ESPN AFC West Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

Here is a sampling of after-practice quotes from the Chargers on Thursday while in London for Sunday's game against New Orleans.

Norv Turner: We got a little bit of weather today; a little wind, a little colder. Our guys, being from San Diego, were acting like we were in a snow storm early. I thought we had another good practice. I think our guys each day have adjusted a little bit more -- their bodies and their minds -- to the time change and we've had good energy.

Expect another adjustment will be necessary tomorrow when you move into the city?

NT: No. I think we've made good progress in terms of those things and now we've really gotten into our normal routine, normal schedule in terms meetings and practice. Tomorrow will be a normal practice like we would do on a Friday morning. We get done with practice about 12:45. In the afternoon, we go downtown and we're into our normal road-game mentality."

Is the weather a concern?

NT: The biggest thing ... as long as it's not outrageous in terms of the rain ... I don't think it affects the game that much now in terms of the way guys play. People think it affects the passing game, but my experience is it has as much affect on defensive backs trying to get their footing. I haven't seen Wembley (the field). The field out here has been outstanding. It's a little looser than what we're used to, but our guys adjusted to it really quickly. They're awfully good athletes, so they handle it pretty well.

You're 3-4, but you're still only one game back in the division. Does that make you feel like the season is savable at this point?

NT: Your initial goal is to get to the playoffs. The biggest thing for me is to make sure you're getting better as a football team and making progress. We've been up and down in terms of our results. We came out in the New England game and played extremely well and felt good. We did a lot of good things in the Buffalo game, but came up short in terms of winning the football game. The key for us is keeping the mindset that we're going to improve and keeping our confidence, and then we need to get on a role. Obviously you gotta win one before you can put a string of wins together. But that's what we need to do is win a game. Then we have a bye and we have a chance to get healthy and get some guys that are playing banged up healthy, healthier. And then play the second half of the season.

On preparing for the Saints without Reggie Bush:

NT: I've been asked that question a number of times about Shawne Merriman. Certainly it's not like you don't get to have 11 guys on the field. But you think of the number of plays ... Reggie has 42 receptions; the number of ways they use him. They're so imaginative, so creative with their offense. He obviously is a big part of that. They have guys that will play that spot and do similar things. Ultimately, a guy like Reggie, with three punt returns for touchdowns, or a guy like Merriman, who makes a sack on a big third down when the game is on the line ... those are big plays that are hard to replace. If you're fortunate, you have someone who steps up and can do those things."

On the status of Chris Chambers and Jyles Tucker:

NT: Chris was limited. He practiced more than he did yesterday. He thought he felt better. He did not have a setback from yesterday, so that was positive. It's an ongoing thing. We'll know Sunday about Chris. And I'd say similar with Jyles. I'm a little more confident that Jyles will be ready to go, but he again was limited in practice.

What do you think of the future of the NFL overseas?

NT: As I've said, it's exciting. It truly is exciting. Going through the different things our players are going through, it's not easy on them. Obviously we traveled to the East Coast and played the game there. The trip was demanding. We're adjusting to it. From that standpoint, it's hard on the players. But I believe once we get going on Sunday and play the game, they'll all feel it's worth it and I do believe it's exciting from the standpoint of letting people around the world see our game.

On the Chargers extensive travel this season:

NT: We're doing that this year. Over the past five weeks, this is the fourth week we've been on the road and two of 'em were East Coast games and obviously this game over here. It's something you have to deal with. New England had to come out and play us on the West Coast and it's hard to make that trip. It's part of the NFL season and that's why in a 16-game season, there are ups and downs, and that's why I believe the teams that handle those ups and downs and the teams that when they're in a tough time don't lose their confidence, they're the teams that end up winning when the thing is all done."

On flying directly from Buffalo to London instead of going back to San Diego:

NT: I believe ultimately it makes it a challenge, but it is the right way to go, rather than going back and forth.

