The Chargers put the pads on for the first time Monday, practicing at The Bolt for just an hour and 45 minutes in El Segundo.
The Bolts will hold another padded practice Tuesday at noon.
Here is the Chargers Camp Report from Monday's practice:
1. Defense shines in red zone
The Chargers ended Monday's practice with one of Jim Harbaugh's favorite drills.
It's called "Red Zone Lockout" and places a heavy emphasis on both sides of the ball in a crucial area of the field.
And it was the defense — led by Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa — that earned the win on the first day in pads.
The offense began with the ball at the 25-yard line on the cusp of the red zone but Mack stopped J.K. Dobbins for a 1-yard run.
Justin Herbert found Ladd McConkey for seven yards to bring up third-and-2 but the drive stalled when Bosa raced in for a would-be sack while obviously not touching Herbert. The offense was then awarded three points for the presumed field goal while defense gained four points.
It was a similar scenario for the second-team units as a false start and a sack by Chris Rumph II forced the offense to settle for another field goal. This made the score 8-6 in favor of the defense.
The third-team defense also collected a sack on second down which eventually led to another field goal and a 12-9 advantage for the defense.
Herbert's group then came back out and converted a big third-and-10 with a 14-yard pass to DJ Chark, but the offense couldn't find the end zone and kicked a fourth field goal in the drill.
The defense, which is usually ahead of the offense in the early stages of pads, picked up a 16-12 victory.
Harbaugh said it was supposed to be live tackling inside the 10-yard line but that the rule only applied to the second and third teams.
"It was a walk-through for the 1s. They are on different levels," Harbaugh said. "The 2s and 3s have more plays coming in the [preseason] game a week from Saturday so building up in phases."
2. 1-on-1s in the trenches
The main attraction of Monday's session were the 1-on-1 drills between offensive and defensive linemen.
Joe Alt went up against Bosa on the first two reps and held his own against the veteran edge rusher.
"He acquitted himself well," Harbaugh said of Alt.
Trey Pipkins III then won both reps against Scott Matlock before Zion Johnson did the same against Morgan Fox. Poona Ford and Bradley Bozeman split their pair of reps.
The battle between Rashawn Slater and Khalil Mack went as expected as neither alpha player gave a inch and the two deadlocked on their pair of reps.
Some offensive players who won both reps in the drill included Jamaree Salyer and Foster Sarell, while Bud Dupree looked in fine form with two wins on defense.
Harbaugh gave his post-practice assessment of the drill.
"It was really good. Somebody asked me who won. I don't know, we're going to have to go to the tape to figure that one out," Harbaugh said. "It was good give and take, both sides. Some guys really stood out… it was good give and take.
"Kind of what you want to see, you don't want to see the offense dominating the defense at this stage for sure," Harbaugh added. "You could have the defense domination the offense at these stages of camp and I'd be okay with that. It was really a reflection of the whole practice, it was good give and take on both sides."
Bozeman noted that the drill will be a great learning experience for all involved.
"It feels one way out there but the film can say something totally different," Bozeman said.
3. Defensive notes
With Alohi Gilman not at practice due to the recent birth of his baby girl, AJ Finley and JT Woods rotated in his spot with the first-team defense.
Safety Thomas Harper, an undrafted free agent from Notre Dame, had a pretty over-the-shoulder interception in coverage against Brenden Rice.
Besides his late-practice sack, Rumph also flashed in the run game a few times.
Linebacker Daiyan Henley had a pass deflection in full-team drills while Tarheeb Still and Tony Jefferson broke up passes on back-to-back plays in a 7-on-7 session.
The Bolts did have a few plays of live tackling with the third units, including a third-and-2 situation where Kimani Vidal picked up a first down after a solid stiff arm move.
"I have to make those short-yardage or goal line ... to me it can only be done walk-through or live," Harbaugh said. "There's no in-between and there's no thud. Third-and-2, make it live."
