| | By John Clayton
ESPN.com
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- After two years of wishing he would vanish, the San Diego Chargers are turning
over a new Ryan Leaf.
Players who despised him are starting to embrace him. Others are
willing to forgive his past transgressions and receive his passes. Given up
for dead on the Chargers depth chart months ago, Leaf is resurrecting his
career from its self-inflicted ashes and is challenging Jim Harbaugh and Moses Moreno for the starting quarterback job.
|  | | Ryan Leaf is endearing himself to fans in Chargers camp again. |
"Three months ago, I didn't think I was going to be at this
point," Leaf said. "I was thinking about what I was going to do if I
didn't play. I was looking at the fall schedule of Washington State."
His right shoulder ached so much that Leaf said he couldn't tuck in
his shirt into the back of his pants. His teammates, tired of his lack of
concern for the team and horrible attitude, wanted him out. In the past two
weeks, Leaf started showing his teammates that his powerful right arm could
make a football soar like they've rarely seen.
The Chargers may not love him, but they accept that his arm can
carry their offense.
"The best thing about Ryan now is that he's able to come to the
football field and perform as a player and not fight outside venues that
went on in his past," Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau said. "We are now
talking about football instead of trying to justify what Ryan has done."
Arguably, Leaf has reemerged as the backup quarterback midway
through camp, and it's not outlandish to say he could begin the season as the
starter. Much depends on the next two exhibition games. Moses Moreno has yet to dislodge Jim Harbaugh as the starter, but Leaf's laser beam-like throws have
Chargers brass staring in disbelief.
On Wednesday, Leaf was second in the quarterback rotation, which
coach Mike Riley said doesn't really mean anything. Harbaugh, Leaf and
Moreno each receive an equal number of snaps. In team drills and skeleton, nine-on-seven drills,
Leaf was so efficient it was scary.
He hit the long passes. He rifled slant passes to receivers in
stride. When an Arizona Cardinals cornerback established a close position on
his receiver, Leaf would find a small area to complete the pass and drill a completion.
"I think the way that Ryan has handled himself in the offseason as
well as now has us thinking he's made dramatic improvement," strong safety Rodney Harrison said. "I think a lot of people on this team are regaining respect for Ryan. He lost most everybody in the locker room last year because
he was so immature. We have a lot of guys in this locker room who sacrifice
time away from their families for this team. So we don't have time for a
crybaby. We don't have time to pamper this guy."
|
Leaf vs. other 1998 draftees
|
|
Name
|
G
|
Pct.
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Rat.
|
|
Leaf
|
10
|
45.3
|
1289
|
2
|
39.0
|
|
Manning
|
32
|
59.3
|
7874
|
54
|
80.6
|
|
Griese
|
15
|
57.6
|
3034
|
14
|
75.0
|
|
Batch
|
23
|
57.6
|
4135
|
24
|
83.9
|
Harrison, who claims to be a friend of Leaf, told Leaf that he owed
it to the Chargers who paid him a lot of money and the fans to repay them
with production. Harrison didn't mince words. "He listens to me," Harrison
said. "I told him, 'Grow up and stop acting like a baby.' "
First, though, Leaf had to stop "babying" his shoulder injury.
That wasn't easy. He realized his right arm was his meal ticket. Everytime
it twinged, Leaf worried. One surgery didn't seem to make the shoulder feel
better. The possibility of a second operation lingered with him through the
offseason.
"I had always been a quick healer," Leaf said. "I had a shoulder
problem before and a knee injury. They healed just like that. I was down
about it."
Leaf let his weight spiral out of control to around 260 pounds. He
further distanced himself from his teammates. A couple of weeks in
Birmingham, Ala., working with a rehab specialist recommended by Dr. James
Andrews changed Leaf's attitude. A fire returned in Leaf.
Suddenly, he wanted to show something to critics who buried him
professionally.
"Maybe the thing that hurt the most was that they would question my
heart," Leaf said. "No one ever questioned that before in my life. That
was probalby the tough part. Lots of time people have the assumption that
I'm making so much money that I don't care."
Don't be mistaken. Leaf still is a quarterback in development. As
efficient as he was in the team drills, he was ineffective in a red zone
drill, throwing a couple of interceptions. The day before against the
Cardinals, he was sharp in the red zone.
Call it a preview of coming attractions. Should Leaf earn a starting
job, his inexperience may cost the Chargers a couple of games. They may
win with either Harbaugh or Moreno at the helm.
"I'd say he has about 75 percent of the offense down as far as his
knowledge," Riley said. "He's probably had 1,000 less reps in the offense
than Jim or Moses because he missed all the summer schools and minicamps.
But he knows a lot."
Riley calls Leaf's surprising comeback a "quiet reentry." In the
three-way quarterback derby, Leaf is categorized by Riley as the X-factor.
For two years, though, he was a mystery in the "X Files."
As the season draws nearer, Riley will be pulled into a decision
that will define his reign as coach. A players' coach who makes being a
Charger a pleasant experience, Riley must decide whether to go with the heady
experience of Harbaugh, the strong but inexperienced arm of Moreno or the gamble of rolling the dice with Leaf.
|
“ |
I'm
the kind of competitor where if I'm able to play,
I've got to play. I can't get back there and just
pick up a paycheck every week. If that's the case,
I'll go get a job that is fun. ” |
|
|
— Ryan Leaf, Chargers quarterback |
"There is a lot of interest by the media and by the fans in Ryan,"
Riley said. "I think our players are accepting him. If they see him make
progress and work along with them -- which he is doing -- I think the guys
will continue to accept him. If they think a guy can help him win, they will
pull for him."
Each day, Leaf is showing signs of life. He joked with receiver Jeff
Graham about a high pass that would have exposed Graham to a dangerous hit
by a defensive back if this were a game. Leaf called it his "Excedrin"
pass. Graham laughed as did Leaf. During one drill on Tuesday, Leaf tossed
his helmet in frustration, only to be chided by Cardinals defensive line
coach Joe Greene to keep his composure.
There was a touching scene after Wednesday's practice. His fiancée,
Niki, visited him on the field. Leaf showed his sensitive side, hugging her
and being romantic. He then proceeded to give one of his first one-on-one
interviews and had a mass interview session with other reporters and camera
crews.
"I'm the kind of competitor where if I'm able to play, I've got to
play," Leaf said. "I can't get back there and just pick up a paycheck
every week. If that's the case, I'll go get a job that is fun. As a rookie,
I was given a job. It would have been better to play the second half of the
year instead of starting and getting benched."
The Chargers may be keeping Leaf at arm's length, but it's his right
arm that is making them slowly forget about the past.
"It's kind of funny because everywhere I go, everyone asks, 'So what
about Ryan Leaf?' " Harrison said. "There is a lot more to the San Diego
Chargers than Ryan Leaf getting in trouble."
John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
| |
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