Chargers Finally Begin to Pop Pads

After two days of meetings and physicals, the Chargers got down to the real business of football Sunday. They put on the pads and hit.

For the first time since rookies and selected veterans reported Friday night for the start of a six-week training camp, all the sounds of football could be heard on the UC San Diego campus.

There was the crash of colliding shoulder pads, the thump of punted balls, the barking of quarterback signals and the cheers of a couple hundred spectators after a nice play.

All were welcomed sounds to a coach’s ear.

But then, there was the sound rookie offensive tackle Leo Goeas heard when trying to plant his left foot.

“I heard a weird pop,” he said, “and I knew something was wrong.”

Exactly what is wrong will not be known until today when Goeas’ left foot is X-rayed. But Goeas, the team’s second of three third-round draft choices, was sounding disappointed when he showed up at dinner Sunday night on crutches.

Goeas said the injury was not the result of contact; that he simply hurt his foot trying to plant.

“My body got turned,” Goeas said. “It was a freak kind of thing.”

The injury disappointed Charger coaches and staff who have been liberal in their praise of Goaes since a strong showing in mini-camp in early May.

“We’re hoping for the best because we think he is a prospect,” Henning said. “We have some good feelings about him. And I would hate to see him lose time that would set him back.”

The rest of the practice generally was uneventful.

Of the 65 players on the field, only H-back Joe Caravello did not participate in the contact drills. Caravello is coming back from knee surgery but is expected to begin full drills soon, Henning said.

Actually, this was just the break-in day. The tougher work begins today when the first session of two, two-hour practices per day get under way at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The Chargers cut three players Sunday and are one below the NFL limit of 80 players under contract.

Released were free agent wide receiver Eric Yarber and two rookie free agents--Mike Jones, a linebacker from Colorado and Morse High School, and Khaled Shahbo, a tight end from UC Santa Barbara.

Yarber originally came to the Chargers from Washington as a Plan B free agent last season but had knee surgery before training camp. He later was cut but stayed around the team. He was re-signed as a free agent in the off-season.

Henning, who also worked with Yarber in Washington, said he was sorry to have to cut him because he liked him personally but said he had not come back from his knee surgery as the same player and at 5-feet-8 1/2 and 150 pounds, was too small.

Charger Notes

The Chargers have 10 players who have not signed contracts. Once the Chargers again reach the 80-player limit, they will have to cut a player for every one they sign. The unsigned players include nine veterans, who are not scheduled to report until Friday, and linebacker Junior Seau, the team’s first-round draft choice. . . . There was no progress on any of the contract talks over the weekend, said General Manager Bobby Beathard. He said he expected to talk with several player agents today.