SAN DIEGO – The 20 rookies got more work during Friday’s walk-through than they anticipated.
Standing with their teammates at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar one moment and verbally castigated by two Marines drill sergeants the next, they were subjugated to a brief but intense pushups session.
“It was horrible. Just a whole bunch of screaming and noise, man,” rookie cornerback 
A pair of Marines also participated in a 1-on-1 drill in which
Part of San Diego’s 22nd annual Salute to the Military, the team visited Miramar during final preparations for its second preseason game. They spent about 20 minutes signing autographs for servicemen and women and their families before presenting Miramar with a signed, framed
“It’s become a tradition for our team and for the Marines,” Head Coach Norv Turner said. “We’ve got a great relationship. We’ve got great respect for what they’re all doing and we know they’re our biggest fans.”
Maj. Gen. Thomas Conant addressed the team after autographs, sharing a battlefield narrative about a middle-of-the-night skirmish the Marines faced against insurgents in Afghanistan. The entire event gave some perspective to the players.
“Not just a little bit. A whole lot,” Nathan Vasher said. “You think what we do is serious. I mean, it is. It’s our job. They’re putting lives on the line. It’s definitely a whole lifestyle for them to go out and protect our country the way that they do. I definitely commend them.
“One of my favorite things about today was to kind of switch roles a little bit and the guys playing football and Philip throwing them the passes.”
The Salute to the Military will continue Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium with members of every branch of the U.S. military in attendance.
BOYS CAN RUSH: The Chargers’ offensive line will get a test from Dallas linebackers Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Ware on Saturday.
They combined for 17 sacks last season. Ware recorded 20 by himself in 2008.
“They’ve got two outstanding players on the outside,” Turner said. “We have a film from December where we played against these guys and our guys handled it awfully well.
“I don’t think anyone goes into these games and leaves their left tackle singled up on Ware. New Orleans did it a little bit the week after we played Dallas and he was very disruptive in the game. We’re going to be aware of that matchup.”
The Cowboys, missing two starters on their offensive line, allowed 11 sacks in their first two preseason games and sacked opposing quarterbacks five times. The Chargers gave up one sack and recorded six of their own in the preseason opener against the Bears.
MIXED CREATION: Playing time becomes a main focus during the preseason, when the bottom line result does not matter.
Largely thought of as a planned, traditional process, Turner said it’s actually part art and part science.
“It’s pretty much scripted. We spend a lot of time talking about it, but we have gotten in games and said, ‘Hey, this guy didn’t get enough looks at what we want. We want to keep him in there and let him go,’ Turner said. “We have so many young players that are going to play key roles for us. They’re going to play a lot in the preseason.”
He stressed that the amount of time each player gets on the field doesn’t follow a broad template and is based on each individual’s career juncture.
Rivers wants to play long enough to get in a rhythm and expects he’ll stay on the field longer than the 11 snaps against Chicago. The same can be expected of the other starters, including
FORMER TEAMMATES: Mathews admitted to a serious case of nerves before his first NFL game but doesn’t expect to be overwhelmed during his second go-round. He looks forward to seeing Lonyae Miller, a fellow rookie that lined up with him in the backfield at Fresno State.
Miller outgained Mathews with 812 rushing yards in 2008 before the Chargers back led the NCAA with 1,808 in ’09.
Miller also was teammates with receiver Seyi Ajirotutu.
