Monday, October 1, 2018 | Hoag Performance Center | Costa Mesa, Calif.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS HEAD COACH ANTHONY LYNN
Opening Statement:
"We made it out of the game last night pretty much. There were some injuries. [WR/PR] Travis [Benjamin] aggravated his foot again, so we'll see at the end of the week. [T] Russell Okung did hurt his groin right before the [end of the] first half and will be evaluated later in the week. [WR] Keenan Allen made it through just fine, being limited last week. Obviously, [DE] Joey Bosa is out again [this week]. [LB] Kyzir [White] had a small procedure done this morning — a minor surgery on his knee. So, he'll be out this week. [T] Joe Barksdale will be checked out at the end of the week and we'll see where he is."
On LB Kyzir White:
"It won't be an extended period of time. I won't put a timetable on it, but [I] expect to have him sooner than later."
On the offensive line surrounding T Russell Okung's injury:
"We'll put [T] Sam Tevi on the blind side and put [T] Trent Scott at the right tackle spot. I thought Trent came in last night and did a great job in the second half. He held his own over there."
On the possibility of playing G Forrest Lamp and using G Michael Schofield III to right tackle:
"You can do that, but you're making two moves instead of one — but you can certainly do that."
On Schofield playing guard:
"I think Schofield is playing pretty well right now at right guard. When Forrest [Lamp] gets back, we'll let those guys decide who's going to play that spot on the field. Right now Michael is playing pretty well and like I said, you just don't want to make two moves if you don't have to."
On Lamp's health:
"I think he's getting closer every single week. He's gaining more confidence in his knee and is learning to play with it."
On the impact of White's absence on Sunday:
"Well [LB Jatavis] JB [Brown] is a veteran as he was in that spot before Kyzir. I thought he played well yesterday, so we'll be fine with Jatavis. Where we're going to miss out is on special teams. Jatavis, he was turning out to be one of our better special teams players and now he has to go back into the starting lineup. So, we'll have to lessen his role there."
On the performance on special teams:
"Well, I saw that with the coverage unit — they were outstanding. The way they were covering and returning the ball, in yardage, we had over 100 yards. That's equivalent to a touchdown in a lot of people's formula. I think they played well. The kicking game — that's something we're evaluating right now. What we're looking at, it's not just the kicker. It's the snapper, the holder. We're looking at the whole process. That has to improve and it's going to."
On if kickers will be brought in to tryout:
"We'll see, we'll see."
On the approach surrounding kick return personnel:
"When Keenan [Allen] was limited throughout the week and Travis [Benjamin] was a game-time decision, I felt like we needed more depth at wide receiver, so [WR] Geremy Davis came up. I needed that spot, so I put [WR] JJ [Jones] down. I knew [CB] Desmond [King II] could return kicks. That worked out well."
On if it's possible to have CB Desmond King II returning punts this week:
"It really is. It depends on how the receivers go throughout the week. I kind of like what Desmond did as a returner."
On the possibility of alternating returners to throw off opponents:
"No, I think it's important for a returner to get into a rhythm. Desmond [King] averaged 20.5 yards a carry as a returner, so I think he's in a pretty good rhythm right now and don't want to disrupt that."
On the importance of continuity in the kicking game:
"That continuity is important, especially for those guys to work together because — as I'm learning —there's so much that goes on with the snap and the hold that can affect the kicker. We've had a lot of kickers that have come through here, that's been the common theme around here, but we've had other guys [in the kicking process] that have been here the whole time. Now we have to look at the entire process. All of these kickers can't be bad. We're just looking at everything right now."
On keeping continuity in the kicking game:
"We need to work through it, absolutely — but that's what you spend the offseason for. That's what you spend time doing in training camp. We should be beyond that right now. We should all be on the same page right now moving in the right direction."
On how his evaluation of kicking has changed:
"I'm thinking about it differently as in that I'm thinking about the whole process. The holder, the snapper — things like that."
On if the evaluation of kickers has changed:
"We studied [K] Caleb [Sturgis] over the offseason. In critical kicks, he was the number one kicker out there. He didn't just get bad all of a sudden."
On if the team has been in contact with K Roberto Aguayo:
"No, we haven't kept in contact, but we really liked what he did when he was here. He did an outstanding job and competed well. He's a young man with a lot of leg talent. He was one of the top kickers to come out of college for a reason. Sometimes, kickers just have to go through some things before they grow up and become a kicker in this league."
On if Aguayo's familiarity with the team be a factor if he had a workout:
"Oh, absolutely. He's still unproven, but we had him here for four or five weeks in camp and for the entire offseason. I would have confidence in him."
On T Trent Scott:
"He was a very raw talent when he got here. Pat Meyer, our offensive line coach, has done a heck of a job with the young man. He's just coaching him up, teaching him different techniques and tools that he is going to need to use in this league to be successful. Trent has worked hard at that and you can see it."
On what Scott has worked on:
"His pass protection. That's one of the hardest things to do in this league against these speed pass rushers. Just his sets, the way he uses his hands and the way he communicates with the offensive line. That's all very important."
On DT Corey Liuget:
"It's great. Corey is one of the better run-stoppers in this league. When he was in there in preseason, that front seven looked a lot better. It will certainly be nice having him back."
On the play of people that filled in for Liuget:
"The did a heck of a job. [DT] Darius Philon did a heck of a job. [DL] Justin Jones stepped in and did a nice job."
On Liuget's impact on the pass rush:
"He has some sneaky pass rush. His get off [the ball] is not bad at all. I think he can."
On if he has seen Liuget today:
"I did, yeah. I saw him this morning."
On RB Melvin Gordon III getting yards after contact:
"One of the things that we focus on is him extending runs and his ability to extend runs. He's worked at that really hard. It's been an emphasis for him. I think you see it. He's winning his one-on-ones more. It's paying off for us, but he has expanded as a receiver [as well]. His hands, getting out of the backfield — he is a reliable threat for [QB] Philip [Rivers] to throw the ball to and run after the catch. That's where I have seen the most versatility."
On how much work goes into extending runs:
"There is a lot of stuff to do that. It's a lot. You just study a guy, you look at his tools and what he has to work with. You just teach him how to extend runs. Not everybody can do that the same way. I had [Bills RB] LeSean McCoy [in Buffalo] and that's a totally different animal. I would teach him differently than I'd teach Melvin."
On if extending runs is a learning process:
"It is. It is a learning process. It's a lot of film study and a lot of work on the field. [Running Backs] Coach [Alfredo] Roberts has done a good job with that, working with Melvin."
On Liuget being ready to contribute on game day:
"Just his conditioning and stamina. I don't want him to go out there and get hurt, then we lose him for a while. We're going to test him and see where his is conditioning-wise."
On if Liuget looked in game shape:
"He looked good. He has been training. It's impossible to replicate what we do on Sunday so we'll check it out."
On if it helps that Liuget was with the team through training camp:
"It does help. He wasn't gone that long, but he was gone long enough where he could have gotten out of shape. Corey is a professional. I'm pretty sure he was taking care of himself."
On if Liuget needs to earn his spot:
"He's an established veteran. We know what he can do. It's unfortunate that he got suspended, but we will throw him back in as soon as we can."
On the frustration with kicking:
"I can't say is hasn't been frustrating because it is frustrating. It's my job to fix it. I'm looking at everything."