2022 Training Camp Thread

[Boltjolt]

Did NOT prepare ?!? Why NOT?! This is on coaching. 1st game of preseason where DB's don't turn their heads to track the ball - COACHING. No excuse for these. Doesn't help the players confidence knowing the coaches don't teach them right. HEY STALEY! Get your act together man. Don't waste time on a talented team.

SEAN PAYTON wouldn't

One DB didnt turn his head and he is a rookie.
You are taught as a DB besides turning your head, to react to the reciever when the ball is coming.
Its pretty much a feel thing while looking at the recievers body language and as soon as they put their hands up for the ball, you are supposed to try and swat it away , grab an arm whatever to knock it loose, throw your hands out at the recievers.

Some are just not good at this like some WRs arent good at fighting for the ball.
DBs are taught this from High School.

I think its best to turn your head if you can and are in possition to do so and particularly if you suck at the above.

Its maybe his prefered technique and Staley will have to break him of doing it so much. took Jammer a while to break it.

Staley isnt just now teaching these guys this technique, and you will be amazed how a guy got this far by not being good at this but this isnt college anymore. its much tougher in the NFL and the good WRs can bate a DB.

IF they dont learn to turn their head and get in better pissition they wont last long. Not turning your head now will also now get you a PI as well as getting burned.

[Boltjolt]

Dallas planned to win the scrimmage. Chargers didn’t. That’s inexplicable to me and making up excuses for the coaching staff is unfortunate and enabling incompetence.

Dude it's a preseason scrimmage. Defenses are supposed to be vanilla in preseason games. Maybe Dallas is taking things a little too serious ny running stunts?

You guys aren't going to lose your shit if we lose a preseason game are you?

It's pretty funny hearing here, the reporters talking up the Raiders for winning 2 preseason games.

Ravens have won 21 straight.....and haven't done much in the regular season as being dominate. Haven't won a playoff game.

[equivocation]

Lol at film study for practice.

Defenses still havevthe advantage at this point. OL struggling with stunts and twists early is why we practice. It takes reps to get up to game speed processing.

RT position struggling 1v1 is much more concerning.

[Formula 21]

Jerry Tillery had a really good period. He won both of his reps, showing off both power and speed. He matched up with backup interior lineman Braylon Jones on both reps. On the first rep, Tillery burst off the line with a bull rush and drove Jones back eight yards into the quarterback. On the second rep, Tillery ripped to the left and showed some explosiveness to sweep past Jones for a clean win. Tillery has pass-rushing juice. That has never been in doubt. The key for him is showing this level of performance consistently against top competition.

[wu-dai clan]

Observers, from professional pundits to casual Bolt fanatics, scrutinize.

Please put away your eĺectron microscopes.

And work on your ability to read tea leaves...

:coffee:

[dmac_bolt]

I think I heard on GAC that Oday was looking for starter money, not sure what that means but more than vet minimum? Perhaps he felt he had established himself as a viable starter last season before he got hurt…it’s my understanding that the chargers offered him vet minimum to remain with the team as a depth piece this year and he turned it down, I think that’s what the guys on GAC said months ago, but I’m not 100%…maybe I read it somewhere else…

After 5 games? Lol, ok. He’s played 8 or less games in 5 of the last 6 seasons. Give him his due, that OL was 100% better when he was in vs after he went IR. I am looking forward to seeing Pip and Nort this weekend and see where they are. I hope the Boys play their DL starters

[dmac_bolt]

The only season the Chargers ever went to the Super Bowl, they were 0-4 in the pre-season. And that's not some "outlier" event, because winning or losing in the preseason doesn't count for anything.

If you're "playing to win" in the pre-season? You're probably playing your better players to get that done, which means you aren't getting a look at any progress your lesser players might be making, or where they need help.

There have been times the Chargers rolled to a 4-0 record during the pre-season, only to follow with an abysmal regular season. So let's stop pretending that what happens on the field in the pre-season games accurately forecasts the season ahead.

its not a PS game, it’s a fucking scrimmage. I think the idea of planning and playing a TC scrimmage to “win the scrimmage” is one of the least helpful recommendations we have read this off-season. Even worse than mine and I’m an idiot.

besides, i heard the Chargers D fucking dominated the Boys O and press reports are just fake news.

[21&500]

Obviously the OL is going to be an area of concern.

However, now we have an ability to have a sustained running game, and concentrate on chipping @ ORT.

I expect Lombardi to be able to neutralize potent pass rushes.

Not to mention Herbert is still getting better, and will undoubtedly be better at manipulating the pocket and avoiding expected pressure from his right side, making quicker reads etc.
compared to the oline he was working with as a rookie, this oline is the Great Wall of LA. Ha.

