--TE Antonio Gates continues to push his mending toe as the season opener gets closer. He's yet to take part in a team practice, but has worked three times on the side. He is still experiencing discomfort, but that seems to be diminishing. Gates needs to pass a physical to be pulled from the PUP list. He made it clear that he has no intention of still being on the list when the Chargers open the regular season against Carolina on Sept. 7. "I refuse to be on that thing, man," Gates said. "I wouldn't imagine they would put me on it, based on the running I've been doing and the cutting I've been doing. I can feel some changes, but whether or not I can do it to the ability I need to (is the question). It looks OK, but the way it feels is the problem."

--The Chargers were missing two starters among their five offensive linemen with center Nick Hardwick (foot) and left tackle Marcus McNeill (stinger) ailing. But what's different than in past seasons is the Chargers plugging in two savvy veterans instead of inexperienced backups. Jeremy Newberry filled in for Hardwick and might have to do so the first month of the season. The only drawback is Newberry playing so much now instead of saving himself for September. One can almost hear the friction in his knees where the cartilage has dissipated with it basically being bone-on-bone. Good thing Newberry is known for his high tolerance for pain. L.J. Shelton subbed for McNeill and Shelton is coming off a year in which he started 16 games for the Dolphins. It was the Miami massacre in which the Dolphins lost 15 of those outings, but Shelton never asked out. He's motivated to stay in San Diego and is proving it with his play.

--Cornerback Quentin Jammer was among the starters not playing in St. Louis. Jammer gave coach Norv Turner credit for looking after his players. "Norv is really good about handling his players right," he said. "If he thinks we need a day off, he gives it to us. There are a lot of veterans on this team that could use the break and there are a lot of young guys who need to play. It's a good situation."

--Receiver Buster Davis, a first-round pick last year, finally got into the flow. He snagged two passes for a team-high 40 yards and added a 36-yard punt return. "Buster Davis is a good young football player," Turner said. "He needs to start a game and go play. He made some plays for us. He hasn't played that many snaps in a row in a long time."

--Quarterback Philip Rivers said all along he would be back at full strength for training camp despite his significant knee surgery last offseason. Everyone nodded, patted Rivers on the shoulder pads, and said sure you will. Rivers, as usual, was right. But he wasn't on the turf inside the Edward Jones Dome as the team didn't want to risk his mending knee on something other than grass.

--The Chargers attracted 28,507 fans to their 13 open training-camp practices. That topped last season's total of 23,158.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"There are a lot of guys that probably played the most they've played in an NFL game to this point. I told them it's a lot different making a play compared to putting together 12 to 15 plays in a row and operating and managing the game." -- Coach Norv Turner, on his backup players, after leaving most of the starters on the bench in the 7-6 loss to the Rams.

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