Ekeler talks RBs, Herbert, and more.
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00:00 Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Echler recently participated in Abbott Nutrition's
00:04 Winning From Within Soccer Clinic with Real Madrid.
00:08 I'm Robert Lundberg, joined by Austin Echler right now.
00:11 Austin, you know, having worked with the Real Madrid coaching staff and considering the
00:16 way the running back market is right now, have you considered that career change over
00:20 to soccer?
00:21 You know, I think that would be very detrimental to my career just in general because, you
00:26 know, I've been playing football for about 20 years.
00:28 Running back market, we're going through some stuff right now, but it's not any reason to
00:31 jump ship.
00:32 Like, everyone needs to calm down and, you know, settle their senses and then we just
00:37 got to come up with a plan and then we can actually move forward with that.
00:41 Is there any insight you have on the Zoom meeting and some of the stuff that's come
00:44 out of that?
00:45 Because that got a lot of attention recently.
00:46 Yeah, you know, it's been, you know, an opportunity for us as union members to come together and
00:52 really just talk about what's going on with our market, talk about, you know, the situations
00:56 we had gone through and come together and put things on the table.
01:01 For us, it's an opportunity to, you know, talk about, you know, make possible solutions.
01:05 What do we want to change?
01:06 What do we not like?
01:07 You know, there's these negotiations that happen every 10 years and for us, you know,
01:12 there's things that happen between those 10 years that you document and make sure that
01:15 are on the table so that when those things do come, it's like, oh, remember when this
01:19 happened, let's try to combat that.
01:20 And it's not for me to decide, but that's what we have those calls for.
01:23 It seemed like Jim Irsay has sort of become the face of the opposition there because you
01:27 referenced the every 10 years and he said you guys were trying to negotiate, you know,
01:32 after the fact.
01:33 Do you have anything to say to Jim Irsay?
01:34 I have nothing to say to Jim Irsay.
01:38 Am I supposed to take that as you saying something without it?
01:42 Saying something?
01:43 I have nothing to say to Jim Irsay.
01:45 That's what that is.
01:46 As far as you individually go, I'm interested in that because, you know, when you speak
01:54 as running backs as a whole, you could argue that the position needs to evolve and adapt,
02:00 but I feel like you've already done that, right?
02:02 You catch a lot of passes.
02:04 So do you feel you're punished individually by being labeled under that position?
02:09 I wouldn't say necessarily our position needs to adapt.
02:14 I would say individuals need to make an impact.
02:17 And guess what?
02:18 We have several running back individuals that do make an impact and at a high level.
02:22 And when you compare our high producing running back players to the general running back statistics
02:30 and say like, oh, running backs in general are going to get hurt more, are going to only
02:35 have 4.5 yards per carry, are going to have X, Y, Z.
02:39 And then you look at our outliers, you look at Josh Jacobs, you look at, you know, what
02:44 Saquon Barkley's done, you look at Tony Pollard.
02:46 And then when you generalize them to that and bring them to the general level, yeah,
02:49 it's going to make any position look like they're not as productive.
02:54 But when you have guys at the highest level that are going to beyond the general, the
02:58 average, then that's where we have our frustrations when those people are not getting an opportunity
03:03 to go get their market value, even though they are making a significant impact on their
03:08 team.
03:09 So that's why we are upset as running backs is because we would like to see guys that
03:14 are making a significant impact, we have an opportunity to continue doing that in the
03:18 future with a longer term deal.
03:19 Speaking of the evolution of positions, quarterback position, a lot of guys are really good runners
03:24 now.
03:25 As a guy who runs the ball a lot, is there a most dangerous quarterback as a runner that
03:30 you look back and look at and go, oh, wow, this guy, you know, can really go?
03:34 It's interesting because the running quarterbacks, I feel like there's different styles.
03:38 You know, there's people like Patrick Mahomes that we play twice a year who is very mobile,
03:42 but he's not getting down the field.
03:44 He's just running around so he can find a crazy throw to do.
03:47 But then you have a guy, you know, like Josh Allen, who is a different type of runner when
03:51 he's out in space.
03:52 He's looking to run you over or jump over you.
03:56 You know, he's a different type of runner, but also can run around the backfield.
03:59 And you have like Jalen Hurts, who is both right, dynamic and scramble around.
04:03 You have someone like Herbert who can get out of the pocket, right?
04:05 He's not looking to run over you like Josh Allen, but he's looking to keep the play alive.
04:08 So it's become more apparent that having a mobile quarterback is the way of the game.
04:14 I think it I think it is a new era, kind of, so to speak.
