General manager Tom Telesco joined the latest episode of "Chargers Weekly" from training camp at Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa.
Download and subscribe to the Chargers Podcast Network wherever you get your podcasts. Full video episodes are available on Chargers.com and the team's official YouTube channel. Among the topics with Telesco:
- Having fans back at camp (:33)
- Justin Herbert entering year two, building chemistry with wide receivers (3:00)
- The new coaching staff led by Brandon Staley (6:03)
- Derwin James Jr.'s leadership (7:30)
- The 2021 rookie class (9:33)
- Corey Linsley's importance to the offense (12:30)
Highlights from the conversation are below:
Telesco on how Herbert has approached his second NFL season
"He's never content. He just has a great drive, a drive to be great. He's a perfectionist. He's working at it. There's so much of what a quarterback does as far as getting ready to play that happens outside the white lines -- all the preparation, meetings, video, weight room, with your teammates being a leader -- that's all part of the job. Also part of the job is the media portion of it. The starting quarterback has to do a lot of media obligations. Really, the head coach and the quarterback, they're the face of the franchise. And he handles that all so well. He's so mature.
"But then as we try to build the team and essentially build around him, build with him, we want a nice mix of young players and some veterans -- guys like [tight end] Jared Cook that have worked with different quarterbacks before, been in different offenses. That's how we kind of build this thing."
On what Linsley brings to L.A.'s offense
"The center position is so critical to the whole offense, and you saw what it was like when Mike Pouncey was here, how well he played, how well the offense played when he was on the field. Nick Hardwick, how well this offense played when Nick Hardwick was on the field. The last team I was with, when we had Jeff Saturday on the field, it's different. Essentially, you're the second quarterback of the offense. You're running the offensive line. You're working in concert with the quarterback behind you.
"I think it's great help for Justin as far as all the protections and all the things he's going to see. Corey's seen it all before. So, that was just a really important signing for us. It's a critical spot on your football team that center position, and he has all those tangible and intangibles that we love in that position."
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