Post by joemcrugby on Aug 18, 2022 13:24:38 GMT -7
More details from Popper. He is focusing on the defense at today’s session.
OL vs. DL 1-on-1s
The Chargers offensive linemen faced the Cowboys defensive linemen in pass rush one-on-ones, while the quarterbacks and skill players went through seven-on-seven drills.
Some notable reps …
• Right tackle Trey Pipkins III went up against edge rusher Micah Parsons early in the period. Parsons burst to the outside initially, and Pipkins attacked with his hand to try and push Parsons wide. But Parsons stopped on a dime and cut back inside. Pipkins was off balance, and Parsons had a clear path to the quarterback. Parsons is just a freak athlete. I still am trying to figure out how he changed directions so quickly from the position he was in.
• Overall, Pipkins was up and down in the period. He responded with a stout rep against defensive end Dorance Armstrong, withstanding the initial bull rush before backing up. Armstrong was not expecting Pipkins to give up ground, and he fell over. Later, undrafted rookie Mike Tafua beat Pipkins with a speed move to the outside.
• Storm Norton, who is competing with Pipkins for the starting right tackle job, had good and bad reps, as well. He started with a really impressive rep against defensive end Tarell Basham, locking him up and driving him to the outside. But later in the period, Norton overcommitted on an outside rush from Dante Fowler, who spun back to the inside and had a clear path to the quarterback.
• Rashawn Slater was dominant. His best rep of the period came against star pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence. Lawrence came on a bull rush, and Slater stopped him in his tracks.
• Zion Johnson got only two reps in the period. He went up against defensive end Chauncey Golston on the second rep, and while he lost initially on a swim move, he battled back to force Golston past the quarterback. In a game situation, the quarterback would have likely had time and space to step up.
Protection issues in 11-on-11
There were five periods of 11-on-11 in Wednesday’s practice — one period with only first and second downs, one period with scripted first, second and third downs, one period of live action (with yardages downs and distances being tracked), one period of red zone, and then a two-minute drill.
The Chargers really struggled to protect Herbert throughout 11-on-11s. The pocket was regularly collapsing. I counted eight sacks for the Cowboys defense against the Chargers’ first-team offense. Every starting offensive lineman — including Pipkins and Norton, who traded series at right tackle — got beat at least once.
“When you get these joint practices, especially early in training camp, early in the year, there’s a lot of learning,” running back Austin Ekeler said of the protection issues. “We didn’t know what they were going to come out in, and they showed us some looks today defensively that we weren’t really prepared for. We were kind of figuring it out on the fly.”
The two-minute drill punctuated the issues. The drive started from the minus-30 with 1:42 on the clock. Parsons got pressure against Pipkins, who was in at right tackle for the first-team offense, on the opening play, but Herbert was able to check down to Ekeler for a short gain. On second down, Parsons beat Pipkins for a sack. Facing a third-and-long, Herbert connected with tight end Gerald Everett in the flat to set up a fourth-and-1. Johnson was then called for a false start, backing up the offense 5 yards. Parsons then got to Herbert again on fourth down. This was a clear sack to me. But the coaches opted to continue the drive after Herbert found Palmer, despite Parsons waiting right in Herbert’s lap.
On the ensuing first down, pressure came up the middle, and Herbert threw incomplete. On second down, defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa dominated Pipkins for a sack. That set up a third-and-20. Herbert was able to gain 5 yards back when he drew the Cowboys offside with a hard count — something he did twice in the practice. On third-and-15, the protection held up, but Herbert overthrew Carter on a deep shot.
“They got Micah Parsons out there running around,” Ekeler said. “He’s a problem. They gave us some matchup problems where they got five big D-linemen in the game and him, so it puts our back on him, so it’s a mismatch, especially when you can’t cut out here in practice. A couple times you see me get blasted on the ground because, look, I’m not going to take the knees out in practice, but in the games, it’s going to be a little bit different.”
The Cowboys also ran a ton of stunts and games on the interior, with defensive ends peeling back to the interior. The Chargers struggled to handle those at times. Norton and Johnson got beat on one of those stunts for a sack.
“This is the perfect place to figure it out, and you want to be able to do that,” Staley said. “Some of the unscouted looks, like, hey, yeah you know what Dallas did last year, but maybe they’ve added new things based on new people they have, and that’s part of why these practices are valuable, is so that you can go up against someone else’s personnel and scheme and then test your rules. These aren’t game-planned practices.”
theathletic.com/3518351/2022/08/17/chargers-derwin-james-practice-cowboys/?source=user_shared_article
OL vs. DL 1-on-1s
The Chargers offensive linemen faced the Cowboys defensive linemen in pass rush one-on-ones, while the quarterbacks and skill players went through seven-on-seven drills.
