SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (7-5) at TENNESSEE TITANS (7-5) LP Field (69,149) Nashville, Tennessee Sunday, December 9, noon CST (10:00 a.m.

Transcription

1 SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (7-5) at TENNESSEE TITANS (7-5) LP Field (69,149) Nashville, Tennessee Sunday, December 9, noon CST (10:00 a.m. PST) SCHEDULE & RESULTS Sun. Sept. 9 CHICAGO W 14-3 Sun. Sept. 16 at New England L Sun. Sept. 23 at Green Bay L Sun. Sept. 30 KANSAS CITY L Sun. Oct. 7 at Denver W 41-3 Sun. Oct. 14 OAKLAND W Sun. Oct. 21 Bye Sun. Oct. 28 HOUSTON W Sun. Nov. 4 at Minnesota L Sun. Nov. 11 INDIANAPOLIS W Sun. Nov. 18 at Jacksonville L Sun. Nov. 25 BALTIMORE W Sun. Dec. 2 at Kansas City W Sun. Dec. 9 at Tennessee 10:00 a.m. CBS Sun. Dec. 16 DETROIT 1:15 p.m. FOX Mon. Dec. 24 DENVER 5:00 p.m. ESPN Sun. Dec. 30 at Oakland 1:15 p.m. CBS Home games in CAPS All Times Pacific OPEN PRACTICE & MEDIA AVAILABILITY TIMES Open Practice Coach Turner Open Locker Room Wed. Dec. 5 1:15-1:45 pm 3:15 pm 3:15-4:00 pm Thurs. Dec. 6 1:15-1:45 pm 3:15 pm 3:15-4:00 pm Fri. Dec. 7 11:00-11:15 am 12:30 pm 12:30 pm Sat. Dec. 8 No Availability Sun. Dec. 9 Chargers at Titans 10:00 am Conference Calls: Media Center on Wed. Nov. 28 Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher (8:45 am PST) and QB Vince Young (9:00 am PST) Players are available for interviews following each practice during the interview period. LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers will speak at the podium on Mondays and Wednesdays only. Cameras are not permitted inside the locker room. Contact the public relations office at (858) to verify practice and interview times. TV & Radio Broadcast Information CBS Sports KFMB-TV (Ch. 8 in San Diego), KCBS-TV (Ch. 2 in Los Angeles and Orange County) and DirecTV (Ch. 709) Greg Gumbel (playby-play) and Dan Dierdorf (color commentary) Sports USA Radio (National) Howard David (play-by-play), Doug Plank (color commentary) and Rich Cellini (sidelines) KIOZ-FM, Rock (San Diego), 710 ESPN (Los Angeles), Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch. 126) and the Chargers Radio Network Josh Lewin (play-byplay) and Hank Bauer (color commentary) XERCN-AM 1470 (Spanish) Jorge Villanueva (play-by-play) and Efren Dominguez (color commentary) For Immediate Release December 4, 2007 The first-place San Diego Chargers head to Music City for their first-ever visit to Nashville s LP Field for a matchup with the Tennessee Titans and a chance to clinch their third AFC West title in the last four years. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. PST. The Chargers (7-5) hold a two-game lead over Denver (5-7) in the AFC West. A San Diego win coupled with a Broncos loss to Kansas City would clinch the division and assure the Bolts of a home playoff game. The Chargers have four games left in the regular season: two at home and two on the road. San Diego is one of the NFL s hottest teams. The Bolts have won two straight and six of their last eight. The team has strung together back-to-back wins for the second time this season, earning its most recent win on the road where the team improved to 2-4. San Diego has never played in LP Field, but the team has played in Nashville, beating the then-tennessee Oilers, 13-7, in The Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee in 1997 and changed their name to the Titans in The Bolts have won four straight in the series, including convincing wins in the most recent meetings, in 2004 and 40-7 in The Chargers have won six straight games in December and are 11-4 in December the last three-plus years. The key to the Chargers recent success has been its defense. The Chargers lead the NFL in interceptions (20) and total takeaways (33), and are tied for seventh in sacks (31). Antonio Cromartie leads the NFL with eight interceptions and is only one away from tying Charlie McNeil s 47-year-old team record of nine, set in He s also threatening Dick Night Train Lane s NFL record of 14 for the Los Angeles Rams in Cromartie has all eight of his picks in the last seven games and he s only been a starter for the last four. He had two last Sunday in Kansas City. Shawne Merriman leads the team with 9.5 sacks. He had a season-high three against the Chiefs last Sunday and is now just half a sack shy of his third-straight 10-sack season. With 10, Merriman would become only the sixth player in NFL history with 10-or-more sacks in his first three NFL seasons.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction, Schedule & Results, Media Schedule... 1 Spanos Family gives $1 million to fire relief... 2 What to Look For Chargers-Titans Series History, Chargers-Titans Connections AFC West Standings, Chargers Record When, Injury Update... 6 Turnover Ratio Statistics... 7 LaDainian Tomlinson Notes Philip Rivers and Nate Kaeding Notes...12 Honors and Awards...13 Game Summaries Chargers on Radio, PR Contact Information, Chargers.com & Chargersmedia.com...20 Rosters Depth Chart...24 Coaching Staff, Team Captains, Pronunciation Guide...25 Roster Notes...26 Starting Lineups Team and Offensive Statistics Defensive and Special Teams Statistics...29 Miscellaneous Stats...30 Tale of the Tape, Team NFL Rankings Comparisons...31 Week-by-Week Offensive and Defensive Rankings...32 Touchdown Drive Summaries...33 Drive Summaries following Takeaways...34 The Last Time Transactions SPANOS FAMILY GIVES $1 MILLION TO FIRE RELIEF Following the October wildfires that ravaged San Diego County for the second time in four years, Alex and Dean Spanos announced a commitment of $1 million to aid victims of the wildfires and also to support the community s firefighting efforts. The Spanos family made a similar donation of $1 million to the Chargers Fire Relief Fund following the destructive wildfires that ravaged San Diego in In addition to the Spanos donation, the National Football League contributed $250,000 and volunteers collected another $75,000 in donations from fans attending the Oct. 28 Chargers-Texans game at Qualcomm Stadium. Before the Chargers faced the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 11, Colts Owner Jim Irsay also made a $25,000 donation to the Fire Relief Fund. Donations went directly to the Salvation Army and to the families of injured firefighters. For the Texans game, quarterback Philip Rivers also opened up his personal luxury suite at the stadium to the family members of four Cal Fire Firefighters who were injured while battling the fires. During the week leading up to the Texans game, the Chargers practiced in Arizona for three days while crews in San Diego battled the fires. The Arizona Cardinals provided access to their year-round training facility in Tempe, Arizona. 2

