2021 Official Chargers Season Discusssion

[like54ninjas]

[CivilBolt]

DJ looks like in great shape. He probably can’t wait to knock somebody out.

[MagicMamba88]

[like54ninjas]

[like54ninjas]

[Formula 21]

I like the part about starting fast. Maybe the Bolts won’t use September as preseason this year.

[Fleet]

Awesome thanks for the updates guys.

[21&500]

Don’t quite understand the modifications to OTAs
but glad they’re adjusting to TRY to stay healthy
loving it actually

[MagicMamba88]

[like54ninjas]

[CivilBolt]

I’m happy JH got his ‘flow’ back. Hopefully he keeps it from now on.

[Xenos]

Popper’s breakdown:

https://theathletic.com/2611052/2021/05/24/takeaways-from-day-1-of-chargers-otas-derwin-james-returns/?amp#click=https://t.co/BsgESlIaKr

The Chargers held their first OTA practice of the spring Monday at the facility in Costa Mesa. This marked the beginning of Phase 3, which will include nine OTAs — all voluntary — and a mandatory two-day minicamp June 15-16.

Here are my takeaways.

Derwin James returns
Chargers safety Derwin James was back on the practice field Monday for the first time since he suffered a torn meniscus in training camp last summer. James was medically cleared for full participation Saturday, nearly nine months after the injury.

“It felt amazing today,” James said.

James went through individual drills before lining up alongside Nasir Adderley at safety for 11-on-11. The Chargers are running all team drills at walk-through speed during OTAs, so there was not a ton to glean in terms of physical condition. But James looked healthy and fluid.

“I feel a lot stronger and more stable,” James said. “I’m ready.”

James will have a chance to showcase his versatility in new head coach Brandon Staley’s defense. He will be moving all over the field. Staley has referred to James as a “chess piece,” and the former All-Pro will operate like the queen. He can move in any direction and wear any hat. Sometimes he will be close to the line of scrimmage. Sometimes he will be in the slot. Sometimes he will play more of a linebacker role. And sometimes he will man the deep part of the field.

We got a glimpse of that in Monday’s practice. On several occasions, James rotated as the deep-field safety — something he rarely did as the strong safety in former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s scheme. Staley’s scheme will feature a lot more disguise and positional flexibility, particularly in the secondary, which will help to take advantage of the full breadth of James’ skill set.

“I can do it,” James said of playing the deep part of the field. “I’m a football player at the end of the day. You can move me around anywhere.”

Adderley, meanwhile, played the free safety role in Bradley’s scheme, manning the deep area of the field as a single-high safety. He was the last line of defense against the run and pass. Staley, though, utilizes more two-high safety shells in his 3-4 defense. That means instead of a strong safety lining up in the box and a free safety lining up deep, the two safeties will most often line up at similar depths, splitting the field in half. The two safety positions are much less defined. Both must be capable in deep areas.

The Chargers will rotate to different looks and coverages out of that two-high shell. But the initial alignment should be pretty consistent, and we saw that Monday with Adderley lining up in one half and James lining up in the other.

Adderley was a second-round pick in 2019 largely because of his excellent ball skills and deep-field awareness. But he is also a very versatile player. He can defend the slot and even played some corner in college at Delaware. Between Adderley and James, Staley believes he has two safeties with positional flexibility who can operate comfortably in the deep part of the field. Those attributes will be key as he installs his scheme.

“We’re really excited about them as a tandem,” Staley said. “They both have a lot of DB characteristics, meaning they can play a lot of different places. And so that gives you a lot of flexibility from a matchup standpoint, from a personnel grouping standpoint. And then they’re both really good communicators.

“They can see in a deep part of the field. You guys are going to hear us talk about that. And we really value that — people that can see in the deep part of the field, people that can see the quarterback (through their peripheral vision), the formation and the routes as they express themselves, we really value that, and they both can do that. So we just feel like those guys are going to continue to grow with their relationship.”

Adderley and James have not spent much time on the field together, mostly because of injuries. In 2019, Adderley, then a rookie, was nursing a hamstring injury in the spring and summer before James sustained a stress fracture in his foot that forced him to miss the first 12 weeks of the season. Last year, Adderley was second on the depth chart behind Rayshawn Jenkins before James hurt his knee.

Building an on-field rapport over the next few months will be crucial for James and Adderley.


Collaborative culture already taking shape
After conferring with the player leaders on his team, Staley decided that the Chargers will not be holding any competitive one-on-one or team drills during OTAs.

Individual drills, when players are working on their technique and fundamentals against air or sleds or bags, will be full speed. Same with any workouts with the Chargers’ sports performance staff — lifting, agility work, etc. But all 11-on-11 drills, when the Chargers are calling and running actual plays in practice, will be at a walk-through pace.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, teams are allowed to hold full-speed 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven drills during OTAs as long as there is no live contact. Staley, though, felt it was important to listen to his players and create a spring program that made player safety the top priority.

“If you want to be a relationship-oriented team, then you got to put your money where your mouth is,” Staley said. “We wanted to engage (the players) fully in the process.”

“When you listen to the players,” Staley added, “the big thing that the players have a real issue with is 11-on-11 with no pads and competitive one-on-ones with no pads and the risk that it puts them in. It compromises them from a player safety standpoint. So we felt like coming into this spot that we could really show our model as one that hopefully people can follow throughout the NFL, which is, hey, when we’re in individual and we’re with our sports performance staff, we’re going full speed. We’re working at our craft because that’s what players do. … But then we want to avoid all those possibilities in one-on-one and competitive 11-on-11. So we’ve eliminated that. All of our 11-on-11 is pure walk-through. And what we’re trying to do is create that same game-like mental intensity, play a game, but without doing so physically. Our guys’ health is at the center of everything we’re doing.”

Staley said the Chargers were able to run 65 plays over two 20-minute 11-on-11 periods — around the number of plays in an NFL game. They also held two special-teams periods.

Staley and the coaching staff compromising with the players likely contributed to the solid attendance. Only 14 of the 82 rostered players were not present at Monday’s voluntary OTA, based on my unofficial count at practice. Among the veterans not in attendance: Austin Ekeler, Chris Harris, Joey Bosa, Justin Jones, Bryan Bulaga, Oday Aboushi, Matt Feiler, Linval Joseph and Jerry Tillery. Corey Linsley was not present for personal reasons.


Other notes
• Kenneth Murray and Drue Tranquill lined up as the starting inside linebackers in base. Kyzir White also rotated in at inside linebacker. Tranquill was back on the practice field for the first time since breaking his ankle in Week 1 of the 2020 season.

• With Bosa not in attendance — which is standard operating procedure for the perennial All-Pro during OTAs — Uchenna Nwosu and Kyler Fackrell were the starting edge rushers.

• Staley split his practice into two fields. Justin Herbert ran the starting offense, with Chase Daniel looking on. Easton Stick ran the other offense.

• With a number of offensive linemen missing, Trey Pipkins worked in at right tackle with the first-team group. Rookie Rashawn Slater was at left tackle.

• Seventh-round pick Mark Webb was lining up at safety on the second field, alongside Alohi Gilman.

• Three Chargers draft picks have yet to sign their rookie deals: Slater, WR Josh Palmer and TE Tre’ McKitty.