SAN DIEGO - Had you visited the Chargers' practice facility yesterday along Murphy Canyon Drive up in the hills of Mission Valley, you hardly would have guessed that the team was barely 48 hours removed from a stirring yet improbable victory on the road, a happening that inspired some 8,000 fans to greet it upon the return home.
In harmony with a perfect day of weather, not a ruffle of commotion was spotted at Chargers Park.
To come down from the high of a 28-24 divisional win over the Colts and brace for the whirlwind, coast-to-coast trip for Sunday's AFC Championship, the Chargers were off for a second straight day. But whereas coach Norv Turner and selected players (LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Cromartie, and Shawne Merriman) were available for media questions, yesterday was reserved for coaches to catch up on film and players to store up on rest and Southern California warmth.
The latter being something Turner knows they can't bring with them, why fret about the forecast of freezing weather?
"No, you can't prepare for it," the coach had said Monday when asked how his Chargers would get ready for Sunday's elements. "You know, the equipment and everything they have now, [players] handle it pretty well."
Tomlinson, while thankful for the show of support that greeted the team at the airport Sunday night, cautioned that there wasn't anything to celebrate.
"We would rather have a big celebration after the Super Bowl," he said Monday.
Still, the turnout did make some players wonder. Cromartie, for instance, told a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune that it was a far cry from Week 4, a home loss to Kansas City that dropped the team to 1-3. That day, the boos came hurtling down at
"Amazing how everybody jumped on the bandwagon," said Cromartie.
Have a nice trip?
Though it never will appear on the injury report (which will be made available today), A.J. Smith, the team's executive vice president and general manager, also was hurt Sunday. He tripped coming off the team bus after coming in from the airport. "I was in such a hurry to get out of there," Smith told reporters. Smith's modest start in football included high school coaching jobs in his native Rhode Island, and he also played and coached in the Eastern Football League. He held an assistant coaching position with the University of Rhode Island and worked as a part-time scout for the Patriots in 1978-80 . . . Some other New England connections in the Chargers organization: Special teams coach Steve Crosby was with the Patriots in 1990 and served on Bill Belichick's staff in Cleveland from 1991-95; quarterbacks coach John Ramsdell played at Springfield College; Jimmy Raye III, whose father is a former Patriots assistant, is director of college scouting; and the team's executive vice president, Jim Steeg, is a Boston native who grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind.Doing his part
Before Sunday's dramatic win over the Colts, Legedu Naanee was known in Chargerland mostly as the guy who did a great job of imitating Tennessee quarterback Vince Young during practice sessions in preparation for the wild-card game. The Chargers won that game and Naanee received praise from Turner. He earned more time in the spotlight in Indianapolis, only this time it was for the catch-and-run play that covered 27 yards in the fourth quarter and helped set up what proved to be the winning touchdown plunge by another backup, quarterback Billy Volek. During the season, Naanee had just eight catches for 69 yards. Taken in the fifth round of last year's draft, Naanee was on the Boise State team that stunned Oklahoma in a most memorable Fiesta Bowl . . . During the regular season, 315 of the Chargers' 485 running plays were handled by Tomlinson (65 percent). Michael Turner (17 of 30) absorbed 56 percent of the duty as a result of Tomlinson's injury, which prompted questions to Turner the coach about Turner the running back in light of his contract status. "I never get into those scenarios," said the coach, "but I certainly know that he's going to be a free agent and I think that there's a lot of people that are going to have a lot of interest in him."
