A Day at the Beach for Gonzalez, Chiefs

“It felt like a home game out there today,” Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez said after his team beat the San Diego Chargers, 29-7, on Sunday.

He could have been talking about the Chiefs’ fans that came close to composing the majority of the 54,594 people in Qualcomm Stadium. Or he could have been talking about that group of 36 family members and friends in the stands. Then again, the rookie from Huntington Beach could simply be describing what to him is football weather: 68 degrees in December.

“I’m just so glad to be back in the Southern California air,” Gonzalez said.

It wasn’t a spectacular day for Gonzalez--three receptions for 15 yards. Nothing like the day he caught a touchdown and blocked a punt against the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Steve Mariucci.

But he blocked well and it was another day of contributions to Kansas City’s 12-3 record that has the Chiefs in position to gain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

“This is a dream come true, just to be able to come into a situation like this,” Gonzalez said. “The players that we have on our team are great people. We like playing with each other. I’ve been lucky enough to have two great tight ends around me, Derrick Walker and Ted Popson, that taught me a lot. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Neither could the Chiefs.

“He’s doing a good job,” special teams coach Jim Erkenbeck said. “He’s a special talent and he’s going to be a real star in this league.

“There’s not much he can’t do. He can do everything we ask him to do, and probably a little bit more that we don’t know he can do.”

Gonzalez won’t get the amount of attention given to other rookies such as Tampa Bay running back Warrick Dunn. But he’s in for most of the offensive plays. The Chiefs look to throw to him. They even line him up at wide receiver in some formations.

“Most people were like, ‘Are you going to be able to play this year?’ Gonzalez said. “I’m totally confident in my abilities. I came into a great situation. There’s no pressure on me. The only thing I want to do is go out and play football.”

Actually, that’s not the only thing he wants to do. The two-sport star who played basketball in high school and at California misses hoops. He still dreams of playing in the NBA.

He put up a basket on the side of his house, but right now it’s too cold in Kansas City to play.

“We’re going to get some games going during the off-season,” he said.

Half-court, three-on-three only, though. He couldn’t build a full court at his home in Overland Park, Kan.

“They wouldn’t let me,” Gonzalez said. “I tried to, but they said it was a building code [violation]. They said it depreciates the value of the community, some stuff like that.”

Right now, nothing could make property values plummet like having the Chargers (4-11) move in.

Star linebacker Junior Seau was able to play through a knee sprain, but the way things are going down in San Diego it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets bad news when he undergoes an MRI exam today.

The Chargers claimed a minor victory with their second-quarter touchdown that tied the score, 7-7. It ended a string of 11 consecutive quarters in which the Chiefs’ defense had held the opposition without a touchdown. However, the Chiefs did extend their streak of not giving up a second-half touchdown to 10 games.

All you need to know about San Diego’s predicament is Todd Philcox came in to replace Craig Whelihan at quarterback in the third quarter. Talk about going from bad to worse.

Philcox’s first series came with the ball on his own two-yard line. Two plays later he was sacked in the end zone for a safety that made it 19-7 Kansas City. In the fourth quarter, Philcox put together a nice drive that got the ball all the way to the Chief 17. Then he was picked off by Mark McMillian, who went 87 yards for the touchdown and the final score to the delight of the thousands of Chief fans.

San Diego’s ground game was pitiful. After three quarters the Chargers had 48 rushing yards, only four more than Chief running back Marcus Allen, who also scored his customary touchdown.

Al Davis would have loved Kansas City’s offensive attack. Well, maybe not the Marcus Allen part, but definitely the vertical passing game approach.

The Chiefs kept throwing deep, and wound up with a couple of 27-yard gains. More significantly, they picked up three pass interference penalties. One put the ball on the one-yard line, one resulted in a 42-yard gain for the Chiefs and the final penalty gave the Chiefs 37 yards. The Chargers protested all three calls, but like most other things in their seven-game losing streak, their words had no effect.

Overall, the Chargers were penalized 10 times for 137 yards. “It is one of those tough seasons where if a call can go against us, it will,” Charger offensive tackle Vaughn Parker said. “It’s Murphy’s Law to the 10th power. It’s a situation where we have to overcome the other team, ourselves and the refs.”

And, on this day, the crowd in their own stadium.

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J.A. Adande is a columnist for the Orange County edition of The Times.