Coryell Takes a Critical Page From Buddy Ryan

Though the Philadelphia Eagles left town after Saturday’s 45-38 loss to the Chargers, Coach Buddy Ryan may have left his mark on Don Coryell.

When Coryell met the media Sunday, the Charger coach wasn’t his normal pat-everybody-on-the-back self. Instead, he took on Ryan’s well-known critical approach.

Coryell expressed disappointment with his defense for reasons that 38 points will explain. He was upset by the field-goal unit, which suffered its third blocked kick in two exhibition games.

Even the offense, which totaled 652 yards, was not immune from criticism.

In particular, Coryell noted that the offense still has trouble scoring from inside the opposition’s 30. Four of Saturday’s six touchdowns were scored from outside the 30.

The Chargers had five drives stopped inside Philadelphia’s 25. They had only one field goal to show for those possessions.

“We can’t get inside the 20, get in field-goal range and not score touchdowns,” Coryell said. “Three points doesn’t help you that much. We can’t settle for field-goal attempts when we get down close if we want to win. We can’t count on the big play. It doesn’t happen all the time.”

Defensively, the Chargers broke down twice in the first half: a 65-yard touchdown run by Junior Tautalatski and a 59-yard touchdown pass from Ron Jaworski to San Diego State alum Mike Waters.

“We actually played pretty well defensively the first half, except for those two bad plays, terrible plays,” Coryell said. “They were as bad as you can get, both of them. We played most of the second half like we did those two plays.”

Wasn’t this the same Charger defense that shut out Dallas the week before?

“We were feeling too good about ourselves when we played so well the first game against the Cowboys,” Coryell said. “We have to be realistic defensively and realize we have to play every down of every game above our heads in order to win.”

The special teams also have experienced their share of problems.

When Philadelphia missed an extra point, the Chargers were penalized for having 12 men on the field. One player went to the sideline for the ensuing kick, which also failed.

But it turned out that the Chargers had only 10 men on the field for the second attempt. Coaches figured that an official didn’t count very well on the first conversion.

In the meantime, the Chargers must figure out how to block out the opposition on field-goal attempts.

They had two attempts blocked by Dallas. Saturday, they had a 39-yard attempt partially blocked.

“You shouldn’t get a tipped ball once a year, (or) once every five years,” Coryell said. “Outside of the two we had blocked against Denver last year, I can’t remember one we have had blocked.”

Charger Notes

The Chargers are expected to sign linebacker Greg Plummer today. Plummer played for the Oakland Invaders of the USFL. . . . They are also believed to be close to finalizing a deal for outside linebacker Andy Hawkins, who played for the USFL’s Houston Gamblers. The Chargers are offering a middle-round draft choice to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have Hawkins’ NFL rights. . . . Cornerback Ron Milus was the most seriously injured Charger on Saturday. He suffered a twisted left foot that will sideline him indefinitely. Defensive lineman Earl Wilson is expected to miss about a week with a sprained right knee. Other injuries were less severe: running back Curtis Adams (bruised left thigh), linebacker Derrie Nelson (sore ribs) and safety Jerome Tyler (sore neck). . . . The Chargers must cut 15 players by Tuesday to reach the mandatory roster limit of 60.