[jox g]

It's not the "winning" the scrimmage! It's winning against yourself to better yourself. Coaches improved themselves so that they can coach the players better (to pick up stunts etc...)
Players improve (win within themselves) and play better (turn their heads.) That is true winning (within yourself to better yourself.) It should be an expectation.

[Charge!]

Dude it's a preseason scrimmage. Defenses are supposed to be vanilla in preseason games. Maybe Dallas is taking things a little too serious ny running stunts?

You guys aren't going to lose your shit if we lose a preseason game are you?

It's pretty funny hearing here, the reporters talking up the Raiders for winning 2 preseason games.

Ravens have won 21 straight.....and haven't done much in the regular season as being dominate. Haven't won a playoff game.

yes, its pre season, but if you dont practice how to deal with stunts, etc, then you wont learn till regular season.......

Ravens have not won in playoffs because they have a QB who cannot throw consistently accurately..... wasnt accurate in college and is not accurate in pros..... he is a great runner but not a great QB.... great QB's are great passers.....

winning in pre season is meaningless..... pre-season is for preparing your team for anything that can happen.....and for deciding which players to keep..... it benefits the Chargers greatly if opponenets prepare hard and throw all kinds of wrinkles against us..... seeing new stuff should help our guys make mistakes they can learn from.....

[Xenos]

COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Chargers held their 16th practice of training camp Thursday at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex. It was their second of two joint practices with the Cowboys before the teams’ preseason matchup Saturday night. It was also the Chargers’ final practice at the training camp fields, as the final three practices of camp next week will happen at the team facility down the road.

I watched the Chargers defense against the Cowboys offense Thursday after watching the Chargers offense against the Cowboys defense Wednesday.

Here are my observations, notes and takeaways.


Run defense stands out in 11-on-11
The first-team Chargers defense had a really solid day overall against Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ starting offense. Brandon Staley’s unit protected the deep part of the field well and was largely connected and active in coverage — albeit with CeeDee Lamb sitting out because of injury.

But what really jumped out was how the run defense performed against one of the best offensive lines in football and talented backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. It is clear to me, based on these 16 training camp practices, that the Chargers are going to be much improved against the run. Khalil Mack is a game-changer on the edge. And Sebastian Joseph-Day is a stout, physical presence on the interior. How much better are they going to be? We will find out when they start tackling live in the regular season. The early returns, though, are really positive.

On the first series of 11-on-11, Joseph-Day stuffed Elliott at the line of scrimmage on a run up the middle. In the next period, Joseph-Day tracked down running back Rico Dowdle on a pitch to the left and wrapped him up for no gain. Mack also had a tackle for loss in the second period. The front players were consistently fitting up gaps, and that allowed the linebackers and safeties to attack downhill and play with confidence.

So many times in 2021, the Chargers defensive linemen were knocked off the ball and out of position. That slowed down the linebackers and safeties and made it difficult for them to know where to fit. It appears the Chargers have rectified that with their offseason additions.

Linebacker Drue Tranquill came up with two run stuffs in the first two periods. Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, who rotated in with the first-team defense, also had a stuff on a Pollard run up the middle. And safety Nasir Adderley had a big hit on Dowdle in the hole in the second series for Prescott.

“I saw a front that was playing together,” Staley said after practice. “That’s a good football team over there running the ball. They’ve always been a top rushing team with Zeke and Pollard, but (right guard) Zack Martin and (left tackle) Tyron Smith are two of the best players of a decade. Dalton Schultz is a very quality tight end. (Head coach) Mike McCarthy’s always had a great running football team. … I feel like we were able to stand up to a good running attack and two premier backs in the league.”

The run defense just feels more cohesive. Gaps are hard to find. There were multiple plays when the Chargers combined for run stops by simply plugging gaps and creating a wall along the line of scrimmage. One came in the red-zone period on an Elliott first-down run from the 25-yard line. Later in that same series, the Cowboys handed off on a third-and-goal from inside the 5-yard line, and the Chargers fit up an Elliott run up the middle to stop him short of the end zone.

The Chargers finished 30th last season in run defense DVOA, Football Outsiders’ efficiency metric.

Fixing that was a priority in the offseason. Staley said this run defense is “closer” to what he envisioned when he and general manager Tom Telesco overhauled the front in the spring. Part of that is Derwin James Jr. — who ended his contract hold-in Wednesday when he agreed to a four-year extension — still has not returned to team drills.

“Not there yet,” Staley said. “Gotta get Derwin out there. It will look different when he’s out there, for sure. But the types of players that are out there and the types of fundamentals, most importantly, are more what we’re used to seeing and what we expect to see. And these last two days were a good measuring stick against a really quality running football team, two quality backs.”


