
wrong Peter
and I know we got to the teams to get to but I just-i can't--.
I was compelled to make this point. I think it's wrong.
Wrong to be too. Predictable, in anything you do, when you're
talking about key moments like that.
I mean, predictable or unpredictable, they were six
out of seven on Fourth Downs, in that game.
I know,
you know, had everybody kills them for the fourth and one and
it's very, he's probably the only coach in the NFL who would
have made that call
at that time. I'm almost positive. He's the only coach
who would have made that call,
but I've tried to explain it this way because
when he took a longer time
to explain this to me,
In the scouting combine.
The first thing he said was
we had the worst luck punting average in the NFL last year
and so if you look at putting from your 18, yard line,
you're giving it back to the Raiders right at about mid
field on average on average,
sure your guy could bloom on. It could roll for 20 yards but
on average you're giving the ball back to the Raiders at
Midfield. Okay?
And the way their defense was
I mean, all Derek Carr needs to do is complete two passes and
Daniel Carlson is kicking a field goal.
That's what Daniel Carlson did.
But but again, that is a rabbit hole that is a for our show.
I guess. My only point about all this is
regardless of what you think of that philosophy.
They have Mike Williams back, they have Keenan Allen back.
They have a good running game.
I think that they're going to be pretty good this year.
The Chiefs do not have Tyree kill back as we all know by.
Now, he was traded to the Dolphins back in March. After
the Chiefs and Tyree kill were unable to work out a new
contract.
You got to see the Chiefs up close, there's a lot of
questions about what that offense is going to be without
a guy who commands extra attention. Everywhere he goes
offense of pretty good in the preseason. How do you think
the offense performs without having a weapon like Tyree kill at its
disposal?
Mike, something really interesting happened on my
trip. And even before my trip there,
so
pattern Mahomes is spokesman for this company called whoop,
okay. They have this device
on your are my only was, you know, compelled to ask him
about it because I have it too. I'm trying to
be a little bit more fit and look at me, of course, I'm so fed,
but pattern more homes, where's this? And he gets
All of his Health Data
basically told him about this
and what I found really, really interesting.
Is that Patrick for homes in this training camp
is getting less sleep
than he got last year both during the season and in
training camp. What are the reasons? He's getting less
sleep is he is working
really, really hard to make sure
that Juju Smith Schuster Marquez Valdez scantling.
I'm Sky more Justin Watson for new receivers,
on his team. He's trying to make sure that they all are
able to hit the ground running
when they play their opening game in Arizona week from Sunday.
And so he's working harder in this training camp
than he has in the past
and my whole thing, the day I was there,
they look really good. Now obviously, even though they're
going up against defense,
They are on defense. They he knows he's not getting hit and
all this stuff,
but I think you know, when I wrote this week I said that
I think the NFL's reborn player this year is going to be Juju
Smith Schuster.
I think they're going to play him all over the map and not
just in the slot. I think Sky more is going to be a very
versatile new weapon for them in the backfield and split out
wide.
I think they're going to be okay.
Okay. In part might
because they know that everybody out here, thinks
they're not going to be okay. And I think it's energize them
I think it's so much better to be them right now
than the Buffalo Bills because everybody is expecting the bills
to just show up at the Super Bowl and be there and win
the whole thing. And it's a meat grinder in the AFC. And if
you're a team, that's overlooked and disregarded,
like the Chiefs are, that is such a key ingredient
in having the extra motivation, number one, you don't have
the Target on your back. Number two, you got a chip on your
shoulder and that's what the Chiefs will have, and I agree
with you. I think they're going to be great. I think they're
going to be fine in the fact that they
recently A adjusted JuJu's. Contract to increase his per
game. Roster, bonus has significantly. I think they
know what they have
and they know they ended up getting squeezed to pay Marquez
Valdez scantling a little bit more than maybe they wanted to,
and he got a much better deal than Juju because of the whole
Davante, Adams Dynamic and
mvs was available still and it's the Packers and
the Chiefs. And and so my point is they don't do that going into
the season unless they have a feeling. This guy's going to be
pretty good and they don't want
his contract to become glaring. Once he starts putting up big
numbers. Let's talk about the bills
because I mentioned the reality, all the hype is on
the bills, everyone's expecting the bills
to get to the Super Bowl.
I'll take the field over the bills in the AFC because
the field is so damn strong. There's 13 contenders real
contenders in the AFC. Do you think the bills will be able to
to function with this weight of the world of expectation on
their shoulders? Peter
I think they will,
I think they've answered their biggest problem, which is,
you know, they need a little bit of extra juice in the pass
rush.
I think Sean, McDermott is totally focused on figuring out
a formula to make Von Miller last
trying to make Von Miller last four, 17 games.
Von Miller may not like it that much,
but I do think that
they're going to try to figure out a way
to make sure that they
Over play him early,
especially in my opinion,
in an overly emotional game
like six nights from. Now
when the Buffalo Bills go to play the Rams, it's you know
like much has been written and said about it but I'm telling
you I was there on like the first or second day of camp
and Von Miller was still in mourning.
He had just come back from the
from the ring ceremony
with the Rams. And you could just tell
Well, you know that he was really missing that team. So
time will tell if they're able to get him through the year.
But I think even if the defense struggles a little bit to
affect the quarterback,
they're going to benefit by the fact that,
well, the Patriots are down. The Jets are building
Miami. I don't know. They're probably,
you know,
you know an 8 to 11 win team but they're not on the bills
level, right? Now,
they're in a good division
to be able to have some weeks
where you give a veteran defensive player,
you're trying to milk through 17 games,
some time off. I think the bills are going to be able to
handle it.
Well, we will find out 6 days from now. It is amazing to
think it's that close, but it is bills at Ram's to start
the season on NBC Thursday, September 8. Let's take a break
after we do a recap of the week. That was
the NFL will talk about Peters visits to some NFC teams when
this Friday edition of PFT live continues, right after this.
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