2021 Official Chargers Season Discusssion

[Tol]

OK...I give. Why is Tyrone Johnson being referred to as T Billy...I must have missed that nickname's origin...

Been wondering myself.

From what I can gather, his twitter handle is T.Bill$, his older brother Elie Billy was killed in 2010, and his parents are Carlene Billy and Tyrone Johnson.

Article Link

[Xenos]

The news there is CHJR playing a lot of Safety. Very interesting.

Interesting indeed. This may be one way to save him. Kind of like what the Raiders did for Charles Woodson.

[Xenos]

[sonorajim]

The news there is CHJR playing a lot of Safety. Very interesting.

It adds to his & Staley's tool kit. I was also impressed that 4 guys are cross training at DJ's job....including Oggie.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

Interesting indeed. This may be one way to save him. Kind of like what the Raiders did for Charles Woodson.

That works for some, but not others. Just ask Quentin Jammer.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

Executing & producing positively on 1st and 2nd down is a novel approach for us. I hope to see tons of it this season.

Move. The. Chains.

Time of Possession.

Keep opposing offenses on the sidelines.

So much of the Bolts' success here will hinge on getting significantly more yardage on 1st and 2nd downs than they did in 2020.

Dubious philosophy, and even more so in hindsight: Anthony Lynn persisted in running the ball on early downs, behind a <disparaging adjective of choice> O-line, and consequently the team ended up in 3rd and Long situations depressingly often.

[Topcat]

Kyzir with a big day with 1 INT, 2 PBU, and producing stops.
Facyson had a good day.
T-Billy keeps making plays.
Guyton and Hill had multiple drops and Hill with several mental mistakes.
Cook is a beast receiving TE.
Parham with redzone TD.
Creativity with TE packages, alignments, and route concepts.
Lots of formations, motion, alignments, and pace on O.
Jason Moore had a good day with the 2s.
Covington rotating in with the ones.
Samuel playing slot with the 1s, outside with the 2s.
CHJR playing alot of safety.

If Guyton keeps dropping the rock, he could end up being a surprise cut...I was concerned about his butterfingers last season, and looks like he's not making much progress...

Hill--first he had issues last season returning punts, only averaging 6.9 yds. per punt...replaced by Adderley who fared much better...now Hill with the mental mistakes...he could end up being the easy cut...

[Topcat]

Move. The. Chains.

Time of Possession.

Keep opposing offenses on the sidelines.

So much of the Bolts' success here will hinge on getting significantly more yardage on 1st and 2nd downs than they did in 2020.

Dubious philosophy, and even more so in hindsight: Anthony Lynn persisted in running the ball on early downs, behind a <disparaging adjective of choice> O-line, and consequently the team ended up in 3rd and Long situations depressingly often.

Lynn was so predictable...I'm hopeful Staley will be UNpredictable...

[Xenos]

Day 3 notes. Harris may be past his prime but he sure has a wealth of knowledge to share.
https://theathletic.com/2742904/2021...red-zone-work/

COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Chargers held their third practice of training camp Friday morning at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex.
Here are my observations.


Red zone work
The Chargers ran team drills — both seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 — in the red zone for the first time in camp. This was also the first time they practiced third downs.

They started with seven-on-seven, and on the first play, Justin Herbert hit tight end Donald Parham down the seam for a touchdown. Linebacker Kenneth Murray was caught flat-footed in coverage. Brandon Facyson, Chris Harris Jr. and Michael Davis were the three corners on the field to begin the series for the defense.

On the next series, safety Nasir Adderley got pressure on Herbert off the edge, and cornerback Michael Davis broke up a pass intended for Jalen Guyton on an out route. Later, Herbert hit tight end Jared Cook for a touchdown on a jump ball. Safety Alohi Gilman was in coverage. Cook’s athleticism, strong hands and large catch radius were on display on this play. He and Parham are both going to be weapons in the red zone this season.

Backup quarterback Chase Daniel was up next. He connected with wide receiver Jason Moore on a slant route for a touchdown. This was a very accurate and well-timed throw from Daniel.

