Chargers Beat Buffalo With Defense, 14-9
It took a more than a little nerve for Tom Bass to utter the words, “Anybody got a light?”
Most days, somebody would have treated him like the poor guy in the beer commercial who gets handed a torch or a whirling police light, everything but what he really wants.
Bass, the Chargers’ defensive coordinator, hasn’t commanded much respect in recent years because of his association with an outfit that ranked as pro football’s worst.
The scenario was different here Sunday. Having satisfied his search for some defenders who could legitimately qualify as heroes, all Bass wanted was a match to light up an enormous cigar in celebration of a 14-9 win over the Buffalo Bills.
The last time the Chargers held an opponent without a touchdown was the 1982 season opener, which happened to be the first game of the Bass defensive regime.
Few of the current Chargers were adorned with lightning bolts at the time. In fact, no less than 20 of the players on San Diego’s opening day roster were imported this summer to replace the tired old suspects purged by owner Alex Spanos.
The Chargers, trying to rebound from two straight losing seasons, were probed for 377 passing yards by Buffalo’s new quarterback, Vince Ferragamo.
Four of Ferragamo’s 31 completions went to wide receiver Jerry Butler, who gained 140 yards on the second-best day of his career.
But the Ferragamo-Butler combo was unable to generate a touchdown, leaving all the scoring to three field goals by Scott Norwood.
“You have to be more than a little happy when you don’t give up a touchdown,” Bass said, flourishing his cigar, no longer smokeless. “You didn’t see too many games like that in the National Football League today, did you?”
Bass was particularly pleased with the way his secondary kept Buffalo receivers inbounds on a last-minute drive.
“That’s something you practice, but it’s very hard to simulate,” Bass said. “You set up a little wider and try to make sure of your tackle.
“The big thing was, our guys knew a field goal couldn’t beat them on the last drive. That’s the hard thing to do in this league--keep the other side out of the end zone.”
It’s been harder for the Chargers than just about anyone, a fact that isn’t lost on some of the new blood.
Rookie safety Jeff Dale didn’t know much about the Charger defense before he arrived from LSU, and what he knew, he didn’t particularly like.
“It’s been a few years since they won a game with defense here,” Dale said. “That isn’t the sort of thing you want to identify with as a new player.
“What we’re trying to do now is start a brand new age. We want to get us some reeee-spect.”
One game won’t suffice, particularly against an opponent that was 2-14 the preceding year.
But one game can make a pronounced difference.
Linebacker Billy Ray Smith, entering his third season, can attest to the value of one win.
“Are you kidding?” he said. “It could ruin us--go straight to our heads. We could all get cocky after this one.”
Smith paused to swallow a mouthful of chocolate.
“Seriously,” he said, “this game was a roller-coaster. They would hit a long one on us and we’d have to stop ‘em. I’d look up after a long pass and say, ‘Oh, no,’ but then we’d stop ‘em again. I was glad when it was over.”
So was Coach Don Coryell, who was less than happy with his offense. The Bills limited quarterback Dan Fouts to 16 completions for 218 yards and one touchdown.
That one score was a 30-yard pass to tight end Eric Sievers which came against a blitz in the second quarter, and provided the winning margin.
“The Bills were bringing their inside backer,” Fouts said. “We had a hot concept going, meaning that I hit Eric with a look-in pass. He broke a tackle, and that was all she wrote.
“Their defense mixed up their coverages pretty well today, but it was that one stunt that we read that enabled us to beat them.”
Fouts faulted the offense for failing to convert several third-down plays that normally are routine.
“We missed on a lot of plays, but that will come as we play more,” he said. “We didn’t execute real well, getting seven yards when it was third and eight, but we will get better.”
The San Diego offense was crisply efficient on an opening drive that covered 70 yards in nine plays. Fouts completed an 11-yard pass to Lionel James to begin the drive, later threw a 16-yarder to veteran Charlie Joiner, and pitched to rookie Curtis Adams on a two-yard sweep for the touchdown.
The only other San Diego points came in the second quarter, when Sievers eluded safety Donald Wilson.
The three Buffalo field goals all were set up by long throws from Ferragamo to Butler, and came at the expense of cornerback Danny Walters.
Norwood connected from 27, 34 and 29 yards for the Bills.
There was no scoring by either side in the second half, and the only drama of the fourth quarter was confined to a closing march by the Bills that reached the San Diego 42 before the clock ran out.
“We probably should have thrown the ball downfield a little bit more in that last drive, but they were playing a deep zone and we felt we could get a couple of things and get out of bounds,” Buffalo Coach Kay Stephenson said.
“We didn’t get out on a screen and we didn’t get out on the last play.”
Rookie defensive back John Hendy was credited with the last two tackles, helping prevent the Bills from mustering a more serious threat.
An interception by linebacker Mike Green thwarted a Buffalo drive on the preceding series.
“We were in a man-to-man coverage, and I laid off the line of scrimmage about five yards,” Green said. “Then I just read Vince’s eyes and went to the ball.”
San Diego safety Gill Byrd was ecstatic over the win.
“You really can’t over-estimate how much this will help us,” he said. “Giving three field goals instead of three touchdowns, that was the difference in the game.
“When we went out there for that last series, there was no doubt in my mind we were going to stop the Bills. I think a lot of teams are going to look at us with new respect this year.”
If the Charger defenders are talking in the same vein after next Sunday’s meeting with Seattle, Byrd could be right.