TODD HALEY: “Afternoon everybody. First day in preparation for a division opponent, the San Diego Chargers. San Diego is coming off a tough loss the other night but they’re a team that has a lot of weapons that creates a lot of problems in all areas: special teams, defensively, and offensively. They can hurt you in a lot of different ways and we have our work cut out for us.”

Q: What do you think has been the issue with the Chargers? What has happened to them?

HALEY: “That’s a question for them. As we went through practice today you can see on tape they have a vast array of weapons that you have to defend or beat. They create a lot of problems in a lot of areas especially that little punt returner.”

Q: How did Kolby Smith look on his first day back?

HALEY: “It was great to see him out there. He’s a guy that I’m really excited to really see. He’s been working very hard. You guys probably know him a little better than I do. I know he’s probably real excited to be out there. It looked like he had some fresh legs and he was working hard and there will be some rust, obviously, as far a comeback this has been for him. But I thought that was a good first day.”

Q: How about Branden Albert?

HALEY: “He’s night and day from what he was. We’ll have to evaluate today to see how he made it through. But again, I’m hopeful the progress he’s made from when the injury happened until now.”

Q: What can you tell us about defensive tackle Kenny Smith?

HALEY: “I’ve watched a little bit of tape. I know the player just because he’s been around a little bit and we’ve had to play against him some. He’s a guy we worked out two weeks ago and the situation came about where we had an opening and that’s why we do some of those workouts even when we don’t necessarily have a spot.

“He’s a strong guy who’s got some experience. I’ll have to watch the tape today. I didn’t get to watch a whole bunch. But it looked like he was pretty excited. He’s been out for a little bit and had to get himself healthy. But it looked like he was moving around pretty good today.”

Q: Did everyone seem to be focused and as energized as you would have hoped after a victory?

HALEY: “I thought today was a good tempo; it had a good feel to it from the meetings through practice. I thought it seemed like everybody was concentrating and getting to work.”

Q: Cleveland has 12 players that are sick with the flu and not allowed to come to practice. What are you doing to monitor this flu epidemic? What’s your philosophy?

HALEY: “The league has definitely been in touch with our doctors and our trainers and us. We’ve gotten all the memos and it’s something they’re really trying to stay ahead of and, again, the policy that we’re following is when guys have something keep them out of the building or as far away from everybody as possible.

“But again, that’s through the league and the guidelines that they’ve set through our doctors. It’s something we’ve had a bunch of discussions on and you’ve got to ready for it because you don’t know. Like Cleveland, when it hits it hits and you’ve got to be prepared. We’ve got a plan in place that if something were to happen we have to ready to go.”

Q: Any guys showing any symptoms of any kind?

HALEY: “We’ve had normal flu-like symptoms where we’ve sent guys home, but no different than what you’re used to this time of year.”

Q: Do you see any drop off or slippage in LaDainian Tomlinson?

HALEY: “I have seen none. He’s a player that scares the heck out of me.”

Q: Are you going to stick with McGraw at safety this week?

HALEY: “He was in there today and we’ll see again. We’re going to stay with the philosophy of staying with the guys that give us the best chance to win. We’ll see how practice looked today and talk a little bit tonight and evaluate.”

Q: What are your thoughts on Philip Rivers?

HALEY: “The most obvious characteristic I see in him is he’s competitive. He’s into the game and fighting to win every snap and I like that quality in a quarterback. He’s big, got a quick release, got a bunch of weapons and he’s a dangerous player to face and he’s obviously shown that over the last handful of years.”

Q: How quickly will Smith see action at defensive tackle?

HALEY: “We don’t have a lot of noses (tackles) on the roster, so he’s going to be expected to get into it pretty fast. We’ve been taking six linemen to the game and that’s the number we’re at right now. Whether it’s him or a practice squad guy or what, we’ve got to have enough guys at the game to compete.”

Q: He didn’t seem to have the look of a classic nose tackle.

HALEY: “He’s stout, a strong guy. You shake his hand and he’s got bear mitts. He caught my pinkie quick. He’ll crush you. He’s a strong guy and I’m looking forward to watching the tape and see what everybody thought about him after one day. It is just one day.”

Q: Correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s been a while since he’s seen real action?

HALEY: “He had an injury and has rehabbed and it’s been a long way back. But he’s been working hard and he’s in shape. Again, we feel like he has a chance to contribute.”

Q: Where was Goff today?

HALEY: “Goff has some personal issues going on, but he’s alright.”