Easton Stick went third and completed a touchdown to wide receiver Austin Proehl on a slant route.

The 11-on-11 red zone period came later in practice. The defense prevented Herbert and the first-team offense from scoring on both series. The first ended when Herbert attempted to find Austin Ekeler on a wheel route down the left sideline. Linebacker Drue Tranquill was in tight coverage as the pass sailed incomplete. Tranquill made contact with Ekeler as the ball was in the air, and this could have been called pass interference, but the referees did not throw a flag.

On the next series, Parham dropped a sure-fire touchdown off play action. He slipped behind the defense and was wide open in the back of the end zone. On the next play, Tranquill got home for a sack. After Stick failed to score with his unit, Daniel ended practice by escaping pressure, rolling to his right and completing a throw on the run to Proehl in the front corner of the end zone. Proehl did an excellent job of working back to the quarterback after the play broke down.


Chris Harris at safety
Harris said that he is playing three positions in coach Brandon Staley’s new defense, including one he hasn’t played since he was a rookie with the Broncos in 2011: safety.

Harris is primarily playing nickel corner and outside corner, the two places where he has spent most of his career. But in certain packages, he said he is moving deep to safety, with Derwin James moving closer to the line of scrimmage as the Chargers nickel — or Star, as Staley calls it — defender. This is effectively the Chargers’ big nickel package, and Harris said James is playing a safety-linebacker hybrid role in these packages.

“It’s new to me,” Harris said. “But it’s been fun.”

This all goes back to a trend we have been discussing all spring. Staley wants to give opposing offenses as many looks as possible to try and confuse opposing quarterbacks. And Harris is one of those versatile pieces that he can move around to create that confusion.

“It’s going to be hard for teams to identify what we’re doing,” Harris said. “One down, I might be in the slot. The next down, I might be at left corner, or right corner. You never know where I’m going to be at. You never know where Derwin’s going to be at.”

Harris is a nickel specialist, so he is helping James learn that position. James played a similar role in college, but he was almost exclusively a safety when he was on the field in Gus Bradley’s defense.

“That’s really where I’m coaching him up,” Harris said of playing nickel. “It just adds more speed, and we can play the run and also play the pass very good in those packages.”

Staley added that Harris is like “another defensive coordinator” on the field.

“This guy thinks like a coach,” Staley said.


Kyzir White flashes
White had one of the defensive plays of the day Thursday in seven-on-seven when he corralled Cook on a short stop route over the middle and held him to a 2-yard gain. On Friday, he had the clear defensive play of the day when he jumped a Stick throw to the sideline and returned it for a pick-six. He also added a pass breakup in 11-on-11.

Staley is really intrigued by White’s skill set, particularly his background as a safety in college.

“The way the NFL game is now, you need guys that can run in the second level,” Staley said. “The way he plays, he can move like a safety. But he hits like a linebacker. So he has that contact ability like a linebacker, but he has that movement ability, like a DB.”

White, Murray and Tranquill have all been rotating as inside linebackers with the first-team defense.


Relentless teaching
During the first special-teams period of practice, after individual drills, I spent a few minutes looking around to various areas of the field to see what the position coaches were doing. And it was really fascinating to see that each coach, to a man, was spending this time teaching their players. Sometimes during special-teams periods, players and coaches not involved might be milling about. But not with Staley’s staff.

Outside linebackers coach Jay Rodgers was having a one-on-one chat with Joey Bosa on the far field, demonstrating techniques. Shane Day was preaching to all three quarterbacks. Frank Smith was actively coaching all the offensive linemen. It is clear that all these coaches not only want to teach football, but love to teach football. That love of teaching was the single most important prerequisite as Staley put together his staff in the winter, and it’s showing.

“It’s exciting,” Staley said. “It gives me a lot of confidence. I have a lot of pride in our coaches. When I walk around and I see a drill being executed, I know that there was a lot of purpose in that planning. I know it’s been explained very well. And when I see the players go perform, whether they do it perfectly or there is something to learn from, I know that it’s helping us get one step closer to where we need to be. And I think when you are a teacher, what your players know is that you are here for them, and I think that’s important — when you’re out on the field, that everything we’re doing is engineering them to be as good as they can be. So how we do things on the field as coaches is going to directly impact our players’ success. I take a lot of pride in it. That’s why we hired all these different guys.”


