Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn discusses his team's motivations entering the final week of the regular season.
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00:00 Is the plan still to use Trey Pickens as the de facto starter if Russell can't go?
00:05 >> It'll be Trey or Trent, we'll make that decision before game.
00:09 But I thought Trey went in last week, started a little slow.
00:11 He got better as the game went on.
00:13 Trent came in, Trent played, I thought, well, so we'll see.
00:17 >> What have you seen from the Chiefs defense?
00:20 It's obviously a different scheme this year than it was-
00:21 >> Chief defense has gotten better every single week.
00:24 I think the Chiefs are playing their best football right now.
00:26 I think early in the year, you could say the defense maybe looked like they
00:30 weren't all on the same page.
00:31 But right now, I mean, I think in the last month,
00:34 they've helped their opponents to seven points per game.
00:37 So I think Steve is doing a good job with that defense.
00:40 And I think they're playing their best ball at the right time.
00:43 >> Does the quality of their past defense make you consider even focusing more on
00:47 your run game on offense?
00:49 >> We're always focused on the run game on offense.
00:52 It was too bad last week, we got away from it because we had to.
00:55 Second half, we only had three possessions.
00:57 But when we can stick with the run game, we always wanna stick with it.
01:00 And we know there's gonna be peaks and valleys in the run game.
01:04 They're gonna step up, they're gonna stop it, and
01:05 we gotta open the game up in the passing game and throw the run.
01:08 But we definitely can't be one dimensional, I know that.
01:12 >> If there's anything this week going into this last game,
01:17 focus wise or attention wise of your, is there a theme you're trying to get
01:21 across in terms of just sort of the motivation here and what you're trying?
01:27 >> I don't believe in trying to trick men into playing football.
01:31 We're professionals, we have a job to do.
01:33 And I expect everybody to show up on Sunday and do the job.
01:36 >> [INAUDIBLE]
01:42 >> This was a game we thought would have a lot to it, but it doesn't have that appeal.
01:48 Is it still good for you in your evaluation,
01:51 instead of going against a really good playoff team?
01:54 >> Absolutely, like I said, I think this team is on offense, defense, and
01:57 special teams playing their best ball.
01:59 It's a good opportunity for us to go play a really good football team at the end of
02:02 the season and go into the off season with some momentum.
02:05 I mean, it's better than the alternative.
02:08 Yeah, we thought this game would have more significance for sure, but
02:11 it's still a big game to us.
02:12 Because it's an opportunity to play in the National Football League.
02:15 >> And you mentioned before that the last few games are gonna be opportunities for
02:19 players to establish themselves in the eyes of you and your coaching staff.
02:23 Is there any evaluation you might be doing with members of your coaching staff
02:27 over the final week of the season?
02:28 >> Absolutely, yeah, no doubt.
02:30 Everyone's been evaluated, and we'll reflect on it after the season,
02:33 including starting with myself.
02:35 >> For losing season as a head coach, how would your approach in the off season be
02:40 different, this off season versus ones where- >> Well,
02:43 I don't believe in doing the same thing and getting the same results,
02:45 I can tell you that.
02:47 I mean, there will be some adjustments, and we'll see how many.
02:52 But yeah, it sucks for us losing season as a head coach,
02:57 very frustrating for me, and I don't plan on doing it again.
02:59 >> Are there some players that wanna reach the milestones that you're going to try
03:05 and push towards, like Austin, or Steven Mignar, etc?
03:09 >> I only said I'm worried about is W's and L's.
03:14 And milestones for players, that's great, they work hard.
03:19 But we put wins and losses before individual stats, though.
03:23 >> Could be the final game for a few guys within the contract,
03:26 or I just need to kinda remind guys, it's gonna be the last time we do it as a group,
03:29 and there could be a constant motivation for the final game?
03:31 >> No, I mean, those guys know that they're in the final year of their contracts,
03:34 and hopefully they're not too concerned about that.
03:36 Because we got a very important three days in front of us, but
03:40 that'll take care of itself after the season.