Chargers Release 6 Players to Trim Roster to 45 : The Attention Now Shifts to Their Opening Game Against the Miami Dolphins
After getting the roster pretty much squared away for the regular season, the Chargers shifted the focus Monday to the Miami Dolphins, their opponent Sunday.
Reducing their roster to 45 players, the Chargers waived defensive linemen Marlin Wenstrom and John Walker, linebacker Ronnie Washington and defensive backs David Martin, Daryl McCoy and Jerome Tyler. They also placed receiver Timmie Ware and offensive lineman Curt DiGiacomo on injured reserve.
More roster juggling is possible today, with running back Curtis Adams and linebacker Andy Hawkins likely headed for injured reserve. Walker and Martin may be recalled from waivers.
The end result of a summer of personnel shuffling is a team that appears to be stronger in the offensive and defensive lines, as capable of scoring points as any in the National Football League and maybe a little less likely to allow so many.
Just what sort of team Coach Don Coryell and his staff truly have wrought should be infinitely clearer a week from today. The Chargers’ strengths and shortcomings almost certainly will be exposed in the season opener against Miami.
Coryell has a 6-1 record in season openers with the Chargers, but he’s not thrilled about facing the Dolphins in game No. 1.
“I wish we were playing them later on, after our defense is more settled,” Coryell said.
Defensive coordinator Ron Lynn took a somewhat similar view.
“I’m not sure there is a good time to play the Dolphins,” he said, “unless it would be in Pasadena in January.”
Lynn was alluding to the Super Bowl, but it would an impossibility for these two teams to meet there, since they’re both members of the same conference.
The San Diego defense--with a new philosophy and eight or more new players--will be tested in the extreme by the Dolphins. But both Lynn and Coryell expressed confidence in the restyled defensive unit.
“We still have many questions, but we’ve had them all summer and played pretty well,” Coryell said. “I’m very encouraged. Our line, in particular, is so much better than it has been.”
The starters are the incumbents from 1985--Lee Williams, Chuck Ehin and Earl Wilson. They will be joined by two very promising rookies, Leslie O’Neal and Terry Unrein.
There are two new starters at linebacker, Thomas Benson and Ty Allert, with a third figure in a new position. Billy Ray Smith has shifted from inside to outside linebacker, and is better for it.
The secondary has a familiar look with Wayne Davis, Danny Walters, Gill Byrd and Jeff Dale. The lineup will be strengthened when John Hendy recovers from a knee injury, possibly in time for the season’s second game. There’s a chance the Chargers will reclaim Martin from waivers, according to Lynn.
After a preseason that produced a 3-1 record, including a shutout against Dallas and a 38-point yield to Philadelphia, Lynn seems relatively satisfied.
“We’re fairly far along and fairly close to where we’d like to be,” he said. “We’ll never be satisfied with our personnel until we have the best men in the league at each position, but we’re certainly anxious to get started with what we have.”
Lynn has fretted about the defensive backfield, and that was unchanged Monday. Observing cornerback Donald Brown’s Mohawk hairdo, Lynn said, “I’m concerned. He said he wanted it cut somewhat like mine, but I don’t know . . . “
Brown has hair in just the spot where Lynn doesn’t--squarely in the center of the cranium.
The prospect of trying to contain Miami quarterback Dan Marino this week quickly sobered Lynn.
The Chargers sacked St. Louis quarterbacks six times in the exhibition finale, but Lynn doesn’t necessarily expect a repeat against the Dolphins.
“We’d certainly like to have people around him a lot,” Lynn said. “We want him to know we’re close by. But even if we cause some incompletions and sack him a few times, I don’t know how much that will mean with a guy like Marino. He certainly has the ability to hit the deep out on third and 17.”
Lynn also is wary of the Dolphin running attack.
“You hear so much about their receivers, like Mark Clayton and Mark Duper, but they have some pretty good runners, too,” Lynn said. “They’ve got a pretty good arsenal. It compares to ours, I’d say.”
Lynn seems respectful, but undaunted by the job of playing Miami.
“I think we’re going to have a good defense,” he said. “I expect us to be successful. I feel much better than I did in July when we started training camp. Of course, I may be the eternal optimist. I never expect to lose, but I remember a time when I was coaching at Berkeley and we went to USC and lost 61-16 or something.”
Charger Notes Running backs Lionel James (ankle) and Tim Spencer (arch) didn’t practice Monday, but are expected to play against Miami. . . . Tight end Kellen Winslow is generally banged up, but should be fine for the Dolphins, Coach Don Coryell said. . . . X-rays disclosed no break in the wrist of linebacker Ty Allert, who was hurt against St. Louis. . . . Defensive lineman Earl Wilson and linebackers Mike Douglass and Derrie Nelson should be recovered from injuries in time for the Dolphins. . . . Coryell said he has only two concerns about the offense this year: keeping key players healthy, and improving the running game. Spencer is the only back with the bulk to run between the tackles on a consistent basis.