News and notes
• Staley confirmed that James has been the “primary” defensive player relaying calls in the huddle on defense. James has a green dot on his helmet. Tranquill also has a green dot on his helmet and is spending time relaying calls in the huddle when he is on the field. James is in every package, though, so he makes more sense as the full-time huddle signal-caller. Staley said linebackers Cole Christiansen and Amen Ogbongbemiga have been relaying the calls with the third-team defense. “It’s by design,” Staley said, “because you just never know what it’s going to be like if you lose a guy to injury. So we want to make sure that we have guys trained.”

• CB Ryan Smith sat out of practice for the second straight day. Staley said Smith is dealing with a lower-body issue, but it is “nothing of concern.” The Chargers are just being cautious. The hope is that Smith will return Monday after the off day for the first padded practice of training camp.

• The special teams period focused on kickoff coverage. The first-team group was: Adderley, Facyson, LB Emeke Egbule, FB Gabe Nabers, CB Tevaughn Campbell, RB Joshua Kelley, OLB Kyler Fackrell, OLB Chris Rumph, CB Kemon Hall, WR Joe Reed and K Tristan Vizcaino. Smith, a special teams ace, would likely be in there in place of Campbell if he was healthy.

• C Corey Linsley returned to team drills Friday after sitting them out on Thursday because he was “under the weather,” as OC Joe Lombardi described it.

• The Chargers skill players struggled with drops. I counted six in total in team drills: WR Mike Williams, WR K.J. Hill, Parham, RB Justin Jackson, RB Darius Bradwell and TE Matt Sokol. Sokol was wide open down the seam in 11-on-11 and dropped what would have been a 25-yard gain.

• Herbert showed off his outrageous arm strength during 11-on-11. Uchenna Nwosu got home for a clear sack. But the play went on, and Herbert moved up in the pocket around Nwosu. He then unleashed a 70-yard bomb while still running forward and completed it to Tyron Johnson for a touchdown. Facyson was in coverage. It did not count. The defense won the rep. But still, Herbert’s arm is ridiculous.

• The Chargers defense totaled five sacks in team drills. James had one on a blitz. Nwosu had two. And Tranquill had two.

• Rookie OL Brenden Jaimes has been working primarily at right guard with the third-team offense.

• Rookie CB Asante Samuel Jr. continues to get the bulk of his work defending the slot as an inside corner. “He’s going to play outside plenty whether we’re in four DBs or five or six,” Staley said. “But we’re trying to cross-train him inside so that you’re putting your best combination out there. The fact that ‘Sant has that type of skill set just increases our ability to flexible, multiple.”

• Staley brought up two points on his practice structure that I thought were rather interesting. First, he implements his special teams periods at specific points to try and mimic a game. So the Chargers have their first special teams period after individual drills, like how a kickoff starts a game. Then they go into team drills. Then they stop for another special teams period before going into another set of team drills, like a punt or kickoff in between possessions. Second, Staley does not allow any coaches on the actual field during team drills. He has them stand on the sideline to try and create a game-like atmosphere. “I want these guys to feel like they do in the game,” Staley said. “You got to solve your problems out there.” The level of detail from Staley is pretty astounding.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

Lynn was so predictable...I'm hopeful Staley will be UNpredictable...

Even then, he'll be predictable in his unpredictability.

"I just *knew* he was going to call for a fake punt in that situation!" lol

[like54ninjas]

Day 3 notes. Harris may be past his prime but he sure has a wealth of knowledge to share.
https://theathletic.com/2742904/2021...red-zone-work/

Getting multiple reports saying the same things are very encouraging.
Staley seems to have a fairly smooth operating machine only a few days into TC.
WR5 = Joe Reed / WR6 = Austin Proehl? Does ST value make the difference?

[Velo]

Herbert is doing superhuman things. He looks normal but he is not human.