2002 San Diego Chargers season

The 2002 season was the San Diego Chargers' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd overall and their first under head coach Marty Schottenheimer. Their stadium, Qualcomm Stadium, hosted Super Bowl XXXVII at the end of the season, but the Chargers' failure to secure a playoff berth marked the 18th straight season that the Super Bowl did not include the team in whose region the game was being played. Their division was reduced to four teams at the start of the season, with the Seattle Seahawks moving to the NFC. Despite going into their bye week at 6–1, the Chargers won just two of their nine games after the break and missed the playoffs.

2002 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Alex Spanos
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
General manager	John Butler
Home field	Qualcomm Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB LaDainian Tomlinson LB Junior Seau LB Donnie Edwards
AP All-Pros	RB LaDainian Tomlinson (2nd team) LB Donnie Edwards (2nd team)

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
TE Stephen Alexander (Redskins)	TE Steve Heiden (Browns)
LB Donnie Edwards (Chiefs)	LB John Holecek (Falcons)
G Bob Hallen (Falcons)	LB Sam Rogers (Falcons)
C Cory Raymer (Redskins)	G Raleigh Roundtree (Cardinals)
DT Jason Fisk (Titans)	TE Freddie Jones (Cardinals)
SS Keith Lyle (Redskins)	G DeMingo Graham (Texans)

NFL Draft

2002 San Diego Chargers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	5	Quentin Jammer	Cornerback	Texas
2	39	Toniu Fonoti	Guard	Nebraska
2	48	Reche Caldwell	Wide receiver	Florida
3	71	Ben Leber	Linebacker	Kansas State
4	103	Justin Peelle	Tight end	Oregon
5	142	Terry Charles	Wide receiver	Portland State
6	178	Matt Anderle	Tackle	Minnesota
7	216	Seth Burford	Quarterback	Cal Poly
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2002 undrafted free agents of note

Player	Position	College
Jason Ball	Center	New Hampshire
Jesse Chatman	Running back	Eastern Washington
Vernon Fox	Safety	Fresno State
Josh Norman	Tight end	Oklahoma

Personnel

Staff

2002 San Diego Chargers staff

	Front office Chairman of the Board – Alex Spanos President/Chief Executive Officer – Dean Spanos Executive Vice President – Michael Spanos Executive Vice President/General Manager – John Butler Assistant General Manager/Director of Pro Personnel – A. J. Smith Vice President of Football Operations – Ed McGuire Director of Player Personnel – Buddy Nix Director of College Scouting – Jimmy Raye Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Associate Head Coach/Defense – Bill Arnsparger Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Cam Cameron Quarterbacks – Brian Schottenheimer Running Backs – Clarence Shelmon Wide Receivers – James Lofton Tight Ends – Tim Brewster Offensive Line – Hudson Houck Offensive Assistant/Quality Control – Pete Carmichael, Jr.			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Dale Lindsey Defensive Line – Wayne Nunnely Linebackers – Greg Manusky Defensive Backs – Jerry Holmes Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – John Pagano Special Projects – Joe Pascale Special teams coaches Special Teams – Steve Crosby Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Matt Schiotz

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Roster

2002 San Diego Chargers final roster

	Quarterbacks  9 Drew Brees  7 Doug Flutie 12 Seth Burford Running backs 24 Jesse Chatman 41 Terrell Fletcher 45 Joey Goodspeed FB 28 Ronney Jenkins 44 Fred McCrary FB 21 LaDainian Tomlinson Wide receivers 82 Reche Caldwell 80 Curtis Conway 85 Tim Dwight 86 Dondre Gilliam 88 Eric Parker 87 Tamarick Vanover Tight ends 81 Stephen Alexander 83 Josh Norman 84 Justin Peelle		Offensive linemen 60 Jason Ball C 69 Ed Ellis T 71 Toniu Fonoti G 63 Kelvin Garmon G 62 Bob Hallen G 61 Michael Keathley G/C 77 Damion McIntosh T 70 Vaughn Parker T 79 Sammy Williams T Defensive linemen 96 Leonardo Carson DT 93 Chris Demaree DE 90 Adrian Dingle DE 92 Jason Fisk DT 99 Raylee Johnson DE 75 Marcellus Wiley DE 78 DeQuincy Scott DT		Linebackers 59 Donnie Edwards OLB 51 Ben Leber OLB 52 Carlos Polk OLB 56 Orlando Ruff ILB 55 Junior Seau ILB 57 Zeke Moreno ILB Defensive backs 42 Rogers Beckett SS 36 Vernon Fox CB 37 Rodney Harrison FS 32 Kevin House 23 Quentin Jammer CB 35 Keith Lyle SS 47 Ryan McNeil CB 25 Alex Molden CB 33 Davis Sanchez CB 20 Jerry Wilson FS Special teams  2 Darren Bennett P 50 David Binn LS  8 Steve Christie K  5 Wade Richey K		Reserve lists 13 Terry Charles WR (IR) 27 Tay Cody CB (IR) 34 Tony Okanlawon CB (IR) 66 Cory Raymer C (IR) 97 Doug Sims DT (IR) 76 Jamal Williams NT (IR) Practice squad 53 Luke Butkus C 65 Zack Quaccia C 67 Mike Malano C/G 87 Ramondo North WR Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

