We’ve just released Episode 155 of the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast.
Our synopsis is below:
#BoltUp! The regular season is FINALLY here! Today on Thunder Down Under Chargers, we gear up for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, dive into the #TDUMailbag, and put our reputations on the line with rapid-fire “Buy, Sell, Hold” season predictions.
What we cover today:
📩 #TDUMailbag: Answering your burning questions ahead of kickoff.
🏈 Wk 1 Cardinals Preview: Key matchups, tactical breakdown, and what it will take to start 1-0.
📈 Buy, Sell, Hold!: Bold predictions on division winners, individual awards, and overall record.
Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast!
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:
– Rec’ing this post and leaving any thoughts/feedback you have in the comments section below.
– Following us on Twitter (and ‘liking’ our tweets) at @TDU_Chargers, or individually, at @TDU_Alister, @TDU_Jack and @TDU_Andy.
– ‘Subscribing’ to our YouTube channel, clicking the ‘Like’ button for today’s episode, and engaging with us in the comments section.
– Giving us a rating and leaving a review on the Thunder Down Under Podcast page on Apple Podcasts (and ‘subscribing’).
– Spreading the good word to all of your awesome Chargers friends and family and encouraging them to listen to our show (and engage with us on social media).
Hope you enjoy the episode! Thanks so much for listening 🙂
Long time team fan, podcaster (with Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast), husband to a beautiful wife, friend to all fellow Chargers fanatics, and father-to-be!
I haven’t had time to listen to the show but still plan to. Since this is a bold predictions thread, I posted these predictions on another site around 1 pm today:
Top 5 offense
Top 10 defense
Chargers win 12 regular season games
Chargers win division
Herbert wins MVP
Chargers lose to #1 seed Buffalo in AFCCG
Herbert won’t play that poorly for long as he acclimates to the system, and I trust McDaniel’s scheme to help with the pass protection.
The run blocking was a problem. I hope they can fix that. It might be an acclimation issue as well.
Ladd’s injury + how the receivers behind him played is probably the biggest factor IMO that could meaningfully influence preseason predictions about this Offense’s ceiling. Tre and QJ need to play much better than that for this team to come close to a Top 5 ceiling. Or, McDaniel needs to pivot and lean hard into the 13 personnel craze, getting Gadsden onto the field for more than 10 snaps.
McDaniel seems to value 21 personnel higher than most of the rest of the League. Ingold’s blocking was only ok this week. Will be interesting to see his personnel distribution against the Raiders.
It will be interesting to see how QJ and Tre are involved in the offense w/out Ladd. They don’t seem to fit the mold of the type of WR MM had used in his Miami offenses. Gadsden does fit his pass catching TE mold that he used with Waller and Smith, so maybe he is featured more with Ladd out? He looked good on his targets last week.
I’d love to see it because the Raiders second level are all stupidly aggressive downhill. A Shanahan disciple should be able to take advantage of this with his TEs on crossers, spots and leaks.
Good podcast. Enjoyed the mailbag, thx for taking my questions. 🙂
IF Slater were to be kicked inside and Branson Taylor made a starting tackle, would you move Alt to the LT spot or leave him at RT? I think I move him but I admittedly haven’t seen much of Taylor.
Since I was receiving a good discount via my cell service provider, I sprung for NFL Sunday Ticket. Can’t wait for Sunday…..Go Bolts!!!
I know you weren’t looking for my opinion, but here it is anyway:
If Slater is healthy and playing at his 2024 level, I don’t think you mess with that. Having 2 tackles that are arguably top-5 in the league is a tremendous advantage. Having 2 dudes on the bench that can play tackle at an NFL-average or better level is also a tremendous advantage most teams do not have.
Now, if Slater is not healthy & not playing well, I think you consider all options, including resting Slater & starting Burke at RT with Alt moving to LT. If Awosika or ??? are not playing well, then I think you can evaluate if Slater is better suited to play inside.
I think the shift makes more sense if Slater’s current performance and projected recovery limit his ability to regain his all-pro form at tackle. It all depends on where he is currently and where you expect him to get to physically. If Burke is as good as he looked in the pre-season, I think the Chargers should consider putting Slater on a pitch count & giving Burke some snaps.
