2022 Training Camp Thread

[sonorajim]

What are the current thoughts on Kelley vs Spiller ?

I am still leaning Kelley.

Preseason.

[blueman]

Preseason.

Whichever hits the damn hole.

[Pat_Swindle]

It's weird, part of me does not wanna trust Josh Kelley and see him as a below average back like he's been. The other part of me wants to believe that he had it all along, he just needed the time and coaching to get there. Apparently he's outperforming Isaiah Spiller. Do I jump on the early Josh Kelley wagon?

[21&500]

Kelley has always flashed, so all this reported "improvement" is believable.
wts ya it's preseason
We're in a no-lose situation
give Kelley a legitimate shot at being number 2 while developing Spiller.
one if not both of these guys will be able to produce as the number 2 rb
My feeling is that Spiller will eventually turn into a bell cow as Ekeler transitions into more of a number 2 back/receiving back later in his career.

[Heatmiser]

#9 gets healthy, picks up where he left off last year. Not much. Gotta save face TT. Oh wait, he magically puts up first year numbers by mid season, but then gets put on IR. He eventually gets let go. TT loved him as a superior physical specimen when drafted. The guy is a total fail, all the way to the bank. I hated his stupid number change too, but have to admit it was easier to track his stupid play last season.TT gotta save face tho.

A lot of people, including 'the experts' on the draft and not just fans, also loved Murray coming out of college. I thought he would be a great player myself. As I recall it, Lynn really, really wanted Kenneth and was the one most 'in love' with him. Obviously Telesco pulled the trigger so he had to like him, too. I hope he is redeemable. What I saw last year was a player who appeared to have no confidence in himself and looked lost all the time, even before his injury.

TG

[electricgold]

Kelley has always flashed, so all this reported "improvement" is believable.
wts ya it's preseason
We're in a no-lose situation
give Kelley a legitimate shot at being number 2 while developing Spiller.
one if not both of these guys will be able to produce as the number 2 rb
My feeling is that Spiller will eventually turn into a bell cow as Ekeler transitions into more of a number 2 back/receiving back later in his career.

Spiller was rated by some as the top RB in the draft, the fact that he fell to a later round, and now isn't showing he's clearly the #2 RB could mean we are all seeing why he fell in the draft. Pre-season we'll know if we have a quality #2 RB or still not. Interestingly TT drafted both Kelly and Spiller in the 4th round. Maybe this becomes one of TT's failures if we don't make the PO's this season. We all know everything runs through Herbert and that's fine but with a solid backfield couldn't this make Herbert even more effective????

The Chargers are still a team with a suspect backfield, and a team that lacks depth at OT and may not even have a good #2 OT! We are also a team that doesn't view LB's as an area we need to add young blue chip talent, because we view the Edge as what needs to be premium! The young LB we have is always hurt, If we could somehow trade for the Bears LB asking for a trade, that would almost be like a Rams move, and I'm for it as going all in!

The good news is we have a good HC with a good staff and there is no way that the raiders new HC is going to get his first win on the raiders against Staley & Company, right? This just can't happen.

[Velo]

Spiller was rated by some as the top RB in the draft, the fact that he fell to a later round, and now isn't showing he's clearly the #2 RB could mean we are all seeing why he fell in the draft. Pre-season we'll know if we have a quality #2 RB or still not.

The Chargers are still a team with a suspect backfield, and a team that lacks depth at OT and may not even have a good #2 OT! We are also a team that doesn't view LB's as an area we need to add young blue chip talent, because we view the Edge as what needs to be premium!

The good news is we have a good HC with a good staff and there is no way that the raiders new HC is going to get his first win on the raiders against Staley & Company, right? This just can't happen.

Spiller and Kelley will make their respective cases in the preseason. It is the one thing I look forward to watching in the preseason games.

[Xenos]

Yesterday’s report:

COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Chargers held their 12th practice of training camp Wednesday at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex.

Here are my observations, notes and takeaways.

A spirited morning
Brandon Staley was back on the sideline Wednesday after missing Tuesday’s practice. His youngest son, Grant, had surgery on his toe to treat a fracture Tuesday morning, and Staley was at the hospital with his wife, Amy. Grant is back home and recovering.

