Texas-Sized Welcome for Tomlinson

LaDainian Tomlinson started playing football while growing up in Waco, then went to college in Fort Worth. He spent part of a summer working on his game in Denton at a camp run by Emmitt Smith.

Yet for all his Dallas-area experiences, Tomlinson has never played at Texas Stadium, Smith’s home turf the last 12 years. That will change Sunday when Tomlinson’s first road game for the San Diego Chargers turns into a personal homecoming against the Dallas Cowboys.

“It’ll be a dream come true,” he said. “Growing up and watching Dallas play there, then going to the games and watching them play, I could never imagine I’d be playing at Texas Stadium.”

The Dallas defense is planning on crashing his party after a surprisingly stingy performance against Warrick Dunn in the opener, holding him to 56 yards -- 154 less than last season -- in a 10-6 loss to Tampa Bay.

“He may be the hometown boy, but we’re the Dallas Cowboys and we’re the home team,” defensive end Greg Ellis said. “We’re going to make sure everyone in Texas is on our side. I can be nice to him after the game. As long as we win, I’ll take him out to dinner.”

Tomlinson, the fifth overall pick in the draft, is letting his mother take care of the celebration. His job still is to learn the offense after missing most of training camp while his contract was being negotiated.

He seems a quick study. After playing only the final preseason game, he ran 36 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-3 victory over Washington. He became only the 20th player to crack 100 in his debut since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

The 5-foot-10, 221-pound Tomlinson is built like Smith and has a similar running style. And, calling plays for the Chargers is Norv Turner, who was the offensive coordinator in Dallas when Smith blossomed into a superstar.

Judging by the way he used Tomlinson in the opener, Turner is going to give Tomlinson every chance to break Natrone Means’ team record of 1,350 yards in 1994, San Diego’s Super Bowl season. The Chargers haven’t had a 1,000-yard runner since.

“We’ve tried quite a few guys the last few years, but we drafted LaDainian as the guy to build the foundation around,” San Diego coach Mike Riley said.

While Tomlinson will get the early focus, Sunday’s game could end up being more meaningful to Smith, who needs 64 yards to pass Barry Sanders for No. 2 on the career rushing list. He gained 40 yards against Tampa Bay.

The Chargers were the NFL’s best run-stoppers in Week 1, limiting Washington to 44 yards. It helped, though, that San Diego led 10-0 after one quarter and 20-0 at halftime, forcing the Redskins to pass.

“What we want to do is turn them into a one-dimensional team,” Chargers linebacker Junior Seau said. “Once we take away the running game, which is Emmitt Smith and their offensive line, then we can put pressure on the quarterback and (receiver Joey) Galloway.”

Dallas threw for only 34 yards in the opener with rookie Quincy Carter at quarterback. A thumb injury has kept him out of more than a week of practice, making it likely Anthony Wright will get the third start of his career.

The Cowboys also will be without defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban, who had back surgery this week. The Chargers will be missing DE Marcellus Wiley and cornerback Alex Molden, both of whom might return next week.

Wright started and lost the final two games last season, both against top-rated defenses. He was 5-for-20 for 35 yards with two interceptions in a 31-0 loss to Tennessee in an uninspired finale for a Dallas team wracked by injuries. He’s looking forward to being surrounded by healthy bodies and a better attitude this time.

At halftime, the Cowboys will make former receiving star “Bullet” Bob Hayes the 11th inductee into their Ring of Honor.

Hayes revolutionized his position in 1965 by bringing the speed that carried him to the gold medal in the 100 meters at the 1964 Olympics. Zone defenses were created to try stopping him after a rookie season in which he averaged 21.8 yards per catch and scored 12 touchdowns. He made All-Pro four times in his 10-year career.

His reputation was tarnished by a drug-trafficking conviction in 1979 and later stays in rehabilitation centers. Now 58, he’s facing a variety of ailments and the Cowboys are hoping this honor could help lead to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.