Tag: Chargers training camp

How Chargers’ rookies fared in preseason debut

Evaluating Los Angeles Chargers rookies after first week of 2023 NFL preseason.

The preseason is meant to evaluate players, and for a handful of them, this past week marked their first time playing in an NFL game, including the Chargers with their seven draft picks in their win over the Rams on Saturday.

Los Angeles was headlined by first-round pick wide receiver Quentin Johnston, who had an uneven performance. He was targeted early but couldn’t hang onto two passes, including one deep down the right sideline. Johnston was knocked in the draft process for his hands, which is clearly still a work in progress. But right before the half, Johnston came back in the game and hauled in a pass for an 8-yard touchdown, beating Rams defensive back Richard LeCounte from the slot with a smooth route.

“It was alright,” Johnston said about his debut. “Not the best start, it was kind of rough but I bounced back with it at the end with the touchdown.

“At the end of the day, I’m not satisfied,” Johnston added. “Hopefully I’ll come back next week and do better.”

Edge defender Tuli Tuipulotu brought some pressure early on the Rams’ first drive. Tuipulotu displayed high effort, acceleration and closing speed to cover ground and bring down quarterback Brett Rypien, who barely managed to get the pass off. Tuipulotu also looked good at defending the run, setting some firm edges.

Linebacker Daiyan Henley made some key plays on defense and special teams. Henley, the former defensive back and wide receiver, recorded a pass deflection and was always around the football against the run. He wore the green dot and called the plays in the second half. On Derius Davis’ 81-yard punt return touchdown, Henley made a vital block to open up a big hole for him.

Davis, the Chargers’ fourth-round pick, showed why they drafted him: to be their return specialist, with his 81-yard punt return for a score, making it look effortless with his speed and quickness. He also had two catches on two targets for 21 yards.

Jordan McFadden logged all of his snaps at left guard. McFadden was dinged for holding a couple of times, including on running back Isaiah Spiller’s 70+ yard touchdown, which negated it. Aside from that, he performed well, making some key blocks in the run game and looking comfortable out in space as a puller. In pass protection, McFadden was credited for one pressure on 21 pass-blocking snaps.

Defensive tackle Scott Matlock made his presence known with a rush where he got pressure on Stetson Bennett, showcasing his athleticism for a man of his size and up-field urgency to force him out of the pocket, leading to an incompletion. Matlock was also stout at taking on blocks at the point of attack in the run game.

Quarterback Max Duggan took over in the second half following a solid performance from Easton Stick. There wasn’t much to write home about Duggan on Saturday. He completed two of three passes for 19 yards and added a 19-yard run.

Chargers vs. Rams preseason Week 1: How to watch, listen and stream online

Find out how to tune in to watch the Chargers take on the Rams in the preseason opener.

The Chargers are set to begin their three-game preseason slate.

Today, they kick it off in a bout against the Rams at SoFi Stadium, both teams’ home.

Here is everything you need to know so you can tune in:

Game Information

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams

Saturday, Aug. 12 — 6:00 p.m. PT

SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, CA

Television

The game will be televised on NFL Network and on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and Orange County. Noah Eagle, Dan Fouts, LaDainian Tomlinson will have the call.

Radio

ALT FM-98.7 (English broadcast)

FM 105.5/94.3 (Spanish broadcast)

Streaming

FuboTV (try it for free).

Which Chargers players are you most excited to watch in preseason opener vs. Rams?

The Chargers Wire crew listed the players that they’re most excited to watch on Saturday as Los Angeles’ roster evaluation continues.

The Chargers have been hard at work at Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, CA, the past few weeks fighting for roster spots, and now it’s time to transition to live-game action, where they will open up their three-game preseason slate against the Rams.

The crew at Chargers Wire listed the players that they’re most excited to watch on Saturday as Los Angeles’ roster evaluation continues.

Year 2 provides more comfort for Chargers CB Ja’Sir Taylor

Ja’Sir Taylor should be a key contributor in his sophomore season.

The chances of a sixth-round pick carving a starting role in their rookie season are rare.

Chargers cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor, the former Wake Forest product, is under that category. Taylor went from a special teams ace to playing meaningful snaps on defense by the end of the 2022 season.