Guys: Listened to the podcast today – Not while golfing, which was different. Great show.
The Hortiz Hot-seat talk is nonsense. He inherited a complete shit-show, orchestrated by an amateur VP of Football Ops and un-qualified GM. Building a team that won 11 games and made the playoffs in the last 2 years is an achievement. The last time the Chargers went to the playoffs 2 seasons in a row was 2008-09.
The success he’s had in the late round, using all the tools in the GM toolbox (like trading back in the draft) and helping Harbaugh build one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL gives Hortiz a lot of leash. I think the Chargers are going to make a deep run, so this discussion will be moot.
Thanks for answering my questions.
The value of the position coaches is player development. Marty’s staff was great at it. Norve knew Xs & Os, but didn’t build a staff capable of developing players. Harbaugh is the first coach since Marty that focused on teaching position players how to play in the NFL
The best player for 2026 vs. best player to start your team is interesting. I think your answers were good. If I were starting my team, it would be Herbert or Drake Maye
Pundit pessimism: I like flying below the radar. It’s the opposite of past seasons where the pundits universally agreed the Chargers won the offseason, only to see the Chargers shit the bed in the season.
Platooning LG is silly. Pipkins is not a good guard. I agree with your prior comment that Harbaugh is trying to keep his high-priced Tackle-4 motivated.
Star QB, deep roster. Great answer Jack! I would call this the Senio Kelemete rule.
Ryan’s article was awesome. I knew there was going to be differences, but laying out the aggressiveness and how it will compliment the offense was insightful. Excited to see how this plays out in the season.
The Cardinals should be better this year. They are not, however, anywhere close to the Chargers talent level. I expect the Cardinals will score some and build some late-game stats, but the Chargers win by at least 14.
I think QJ scores more TDs than Ladd – QJ is going to stretch the field.
A good bet would be to split the bet fund between Mesidor as defensive ROY, Herbert as MVP, Chargers win the AFC, Chargers win the SB.
Zac Taylor will be on the hotseat. Its also interesting to see how patient organizations are with rookie coaches with shit rosters (Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta)
Enjoy the game – historic moment for Australia. When there’s an AFC-Southern Hemisphere division (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland), you can tell your grandkids that you were at the first NFL game in Aus.
Your Senio Kelemete comment made me laugh out loud, Kev. What a blast from the past. I can still hear Jack enunciating that name in my head. We’ve come a long way since then!
Thanks for the commentary as always mate. I’ve shared it with the guys.
Can’t wait for the next few days to unfold, seriously. So excited over here.
Cloud Community
Around the Cloud
Cloud Community
Fan-written analysis, scouting reports, and takes from the StormCloud community. Every voice in the storm.
I haven’t had time to listen to the show but still plan to. Since this is a bold predictions thread, I posted these predictions on another site around 1 pm today:
Top 5 offense
Top 10 defense
Chargers win 12 regular season games
Chargers win division
Herbert wins MVP
Chargers lose to #1 seed Buffalo in AFCCG
I’ve just read this comment, mate.
Wonder if you’d keep these predictions after Sunday’s sh*tshow!
Yes. I’m not swayed by a single game that is first in each offensive and defensive scheme and playcalling. Both should get better.
I do wonder if the time has come for another special teams coordinator.
Herbert won’t play that poorly for long as he acclimates to the system, and I trust McDaniel’s scheme to help with the pass protection.
The run blocking was a problem. I hope they can fix that. It might be an acclimation issue as well.
Ladd’s injury + how the receivers behind him played is probably the biggest factor IMO that could meaningfully influence preseason predictions about this Offense’s ceiling. Tre and QJ need to play much better than that for this team to come close to a Top 5 ceiling. Or, McDaniel needs to pivot and lean hard into the 13 personnel craze, getting Gadsden onto the field for more than 10 snaps.
McDaniel seems to value 21 personnel higher than most of the rest of the League. Ingold’s blocking was only ok this week. Will be interesting to see his personnel distribution against the Raiders.
