2022 Training Camp Thread

[Velo]

I’m not sure what’s going on with this WR stuff, it’s really baffling. It HAD been, “get rid of mike wiliams now!” but then mike had a nice year when asked to do more and now it’s turning towards keenan? The country sees one of the best WR duos in the NFL, many charger fans on forums see a pile of shit, what gives?

It’s kind of ironic that some people nationally discredit Herbert’s greatness because the perception is he landed in such a great receiving situation for a young QB. I know they’re not right and that herbert is a sensational talent all on his own too. but let’s be honest, the WRs are top shelf too and he’s not offensive rookie of the year in 2020 or putting up top 2021 numbers without keenan and MW. I don’t understand why our people are so critical of our WRs, it must have something to do with analytics or some such thing…

now that palmer is showing he’s going to be legit and with guyton (one of my favorites) doing his unselfish thing, Plus hearing carter might be a find, we might have one of the top receiving corps in the league. AND no cry babies “I need more targets!” Stomping my feet throwing tantrum types either…

I chalk it up to the grass is always greener syndrome, when it comes to Bolts fans not respecting the talent of our WRs. They see the flash of a JaMarr Chase or Deebo Samuel and they want one of those guys, they want to see Herbert throwing to a guy like that. They don't respect KA because he's not a burner or a big YAC guy. Neither is Williams. But both are elite at what they do, and together they are among the most formidable duos in the league. With an emerging Palmer at No. 3 and proven talent in Guyton and Carter at the bottom of the depth chart, I say it's the deepest WR corps in the league.

And yes, I get Bills fans telling me the reason Josh Allen was not nearly as good as Herbert in his first two seasons is because Herbert came into a situation with good receivers while Allen's receivers in his first two seasons were crap. That may be true to some extent, but that is not the reason Herbert excelled and Allen struggled as rookies and sophomores. The reason is Herbert is the superior talent as a passer.

[Velo]

Been taking a break and getting into my Padres. I wanted an injury update....and Staley covers it all so transparently. Good to hear maybe Parhan next week.

Are the Pads legit this year? They always disappoint.

[blueman]

I chalk it up to the grass is always greener syndrome, when it comes to Bolts fans not respecting the talent of our WRs. They see the flash of a JaMarr Chase or Deebo Samuel and they want one of those guys, they want to see Herbert throwing to a guy like that. They don't respect KA because he's not a burner or a big YAC guy. Neither is Williams. But both are elite at what they do, and together they are among the most formidable duos in the league. With an emerging Palmer at No. 3 and proven talent in Guyton and Carter at the bottom of the depth chart, I say it's the deepest WR corps in the league.

And yes, I get Bills fans telling me the reason Josh Allen was not nearly as good as Herbert in his first two seasons is because Herbert came into a situation with good receivers while Allen's receivers in his first two seasons were crap. That may be true to some extent, but that is not the reason Herbert excelled and Allen struggled as rookies and sophomores. The reason is Herbert is the superior talent as a passer.

Grass is greener?? Not dropsies?

Our WRs are good.

[Velo]

Grass is greener?? Not dropsies?

Our WRs are good.

I suppose you would rather have Ja'Marr Chase.

[wu-dai clan]

Lance Alworth made the HOF and guess what? He mostly caught with his body. And, he seldom dropped one.

Alworth's play style was really something to behold.

[blueman]

I suppose you would rather have Ja'Marr Chase.

Nope. I’m very fine with who we got 1-3. And Carter might be a steal.

[wu-dai clan]

We do have one of the top WR corps, just not THE best. Top 6-7 anyways. I've seen it ranked anywhere from 3rd to 8th.
Don't really matter though. It's a good group overall.
I think Everette is average but at this point an upgrade to Cook.

Bucky Brooks has us at #1.
Can't argue with Bucky.

[Xenos]

Yesterday’s report:

COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Chargers held their 10th practice of training camp Sunday evening at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex.

It was an intrasquad scrimmage, and the Chargers went through live reps for the first time this camp, meaning yardage gains, downs and distances were measured and tracked as they would be in a real game. The Chargers were not tackling, so ball carriers were whistled down when they were tagged by a defender.

Here are my observations.


Recapping the action
Justin Herbert and the first-team offense were up first. The drive started from their own 30-yard line.

