Rivalry of Excellence Is on Hold : Williams Also Feels Pain of Injury That Put Leslie O’Neal Out
In a football sense, Tuesday was a day of mourning for Lee Williams.
His friend and colleague, Leslie O’Neal, was scheduled for knee surgery that would likely put him out of football for at least a year. The surgery was delayed, but that did nothing to brighten Williams’ mood.
“It’s such a sad thing,” Williams said. “Leslie had everything in front of him. To be so dominant at this stage of his career, the sky was the limit for him.”
O’Neal, the Chargers’ rookie defensive end, suffered a severe knee injury in Sunday’s game at Indianapolis. The injury, similar to Kellen Winslow’s two years ago, may keep him sidelined until 1988.
The loss of O’Neal has deep meaning for Williams. They are friends as well as friendly rivals who have elevated the level of performance for each other and the San Diego defensive line.
O’Neal has 12.5 sacks, Williams has 12 and the Chargers have 50, second only to the Raiders in the National Football League. O’Neal, a strong Rookie of the Year candidate, had helped Williams become one of the league’s most effective pass rushers.
Williams is in his third year with the Chargers after a season with the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League. He was the team’s best pass rusher in 1985, when he made seven sacks in the first seven games before tailing off and finishing the year with 8.5 after the opposition began double-teaming him.
O’Neal’s arrival this year meant offensive linemen generally had to take on Williams without help. Given his size (6-feet 6-inches, 265 pounds), quickness and eagerness to match O’Neal’s numbers, Williams suddenly became one of the league’s best at pressuring quarterbacks.
It may be wishful thinking, Williams said, but he doesn’t expect to see a lot of double-teaming while O’Neal is out. He believes O’Neal’s replacement, Earl Wilson, will command the same respect the fallen rookie was accorded.
“It’s going to be business as usual,” Williams said, as if trying to convince himself.
Maybe so, but defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said he expects Williams, along with others, will have to play even better to compensate for the loss of O’Neal.
Gunther Cunningham, defensive line coach, said he believes Williams will do well.
“Lee came to me and asked to be allowed to do the same things Leslie was doing,” Cunningham said. “He told me he could do all that Leslie was doing. He’s going to see some double-teaming, but we’ll move him around him and make offensive linemen have to look for him, stuff like that.”
Williams, turning away from the pressure created by O’Neal’s absence, said he expects O’Neal to beat the one-year timetable projected for his return.
“I hope and pray he can come back really soon,” Williams said. “Not for the team’s sake or my sake, but for Leslie himself.
“He seems really upbeat right now. He seems confident it’s just a setback that’s part of football. But he keeps a lot inside. I know Leslie pretty well, but not well enough to speculate on what he is really feeling.”
The relationship between O’Neal and Williams extends beyond the playing field.
“It’s a lot more than just player to player,” Cunningham said. “There’s a real close feeling between them. And they’ve had a good effect on our other players. When (Coach) Al Saunders said he wanted a businesslike appearance when we travel, Lee and Leslie started wearing ties, and they soon had company.”
Williams declined to speculate on whether the knee injury might deprive O’Neal of some quickness, one of the hallmarks of his game.
“He is a finesse player, but he has the strength when he needs it,” Williams said. “People haven’t seen even the tip of the iceberg of his talent. I just hope he can be totally successful in his comeback.”
Williams trails only Lynn and Cunningham among O’Neal’s greatest admirers.
“I’ve been watching him on film and what I have seen is amazing,” Williams said.
Recalling the Washington game early in the season, Williams described how O’Neal got past a double-team block by Joe Jacoby and Russ Grimm, then beat a Redskins back to hit quarterback Jay Schroeder.
“Leslie is just a different breed,” Williams said.
“I look at him on film and try to analyze his style and apply it to my own game. What made him so successful? Body position, lining up at different angles, the use of his hands. I haven’t changed my game all that much, but I have tried to pick up some little things from watching Leslie.”
Williams is far from being boastful, but he can’t conceal a quiet pride in his own rise since coming to the Chargers.
“I’m considerably better, but I have a way to go,” he said. “I’ve always tried to be as good as I could be, regardless of what the team situation was.”
The development of the Chargers pass rush into one of the NFL’s top units has provided some incentive.
“The view is better from the top,” Williams said. “Once you get up there, you want to stay there. We’re all going to strive to maintain our status in the league.”
Although he has only recently taken his place among the NFL’s top pass rushers, Williams said he always has believed he had the ability to reach the top.
“I’m not there yet, but I’m definitely on the way up,” he said.
Williams believes he must become more consistent and make more impact plays to achieve Pro Bowl recognition.
How much his progress will be retarded in the absence of O’Neal is speculative. It isn’t a topic that is going to dominate his offseason thoughts, though.
A month from now, when the regular season is over, Williams will head for Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, where the bass are usually biting and the pace of life is slow.
“I’ll be doing enough fishing for 10 or 12 guys,” he said, smiling.
Chargers Notes
Leslie O’Neal was scheduled to undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee on Tuesday. However, because he had personal business to conduct, the surgery was delayed until today or Thursday. . . .The Chargers waived defensive back Donald Brown and signed defensive lineman Mack Moore, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, as a backup.