3 WHAT TO LOOK FOR LaDainian Tomlinson, the NFL s third-leading rusher (1,049 yards), is closing in on 1,200 yards for the season it would be Tomlinson s seventh 1,200 yard season in his first seven years in the League the only other player to achieve the feat is Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who did so in his first seven seasons with the Los Angeles Rams ( ) and Indianapolis Colts ( ) Dickerson s streak ended at seven Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner was an assistant coach with the Rams during Dickerson s final three seasons in L.A last week against Kansas City, Tomlinson went over 1,000 he s only the fourth player to get to 1,000 in his first seven seasons, joining Dickerson, Barry Sanders (first 10 seasons, ) and Curtis Martin (10, ). Tomlinson comes into Sunday s game at Tennessee with 10,225 career rushing yards and he s knocking on the door behind which the NFL s Top 20 reside with 49 yards Sunday against the Titans, Tomlinson would move past former St. Louis Cardinal and New York Giant running back Ottis Anderson and into 21 st place on the NFL s all-time rushing yardage list Anderson finished his 14-season career ( ) with 12,273 yards Jacksonville s Fred Taylor, who is still active, currently ranks 20 th with 10,325 yards, just 100 ahead of LT Taylor s Jaguars host Carolina this weekend. Tomlinson is looking for his 42 nd career 100-yard game (regular season) he had one last Sunday in Kansas City, exploding for 177 yards against the Chiefs Tomlinson does own a 100-yard game against the Titans, having rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown in Tomlinson s two-touchdown game against Kansas City last Sunday marked the 28 th time that he s had two-or-more rushing touchdowns in a regular-season game the Chargers improved to 26-2 in games when he has at least two rushing touchdowns he s done it twice this season against the Raiders (Oct. 14) and Chiefs, both wins LT s touchdowns against the Chiefs were his 10 th and 11 th rushing touchdowns of the season he s had at least 10 now in each of his seven NFL seasons he s the only player in NFL history to start his career with more than four 10-touchdown seasons. Tomlinson has 289 touches this season (rushing and receiving), second-most in the NFL he s getting the ball on 41.3% of the team s plays, his highest percentage since After giving up eight sacks in the first three games of the season (106 pass plays), the Bolts O-line has only allowed just eight in its last nine games (262 pass plays) the 16 sacks allowed on the season is tied for the second-fewest in the NFL with New England, Dallas, Cleveland and Cincinnati New Orleans has only allowed 11 to lead the NFL. The Chargers offensive line has allowed only three sacks in the last three games (99 pass plays) in their last four road games (at Denver, Minnesota, Jacksonville and Kansas City), the group has allowed only four sacks in 125 pass plays for the season, the Chargers offensive line is only allowing one sack for every 22.9 times they drop back to pass. San Diego s defense had a season-high eight sacks on Sunday against Kansas City and it has 12 in the last two games, its most in a twogame stretch all season among the sacks against the Chiefs was a sack and forced fumble, the seventh time this season the Bolts have recorded a sack and FF on the same play the Chargers are tied with the New York Giants and Washington for the most combined sacks and forced fumbles Seattle and New England lead the league in sacks + FFs with 11. Shawne Merriman increased his career sack total to 36.5 with three last Sunday in K.C.he is closing in on the team s Top-10 list for career sacks Chris Mims and Burt Grossman are tied in the ninth-10 th slot with 38, while Louie Kelcher is eighth with 39 only seven players in team history have ever recorded more than 40 sacks for their careers. Merriman comes into Sunday s game at Tennessee tied for seventh in the NFL with 9.5 sacks if he gets to 10, Merriman would become only the sixth player in NFL history with 10-or-more sacks in each of their first three NFL seasons the late Reggie White set the standard in this category with 10-or-more in his first nine NFL seasons ( ) the others to achieve this feat are Dwight Freeney ( ), the late Derrick Thomas ( ) who both did it in four straight, and Jevon Kearse ( ) and Anthony Smith ( ), who both did it in three straight. If Merriman gets to 10 this season, his streak of 10-or-more sacks in at least three consecutive seasons would be the second-longest in team history Leslie O Neal ( ) is the only player in team history with a longer streak of 10- sack seasons (four). Merriman s multi-sack game last Sunday in Kansas City was the 10 th of his career the Chargers are 9-1 in those games while he did not have any sacks in his lone game against Tennessee (2006), Merriman did record his first and only NFL interception against the Titans. 3