Trey Pipkins III was in at right tackle for this opening series. He and Norton rotated with the first team, as they have throughout camp. Pipkins got the first series, Norton got the second, Pipkins got the third, so forth and so on. It was Pipkins’ turn to get the first reps, as Norton was in first in Saturday’s practice. They have been rotating who gets the first reps from practice to practice, as well.

On defense, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson started on the interior. Khalil Mackand Joey Bosa were at edge rusher. With four inside linebackers sitting out — Kenneth Murray Jr., Drue Tranquill, Kyle Van Noy and Nick Niemann — Troy Reeder and Amen Ogbongbemiga were the starters at that position. J.C. Jackson and Asante Samuel Jr.were at outside corner. Bryce Callahan was in the slot. And Nasir Adderley and Alohi Gilman were the split safeties.

The first-team offense looked crisp from the opening play, and that continued for the rest of practice. Herbert found tight end Gerald Everett in the flat off play action to begin the drive. Two Austin Ekeler runs and a completion underneath to tight end Hunter Kampmoyer moved the offense to midfield. Herbert then connected with Joshua Palmer on a crossing route off play action, with Ogbongbemiga in coverage. A Joshua Kelleydrop on a check down and an Everett catch on a shallow curl set up third down. Mike Williams beat Samuel on an out route to move the chains.

The drive then stalled. Herbert threw to Kelley in the flat and Adderley read the play perfectly, closing on Kelley and stopping him for no gain. Mack, who was very active in the scrimmage, had a tackle for loss on an Ekeler pitch. Herbert completed to Keenan Allen on third down, but he came up just short. On fourth-and-short, the Chargers brought on the field goal team. Dustin Hopkins’ kick from 33 yards was good.

Chase Daniel then took over with the second-team offense. The offensive line from left to right: LT Zack Bailey, LG Brenden Jaimes, C Will Clapp, RG Jamaree Salyer, RT Norton. On defense, Christian Covington and Otito Ogbonnia started on the interior. Emeke Egbule and Chris Rumph II were at edge rusher. Cole Christiansen and Damon Lloydwere the inside linebackers. Michael Davis and Deane Leonard were at outside corner. Ja’Sir Taylor was in the slot, and JT Woods and Raheem Layne were at safety.

Daniel completed his first three passes. Joe Reed beat Leonard on an out route. Kampmoyer caught a pass in the flat and outran Davis to the edge for a first down. And DeAndre Carter made a diving catch over the middle off play action. The Carter reception moved the offense into opposing territory.

After Breiden Fehoko stuffed an Isaiah Spillerrun up the middle, Carter made another catch, this time beating Leonard on a slant. The run defense stepped up again when Ogbonnia stuffed a Larry Rountree III pitch. Daniel kept the drive alive, though, when he connected with tight end Sage Surratt down the seam with an accurate ball.

The drive ended when linebacker Damon Lloyd shot through a gap on third-and-short and dropped Spiller for a tackle for loss. The run defense was excellent on this drive.

“He’s one of these guys that is a great story, scrapping and clawing and trying to make his way in this league,” Staley said of Lloyd, who is having a great camp. “I know that we enjoy coaching him. He’s made a good impression on us.”

Rookie kicker James McCourt capped off the drive with a 26-yard field goal.

After a field goal period, Herbert was back up with the first-team offense. This drive started from the minus-40 and lasted 13 plays. Ekeler kicked off the drive with an impressive one-handed catch in the flat. Ekeler chipped Mack in pass protection before darting out on his route. Mack responded with a tackle for loss on an Ekeler run, his second of the practice.

“Khalil made a bunch of plays tonight,” Staley said.

Back-to-back catches from Williams — one against Samuel and one against J.C. Jackson — moved the offense into opposing territory. Herbert then hit Kelley in the flat and Palmer on a slant (against Jackson) to create the offense’s first red zone opportunity of the practice.

Rumph and defensive lineman Jerry Tillery put the offense behind the sticks when they combined for a sack on first down. But Herbert was able to get the yards back when he found a wide-open Zander Horvath underneath, and the speedy fullback scampered for a big gain. That set up a third-and-short, and Ekeler made another outstanding catch on a wheel route, nearly scoring on the play. The offense then stalled in a goal-to-go situation. Rumph had a tackle for a loss on an Ekeler run. Kelley was stopped short on a catch in the flat. And Everett made a diving catch in the end zone but could not get both feet down in bounds. Hopkins hit a 24-yarder to cap the drive.

