Hating Raiders Becomes Secondary to the Chargers

The Chargers have reached a point in their evolution where hating the Los Angeles Raiders is secondary to beating them.

Perhaps it was always like that for the coaches and a few of the more enlightened players, for whom the job involved more than knee-jerk emotionalism.

At any rate, the Chargers were dragged out of the Pleistocene Age into the 20th Century when Alex Spanos came along with his undisguised admiration for the ways of Al Davis.

Spanos, having joined the fraternity of owners, now wants to beat his buddy. But not out of contempt for the silver and black, pride and poise. He wants to win because he has this goal of seeing his team emerge from its two-year rut at the bottom of the AFC West.

If they are going to be a contender, or even a factor in the division, the Chargers must disregard that they are taking a 3-4 record and a six-game losing streak against the Raiders into tonight’s game at the Coliseum.

“We can’t worry about a bunch of what-ifs. We have to forget the past,” Coach Don Coryell said. “If we win, we throw the race into a mess, but the kind of mess we want to be in.”

This is the first of four straight meetings with the Raiders and Denver Broncos, a month that probably will shape the rest of the season and could have a profound influence on Coryell’s tenure.

Since training camp, Spanos has made it abundantly clear he wants a .500 record or better, and the suspicion is growing among those who follow the team closely that Coryell’s survival is a lot more likely if he can somehow produce a 9-7 record. Applying a little third-grade arithmetic, any dullard can see the Chargers need six wins in their final nine games.

They certainly will have to do better than get swept by the Raiders and Broncos. But, until they beat Kansas City two weeks ago, the Chargers had lost 11 straight to AFC West opponents.

The good news for the Chargers is, they are in their best overall physical shape in a couple of years. All the components of Air Coryell are healthy, including quarterback Dan Fouts, tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receiver Wes Chandler. The only exception is center Don Macek, whose sore shoulder is not expected to keep him out of the starting lineup.

With all the weapons in place, it’s time for the offense to reassert itself as one of pro football’s most potent. Can it be done with only a week of having everyone well?

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Coryell said, smiling weakly.

Their blooming good health is a plus, but the Chargers are not deceived into thinking they can show up and score 40 points. They understand, all too well, that the Raider defense operates from a different set of assumptions than the players in the Kellen Winslow Flag Football League.

“They have a very solid defense,” Coryell said. “A great line, tough linebackers and three Pro Bowlers in the secondary. They are pretty well stocked, like always. And they’re on a roll.”

Yes, they are. The Raiders (5-2) have won four straight, and also have a rather impressive 22-3-1 record on Monday Night Football.

Looks like another eventful evening at the Coliseum.

“It’s always a shootout,” San Diego linebacker Linden King said. “We always look forward to it.