Official Chargers Blog

DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Jamal Williams was a Pro Bowl defensive tackle in 2005…the anchor of the NFL’s No. 1 run defense, Williams had 53 tackles and a team-high eight tackles for loss…Williams is entering his ninth season…Ryon Bingham spent most of the 2005 season on the practice squad…he saw his first career action in the ’05 season finale, recording one tackle…Brandon McKinney and Alvin Smith are both rookie free agents.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER: Starting outside linebackers Steve Foley and Shawne Merriman return…Foley was slowed by an abdominal injury most of last season but still recorded 38 tackles and 4.5 sacks…Merriman was a Pro Bowl starter and the NFL’s consensus Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2005…he led the team with 10 sacks and ranked second with seven tackles for loss…Merriman finished the year with 54 tackles…third-year man Shaun Phillips ranked second on the team with seven sacks in 2005...he tied for third on the squad with 15 stops on special teams…Carlos Polk has missed most of the last two seasons due to injury…Polk was the Chargers Special Teams Player of the Year in 2002 and ’03…Marques Harris was one of only two undrafted rookies to make the team in 2005…he played in 11 games, primarily on special teams where he recorded eight tackles…Akbar Gbaja-Biamila did not play in the NFL in 2005…he played for the Oakland Raiders for the 2003-04 seasons, recording 60 tackles and two sacks.

INSIDE LINEBACKER: Starters Donnie Edwards and Randall Godfrey return…Edwards was the team’s leading tackler with 154 stops…he added three sacks, two interceptions and 11 passes defensed…Godfrey was the team’s secondleading defender with 78 tackles, including four tackles for loss…Stephen Cooper has been a reserve linebacker and a solid special teams performer…the fourth-year player is a former undrafted free agent who has 71 career tackles and 2.5 sacks…Matt Wilhelm is pushing Edwards for a starting spot…he had 16 tackles, one sack and an interception last season and tied for third on the team with 15 special teams tackles…Tim Dobbins was a fifth-round draft choice in 2006…Phil Archer and Jonathan Evans are both NFL Europe veterans…Archer played for the Amsterdam Admirals in 2005 and ’06…he also spent some time on Minnesota’s practice squad in 2005…Evans played for the Berlin Thunder.

CORNERBACKS: Starters Quentin Jammer and Drayton Florence are back…Jammer led the team with 19 passes defensed and was third on the squad with 72 tackles…he had one interception…Florence tied for second on the team with 11 passes defensed…he also had one interception and 54 tackles…Markus Curry was an undrafted rookie in 2005 who spent most of the season on the team’s practice squad…he has been a consistent performer in training camp…Antonio Cromartie was the Chargers top selection in the 2006 NFL Draft…he was chosen in the first round with the 19th overall selection from Florida State…Cletis Gordon, Steve Gregory and Anthony Mims are rookie free agents.

SAFETIES: Strong safety Terrence Kiel and free safety Bhawoh Jue started in ’05…Kiel recorded 59 tackles and a sack last season…Jue led the team with three interceptions while contributing 42 tackles…Marlon McCree joined the Chargers in 2006 through free agency and has been working with the first team…a Carolina Panther in 2005, McCree started 15 games and ranked second on the team with 95 tackles…he also intercepted three passes and broke up nine passes for the Panthers, runners-up in the NFC…Clinton Hart scored two touchdowns on interception returns in 2005…a player who can line up at either safety position, Hart recorded 35 tackles and six passes defensed in 2005...he also registered 11 stops on special teams…Andre Lott is in his fourth NFL season…he did not play in 2005 but spent the 2002-04 seasons with the Washington Redskins…he’s appeared in 31 career games as a reserve in the secondary and a special teams player…Jerrell Pippens can play both safety or cornerback and the speedster has made a name for himself on special teams…Hanik Milligan was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2005 as a special teams performer after he led the Chargers with 21 special teams tackles…Mitch Meeuwsen has NFL Europe experience with the Rhein Fire in 2006.

SPECIALISTS: All three key specialists return: punter Mike Scifres, kicker Nate Kaeding and long snapper David Binn…Scifres was a Pro Bowl second-alternate in 2005 after averaging 43.7 yards per punt…only 26 of his punts were returned last season, fewest in the NFL among punters who attempted at least 70 punts…Kaeding is coming off a 2005 season in which he hit 21 of 24 field goal attempts and all 49 of his point after tries…he scored 112 points last season…for his career, the third-year kicker has been successful on 41 of 49 field goal attempts…Binn is one of the NFL’s most precise and consistent long snappers…entering his 13th season, Binn has played in 191 career games, just nine shy of the team record shared by Junior Seau and Russ Washington…Kurt Smith was a sixth-round draft choice in 2006…Smith was a kickoff specialist in college at Virginia and is competing to earn a similar post with the Chargers…the shifty and speedy Darren Sproles cut his teeth as a rookie returning both kickoffs and punts…he averaged 24.3 yards per return on kickoffs with a long of 58 yards and he averaged 6.0 yards on punt returns…his big returns throughout the year helped set up numerous scoring drives…Sproles was injured in the Bolts 2006 preseason opener and was placed on the “Reserve-Injured” list on Aug. 15…Cletis Gordon and Gerran Walker are sharing the bulk of the return responsibilities during the preseason in Sproles’ absence.