Cooper becomes San Diego's Maine man in the middle
While all the focus has been on the Patriots' new high-priced man in the middle, linebacker Adalius Thomas, the Chargers also have a new player manning their middle, and he has local ties.
Wareham native and University of Maine product Stephen Cooper has stepped into San Diego's starting lineup in his fifth NFL season. The 6-foot-1-inch, 235-pound Cooper spent the last three seasons as an understudy to Randall Godfrey, who is now with the Washington Redskins. Last year, Cooper made four starts and recorded a career-high 82 tackles.
Last week, in the Chargers' season-opening 14-3 win over the Chicago Bears, Cooper led San Diego in tackles with eight and had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
"I think Stephen got off to a great start as being our starting middle linebacker," said Chargers coach Norv Turner. "He was very, very physical and that's what we ask for at that position. He's a very good athlete. He runs, he covers well, but he really can play the run."
It's been quite a climb for the 28-year-old former Wareham High star and Globe All-Scholastic. He has gone from undrafted rookie in 2003 to a starter on a Super Bowl contender.
"I think he's doing a great job," said San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman. "And some of the things he's been doing so far, he's playing like everybody knows he's capable of doing.
"To us, he's a vet, but for people looking from the outside in, he's a guy who just started at the position and hasn't played that much. But if you really take a look, he's been there for a while. He and Matt Wilhelm have been around for a while, they just weren't starters. So I'm not surprised at the way he's playing right now because he's a vet."
In their class?
Now in his fourth season, Vince Wilfork hopes to be recognized among the NFL's elite class of 3-4 nose tackles, which he said includes the Steelers' Casey Hampton and the Chargers' Jamal Williams. While Wilfork won't be lining up against Williams tonight, it's a chance to show how far he's come, especially in front of a national audience.
"Any time you're playing with elite players, you want to play your best, point blank," Wilfork said. "That guy has been in the last two Pro Bowls. Unbelievable. Between him and Casey - flip a coin."
Talent-rich
In his teleconference with the San Diego media, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady endorsed wide receiver Randy Moss as a great teammate and talent, but took offense to the notion that he's never played with talented wide receivers.
"I've had very talented receivers over the years in Troy Brown and David Patten and Deion Branch. I haven't played with slouches at all," said Brady. "I think our passing game, we made improvements every year. This year we're looking to do very much the same thing.
"We have a group of receivers who work very hard and are very unselfish. They work hard in the running game. They're accountable to each other. We've played one game thus far, so I'm not coming to any huge proclamations at this point. We're just trying to make improvements so we can go out there and try to execute better than we did last year in San Diego."
Brady threw three interceptions in the Patriots' 24-21 playoff victory over San Diego. He has a 2-2 mark against the Chargers, one of three teams outside the AFC East to whom Brady has lost multiple times. The others are Denver (five losses) and Indianapolis (three).
Miller lets it fly
Former Patriots punter Josh Miller had a tryout with the New York Jets Friday . . . Since Bill Belichick took over as coach in 2000, the Patriots are 6-3 against teams they played in the previous season's playoffs, including last week's win over the Jets . . . Tonight's game is just the second time the Patriots will play a home opener on a Sunday night. The other was a 29-6 win over the Colts on Sept. 13, 1998.
Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. 