Seau Makes Hit in Debut--the Wrong Kind

Junior Seau’s Charger debut drew ire from fans, a thumbs-down from critics and disappointment from coaches and teammates alike.

The linebacker’s second play from scrimmage Saturday at the Coliseum proved also to be his last.

In the second quarter of the Raiders’ 34-7 victory over the Chargers, Seau earned himself an ejection by throwing what the recipient, Raider guard Steve Wisniewski, described as a “sucker punch” that came to rest under Wisniewski’s chin.

On a running play, Wisniewski went straight ahead to block Seau and got what he said was a “pretty good block off. I turned around and walked back. I didn’t realize it was their No. 1 draft pick. I was worried about catching my breath. I felt a punch. It’s was one those you don’t see. It didn’t hurt, it startled me.”

Wisniewski grabbed Seau, the two were surrounded by players from both teams, the flag was thrown, and Seau was ejected, sent to the sidelines to simmer.

Seau seemingly hadn’t cooled down enough or was too embarrassed by his rookie behavior to answer many questions about it afterward.

“I acted like a little kid,” he said as he fled through the exit tunnel, never breaking stride. “It was my fault, and I paid for it. It was probably a good lesson for me to learn.”

He’s certainly not being paid more than $4.5 million over five years to lose control and get booted from a game.

“It’s not too bright for a rookie,” Wisniewski said. “He gets paid to play the game, not to make one play and get ejected.

Seau did appear briefly in the first quarter. He roamed the field on a Raider first and 10 before Gill Byrd intercepted a pass by Jay Schroeder for a touchback.

“He was a little confused out there,” said Mike Haluchak, Charger linebacker coach. “There were a lot of things happening quickly.”

Fellow Charger linebacker Gary Plummer was in on Seau’s last play but said he didn’t see the incident. He said Seau is like a puppy, eager to please and belong, but needs to temper his emotions.

“You show you belong by being tough during the play, not after the whistle,” he said.

Haluchak said the incident was a disappointment, because it robbed the Chargers of a chance to see what Seah has learned in his short tenure--he was the last to Charger to sign last weekend after a lengthy and ugly contract dispute--and how much he can contribute.

“He’s a very emotional player,” Haluchak said. “He has to learn to control himself.”

But the Chargers also thought the ejection, on top of the 15-yard penalty, was a little drastic.

“I don’t know what transpired before,” said Coach Dan Henning, “but I know (Seau) didn’t just hit (Wisniewski) in the face mask because he didn’t like the way he looked.”

Said Haluchak: “To me, it was no different from anything else that goes on on other plays. It was a shoving match, he shoved back, and the referee happened to be standing there, and he called him on it.”

Wisniewski, who said he was surprised by the incident because no words were exchanged, disagreed.

“Any time you jump someone and they’re not looking, then punch after the whistle, that’s reason enough for an ejection,” he said.

Tackle Joe Phillps said he liked Seau’s willingness to stick up for himself.

“The more of those guys we can get, the better I like it,” he said. “If there’s a legitimate reason for it, I’m behind it 100%.”

Plummer said Seau probably wasn’t used to holding in his college days at USC and will have to learn that it is part of the pro game.

“He came from college, where they don’t allow holding,” Plummer said. “Here, that’s the name of the game. As soon as he realizes that, the sooner he’ll be able to help us.”