Chargers Camp Report: Justin Herbert Leads Offense to End Zone in 2-Minute Drill

Aug 05, 2022 at 12:50 PM

Eric Smith

Editorial Director

The Bolts held their eight practice of Chargers Training Camp on Friday morning at Jack Hammett Sports Complex.

The Chargers went without pads and practiced for roughly 90 minutes.

Here are five observations from the eighth day of camp:

1. Herbert-Parham connect for 2-minute score

The Bolts first-team offense broke through and found the end zone in a 2-minute drill.

The unit had been denied twice earlier in camp, but Justin Herbert made sure his group walked away happy Friday.

The offense started at the opposing 40-yard line with just 58 seconds left on the clock against the second-team defense.

Herbert found Keenan Allen three times on the drive with completions of eight, 10 and 17-yards to move the ball down to the 25-yard line. Allen's 10-yard catch came on second-and-7 after a false start.

With the ball just outside the red zone and nine seconds left on the clock, Herbert fired a strike up the team to Parham, who outmuscled rookie J.T. Woods and got into the end zone.

Parham's score continued a strong camp for the 6-foot-8 tight end, who has flashed almost every day in practice.

And — after not getting any points in a pair of other 2-minute drills in camp — the offense was able to celebrate after getting in for six.

2. Jackson snags 1st INT of camp

That's one for J.C. Jackson.

The new cornerback ended practice with some flair by intercepting Easton Stick on the final play of Friday's session. Jackson's unit was in the same 2-minute drill as detailed above against the second-team offense.

After pass deflections from Sebastian Joseph-Day and Bryce Callahan made it third-and-10, Jackson ended the drive by nabbing a pass over the middle. The cornerback with 25 career interceptions tipped Stick's pass up in the air and managed to corral it just before it hit the ground.

Jackson described the vibe on defense through eight practices.

"It's going pretty good. We're still building, it's still early in training camp," Jackson said. "I love coming out here and competing with my teammates."

3. Hopkins perfect on the day

Dustin Hopkins didn't miss Friday.

The veteran kicker made all nine kicks he attempted, all of which came under 50 yards.

Hopkins began a team session by hitting all four attempts from 33, 42, 45 and 48 yards away. He later made an extra point after Parham's 2-minute score.

Hopkins then came back and made four more attempts, once again from 33, 42, 45 and 48 yards out.

It was a solid bounce back from Hopkins, who missed a few attempts Wednesday.

Rookie James McCourt attempted eight kicks Friday, also following the 33, 42, 45 and 48-yard format twice. He made six kicks, with one miss coming from 42 yards off the left upright, and the other from 45 yards out that was wide left.

4. Offense, defense go back-and-forth

As usual, the bulk of practice was a back-and-forth affair between the first-team offense and defense.

In an early 7-on-7 drill, the offense won on first down, gaining eight and 13 yards on a pair of first-and-10 plays. But the defense responded on third down, limiting the offense to just one conversion on three tries.

Later on, the script flipped in an 11-on-11 team period.

This time, the offense converted twice on third downs, with Allen moving the chains twice on third-and-4 and third-and-7.

But it was the defense that stood tall on first downs, forcing a Herbert incompletion before limiting a first-and-10 run to a likely short gain.

Through eight practices, there have been ebbs and flows on both sides of the ball.

5. An eye on kickoffs

The Bolts spent a good portion of Friday's session working on kickoff and kickoff return, with both Hopkins and McCourt getting chances to kick off.

DeAndre Carter, Joe Reed and Maurice Ffrench were back taking return reps.

Perhaps the funniest moment came from new Special Teams Coordinator Ryan Ficken, who was demonstrative in his teaching method after safety Alohi Gilman recovered an onside kick.

Gilman, who was the front line, went to grab at the ball as it tumbled through the air before trying to make a return.

But Ficken preferred if Gilman just fell on the ball. In an effort to emphasize ball security, Ficken then dropped a football he was holding and rolled around on his own to demonstrate what he was looking for.