It will be interesting to see how QJ and Tre are involved in the offense w/out Ladd. They don’t seem to fit the mold of the type of WR MM had used in his Miami offenses. Gadsden does fit his pass catching TE mold that he used with Waller and Smith, so maybe he is featured more with Ladd out? He looked good on his targets last week.
I’d love to see it because the Raiders second level are all stupidly aggressive downhill. A Shanahan disciple should be able to take advantage of this with his TEs on crossers, spots and leaks.
Good podcast. Enjoyed the mailbag, thx for taking my questions. 🙂
IF Slater were to be kicked inside and Branson Taylor made a starting tackle, would you move Alt to the LT spot or leave him at RT? I think I move him but I admittedly haven’t seen much of Taylor.
Since I was receiving a good discount via my cell service provider, I sprung for NFL Sunday Ticket. Can’t wait for Sunday…..Go Bolts!!!
I think you’re contemplating an OL of Alt. Slater, Slaughter, Strange, Burke?
Yeah, sorry. I meant Burke and yes, him at RT.
I know you weren’t looking for my opinion, but here it is anyway:
If Slater is healthy and playing at his 2024 level, I don’t think you mess with that. Having 2 tackles that are arguably top-5 in the league is a tremendous advantage. Having 2 dudes on the bench that can play tackle at an NFL-average or better level is also a tremendous advantage most teams do not have.
Now, if Slater is not healthy & not playing well, I think you consider all options, including resting Slater & starting Burke at RT with Alt moving to LT. If Awosika or ??? are not playing well, then I think you can evaluate if Slater is better suited to play inside.
I think the shift makes more sense if Slater’s current performance and projected recovery limit his ability to regain his all-pro form at tackle. It all depends on where he is currently and where you expect him to get to physically. If Burke is as good as he looked in the pre-season, I think the Chargers should consider putting Slater on a pitch count & giving Burke some snaps.
In my mind, it’s a given that Slater stays at LT if he’s healthy. Moving inside would only happen if he’s lost the mobility to remain outside.
I could see the pitch count approach as a possibility.
Guys: Listened to the podcast today – Not while golfing, which was different. Great show.
The Hortiz Hot-seat talk is nonsense. He inherited a complete shit-show, orchestrated by an amateur VP of Football Ops and un-qualified GM. Building a team that won 11 games and made the playoffs in the last 2 years is an achievement. The last time the Chargers went to the playoffs 2 seasons in a row was 2008-09.
The success he’s had in the late round, using all the tools in the GM toolbox (like trading back in the draft) and helping Harbaugh build one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL gives Hortiz a lot of leash. I think the Chargers are going to make a deep run, so this discussion will be moot.
Thanks for answering my questions.
Platooning LG is silly. Pipkins is not a good guard. I agree with your prior comment that Harbaugh is trying to keep his high-priced Tackle-4 motivated.
Star QB, deep roster. Great answer Jack! I would call this the Senio Kelemete rule.
Ryan’s article was awesome. I knew there was going to be differences, but laying out the aggressiveness and how it will compliment the offense was insightful. Excited to see how this plays out in the season.
The Cardinals should be better this year. They are not, however, anywhere close to the Chargers talent level. I expect the Cardinals will score some and build some late-game stats, but the Chargers win by at least 14.
I think QJ scores more TDs than Ladd – QJ is going to stretch the field.
A good bet would be to split the bet fund between Mesidor as defensive ROY, Herbert as MVP, Chargers win the AFC, Chargers win the SB.
Zac Taylor will be on the hotseat. Its also interesting to see how patient organizations are with rookie coaches with shit rosters (Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta)
Enjoy the game – historic moment for Australia. When there’s an AFC-Southern Hemisphere division (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland), you can tell your grandkids that you were at the first NFL game in Aus.
Your Senio Kelemete comment made me laugh out loud, Kev. What a blast from the past. I can still hear Jack enunciating that name in my head. We’ve come a long way since then!
Thanks for the commentary as always mate. I’ve shared it with the guys.
Can’t wait for the next few days to unfold, seriously. So excited over here.