Now entering his sophomore campaign, Taylor is acclimated to the pace of the NFL and he feels like he’s in a more comfortable position.

“Coming out here as a rookie, things move fast,” Taylor said. “You’re on one field, another field, special teams, defense.

“Just being able to be comfortable, know where I’m going, get my feet set,” Taylor added. “That’s what’s easier.”

Taylor was outstanding in his role as a punt coverage gunner at the beginning. As injuries in the cornerback room piled up, it led to Taylor’s emergence in the secondary.

Taylor had some lapses in coverage, especially when he had to play as an outside corner. But his standout performance came in the primetime win over the Dolphins, where he locked down Jaylen Waddle. Additionally, he came on strong as a tackler in open space and a blitzer.

A more prominent role is set for Taylor in his second season. Even though he is in a battle with Asante Samuel Jr. for the starting slot corner, Taylor will still likely see the field depending on the matchup on a week-to-week basis. Plus, his ability to defend the run will be essential to have.

“I’m just trying to come in here and get better each and every day,” Taylor later added. “I’m not sure how the depth chart works. As long as I come here, do what I have to do to improve each and every day, I’m sure I’ll be in a position to help this team.”

Whatever it takes: Chargers’ Joey Bosa eating up to 5,000 calories to gain weight

Joey Bosa additional weight will be beneficial as the Chargers look to improve against the run.

To put on weight ahead of the 2023 season, Chargers edge defender Joey Bosa admitted that he had been eating between 4,500 and 5,000 calories this offseason.

“Eating isn’t really enjoyable these days,” Bosa said, per ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry. “It’s more so just part of the job.”

Bosa added that he’d eaten roughly five to six meals to hit the caloric target goal.

Bosa played around 265-270 pounds in the first five seasons in the NFL and dropped to 250 pounds these last two.

When Brandon Staley was hired as head coach in 2021, Bosa transitioned to an outside linebacker, requiring him to drop back into coverage. That meant he had to lose weight to be more fluid in space.

He is now back to his starting weight when he played a traditional defensive end position under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.

He feels that the additional weight will add more power to his game to make him an impactful run defender again.

“I specifically tried to really eat good and put some weight on this offseason, get back to my weight I was at a few years ago, where I could really use my power,” Bosa explained. “Really handle guys in the run and be more effective in that part of the game.”

Bosa’s 2022 season was cut due to a groin injury that required surgery. He finished with 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble in just five games.

Now healthy, Bosa’s presence on the edge will boost a defense that lacked consistency at generating pressure and against the run.

“I definitely feel stronger,” Bosa said.

Chargers release first unofficial depth chart

The Chargers first depth chart of the 2023 season is out.

In preparation for opening the 2023 preseason opener against the Rams at 6 p.m. PT on Saturday, the Chargers released the first unofficial depth chart.

Here is a look at the team’s unofficial depth chart going into the first preseason game, which was posted by the team’s Communications department, not the coaching staff. That means it is to be taken with a grain of salt.

The “OR” means that players are fighting for the starting job, so Asante Samuel Jr. and Ja’Sir Taylor are in competition for the starting slot cornerback spot. Cameron Dicker and Dustin Hopkins are battling it out for the starting kicker position.

Quentin Johnston is listed as the No. 4 wide receiver behind Joshua Palmer, the third wideout. Both Johnston and Palmer have had great training camps so far, but the experience in the NFL gives Palmer a leg up as of now, at least.

Chargers WR Keenan Allen on former OC Joe Lombardi: ‘I was stuck at the slot the whole time’

Keenan Allen had some interesting comments regarding his role with the current Chargers offense.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen had some interesting comments at his Tuesday media availability regarding his role with the current Chargers’ offense. Most of the attention was on his remarks regarding usage under former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi vs. Kellen Moore:

“With Lombardi, I was stuck at the slot the whole time,” Allen said. “I’m inside and outside now, we’re all kinda inside and outside now, playing everything.”

Allen did play significantly more slot snaps in 2022 under Lombardi than he did under previous offensive coordinators for the Chargers. Allen’s percentage of pass snaps in the slot jumped from 51.7% to 64.3% when comparing Shane Steichen’s 2020 vs. Lombardi’s 2022. The percentage of snaps out wide tells a similar story. Under Steichen, Allen lined up out wide 47.7% of the time. With Lombardi, that dipped to 35.1%.

