4. Mack ready for 11th grade
Khalil Mack was asked Thursday how he feels ahead of his 11th NFL season.
“I’m in a great spot,” Mack said. “Today everything was fine, I hit everything. Everything’s going like clockwork right now.”
That’s probably not what the Raiders want to hear. The last time Las Vegas came to SoFi Stadium, Mack set a Bolts single-game record with 6.0 sacks as he completely took over the game.
Mack is entering the 11th year of his Hall of Fame career, and the 33-year-old with 101.5 career sacks said he is more determined than ever.
“Everything motivates me,” Mack said. “I hear what people are saying about this and that. I take it all in and prepare myself for games like this.”
Mack later added, “I’m taking more stuff with me this week. I’m trying to listen and tune in to see what everyone is saying. I like to hear all their opinions and try to use them.”
Mack will look to continue his streak of epic performances against the Raiders, the team that drafted him fifth in 2014.
In two games at SoFi Stadium against Las Vegas, Mack recorded 9.0 sacks, eight tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and three forced fumbles.
“That book is always open for me,” Mack said. “But Week 1 against the Raiders is always fun.”
5. Assess the Raiders’ offense
Las Vegas will start Week 1 with experienced Gardner Minneapolis II at quarterback.
“I’ve always been a big fan. He’s an NFL starting quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “He creates a lot of problems and plays with great skill and system knowledge. Confidence. He’s a winner. I have a lot of respect for him.”
And while Minshew is in his first season with Las Vegas, so is Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who has been with the Bears for the past two seasons.
How will the Chargers prepare for some new faces on the opposing sideline?
“Watch a lot of different footage and try to get a feel for what they’re trying to do conceptually, like I’m sure they’re trying to do with us,” Minter said. “Ultimately, it’s going to come down to playing good defense.”
“Tackling, taking on blocks, getting rid of the ball and trusting in practice,” Minter added. “You can’t go into these games and guess, you have to go into these games and play football.”
Harbaugh said, “You look at where they were at their previous spot. And you also look at where the current roster is and get some ideas on how they’re going to use those guys.”
The Chargers defense performed excellently throughout most of training camp, whether it was a dominating joint practice on August 4 against the Rams or during sessions against the Bolts offense.
But now there is a real test against another opponent.
“I’m just excited. It’s been a long time coming,” Minter said. “I’ve been here since the beginning of February and started working with the players in April. It’s a long process to get to this point, so you’re definitely excited when the games start counting.”
“We always say every day counts, 17 of them count,” Minter added. “This is the first game where our record changes, that will continue. I’m just excited to see these guys out there playing and hopefully see our preparation pay off.”
