In San Diego, Chargers Are Turning It Over to New Leaf

This is what Ryan Leaf is: a third-year rookie.

These are the kinds of things you should expect.

On the San Diego Chargers’ first play from scrimmage in their final exhibition game Friday night at Qualcomm Stadium, Leaf lofted a 40-yard pass between two Arizona defenders that was intercepted by the Cardinals’ Kwamie Lassiter.

On the next two possessions, Leaf stood strong and tall in the pocket and picked out the open receiver time and again with sharp, accurate passes for six consecutive completions and 72 yards, including four on an efficient touchdown drive.

Scheduled to play the first half, Leaf left a few minutes early because of a bruised right hand he said “should be no problem.”

Make no mistake, he is back and ready for Act II of what was already a boom-and-bust career before his 24th birthday in May.

Leaf completed eight of 13 passes for 97 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, in a 24-20 victory against the Cardinals. All that awaits is official word that he has beaten Jim Harbaugh as the starter.

It is a stunning turnaround, yes.

But we should have known there would be a second act.

His gifts are too great--the 6-foot-5, 235-pound build, the tree-trunk arm--for 10 games and nine starts in 1998 to have been it.

His implosion, too--the boorish behavior, the nonexistent work habits--was too grand in scale for it not to be correctable.

Somewhere in between, there is a long NFL career--lay your bets now--on the verge of being salvaged.

There is no longer any use comparing Leaf to Peyton Manning, but do it one last time to confirm the point.

Manning, the No. 1 pick ahead of No. 2 Leaf in what was thought to be the can’t-miss quarterback draft of 1998, is already among the NFL’s best. The only quarterbacks with passer ratings higher than Manning’s 90.7 last season were Kurt Warner, Steve Beuerlein and Jeff George.

Leaf, of course, did not play because of a shoulder injury.

But his career stats--111 completions in 245 attempts for two touchdowns and 15 interceptions with a 39.0 passer rating--are paltry.

Two touchdowns.

Manning has passed for 52.

So go ahead and cut the cord that binds them: Manning has started 32 regular-season games. Leaf has started nine.

What set Leaf apart even more, of course, was his behavior.

He clashed with the press, but far worse, he clashed with teammates who knew his immaturity hurt them--as did the big contract that took up room under the salary cap with little prospect of producing anything on the field.

Junior Seau called him “Baby Boy.”

Former teammate Lew Bush said it was time to grow up.

Most absurdly of all, Leaf yelled obscenities at former general manager Bobby Beathard, who has since retired. Leaf, who was injured, earned a suspension.

And this exhibition season?

Boring, but Boy Scout.

“It was probably good for us to see a little adversity,” he said after his first-half performance Friday.

“It doesn’t help getting into a hole and having a kickoff returned against you and then throwing an interception on the first play.

“Fight through it, go on a few good drives and put some points on the board.”

Mike Price, Leaf’s coach at Washington State, has never wavered in his belief in Leaf. This summer, he saw him often because both have lake houses near Coeur d’Alene, Ida.

“He was really kind of in a more relaxed frame of mind,” Price said. “It wasn’t like, ‘I’m going to start, I’m going to lead them to the Promised Land.’

“It was, ‘I’ll concentrate on what I can control, and not on other things like the media.’ ”

Leaf is engaged, and his relationship with Niki Lucia perhaps has stabilized him.

“I think a lot of things in his life right now have settled, and that has helped the maturation process,” Price said. “I don’t think he’s any different than anybody his age put in that situation would be.”

But Price is and always will be a 100% behind the quarterback, who helped lead the Cougars to the Rose Bowl.

“I thought he was a pretty together guy when he was here,” Price said with a little laugh.

With Leaf at quarterback, the Chargers should no longer be a last-place team in the AFC West.

Last season, they had the best record against the bunched division at 5-3, even with poor play at the quarterback position.

Already, the Oakland Raiders can look at the Chargers with Leaf at quarterback and no longer see an automatic victory in the Sept. 3 opener.

There is reason to reserve judgment, of course.

His rookie season, Leaf led the Chargers to a 2-0 start--the first rookie quarterback since John Elway in 1983 to win his first two games.

But in Week 3, he tied a team record for fewest completions with a one-for-15 performance, throwing two interceptions and losing three fumbles in a rain-soaked loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

By the 10th game, he was no longer the starter.

He also has announced he was reforming before, saying, “I know I have screwed up,” last year, and later skipping off-season workouts.

“Maybe he’s polished some rough edges,” Price said.

“I think he’s getting better, perfecting all of his skills. The biggest thing will be he’s still growing and getting better as a quarterback. But if you don’t play games, it’s hard to improve. How many has he played? He’s been around two years. It’s not like he’s played 40.”

Leaf’s biggest problem has never been on the field, but off it.

By his own admission, he has been a screw-up.

But there’s nothing in the California Penal Code about that.

In the NFL these days, that should count for something.