Easton Stick was up next and got two consecutive drives. The first series ended after seven plays, and McCourt missed from 48 yards, hitting the right upright. The highlight play from this drive was an off-script throw from Stick. The fourth-year quarterback escaped to his left before floating a pass down the sideline to Spiller. Spiller had initially ran a route to the flat, but he pivoted upfield when the play broke down. The rookie running back made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, beating edge rusher Jamal Davis II.

On the second drive, Stick and the second-team offense were only able to gain 10 yards. Nine of them came from a contested catch over the middle by Surratt. The drive ended when two straight passes deflected off Kampmoyer’s hands. The first one was a bad throw by Stick.

The offense finally got in the end zone on Herbert’s next drive, which also started from the minus-40. The drive began poorly when Herbert was forced to throw away because of pressure from Mack. But Herbert completed his next two passes, including a 20-yard completion to Allen on a deep over route. Later, Herbert delivered his best throw of the practice on a seam ball to Carter, who was whistled down just short of the goal line. (I thought it was a touchdown, for what it is worth.) Ekeler scored two plays later on a catch in the flat off play action.

Daniel and the second-team offense matched. Early on, they were backed up because of a holding call on a Rountree run. But they battled back. Daniel connected with Maurice Ffrench on an out route before Kelley broke off an explosive run on a shotgun handoff. The offensive line opened up a massive hole, and Kelley hit it with authority.

“He’s just become a more complete back,” Staley said of Kelley. “Physically, he really has come in in outstanding shape. I think he’s much stronger, much more compact.”

Tevaughn Campbell then broke up a pass intended for Reed to set up a fourth-and-short. Reed responded with a contested catch. Rookie corner Brandon Sebastian drove on the throw, but Reed showed strong hands and good body control on the play.

Two plays later came one of the highlights of the practice. Rookie receiver Trevon Bradfordbeat Campbell on a go route. Daniel threw a beautiful ball into the end zone. Bradford laid out and hauled in the touchdown grab. The offensive players went nuts. Daniel sprinted to Bradford and gave him an enthusiastic headbutt. Allen ran over from the sideline and jumped on Bradford.

The touchdown catch did not save Bradford from his rookie duties, though. After practice, he carried Allen’s, Williams’ and Carter’s pads to the bus. Bradford still had his helmet on, but you could see his smile beaming through the facemask.

Next up was a red zone move-the-ball period. Offensive drives started from the plus-15.

Herbert completed his first two passes — one to Everett in the flat, and one to Allen in the middle — to set up a first-and-goal. Then things got a little chippy. Kelley took a handoff up the middle and was stopped short by Joseph-Day. Rookie guard Zion Johnson kept blocking Joseph-Day through the whistle, and the two had some words for each other after the play. Nothing too heated. Just normal banter and intensity after two weeks of training camp practices.

“You have to set the rookies straight sometimes,” Bosa, who was on the field at the time, quipped after practice.

Joseph-Day was flagged on the play, and that gave the offense a fresh set of downs from near the goal line. Adderley had a tackle for loss before Herbert threw incomplete looking for Everett. The offense then scored when Herbert went back to Everett down the seam for a 3-yard touchdown.

Stick led the second-team offense in the red zone, and the group had to settle for a 20-yard McCourt field goal. One play in particular jumped out on this series. The offense was at the 5-yard line. Stick rolled out to his right on a play-action boot and was looking for Rountree in the flat. Stick had faked the handoff to Rountree. But Woods read the play and was in tight coverage on Rountree. Stick was forced to throw it away. A positive sign for Woods, who the Chargers drafted in the third round in April.

Herbert’s final drive of the day was in the two-minute drill. The offense started at their own 30-yard line with 1:15 on the clock, needing a field goal to win. After throwing incomplete on first down, Herbert escaped the pocket to his right on the next play and surged down the sideline for a 36-yard scramble. That moved the Chargers into field goal range. Herbert completed one more pass to Carter before Hopkins came on a connected from 49 yards.

Daniel and Stick both got turns in the two-minute drill.

