The Chargers returned to the field, as the team kicked off their organized team activities (OTAs) on Monday.
This is the first time since the summer of 2019 that the team is on the practice field because the offseason of last year was done virtually due to COVID-19 putting everything to a halt.
For the next nine days, Los Angeles is allowed to do on-field drills, including 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. However, any form of contact is not permitted.
Head coach Brandon Staley made it clear that safety and ensuring that no one gets hurt are the main priorities, which is why they won’t be doing any competitive drills during OTAs.
Even though the sessions are all walk-throughs, Staley wants to create that same game-like mental intensity without doing anything physical.
On Monday, Staley said the Chargers were able to run 65 plays over two 20-minute 11-on-11 periods, as well as two special teams periods.
What we really wanted to do was create our standard for the offseason moving forward. The big thing from a sports science/sports performance standpoint is, all of our individual periods … that’s going to be full speed. But we are not going to have any competitive one-on-ones in this camp. We’re not going to have any competitive 11-on-11, it’s all going to be walkthrough.
What we’re trying to do is create a game-like environment from a mental standpoint, where our guys can learn what to do, how to do it, (and) why it’s important. We can have great tempo before the snap, but then after the snap, there isn’t that pace that exists when you put shoulder pads and helmets on. That was a big goal of ours. We worked as a coaching staff extensively with our leadership council, and we really feel this is the model moving forward that’s going to best-fit the Chargers.