Chargers Lose Players Along With a Game
The Chargers’ pride wasn’t the only thing that was hurt in their 20-7 loss to the Giants Sunday.
--Cornerback Danny Walters will be out for the season after undergoing surgery Monday morning for a ruptured Achilles’ tendon suffered in the first quarter of Sunday’s game. Walters was injured while turning on the artificial turf at Giants Stadium.
--Fullback Tim Spencer sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee when he was hit by Giant linebacker Carl Banks in the fourth quarter. Dan Fouts threw his third interception of the day on that play.
“It’s stiff and sore and I have concern about him (Spencer) playing this week,” said Charger team physician Dr. Gary Losse.
Spencer, who was limping and wearing a large bandage Monday morning, said, “When it happened, I didn’t feel anything. There was no pain. Butnow it’s pretty sore. I’ll just have to wait and see.”
If Spencer misses Sunday’s game, Buford McGee will start.
--Linebacker Billy Ray Smith has a swollen ankle that will keep him from practicing until the end of the week, but Losse expects him to play against the Redskins Sunday.
The injury to Walters is the most serious and will have a considerable impact on the Charger secondary.
Walters will be in a cast for six weeks. It will be six months before he can run, according to Losse. “The surgery went fine,” said Losse, who performed the 45-minute operation. “But that’s only part of it. He has a long rehabilitation. It was almost as though a knife had cut it (tendon) in half. The two ends were separated by three inches. . . .
“The main thing to worry about is getting full motion back in the ankle. If he can get that back, he should do well. If he loses a few degrees of motion, that may translate into a half step on the field.”
With the loss of Walters, the Chargers are in the market for a starting cornerback.
“We have to try and find someone,” said Coach Don Coryell. “Obviously, we would like to find a starter. But where will you find a starter at this point? I’m sure we’ll end up playing the people we’ve got and we’ll get the best player we can.”
Said assistant head coach Al Saunders: “The availability of people who can come in and make a contribution is limited.”
San Diego was forced to play fifth-round draft pick Don Brown of the University of Maryland and rookie free-agent nickel back Kevin Wyatt for much of Sunday’s game.
Coryell said Brown has the inside track to start against the Redskins.
“If that happens,” Brown said, “I’ll look forward to it. I feel I can play with the best of them. I’m not a big Redskin fan. People back home are Redskin crazy.”
Does Walters’ injury make the Charger secondary situation desperate?
“Desperate is when your fingernails are on the wall and you’re hanging over the edge,” said defensive coordinator Ron Lynn. “I don’t think we’re in that position. I think it’s a concern.”
Lynn said the Chargers are considering signing one of the players who tried out with the club last week.
Safety Raphel Cherry, a former University of Hawaii quarterback, was cut this summer after playing safety for the Redskins last year. Cornerback Kenny Taylor was cut by the Bears this summer. Manuel Hendrix, a former basketball player for the University of Utah, was cut after being given a tryout as a defensive back with Dallas.
Lynn also brought up the name of cornerback Tim Collier, cut by the 49ers this summer. Lynn said he made a recommendation to Charger management, and expects the new player to be at practice Wednesday.
The status of John Hendy, who missed the first two games with a sprained knee, is also a factor when evaluating moves the Chargers can make. Hendy played cornerback last year, but was moved to free safety in camp.
Lynn said he is not counting on Hendy being able to play Sunday. If Hendy can return to the lineup, Lynn said they might consider moving safety Gill Byrd to cornerback, where he has played in the past.
“The corner situation is critical if we’re going to continue to do the things we want to do. . . . “ Lynn said. “I would not be surprised if in the next 14 weeks the opposition did not attempt to pick on our corners.”
Talk about turning the tables.
“You have to give our defense a hell of a lot of credit for keeping us in the game,” said wide receiver Wes Chandler. “We played lackadaisical offense. It’s not like a San Diego team to come out like that. We were there and we were trying to execute, but we weren’t in the total flow of our game.”
Chandler and Fouts appeared to be out of sync throughout Sunday’s game.
“I’ve never seen Dan have a day like that,” Chandler said. “I’m out there saying ‘What the hell am I doing? Am I coming up short on my route?’ I was trying to make an adjustment. He (Fouts) started making adjustments. We were misreading each other.”
Said Fouts: “That’s probably the way he saw it. Those things happen.”
Charger Notes Charger Coach Don Coryell had some choice comments regarding the confusion that occured at the end of the first half of Sunday’s game. That was when special teams coach Hank Bauer mistakenly sent in the field goal unit with just seconds remaining. He said: “Sure, he (Bauer) was privy to (the sideline meetings), but he was thinking in another direction. And I’m not being critical of Hank. He was just trying to get the the job done and getting his guys ready so they could rush on the field and kick the field goal. . . . But I’m not being critical of Hank. Hank’s doing a great job and it’s because of his eagerness and his aggressiveness and his take-charge attitude that this came about. It was just a mistake. It won’t happen again.” . . . Coryell singled out the play of linebacker Thomas Benson, safety Jeff Dale, defensive lineman Leslie O’Neal, guard Dennis McKnight, center Don Macek and Woodrow Lowe and Pete Holohan on the special teams. . . . Approximately 5,000 seats remain for Sunday’s game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.
The Raiders, smarting from a 10-6 loss to the Washington Redskins, called a players-only meeting Monday. Story, Page 8.