2019 TRAINING CAMP DAY 3 MEDIA AVAILABILITY
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS HEAD COACH ANTHONY LYNN
Opening statement:
"Boy, it was a packed house today. It was a great environment for practice, wasn't it? I want to thank our fans for coming out like they did today. That was pretty cool."
On the first practice with pads:
"You know what, I liked the way guys took care of one another. It was physical, but you didn't see a lot of people on the ground. I think that guys are starting to understand the tempo that we want in practice and the technique and things that we're looking for. That was good."
On the importance of players taking care of each other:
"Absolutely, you don't want any unnecessary injuries, cheap shots and things like that. I didn't see that today. Now, I'm going to go watch the practice tape and I may see something different, but I didn't think that I saw that today out here, so that was good."
On FB Derek Watt:
"Derek, we rested him today. He's the only fullback we have right now. We have to get him through a whole season. He had a little soreness, so we just rested him today."
On DE Joey Bosa:
"He looks good. He has worn his Jordan's. He likes those shoes. They feel good on his feet and look good."
On Bosa's offseason nutrition:
"He's a professional. He takes care of himself. He watches what he eats. He comes in here and he's one of the guys in the best shape. I don't have to worry about Joey in that respect."
On T Trent Scott seeing time at left tackle:
"You know what, yesterday he played a lot of right tackle. Today, he played a lot of left. At some point, we're going to let those guys play one side so that we can get a little more consistency, but right now we're just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I think, in the long run, it's going to make him a better tackle because he'll have more position flex to play both sides."
On Scott's performance:
"I'm going to watch the tape. I'll let you know tomorrow."
On what he looks for in padded practices:
"You want to see technique. You want to see fundamentals. You want to see guys playing a physical style of football. I still believe the most physical teams usually win this game. That's what we look for when we put the pads on."
On WR Mike Williams:
"Mike's a hard worker. He worked hard last year, he's working hard now. We haven't played a game yet, so I can't tell you how much he has progressed, but he looks good."
On the linebackers:
"Jatavis Brown will probably be back in Week 3 we're hoping. If not, he'll be back at some point. Denzel [Perryman] is back. Thomas Davis [Sr.], we picked him up over the offseason. He has done a heck of a job. Kyzir [White], he's back. We drafted Drue [Tranquill]. I like the group, if that's what you're asking. Yeah, I like the group. I think there is a little more depth than what we had last year and definitely experience."
On players trying to make the roster:
"You want to see it in practice, but you definitely want to see it in the games. The games are what matter. These guys are doing the best that they can right now to get in game shape and get game-ready so that they can go execute at a high level in these four preseason games that we're going to have."
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS SAFETY DERWIN JAMES JR.
On what makes him want to be a force on the field:
"I feel like every defense needs a force out there. You know, when that person steps on the field, everyone knows he's about his business and you know what time it is. I feel like coming in and taking more of a leadership role this year — when I step on the field [to have] the opponents fear me."
On facing QB Philip Rivers as a blocker:
"In a game, we know [I'd attack full speed], but I'm not going to touch Phil. We need Phil. He came to me and told me, 'I definitely wasn't coming to block you.'"
On the team's first practice wearing pads:
"I feel like today was an okay day. I feel like we can come out tomorrow and be better. Like I said, just keep getting better every day and improving — we're trying to be perfect out here."
On the feeling of putting pads back on:
"It's a lot different than helmet and shorts when you put the pads on. When you put the pads on, its like, these are my teammates, but at the same time, you want to hit and show that you're aggressive and physical. It's all of those things, but being clean and keeping your teammates safe."
On improving on last season:
"I want to just continue to get better. I know there were a lot of accolades last year, but I just want to keep coming out and getting better. I don't want to get comfortable. You know, just keep growing as a player, as a person and as a teammate."
On focusing on this season:
"As we speak right now, there is no All-Pro yet this year. You have to come out and play all [16] games, playoffs or whatever else we have. I mean, that was last year. Everybody gets a clean slate this year so, I mean, that's how my mindset kind of works. Just basically starting over and doing it again."
On LB Thomas Davis Sr.:
"I thought I was a leader until I met him. He's a leader that you can't even explain, man. Just the little things like taking the field with pride, running on the field and making sure everyone is lining up — just doing everything right. He's like a watchdog. He literally watches everybody on the field, making sure you're doing what you're supposed to do. I love him, so having him and seeing him run to the ball at his age — I mean he looks like he's 24."