With the head coach back at practice, there was a certain added intensity and fire to the competition between the offense and defense. The players had pads on after Tuesday’s unpadded practice, and that surely had something to do with the increased energy, pace and physicality. But Staley’s presence was a factor, too.

A couple of moments jumped out at me, including some rather noisy collisions.

It started on the second play of the opening 11-on-11 period. The Chargers offense was working through some of its quicker-developing concepts and plays. Jalen Guytonbeat J.C. Jackson on an out-breaking route and made a catch near the right sideline. Jackson tackled Guyton.

The tone of the practice changed in the next period, though — a live, unscripted 11-on-11 period in which yardages, downs and distances were being tracked and measured like in a real game. Justin Herbert was up first with the starting offense and connected with Keenan Allen on a shallow out route on first down, setting up a second-and-short. Herbert handed off to Austin Ekeler on the next play. Defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day exploded off the ball at the snap and shot through a gap in the left side of the offensive line. He wrapped up Ekeler and took him to the ground.

Ekeler was not particularly happy with the tackle. Joseph-Day chirped back. Both players got subbed out after the exchange, but the heated competition remained for the rest of practice.

Later in that same period, Nasir Adderleydelivered a violent hit on tight end Gerald Everett in the flat. On the same drive, Damon Lloyd upended Everett in the end zone on a fourth-and-goal attempt from Herbert on a slant.

In the next period, the Chargers worked exclusively on short-yardage situations. The battle among the linemen on the interior was fierce. And the surrounding players followed suit. Rookie corner Ja’Sir Taylor forced a fumble on a Larry Rountree III run up the middle with a hit to the chest. On the final play of the period, Joshua Kelley took a pitch to the left and tried to get to the edge. Safety Ben DeLuca tracked him down and sent Kelley flying out of bounds short of the sticks.

The Chargers closed with a live red zone period. On the third play, a second-and-long from the 16-yard line, Herbert threw to Everett on an in-breaker. Adderley nearly picked it off, and Herbert was noticeably displeased with how Everett ran his route. Herbert has been more vocal throughout training camp, and this was a perfect example.

Later in the series, JT Woods — who worked in with the first-team defense for the second straight day — had two big hits. The Chargers coaching staff is hoping to see big strides from Woods in his tackling and physicality, so this was a good sign. The first one came on a flat route to Rountree off play action. Woods closed on the route and knocked Rountree off his feet. Two plays later, Herbert fired to Everett on the goal line. Woods had great coverage and made contact with Everett just as the tight end got his hands on the ball, driving him backward. The refs ruled it a touchdown.

The Chargers are expected to have a shorter practice Thursday leading up to their preseason opener Saturday against the Rams. Wednesday was their big work day, and it showed.


Highlights from live periods
The Chargers went live — tracking and measuring yardages, downs and distances — for three of their five team periods Wednesday.

Some highlights …

• Herbert led an efficient drive in his seven-on-seven possession. He completed all six of his passes to move the offense down the field, starting from his own 40. Herbert connected with Guyton twice, Ekeler once and Rountree once before Allen beat Michael Davis on an out route to set up a first down from the plus-25. Herbert then fired a seed down the seam to DeAndre Carter. Woods was in coverage. Carter came down with it and fell a yard short of the goal line. The coaches ended the drive there. That completion to Carter was Herbert’s best throw of the day.

• Chase Daniel was up first with the second-team offense. He completed his first two passes: a shallow stop route to tight end Erik Krommenhoek and an angle route to running back Isaiah Spiller in the middle of the field. Spiller made linebacker Damon Lloyd miss after the catch and surged upfield for a first down. Spiller is exceptionally smooth with the ball in his hands. Daniel then attempted a back-shoulder throw to Joshua Palmer down the left sideline, but Asante Samuel Jr. made an outstanding play on the ball for a pass breakup. On Daniel’s last snap, he overthrew a wide-open Gabe Nabers deep down the left sideline. Easton Stick took over for third down. Stick threw to Michael Bandy on a crossing route. Taylor jumped the route and initially came down with the interception. But Bandy did not give up on the play. He battled and got his hands on the ball, and as the two players fell to the turf, Bandy ripped the ball away. The refs ruled it a first down for the offense. Stick then completed back-to-back passes to Everett and Bandy before finding rookie running back Kevin Marks Jr. for a 4-yard touchdown.

