Chargers' Pagano grateful for support following brother's diagnosis

SAN DIEGO -- Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano spoke publicly for the first time Thursday about his brother Chuck, the Indianapolis Colts' head coach who was diagnosed with a treatable form of Leukemia last week.

The illness became public knowledge on Monday, when it was reported Chuck Pagano would be away from his team for an indefinite period of time.

John Pagano declined comment on Monday, but was grateful for the outpouring of public support in recent days.

"It's been tough for my brother with what he's going through," Pagano said Thursday. "I want to thank everybody for their thoughts, prayers and well wishes extended to our family. It means a lot.

"Chuck is doing good. He's a fighter, and he's going to fight right through this. We text and talk all the time which is good, but it's a challenge for him. That said, he's going to overcome this. There's no doubt about that."

In other news, Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding said the right groin strain suffered last Friday will not keep him out for an extended period. Nick Novak kicked in his place on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, but Kaeding said he doesn't expect to miss many more contests.

He characterized the strain as a "day-to-day" injury, nothing terribly serious. Kaeding missed three weeks with a similar, more severe groin strain in 2010.

"This isn't the same," Kaeding said. "In my mind, it's just a hiccup. We caught it early this time, and it shouldn't be too long before I get going again."

Kaeding has exercised and gone through technical motions, but hasn't kicked a ball since the injury.

"That's obviously the biggest thing," Kaeding said. "I obviously need to do that before I can start doing my job again. The training staff is monitoring it every day and I plan on returning as soon as possible."

Kaeding missed the 2011 season after tearing several knee ligaments on the season's opening kickoff.

The Chargers are healthy heading into Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints. Other than Kaeding, only cornerback Shareece Wright (ankle) missed Thursday's practice, which was conducted in pads.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

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Limited practice following knee surgery won't keep Urlacher out of Bears opener

Urlacher says his surgically repaired left knee will never be the same. (AP)

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears' defense has five starters 31 or older, and 34-year-old linebacker Brian Urlacher is coming off knee surgery a month ago.

They believe they have lost very little due to age, and say anyone who doubts it should test them.

"They can try," linebacker Lance Briggs said. "But they will fail."

Urlacher was held out of Thursday's practice, but the plan is to practice Friday and play Sunday in the opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

"He's had trouble with his knee so we're not going to push the knee through the week," coach Lovie Smith said.

Although Urlacher realizes his surgically repaired left knee will never be the same, he anticipates no diminished returns. The same goes for the "seasoned" Bears defense in general as preparations continued Thursday for Sunday's game at Soldier Field.

"I'm not up to speed," Urlacher said. "I know the defense well, but I've got to get my technique down and work on some things. I'm practicing, so that's all that really matters to me."

The Bears defense will face No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck and the Colts. However, it may be the Colts testing Urlacher. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Colts -- and other teams later in the season -- go at the middle of the Bears cover-2 zone to see if their 34-year-old defensive leader has lost a step.

Another 30-something, defensive end Israel Idonije, doubts Urlacher will be slowed against the pass or rush.

"If anyone is thinking that Brian is going to be a weak part of the defense, absolutely, run at him," Idonije said. "The guy, he's a physical specimen. He's worked hard to put himself into a position so he can be on the field, and just he is one of those guys who is relentless. If that's something they think they can exploit, by all means they're going to try. Then at the end of the day we'll see."

Urlacher said he and the other older players -- Briggs, Idonije, cornerback Charles Tillman, and defensive end Julius Peppers -- are better in the defense now even if age has taken away some of their speed.

"Whatever we have lost in athletic ability or speed or whatever, I think we make up for it with our mental game just like most players do when they get older," Urlacher said. "They get smarter as they play longer and hopefully get better as they get older."

Urlacher practiced only the first four days of training camp before experiencing left knee pain that required an Aug. 14 arthroscopic surgery. As a result, he missed all of the rest of training camp and the preseason, then practiced Monday and Wednesday this week.

"I knew I would get back before the first game," Urlacher said. "It was a matter of getting to this point. It really wasn't that frustrating. A little annoying when it happened, but once we did the scope it was fine."

Urlacher expects no limitations against the Colts.

"Every other game I have ever played I've planned on playing the whole game," he said. "That's what I plan on doing right now."

Urlacher's preparation might change somewhat prior to the Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers. It's a Thursday night game so his recovery time from the first game would be short.

"I'll do the same thing I always do," he said. "Get in the cold tub a lot, ice, everything the trainers tell me to do. Try to keep my legs strong. Nothing more than normal. Probably a lot of rest next week with the short week. I have to get on the practice field eventually, but I think we only have one day of practice next week so I'll just be out there for that if I can."

