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For Turner, a little tweak is good

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Friday, May 02, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

For the past few months, Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner and his staff have huddled in their offices watching film in search of trends from Turner’s first season at the helm of the Bolts. 
 
Their work revealed some consistencies in how opponents game planned against the Chargers, and now Turner’s initiative is to counter.
 
“There are things people did against us defensively and things people did against us offensively,” Turner said. “We’ve got a little better feel how people are going to attack us or how they’re going to defend us. We’ve spent a lot of time in the offseason looking at things we can do to counteract that.” 
 
The meat and potatoes of the Chargers’ first minicamp will revolve around the basics of the team’s systems on both sides of the ball, but the Bolts are also hoping to add a few wrinkles.
 
“Probably 75 to 80 percent of what we’re doing is exactly what we did the last 10 games where we had great success,” Turner said. “About 20 percent of what we’re doing has a new wrinkle, a new look to it. We’re going to see how many of those things we can develop well enough so we can use them in games.”
 
Easing in
 
The Chargers morning practice saw the offense and defense work on separate fields throughout the afternoon. That plan was designed so that both the rookies and veterans could ease their way back into things. 
 
“We start every minicamp going out against air so we can kind of slow things down and let them digest what we’re doing,” Turner said. “I like our guys we drafted. They look good to me. We beat air today. Now this afternoon we’ll go against each other.”
 
Turner also spoke to his team about managing their energy. 
 
“You come out to minicamp and a lot of times guys are really hyped up, running around and screaming,” Turner said. “The energy can be a good thing, but I remind our guys that this is a long season. This is just the start.”
 
Quite a mentor
 
LaDainian Tomlinson knew the kind of teammate he was getting when the Chargers drafted running back Jacob Hester last weekend. On Friday, LT had his first opportunity to work with his new understudy, and he came away impressed.
 
“I watched him a bunch in college so I was pretty familiar with what he’s able to do on the football field,” Tomlinson said.  “He seems like a guy that really wants to learn what’s going on. I think he can help us in a lot of different ways”
It didn’t take long for LT to take the former LSU Tiger under his wing a little, which was much appreciated by the Bolts’ third-round pick.
 
“He’s helping me out already,” Hester said. “On the field there were a couple of plays where I was kind of lost and he steered me in the right direction. He’s already reached out and kind of helped me.”
 
On the move
 
Paul Oliver spent his first NFL season mostly watching and learning, but entering year two he believes he’s ready to take the next step, whatever that might mean.
 
“I learned a lot last year and feel like I grew as a player,” Oliver said. “I’m just ready to have a chance to contribute. I don’t care how.”
 
As a rookie, Oliver was inactive for all 16 regular season games but impressed coaches with his work ethic and versatility in practice as he often mimicked the best defensive back from each opponent.
 
Entering year two, there has been some discussion of moving Oliver from cornerback to safety, and he’ll work in various situations throughout the offseason. 
 
“Paul’s a really good player,” Turner said. “Obviously he benefits from having been here a year. We feel like he can be a safety.  It gives us a chance to move him around and gives us a guy who can play corner and safety. Tomorrow we’ll start working on our sub packages and we’ll get a chance to look at him there.”
 
Quick hits
 
-Wide receiver Buster Davis sat out of the afternoon practice after working in the morning. Defensive tackle Jamal Williams, center Nick Hardwick, linebacker Carlos Polk, fullback Andrew Pinnock, wide receiver Eric Parker and tight end Antonio Gates didn’t participate in either practice.
 
-At times as a rookie, Legedu Naanee was listed as a tight end, wide receiver and fullback. He’s now solely working with the wide receivers, and he’s switched his jersey number from 40 to 11.
 
-Saturday’s first practice begins at 10:45 a.m. Gates open at 10:15 for fans. The afternoon practice runs from 4-6 pm. 




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