For a Sunday game played in the Central time zone, the Chargers would normally fly out on Friday afternoon. But this week, they're heading to Dallas on Wednesday, not to enjoy the fabulous Tex-Mex cuisine at Joe T. Garcia's. The Chargers and Cowboys are scrimmaging (they still call it "practice," though) a couple days.
"The biggest thing you get in Dallas is, we'll get two good practices going against people we're not as familiar with," said head coach Norv Turner. "That's great for our young players in terms of education on playing in this league."
"It just gives you a change of scenery," said quarterback Philip Rivers. "Going up against our own guys we hear every call they make, they know our calls, our cadence, it's like playing each other 16 straight days. You get cranked up going against another team."
That might cause another problem. Getting cranked up in a practice setting can sometimes rub guys on other teams the wrong way. There have been plenty of skirmishes when teams mingle in training camp. It's a concern, but hopefully easily avoided.
"Obviously it gets competitive," says Rivers. "You have to make sure it gets managed. I think both sides will be able to manage without anything getting too crazy."
The craziest part of this will probably be the heat. Thursday's practice will take place when the thermometer reads 104 degrees. Luckily, it's not supposed to be too terribly humid, and they're only enduring one day of it. Friday's session and Sunday's game will both be held inside Cowboys Stadium, with the roof closed.
