Spanos Takes Cautious Look at ’87 : Super Bowl Dream May Well Be Just That . . . a Dream

With Super Bowl XXII little more than a year off, it seems most unlikely that the Chargers will fulfill the avowed goal of owner Alex Spanos to participate in the championship game Jan. 31, 1988.

Spanos, who had made known his hopes for a playoff spot during training camp, seems to have modified his short-term goals.

“I’m hoping for a winning season next year,” he said. “The playoffs would be a bonus. The Super Bowl would be more like a dream.”

Given the team’s 2-10 record, this may sound like fantasy and wishful thinking, but Coach Al Saunders isn’t ready to dismiss the Chargers’ chances for a radical turnaround in 1987.

The Chargers won’t require a major overhaul to become respectable, Saunders says, and he doesn’t rule out the possibility of playoff contention by next year.

“Anything is possible,” he said. “Winning becomes a momentum thing. I wouldn’t count us out of the ability to play championship football next year. Heck, in the last three weeks, we’ve established the level of emotional intensity we need. Now we need to start making the big plays and avoiding mistakes. If we don’t level off, anything is possible.”

Saunders was in an upbeat mood in the aftermath of Thursday night’s 37-31 overtime loss to the Raiders. It was the team’s third loss in the four games since he succeeded Don Coryell as coach, but like the defeats to Kansas City and Dallas, the Chargers weren’t beaten until the final few plays.

The quickest route to playoff contention is a stronger defense, Saunders says. The implementation of an aggressive pass rush this year means the Chargers can now direct their search to linebacker and the secondary.

“We have the scheme to be outstanding,” he said. “We are close to having the defense we need if we can add one or two Leslie O’Neal-type players at other positions.” In terms of overall personnel, however, Saunders offers a more cautious view.

“Considering physical ability, experience, potential and guys at the end of their careers, we are right in the middle of the league,” Saunders said.

He has identified a need for more team size and speed and says the Chargers will try to bolster their personnel at linebacker, defensive back, running back and receiver.

“We have some outstanding young players who will be the class of their positions in two or three years--like Jim Lachey and Leslie O’Neal,” he said. “They are tremendous impact players. We also have some players who will be very good in one or two years. So we have the nucleus to be good down the road.”

Saunders says he can’t establish an exact time frame, but he doesn’t think the road to respectability is a long one.

The Chargers don’t necessarily have to develop the deepest stockpile of talent in order to win, he says.

“You can win even though you might not match up with a given opponent man for man,” Saunders said. “The character of this team is in the top 5%, and if we can build on that, our chances of success are much better.”

In keeping with the coach’s rosy view, the team’s morale is remarkably high, considering its place in the standings.

“Not many teams could have come back from a 21-point deficit to take the Raiders into overtime,” Saunders said. “The courage of players like Vencie Glenn, Tim Spencer and Mark Herrmann (all of whom have been hurt and missed recent practices) is testament to our morale.

“I think most of our players believe we have set a strong foundation in the last three weeks. We are proud of what our players have done, we feel strongly we’re making progress.”

Mistakes, not lack of effort, beat the Chargers Thursday night. The team, as Saunders says, is too young and short of talent to survive five turnovers and beat a team like the Raiders.

A blocked punt--attributed to a missed block by Donald Brown--is described by Saunders as a deadly mental error.

He is a bit softer in assessing two holding calls against Lachey in the overtime period.

“Holding could be called on almost any down,” Saunders said. “Jim didn’t seem to do anything different (on the penalized plays) than on previous plays. . . . He is an excellent technician and is going to be a Pro Bowl player one day.”

Saunders is careful to avoid any suggestion of criticizing officials, a policy he has maintained in his month as coach and one that is somewhat different from Don Coryell’s frequent complaining.

It may be that his restraint is already paying dividends. In the confusion surrounding a blocked field-goal attempt by Chris Bahr in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, Saunders was able to make his opinion heard in a discussion with officials.

For a moment, it appeared Bahr would be permitted to line up for a second try, but after discussion, it was ruled that no time remained. Saunders declines to take credit for the officials’ revised decision that time had expired, but he says he informed the official nearest him of the proper interpretation of the applicable rule.

The subject of quarterbacks was also very much on the coach’s mind Friday.

He credits the Raiders’ 39-year-old Jim Plunkett with a decisive role in the game.

“He played a superb game,” Saunders said. “His experience and composure really showed. He threw with great accuracy and also did a good job getting rid of the ball three or four times when it appeared he might be sacked.”

Saunders also lavishly praised Raider tight end Todd Christensen, saying, “We double- and triple-teamed him, we tried man-to-man and zone coverages, we tried to hold him up at the line, we did all we could to control him. He’s playing as well as any tight end in the game.”

On the subject of the Chargers’ quarterback, it appears Dan Fouts will be the starter a week from Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Fouts, who was unable to play against the Raiders because of a bruised shoulder, will be backed by Herrmann and Tom Flick. At least, that is the current order. It is something that seems to fluctuate from day to day.

“I don’t characterize players as 1, 2 or 3,” Saunders said. “It depends on who is healthy and available for a given game.”

Saunders says he was not disappointed with Flick, who started against the Raiders and threw three interceptions. One was a bad pass, another was a good play by Lester Hayes and the third was a ball caught by Kellen Winslow and knocked out of his hands, according to Saunders.

“After watching the film two or three times, I would say Tom did all we asked of him,” Saunders said. “We elected to play Mark halfway through the third quarter, when we were down three touchdowns, because he has done an outstanding job in the past with our hurry-up offense.”