The San Diego coach was asked Tuesday whether his team has the best chance of any AFC team of finally winning the Super Bowl. Ross wasn't about to start blaring trumpets.
"I think that we have as good a chance as anybody, based on how long we stay healthy," he said.
With a power running game and strong defense, the Chargers resemble a team from the NFC East, which has provided the last four Super Bowl winners and six of the last eight. Overall, the NFC has won the last 10 Super Bowls.
When Ross became coach in 1992, he kept the system used by his predecessor, Dan Henning. Henning had been offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins prior to coming to San Diego.
Quarterback Stan Humphries, acquired from the Redskins, is the leading passer in the AFC. Second-year running back Natrone Means is the fourth-leading rusher in the NFL with 586 yards, and is tied with Dallas' Emmit Smith for the NFL lead with eight touchdowns.
The Chargers certainly are positioning themselves well. They have swept their AFC West rivals the first time through and lead Kansas City by two games. And with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Chargers are 5-0 in the AFC.
After a 36-22 win at New Orleans on Sunday, the Chargers will play consecutive home games against division rivals Denver and Seattle.
"Every game we win is money in the bank for us," Ross said.
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In the most surprising decision of his first season as head coach, Norv Turner bypassed John Friesz and named untested and unsung Gus Frerotte to start in place of ailing rookie Heath Shuler against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
With Shuler on crutches after severely spraining his ankle, it was assumed that Turner would go back to Friesz, who started the first four games.
Frerotte intrigued Turner with his fast start in training camp when Shuler held out for 13 days. But because he was a seventh-round pick, from Tulsa, there was never any thought to starting him in front of Friesz or Shuler.
But now that Shuler is hurt and Friesz has a 1-3 record in his starts, Turner wants to look at Frerotte. At 6 feet 2, 221 pounds, Frerotte doesn't have Shuler's athletic gifts, but he grasped the offense quickly and has a knack for making plays.
Still, he's a rookie who hasn't played in two months except in practice and could have a tough transition. Frerotte was stunned when Turner told the players he was starting this week.
Friesz also was surprised he didn't get the nod, but he didn't complain. "There's obviously a degree of disappointment, but I'm excited for Gus," he said.
The Redskins hope Shuler won't be out long, but Turner wouldn't say how long he might play Frerotte.
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Coach Rich Kotite of the Philadelphia Eagles said Monday that he's still having trouble adjusting to the league's two-point conversion rule after going for two with his team trailing, 24-13, with 5:27 left against the Dallas Cowboys.
The move didn't make much sense because the Eagles still would have needed two scores if they had made it. When they didn't make it, they needed two touchdowns or a touchdown, two-point conversion and a field goal to tie. If they'd taken the extra point, they could have tied with a touchdown and a field goal.
"It was raining very heavily then, and we looked at the chart and we misread the chart. It was my mistake," he said.
The coaches now have a chart telling them whether to go for one or two depending on the score.
(AP, Sun)
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