At the end of the second day of the San Diego Chargers 2015 Mini-Camp, the players and coaches gathered 25 yards away from a set of goal posts on the far side of the practice field. All of a sudden a football flew up and just over the crossbar, eliciting a collective groan from the gathered masses.
Another football barely missed the posts. Then another. And another. Finally, on the 8th attempt, the ball found its mark where the crossbar meets the upright, sending the players in to a frenzy rarely seen at the end of a football practice. What, pray-tell, would elicit such a response?
“We’ve done an outstanding job in the off-season program so we canceled practice tomorrow,” said Chargers head coach Mike McCoy, who said the gift was not based on the outcome of the throwing competition. “Just a little added excitement for the announcement.”
By the way, it was linebacker Melvin Ingram, safety Eric Weddle, wide receiver Dontrelle Inman and offensive coordinator Frank Reich making the throws. No surprise Reich (the former QB) hit it on his second attempt.
For the players, this is the kind of gesture that can pay big dividends down the road. Wide receiver Stevie Johnson shares his thoughts about getting a day off in this video:
This is the second straight year McCoy has done away with the final day of mini-camp. He says the team has done well enough to earn the extra day of rest. Now, we wait for one of the longest lulls of the NFL calendar. The Chargers are not back officially until the start of actual Training Camp to start on July 30.
