Some Chargers Are a Cut Above the Rest : But 25 Will Be Trimmed by Tuesday

For 25 would-be Chargers, tonight’s exhibition game against the Dallas Cowboys will be the second and last of the summer.

By Tuesday, they will be ex-Chargers, relegated to the small print at the back of the sports section.

Like the other 27 teams in the National Football League, the Chargers must trim their roster to 60 next Tuesday, and what happens tonight will have a big impact on who survives and who doesn’t.

There’s always a patchwork quality to these exhibition games, and because of the unusual turnover in personnel this summer, that’s more true than normal for the Chargers.

“We’re still searching and trying to figure out who should play where in a couple of areas,” Coach Don Coryell said Friday. The most unsettled areas are the defensive line and linebackers, plus the offensive line.

“The first cut (Tuesday) isn’t going to be easy,” Coryell said, “and the final cut (to 45 players) is going to be a bear.”

Tonight’s game will go a long way toward shaping the roster.

“We have to make judgments, which aren’t always right,” Coryell said. “Sometimes you stick with a guy you’re more familiar with because it’s important to win the season opener so everybody won’t be mad at you.

“We’re looking to the future, but we also have to win now, and we want to know which players will fight like hell to win.”

If it sounds a bit less than objective and scientific, it is. Coryell admitted the process of trimming the roster is a subjective endeavor.

If there’s one thing that can help eliminate some of that subjectivity, it’s a solid performance under live conditions.

Start at quarterback. Dan Fouts will play one quarter tonight and Bruce Mathison, the leading candidate to be his backup, will play the rest of the game.

“We’ve got to get Bruce some experience,” Coryell said.

For the Cowboys, Gary Hogeboom will start, but no matter how well he performs, he knows he isn’t going to be the No. 1 man when the regular season begins. Coach Tom Landry just announced that Danny White, who also will play tonight, will open the season as No. 1.

The Chargers will take a more extended look at their two leading runners, Earnest Jackson and Tim Spencer. The Cowboys, of course, will not employ Tony Dorsett, who only Thursday agreed to terms on a new contract.

Wide receiver Wes Chandler, who suffered bruised ribs and a slight hamstring pull this week, will play only one or two series tonight. Trumaine Johnson will play more than half the game, Coryell estimated.

On the offensive line, the starters will be tackles Sam Claphan and Jim Lachey, guards Dennis McKnight and Ed White and center Don Macek. White is moving from tackle, where he played last season, to his former position, left guard, and will play about two quarters tonight.

Jerry Doerger, who played most of the exhibition opener at guard, will not play tonight because of a hamstring injury.

“We can’t risk him getting worse,” Coryell said.

Other offensive linemen still in the picture are Bill Elko, Mark Stevenson, Bill Searcey and Ken Dallafior.

The defensive line will get a lot of scrutiny. The three leading candidates are Lee Williams, Chuck Ehin and Fred Robinson. Vying for three jobs are Earl Wilson, Tony Chickillo, Keith Ferguson, Zach Barnes and Keith Guthrie.

At linebacker, last season’s starting unit still has the edge, but Shane Nelson, Derrie Nelson, Carlos Bradley, Vince Osby and Vernon Maxwell are viable candidates. Mike Guendling, still recovering from a knee injury, will enter the picture when healthy.

The starting secondary is pretty clear now, with corners Danny Walters and Wayne Davis and safeties Gill Byrd and Jeff Dale. Injuries to Terry Lewis and John Hendy have muddled the question of depth.

The Cowboys, who scored a 27-3 win over Green Bay last week, have several interesting rookies, including running back Robert Lavette and receiver Leon Gonzalez.