It’s hard to tell precisely what Moore’s split will be, but the plan seems to be cross-training all receivers to play inside and outside, as Allen suggested.

Allen was also asked how often the Chargers’ receiving room watches Dallas tape. For their offensive installs under Moore, Allen says the team “pretty much watches them (the Cowboys) every day.”

Cowboyswide receiver CeeDee Lamb was the name Allen brought up when asked about which player he “mimics” from Moore’s Dallas team:

“He [CeeDee Lamb] moves around a lot, slot, inside and outside. He is a change of direction guy, going left or right.”

Looking at the usage of Lamb in his last two seasons yields interesting results. Lamb spent 52.5% of his snaps in the slot vs. 46.3% out wide when looking at the previous two years on average. That’s much closer to the previously mentioned Steichen split than the Lombardi split.

Allen seems to allude to the fact that Moore will be slightly less set on always following a specific offensive structure instead of consistently seeking out mismatches.

Chargers’ JT Woods showing signs of progress ahead of sophomore season

The Chargers are confident in JT Woods, who enters Year 2 with a bigger role.

After a rough rookie season, the Chargers are expecting a full rebound from safety JT Woods.

Woods, a third-round pick in 2022, was taken to play him as the deep safety to allow Derwin James to move all over the field. But that never came to fruition. Woods struggled in his limited snaps, particularly as a tackler.

With James and Alohi Gilman slated to be the starting safeties, Woods is the third safety coming on in dime (six defensive back) packages, and he will be relied upon to patrol the back end of the defense.

As he enters his sophomore season, Woods has made some strides to be a reliable piece in the secondary, recently posting a pair of passes defended in practice this past weekend.

Making plays is not anything out of the norm for Woods. In his senior season at Baylor, he was tied for the most interceptions in the NCAA (5).

He made those plays with his physical profile at 6-foot-2 with a long wingspan and speed and athleticism to close in on the football. That was backed up by running a 4.3 40-yard dash at the combine.

While he’s always been a playmaker against the pass, against the run is where Woods has struggled, whether it’s being unable to finish and bring ball carriers down or taking bad angles.

With a bigger responsibility set in Year 2, Woods needs to put forth his best effort into improving in this department. And it’s up to head coach Brandon Staley, defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley and defensive backs coach Tommy Donatell to unlock the young safety’s potential.

Rookie Tuli Tuipulotu impresses in Chargers’ intrasquad scrimmage

The Chargers’ second round pick had a pair of sacks on Sunday.

First-round pick wide receiver Quentin Johnston has been generating all of the buzz among this year’s Chargers’ draft class. But second-round selection edge defender Tuli Tuipulotu is starting to raise some eyebrows.

Los Angeles held their padded intrasquad scrimmage on Sunday, which was 11-on-11 action—full live-game speed and scenarios. And Tuipulotu was among the standouts on the defensive side of the ball.

Tuipulotu had a pair of would-be sacks.

The first came against tackle Brenden Jaimes, as Tuipulotu quickly reacted to the snap and accelerated to get into the backfield.

The second occurred on a play-action play, where guard Zion Johnson was late to pull and Tuipulotu won again with athleticism to beat him and get into the lap of quarterback Justin Herbert.

“I think he’s got the quickness and the strong hands,” head coach Brandon Staley said of Tuipulotu. “Instinctive. He’s a sponge out there so he learns the game really fast. He’s going to have a role for us.”

Tuipulotu is only 20, but his teammates feel like he is way ahead of his years regarding his football intelligence, including Joey Bosa.

Despite his young age, Tuipulotu, last year’s leader in sacks, is expected to contribute as a rotational pass rusher in Year 1. The reps he gets over the next few weeks in the preseason will be valuable to get ready.

Sights and sounds from Chargers training camp: Day 9, intrasquad scrimmage

A quick roundup of the highlights from Day 9 of Chargers training camp.

The Chargers continued training camp on Saturday at Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, CA, marking Day 9 and the team’s intrasquad scrimmage.

Training camp can be attended for free, but if you cannot be there, you will still be informed of the action throughout it all.

We will have training camp coverage with updates from practice courtesy of media members and fans in attendance.