Eric D. Williams, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Chargers' Joey Bosa perfecting art of the strip sack

Joey Bosa's endless hours spent refining his skill set have led to him becoming one of the best edge-rushers at stripping the football from quarterbacks.

Bosa has four forced fumbles on the season, tied for third in the NFL. His 22 sacks over the past 25 games are tops over that span.

As a team, the Los Angeles Chargers are tied for fifth in the league, with 37 sacks, and tied for 15th in forced fumbles, with 10.

Bosa points to specific drills designed to improve his ability to get the football away from the quarterback as the reason for his improvement.

"I really just compete with myself," Bosa said. "I kind of have a goal of one [sack] a game this year. But that's not how I define myself is how many sacks I get, so I don't really like setting goals like that. But I just try and stay on a general pace and try and beat myself."

Chargers defensive line coach Giff Smith teaches a technique called "run, run, reach" to get the ball out as a pass-rusher, a concept Bosa picked up quickly.

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley also said that at 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, Bosa is an underrated athlete, and that helps in his development as a pass-rusher.

"He's not a typical Leo-type player," Bradley said. "They don't look like that -- his athleticism is unbelievable now. I'm not seeing a guy his size and weight and have the athleticism that he has. It's very, very natural to him, and things come fast.

"Giff's teaching him new techniques and things. He'll work on it, and he picks it up fast. Not only that, but it becomes second nature"

Bosa said the ability to work with Smith the past two seasons on technique has helped him develop into a more refined pass-rusher.

"It's been great having him," Bosa said. "When we got some new coaches, I was praying he wouldn't be one of the guys to leave. So having him around has been great. I think he's a great football mind. He's not a guy who's 'it's my way or the highway.' He tries to figure out how the best way is to do it with you, which I think the best coaches do.

"We're brainstorming, thinking of new pass-rush moves or new drills we can do. Working with him has been great. We've got a pretty good relationship."

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