Daniel dinked and dunked his way into field goal range, hitting Jalen Guyton, Kampmoyer, Bandy, Erik Krommenhoek and Rountree on shallow routes. After an offensive timeout with 13.6 seconds left, Daniel attempted to hit Carter over the middle. The throw was off target. Carter dove, and his helmet collided with Campbell’s knee. Campbell was down for a couple of minutes but eventually walked off with trainers. McCourt drilled his 51-yard attempt on the next snap.

Stick completed passes to Bandy, Krommenhoek, Reed and Surratt on his drive. He also scrambled for a first on a third down. McCourt was good from 47 yards to cap it off.

After a simulated halftime, the third-team players got a chance for some reps. Leddie Brown and Kevin Marks Jr. worked in at running back. Stick took all 11 of these reps.


News and notes
• Derwin James Jr. sat out his 10th straight practice because of contract negotiations. Said Staley: “A huge part of me wishes that he was out here. It would make everybody a lot better. But this is just part of the process. This is a big thing for him and we’re working through it, and we’ve done a really good job, as an organization and with his team, of working through it together. I can’t imagine it going any better. Things are going really well. We’ll make sure that we let you know when something happens.”

• Players who did not practice because of injuries: TE Donald Parham Jr., Van Noy, Tranquill, Niemann, TE Tre’ McKitty, WR Jason Moore Jr., S Mark Webb Jr., OL Andrew Trainer. Staley said Parham has a hamstring injury and will likely miss the next week of practice. Trainer’s injury is more serious and it does not sound like he will be back any time soon.

[electricgold]

Nope. I’m very fine with who we got 1-3. And Carter might be a steal.

DeAndre Carter may be our #3 WR when its all said and done, and I could for sure see him playing a big role in each game making big plays Herbert has developed a good chemistry with this WR! Everyone is seeing it.
When Drewin finally joins the team, the D really goes up a notch. James is usually involved in most the plays one way or another and I can't wait to have him in these games that count!
I'm also willing to give Joshua Kelley one last chance with the hope he could be a good RB on this team. But if he doesn't bring it in these preseason games, I think its time to move on.

[Fouts2herbert]

I chalk it up to the grass is always greener syndrome, when it comes to Bolts fans not respecting the talent of our WRs. They see the flash of a JaMarr Chase or Deebo Samuel and they want one of those guys, they want to see Herbert throwing to a guy like that. They don't respect KA because he's not a burner or a big YAC guy. Neither is Williams. But both are elite at what they do, and together they are among the most formidable duos in the league. With an emerging Palmer at No. 3 and proven talent in Guyton and Carter at the bottom of the depth chart, I say it's the deepest WR corps in the league.

And yes, I get Bills fans telling me the reason Josh Allen was not nearly as good as Herbert in his first two seasons is because Herbert came into a situation with good receivers while Allen's receivers in his first two seasons were crap. That may be true to some extent, but that is not the reason Herbert excelled and Allen struggled as rookies and sophomores. The reason is Herbert is the superior talent as a passer.

We have top of the line elite guys at 5-6 positions already including herbert, mack, bosa, linsley, slater, jc jackson, derwin james etc…the whole team can’t be filled with those types of guys. It’s okay to have some high second tier guys like joseph-day, Fieler, MW, KA, ekeler, austin johnson,…too

I’d bet more than 2/3s of the league’s teams wish they had our receivers…

[sonorajim]

We have top of the line elite guys at 5-6 positions already including herbert, mack, bosa, linsley, slater, jc jackson, derwin james etc…the whole team can’t be filled with those types of guys. It’s okay to have some high second tier guys like joseph-day, Fieler, MW, KA, ekeler, austin johnson,…too

I’d bet more than 2/3s of the league’s teams wish they had our receivers…

What do you have to do to be top tier? Bash & AJ are top ten run defenders, MW, KA top 15 in NFL.Ek is #1 RB receiver, 13th NFL rushing yards, 20 TDs.(tied for 1st)

[Velo]

Bucky Brooks has us at #1.
Can't argue with Bucky.

I knew it wouldn’t be long that pundits started to see what I see in our WR corps. It’s not about the top 2-3 guys. It’s the depth below them that makes the Chargers, top to bottom, the deepest group in the league. DeAndre Carter’s showing in camp reinforces what I’ve been saying about this group - all of them are proven NFL talent, and WRs 1-3 are guys who are ascending, reaching their prime.