Chargers Hope for Early Edge : Coryell Looks for Traditional First-Day Win on Road
Don Coryell has this theory: save your best for first . . . the first game, that is.
The Charger coach traditionally hides any and all new tricks during the exhibition season. He wants every possible edge for the season opener.
And he may be on to something because Coryell’s first-game record at San Diego is excellent. The Chargers have won five of six openers under Coryell, all five coming on the road.
The Chargers, as a matter of fact, are the second-best opening day team in the National Football League. They have won seven of their last eight openers and 16 of 25 overall. Their winning percentage, .640, is tied with Cleveland and trails only Dallas (20-4-1, .820) for tops in the league.
“We really work toward our openers and then shoot the works,” Coryell said, underscoring the obvious. “We think it’s very important to have a good start.”
And never more so than this year. The first portion of the schedule is a lot more inviting than what follows at midseason--a solid month of confrontations with the Los Angeles Raiders and Denver Broncos.
It’s imperative for the Chargers to do well against Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City and Minnesota before getting to that taxing midseason month. Otherwise, the Chargers may find it impossible to deliver the winning season demanded by owner Alex Spanos.
The Chargers are confident quarterback Dan Fouts will be near full strength today after two weeks’ recuperation from a groin injury suffered in an exhibition gameat San Francisco. Fouts took a week off, which Coryell said helped greatly, and looked strong in practice this week.
The Chargers also are hopeful that linebacker Linden King, who suffered a sprained ankle in Thursday’s practice, will be fit today. But Coryell said King’s condition won’t be known until pregame warmups.
Rolf Benirschke, held out of last week’s final exhibition game with a pulled groin, is expected to return and handle the placekicking. Ralf Mojsiejenko, who spelled him before aggravating his groin, will do the punting, kicking off and may hold for Benirschke’s placements.
The Charger offense, quieter than usual in the exhibition season, should make for an interesting study today as the wraps are finally taken off newcomers Tim Spencer and Trumaine Johnson.
The burden of carrying the running game falls to Spencer and fellow newcomers Anthony Steels and Curtis Adams, who supplied what passed for punch in the exhibition games.
Until and unless Gary Anderson joins the fold, Steels and Adams, plus Lionel (Little Train) James will alternate in two-back sets with Spencer.
The Chargers are gambling that they can replace the 1,100-plus yards represented by Earnest Jackson, who was traded to Philadelphia last week for a couple of draft choices.
Jackson was viewed as too much of a one-dimensional back, lacking blocking and receiving skills, but he was the leading rusher in the AFC last year, and it remains to be demonstrated that the Chargers have adequate replacements.
The offensive line may be Coryell’s biggest concern, at least in terms of depth. The reserves are Jerry Doerger, Gary Kowalski and Rich Umphrey, who have virtually no experience with the technical details of Air Coryell.
The Charger defense, from which major improvement is anticipated, will face a Buffalo attack that has been rebuilt around quarterback Vince Ferragamo.
The ex-Ram quarterback, the first man other than Joe Ferguson to start a Buffalo opener since 1972, completed 50% of his throws for 463 yards and three touchdowns in the exhibition season.
He will be working with running back Greg Bell, the team’s leading rusher in the exhibition games, and rookie receiver Andre Reed, a fourth-round find out of Kutztown State.
Buffalo’s most prominent rookie is defensive tackle Bruce Smith, the No. 1 pick in the 1985 NFL draft. Coach Kay Stephenson expects Smith to improve a pass rush that was 27th in the league last year with only 26 sacks.
“The rush was an area where we desperately needed help,” Stepehenson said. “Overall, I think we have upgraded our talent, and we hope it translates to production.”
The Bills are just about the only team in the league who can rival the Chargers as far as turnover in personnel is concerned. At last count, the Chargers had 20 new faces on their roster and the Bills 19.
The Bills won only two games in 1985, but both of them came at home at the close of the season. Translated, the Bills will be bringing a two-game winning streak at home into today’s opener.
A crowd of 60,000 to 65,000 is expected, with warm, humid weather forecast.