4 Antonio Gates needs one more 100-yard game to equal the team record for 100-yard games in a season by a tight end (Kellen Winslow, five, 1980 & 1982) Gates has four 100-yard games this season, tying his career high (2005) for his career, he now has yard games and needs one more to move into a tie with Tony Martin ( ) for the eighth-most 100-yard games in team history Gates 12 are the second-most by a tight end in team annals behind Winslow s 26. With 42 career touchdown catches (fifth-most in team history), Gates needs three more to tie Winslow (45) for the fourth-most TD catches in team history. With 4,211 career receiving yards, Gates ranks seventh on the team s all-time receiving yardage list Anthony Miller ranks sixth with 5,582 yards, 1,371 ahead of Gates. Gates 326 career receptions are the ninth-highest total in team history leaving him 47 behind Wes Chandler (373), the team s eighthleading pass catcher. Look for Vincent Jackson to finish the season with a flurry Jackson caught his first touchdown pass in the last seven games, scoring on a 38-yards pass from Philip Rivers against the Chiefs last Sunday he has nine catches for 151 yards in the last four games last season, Jackson got hot down the stretch, catching 14 passes for 286 yards and three TDs in the final four games. Look for punter Mike Scifres to continue giving opponents a long field to work with after landing only three of his first 22 punts of the season inside the 20, Scifres has now landed 23 of his last 37 inside the 20 (62 percent) for the season, his 26 punts inside the 20 are second-most in the NFL. Scifres is currently the NFL s third-leading punter in terms of net average (39.5) he s only had 22 punts returned, tied for the eighthfewest among the NFL s top 25 net punters he s aiming to join Dennis Partee (40.6 in 1971) as the only punters in team history to finish a season with a net of five times this season, opponents have had either zero or negative punt return yards against the Chargers Chicago (0), Kansas City (0), Oakland (0), Indy (-5) and Baltimore (0). Scifres has hit at least one 60-yard punt in six straight games, including a season-long 70 yarder Nov. 25 against Baltimore. The Chargers are looking to go 3-1 against the AFC South the Bolts already have wins over Houston and division-leading Indianapolis. 4

5 CHARGERS-TITANS SERIES HISTORY Two of the original eight American Football League franchises, the San Diego Chargers and Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers) have been linked since the formation of the AFL in Since then, the two franchises have met 37 times, including two AFL Championship Games and an AFC Divisional Playoff Game. The Chargers lead the all-time series and there s been one tie. The Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997 and changed their name to the Titans in San Diego has won four straight in the series and is 1-0 in Nashville, where this Sunday s game will be contested (13-7 in 1998). A recap of the complete series history is below at Houston L at Los Angeles W at Houston* L at San Diego W at Houston L at San Diego* L at San Diego L at Houston L at San Diego W 27-0 at Houston W at San Diego W at Houston W at San Diego W at Houston W at Houston W at San Diego W 13-3 at Houston L at San Diego W at Houston W at San Diego T at Houston L at San Diego W at Houston L at Houston L at San Diego W at Houston W at San Diego** L at San Diego W at Houston L at San Diego W at Houston L at San Diego L at San Diego L at Houston L at San Diego W at Tennessee W at San Diego W at San Diego W 40-7 * AFL Championship Game ** AFC Divisional Playoffs CHARGERS-TITANS CONNECTIONS Chargers FB Lorenzo Neal spent two seasons with the Titans and was a member of the club s 1999 AFC Championship squad QB Billy Volek played for Tennessee from CB Drayton Florence played at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga from Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner was the defensive backs coach at USC when Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher played in the Trojans secondary Turner also coached wide receivers during Fisher s time in Los Angeles Fisher and Chargers Inside Linebackers Coach Ron Rivera were teammates with the Chicago Bears Titans Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers Dave McGinnis was Rivera s position coach in Chicago Chargers Defensive Coordinator Ted Cottrell and Secondary Coach Bill Bradley worked with Titans Wide Receivers Coach Fred Graves in Buffalo. Chargers LB Tim Dobbins is a native of Nashville and prepped at Glencliff High School Assistant General Manager Buddy Nix maintains a home in Chattanooga and spent nine seasons as the head coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Special Teams coach Steve Crosby spent four seasons as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Vanderbilt Assistant Offensive Line coach Hal Hunter also spent four years on West End Avenue where he coached tight ends and the offensive line for the Commodores. Chargers Managing Editor-Website & Publications Casey Pearce interned with the Titans in a similar capacity in Chargers CB Quentin Jammer and Titans FB Ahamard Hall both hail from Angleton, Texas and were high school teammates before playing together at the University of Texas. During Philip Rivers freshman season at NC State, he was tutored by Titans Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow, who held the same position with the Wolfpack in 2000 Titans assistant special teams coach Marty Galbraith was promoted to Chow s position when Chow left Raleigh for USC, allowing Galbraith to work with Rivers during his sophomore and junior seasons Chargers wide receiver Malcom Floyd s older brother Malcolm played wide receiver for the Houston/Tennessee Oilers from Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher is a native of Woodland Hills, CA and played collegiately at USC Offensive coordinator Norm Chow held the same position at USC from Assistant Head Coach/Running backs Sherman Smith spent the final two seasons of his nine-year NFL playing career with the Chargers ( ) Assistant Secondary Coach Marcus Robertson is from Pasadena. Titans C/G Eugene Amano is a San Diego native he attended Rancho Bernardo High School. 5