In addition to their regular games with AFC West rivals, the Chargers played teams from the AFC East and NFC West as per the schedule rotation, and also played intraconference games against the Texans and the Bengals based on divisional positions from 2001.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV	Time (PT)	Record	Attendance
1	September 8, 2002	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 34–6	CBS	10:00 am	1–0	53,705
2	September 15, 2002	Houston Texans	W 24–3	CBS	1:15 pm	2–0	56,098
3	September 22, 2002	at Arizona Cardinals	W 23–15	CBS	1:05 pm	3–0	28,980
4	September 29, 2002	New England Patriots	W 21–14	CBS	1:15 pm	4–0	66,463
5	October 6, 2002	at Denver Broncos	L 26–9	CBS	1:05 pm	4–1	75,065
6	October 13, 2002	Kansas City Chiefs	W 35–34	CBS	1:15 pm	5–1	58,995
7	October 20, 2002	at Oakland Raiders	W 27–21 (OT)	CBS	1:05 pm	6–1	60,974
8	Bye
9	November 3, 2002	New York Jets	L 44–13	CBS	1:05 pm	6–2	59,772
10	November 10, 2002	at St. Louis Rams	L 28–24	CBS	10:00 am	6–3	66,093
11	November 17, 2002	San Francisco 49ers	W 20–17 (OT)	FOX	1:05 pm	7–3	67,161
12	November 24, 2002	at Miami Dolphins	L 30–3	CBS	10:00 am	7–4	73,138
13	December 1, 2002	Denver Broncos	W 30–27 (OT)	CBS	1:05 pm	8–4	66,357
14	December 8, 2002	Oakland Raiders	L 27–7	CBS	1:15 pm	8–5	67,968
15	December 15, 2002	at Buffalo Bills	L 20–13	CBS	10:00 am	8–6	61,838
16	December 22, 2002	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 24–22	CBS	10:00 am	8–7	77,899
17	December 29, 2002	Seattle Seahawks	L 31–28 (OT)	FOX	1:15 pm	8–8	52,159

Week 4: vs. New England Patriots

Week 4: New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	7	7	0	0	14
Chargers	7	7	7	0	21

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: September 29, 2002
• Game time: 4:15 p.m.
• Game weather: Partly cloudy, 67 °F (19 °C)
• Game attendance: 66,463
• Referee: Ron Blum (7)
• TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NE – Christian Fauria 5-yard pass from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick), 9:26. Patriots 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 67 yards, 5:34. SD – Curtis Conway 52-yard pass from Drew Brees (Steve Christie kick), 4:17. Tied 7–7. Drive: 5 plays, 87 yards, 2:33. Second quarter NE – Mike Vrabel 1-yard pass from Tom Brady (Adam Vinatieri kick), 14:13. Patriots 14–7. Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 5:04. SD – LaDainian Tomlinson 37-yard run (Steve Christie kick), 2:19. Tied 14–14. Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 4:33. Third quarter SD – LaDainian Tomlinson 58-yard run (Steve Christie kick), 14:14. Chargers 21–14. Drive: 2 plays, 67 yards, 0:46. Fourth quarter No scoring plays. Top passers NE – Tom Brady – 36/53, 353 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT SD – Drew Brees – 10/18, 104 yards, TD Top rushers NE – Antowain Smith – 16 rushes, 78 yards SD – LaDainian Tomlinson – 27 rushes, 217 yards, 2 TD Top receivers NE – Deion Branch – 13 receptions, 128 yards SD – Curtis Conway – 3 receptions, 69 yards, TD

Week 9: vs. New York Jets

Week 9: New York Jets at San Diego Chargers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	14	17	3	10	44
Chargers	0	7	6	0	13

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: November 3, 2002
• Game time: 4:05 pm
• Game weather: Sunny, 69 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 59,772
• Referee: Bill Leavy (127)
• TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NYJ – Chad Pennington 8-yard run (John Hall kick), 3:45. Jets 7–0. Drive: 12 plays, 91 yards, 6:55. NYJ – Santana Moss 52-yard punt return (John Hall kick), 1:10. Jets 14–0. Second quarter NYJ – Anthony Becht 1-yard pass from Chad Pennington (John Hall kick), 6:17. Jets 21–0. Drive: 6 plays, 48 yards, 3:40. SD – Curtis Conway 13-yard pass from Drew Brees (Steve Christie kick), 3:44. Jets 21–7. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:48. NYJ – Curtis Martin 17-yard run (John Hall kick), 1:10. Jets 28–7. Drive: 6 plays, 60 yards, 2:28. NYJ – John Hall 24-yard field goal, 0:06. Jets 31–7. Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 0:16. Third quarter NYJ – John Hall 32-yard field goal, 6:18. Jets 34–7. Drive: 11 plays, 52 yards, 6:00. SD – LaDanian Tomlinson 7-yard run (kick blocked), 2:00. Jets 34–13. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:22. Fourth quarter NYJ – John Hall 38-yard field goal, 8:02. Jets 37–13. Drive: 7 plays, 17 yards, 4:43. NYJ – LaMont Jordan 61-yard run (John Hall kick), 2:00. Jets 44–13. Drive: 8 plays, 90 yards, 3:31. Top passers NYJ – Chad Pennington – 28/37, 253 yards, TD SD – Drew Brees – 22/35, 192 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers NYJ – LaMont Jordan – 13 rushes, 107 yards, TD SD – LaDanian Tomlinson – 12 rushes, 60 yards, TD Top receivers NYJ – Laveranues Coles – 5 receptions, 60 yards SD – Stephen Alexander – 7 receptions, 84 yards

