Pro Football Talk's Charean Williams joined Wednesday's episode of Chargers Weekly to discuss the NFL's frenetic offseason and the Chargers in Anthony Lynn's second season as head coach.
Williams is the recipient of the 2018 Dick McCann Award, which is selected by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA). According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website, the award "is given to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage."
Williams, the first female to win the award, has covered the NFL for 24 years. She spent six seasons covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Orlando Sentinel before moving to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered the Dallas Cowboys for 17 seasons.
Williams joined PFT in 2017. She will be honored during Hall of Fame Weekend in Canton, Ohio this August. Past winners of the McCann Award include NBC's Peter King and ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Listen to the entire interview with Williams by subscribing to Chargers Weekly on Apple Podcasts. Below are a few highlights:
On Coach Lynn, whom Williams covered in Dallas from 2005-06:"Boy, I hope Anthony Lynn can get it done. He's a super guy and I think he's a great football coach. I love what he was able to do last season. I think he established a foundation and taught them how to win, which you have to do first before you can take that next step, and I think they've started on that path. And I think that this is a team that's going to compete for the AFC West title. I really like what they've done in the offseason. I like what he did last year in establishing the culture and putting his program in place, and I think it's going to be a really fun team to watch. And (it's) not going to surprise me at all -- in fact, they're my favorite to win the AFC West this year. I think they're going to get it done and get in the playoffs and be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs."
On Chargers' defense: "It's going to be a fun defense unless you're the opposing quarterback or the opposing offensive coordinator playing against them. They're going to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback with Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram and all those guys up front."
Intriguing storyline entering 2018: "I don't know that we've seen this many big-name quarterbacks change teams in a single season. And so I think it's going to be fun to see how those things play out: how Patrick Mahomes does, how Alex Smith does in Washington, and all these quarterback changes. That to me is the biggest thing, and the thing I'm most excited to watch as we move forward."
