Fouts Passes First Test, but Chargers Lose : San Francisco Wins, 17-3, in a Showdown of Bad-Back Quarterbacks

In the battle of the bad backs, the Chargers’ Dan Fouts was pitted against the 49ers’ Joe Montana Thursday night. Fouts’ best pass didn’t count, but Montana’s best pass was the go-ahead touchdown.

So give Montana the nod. He and his 49ers won, 17-3, in front of 52,733 at Candlestick Park. But give Fouts a cigar, and that’s just what Fouts’ dad, Bob, did, because he made it through the game in one piece. Montana may have had a disc problem last season, but he didn’t take any direct hits Thursday night. Fouts, on the other hand, was kicked in the back and thrown on his back in his first game since the Chargers’ last regular-season game.

He got up.

That probably was the best Charger news of the night, because there wasn’t much else but missed blocks and quarterback sacks and botched running plays and 11 Ralf Mojsiejenko punts.

Bob Fouts caught Dan as he headed off the field, and said: “Congratulations, son. You’re OK.”

And he handed him a quasi-victory cigar.

Fouts, 36, who played only the first quarter, was smashed on his very first play from scrimmage but still managed to complete a pass to a diving Kellen Winslow. Three penalties, one on a pass-interference call against 49er safety Jeff Fuller, got the Chargers down to the 49er 29-yard line.

Fouts barked out his signals on the next play, and his cadence fooled 49er defensive end Charles Haley. Haley jumped offsides and then froze, never touching a Charger player. The ball was snapped, and Fouts seemingly had a free play. He lofted one toward the right corner of the end zone, and receiver Trumaine Johnson caught it for the touchdown.

But it didn’t count. The referees had blown their whistles. Coach Al Saunders explained that the referees could stop the play at any time, even if the defensive player jumped offsides and touched no one. Saunders said they do it to protect the quarterback from taking a hit from the defensive player.

Thus, the Chargers settled for a field goal, and Vince Abbott, who is trying to unseat veteran Rolf Benirschke, made a 41-yard kick off the infield dirt.

“It’s just one kick, so who knows where I stand?” Abbott said. “I’ll let the coaches decide.”

The coaches thought Fouts played well, even though he was only 3 for 11 for 14 yards. His longest completion was eight yards, but he also had a ball dropped by Johnson, and he was sacked once.

“I don’t know if anybody likes to play exhibition games,” Fouts said, “especially when you’re an old quarterback . . . But for the amount of offense we had in, I felt good. But we really had our hands tied by design.”

In other words, the Charger offense bore no resemblance to their regular-season offense, when there are guys going in motion and trick plays.

“I thought Dan looked great!” said running back Lionel James. “You gotta understand that everything is basic in a preseason game. All we did was split guys right. Have you ever seen the Chargers use a split-right formation for a whole game?”

The 49ers tied the game on Ray Wersching’s 42-yard field goal in the second quarter. And then with just 2 1/2 minutes left, Montana directed a precision two-minute drill, completing 6 of 9 passes, including the 7-yard touchdown to Mike Wilson. On the score, Montana--who has experienced pain in his left hamstring, left lower leg and left foot because of his back problems--rolled to his right and found an open Wilson, who had eluded defensive backs Vencie Glenn and Danny Walters. It was 10-3, 49ers, at halftime.

“Coming into tonight’s game, we--as an offense--have things we want to accomplish,” Montana said. “You still want to win the game, though.”

They won it basically on defense. Playing against the Chargers’ second and third team offensive line, they held former Ram Barry Redden to 16 yards on 15 carries. Overall, the Chargers gained 49 yards on the ground, the longest run coming on a reverse to wide receiver Jamie Holland.

“We were disappointed in that,” Saunders said.

Tom Flick, who replaced Fouts and played the second and third quarters, was constantly running for his life. He was sacked three times, and his best pass--a post pattern to Holland that might have been a touchdown--was dropped. Flick was 7 of 13 for 45 yards.

Mark Vlasic, a rookie from Iowa, replaced Flick in the fourth quarter and was an impressive 8 of 14 for 129 yards. Roger Theder, the quarterback coach, said Vlasic played the part of a rookie, though. Twice, he was sacked when he should have unloaded the ball. With the score still 10-3, Vlasic had the Chargers in a third and one on the San Francisco 40, but he was whistled for illegal procedure because he used a head bob to draw a 49er lineman offsides. That spoiled the drive.

Steve Young, Montana’s backup, then put the game away. He threw a bomb that was tipped by rookie cornerback Lou Brock and caught by former Dallas Cowboy receiver Tony Hill. The play covered 44 yards, and running back Terrence Flagler scored the final touchdown with 5:45 remaining in the game.

Afterward, Fouts appeared in great spirits. He had lived to see another game.

“I wish I’d played more,” he said. “I can’t wait until next week.”

Charger Notes The Chargers reported only two injuries Thursday night: Free safety Vencie Glenn bruised his left shoulder and tight end Rod Bernstine pulled his right hamstring. Neither was considered serious. . . . Vince Abbott, who is battling Rolf Benirschke for the kicking job, made his only attempt--a 41-yarder--and special teams coach Wayne Sevier said he wasn’t sure if Benirschke would get to kick field goals next week in the exhibition finale against the Jets. “I’m not sure what we’ll do now,” Sevier said. “Right now, I’ll digest what happened tonight. Obviously, Vince has made three good kicks. He’s been real consistent. We’ll have to re-evaluate what we do. We can’t keep everyone here forever.” . . . Defensive back Lou Brock tipped a pass that fell into the hands of 49er receiver Tony Hill. It was a 44-yard play and led to the final San Francisco score. Last week, Brock dropped an interception that could have stopped the Rams’ game-winning drive. “I’m having a lot of luck,” Brock said Thursday night. “And it’s all been bad.” . . . Defensive coordinator Ron Lynn’s secondary was burned for 217 passing yards Thursday night. “Jeffrey Dale, our starting strong safety, is out with a back injury,” Lynn said. “He’s an integral part of our secondary, so--without him--he haven’t had that cohesiveness.” . . . Nose tackle Mike Charles, waived this summer by Miami and Tampa Bay, found himself starting Thursday. Dolphin Coach Don Shula cut Charles because he rarely showed up for off-season workouts and came into camp out of shape. But why Tampa Bay cut him is a mystery to Charles. “I was thinking if I can’t make Tampa Bay, what team can I make?” Charles said. Apparently, the Chargers. In the early moments of Thursday’s game, he made two consecutive tackles against 49er running back Roger Craig and then sacked quarterback Joe Montana in the second quarter. . . . There were two 49er turnovers in the first half. Linebacker Ty Allert--unsigned Thomas Benson’s replacement at linebacker--caused Craig to fumble on the 49ers’ first possession of the game, and cornerback Gill Byrd recovered. Later, 49er punt returner John Taylor muffed a Ralf Mojsiejenko punt, and Jamie Holland recovered for the Chargers. . . . Linebacker Angelo Snipes--who started at right outside linebacker for the injured Chip Banks (Achilles’ tendon)--excelled on special teams. On one punt, he nailed Taylor with a big hit. The Chargers had to rekick because of a penalty, but Snipes made the tackle again.