As advertised, John Gennaro showed up at the Chargers Night Practice at Qualcomm. Yours truly, Wonko, was also there. jkvandal, Sam (sdsuaztec4) and Jeff (sliderockmpc) were there as well. High Boltage Radio's Steve Adler was also there although all I saw of him was the back of his head. I took some pictures, but was also trying to watch the practice and talk trash with the other bloggers, writers and other riff raff that were in attendance, so I apologize if I don't have the most comprehensive set. I'll try to add in some notes that were mildly interesting, but as with most practices at the Q this one was very regimented and nothing was too fancy.
Kick Return Practice
Vincent Jackson - Obeying Rules; Not Practicing
Says hello to Charlie Joiner.
Stretching it out a little? Why you say? Well, Volek (who can't practice with the team either) threw him some passes later. No route running, just playing catch.
Light Stretching
Who Is This Guy?
The Chargers had a guy named Shawnbrey McNeal last year, but he's not supposed to be on the roster this year. So, we don't know who this guy is. Somebody needs to solve the mystery.
Offensive Drills
Oh, El Capitan our El Capitan.
Tolzien about to let one go. Still can't get over that he chose #16.
Yes, that's Ryan Mathews in pads checking out Tolzien as he throws. Mathews practiced fully.
Hard to tell here, but this was a great juggling, diving catch. I think it was Crayton.
Thia one didn't work out so well. Surprisingly it was Rivers who threw it off target.
Rivers chatting it up while the RBs run routes.
Jacob Hester catching and running so fast I could barely capture him.
Route.
Route.
Let.
It.
All.
Out.
My first ball-in-mid-air pic of the day. And it's not being thrown to a scrub. Pretty sure Seyi Ajirotutu caught it.
My goodness, those dreads Mr. Goodman. PFOB.
I don't think he caught it. I applaud the effort though.
Ball-in-the-air shot again. This time it's Hazelton about to make the grab.
Goodman balancing his dreads nicely so he can make the catch.
Buster Davis about to make the catch and hurt himself. Oh wait, it's that Travon Patterson kid now who wears #84. I'm sure he sprained an ankle or four later because of the number though.
In case the size of the man wasn't obvious, we've moved to tight ends.
More tight ends.
For the ladies.
Back to WRs. I'll shut up now as you take in all the wonderful routes.
Hanging Out
Pretty sure the guy with the beached white gloves is Kelley Washington. He also has shiny silver shoes. He was not allowed to practice, but got out there with some of the other guys that couldn't practice and caught some passes. I even saw David Binn throw him one, which is technically against the rules. However, if the NFL comes to interrogate me, I'll deny I saw anything.
Team Drills - El Capitan Running The Show
I didn't end up taking as many pics in this period. Partly because I got distracted and partly because the shots didn't do justice to everything that goes on in a football play. With so many receivers and various outcomes, I couldn't even focus in on where the ball ended up. The only thing I can note to help you visualize what was going on is something that will annoy the crap out of John.
Every time I was really paying attention to what was going on (these things get repetitive and each play melds into the next one) it seemed like Bryan Walters was making a nice catch. This annoys John because it means people will get crazy about this guy as the next Wes Welker. He's white and small and catches balls in traffic. He also did some kick returns in the early part of practice. jkvandal even pointed out that he thinks Wes Welker wore #13 with the Chargers just like Walters.
