Tonight’s Starter Is You, Babe : Latest Banks Report Is He Won’t Play, but Chargers Stand Firm

Once upon a time, the Chargers coveted San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana. There was a lot of talk about Washington’s Jay Schroeder, too.

Earlier this week, Steve Ortmayer, the team’s director of football operations, said the search for a suitable replacement for the retired Dan Fouts could continue “into the regular season.”

But for right now, the team’s brightest prospect at its most important position is Brandon (Babe) Laufenberg, a self-effacing but energetic 28-year-old gunner who hasn’t started a football game since 1982.

That personal drought will end tonight at 8 in Anaheim when the Chargers play the Rams in an exhibition game. Laufenberg will take center stage on a team that threatens almost daily to deteriorate into a three-ring circus.

The latest news Friday was this update from Charger owner Alex Spanos: He said holdout free agent linebacker Chip Banks will “absolutely not” get a better contract offer than the one the Chargers took off the bargaining table Thursday when Banks failed to report to practice.

Sources said Banks’ response was to say he won’t play this year. But Banks has made those kinds of noises before.

The Chargers’ response to the report of Banks’ latest threat came from Ortmayer.

“We have not heard from Banks,” he said late Friday. “And therefore we have no comment. We have not heard this (the threat) from him.”

Also Friday at the Chargers’ UC San Diego camp, it was announced that running back Barry Redden, acquired from the Rams last year, had a broken navicular bone in his left hand. The team says the injury normally takes six weeks to heal. But it may not prevent Redden from playing tonight. Charger Coach Al Saunders said team physicians will make a determination during warmups.

But Laufenberg is engagingly oblivious to all the controversy swirling about him. He’s having the time of his life.

“Football,” he says, eyes sparkling, “is a dynamic business.”

But it’s still just a game to him.

“Babe is OK as a nickname,” he says, by way of partial explanation. “But if I ever get into the working world, I’ll probably go back to Brandon.”

Actually, football is work to Laufenberg during the week. It’s during the games that he has the fun. Last week, he completed 13 of 23 passes for 149 yards while directing three touchdown drives in the final period of the Chargers’ come-from-behind 24-21 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

This week, the coaching staff is rewarding him with a chance to play the first two quarters. Laufenberg will be the one darting around out there like a water bug on a double martini. He will be the one shaking his fist after completions.

“I remember the first time (announcers) saw me play on television,” Laufenberg says. “They said, ‘Well, he’s a little bit over-excited out there.’ To me it was like, how can you be over-excited? Unless you lose your head and don’t know what you’re doing.

“The funny thing is I’m actually kind of low-key. I’m not a boisterous person off the field.”

And he insists that starting will be no different from knowing he would play the fourth quarter last week.

“It doesn’t faze me,” he says. “Whether you start or whether you come in for the fourth period, you’re still going out and doing your thing. I don’t think you approach it any differently, really.”

Jerry Rhome, the Chargers’ first-year offensive coordinator, said, “Whether it’s the first half or the fourth period, he’s still got to perform.”

Rhome has been a Laufenberg booster ever since Laufenberg was a backup with the Redskins, and Rhome was that team’s quarterbacks coach.

But the man who will make the final decision on the starter for the Chargers’ regular-season opener Sept. 4 against the Raiders will be Saunders. And, Saunders says, there is a difference between starting and relieving.

“There’s quite a difference,” he says. “We need to see how he can work in a controlled environment with the score 0-0.”

Last week, Mark Malone started and played the first half. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 70 yards, but the Chargers didn’t score until the end of the third quarter. That’s the quarter Saunders gave to Mark Vlasic. Vlasic completed 11 of 18 for 113 yards.

All three quarterbacks were sacked once. Malone and Vlasic each threw an interception, Laufenberg did not. Laufenberg threw two touchdown passes. Neither Malone nor Vlasic threw one.

Against the Rams, Malone will play the third quarter, Vlasic the fourth. Saunders says Vlasic will start next week against the 49ers, with Laufenberg playing the third quarter and Malone the fourth.

The Chargers hope to have decided on a No. 1 by the time they take the field for their exhibition finale Aug. 26, again against the Rams.

Saunders had hoped to give Redden “a great deal of work” against the Rams tonight. It doesn’t appear likely that that will happen now. The players he will be watching closely include strong safety Jeff Dale, wide receiver Kevin House and outside linebackers Joe Campbell and David Brandon.

Brandon and Campbell are auditioning for the right outside spot that remains empty in Banks’ absence. For House, who had his best years with Tampa Bay and was released before this season by the Rams, this may be the last chance to vie for the fourth wide receiver spot on the roster. He’s already behind Timmie Ware and rookie free agent Darren Flutie.

Flutie and Ware combined to catch 11 passes for 134 yards against the Cowboys. The Chargers’ top three wide receivers--Jamie Holland, Quinn Early and Anthony Miller--managed just seven receptions between them.

“I think the lights turned on and they (Holland, Early and Miller) got a little too excited,” Rhome says. “I’m looking for a little improvement from them.”

The Rams say they will start Jim Everett at quarterback and play him one half. Hugh Millen is expected to finish.

Laufenberg, meanwhile, remains cautiously optimistic. As Ram Coach John Robinson puts it: “If you know of anybody who can give you some sense of what’s going to happen to anybody during the year, I’d like to meet the guy.”

Charger Notes

Coach Al Saunders said he wasn’t sure exactly when running back Barry Redden broke the navicular bone in his left hand. But he suspected that it happened Thursday. He also said the injury probably was related to the left-arm injury Redden suffered last Saturday against the Cowboys. X-rays taken at that time were negative. “This is the kind of injury that usually happens when somebody falls on your hand,” Saunders said. “Guys do play with broken hands.” . . . Charger owner Alex Spanos says the team is now “waiting to see if he calls” before they determine how they will proceed on the holdout of free agent outside linebacker Chip Banks. “If he calls up, we’ll be happy to talk to him,” Spanos said. Spanos reiterated that he will not trade Banks. Asked why he won’t trade Banks and why he did trade unhappy tackle Jim Lachey late last month, Spanos said, “Lachey is history. I don’t even want to talk about Jim Lachey at this point. Maybe Chip wants to retire. Maybe he’s concerned about his real estate business. But if he doesn’t come in, we’re going to miss a great talent.” Asked if the talent was worth the trouble, Spanos said, “We need all the talent we can get. We’re dealing with personalities, I guess.”