Chargers Answered Big Question, but Several Others Remain

It was almost as if Charger Coach Al Saunders had tapped the phone. Here was Ram Coach John Robinson offering advice Tuesday afternoon to anyone who would listen about how to handle quarterback derbies.

“I think the thing we all have to do is not get too caught up in any one phase of the game,” Robinson said in a conference call with the San Diego media. “We went through a period last year where problems of one nature seemed to paralyze us.

“I think people can become so riveted. And if it’s the quarterback position, it can paralyze you on everything else. That’s a potential mistake that we all make.”

Robinson concluded, “We went to the playoffs four years in a row with four different quarterbacks. Yet we were taking continual heat that no matter which one was out there, he was the worst quarterback in the history of the league. We went to the NFC championship (1985) in that kind of an environment. So I don’t that the world lives and dies on who plays quarterback as long as the rest of your team keeps improving and playing good.”

Less than seven hours later, Saunders announced that Babe Laufenberg would be his starting quarterback for tonight’s exhibition finale against the Rams at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium and next week when the regular season opens against the Raiders in Los Angeles.

So much for quarterback derbies. So much for paralysis.

The irony here is that the Charger quarterback position, so wide open five months ago following the retirement of Dan Fouts, is now one of the most stable areas on the team.

Placekicker Vince Abbott has secured his job, as has punter Ralf Mojsiejenko. Other starters locked in include center Don Macek, right guard Dennis McKnight, injured linebacker Billy Ray Smith (calf muscle) and probably cornerback Gill Byrd. Saunders says Smith will return in time for the Raider opener.

There is another group of approximately 10 players who have made the team and are projected starters. But there are questions of one kind or another surrounding them.

For example: running back Gary Anderson is fragile; defensive end Lee Williams missed most of camp; free safety Vencie Glenn has a tender ankle; rookie inside linebacker Cedric Figaro has a trick back; young wide receivers Anthony Miller, Jamie Holland and Quinn Early haven’t quite separated themselves from each other.

Then Saunders has a whole other set of more immediate problems with players such as wide receivers Darren Flutie and Timmie Ware before Monday’s cutdown deadline, at which time the Chargers must pare their 60-man roster to 45, plus two on the reserve list.

Saunders is hoping for answers in a lot of those areas from the Ram game.

“I think there’s always room for an exceptional performance to elevate somebody who may be in a competitive situation with a job,” he said Thursday. “But I don’t think those situations are that abundant.”

They aren’t abundant because Saunders’ coaching staff is more concerned with the development of cohesion among the different units--offensive line and defensive backfield, for example--than it is with individual performance.

Ware and Flutie each have caught eight passes in three exhibition games to date. They may not have the chance tonight to catch any more if Saunders and Jerry Rhome, the offensive coordinator, decide they want longer looks at Miller, Holland and Early.

That’s the numbers game, a game that isn’t playing itself out very well right now for former No. 1 draft pick James FitzPatrick. FitzPatrick started camp as the starter at right guard. The trade of Jim Lachey to the Raiders prompted the Chargers to move him back to left guard, where he played last year.

FitzPatrick failed to improve and lost his job last week to Broderick Thompson. Now FitzPatrick won’t get into the Rams game until Saunders has looked at Thompson and Ken Dallafior.

Other players on the bubble include running backs Curtis Adams, Barry Redden and Tim Spencer. The Chargers will probably keep just four running backs. Two will be Anderson and Lionel James.

Redden will start against the Rams. Adams, who didn’t report to camp until last week because of a contract holdout, will relieve him. Spencer might not play. Two weeks ago in Anaheim, Redden, playing with a broken bone in his hand, rushed for 25 yards on 8 carries in the Chargers’ 27-6 loss to the Rams.

Saunders expects the makeup of his final roster to include 21 offensive players, 21 defensive players, two kickers, snapper Randy Kirk and the two designated “reserve” players. Those will almost certainly be third-string quarterback Mark Vlasic and an extra offensive lineman.

One players who might not be on that roster is tight end Kellen Winslow. Winslow has recurring knee problems stemming from offseason arthroscopy. He has played in just one exhibition game and hasn’t caught a pass. If he can not practice by Monday, the Chargers will almost certainly place him on injured reserve.

Monday is also the day the team will return to its regular season practice field at the stadium. Its UC-San Diego training camp is over for another summer. Saunders, not surprisingly, pronounced the camp a success.

“We feel very positive about the way camp went,” he said. “We had a very, very physical camp. We had great intensity and established the tempo for camp early.”