Chargers’ Joey Bosa Says the Last Two Weeks Have Been the Best Start He’s Had in a Training Camp
Chargers pass rusher Joey Bosa believes he’s off to the best start of a training camp in his seven-year career.
COSTA MESA – The Chargers’ new-look defense looks vastly different than it did a season ago. It could have up to six new starters, teaming up with the team’s core players of Derwin James and Joey Bosa.
While James awaits a new contract, holding in until the financials are completed, Bosa has been soaking in every ounce of Khalil Mack and his new teammates. He also feels as if this is the best start to training camp he’s had in his seven-year career.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Bosa said following the Chargers’ Sunday night intrasquad scrimmage. “I think these are the best two weeks I’ve had in any of my years, so far, coming into camp. I remember after the scrimmage last year I was like, ‘Dang, I suck.’ And then it started coming to me. I feel like I’m really feeling it. My moves are coming nice and naturally.”
Bosa is dealing with two blisters on his foot, but aside from those lingering effects, he looks poised for bigger things in his near future.
“I think my moves were getting better. I figured out some things, how I wanted to rush. I think I had a really good offseason compared to last year and the last eight weeks coming into this offseason,” Bosa said on why he feels better at this year’s training camp. “I was just stacking every single day, getting stronger. Me and Nick [Bosa] had some good pass rush days.
Bosa has taken his film-watching to a more aggressive level. He’s credited Mack for that, mentioning that he’s becoming more advanced in what to specifically look for when grinding the tape.
Bosa and Mack have set time aside to sit down and watch a group of the league’s best pass rushers. They’re looking to pick certain niches from the game’s best and incorporate that into their own arsenal of moves.
“We watched him [Nick Bosa]. We watched some Chandler Jones the other day. We watched some Myles Garrett. You just take what you can from them,” Bosa said. “We try to learn. I think the real benefit is when we get down and we start watching the opposing O-line. I think he’s [Khalil Mack] great at watching film, which is something I’ve mentioned I need to get better at. So, having him to help me point out the things that you should be looking for and what really to study is going to be very beneficial.”
Bosa has looked like his normal self through 10 days of training camp. His play-strength and advanced hand usage technique have really popped. The battles between him and last year’s second-team All-Pro left tackle Rashawn Slater have been a fierce battle in the trenches – one that will only make the two stars from each side of the ball more prepared come game day.
Bosa, 27, registered 10.5 sacks last season. Now, with three new starters set to join him along the defensive line, in what’s expected to generate more duress on opposing quarterbacks, Bosa should benefit greatly from other defensive lineman that will draw more attention than what last year’s front-four entailed.
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Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Charger Report. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel for more Chargers coverage.
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