For Jammer, seeing is achieving

Tuesday, Jun 07, 2005
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

Sometimes during idle moments at home Quentin Jammer will grab a couple of tennis balls tied to an elastic string and flip them over his shoulder to himself. Over and over and over he flips them.

It’s a simple exercise, but sitting and flipping tennis balls may have more to do with Jammer becoming a better NFL cover cornerback this season than all the increased running and weightlifting he has logged in offseason workouts in both 2004 and 2005.

“I know I have the physical skills to cover people,” said Jammer after Monday’s Offseason Coaching Session. “I can cover people all day long, but I need to get more picks.”

The rap on Jammer, the part of his game that is holding him back, is that he loses sight of the football in the air. He can have his man covered, but if he turns the wrong way the result can be a completion instead of a broken up pass or interception.

“I know I need to work on tracking the football in the air,” Jammer said. “I need to know where the ball is and get my head around. If I can get that aspect of the game, I think I can put myself in the company of the best guys in the league.”

But the ball-tracking drill isn’t the only reason Jammer expects to see the football better in 2005. Three months ago he underwent LASIK surgery. The procedure is more commonly associated with correcting near-sighted vision, but Jammer says his corrected vision includes improved depth perception.

“When you wear contact lenses, it can improve your vision,” Jammer said. “But it’s still not normal depth perception. I can tell already (in OCS workouts) I can track the ball better. The depth perception shouldn’t be the problem it was for me before. Now I have to get my head around, get my eyes on the ball and let my eyes track the ball into my hands.”

Jammer had another strong year covering his man and providing run support last season. He finished sixth on the team in tackles with 62, including 53 solo stops, and shared the team lead among defensive backs with 10 passes defended. But he only had one interception, and it’s a number that gnaws at him.

“I need more picks,” he admitted almost sheepishly.

Keenan McCardell, the Chargers’ veteran wide receiver with 14 seasons under his belt, says ball skills separate the cornerbacks he has faced in his career.

“A guy like Deion Sanders or Rod Woodson played the ball better than most receivers.” McCardell said. “When a cornerback plays the ball well, he can make a receiver look bad.”

As a unit, Jammer expects the Chargers’ secondary to benefit from a second year in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ proven 3-4 defense.

“We all have more experience in the system,” Jammer said. “We want to put it all together this year and quit being considered the weak link of the team.”

The Chargers’ finished 2004 ranked third in the NFL against the rush, but their ranking of 31st against the pass dropped the overall defensive ranking to 18th out of all 32 teams.

“We took a lot of flak for the yards we gave up, but it’s a reflection of the whole defense,” Jammer said. “You have to look at how many times teams threw the ball. Our D-line and linebackers did such a good job of stuffing the run that teams had to throw the ball.”

The Chargers also tied for 30th in quarterback sacks with only 29, so improving the pass rush is a priority to help the defensive backs.

“We can’t blame it all on teams throwing the ball so much,” Jammer said. “We can cut down on our mistakes. We gave up some plays we shouldn’t have given up. We took a lot of heat last year, but we’ll deal with that this year.”

MINI CAMP NOTES

Think of the Bolts’ Mini Camp this weekend at Chargers Park as an early look at the team’s new home for Training Camp. It’s already dressed up that way with blue banners usually hung at Training Camp adorning the fences that enclose the three practice fields. Bleachers overlooking the FieldTurf practice field have been set up for Mini Camp, too.

Mini Camp is open to the public Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday practice sessions are at 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and the Sunday practice session is at 10:00 a.m.