Laufenberg, Malone Are Finalists
The Chargers scratched Mark Vlasic from their summer quarterback derby Thursday.
It is now a two-horse race between Mark Malone and Babe Laufenberg to see who will start when the Chargers open their regular season Sept. 4 against the Raiders in Los Angeles.
According to Charger Coach Al Saunders, there is no front-runner.
“The season doesn’t start tomorrow,” he said, dodging artfully when asked who would be his first-string quarterback if it did. “Fortunately.”
Malone had the worst quarterback rating in the NFL last year with Pittsburgh. Laufenberg has been cut seven times.
All of which makes the Chargers one of the longest shots in the NFL this year.
Moreover, the winner of this quarterback “race,” which has been going on since last spring, gets to play behind an offensive line that is injured, unsettled and inexperienced at both tackle positions.
Which is why the winner of this race might be the loser.
“It’s difficult for anyone in this league to start the first game and go through the whole season,” Malone said.
After confirming Thursday that he had changed his original plan of starting Vlasic Saturday night at home against the 49ers in the Chargers’ third exhibition game, Saunders said he will open with Laufenberg and use Malone for the second half.
It will be Laufenberg’s second consecutive start. Last Saturday night in Anaheim, he completed 5 of 11 passes for 67 yards in the Chargers’ 27-6 loss to the Rams. The Rams sacked him four times.
“To look at the Ram game is unfair,” said Jerry Rhome, the Charger offensive coordinator. “He (Laufenberg) had no chance.”
The more you listen to Rhome, Laufenberg’s former position coach with the Redskins, the more it sounds as if Laufenberg has the edge.
“Day after day after day, Babe Laufenberg has probably outperformed Mark Malone,” Rhome said.
But Saunders, who tagged Malone as the favorite at the outset of camp, insisted the decision to start Laufenberg against the 49ers was also because he wanted to see Malone “finish” a game.
All three Charger quarterbacks have played at least part of the previous two exhibitions. Laufenberg is 18 of 34 for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns. His quarterback rating is 80.2. Malone is 13 of 24 for 115 yards and no touchdowns with a 49.7 rating. Vlasic is 15 of 31 for 214 yards and no touchdowns with a rating of 44.1.
Saunders said the relative performances of Laufenberg and Malone will determine who gets the bulk of the playing time at home against the Rams in the Chargers’ Aug. 26 exhibition finale.
“We might possibly play that person the whole game (against the Rams),” Saunders said.
Vlasic is a second-year quarterback from Iowa who threw just six passes last year in games that counted in the standings. Saunders broke the bad news to him after the morning practice.
“I could sit here and complain and cry,” Vlasic said. “But that’s not going to make anything different.”
Vlasic said he understood the fact that Malone and Laufenberg “run better” than he does and that they are more “mobile.” He also said he understood that was probably the determining factor in the decision of the coaches.
Rhome and Saunders said they came to the decision after prolonged meetings Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
“It just gets to the point where it becomes counterproductive to give all three equal practice time,” Saunders said.
The Charger offensive line is still reeling from the trade that sent Pro Bowl tackle Jim Lachey to the Raiders in exchange for John Clay.
Clay showed up with a bad back and then hurt his hip. He started practicing again Thursday but will miss the 49ers game. His replacement at left tackle, Gary Kowalski, has a sore knee. The right tackle, UCLA rookie David Richards, is recovering from the flu.
Clay has been at full strength only two days since he arrived at the end of last month. “He looks great in meetings,” Saunders said.
All of which suggests the Chargers didn’t want to sacrifice Vlasic--whom they think might be the best quarterback of the three five years from now--when they know they can’t protect him.
Rhome disagreed. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the offensive line,” he said.
Rhome also said the term “starter” doesn’t mean that much on this team. And, he added, “Our problem on this team is not quarterback,” he said. “I think we’ve got a lot of holes to plug, and quarterback is not one of them.”
Charger Notes
The Chargers waived five players Thursday: offensive lineman Michael Scott, nose tackle John Fletcher, wide receivers Danny Greene and Larry Linne and cornerback Daniel Hunter. They put running back Pat Franklin (ankle) on injured reserve. . . . Steve Ortmayer, director of football operations, reported no new progress or contact with holdout linebacker Chip Banks. . . . Offensive lineman John Clay (hip) is doubtful for Saturday night’s game. Running backs Gary Anderson (foot) and Barry Redden (knee) also might not play.