On S Nasir Adderly:
"He's going to be a really special player. He's continued to come out every day taking the coaching. You know, it's kind of how I was coming in. You have to get used to all the new defensive scheme and the speed of how the offense is trying to attack you. I feel like he's still learning. When he gets it, he's going to be a special player."
On advice for rookies:
"Just don't try to get it all in one day. Take it day-by-day. It's easy to say [that], but you really just have to take it day-by-day, come out and get better."
On breaking down the film of his ABC 7 weather report:
"That was my first time, man. You know, that was kind of fun just getting away from football and doing something different because you take for granted how hard it is just seeing what they're doing up there. You can't really see it, but it was a hard job. I was just being myself, I wasn't nervous."
On Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey arriving to camp in an armored truck:
"That's just Jalen being Jalen. He's been like that since I've known him. Jalen's always the guy who wants to have fun and do stuff you might not agree with, but I feel like, at the end of the day, that's still my brother."
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS WIDE RECEIVER MIKE WILLIAMS
On the first practice with pads:
"It felt good. I mean, just to get the pads back on, this is what we do to play football. Just to have the pads on for the first day, it was a good day for it."
On his goals:
"Well my personal goals are just to be healthy. That's the main thing, to be healthy throughout the whole season, be available and I feel like the rest will happen. With me being a wide receiver, I feel like my availability is the best for me. I feel like, if I'm out there, I'm going to make plays for the team so [my goal is to] just to be available."
On the depth of wide receivers:
"Yeah, it's deep. We have a lot of ballers out there. Anybody can go out there and play with us. I feel that all of the receivers in the room have earned that confidence to go out there and play and have trust in the rest of our teammates. We are competing every day."
On the versatility of the wide receivers:
"Yeah, for sure. It's a versatile group. We've got the speed, we've got the route-running, we've got the big players like me and Geremy [Davis] that go out and make the tough catches. [Andre] Dre [Patton] is a nice route-runner also. You also have [Artavis] Tay [Scott] coming here playing really good football. It's a very loaded group. We are coming out every day competing against our DBs."
On being more vocal:
"For sure, I mean, I talk a little bit. I don't really talk like that, to be honest. I just kind of go out there and do what I'm supposed to do and others will follow. As far as being vocal, I hate yelling and doing all that, I'm not that type of person. I just kind of go out there and handle my business."
On the change of dynamics from next season:
"That's the big thing. We've got [TE] Hunter [Henry] coming back as another opposite threat. [WR Travis] Trav [Benjamin] with the speed. He was kind of injured last year, but now fully healthy. It's just going to add a couple more opposite threats to offense, it will be dangerous."
On Keenan Allen being overlooked in Madden ratings:
"I'm not sure why. I feel like he is one of the best in this league at what he does, and I feel like he can go out there and prove it every year. I feel like we just have to continue to do what we do, and let the game speak for itself."
On the communication among the receivers:
We all interact with each other, tell each other what we think about each route that we run, how we should attack defense. We get along as a group and communicate with each other."
On learning from WR Keenan Allen as a route-runner:
"For me coming from college, coming here, my first year, that was the main thing I wanted to improve on, was route-running. Being able to team up with a guy like him, one of the best route-runners in the league, it helped me out a lot."
The biggest pointer Allen gave him:
"Play with a lot of confidence. That's the main thing — know what you're doing, be confident when you are doing it and everything else will happen on it's own."
On his chemistry with QB Philip Rivers:
"It's good. The first year it was kind of slow, I missed a lot of time. Then the second year, being out there a lot more, I got a lot of looks, I got a lot of balls in my hands, made a lot of plays. I feel like Year 3 is going to be a lot better. I'm looking forward to it and this is what we are doing right now, getting that chemistry back to where it was at and getting ready for year three."
On being compared to Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins:
"That's one of the players I look up to. He's somebody I talk to a lot. We went to the same college and we spend time together in the offseason sometimes. We just communicate. I look at him as a brother, so just to be compared to him, that's good. He is one of the best in this league."
On continuing his body maintenance from last season:
"Just sticking to the routine. I feel like doing those things helped me out last year, so just stick with the routine and good things come from it."
On his confidence moving into his third season:
"There is a lot of confidence. I mean, I feel like I was playing football for a long time — I feel like it just comes natural. So I'm just going to go out there and play football. You know the coaches, they give us the plays to run and we got to go out there and do it. At the same time, you know, it's still football at the end of the day, so I'm real confident in my game. I just got to go out there and make plays."