6 Chargers Assistant Offensive Line Coach Hal Hunter coached the offensive line at North Carolina when Titans LB David Thornton played for the Tar Heels. The following players were college teammates: Chargers LB Marques Harris and Titans RB Chris Brown at Colorado Chargers OT Shane Olivea and LB Matt Wilhelm with Titans S Donnie Nickey and TE Ben Hartstock at Ohio State Chargers LB Shawne Merriman and Titans DT Randy Starks at Maryland Chargers LB Jyles Tucker with Titans RB Chris Barclay and CB Eric King at Wake Forrest Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie and Titans WR Chris Davis at Florida State Chargers LB Shaun Phillips and C Nick Hardwick with Titans LB Gilbert Gardner at Purdue Chargers LB Brandon Siler and Titans CB Reynaldo Hill at Florida Chargers QB Philip Rivers and Titans LB Stephen Tulloch at NC State. THE AFC WEST Team W L T PF PA HM AY AFC NFC DIV Chargers Denver Kansas City Oakland LAST WEEK THIS WEEK NEXT WEEK San Diego at Kansas City San Diego at Tennessee Detroit at San Diego Denver at Oakland Kansas City at Denver Denver at Houston (Thur.) Oakland at Green Bay Tennessee at Kansas City Indianapolis at Oakland At home: 5-1 On the road: 2-4 In September: 1-3 In October: 3-0 In November: 2-2 In December: 1-0 Scoring first: 5-3 Opponent scores first: 2-2 Leading at the half: 5-2 Trailing at the half: 1-3 Tied at the half: 1-0 Leading After 3Q: 7-1 Trailing After 3Q: 0-3 Tied After 3Q: 0-1 Team rushes for 100+ yards: 4-1 Team rushes for less than 100 yards: 3-4 Opponent rushes for 100+ yards: 1-4 Opponent rushes for less than 100 yards: 6-1 CHARGERS RECORD IN 2007 WHEN + Turnover ratio: Turnover ratio: 0-4 = Turnover ratio: 0-1 Team passes for 250+ yards: 1-2 Team passes for less than 250 yards: 6-3 Opponent passes for 250+ yards: 2-3 Opponent passes for less than 250 yards: 5-2 Team scores 20+ points: 6-1 Team scores less than 20 points: 1-4 Opponent scores 20+ points: 1-5 Opponent scores less than 20 points: 6-0 Outdoors: 7-4 Indoors: 0-1 Night games: 1-1 Day games: 6-4 Natural grass: 7-3 Artificial playing surface: 0-2* *New England and Minnesota INJURY UPDATE The Chargers reported only three injuries from Sunday s game against Kansas City: defensive end Jacques Cesaire (thumb), guard Mike Goff (knee) and running back-kick returner Darren Sproles (knee). All three will have their status updated later this week. Defensive end Luis Castillo (ankle) missed the Chiefs game due to injury. 6

7 2007 TAKEAWAY-GIVEAWAY RATIO The Chargers lead the NFL with 20 interceptions and 33 total takeaways, and they rank second in the League with a +14 turnover ratio. The Bolts have never finished a season leading the NFL in INTs. In 1961 however, the Bolts did lead the AFL, recording 49 interceptions. The team is 7-0 this season in games when it wins the turnover battle. The leader of this group is cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who leads the NFL with eight INTs, two more than the league s next two closest defenders, Baltimore s Ed Reed and New England s Asante Samuel, who both have six. Cromartie returned one of his interceptions 70 yards for a touchdown against Houston. Even more impressive than the touchdown Cromartie scored are the ones that he s prevented. On Nov. 11 against Indianapolis, Cromatie had an interception in the end zone on a pass intended for Reggie Wayne. The Bolts ended up winning that game by two points. Then last Sunday in Kansas City, Cromartie had two interceptions in the end zone, preventing 14 Kansas City points in a game the Chargers won by 14 points, Cromartie is in only his second NFL season and he only was inserted into the starting lineup four games ago, yet both his interceptions against the Chiefs came while covering veteran receivers, Eddie Kennison and perennial Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez. The Bolts have recorded at least two takeaways in 10 of the team s 12 games this season and have tallied 27 of its 33 takeaways in the last nine games TAKEAWAY-GIVEAWAY CHARTS Takeaways Pts. Giveaways Pts. Date Opponent Int. Fum. Total From Int. Fum. Total From Net W-L 09/09 Chicago W 09/16 at New England L 09/23 at Green Bay L 09/30 K.C L 10/7 at Denver W 10/14 Oakland W 10/28 Houston W 11/4 at Minnesota L 11/11 Indianapolis W 11/18 at Jacksonville L 11/25 Baltimore W 12/2 at Kansas City W Totals

8 LT MOVES PAST SWEETNESS LOOKS TO OVERTAKE MARCUS ALLEN Last Sunday in Kansas City, LaDainian Tomlinson scored the 110 th and 111 th rushing touchdowns of his career to move into third place on the NFL s all-time list. In doing so, he moved past his boyhood idol Walter Payton on the list. Tomlinson now trails only Emmitt Smith (164) and Marcus Allen (123) on the League s all-time rushing touchdowns list. 1. Emmitt Smith LT Marcus Allen Walter Payton When Tomlinson met with the media the day after overtaking the late Payton for third place, he did so wearing a commemorative Payton jersey. Here are some of Tomlinson s comments following this milestone achievement. Are you wearing a Walter Payton jersey today to celebrate the occasion? It s a special occasion. I usually leave it at the house but obviously it s fitting in this situation. Of all the milestones, is this more special than the others? I think so. I think it is because he was obviously someone I idolized as a kid a childhood hero, whatever you want to call it. He was that for me, so it is a little more special for me. Did you get to spend any time with him before he passed? No I didn t. That s a part that I would have loved to do but I never did get the chance or opportunity (to meet him). But I felt like I knew him anyway because I saw him so much on television and what not. I felt like I did know him. What did you learn watching him? I learned what character is all about I think. Even from afar. I learned how to be humble. I think I also learned how to compete the right way. I think those are very important things I definitely learned by watching. Did you learn more from what he did off the field than on it? Definitely. He was a guy that was a superstar and it wasn t just his superstar ability that I looked to even though that was the part that I was drawn to. It was obvious that there was something else about him that was different. He didn t tell you he was a superstar and didn t brag about it or whatnot. It just seams the way he handled people was the way you should. Someone of his nature and his abilities, the way he handled things... When you were with (Payton s widow) Connie at the Super Bowl last year, what did you take from that? She had a great spirit, just a strong spirit. She s just a loving, nice lady from just talking to her. Then getting a chance to meet his son and daughter (feeling) the same way with them. I was very impressed with the family. Just talking with them and getting to know them a little bit, I kind of felt like here was a man that I knew what he meant to me but this was a piece of him, all three of them. I remember that Ms. Payton told me that her daughter said that out of everybody that I reminded her of her father. For me at the time, it was a humbling experience. Did you have the option of wearing Payton s number in college or here? No, I didn t have that option. I never wanted to pick the same number as any of the athletes or the running backs that I admire simply because I felt like they chose their number for a reason. It was my point to chose my own number and make that number something special. So I wouldn t pick 34. I picked my own number. Thirty-four is what Walter wore. People remember him by that. It wouldn t be right for me to pick the number. I felt like I needed my own number to be known by that. By the way you carry yourself, do you hope you can extend Payton s legacy to another generation of kids? I hope so. That s how it usually works is the tradition and the legacy continues of showing the younger generation who comes after you how to do it the right way and what steps to take to be successful. I think we have to get the kids to really listen now. It s amazing that so many 8

