The Chargers added to their defensive line in free agency by signing veteran defensive tackle Linval Joseph.
While we've heard of Joseph's strength – much of which was forged in high school as a champion weightlifter – his teammates are now getting to see it in person.
"Watching Linval in action, finally, is pretty unbelievable," Joey Bosa said. "He's gotta be probably the strongest human I've ever come across. He's absolutely bullying people backwards, so he's really stood out to me."
"He's a big man," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "He's so big up front and the linebackers feel that presence. I think that you can tell he's a true pro. He brings really good leadership and he fits in really well with that group … We talk about big men running show up on tape, and there's been multiple times where you see him as a big man chasing down the play. It's cool to see. He's already gained the respect of many of our players on defense by his style of play."
Now in his 11th NFL season, the 6-4, 329-pound Joseph is still playing with the same strength that's defined his career. What's most impressive to Bosa is how Joseph leverages his size with his strength on the interior of the line.
"Just seeing him bullying grown men, taking them against their will backwards with nothing they can do about it, it's impressive," he said. "He's massive. He's 6-5, almost. Really long arms. Usually, those interior guys usually aren't as long, but he's long and he can move with the weight that he carries. So, it's gonna be a lot of help in there."
Bosa believes Joseph will make a difference for players like him on the edges.
"He's gonna occupy one or maybe two every single time he's in there. He should demand a double team or he's just gonna be walking people back. Obviously, with action in the face of the quarterback, he's not going to be able to step up, and that's going to give me a little bigger edge to come around."
Joey Bosa's Versatility
Bosa has accomplished a lot over his first four years in the league, but Chargers fans are excited to see more of No. 97 as he recently signed a contract extension with the team.
Bosa brings a lot of versatility to the Bolts and that's something defensive coordinator Gus Bradley cites as one of the best parts of the defensive end's game.
"Joey Bosa's such a big part of our unit and to this team," Bradley said. "He gives us so much flexibility. He could play LEO for us. You know, we said, well, he's going to be 250 pounds, but he's got the skill set. He could play LEO. He could be a left end, you know, rushing on the tight end side ... He's so skilled at all those aspects and you can lock him in at those different positions and he can perform well."
In 2019, Bosa led all NFL defensive ends with 18 tackles for loss and became the first Charger since 2010 to register three-straight multi-sack games.
Mike Williams' Goals for 2020
2020 marks Mike Williams' fourth season in the league and he's coming off a season in which he eclipsed 1,000 yards. Along with Keenan Allen, the duo became the first pair of Chargers wideouts to each eclipse that mark since 2009.
But as for this year, Williams said his goal is to "get better than last year."
"I wanted to work on every part of my game," Williams said. "I wasn't specifically looking at one thing to work on, I wanted to get better in all phases of my game. That was route running, releases, making all the spectacular catches."
Those spectacular catches have become synonymous with Williams through his short time in the league thus far. Known for his ability to high point a 50-50 ball and come down with the catch, Williams attributes that to the sort of backyard football he'd play when he was younger.
"It's something I've kind of worked on since I was a kid," he said. "That's all we've done when we were little. Who can run the furthest down the field and catch the ball? I feel like as a kid, that stuck with me early on and I just kind of worked on it as I got older and older."
Williams finished 2019 with 49 catches for 1,001 yards averaging 20.4 yards per reception.
Take a look at some photos from Tuesday, August 18th's, session of Chargers Training Camp 2020, presented by SoFi.
Odds and Ends
Gus Bradley on Kenneth Murray: "In college his last year, obviously he did a great job defending the run, but a lot of what you saw him do was spying the quarterback in pass coverage. A little bit of the unknown was how he was going to pick up some of the zone drops and coverages and aspects like that but he's done a really good job picking that up so he's progressing well up to this point … still a ways to go, but I think the bar is moving in the right direction for him."
Mike Williams on Keenan Allen: "It's been fun. Ever since I came in the league, he kind of took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. I feel like he's one of the best route runners in the league and I feel like I'm one of the (best) deep route runners in the league. It's a good duo."
Gus Bradley on Rayshawn Jenkins taking on more responsibility: "First of all, his skill set on the back end. I think when we go back, we put together skill set tapes … and he really did a good job. It appears to me like he's even faster this year. I think just to be able to change some things up and utilize his skill set. The biggest battle he has to fight back there is getting bored; just doing the same thing over and over again and it can get monotonous. I think that we're trying to do some different things with him just to keep him on edge that way and utilize his skill set … we feel like we're a pretty good team back there when he's back there. He did a good job there."
Mike Williams on the offense: "I don't think there will be a lot of changes. We just have to be efficient and make the things we do work. That's the main thing. You can have a lot of plays, but if they're not working, they don't really mean much. So let's be efficient with the plays they call and let's move the ball."
