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We've just released Episode 115 of the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast.
Our synopsis for Episode 115 is below:
It’s the eve of Training Camp which means it’s time for our 2025 Chargers Opponents Series! We kicked things off today with a Training Camp Preview followed by an NFC East Breakdown: that Tiffany division boasting last year’s Super Bowl winner and another final four team. Are the Eagles really that good? Can lightning strike twice for Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury? Will Big Blue lay another Big Poo and has the Dallas Star lost its shine? Join us for the discussion!
You can also listen on Spotify below (or download on audio wherever you like to listen to podcasts):
As always, you can support us by doing any or all of the following:
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Hope you enjoy the episode! Thanks so much for listening 
Alister (@TDU_Alister)
Great to have content from you guys. Thank you! A few comments:
- White House visit: Thanks for staying out of politics. I will say that being invited to the residence of the president of the United States is a great honor, regardless of how much you like or dislike the current occupant.
- Interior OL: I cannot believe that Hortiz's plan going into the offseason was rolling back Bozeman and Zion. Interested to see what happens now. If the result is Zion & Bozeman, I am going to be very disappointed (and will be in favor of keeping 3 QBs as those two will get Herbert killed).
- I think the hold-out is going to fuck Harris' first season. Right now is when he should be learning the offense and building trust with Herbert. I get the business side; just pointing out that the football side is going to suffer in a way that will not be recoverable this season.
Opponents:
- Giants: Should be a win. The Giants are not good. Wilson is going to close out his career sitting on the bench for a shitty team. Schoen and Daboll should be unemployed at the end of the season.
- Commanders: May win or lose. I think Minter will benefit from having a season of film on Daniels. Impressive what the Commanders did last year. This will be a difficult game. Also don't think that Ekeler, who is on the wrong side of 30, will be much of a factor. I did like how they used him last year (more of a 3rd down back, leveraging his pass catching abilities. Austin had 77 carries last year, the lowest total since his rookie season).
- Eagles: Should lose. Similar to the Steelers game last year, the Chargers will lose the bully-ball match to the bigger bully. The roster Roseman has put together is impressive. I worked in Allentown (an hour outside of Philly) for a year. There were a bunch of Eagle fans who always went to the Philly/Giants game. They said that ever year, 1/3 of the group made it home that night, 1/3 were arrested and 1/3 went to the hospital. Crazy fans.
- Cowboys: Should win. Late in the season, the thin Cowboys roster will get rolled by a deep, playoff-bound Charger team. Jack.... No way Prescott is a top-8 QB. At best, a 32 year old, beat up Prescott is 15th-ish.
- Going 3-1 against this group means the Chargers are a threat in the playoffs. I have 2 games (Giants, Cowboys) that I think the Chargers will win pretty easily, one difficult win (Commanders) and one game where they get exposed (Eagles).
Great pod. Looking forward to the next one.
@kevdiego Thank you Kev! Wife and daughter are sleeping-in this morning, so I'm catching up on some comments from the show while enjoying a morning coffee with a beautiful beach view (Alexandra Headlands on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland):
Some responses:
- My opinion on the White House visit is maybe different to most Americans. I think the 'respect the office' argument really only gets you so far. For example, if the the present occupant was a despot of history (Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin), I think you'd have a moral imperative not to visit. So really it all boils down to where you assess President Trump on the spectrum of Awesome > Competent > Average > Incompetent > Corrupt and Malevolent > Pure Evil. If you're an American who thinks he is akin to a despot, it makes sense to be loud and very angry about this visit. (Although maybe you should also consider leaving the country and living elsewhere in protest). It's a shame to see such a divided America. At least one very good TDU listener and BFTB/Stormcloud participator seems to have stopped following the team because of the visit. A sad set of circumstances.
- I saw Tau's comment on Tre Harris and I understand the different perspectives on this. It's probably not sensible for Harris personally to take this stand if it results in missed time. It cripples is prep for the season. It looks like some of the other teams are blinking and second rounders are signing around the league, so if Tre Harris signs shortly I'm sure he'll feel vindicated that he played his cards well strategically. It's also probably not sensible for Dean Spanos to hamstring his own team by taking a philosophical stand like this against one of his team's most important weapons.
- Interior OL: I remain confused by the offseason strategy and have to believe that at least one key target (eg, Trey Smith) was pursued unsuccessfully and we're now seeing a back-up plan manifest before our eyes.