9 of the kids now are getting bad I would say with guns and all this kind of stuff with the Sean Taylor incident. These guys are teenagers. It s mind boggling to me where we are right now. Somewhere along the line we have lost I think the proper respect for the guys that have come before you. We have to get that back, but it takes a lot of us. We have to all say something about it and stand up and take responsibility for what s going on right now. Do you hope that 20 years from now when someone who is a kid now passes you gets up and wears a 21 jersey? I don t know. It would definitely be an honor. I m pretty sure that day is going to come where some kid passes me up. Whether I m still alive or not, that s yet to be seen. I think it s the sign of the ultimate respect just to say thank you. That s my whole point in this just to say thank you like I said yesterday for allowing a kid like myself to really dream and imagine that I can go beyond my wildest dreams. That s what it s about for me. What would have happened if you had never seen Payton play? I don t know. I probably would have continued to play the game just because that s what you do. Your friends are playing; you play. I don t think I would have had the same kind of passion for it. For some reason I just saw it in him. I saw the passion and the commitment, him running the hills and the things that he did out on the field and different things that he did to train and prepare himself for things like that. I saw it in him. I guess that s where I kind of I remember I asked my mom for a weight set at six (years old). He was part of the reason why I did that. I told her, I need a weight set because if I m going to make it to the NFL I ve got to be big. I ve got to get stronger. It was because of those guys. There were coaches who would make tapes of Payton s blocking. What would an LT blocking tape look like? I think it would be a solid tape because I try to take pride in stepping up and blocking linebackers and cutting down defensive ends and secondary guys. I have too much pride to say that my man beat me and I gave up a sack. That s how I think about it. I think Walter was the same way. That s why you saw him sometimes do it so violently when he blocked people. That s the way I feel about it. If you could put a big linebacker or lineman on his back, would that be more gratifying than scoring a touchdown? No I don t think so. It wouldn t. There s nothing like scoring a touchdown. Touchdowns are sweet. Was there anyone that had a better nickname than Sweetness? No, that s the best nickname you could have. Why did that fit him? I think (it fit) his personality really. The way he was with people; his family. Just him as a person. I think it was because obviously his talk was also he wasn t a guy that yelled and screamed or whatnot. It was soft spoken. I think Sweetness just kind of stayed with him. Did you respect him for the way that he played passionately even though the teams he was on weren t very good until later in his career? I think I respect that the most. It was a team when he first got there, it wasn t good at all. The thing about him was that he didn t say, I want to get out of here. Trade me. This team is not good. I should be somewhere else. I m getting my head knocked off every play. That wasn t him. He was a guy that said, You know what, I m going to be part of the solution of helping us turn this thing around and win a championship. For me that s what it s been about the whole time. A guy that didn t go to the best team. He had to withstand and persevere some hard times. In the end, he had the ultimately prize. He won a Super Bowl. For me, that s more gratifying and I have so much more respect for him doing that than anything else. Do you see some parallels between you and him in that respect? There are definitely some similarities between us in that way. It was a team that was struggling when I first got here; then now becoming a solid team in this league and a team that s going to be able to compete each year for a playoff spot. Let s just hope my career ends like his with a Super Bowl ring. That s all I can ask for. 9

10 LT MOVES INTO TIE FOR NINTH ON TOTAL TDs LIST LaDainian Tomlinson moved into a tie with Marvin Harrison for ninth place on the NFL s all-time touchdowns list after scoring twice last Sunday in Kansas City. In that game, Tomlinson moved past his boyhood hero Walter Payton on the NFL s rushing touchdowns list. With three more scores, he ll have a chance to now surpass Payton on the League s all-time touchdowns list too. The complete list is below. 1. Jerry Rice Terrell Owens Emmitt Smith Jim Brown Marcus Allen Walter Payton Marshall Faulk LT Cris Carter Marvin Harrison LT CLOSES IN ON TOP 20 ALL-TIME RUSHERS Tomlinson is also on the verge of cracking the NFL s Top-20 all-time rushing yardage list. With 49 yards on Sunday against the Titans, Tomlinson will move past Ottis Anderson and into 21 st place. The complete list is below. 1. Emmitt Smith , Thurman Thomas , Walter Payton , John Riggins , Barry Sanders , Edgerrin James , Curtis Martin , Corey Dillon , Jerome Bettis , O.J. Simpson , Eric Dickerson , Ricky Watters , Tony Dorsett , Tiki Barber , Jim Brown , Eddie George , Marshall Faulk , Fred Taylor , Marcus Allen , Ottis Anderson , Franco Harris , LT ,225 LT s TEAM-RECORD WATCH Tomlinson currently owns or shares a total of 20 team records. They are regular-season records unless listed otherwise. Career Touchdowns 123 Single-Season Rushing Yards 1,815 Career Rushing Touchdowns 111 Single-Season Rushing Attempts 372 Career 100-Yard Rushing Games 41 Single-Season Total Yards from Scrimmage 2,370 Career 200-Net-Yard Games 12 Single-Season Receptions 100 Career Rushing Yards 10,225 Single-Game Rushing Touchdowns 4* Career Rushing Attempts 2,289 Single-Game Rushing Yards 243 Career Total Yards from Scrimmage 13,552 Single-Game Rushing Attempts 39 Single Season Points Single-Game Postseason Rushing Attempts 26 Single Season Touchdowns 31 Consecutive Games with a Touchdown 18 Single-Season 100-Yard Rushing Games 10 *Tied with Clarence Williams and Chuck Muncie Single-Season 200-Net-Yard Games 5 85t...vs. Kansas City, Dec. 17, vs. Denver, Dec. 1, t...vs. Minnesota, Nov. 9, t...at Cleveland, Oct. 19, at Seattle, Dec. 24, 2006 vs. New York Giants, Sept. 25, at Oakland, Sept. 11, 2006 LT s LONG RUNS t...vs. New England, Sept. 29, vs. Kansas City, Nov. 30, vs. Minnesota, Nov. 9, t...at Oakland, Sept. 28, at Cleveland, Oct. 7, t...at Buffalo, Dec. 3, vs. St. Louis, Oct. 29,