Week 12: at Miami Dolphins

Week 12: San Diego Chargers at Miami Dolphins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	3	0	0	0	3
Dolphins	10	10	7	3	30

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

• Date: November 24, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 77 °F (25 °C)
• Game attendance: 73,138
• Referee: Jeff Triplette (42)
• TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms, and Armen Keteyian
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter MIA – Olindo Mare 20-yard field goal, 10:06. Dolphins 3–0. Drive: 8 plays, 29 yards, 4:01. SD – Steve Christie 38-yard field goal, 4:27. Tied 3–3. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 5:39. MIA – James McKnight 20-yard pass from Ray Lucas (Olindo Mare kick), 1:43. Dolphins 10–3. Drive: 6 plays, 60 yards, 2:44. Second quarter MIA – Ricky Williams 1-yard run (Olindo Mare kick), 6:45. Dolphins 17–3. Drive: 14 plays, 86 yards, 7:24. MIA – Olindo Mare 38-yard field goal, 0:15. Dolphins 20–3. Drive: 13 plays, 48 yards, 2:43. Third quarter MIA – Ricky Williams 12-yard run (Olindo Mare kick), 2:14. Dolphins 27–3. Drive: 4 plays, 28 yards, 2:04. Fourth quarter MIA – Olindo Mare 23-yard field goal, 13:02. Dolphins 30–3. Drive: 6 plays, 83 yards, 2:52. Top passers SD – Drew Brees – 15/22, 107 yards, INT MIA – Ray Lucas – 14/23, 194 yards, TD Top rushers SD – LaDanian Tomlinson – 14 rushes, 45 yards MIA – Ricky Williams – 29 rushes, 143 yards, 2 TD Top receivers SD – Stephen Alexander – 8 receptions, 61 yards MIA – James McKnight – 3 receptions, 111 yards, TD

Week 15: at Buffalo Bills

Week 15: San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	3	7	0	3	13
Bills	7	6	0	7	20

at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Date: December 15, 2002
• Game time: 1:00 pm
• Game weather: Light rain, 36 °F (2 °C)
• Game attendance: 61,838
• Referee: Gerald Austin (34)
• TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter SD – Steve Christie 39-yard field goal, 6:49. Chargers 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 2:31. BUF – Travis Henry 4-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 3:13. Bills 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 74 yards, 3:36. Second quarter BUF – Mike Hollis 42-yard field goal, 9:05. Bills 10–3. Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards, 2:57. SD – LaDanian Tomlinson 2-yard run (Steve Christie kick), 3:21. Tied 10–10. Drive: 9 plays, 83 yards, 5:44. BUF – Mike Hollis 36-yard field goal, 1:08. Bills 13–10. Drive: 7 plays, 17 yards, 2:13. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter SD – Steve Christie 53-yard field goal, 5:45. Tied 13–13. Drive: 5 plays, 53 yards, 2:38. BUF – Travis Henry 26-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 0:52. Bills 20–13. Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 2:12. Top passers SD – Drew Brees – 13/24, 148 yards BUF – Drew Bledsoe – 11/33, 107 yards Top rushers SD – LaDanian Tomlinson – 28 rushes, 110 yards, TD BUF – Travis Henry – 22 rushes, 144 yards, 2 TD Top receivers SD – Tim Dwight – 5 receptions, 81 yards BUF – Eric Moulds – 5 receptions, 61 yards

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(1) Oakland Raiders	11	5	0	.688	4–2	9–3	450	304	W2
Denver Broncos	9	7	0	.563	3–3	5–7	392	344	W1
San Diego Chargers	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	333	367	L4
Kansas City Chiefs	8	8	0	.500	2–4	6–6	467	399	L1

Playoffs

The Chargers did not make the playoffs, but they had a chance to clinch a wild card spot with victory over the Seahawks in Week 17, provided that the Browns lost to the Falcons; however, the Browns beat the Falcons, making the Chargers' loss to the Seahawks immaterial.

References

1. 2012 San Diego Chargers Media Guide. pp. 263–264. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.