Coach Gary Kubiak and players spoke to the media Thursday, and Kubiak said that tight end Owen Daniels is nursing a hamstring injury.
Coach Gary KubiakT Duane BrownSS Bernard Pollard WR Kevin Walter
Coach Gary Kubiak(on today's practice) "We had a good practice today. OD (TE Owen Daniels) did not practice. (LB Xavier) Adibi did not practice. (DT) Earl (Mitchell) and (DE) Jesse (Nading) did. They are getting better as the week goes on. We'll know about the other two tomorrow."
(on his concerns about TE Owen Daniels) "He's had a little hamstring issue for the last few weeks and aggravated it in the game (at Indy). So we are trying to do everything that we can to really just keeping him off of it right now. Then we'll see where he's at tomorrow."
(on if the hamstring issue has been keeping TE Owen Daniels from being involved in the offense) "Yes, he has been battling it for a few weeks. He aggravated it Monday night and he tried to push through it for the team and it got worse on him when we came back after the long trip. Right now, we are in the evaluation process. Obviously, he hasn't even been out here. So we are trying to see where he's at."
(on the lack of involvement from WR Kevin Walter) "We haven't gotten many guys involved. When you go out and you're 5-15 in the first half throwing the ball, not a lot of guys are touching it. We played a half of no football from that standpoint. (WR) Kevin (Walter) is doing his job and playing hard and doing his job in the run game. He's one of the big reasons that we run the ball so well as a team."
(on if anything else stood out today in practice) "No, just good work and a different team to prepare for that will present a lot of problems for us from both sides of the ball. We've come back good and bounced back good. It was a short week and we had two good practices."
T Duane Brown(on what makes Chargers QB Philip Rivers so difficult to play against) "He's a great athlete. He's pretty crafty. He's good with his hands. He's good at using your set against you, if your over set him he'll go inside. If you don't set back quick enough he'll have speed enough to get around the edge. He also has some decent power. He's an overall great athlete."
(on if there are any similarities in the 3-4 defensive schemes between Dallas and San Diego) "Yes definitely. They do a pretty good job upfront. They have some pretty stout guys who try to hold their gaps and let the backers run and make a lot of plays. As far as pass rushing, they do a good job of blitzing. They did a pretty good job against Dallas. We have a great scheme going on this week. We just got to go out and execute it."
*SS Bernard Pollard *(on how he compares TE Antonio Gates with TE Randy McMichael) "They are two really good athletes, but I just think (TE) Antonio (Gates) is where he's at because he's such a great competitor. He's a great tight end. He's one of those tight ends that are in the top five of the league. In my opinion, top three. He's a great guy. I've played against him obviously when I was at Kansas City. He's a guy that knows what he's doing. He knows how to get the ball. He knows how to find the end zone. That's a weapon you have to take away from (QB) Philip Rivers. Philip Rivers is another guy that's almost similar to the guy we just played Monday night. I really think that we are up for the task. We really are. We are ready to play ball."
WR Kevin Walter(on if there are some ways that team can do to get them back on track) "We just got to execute the game plan. In the offense or not. It's not up to me. I'm just going to go out there each day Like I did today and yesterday and practice hard and go out there on Sunday and compete."
(on if defenses are doing something against him that limits his play or if it's just the flow of the game) "It's just the flow of the game to tell you the truth. It's just that I had some opportunities to make a play last week and I just got to do a better job. It's going to come and I'm out there to do whatever the coaches want me to do. I told the coaches that. They know I'm here to make good blocks and make plays down field and whatever they want me to do. Whether its covering a punt I'm here to do whatever."
(on his contribution to the running game by blocking down field) "We've ran the football real good this year. It takes everybody and not just the offensive line. It takes the receivers to block the linebackers and safeties, we all work together."