11 74t...at Indianapolis, Dec. 26, t...at Detroit, Dec. 7, t...vs. Green Bay, Dec. 14, vs. New York Jets, Sept. 19, vs. Jacksonville, Oct. 10, t...at Denver, Nov. 19, 2006 LT s 10-LONGEST RECEPTIONS 41...vs. Pittsburgh, Oct. 10, t...at Kansas City, Oct. 22, at Denver, Oct. 7, at Jacksonville, Nov. 18, t...at Oakland, Oct. 16, 2005 In 2007 when LT Rushes for more than 100 yards: 2-1 Rushes for less than 100 yards: 5-4 Carries 20 or more times in a game: 5-2 Carries less than 20 times in a game: 2-3 Scores a touchdown: 4-4 Scores no touchdowns: 3-1 Throws a touchdown pass: 1-0 Scores two or more touchdowns: 2-0 Makes a play of 70 yards or longer: 0-0 Rushes for more than 200 yards: 0-0 Records 200 combined yards: 1-0 THE CHARGERS RECORD Dating back to his rookie season in 2001 when LT Rushes for more than 100 yards: 32-9 Rushes for less than 100 yards: Carries 20 or more times in a game: Carries less than 20 times in a game: Scores a touchdown: Scores no touchdowns: Throws a touchdown pass: 5-2 Scores two or more touchdowns: 29-4 Makes a play of 70 yards or longer: 5-1 Rushes for more than 200 yards: 4-0 Records 200 combined yards: 11-1 LT THE QUARTERBACK In Week 1 against Chicago, Tomlinson threw his seventh-career touchdown pass, hitting Antonio Gates on a 17-yard halfback-option pass for a touchdown in the third quarter. LT now has thrown the second-most touchdown passes by a non-quarterback in NFL history. Walter Payton holds the NFL record with eight. Below is an updated look at each of his seven career TD passes, along with his updated career passing statistics. 09/28/03 21 yards to Drew Brees at Oakland 10/22/06 1 yard to Brandon Manumaleuna at K.C. 09/25/05 26 yards to Keenan McCardell vs. N.Y. Giants 11/26/06 19 yards to Antonio Gates vs. Oakland 10/16/05 4 yards to Justin Peelle at Oakland 09/09/07 17 yards to Antonio Gates vs. Chicago 10/30/05 17 yards to Eric Parker vs. K.C. Career Passing Sacks- Pass Att.-Comp. Yards Pct. TD Int. Long Lost Rating TOMLINSON S 2007 RUSHING TRACKER vs Chi NE GB 132 vs KC 67 DN vs OK 90 vs HO MN 76 vs IN JX 77 vs BAL KC TN 12/16 vs DET 12/24 vs DEN OAK 11

12 THE CHARGERS RECORD WITH PHILIP RIVERS AS A STARTER In 2007 Career Passes for more than 250 Yards Passes for less than 250 Yards Passes for more than 300 Yards Passes for less than 300 Yards Throws three or more touchdown passes Throws two or fewer touchdown passes Completes better than 60 percent of his pass attempts Completes less than 60 percent of his pass attempts Posts a passer rating over Posts a passer rating of less than At home On the road Indoors Outdoors Day games Night games Natural Grass Artificial Turf vs. AFC teams vs. NFC teams NATE THE GREAT Year Team Total 2004 San Diego San Diego San Diego San Diego Totals Surface Total Home Away Indoors Outdoors FieldTurf AstroTurf Grass Rain Snow Indoor Games: 9/12/04 at Houston; 10/17/04 at Atlanta; 12/26/04 at Indianapolis; 12/18/05 at Indianapolis; 11/4/07 at Minnesota Field Turf Games: 10/17/04 at Atlanta; 11/6/05 at New York Jets; 12/18/05 at Indianapolis; 10/1/06 at Baltimore; 11/12/06 at Cincinnati; 12/3/06 at Buffalo; 12/24/06 at Seattle; 11/4/07 at Minnesota AstroTurf Games: 12/26/04 at Indianapolis Rain Games: 12/5/04 vs. Denver; 1/8/05 vs. New York Jets; 12/24/05 at Kansas City; 12/31/05 vs. Denver; 12/24/06 at Seattle; 11/11/07 vs. Indianapolis Snow Games: 12/19/04 at Cleveland 12

