Chargers Ready for Better Days
The Chargers, with three victories in their last five games, are well-positioned for a strong finish, and Coach Al Saunders is talking excitedly about next year.
“It seemed like everybody was really having fun against Houston,” Saunders said Monday in weighing his team’s 27-0 victory over the Oilers.
“It was exciting for all of us. Guys on our kicking teams had that look in their eye, like they were really ready for a physical game. It’s the type of feeling we would like to carry into next year. I hope we can direct our present enthusiasm into our last two games and finish on a real high note.”
What the Chargers have done in the past two weeks--admittedly, against two inferior opponents--is to present a vision of the Saunders utopia: a ball-control offense that utilizes running and passing; a dominant, physical defense that forces turnovers; and a kicking game that helps control field position, making life easier for the offense and defense.
Fears that the defense would be unable to maintain pressure without the injured Leslie O’Neal proved to be unfounded, at least for one Sunday.
Nobody has dubbed them the Monsters of Mission Valley, but in the last two weeks the Chargers have played defense suggestive of the Chicago Bears.
The Chargers have allowed the other side to convert just 2 out of 22 third downs into first downs. If they could do that over a 16-game schedule, the Chargers would be unbeaten.
Of course, the schedule-maker doesn’t permit the Chargers to play the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Oilers every week, as they have done the past two Sundays. What happens when the Chargers return to National Football League competition this week against Seattle?
Saunders offered no predictions, but the rosy afterglow of Sunday’s shutout victory permeated his conversation Monday.
“It’s encouraging to see the defense play as dominantly as it has,” Saunders said in what passed for an understatement.
Against Indianapolis, the Chargers allowed only a field goal and 177 yards. Against Houston, the Chargers allowed just 9 first downs and 134 yards, recorded 6 sacks and produced the team’s first shutout since 1979.
It wasn’t a perfect game against the Oilers, but it may have been about as close as the Chargers were capable of achieving, according to Saunders.
The Chargers kept the ball for more than 38 minutes as Dan Fouts passed for 250 yards with no interceptions and the running game produced 124 yards.
Consequently, the defense was on the field only 58 plays, a day that was only slightly more taxing than the 48 plays of the previous week. There have been numerous games when the Chargers couldn’t maintain possession and the beleaguered defense, on the field for 70 or more plays, gave out in the fourth period.
“Hypothetically, if you play five straight games with your defense out there for 60 plays versus five straight games of 70 plays, all of a sudden you’ve played one more game,” Saunders said.
“That makes a big difference over the course of a season. It’s like some teams have a three-game advantage. If the defense is on the field less, it will be well-rested and it will be a lot stronger at the end of a long schedule.”
A shift in offensive philosophy has aided the defense, according to Saunders.
No longer is the focus on scoring in a hurry, and scoring often. No longer is the basic assumption that the Chargers will have to score 40 or 50 points to win.
“We’re not taking as many chances as we did in the past,” Saunders said. “We want to be able to run when we have to and throw when we have to. We want want to complete a high percentage of our passes and have a low rate of interceptions.
“We still may have games when it’s bombs away, when our offense is wide open, if we feel we have to score 50 points to beat a given team. We’ll throw 50 times in a row if we have to.”
The difference is, the Chargers aren’t approaching every game with an Air Coryell blitzkrieg in mind.
There is still plenty of room for Fouts in the new approach, as the past two weeks have demonstrated.
With the premium on accuracy, Fouts responded by completing 24 of 31 against Indianapolis. His .774 percentage was the fourth best in team history. Against the Oilers, his percentage was .700 on a 21-for-30 day. For the year, he has now completed 59.2%, in line with the best years of his career after a slow start that resulted in 19 interceptions in the first seven games.
The resurgence, or the redirection, of the offense means that the Chargers definitely will not spend a first-round draft choice on a quarterback next year.
Saunders said the team’s needs, which include a linebacker, pass rusher, defensive back, running back and speed receiver, are so numerous that the best approach will be to take the best available player at one of those positions. It’s almost a can’t-miss situation, because the Chargers likely will be drafting high enough (say, about eighth) and have so many holes, they’re bound to find a player they can put to good use.
Charger Notes
Wide receiver Charlie Joiner, who suffered a broken hand and a broken nose, probably will be able to play this week. “He’s played with a lot of broken bones over the last 18 years, and this is no different,” Coach Al Saunders said. “He knows pain is part of the process of being a professional player.” . . . Offensive tackle Jim Lachey is still slowed by a pulled hamstring and is questionable for this week’s game against Seattle, Saunders said. He praised the play of Ken Dallafior, who replaced Lachey against Houston. . . . The status of cornerback Gill Byrd (groin) and running back Gary Anderson (knee) also is uncertain, Saunders said.