Chargers camp day 5: Pads come on; O-Line vs. D-Line must see

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- If Jim Harbaugh believes that the first day of training camp is being born, then the first day in pads must be like Christmas for him.

Monday morning was the first time the pads were, so there was a bit of intensity to practice, and that is why Harbaugh stopped the team a couple of plays into "tempo" to tell everyone not to forget their teammates were on the other side.

"It was a walk-through for the 1s," Harbaugh said. "They are on different levels. The 2s and 3s have more plays coming in the [preseason] game a week from Saturday, so building up in phases."

O-Line vs. D-Line

The main attraction was first-round draft pick Joe Alt and how he would handle his first one-on-one reps. 

He faced pass rusher Joey Bosa and could hold it down against the veteran pass rusher.

"He acquitted himself well," Harbaugh said of the rookie tackle.

Trey Pipkins was at guard during the drill, and he stonewalled Scott Matlock, while left guard Zion Johnson also did an impressive job against Morgan Fox. 

Left tackle Rashawn Slater left practice early last Saturday but returned in a limited role on Monday. He did participate in the one-on-one and faced Khalil Mack, which was like two bulls in a head-on collision. Each won one rep, but they were both impressive.

Center Bradley Bozeman did a good job against Poona Ford, but he took the "got to watch the film" route during his press conference on Monday.

"It feels one way out there, but the film can say something totally different," Bozeman said.

There was a lot of cheering from both sides during the drill, which Harbaugh oversaw the whole thing.

"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.

Plays that stood out

On Monday, the defense brought it, flying all over the field. The offense had some moments, but it was the defense that kept making plays.

Alohi Gilman was absent during practice due to his and his wife's welcoming of a baby girl. So, AJ Finley and JT Woods took over most of the duties in his place, especially when Derwin James moved around the field.

Denzel Perryman and Daiyan Henley Roth had pass breakups at different points during practice, while undrafted rookie safety from Notre Dame Thomas Harper had a nice interception while being over-the-top help covering Brenden Rice.

During 11-on-11 after the one-on-ones, Justin Herbert faced a third-and-five, so he threw a nice deep ball to Quentin Johnston, heading into the end zone, looking like a sure touchdown, but it popped up from his hands, hit his chest, then hit the ground. 

Johnston let out a frustrated "f***." To be fair, Johnston had been having a nice camp leading to that play.

On fourth-and-five, Herbert hit tight end Hayden Hurst for the first down. On the next play, Herbert threw a deep pass to Chark, whom cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. ran past, caught the ball and walked into the end zone. Herbert celebrated by running and doing a soccer slide, like when they scored a goal. The defense argued it was a push-off, but the referees didn't call it. 

"One hundred percent," Kristian Fulton said. "Y'all saw that."

Fulton said Harbaugh called the pass interference.

When undrafted quarterback Casey Bauman led the offense on 11-on-11, his offense faced third-and-two when Harbaugh yelled for "LIVE," which meant it was free game. Rookie back Kimani Vidal picked up the two yards, and then they returned to thud.

"I have to make those short-yardage or goal line," Harbaugh said. "To me, it can only be done walk-through or live. There's no in-between, and there's no thud. Third-and-2, make it live."

The Chargers ended practice with Harbaugh's favorite drill, "Red Zone Lockout." This drill puts the ball on the 25-yard line, and the defense must prevent the offense from scoring.

Bosa came away with a crucial sack on third-and-2, which he ran past Herbert because there was no touching the quarterback. Chris Rumph had a sack on the following drive.

"You don't want to see the offense dominating the defense at this stage, for sure," he said. "And you could have the defense dominating the offense in these early stages of camp and might be okay with that."

Harbaugh talks injuries…not really

Last Saturday, there was a little bit of back-and-forth between Harbaugh and the media about Slater, whether he was injured or not and why he didn't practice.

Harbaugh ended his press conference on Monday by reading a prepared statement he will repeat when asked about injuries moving forward. Teams don't have to give injury reports until September 3rd, leading up to week one of the season.

"I am not medically qualified to categorize or speculate as to how someone else is feeling," Harbaugh said. "The best I can do is say that someone is working through something."