SAN DIEGO -- Melvin Gordon's mediocre training camp continued Thursday night in San Diego's 17-7 preseason win over Dallas.
Taking the field with the starters, Gordon had six carries for just 11 yards. Though San Diego punched it in for a touchdown on the opening drive, the Chargers did so via Danny Woodhead as Gordon watched from the sidelines. After Gordon and Woodhead took a seat, second-year back Brandon Oliver shined with 10 carries for 53 yards and a score.
For the heralded rookie out of Wisconsin, the slow start was more of the same: Gordon in camp has not assumed the confident, downhill approach that defined him in college, instead appearing to wait too long for his blocks before being stuffed for small gains.
"I definitely have a lot of work to do," he said afterward. "It definitely wasn't what I expected at all, but we have some more preseason games before the regular season to fine tune myself."
After the Chargers took him off the field, Gordon appeared to ask coaches for more carries.
"I definitely wanted to get back in there," Gordon said, "but like I said I understand there are some guys that they need to evaluate and they need to get on tape to see what they can do, so I understand."
It remains to be seen how much San Diego wants to test its first-round back in the preseason, but Gordon looks like he could use the work.
"They can't block all 11 guys, so it's on me to make that guy miss and make something happen," he said. "So I got to get better there and I will."
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