13 PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY NAMES WEDDLE TOP ROOKIE Pro Football Weekly editors recently named rookie safety ERIC WEDDLE as one of the NFL s best newcomers. Weddle, a 2007 second-round pick, has seen action in all but one game this season, lining up with regularity on both defense and special teams. TOMLINSON TOUGHEST TO TACKLE The Sporting News ran a recent poll in which NFL defensive players from around the league were asked who the toughest player to tackle was among their peers. LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON was a runaway winner, earning 19 votes. Minnesota s ADRIAN PETERSON (six votes) was second. NORV TURNER CHOSEN AS MOTOROLA NFL COACH OF THE WEEK NORV TURNER was selected after leading the Chargers to a win over the Houston Texans to bring their record to 4-3 and to bring them into a tie for first place with the Chiefs in the AFC West. Turner steered the Bolts to victory, keeping his team focused following the devastating fires that ravaged San Diego and throughout Southern California, including a three-day midweek sabbatical for the team to practice in Arizona. Turner was selected as Motorola NFL Coach of the Week from among three finalists by voters on NFL.com. The other finalists were head coaches TONY DUNGY of the Indianapolis Colts and ROD MARINELLI of the Detroit Lions. In January, voting will be held on NFL.com to determine the Motorola NFL Coach of the Year. GATES NAMED TO PFW S MID-SEASON ALL-PRO TEAM ANTONIO GATES was the lone Charger selected to Pro Football Weekly s Midseason All-Pro Team. The team was voted on by the magazine s editors and it was published in the Nov. 11 issue. Gates is a three-time PFW All-Pro, earning honors from GATES also earned Midseason All-Pro Honors from Sports Illustrated.com and The Sporting News. He was joined on the TSN Midseason All-Pro Team by running back LaDAINIAN TOMLINSON and left tackle MARCUS McNEILL. CHARGERS HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE WEEK Since 1997, the San Diego Chargers have participated in the NFL High School Coach of the Week program. Each week during the season, one coach will be named the high school coach of the week and receive a $1,500 donation to his school s football program courtesy of the Chargers, the NFL and the US Army. At the end of the season, the Chargers cap off the program by selecting a coach of the year, who will receive a $2,500 donation for his school s program. All of the coaches of the week and the coach of the year will be honored at the Chargers Dec. 24 home game against the Denver Broncos. In addition to the cash award for their school, each coach receives a coach of the week hat and a framed coach of the week certificate from the team. Below are all of the 2007 High School Coaches of the Week. Week 1 Desi Herrera (San Marcos HS) Week 7 John Carroll (Oceanside HS) Week 2 Al Hood (Kearny HS) Week 8 Sergio Diaz (Scripps Ranch HS) Week 3 Gary Blevins (Mira Mesa HS) Week 9 Damian Gonzalez (Poway HS) Week 4 Dan Williams (Vista HS) Week 10 - Tom Karlo (Mt. Miguel) Week 5 Chris Hauser (Mission Hills HS) Week 11 - Eric Jorgensen (Rancho Buena Vista) Week 6 Judd Rachow (Chula Vista HS) 13

14 GAME SUMMARIES WEEK 1: CHARGERS VS. CHICAGO The Chargers opened the 2007 season with a hard-fought 14-3 win over the Chicago Bears in Norv Turner s head coaching debut in San Diego for most of three quarters, the game was a slugfest with Chicago holding on to a 3-0 advantage untimely penalties, turnovers and dropped passes prevented the Chargers from getting on the scoreboard until they caught a break late in the third quarter when a Mike Scifres punt took an errant bounce and hit a Bears player Matt Wilhelm recovered the football and the Bolts were in business as four plays later LaDainian Tomlinson took a handoff from Philip Rivers and on a halfback option play threw a perfect spiral to Antonio Gates who scored from 17 yards out to give the Chargers a 7-3 lead then six plays later on Chicago s next drive, linebacker Stephen Cooper hit Bears running back Adrian Peterson after a two yard gain and in the process he stripped the ball from the Peterson the fumble was recovered by Clinton Hart and it gave the Bolts great field position at their own 44-yard line eight plays and 56 yards later, Tomlinson capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run and the Bolts would hold on for the 14-3 victory. Score by Quarters Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total Chicago Bears San Diego Chargers Bears 2 14:13 R. Gould 27 yd. Field Goal [8-27, 3:54] Chargers 3 0:45 A. Gates 17 yd. pass from L. Tomlinson (N. Kaeding kick) [4-29, 2:05] Chargers 4 9:09 L. Tomlinson 7 yd. run (N. Kaeding kick) [8-56, 4:36] Attendance 67,837 WEEK 2: CHARGERS AT NEW ENGLAND The Chargers watched their record fall to 1-1 as the New England Patriots handed them a resounding defeat before a capacity crowd of 68,756 at Gillette Stadium and a national-television audience on NBC s Sunday Night Football New England scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game and it set the tone for the rest of the night San Diego fell behind 24-0 at the half as Ben Watson caught a 7-yard touchdown pass, Randy Moss a 23-yarder and Adalius Thomas returned an interception 65 yards for a third score the Chargers turned the ball over three times in the game s first 30 minutes, leading directly to 10 Patriots points the Chargers attempted to make a game of it in the second half, scoring on a 1-yard TD catch by Lorenzo Neal midway through the third quarter, but the Patriots answered with Moss second touchdown catch of the night the Chargers scored again to cut the New England lead to and then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but a three-and-out by the offense pretty much dashed the Bolts hopes as New England drove 91 yards for one final score to put away the game, linebacker Shawne Merriman turned in a big defensive effort for the Chargers, racking up two sacks, a forced fumble and a tackle for loss, but it wasn t enough as New England racked up 407 yards of total offense against San Diego s defense offensively, New England held the Bolts to 201 total yards on the night. Score by Quarters Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total San Diego Chargers New England Patriots Patriots 1 12:14 B.Watson 7 yd. pass from T.Brady (S.Gostkowski kick) [7-69, 2:46] Patriots 1 3:55 R.Moss 23 yd. pass from T.Brady (S.Gostkowski kick) [10-75, 5:58] Patriots 2 10:01 S.Gostkowski 24 yd. Field Goal [10-50, 5:35] Patriots 2 5:17 A.Thomas 65 yd. interception return (S.Gostkowski kick) Chargers 3 6:43 L.Neal 1 yd. pass from P.Rivers (N.Kaeding kick) [16-72, 8:17] Patriots 3 2:56 R.Moss 24 yd. pass from T.Brady (S.Gostkowski kick) [7-75, 3:47] Chargers 4 14:48 A.Gates 12 yd. pass from P.Rivers (N.Kaeding kick) [8-82, 3:08] Patriots 4 3:18 S.Morris 3 yd. run (S.Gostkowski kick) [15-91,10:07] Attendance 68,756 WEEK 3: CHARGERS AT GREEN BAY The Chargers watched a victory slip from their grasp as Brett Favre rallied the Packers from a fourthquarter deficit with a 57 yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings with 2:03 left to ply in the fourth quarter as Green Bay dealt the Bolts a setback before a sellout crowd of 70,733 at historic Lambeau Field Favre, whose touchdown pass to Jennings was the NFL-recordtying 420 th of his career (tying Dan Marino), passed for 369 yards and three touchdowns without any interceptions against the Bolts defense still down only three points after the TD reception, Philip Rivers attempted to rally the Chargers for a tying or go-ahead score, but a pass intended for LaDainian Tomlinson was intercepted by Nick Barnett and returned to the Chargers two-yard line two plays later the Packers scored to go up San Diego did manage to rally for a field goal with 20 seconds left, but Green Bay recovered the onsides kick 14

