Below are three takeaways from Chargers Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore, wide receiver Keenan Allen and tackle Rashawn Slater's media availability on Wednesday:
Moore talks implementation of offense
The Chargers are putting in another solid week of work.
The Bolts took the field for the second week of voluntary Organized Team Activity practices on Wednesday as the team continues to move forward through the offseason process.
And this offseason has been a busy one for Chargers Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore.
Moore has taken the time since his arrival to learn the roster and begin to map out the 2023 Chargers offense in his first season.
OTAs have been valuable for Moore and the offense in terms of implementing his scheme and getting to work through it on the green grass.
"It's been nice. It's been really good to get onto the field," Moore said on Wednesday. "Ultimately, that's what we want to do.
"Sometimes it feels like a desk job during the offseason, so it's nice to just get out there and get things going," Moore added.
Wednesday marked the fourth OTA session — and second open to reporters — so the work on offense is far from over.
But the first-year Bolts offensive coordinator added that the process has been going good so far in the leadup to an important training camp where the work will have to be more refined.
"It's really good," Moore said. "I think we take this first lap through OTAs. It's a little bit fast, it's that first lap — there is going to be some stuff that is good, plenty of stuff that we have to clean up and redefine and all of that sort of stuff.
"Then, you just have to kind of ace it in training camp," Moore added. "I think that's our main focus, this first lap, and then in training camp, we really have to hit it really, really well. Then, get ready for the season."
The process of installing a new offense is something Moore laid out on Wednesday, citing the different aspects that go into implementing it during the offseason.
"I think that this is a really good process, just because it's new to a lot of guys," Moore said. "You're able to carry over what we can from the past couple of years, and then build off some of the Dallas stuff that is, maybe, coming from a scheme standpoint.
"But you have to keep it tight, you have to keep it condensed," Moore added. "There are a lot of different ways of playing football, and you just have to keep it tight and condensed so that these guys can play fast."
The Chargers offense will take shape and begin to get better and better from now through training camp.
Veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen agrees with Moore and likes what he sees so far — both on the offensive side of the ball and with Moore as a coordinator.
"Smart guy. Obviously, a guy who played [in the NFL]," Allen said. "Knows the game. Knows the ins and outs. Knows different ways to get guys open. I like what we have going right now."
"[Moore] is player friendly," Allen later added. "He's played before, so he knows what we like, what we don't like, how defenses play, rather than sticking to something that has been in the offense for a long time. He's willing to change it and make it more friendly to us."
Allen helping guide younger players
Another year of No. 13 lining up in powder blue — Year 11 to be exact.
Allen has taken the field with the team and been in the building throughout the voluntary offseason program so far as he prepares for another season with the Bolts.
Allen said Wednesday that his attendance in the offseason program is something the receiver uses to help him get ready for the regular season.
Allen also noted that one of the bigger things he values is the ability to help the younger players this early in the process.
"It helps me get into shape," Allen said. "I use it as a lift. I get the lift in, get the meetings. Obviously, we have the new coordinator, so I want to know all of the terminology so that I can play fast myself, so that I can help the young guys — when we break the huddle, get them lined up when they need help. Make sure that everybody is on the same page.
"We need old guys out here, too," Allen added with a laugh.
Allen takes pride in helping the younger players, which now includes 2023 first-round wide receiver Quentin Johnston.
Johnston previously mentioned how Allen, Mike Williams and Josh Palmer all visited him in his hotel room to talk to him and welcome him to the team.
Allen talked about that encounter and how he has continued to want to be there for others now and throughout his career the same way others were for him when he was coming into the NFL.
"We wanted to embrace the young guy," Allen said. "Obviously, we have a new guy in our room.
"For us, I've always been a guy who helps the young guys because that's what [former Chargers WR] Eddie Royal and [former Chargers WR] Malcom Floyd, [former Chargers WR] Danario Alexander, they all did that for me," Allen added.
Allen continued: "When I get new guys — like when I got Mike [Williams] and Josh [Palmer] — you always want to be there for them and make sure that they have everything that they need."
Slater 'excited' for O-line in 2023
It was an offense-heavy day, as left tackle Rashawn Slater also spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since January.
Slater has been able to continue his training throughout the offseason and has been in the building working with the team and the offensive line. The 2021 Second-Team All-Pro talked about his excitement and hunger in the lead up to his third year in the pros after missing significant time last season with a biceps injury.
And the excitement got even bigger in the beginning of the offseason with the addition of Moore, who Slater praised for his work with the offensive line so far.
"I was very excited. I trained over in Dallas, so I talked to a lot of the guys," Slater said. "They all loved him.
"For us, up front, he has really simplified a lot of things," Slater later added. "It's allowed us to go a lot quicker and just not think as much, which we always love. I think that it is going to be really fun."
One of the bigger things Slater talked about, however, was his excitement over the offensive line heading into the season.
Jamaree Salyer — a 2022 sixth-round selection — held down the left tackle spot during Slater's absence last season and is now slated to slide into the right guard spot, creating a young, yet experienced, core on the offensive front.
Slater is pumped for the ability to return and play on what he believes is a high-potential and tight-knit group this year.
"I love it. I'm so excited to be back," Slater said. "I feel like we've all — it's a young group, but now we had last year, especially with Zion [Johnson] and Jamaree — now, we're really coming into Year 2 and I feel like we're really hitting our stride.
"I feel like the camaraderie is very high. I just feel like the potential is insane with us," Slater said. "It's a really cool thing to be a part of."
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