04:19 Not saying pocket passers can't still get it done.
04:22 They can.
04:23 It just depends on, you know, how good they are at it.
04:25 Just like talking about the running backs.
04:27 How good are you with your current skill set and how impactful can you be around that?
04:33 And so we're seeing a lot of mobile quarterbacks.
04:35 I think it's fun for the game.
04:36 You mentioned Justin Herbert.
04:38 Obviously, he just signed the big deal.
04:40 He's been in the league a few years now, gone through the cycle of, wow, this guy's great.
04:45 He's put up these statistics.
04:46 Do you now think, you know, given you had the playoff game and the way that went down,
04:51 there is pressure on Justin Herbert going into this season?
04:54 100 percent.
04:55 There's pressure on everyone.
04:56 Every one of us.
04:57 There's pressure on you.
04:58 You got to do your job.
04:59 Justin's got to do his job.
05:00 I got to do my job.
05:01 There's pressure on all of us.
05:02 And if you think there's no pressure, then I mean, what are you even doing a job worth
05:06 doing?
05:07 I feel like you need to have some type of pressure, at least from yourself.
05:10 But yeah, for us, for him, he just got paid all this money.
05:12 So the organization is going to want to see him play well.
05:15 He's going to want to see himself play well.
05:16 I want to see him play well.
05:18 He's got a ton of pressure.
05:20 And that's the position we're in in professional sports.
05:21 And we love it because we're competitors.
05:23 We want to compete and we want to show you that we can handle that pressure and we can
05:26 play at that level and we can do that consistently.
05:29 And when you can do that consistently, you get rewarded for it.
05:32 And so Justin obviously, boom, just got his contract, right?
05:35 Highest paid right now.
05:37 And when you have a quarterback, it gives you a chance to make a run at the Super Bowl.
05:40 And so that's what we're all trying to continue to go every single season and go achieve that.
05:45 So I'm excited for our team this year.
05:47 It's going to be good.
05:48 How's he going to respond to that pressure?
05:50 We will see.
05:51 Time will tell.
05:52 Time will tell.
05:53 Hopefully, it's a lot of him being himself.
05:55 The pressure is this thing that kind of hovers around that you can either dive into and let
06:01 it affect you.
06:02 You can use it in a positive.
06:04 It can be a negative depending on where it's coming from.
06:08 Media sources, how they like to change the narrative or use their own narrative.
06:12 But for him, man, he stays so level-headed.
06:14 He doesn't get into the media.
06:16 He's just locked in on football.
06:17 And so I think it's just going to be nothing but fuel for his fire.
06:20 What about your head coach, Brandon Staley?
06:22 You think he's oftentimes unfairly criticized?
06:26 Everyone's criticized, man.
06:27 There's so much pressure put on us as performers in the sports world to continue to play at
06:32 a high level and to coach at a high level.
06:35 And like I said, that pressure, that pressure is on him, too.
06:38 It's on all of us.
06:39 And he has a lot of expectations because, you know, our staff thinks very highly of
06:43 our roster right now, which I do, too.
06:45 I think there's a reason, too.
06:47 And so he's definitely in a position where, coach, you got to make something happen with
06:51 this team.
06:52 You got to take it to the next level.
06:53 You got to take it to the next level.
06:54 You got to take it to the next level.
06:55 You got to take it to the next level.
06:56 You got to take it to the next level.
06:57 You got to take it to the next level.
06:58 You got to take it to the next level.
06:59 You got to take it to the next level.
07:00 You got to take it to the next level.
07:01 You got to take it to the next level.
07:02 You got to take it to the next level.
07:03 You got to take it to the next level.
07:04 You got to take it to the next level.
07:05 You got to take it to the next level.
07:06 You got to take it to the next level.
07:07 You got to take it to the next level.
07:08 You got to take it to the next level.
07:09 You got to take it to the next level.
07:10 You got to take it to the next level.
07:34 You got to take it to the next level.
08:00 You got to take it to the next level.
08:03 You got to take it to the next level.
08:04 You got to take it to the next level.
08:05 You got to take it to the next level.
08:06 You got to take it to the next level.
08:07 You got to take it to the next level.
08:08 You got to take it to the next level.
08:09 You got to take it to the next level.
08:10 You got to take it to the next level.
08:11 You got to take it to the next level.
08:12 You got to take it to the next level.
08:13 You got to take it to the next level.
08:14 You got to take it to the next level.
08:15 You got to take it to the next level.
08:16 You got to take it to the next level.
08:17 You got to take it to the next level.
08:18 You got to take it to the next level.
08:19 You got to take it to the next level.