Fouts Could Be Ready for the Chiefs : Despite Bruised Left Knee, Quarterback May Play in Finale
When a star veteran quarterback on an 8-7 pro football team with no chance of making the playoffs gets hurt in the next-to-last game of the season, there is usually little doubt that he will sit out the final game of the season.
Why take a chance of aggravating the injury?
However, when the quarterback in question is the gutty and competitive Dan Fouts of the Chargers, and when his coach needs a victory to have a winning season and thereby possibly salvage his job, the scenario changes considerably.
Therefore, Fouts’ status for Sunday’s game in Kansas City was the focal point of attention Monday.
“He really looks better than I expected, but I’ll know a lot more Wednesday,” said Gary Losse, the Charger physician. “Dan took a hellacious hit and has a sore knee. He’s done so well in the past, but I don’t want to minimize the injury. Right now, he’s questionable.”
Fouts suffered a bruised left knee when he was hit by defensive end Greg Brown in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 20-14 victory over Philadelphia Sunday. Mark Herrmann led the Chargers from a 7-3 deficit to victory, while Fouts watched the remainder of the game from the sideline.
After examining Fouts’ knee Monday morning, Losse said: “Signs that would indicate we would have to operate were not there. He’s uncomfortable and basically he’s just real sore.”
Charger fans shudder whenever Fouts’ knee is mentioned. He had arthroscopic surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right knee earlier this season after he was hit by Reggie Camp of the Cleveland Browns. He missed two games and parts of two others.
As has been his pattern, Fouts returned to the lineup earlier than expected. The original prognosis was that he would miss three to six weeks. Fouts came back after three weeks.
His ability to recover quickly and play with pain is one reason Fouts may play Sunday. Another reason is the impact the game may have on Coach Don Coryell’s career.
Last week, when asked about Coryell’s status, Fouts said: “I get very emotional about that man. I think he’s doing a great job. He’s one of the greatest offensive coaches ever. The press is doing him a real disservice, messing with a guy’s livelihood. But the great thing is he’s been the same guy under pressure as he has always been.”
It becomes clearer why Fouts may be in the lineup against the Chiefs.
Charger Notes Linebacker Billy Ray Smith suffered back spasms against the Eagles and remained in Sharp Memorial hospital Monday. Linebacker Craig Bingham, who plays primarily on the special teams, has a significant ankle sprain and is unlikely to play Sunday, according to Dr. Gary Losse, the team physician. . . . Players and coaches spent part of Monday afternoon casting their votes for the Pro Bowl team. . . . With three interceptions against Philadelphia and nine in the last three games, San Diego leads the AFC with 26 interceptions. It is fourth in the NFL, behind Dallas (32), Chicago (31) and the Rams (28). It’s the most interceptions for the Charger since 1979, when they had 28. “The guys are gaining confidence and appear to be a little more at ease,” Coach Don Coryell said. “They are not frozen or afraid of doing something wrong.” . . . Charlie Joiner needs 163 yards to set a NFL record for yards receiving in a career. Don Maynard has the record with 11,384 yards. The last time Joiner gained that many yards in a game was Sept. 13, 1981 against the Detroit Lions. He had 166. . . . Lionel James needs 172 yards to break Terry Metcalf’s NFL season record of 2,464 all-purpose yards set in 1975. James has 2,293, averaging 152.9 yards a game. He already has set a single-season NFL mark for yards receiving by a running back with 985 and is 11 short of Rickey Young’s NFL record of 88 catches by a running back. James has 78 receptions to tie Todd Christensen of the Raiders and Butch Woolfolk of the Oilers for the AFC lead. . . . Wes Chandler needs nine catches and 33 yards to set a career receiving marks. His highs of 69 receptions for 1,142 yards were set in 1981.