Chargers Daily Links: 3 things I want to see in today’s scrimmage

Thursday was the day the Chargers were scheduled to play their first intra-squad scrimmage at SoFi Stadium.

I used the word “scheduled” because there is a small chance it does not happen if the team decides to collectively postpone the scrimmage in the wake of recent postponements around the sports landscape.

However, if it goes on as expected, here are three things I hope to see by the time the final whistle blows on the day.

1.) No injuries

This is, and always will be, priority No. 1 for the Chargers. No matter the year, decade, situation, etc., we will never want to see a player go down, especially during a preseason exhibition that means nothing.

The Bolts have been extremely lucky so far as to not have a single player who opted-out of the season nor tested positive for the coronavirus. I don’t know how long this luck will last, but here’s to hoping it sticks around for another 24 hours.

2.) Kenneth Murray Jr. displaying coverage ability

Murray wasn’t known as a complete linebacker coming out of Oklahoma this season. Physically, he’s as talented as they come. He’s incredibly explosive and can wreck a play in an instant, but as far as what he could do as a zone defender, we didn’t get to see him do a whole lot of that while in college.

So today, I want to see him drop into a zone and makes plays. I don’t care if it’s carrying a tight end up the seam or covering a flat in cover 2, I simply want to see him get out of his normal comfort zone in the middle of the defense and see him be a football player.

3.) How do the left tackles hold up in a 100% live look

Sam Tevi and Trey Pipkins will both get their fair share of snaps on the left side during today’s scrimmage and it will finally give the public some semblance of what things could look like this season. Although none of the exhibition will be televised, how the media reports on the matter will tell us a good deal of what we want to know.

If reports come out that Tevi/Pipkins performed admirably, then we can take some solace in that. If they don’t report anything at all, then we can safely assumed it was a bad showing all the way around. This also goes for edge defenders that normally line up opposite the left tackle, like Melvin Ingram. If Ingram is said to have had an outstanding scrimmage, then we can assume a good bit from that, too.

It’s a big day for this team, no matter which way you look at it.

Also, the jerseys! We’ll get our first look at the players playing in the new threads.

This afternoon can’t come soon enough.

And now for today’s links.

Chargers News:

Listen to the architects of SoFi Stadium talk about the buildings design (Chargers.com)

Gavino Borquez highlights Kenneth Murray’s progression at MIKE linebacker (Chargers Wire)

Jason Reed discusses the unfortunate truth behind Trai Turner’s play over the last few seasons (Bolt Beat)

The three biggest disappointments from training camp by Jason Reed (Bolt Beat)

NFL News:

Eric Karabell released his fantasy football “to-do” list (ESPN)

Chris Trapasso ranks the potential impacts for this year’s crop of rookie running backs (CBS Sports)

Cody Benjamin lists his latest Hard Knocks power rankings (CBS Sports)

Seahawks S Jamal Adams needed stitches after cutting his hands in the kitchen (Pro Football Talk)

The father of Bengals CB Mackensie Alexander was found (Bleacher Report)

Mike Florio reports on the 15-minute COVID-19 test (Pro Football Talk)