Urlacher originally injured his knee in the 2011 regular-season finale. Several reports have said he went to Europe and underwent a non-invasive procedure on the knee, then relied on rehab to recover from two sprained ligaments. However, he ran into problems at training camp at Bourbonnais.

"I hadn't done that much in the offseason," Urlacher said. "I ran the whole month of June and July before I got to training camp. But nothing like we did in training camp and I think I kind of just aggravated it a little bit and got some things loose in there so we cleaned it out and now it's good."

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

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Browns RB Richardson back at practice following knee surgery

Trent Richardson, shown working out in June, is back on the Browns' practice fields. (US Presswire)

BEREA, Ohio -- Trent Richardson has practiced with the Browns. All that's left is for him to play.

Cleveland's rookie running back returned to practice Monday for the first time since undergoing knee surgery on Aug. 9, a strong sign he will play in Sunday's season opener at home against Philadelphia.

With his dreadlocks flowing out of his orange helmet, Richardson took some snaps with Cleveland's first-team offense during the portion of practice open to the media. He had a black rubber sleeve on his repaired left knee, which has been operated on twice since he helped Alabama win a national championship in January.

After the workout on a warm, humid morning, Browns coach Pat Shurmur sounded optimistic about Richardson's chances of facing the Eagles.

"If he's ready to go, he will be our starter," Shurmur said. "Trent looked good. He was in team [drills]. I knew he'd be out here and he did a good job. It was his first day back in practice, so we did what we could do. Trent looked healthy running around."

Shurmur wouldn't say when a decision will be made on Richardson making his pro debut.

"Each person is different when they come back from injury," he said. "We'll see as we go. All along I've been hopeful that he'd be there.'

The Browns will have their only practice in full pads this week on Thursday, when they will work primarily on short-yardage situations. Richardson missed Cleveland's four exhibition games and it will be important for him to take some hits before getting on the field against Philadelphia.

Richardson was not available for comment. A team spokesman said the 22-year-old will likely speak with reporters Wednesday.

The No. 3 overall pick in April's draft, Richardson had been doing rehab, including some light contact work, behind the scenes since his operation.

After stretching with his teammates, Richardson was taking part in some passing drills when Shurmur pulled him close for a brief chat, perhaps reminding his young star not to overdo it. Moments later, running backs coach Gary Brown called out a play and quizzed Richardson about his assignment.

"What's the key on the chip [block]," Brown asked before complimenting Richardson for answering correctly.

With low expectations for a team featuring 15 rookies and facing a brutal schedule, the Browns will need Richardson to take on a heavy workload this season. But because he missed so much time during the preseason, they will likely limit his carries in the first few weeks.

However, once Richardson is rolling, Browns cornerback Joe Haden said there may be no slowing him down.

"He can be as good as he wants to be," Haden said. "He can definitely be an All-Pro. He has everything you need to be a good running back. He's big, he can catch, he can pass block and he's an every-down back."

Haden said trying to bring down Richardson in the open field can be scary.

"Oh, man. I'm not a fan of trying to tackle him," Haden said. "I played against him with Florida and he gave me a stiff-arm one time and I was good after that."

Richardson had torn cartilage removed last month by renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews, who also did the Feb. 3 procedure on the knee.

Browns president Mike Holmgren said the team did not know Richardson would need a second operation when it drafted him.

"The first we knew about it was in camp," Holmgren said. "He's a hard-working guy. He started saying, 'It hurts. There's a little ache there.' It was swelling up a little bit. It's a good thing we caught it. It was obviously the right decision. Everything is on track.

Holmgren said the Browns intend to ease Richardson back and will not overload him in the first few games.

"When I've been in this situation before with players, when it's close, and we're really kind of counting on him, if he hadn't had the surgery, he was going to touch the ball a lot," he said. "But now you have to be careful. The worst thing we could do is rush him before he's ready. "

Notes

Haden said he couldn't talk about his possible NFL suspension for reportedly failing a drug test. Haden said, "I honestly don't know" when asked if he'll play in the opener. It's possible Haden is keeping quiet because he's appealing the suspension. Haden said his teammates have been supportive. "Everyone's cool," he said. "You just keep going, keep playing, keep practicing. With my teammates, it's like nothing has been going on." ... Starting S Eric Hagg was sent home before practice with stomach flu. ... TE Benjamin Watson expects to play in the opener despite missing most of the preseason with a leg injury. ... TE Jordan Cameron missed practice with an undisclosed injury. He was one of six players on exercise bikes. ... The Browns released LB Solomon Elimimian from the practice squad and re-signed DL Brian Sanford.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

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