National Football League

Bolts try to bounce back from playoff debacle

Published Aug. 25, 2010 10:05 p.m. ET

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For much of the offseason, Philip Rivers drove around with a sticker on his pickup. It read: 17-14.

That was, of course, the score of the San Diego Chargers' most recent playoff pratfall, a shocking loss to the underdog New York Jets in the divisional round. The Chargers were 13-3, the No. 2 AFC seed and a popular choice to go to the Super Bowl before being outplayed and outcoached by the upstart Jets.

The sticker was for motivation. It came off Rivers' truck a few days before training camp, yet a few memories of the implosion remain.

''I think to a certain extent it's gone,'' Rivers said. ''You've got to let it go went you come into to camp. But I think it's OK to still have a piece of it still with you, just because those experiences, there's times to pull from them to help you, also knowing what it felt like in that game. You can learn from those.''

Winning their fifth straight AFC West title should be a breeze, based on the relative weakness of the division and the Chargers' easy schedule - they're tied for 29th in strength of schedule, with their opponents going a combined 116-140 last year.

It's getting beyond the divisional round of the playoffs that's going to be the big deal for San Diego, which has lost three of its last four playoff appearances.

''We're sick and tired of getting to the playoffs and competing and not getting to the Super Bowl,'' linebacker Stephen Cooper said.

This is a different season already, and not just because the Chargers are a tad bit envious of the attention being stolen away by baseball's Padres, who have the best record in the National League and play in a beautiful downtown ballpark while the drive for a new football stadium has gone nowhere.

LaDainian Tomlinson is gone after nine mostly excellent seasons of carrying the ball, and rookie Ryan Mathews is in, giving the Bolts a fresh set of legs. Longtime defensive tackle Jamal Williams, a force against the run for more than a decade, also was released and ended up with division rival Denver. Cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who had issues on and off the field, was traded to the Jets, which is where Tomlinson signed after the Chargers released him.

Of perhaps equal importance, the Chargers head into the season without Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeill, a Pro Bowler in 2006-07. The Chargers might not see those star performers until the 11th game, if at all.

The restricted free agents wanted long-term contracts but were tendered one-year deals at just more than $3 million. Neither signed by June 15, a move that cost each of them about $2.5 million, perhaps reducing their motivation to show up at all.

On top of that, general manager A.J. Smith, who has a history of hardball dealings with his players and coaches, placed the two on the roster exempt list, meaning they'll be suspended for three games once they sign their contract tenders. Jackson also has been suspended by the NFL for the first three games of the 2010 season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. He pleaded guilty in February to his second DUI since 2006.

The Chargers recently gave Seattle permission to talk to Jackson's agents, but the player's price tag apparently remains too high.

The Chargers insist they're happy with the players slated to fill in for Jackson and McNeill, although the difference in experience is considerable.

McNeill, who protected the blind side of Rivers, the Chargers' $93 million man and the leader of their pass-happy offense, will be replaced by second-year pro Brandyn Dombrowski. Backing him up will be another second-year pro, Tyronne Green, who has had an ankle injury. The Chargers signed 35-year-old Tra Thomas as insurance, but he had arthroscopic knee surgery early in camp and then retired.

Jackson had 68 catches for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns last year, his second-straight 1,000-yard season. At 6-foot-5, he gave Rivers another enticing target to go along with Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates.

The biggest beneficiaries of Jackson's holdout are Legedu Naanee, who's coming off foot surgery, and Craig ''Buster'' Davis, who's often been injured and hasn't lived up to his billing as the team's first-round draft pick in 2007. Naanee had 24 catches for 242 yards and two TDs last year, while Davis had six catches for 52 yards.

Starting at the other wideout spot will be Malcom Floyd, who also wanted a long-term deal but signed his $3.17 million tender in June. Floyd had 45 catches for 776 yards and one TD in '09.

''Nobody in here can deny the fact that we're better with them, but at the same time we believe we can also get it done,'' Rivers said. ''It's already to the point where we've gotten past the distraction phase because it's not like it's a matter of each and every day we're wondering, 'Are they coming tomorrow?' If we get them, it'll be a bonus.''

Coach Norv Turner thinks the Chargers can be the best team in his four seasons as head coach.

''You like to say this with every team you've ever been on, but we have a lot of guys that really like to football, and I do believe this team is going to be energized by the first- , second- and third-year players who feel like they can be a part of something that's pretty good,'' he said. ''We've got great leadership, but the youth is going to be key to this team.''

Among those younger players is Mathews, taken with the 12th pick overall in the draft out of Fresno State.

On defense, the Chargers hope outside linebacker Shawne Merriman can regain the ferocity that led to 39 1/2 sacks in his first three seasons. He had only four last year as he rebounded from knee surgery that sidelined him for all but one game in 2008.