Chargers
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh enters his second year in Los Angeles after going 11-6 last season. When asked if he loves being back in the NFL following his time at Michigan, Harbaugh said he just has a “gratitude for football.”
“It’s just an appreciation, a gratitude for football. I like football, you know? People who like football like me back, and I like them back, and we roll. And sometimes people that don’t like football, they seem to try to avoid me, but it never dampers my spirit. I try to get them to like football. I don’t think I’ve changed a bit, especially once you hit 40 or so, I think you’re who you are,” Harbaugh said, via Albert Breer of SI.com.
Regarding his angry demeanor on the sidelines, Harbaugh explains he just wants his players to do well.
“Maybe people see me differently. I know some people are like, God you look so angry. Well, I’m in the middle of a football game. And, I mean, it’s like sitting in a dentist’s chair having someone do a root canal on you; that’s the feeling you have during a game. Parents can understand it, people who have kids that go to their game. A baseball game, O.K., now your kid, he’s at bat with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, or he’s pitching to the top of the order in a tie game. … Whatever that situation is, you want them to do well.”
Harbaugh went on to praise several players scattered throughout the roster, like Derwin James, Khalil Mack, Justin Herbert, Joe Alt, Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, Rashawn Slater, and Daiyan Henley.
“Derwin [James], I’ve never met anybody who loves football more than him, and more than myself. I just can’t go a day without, Give me some of what you’ve got. You just feed off it. K-Mack [Khalil Mack], he’s that way. How are you 34 years old, but still play like you played when you were 21 at that position? It’s work ethic; it’s putting in the work. Justin Herbert, nobody outworks Justin Herbert. Get on the line and run conditioning with Justin Herbert, if you’re man enough. That’s the stuff I see, I see it every day. And Joe Alt , I mean, he came in here with this work ethic, I’m sure poured into him by his dad. But I’ve seen that work ethic now for a year and now he’s got more strength. He was strong, but he’s stronger, to go with that athleticism that he has. I’m just looking at Quentin Johnston—it’s pretty much everywhere I turn, I could tell you a story—he’s got it all, just needed a little more strength, and he’s added that, through his work ethic, and he looks to me like he’s flying when he’s running his routes, like the feet aren’t even touching the ground, that’s how fast and smooth that it looks. Ladd [McConkey] is that way. Rashawn Slater is an elite, elite worker and trainer, and just so good at his position as well. Daiyan Henley, rising superstar, his energy, his enthusiasm are contagious.”
Chiefs
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce recently spoke to GQ Magazine and, during an exotic photo shoot, mentioned his goals of winning another Super Bowl and his role as an entertainer along with girlfriend Taylor Swift. On Monday, the duo announced Swift’s new album on Kelce’s podcast.
“Win a Super Bowl is the only goal,” Kelce told Sean Manning. “It’s the only goal. It’s every goal. I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up. And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer. I don’t say this as ‘I shouldn’t have done it.’ I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.” He adds, “I just have such a motivation to show up this year for my guys.”
“When you see me hanging out at the US Open with Taylor, it may look like the two of us are partying,” Kelce added. “But I’m just enjoying the fun of being at this really cool event that I always wanted to go to with the person that I love.” Put another way, he says, “I’ve become way more strategic in understanding what I am portraying to people.” Later during our time together he tells me, “I have a good understanding of how I want to be portrayed.”
Raiders
New Raiders S Jamal Adams was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Seahawks before he had a career-threatening injury. He is happy to get another chance at football with Las Vegas under his former HC Pete Carroll.
“Tore my quad tendon off my kneecap. That’s a two-and-a-half-year recovery, they say,” Adams said of his injury, via RaidersWire.com. “Mentality-wise, as a competitor, I was like ‘I’m gonna get back in a year, which I did in 2023, but obviously I just couldn’t be myself. I couldn’t really practice the way I wanted to. But mentally, it was definitely draining. Having to sit down when I didn’t want to sit down.”
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