Merriman goes through full practice, “feels good”

The first question linebacker Shawne Merriman was asked following Wednesday’s practice was to put a percentage rate on his knee..

“One-hundred and one,” Merriman said. “Is that a possibility?”

Merriman went through a full practice with his teammates Wednesday and was pleased with the way he felt after the workout. Two weeks ago it was revealed that Merriman has a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and a tear in the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his knee.

The three-time Pro Bowler will be in the starting lineup Sunday when the Chargers open their season with the Carolina Panthers.

“It feels pretty good,” Merriman said. “Getting back at it the last couple days and working on it for like a month now, I feel pretty good. I’m ready. I think we’re all ready.”

Merriman said that his knee felt the same way Wednesday that it did last December when he was practicing and playing through the injury. He promises to go full speed, believing that’s the only way to play football.

“Going out there and watching yourself, that’s how you get hurt,” Merriman said. “You play tentative and worry too much about what’s going to happen instead of making something happen. That’s when guys get hurt.”

Head Coach Norv Turner reiterated Wednesday that he expects Merriman to be a playmaker when he hits the field.

“He worked out last week when he got back and moved around great,” Turner said. “He moved around great in practice Monday and today.”

Captain, My Captain

The Chargers voted on team captains yesterday and the players elected LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers to represent the offense, Shawne Merriman and Jamal Williams to serve as defensive captains and Kassim Osgood to be the special teams representative.

“The thing that’s impressive with our guys is the number of votes that each guy got,” Turner said. “It’s by far a majority.”

All five of the captains were elected for the second-consecutive year, and Merriman appreciates the respect his teammates have shown him by voting for him.

“I think it definitely shows that guys believe in you,” Merriman said. “They believe in what you do and how you approach your job. It’s definitely an honor.”

Beat the heat

The Chargers will break custom Sunday and wear their white road jerseys, which they traditionally wear on the road. In the NFL, the home team has the opportunity to choose which jersey they’ll wear, and the Chargers choose the cooler color as Sunday’s forecasted high is 81 degrees.

The Bolts also wore their whites during last season’s Week 1 win over Chicago, who donned their Navy Blue jerseys.

Injury update

Offensive tackle Marcus McNeill and center Nick Hardwick were the only two Chargers who missed all of Wednesday’s practice. The Bolts also listed Williams (knee), Merriman (knee) and Antonio Gates (toe) on their injury report although all three practiced fully.

Carolina enters Week 1 in healthy shape. Wide receiver D.J. Hackett (toe) was their only starter listed on the injury report, and he fully participated.

No Smith

The Panthers will be without one of the NFL’s most explosive players Sunday as wide receiver Steve Smith was suspended two games by the team following an altercation with teammate Ken Lucas during training camp.

Smith is a three-time Pro Bowler who has scored 27 touchdowns the last three seasons. His absence will affect what the Panthers can do offensively, but Turner doesn’t expect it to change their approach.

“I don’t know that they’re going to change what they do,” Turner said. “They’ve got two very good running backs. They want to run the football. They’ve got veteran receivers who are very smart at getting into open areas. Obviously Steve Smith has given them explosive plays. I know they’re going to try to find those. Now our deal is to find out which guy are they going to try and get them with and how are they going to try to match him up.”

Interest in Anderson

The Chargers added three veterans this offseason to solidify the depth on their offensive line, and the team confirmed Wednesday that there is potential interest to bring in a fourth. The team has been in contact with four-time Pro Bowl right tackle Willie Anderson, who was released by Cincinnati over the weekend.

Coming home

Panthers Head Coach John Fox has participated in games at Qualcomm Stadium as a player and an assistant, and Sunday he returns for the first time as a head coach.

“I have great memories, there’s no doubt,” Fox said. “I was in that stadium all the way back in my college days. It’s exciting. It’ll bring back a lot of great memories. I haven’t gotten a chance to get back very much but I’m looking forward to it.”

Fox attended high school in San Diego and played at San Diego State. He also coached the Chargers’ secondary for two seasons (1992-93).

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