On his honest feelings about having to make the trip:

NT: I believer when the schedule came out and it was announced that we were playing this game, I think our guys were very much excited about it. And I think that's the honest reaction. Obviously your reaction changes based on how you're going and how you're doing and obviously we've had a rough spell. But I think the experience these guys are having this week and the game, I think the guys will look back at it and be glad they did it.

On Having a healthy Jamal Williams back:

NT: It's been noticeable as you watch our games each week from the first game to now. He was struggling physically and he was not getting very many plays to where now he is playing like Jamal and we're just a lot more solid and a lot more physical in the middle."

Quarterback Philip Rivers:

On relationship with Brees considering how you started and where you both ended up:

Philip Rivers: When you look almost five years later, we're playing against one another on different teams in a different country. I've obviously come a long way. We both have from where the relationship started. It was good. I was able to see a few of Drew Brees' comments about the game and how this game obviously means something to him, and how he thought it's worked out best for everybody. I think it has. Certainly he had an impact on me as a player those two years. I'd like to hope that I had (the same impact on him). It was a healthy competition and a healthy relationship. (We) competitively pushed one another."

On still being able to turn the season around:

PR: No question. You never know how a season is going to take form and how long you can say that when you keep trading wins and losses. But we're right in the thick of it. That's not where we want to be, but we certainly want to have a chance. We have that chance. We win Sunday, which is the objective, to get to 4-4, and you're a half game back with Denver off this week. I think it's key for us no to get caught up in that race, through every they do every week and just worry about us. We're trying to win the AFC West. The fact that you mention where the big pack is at 3-3...every opportunity, every goal we set at the beginning of the year, besides winning them all, is still out there.

On relationship with Drew Brees when you were drafted:

PR: There's no denying it was somewhat awkward. I think for both of us. I know enough for myself. I understood a little bit about how the whole Draft deal works, and I kind of felt like I was going to be giving the opportunity to come there and play right away. And like you said, Drew even said I himself. I think that makes it somewhat awkward initially but at the same time we both had a very mature approach to it. We knew I didn't pick out the Chargers to come there...that's the guy I think I can go beat out. Visa versa. We were both put there by chance and in the hands of other people in how we both got there. I think that will allow, off the bat, even though it was a little awkward, there's no animosity or anything like that toward one another. We just competed, battled and got after it everyday. We both wanted what the other person was trying to get, and keep it from him. But at the same time we pulled for one another. It may not make sense and I'm not sure any of that necessarily does. That's kind of the way it went in those two years. I tried to be the first person to hi-five him after a touchdown. But at the same time I wanted to be out there playing. It was good. I'm thankful for the two years that I had backing up. I think it helped me as a player. I'll keep I contact with Drew. We're not best of friends, not for any reason, but we'll be buddies for our whole career just because of how our paths crossed early in mine as his was taking off."

On it never being a quarterback controversy between them despite the media saying it was:

PR: In the quarterback room it was good. We had more laughs and cracked more jokes than you could imagine watching film and all the fun we had in the QB room, with Doug Flutie in there and Cleo Lemon. It was good. I'm thankful for it. It was definitely healthy for me as a player. And as a person, a lot of people know Drew is a great guy. It was certainly two years I am thankful for."

On the difference in their careers if Rivers would have signed right away:

PR: It is tough to answer because you don't know how it would have played out. He felt the writing was on the wall and I was having a good summer. We were already splitting repetitions. Who knows what would've happened? Certainly our careers could have turned in different ways. Things happen for a reason. It happened for the best when it was all said and done for both of us."

