PRO FOOTBALL REPORT : WEEKDAY UPDATE : CHARGERS : Wilson Has Been Hard to Find

Whatever happened to Walter Wilson?

After impressing the coaches with his aggressive style and earning his first NFL start in the second week of the season, Wilson, a rookie receiver, has started only two games since.

He sprained his ankle and bruised his knee in the Chargers’ 36-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Oct. 7. Through that game, he had 10 receptions for 87 yards. He hasn’t caught a pass since.

“I got hurt, and it’s been tough getting back into the lineup,” he said. “I think I should be in there, but it ain’t my decision. Being a rookie, I have nothing to say. If I was a veteran, I’d probably be squawking.”

Wilson hopes things will change Sunday when the Chargers play host to the New York Jets.

“Watching somebody else play the position you play is not a good feeling,” he said. “I don’t like it.”

Things used to be simpler for Les Miller, the man chosen to take over at nose tackle when Joe Phillips was put on injured reserve after he was assaulted at Mission Beach in September.

Miller used to be a defensive tackle. That wasn’t overly complicated. Playing nose tackle is something altogether different.

“It’s brutal, man,” he said. “On the end you’re kind of out away from everything. In the middle there are more bodies. I’m kind of like a sacrificial lamb in there.”

Phillips, who weighed 315 pounds before his injuries, is bigger and stronger than Miller, who weighs 293.

“Les has to work very hard to accomplish the same things that Joe would have accomplished in there,” Coach Dan Henning said. “Les is going to get worn down because he’s a good deal smaller.”