15 and ran out the clock for the victory Rivers had a very good day prior to the interception, completing 75 percent of his passes (27 of 36) for 306 yards and three touchdowns Antonio Gates led the Bolts with 113 yards receiving, while Tomlinson, Vincent Jackson and Buster Davis all caught touchdown passes. Score by Quarters Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total San Diego Chargers Green Bay Packers Chargers 1 7:07 V.Jackson 27 yd. pass from P.Rivers (N.Kaeding kick) [9-60, 5:43] Packers 1 2:40 M.Crosby 28 yd. Field Goal [9-77, 4:27] Packers 2 11:53 D.Driver 5 yd. pass from B.Favre (M.Crosby kick) [7-49, 3:39] Packers 2 2:48 B.Franks 5 yd. pass from B.Favre (M.Crosby kick) [10-79, 3:56] Chargers 2 0:32 C.Davis 9 yd. pass from P.Rivers (N.Kaeding kick) [9-80, 2:16] Chargers 3 9:02 L.Tomlinson 21 yd. pass from P.Rivers (N.Kaeding kick) [12-80, 5:58] Packers 4 2:03 G.Jennings 57 yd. pass from B.Favre (M.Crosby kick) [2-57, 0:15] Packers 4 0:59 B.Jackson 1 yd. run (M.Crosby kick) [2-2, 0:13] Chargers 4 0:20 N.Kaeding 44 yd. Field Goal [5-43, 0:39] Attendance 70,733 WEEK 4: CHARGERS VS. KANSAS CITY The Chargers let one slip through their grasp, blowing a 16-6 halftime lead and being outscored 24-0 in the second half as the Kansas City Chiefs dealt the Bolts a shocking loss before a crowd of 65,175 at Qualcomm Stadium the Chargers were unable to take advantage of a 132-yard performance by LaDainian Tomlinson and Kansas City capitalized on four San Diego turnovers the Bolts led 16-6 at the half on a five-yard TD run by Tomlinson and three Nate Kaeding field goals, including a home career-long of 51 yards, but Kansas City scored their six points following a fumble and an interception things began to unravel for the Chargers in the second half Kansas City kicked a field goal in the latter half of the third quarter to cut the lead to 16-9 on the following drive, Philip Rivers had a pass intended for Tomlinson picked off by Derrick Johnson and three plays later Tony Gonzalez caught a 22-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at after San Diego s offense went three-and-out, Kansas City got the ball back and dealt the Bolts a devastating blow facing a 3 rd -and-19 from their own 49-yard line, rookie WR Dwayne Bowe caught a slant pass and broke two tackles for a 51-yard touchdown catch-and-run to put the Chiefs up after trading possessions, the Chargers appeared to catch a break in the fourth quarter when a pass deflection by Quentin Jammer turned into an interception by Clinton Hart, but three plays after the pick, Rivers was sacked and stripped by Johnson and Chiefs cornerback Tyron Brackenridge picked up the fumble and raced 51 yards for the game-deciding score The Chargers attempted a late rally, but Kansas City stopped them on downs at the five-yard line and held on for the win. Score by Quarters Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total Kansas City Chiefs San Diego Chargers Chargers 1 8:19 N.Kaeding 24 yd. Field Goal (12-66, 6:41) Chargers 1 3:56 L.Tomlinson 5 yd. run (N.Kaeding kick) [5-55, 3:02] Chiefs 2 11:10 D.Rayner 21 yd. Field Goal [7-19, 3:41] Chargers 2 6:55 N.Kaeding 51 yd. Field Goal [4-3, 2:20] Chiefs 2 1:20 D.Rayner 25 yd. Field Goal [7-41, 2:55] Chargers 2 0:00 N.Kaeding 38 yd. Field Goal [8-58, 1:20] Chiefs 3 5:28 D.Rayner 41 yd. Field Goal [9-57, 3:50] Chiefs 3 1:50 T.Gonzalez 22 yd. pass from D.Huard (D.Rayner kick) [3-36, 0:39] Chiefs 4 11:46 D.Bowe 51 yd. pass from D.Huard (D.Rayner kick) [8-77, 3:24] Chiefs 4 7:24 T.Brackenridge 50 yd. fumble return (D.Rayner kick) Attendance 65,175 WEEK 5: CHARGERS AT DENVER The Chargers ended a three-game losing streak in convincing fashion, handing the Broncos a devastating 41-3 setback before a sellout crowd of 76,879 at Invesco Field the Chargers rushed for a season-high 214 yards, got a near-perfect passing day from Philip Rivers and took advantage of three Broncos turnovers the Bolts scored first when Rivers scored the first rushing touchdown of his career on a two-yard naked bootleg on San Diego s first offensive possession on the ensuing kickoff, Carlos Polk delivered a bonejarring hit on return-man Brian Clark, forcing a fumble in the process Brandon Siler recovered the bouncing ball and 23 yards later, he dove for the front left pylon of the end zone and San Diego scored its second touchdown in a span of 11 seconds to go up 14-0 the Chargers 15