On the difference between this year and last year while almost with the same record:

PR: When you look back at some of things that are keeping us from winning consistently, it's some of the same errors. It's pretty much consistent all across the league. The teams that are getting beat are not doing some of the basic fundamentals correctly, or very well. Having been in this position before can be a positive and it can be a trap. Hopefully we'll use it as a positive. We know how to get out of this because we did it last year. But because we know how to get out of it we can't take that for granted that it will happen again. I think we have the right guys. We've had two of the better practice we've had in the past couple of weeks out here this week, and that's saying a lot with the distractions, with the travel, and with the record being 3-4. It's been a very spirited, up-beat practice. That's what it takes. It may not make sense but we have to practice like we're 7-0. You have to go out on the field like we're expecting to come out here play well and win. When you do that, it gives you a chance to get hot. Hopefully we'll go on a run. But we have to win one game. This as I see it is a one-game season. We have to get to .500 at the break."

Running Back LaDainian Tomlinson:

How did the toe feel today?

LaDainian Tomlinson: The toe is not an issue anymore. I expect it to be as close to 100 percent as it's been since I hurt it. I'm just looking forward to a good game on Sunday.

On the relationship with Drew Brees:

LT: When you come in as young guys, and obviously we were drafted together and knew each other in high school and followed each other through college, you do think it's going to be forever. I remember us making a pact to each other that we were going to turn the organization around. We had started to do that but I think we both understand that this is a business first and sometimes the things that you have planned isn't necessarily what the organization has planned so understanding that, New Orleans really needed a person like Drew, not only because of the quarterback he is, but also because of the kind of person that he is. At that time, (Hurricane) Katrina had just happened and the city was just devastated. It needed someone like Drew to help them get out of that. In the end, it has worked out for the best.

On the Chargers and Saints both being 3-4:

LT: You just never know. In the National Football League, any game can go either way, and Chris Berman (from ESPN) always says 'that's why you play the game.' It's because you never know what's going to happen. Obviously we were both hoping to have better records, both of us, but does that mean we're not two good football teams, no. We are two very good football teams and I think the fans will see that on Sunday."

Does it seem easier to turn around the season being only one game out of first place?

LT: Yeah, because you can look at the division and say you are only one game out of first place and it kind of brings you back to last year again. It's unfolding the same way it did last year and hopefully it ends up like it did last year where we go on a run and win seven or eight in a row."

How has Philip changed in going from Drew Brees' backup to now being a starter?

LT: As a person, really and truly, he hasn't changed much at all. He's always been a fiery, talkative guy that gets along with everybody and does crazy stuff in the locker room, stuff that makes you laugh and scratch your head about (laughter). He's always been that guy and as a football player he's developed into a more mature quarterback, which means he's understanding the game more and that comes with experience. The more you're on the field, the more you see things and it helps you in your development. To me, he's changed a lot in his development as an elite quarterback in this league.

Why has New Orleans had so much success stopping the run?

LT: It's a point of emphasis for them when they play top backs. They want to stop the run first when they play a top back and say 'hey, we're not going to let him get off on us' and that's a point of emphasis. If you look around the league, most teams do that. Most teams, when they play top backs, they're going to key in to stop the run. Running the football on Sunday on someone is de-moralizing and people just don't like to have the ball run on them. You get beat up and it's embarrassing.

On the American fans obsession with stats:

LT: It has become that guys are so obsessed with stats but in the locker room guys don't really talk about stats, but that's what people use to measure how you're doing. They say 'well he's only averaging three-something yards per carry and that's not good,' so for us, we see that and say 'maybe I need to do better.' That's just how the media and the fans judge how we're doing, but for us we really don't pay attention to the stat part of it. It's just what's being shown out there in the papers and on TV.

Do you have a sense of being on the International stage on Sunday?

LT: Absolutely, especially coming out to practice today and seeing all the media that was there. It was incredible just to see the attention and when you look on CNN and hear the game being talked about, it does make you want to put on a good show because you know the world is watching and that's the reason we're here. We're here to expose our game in a great way and show howgreat this game really is and we're happy to be here.

Are you expecting to see eight men in the box on Sunday?

LT: I don't expect it any other way. I can't remember the last time a team played us seven men in the box so I do expect it and it's something we have to handle.