Beuerlein Plays Like a Winner, but Teammates Don’t

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Raider quarterback Steve Beuerlein’s front line played like an all-night diner--”We never close”--his star receiver dropped one pass in the end zone and ran the wrong way on another, his coach fawned all over him and then added he didn’t know if Steve would have his starting spot next week, and the Coliseum scoreboard misspelled his name.

George McGovern got more support.

For his part in the Raiders’ 22-17 loss to the Rams, Beuerlein threw for 375 yards Sunday, third most in team history. He threw for two touchdowns and missed two others when:

--Willie Gault, five yards behind Ram defenders in the first quarter, straight out dropped a beautiful pass in the end zone.

--Willie Gault, in the second quarter, cut up when he should have cut out at the Ram goal line.

“We didn’t cash in on a lot of the opportunities we had,” Beuerlein said. “We hurt ourselves all day.”

A quick check of the Pain-O-Meter shows that Beuerlein took a large part of the pounding. He was sacked nine times, playing behind a front line that included one rookie (Rory Graves), one second-year player (Bruce Wilkerson) and one third-year player (Bill Lewis).

“There were a lot of young guys on our side of the line, including me,” Beuerlein said. “There are going to be mistakes.”

Beuerlein’s amounted to a fourth-quarter interception. He completed 19 of 38 passes and threw touchdown passes of 30 yards to Marcus Allen and 49 yards to Tim Brown.

After the game, Raider Coach Mike Shanahan said he felt good about his quarterback’s progress. Unfortunately for Beuerlein, Shanahan was referring to Jay Schroeder, whom the Raiders got from the Washington Redskins for a couple of draft choices and all-everything tackle Jim Lachey.

This is known as an investment, which means if you own stock in Steve Beuerlein, sell.

“I think he’ll (Schroeder) be ready next week,” Shanahan said.

He quickly added that what happened to the Raiders Sunday was not Steve Beuerlein’s fault.

“Steve Beuerlein is tough and he’s got a lot of poise,” Shanahan said.

Yeah, but will he be the Raider quarterback next week against Denver? They’re still waiting for an answer to that one.

“I’ll have to evaluate that,” Shanahan said. “I’ll have something to say about that Tuesday or Wednesday.”

Beuerlein, asked if it struck him a bit odd to have the game he did and be in danger of losing his starting position, said: “Nothing can surprise me. It’s just the way the game goes. You have to accept it. It doesn’t mean it’s fair or that it makes any sense.”

The last few seasons the Raiders have been going through quarterbacks like disposable lighters. Jim Plunkett finally became too old, Rusty Hilger was too young, Marc Wilson . . . enough said.

Beuerlein, formerly of Servite High School and Norte Dame, beat out Plunkett, Hilger and Vince Evans to earn the starting job. Just when he appears to be hitting his stride, his future as a starter appears a couple notches below tenuous.

“I just have to worry about me and work as hard as I can to improve,” Beuerlein said. “I can’t think about what people say or what people are chanting (during a game). Even if I’m on the sideline, I’m going to try to improve my game. I’m going to let people know I’m not going to give up.”