Some notable reps …
• Right tackle Trey Pipkins III went up against edge rusher Micah Parsons early in the period. Parsons burst to the outside initially, and Pipkins attacked with his hand to try and push Parsons wide. But Parsons stopped on a dime and cut back inside. Pipkins was off balance, and Parsons had a clear path to the quarterback. Parsons is just a freak athlete. I still am trying to figure out how he changed directions so quickly from the position he was in.
• Overall, Pipkins was up and down in the period. He responded with a stout rep against defensive end Dorance Armstrong, withstanding the initial bull rush before backing up. Armstrong was not expecting Pipkins to give up ground, and he fell over. Later, undrafted rookie Mike Tafua beat Pipkins with a speed move to the outside.
• Storm Norton, who is competing with Pipkins for the starting right tackle job, had good and bad reps, as well. He started with a really impressive rep against defensive end Tarell Basham, locking him up and driving him to the outside. But later in the period, Norton overcommitted on an outside rush from Dante Fowler, who spun back to the inside and had a clear path to the quarterback.
• Rashawn Slater was dominant. His best rep of the period came against star pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence. Lawrence came on a bull rush, and Slater stopped him in his tracks.
• Zion Johnson got only two reps in the period. He went up against defensive end Chauncey Golston on the second rep, and while he lost initially on a swim move, he battled back to force Golston past the quarterback. In a game situation, the quarterback would have likely had time and space to step up.
Protection issues in 11-on-11
There were five periods of 11-on-11 in Wednesday’s practice — one period with only first and second downs, one period with scripted first, second and third downs, one period of live action (with yardages downs and distances being tracked), one period of red zone, and then a two-minute drill.
The Chargers really struggled to protect Herbert throughout 11-on-11s. The pocket was regularly collapsing. I counted eight sacks for the Cowboys defense against the Chargers’ first-team offense. Every starting offensive lineman — including Pipkins and Norton, who traded series at right tackle — got beat at least once.
“When you get these joint practices, especially early in training camp, early in the year, there’s a lot of learning,” running back Austin Ekeler said of the protection issues. “We didn’t know what they were going to come out in, and they showed us some looks today defensively that we weren’t really prepared for. We were kind of figuring it out on the fly.”
The two-minute drill punctuated the issues. The drive started from the minus-30 with 1:42 on the clock. Parsons got pressure against Pipkins, who was in at right tackle for the first-team offense, on the opening play, but Herbert was able to check down to Ekeler for a short gain. On second down, Parsons beat Pipkins for a sack. Facing a third-and-long, Herbert connected with tight end Gerald Everett in the flat to set up a fourth-and-1. Johnson was then called for a false start, backing up the offense 5 yards. Parsons then got to Herbert again on fourth down. This was a clear sack to me. But the coaches opted to continue the drive after Herbert found Palmer, despite Parsons waiting right in Herbert’s lap.
On the ensuing first down, pressure came up the middle, and Herbert threw incomplete. On second down, defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa dominated Pipkins for a sack. That set up a third-and-20. Herbert was able to gain 5 yards back when he drew the Cowboys offside with a hard count — something he did twice in the practice. On third-and-15, the protection held up, but Herbert overthrew Carter on a deep shot.
“They got Micah Parsons out there running around,” Ekeler said. “He’s a problem. They gave us some matchup problems where they got five big D-linemen in the game and him, so it puts our back on him, so it’s a mismatch, especially when you can’t cut out here in practice. A couple times you see me get blasted on the ground because, look, I’m not going to take the knees out in practice, but in the games, it’s going to be a little bit different.”
The Cowboys also ran a ton of stunts and games on the interior, with defensive ends peeling back to the interior. The Chargers struggled to handle those at times. Norton and Johnson got beat on one of those stunts for a sack.
“This is the perfect place to figure it out, and you want to be able to do that,” Staley said. “Some of the unscouted looks, like, hey, yeah you know what Dallas did last year, but maybe they’ve added new things based on new people they have, and that’s part of why these practices are valuable, is so that you can go up against someone else’s personnel and scheme and then test your rules. These aren’t game-planned practices.”
theathletic.com/3518351/2022/08/17/chargers-derwin-james-practice-cowboys/?source=user_shared_article