• In the first period of live 11-on-11, Herbert and the first-team offense went three-and-out on their opening two drives. Chris Rumph II, playing with the starting defense in place of Khalil Mack, ended the first one with a sack off the edge. The next drive started with a combined sack from Joseph-Day and Jerry Tillery. Herbert gained some of the lost yardage back with a completion to Palmer on a slant. But Davis had tight coverage on Everett on third down, and Herbert’s throw sailed wide. The first-team offense was then up for a third time in a row, and this time the unit got something going. Herbert hit Allen on a double move deep down the right sideline. Allen spun rookie corner Deane Leonardaround. After Guyton dropped a potential touchdown catch in the end zone on a back-shoulder throw, Palmer came through with a clutch diving third-down catch on a low throw from Herbert over the middle. The defense held strong in the goal-to-go situation, though. And Lloyd had back-to-back pass breakups in the end zone, including the hit on Everett on fourth down, to complete the stop.

• Daniel’s 11-on-11 drive ended when he threw to Krommenhoek on a shallow route on a second-and-long from opposing territory. Krommenhoek dropped the pass. The ball deflected into the air, and Brandon Sebastiancame down with the interception. Rookie running back Leddie Brown had an impressive run earlier in the drive, bouncing to his left and outrunning the defense for a 12-yard gain.

• In red zone 11-on-11, Ekeler had a 15-yard touchdown run on the opening play for the first-team offense. The unit rebooted for another drive. Herbert completed a third-down throw to Carter after moving well in the pocket to create time and room. He later connected with Everett for a touchdown despite that previously mentioned big hit from Woods.


News and notes
• Derwin James Jr. missed his 12th straight practice as his contract hold-in continues. This has dragged on longer than the Chargers expected or hoped. But it is not time to panic. I still expect the extension to get done before Labor Day.

• Other Chargers who missed practice: Mack, WR Mike Williams, LB Drue Tranquill, TE Donald Parham Jr., LB Nick Niemann, TE Tre’ McKitty, LB Amen Ogbongbemiga, WR Jason Moore Jr. and S Mark Webb Jr. LB Kyle Van Noy worked back in during seven-on-seven.

• Davis continued to work with the first-team defense at outside corner in place of Samuel. He is also getting reps at the “money” hybrid linebacker-safety position in dime packages. Davis offered some interesting perspective on his up-and-down play in 2021: “Last year for me was a year of distractions — on the field and also off the field. So I think that came into play in my game — like, inconsistency. But I think we’re past that. It’s just effort. This year is all about effort. That’s where I failed last year.” When a reporter followed up, Davis said: “It was just a distraction in my personal life with my previous girlfriend. Just everything. Whatever happens off the field comes onto the field and vice versa. … This year I was able to eliminate all the distractions and just get back to myself.”

• Offensive lineman Isaac Weaver and edge rusher Ty Shelby, both undrafted rookies, went down with injuries during team drills. They had to be helped off the field by trainers.

• Center Corey Linsley got the day off from team drills.

[electricgold]

We’ll see I guess.

Good because in those last 4 games last year you really could have played better! Just play solid this year with the role you are given and be ready if there are any injuries to play the #1 or 2 spot and all is good!

[Topcat]

What are the current thoughts on Kelley vs Spiller ?

I am still leaning Kelley.

I'm guessing Kelley fares better than last season, since he'll have Zion blocking for him now, instead of Scho. (See chart below--Zion's excellent in pass pro, but run blocking even better). However, compared to Kelley, Spiller has the more impressive resume, so I'll also guess that Spiller edges Kelley out, especially as the season progresses.

zion 2.JPG

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Zion-Johnson-OL-BostonCollege

[Maniaque 6]

Draft projection : 2nd late ????????????
Position rank : #11 ??????????

[chargeroo]

I had him as the 2nd best Guard (Kenyon Green) I believe Jeremiah also had him as #2. The report above has him at #11. Huge difference! It kind of demonstrates why we should let our own eyes rate prospects - the pundits seldom agree with each other.