Chargers News: Watch Highlights From Bolts' Joint Practice With Rams

Valentina Martinez | Aug 6, 2024

Jul 24, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) speaks to the media after the first day of training camp at The Bolt. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The star of the joint practice with the Rams on Sunday was the Chargers defense.

squad full of ballhawks pic.twitter.com/jdTKpzW3J9

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 4, 2024

The Bolts first defense forced six takeaways throughout the two-hour practice. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and company couldn't keep the ball as the Chargers' defense snagged three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and recoveries.

It was evident the Bolts' defense was going to have a good day when the first takeaway came from the second-team defense. Safety Tony Jefferson soared in from the secondary to cause a pass breakup which allowed Nick Niemann to get the pick off of Rams backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

The cohesiveness of the unit continued as Alohi Gilman and Daiyan Henley earned the Chargers another turnover.

The following play was another pass breakup at the line of scrimmage. Otito Ogbonnia tipped a pass from Stafford before the ball went into the hands of Denzel Perryman.

Then, the secondary showed up. Derwin James Jr. deflected a pass and Asante Samuel Jr. caught the ball and landed in the back of the end zone.

"It was scramble drill and I was trying to find a receiver," James said. "I couldn't get it myself and I just wanted to tip it up. Zont made a great play on it."

Before leaving practice with a left wrist or hand injury, Joey Bosa had a strip-sack on Stafford that was recovered by the Chargers.

The final turnover came at the line of scrimmage when Tuli Tuipulotu tipped a pass before Kristian Fulton got the pick.

"The ball was like a volleyball today, it was tipping up everywhere," James said. "That's how it felt today. You can see it, it's real and we felt that from our guys getting off the ball today, they did a great job."

Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was pleased by the Bolts' outing on Sunday.

"Results build confidence," Minter said via the team's transcript. "It started to stack up the last three of four days where guys were playing with a lot of confidence and trusting each other and starting to really understand fits and routes and things like that.

"When you get an opportunity to test it against a different opponent, it's certainly great when you get the results," Minter added.

James, a leader of the defensive unit, was also encouraged by the show the defense put on against the Rams.

"It feels amazing," James said. "To be able to play fast and see the results that we saw today, it felt good as a defense and it let us know that — we don't want to be too high on ourselves, there's more work to be done — but it definitely felt good to go get the ball. That's definitely momentum going forward."

The defensive outing from the Chargers was exciting and if the unit can remain consistent throughout the season it will pay dividends. The next joint practice with the Rams is on Aug. 14.