Interview with the Enemy: Los Angeles Chargers

Our Interview with the Enemy series is back and this week, Michael Peterson with boltsfromtheblue.com answers a few quick questions before the Los Angeles Chargers matchup against the New Orleans Saints in Caesars Superdome tonight.

TH: Any player in particular you are keeping your eye on this week and why?

MP: If he ends up playing this Friday, one player I’d watch carefully is linebacker Kenneth Murray. He is returning to practice on Monday after being slow to heal from an ankle surgery he underwent in April. If the coaching staff believes he’ll be fine missing the entire preseason, then the other name I’d throw out there is edge rusher Chris Rumph. Rumph has been awesome through the first two preseason games and looks just as slippery as he did in college despite adding some needed weight this offseason.

TH: Derwin James just received a $76M contract extension with the Chargers, which now makes him the highest paid safety in the league. Do you think he was worth it and since he skipped a good bit of training camp do you expect any drop off in his production at the beginning of the season?

MP: I know it’s wild to think, but even after missing so much time between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, James was still very much worth his price tag. There just aren’t many players like him in the NFL. He’s truly versatile and can make an impact just about anywhere on defense outside of playing defensive tackle. As for whether or not the missed time could affect him this season, I don’t think that’s something to worry about with James. There are good players, great players, and others that are simply born to play this game. James is the latter. He stayed very active throughout training camp despite not being a full participant. If there’s anyone, I trust to hit the ground running this season, it’s James.

TH: What do you think will be the Chargers biggest challenges this season?

MP: The biggest challenge for the Chargers this season has got to be meeting their own high expectations. They’ve always received love as a dark horse team during the offseason but it’s not often they justify that hype. 2018 was an outlier as they obviously haven’t made the postseason since, and they were pretty bad the two seasons before that.

TH: The Chargers have not been to the playoffs in 3 years, but they have a very talented roster and high expectations, do you think they end the drought this year?

MP: I believe the Chargers will end the drought this season because they simply must or else some heads might really end up rolling in the front office. This roster is far too talented to fall short of the postseason for another year. If they should’ve made it last season, then this year has to be a foregone conclusion.

TH: What is your prediction for the final score in this game?

MP: I feel like the Chargers need at least one victory this preseason so I will have to side with them in a 24-17 victory in New Orleans. Am I super confident in that prediction? Not at all.

Thank you again to Michael for taking the time to answer our questions. You can check out his work on Bolts From The Blue and follow him on Twitter @ZoneTracks

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