CHARGERS UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / T.J. SIMERS : Rookie Mims to Get Start in Place of Ailing Grossman
SAN DIEGO — Charger Coach Bobby Ross said Chris Mims will start in place of defensive end Burt Grossman for Sunday night’s game with the Raiders.
Grossman has a pair of sprained ankles and has been unable to practice this week. Ross said the team will continue treatment on Grossman, and if he recovers sufficiently, he will play on a part-time basis.
The rookie Mims started against Denver and Indianapolis earlier this season, and he has eight sacks in his last seven games.
After Friday’s practice Ross called his players together and told them, “This is a playoff game.”
The Charger players, however, have taken a low-key approach to Sunday’s sellout in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium with the Raiders.
“There’s so much hype around this game, but I approach it the same way I approach every other game,” said Charger defensive tackle Blaise Winter.
Tackle Harry Swayne was asked if he was beginning to get excited about this game more than others. “Not really,” Swayne said.
Tackle Broderick Thompson said, “The mind-set as far as I’m concerned is not to put everything into this game, make it a priority, but the main concern is how well we do from here on out.”
Quarterback Stan Humphries said, “To me it’s the same, it’s a big football game because it’s another game for us to keep on winning and keep going toward the playoffs.”
Such tension.
Ross said he advised his team at the beginning of the week, “It’s just not another game. It has some added significance.”
Ross, however, has backed off from talking about the playoffs.
“I’ve disciplined myself to not allow myself to be thinking about that, to be very honest with you,” Ross said. “When you start to look beyond that’s when you stop focusing on the present, and that’s my whole approach.”
The Chargers have selected two players to be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame next season, and they will make the announcement of their identity at halftime of Sunday’s game.
