Familiar Terrain for the Chargers
The San Diego Chargers, owners of the top pick in this spring’s NFL draft, are faced with a challenge that makes their stadium push look simple.
They’re hunting for a new quarterback.
And, now that Mark Brunell is headed to the Washington Redskins, it looks as if the Chargers are going to have to find their answer in the draft. That’s a troubling reality for a franchise that shook off a chance to trade up for John Elway in 1983, traded away its opportunity to select Michael Vick in 2001, and, most painful, used the No. 2 pick on Ryan Leaf in 1998.
Leaf was among the biggest busts in league history, a player whose follies seem even worse when compared to the success enjoyed by the quarterback taken No. 1 that year, Peyton Manning. Thanks to the clarity of hindsight, it now sounds absurd that NFL scouts were split on whether Manning or Leaf would be a better pro.
Peyton’s younger brother, Eli, who played at Mississippi, is one of the top two quarterback prospects in the 2004 class; the other is Miami of Ohio’s Ben Roethlisberger, who has Leaf’s 6-foot-5 body type but not his rambunctious reputation.
Manning and Roethlisberger are participating in the scouting combine here this week, and Charger General Manager A.J. Smith is taking a hard look at both, as well as North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers, who also has impressed scouts.
Smith, who was working for the Buffalo Bills when San Diego drafted Leaf, insists the Chargers will not be skittish about using the first pick on a quarterback -- provided they don’t trade down for more picks -- even in light of past blunders.
“I talked to ownership about that before I became general manager,” Smith said. “We went over a lot of other things. If we feel there is a top quarterback with the first pick, that’s the decision we’ll make. We’re looking for a quarterback, so that draws attention to us. It’s not like we’ve said that we’re not comfortable with our situation, so if there is somebody there we decide, absolutely we’d make the pick.”
Three years ago, when they traded the top spot that Atlanta used on Vick, the Chargers used the No. 5 pick on running back LaDainian Tomlinson and the first pick of the second round on quarterback Drew Brees. Tomlinson has been spectacular. Brees, who showed promise early, has struggled; the team is 4-16 in his last 20 starts and he was benched in favor of Doug Flutie for five games last season.
“We’re always looking to upgrade,” Smith said. “We’re not flying under the radar with this. We’ve stated we’re looking for a quarterback. [Drew’s] a big boy. He can handle all these things.
“Doug Flutie’s been around for a long, long time. He’s been with other teams. He can handle it. Sometimes people get their feelings hurt because you say you’re looking in the direction of their position.”
It’s too early to tell whether the Chargers actually plan to use their pick on a quarterback or hope to trade out of that spot and take their chances on getting one later in the draft. Charger personnel executives plan to spend the coming weeks getting to know the top prospects and possibly arranging private workouts. “We’re down to the final pieces of the puzzle,” said Smith, who declined to rank Manning, Roethlisberger and Rivers in order of preference. “Character, work ethic, things of that nature. How serious the game is to them.
“Medical is very, very important. It’s a violent game, not only at our level but the collegiate level. Guys have injuries that you have to take into consideration. It’s putting everything together and making that final determination of where they rank and who you like.”
Manning has unparalleled bloodlines. His father, Archie, was an All-America quarterback at Mississippi who went on to distinguish himself as a member of the otherwise poor New Orleans Saints. Peyton was a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Tennessee and is an All-Pro with the Indianapolis Colts.
Eli followed in the footsteps of his father at Ole Miss, setting 45 school records -- 27 of which were held at one time by his dad -- and helping revive a faltering program. Since he arrived five years ago, Ole Miss season-ticket sales have increased by about 60%, from roughly 26,000 in 1998 to more than 42,000 in 2003.
Although he’s fabulously gifted, Eli doesn’t have the same meticulous, Type-A personality as Peyton. Eli’s brothers call him “Easy E” for good reason. If a kid’s supposed to get nervous before a game, nobody told Eli. Once, in high school, he called home a few hours before kickoff with an urgent message: Remember to tape “Seinfeld.”
Despite their differences, Eli said he and Peyton have similar drive.
“When it comes to studying film and working out and doing all these things, I’m just as competitive as he is,” Eli said. “I want to win. I want to be a great quarterback. I want to be the best.... [But] we have different personalities. I watch film and know what the defense is doing and Peyton will also read the media guide and find out where every player went to college and high school.”
Roethlisberger didn’t play quarterback until his senior year of high school. Instead, the coach’s son had that job, and Roethlisberger, a year younger, was a receiver. (The coach’s son, Ryan Hite, went on to Dennison, where he played -- what else? -- receiver.)
Although his true calling turned out to be football, Roethlisberger was an outstanding high school point guard and shortstop. He said the skills he picked up playing basketball and baseball really help him now, especially when it comes to seeing the field and throwing on the run.
Not only was Roethlisberger the Mid-American Conference’s most valuable player in 2003, he’s one of 30 players in NCAA history to throw for more than 10,000 yards in his career. The burning question: Was that his competence or his competition?
“It’s a big knock on myself that we play in the MAC,” he said. “Then I just say look at [former Marshall players] Byron Leftwich, Randy Moss, Chad Pennington. They’ve done it and they’re doing it now. They kind of paved the road for people like myself.”
And, just think, he only started playing quarterback as a high school senior.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “A lot of people talk about quarterbacks who played their whole lives and can’t get much better. I’m just starting to hit the iceberg and get going.”
Hit the iceberg? Sadly, that’s language the Chargers can understand.