OL vs. DL 1-on-1s
The offensive and defensive linemen were the only players to face off in one-on-one drills.

Some notes from the Chargers’ pass rushers against the Cowboys’ offensive linemen.

• Joey Bosa went up against Smith and lost both of his reps. Smith is a freak athlete and one of the best pass protectors in football. This was a really good test for Bosa. On the first rep, Bosa tried to blow past Smith to the outside, but Smith absorbed the initial power move and moved his feet to prevent Bosa from getting past. On the second rep, Bosa tried to cut to the inside, but Smith walled him off.

• Mack had one rep, against right tackle Terence Steele. Mack tested Steele with a straight bull rush and pushed the tackle back, collapsing the pocket. Mack is absurdly powerful, and he has shown that in all of his one-on-one reps in camp. He looks explosive, even as he still works back from a foot injury that kept him out of 10 games last season.

• Morgan Fox went up against Martin, a future Hall of Famer, twice on the interior. Martin dominated him on both reps. It is really fascinating to watch an offensive lineman of that caliber, who is that technically sound, go to work. No wasted movement. Incredible balance. And quick, accurate hand placement.

• Jerry Tillery had a really good period. He won both of his reps, showing off power and speed. He matched up with backup interior lineman Braylon Joneson both reps. On the first rep, Tillery burst off the line with a bull rush and drove Jones back 8 yards into the quarterback. On the second rep, Tillery ripped to the left and showed some explosiveness to sweep past Jones for a clean win. Tillery has pass-rushing juice. That has never been in doubt. The key for him is showing this level of performance consistently against top competition.

• Chris Rumph II had an up-and-down period. He had two reps against backup tackle Josh Ball and one against third-stringer Breiden Fehoko won two of his three reps. The most impressive was a bull rush against first-round pick Tyler Smith. Fehoko hesitated slightly at the snap before powering into Smith and blowing him off the ball. Smith scrambled to recover and ripped Fehoko’s helmet off, which would have been an illegal-hands-to-the-face penalty in a game.

• Otito Ogbonnia was drafted in the fifth round to be a big-bodied run-stuffer, so it is no surprise that he needs to add some polish as a pass rusher. His initial burst is lacking a little bit, and he had a hard time gaining an advantage off the ball in his two reps. But both times, he showed great second effort and was able to create pressure by staying with it and battling.


News and notes
• TE Donald Parham Jr., CB Tevaughn Campbell and edge rusher Emeke Egbule sat out of practice. Edge rusher Ty Shelby, S Mark Webb Jr. and CB Ja’Sir Taylor did not participate in team drills. Taylor and Webb are dealing with soft-tissue injuries, according to Staley. The Chargers kept Taylor out of team drills in the hope he will be ready to play Saturday.

• The only blemish for the first-team defense came on a fourth-and-5 in the red zone. Shultz beat JT Woods badly on an out route, and Prescott found him in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard score.

• Safety Alohi Gilman had a tackle for loss on an Elliott screen in the red zone. Gilman diagnosed the play and broke on Elliott, colliding with him behind the line of scrimmage. Gilman is ahead of Woods on the safety depth chart, and I think he will be the sixth defensive back in dime packages for Week 1, once James is back.

• Tillery had the Chargers’ only sack of the day in 11-on-11 while working with the second team.

• Michael Davis had a pass breakup on a deep shot in 11-on-11. Davis took all the first-team reps at outside corner over Asante Samuel Jr. Davis appears to be distancing himself in that competition.

• Trey Pipkins III and Storm Norton will play in Saturday’s preseason game, according to Staley. When asked where the competition for right tackle stands, Staley said: “My evaluation is they are both much better football players than they were last season. That is a fact. And then where it lies in terms of the order, we’re not there yet to make a decision. So they’re going to play in this football game, and we’re going to continue to evaluate it until we feel like we’re ready. But I will tell you that both of them are improved football players, and I’m really proud of the way they’ve improved.”

• On the final play of practice, in the two-minute drill, Prescott completed a 50-yard Hail Mary to rookie receiver Dennis Houston, who jumped over Samuel and safety Raheem Layne to make the catch. That was against the Chargers’ second-team defense. The first-team defense successfully defended its two-minute drill on the previous series. Time ran out on Prescott. Bryce Callahanhad a pass breakup. And J.C. Jackson made a tackle in bounds on the final play of the drive to keep the clock running after a Brandon Smith reception.

[wu-dai clan]

I do believe we are gonna suffocate people.
This defense is gonna be fun.