Not Just an Exhibition for Chargers’ Nelson : After Missing Three Years With Knee Injury, Linebacker Might Play Against San Francisco
Most Charger veterans consider Saturday’s exhibition game at San Francisco another tuneup. However, it will be more like a personal Super Bowl for Shane Nelson.
The veteran linebacker has spent three years waiting and wondering whether he would ever recover from a knee injury and play football again. And unless an Achilles injury stops him from doing so, he will return Saturday.
“The big key is that some players don’t appreciate how much they love the game until it’s gone,” Nelson said. “I’ve had that. I was playing the best football of my career in Buffalo and lost it with a knee injury. It means a lot to me just to be involved again.”
Nelson, 30, was quite involved in his years at Buffalo. He teamed with Jim Haslett and Fred Smerlas on the so-called “Bermuda Triangle,” then a well-known and respected trio.
Near the end of the 1981 season, Nelson suffered a knee ligament injury. Doctors told him he could return in four weeks with proper rehabilitation.
Nelson was back in four weeks, but he certainly wasn’t ready to play.
“I had the same stubbornness I’ve always had with injuries,” he said. “I should have taken more time when I was first injured. Your value is on the field, and I wanted to get back.
“I was playing one game against John Hannah of New England, who I had played two times a year for five years. After the first quarter, he told me that my leg wasn’t right. He could tell the leg wasn’t functioning like it had before.”
Subsequently, Nelson had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. When it didn’t respond the next year in training camp, major surgery was necessary.
It was determined that Nelson would need reconstructive surgery. Nobody could guarantee when--or whether--Nelson would return to football, so he decided for once to wait until he was fully healed before thinking of coming back. It has been three long years since.
In 1982, Nelson helped coach Buffalo’s linebackers. In 1983, he simply rehabilitated his knee. In 1984, he was an assistant coach at Cornell University.
At the time, coach Nelson had to wonder if linebacker Nelson would ever reappear.
“I tried to accept the fact there was a great possibility my career was totally over,” he said. “I had to look at both sides. Even if surgery is done correctly, you have a lot of ‘what ifs’ in rehabilitation. It’s mentally exhausting knowing you have to work out your leg two times a day. You have a lot of highs and lows. One day you make great progress, then the next day you’re stiff from working too hard. It’s tough to gauge your schedule.”
And it’s even more difficult when you are uncertain of your scheduled return to football. After all, the rehabilitation would have been worth much less had Nelson not been able to return.
Shortly after 1985 training camp began, Nelson suffered another setback. He has been slowed by an Achilles injury that kept him out of the first two exhibition games.
“It has been frustrating,” he said. “It has been enough to keep me from getting totally in the groove. After having major surgery, you are used to pain. If I had handled it better this time, things would have gone better. I kept irritating it.”
The injury has hurt Nelson’s chances of earning a starting berth. Originally, there was talk of Nelson starting at strong inside linebacker and Billy Ray Smith moving to the weak side. However, Nelson is now simply fighting for a roster spot.
“What’s going to happen with him won’t be determined until we see him play,” said Chuck Weber, the Charger linebacker coach. “Right now, he has to beat out the others because he is starting so late. It’s tough to say he’s starting on an even keel with everybody because he has been injured.”
Nelson does not think inactivity will affect the way he responds on the field.
“Playing football is like riding a bike,” he said. “You never forget it. Of course, you can get a little rusty. If you are willing to stick your head in, there’s not a lot to remember. The first thing people will ask is if I will stick my head in and put my knee in a situation where it will get hit. I proved in practices and scrimmages that I would put it in.”
Said Weber: “He has responded real well. I don’t see the knee as any problem. He has not shied off at all. Shane is a real go-getter who will go after people. If he was the type of player to shy off, he wouldn’t be coming back.”
Nelson came to the Chargers as a free agent Feb. 26. He said his free agency was created when Buffalo put him on the retired list, instead of the retired injured list, two seasons ago.
According to Nelson, he wanted to play in either Seattle or San Diego. He chose the Chargers because of what he considers to be a potentially strong defense. Nelson said the Chargers have a blend of rookies and veterans who could make their defense similar to what Buffalo’s was when Nelson played for the Bills.
“I know San Diego fans have been excited in the past about a great offense,” Nelson said. “Great defense excites people, too. When you see receivers with their helmets rolling, bodies laying on the field and six or seven guys at the ball carrier, that excites people. People went crazy at Buffalo. I think the first two games show that the defense is on the rise here.”
After three years away from the game, Nelson hopes he can arise to the challenge of playing in 1985.
Charger Notes The Chargers cut their roster to 73 players Monday by waiving 10 players--quarterback Paul Berner, running backs Bob Craighead and Doug Jefferson, wide receivers Joe Kelly and Joe Nobles, tight end Joey Evans, guard Mike Katolin, offensive tackle Steve Knight and defensive ends Terry Jackson and Zach Barnes. They must cut the roster to 60 players today. . . . Without Berner, the Charger quarterbacks are Dan Fouts, Bruce Mathison and Mark Herrmann. Coach Don Coryell said he was uncertain whether the team would carry three quarterbacks. . . . Guard Ed White (slight concussion) is expected to play Saturday at San Francisco. Wide receiver Trumaine Johnson (strained shoulder) is questionable.