- Good comments on the NFC East. We'll see who's right! For what it's worth, the Bucs and Lions were highly successful at containing Jayden Daniels on the ground (2.8 and 3.2 yard per rush attempt respectively) in the Playoffs, yet the Offense still purred in those games. Truly impressive season from the Commanders, but we'll see if Kingsbury and Daniels can maintain it across multiple seasons. I'm not really a Prescott believer, but where he was viewed as the NFL's 2nd best QB in 2023 (Second Team All-Pro) I understand why Jack concluded he's Top 8 when healthy. He's an interesting high-variance QB with a panache for playoff choking (just like another Cowboys QB turned prominent CBS broadcaster).
@alisterlloyd I choose to ignore politics to the max extent possible... I don't care about the party, I avoid all of it. I feel it is not worth me putting any of my limited time and energy into it.
I would truly love to keep commenting atout politics out of this forum.
@tau837 I've always been a politically engaged person. I enjoy participating in political discussions and thinking about the most equitable way to structure society to promote relative prosperity and harmony within, and between, nations. Especially when one of the greatest threats to our existence as a species is likely some form of nuclear war.
But like you, I dislike the partisan nature of politics, and how many people treat it like sports, siding with 'their team'. I'm also in favour of separating sports and politics to the extent that's possible. Sometimes the two are intertwined inexorably. This doesn't seem to me to be one of those situations though and that's why I didn't bother responding to Andy's comments, even though I think the topic is more nuanced than he reduced it to.
@kevdiego It was a special first trip together as family. Not without some complications! But worth the (mostly) sleepless nights with our unsettled baby. Many happy memories. Sunshine Coast is true to its name. Glorious weather and beaches. Not a whole lot else to do though so you haven't missed much...It's a place people go to retire.
Godwin's law is still alive and well in 2025, Kev. That's why I tried to avoid mentioning that particular despot 😉
I don't think much of Dan Quinn's Defense schematically to be honest, but I think he's a good leader of men and can play the CEO-type of HC well. If Kingsbury has another successful year, I expect him to get interviews again for the big boy's chair. The League is always hungry for Offensive 'gurus'.
I think the Saints roster is one of the worst in the League, and there's a reason why it's the only job Staley could get. It's a good challenge for him though. Anything better than a 20th ranked overall Defense would probably be viewed internally as a win. Much worse than that though and he's not long for this League. Three strikes and you're out!
@alisterlloyd Embrace the family time, my friend. My youngest daughter just got her period, so... fuck....
Quinn, to me, is old-school. Staley was always more sizzle and very little steak. Quinn is all steak.
The Saints are fucked this year. I wonder how much leash ownership is going to give a 1st time HC who built a very inexperienced and (in Staley's case) controversial staff. If they win 4 games (or less), will the staff be back next year?
I think it's going to take a lot of success and good interviews for a dude like Kliff to get a HC gig. He was 35-40 as a college HC and 28-37-1 with the Cardinals. That's a 10 year HC record he will have to explain away in an interview.
Quick note: I couldn’t get to this link from the Stormcloud front page on my phone. There was no “read more” button. Maybe I’m just a canary and maybe there is no coal mine. Listening (and commenting) now.
@smith Maybe we're all the canaries as Chargers fans (given the Mike Williams retirement news this morning!)
Glad you managed to access the link eventually (I think Stormcloud Home page has some issues...but the forum link should work)
Great stuff as usual! I haven't been very active around these parts because life got super busy after getting elected. Still lurking in the background and listening to every pod you guys post!
I really hope the Chargers beat the hell out of the Giants this upcoming season. I convinced a friend of mine who is a Giants fan and currently lives in New Zealand to go to that game together. Surprisingly he said yes so we will be visiting New York in September and go to that game. A total destruction of the Giants would be very nice to witness live with my friend in total shambles right next to me :).
@arne-sixpakfrombelgium I have a strong feeling that your wish may come true.
@arne-sixpakfrombelgium Thanks for all the support, Arne!
We appreciate whenever listeners take time from their busy lives to enjoy our content. My last three months have been also challenging with a heavily increased workload (200%+ capacity) and our 8-month old going through a sleep regression: crying/screaming through decent portions of the night. Finding time to prepare and record podcasts has been challenging. But then we do a show like Wednesday night's, laughing riotously, and all feels right in the world again. And it's reminder to me why I do it: glad you enjoy listening to every show.
Make sure to share a photo on Stormcloud when you get to New York (and the Meadowlands)!
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