SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Chargers go into their home
opener against Baltimore with concerns on the offensive line after center Nick
Hardwick and rookie right guard Louis Vasquez were hurt in Monday night's win at
Oakland.
Hardwick sprained his left ankle and Vasquez sprained a
knee in the 24-20 comeback win, the Chargers' 12th straight against their
biggest rival. Running back LaDainian Tomlinson also sprained an ankle.
Coach Norv Turner said Tuesday that Hardwick, Vasquez and
Tomlinson aren't expected to practice Wednesday as the Chargers begin preparing
for the Ravens.
The Chargers were down to five healthy offensive linemen
Monday night, which forced left tackle Marcus McNeill to stay in the game after
he rolled an ankle. Under normal circumstances he would have come out, Turner
said.
Turner said that when McNeill was on the ground, tight
end Antonio Gates told him: "What are you doing, man? Get up, we've got enough
of this. Someone's got to play now."
Hardwick, a Pro Bowler in 2006, said in a text message
that he felt "good," but declined to say if he'll be able to play against the
Ravens.
Vasquez went out first, and fifth-year pro Scott "Mooch"
Mruczkowski replaced him. After Hardwick went out, Mruczkowski moved to center
and Brandyn Dombrowski, a backup tackle playing in his first regular-season
game, took over at right guard.
It was Mruczkowski's first regular-season action at
center.
"I thought I played solid," he said in a text message.
"It is a concern, but the exciting thing to me is, we've
talked about this all along, that every guy needs to be ready to play," Turner
said. "I can't say enough about what Mooch did at center, you know, what Brandyn
Dombrowski did at right guard, to go in and do the things he did, that's tough.
"We are fortunate to have depth. Some of it is very,
very young depth and they are going to learn as they go through it."
Hardwick was taken off the field on a cart.
"I had real concerns after the game on Nick. Those
concerns aren't as great right now," Turner said.
"Hardwick, what he means to this team, and for Vasquez
to go out in his first game, it's tough," quarterback Philip Rivers said after
the game. Rivers led the winning drive, which was capped by Darren Sproles'
5-yard run with 18 seconds left. "You're never going to have an injury-free
season, but you hope you don't get too banged up in Week 1."
The Chargers dressed only seven offensive linemen.
Backup guard Tyronne Green was inactive.
There are two offensive linemen on the practice squad.
The Chargers are expected to look outside the organization. General manager A.J.
Smith didn't return a call seeking comment.
"We have not done anything yet," Turner yet. "Obviously
the first and most pressing need is to make sure that we will dress eight
linemen next week and that we're sound there. You play the odds and very rarely
do you have two linemen get hurt in a game. I think maybe once or twice in my
career I've gone with seven linemen because you know it can't happen. Obviously
we had needs defensively so we went with seven."
Tomlinson, slowed last year by toe and groin injuries,
managed only 55 yards on 13 carries. He sprained his ankle while losing a fumble
in the first quarter.
Sproles, the speedy little running back-returner, had
246 all-purpose yards and also took some hard shots.
If he were to take that much of a beating all year,
"They'd probably have legal issues with me for whatever you call that," Turner
joked.
"We've got to get Darren some help," Turner said, saying
there are options to give him a break on special teams if he's involved more on
offense, and vice versa. "He wants to stay in there. I told him after the game,
'We can't do that to you.' He said, 'Hey coach, I was fine."
Sproles carried nine times for 23 yards, caught five
passes for 43 yards, returned three punts for 10 yards and five kickoffs for 170
yards.
Notes
Chargers executive Jim Steeg said he was
"pessimistic" that the home opener will sell out by Thursday afternoon in order
to lift the TV blackout. Steeg said there were 2,500 tickets remaining as of
Tuesday. "That's a lot of tickets to sell in 48 hours," he said. He said only 50
tickets were sold on Tuesday morning. The team can request a 24-hour extension.
"We aren't going to cross that bridge until we get there," he said. The Chargers
haven't had a regular-season blackout since 2004.
AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in Oakland contributed
to this report.