Ram Notebook : Chargers Played the Numbers With Holohan, Came Up Losers

And now for a little second-guessing with 20/20 hindsight. . . .

So do you really think the San Diego Chargers should have traded tight end Pete Holohan to the Rams?

First, a quick review. On draft day last April, the Rams traded a fourth-round pick to the Chargers for the veteran Holohan, who has become the inspirational leader of the Rams’ offense and the team’s second-leading receiver with 37 catches for 373 yards.

With its draft pick, San Diego selected New Mexico State’s Joe Campbell, now resting comfortably at reserve outside linebacker.

A bad deal? You bet, but it’s not as though the Charger front office went completely mental on this one. At the time of the trade, San Diego had four quality tight ends in Holohan, Kellen Winslow, Eric Sievers and Rod Bernstine.

Somebody had to go. The Chargers decided on the 29-year-old Holohan. Tough decision. Since the deal, the Chargers have lost Winslow to retirement and Sievers to a neck injury.

This week, when the Chargers and Rams meet in Anaheim, San Diego knows it risks the embarrassment of chasing the short-end of a trade all over a long field.

“Pete is a special guy to me,” Charger Coach Al Saunders said Wednesday. “I coached him for years. We were very sad to see Pete go. It was one of those things from an organizational standpoint. We had a number of players at that position. . . . It didn’t work out from a numbers standpoint, but I’m happy for Pete.”

And Pete’s happy, for Pete’s sake.

“It’s been a good move for me,” said Holohan, a Charger for 7 years. “I got the opportunity to play for a division title, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Holohan left a lot of memories and friends in San Diego, including Charger linebacker Billy Ray Smith, who figures to be seeing a lot of Holohan on Sunday.

The players are fast friends and likely to be matched up often against each other.

Pose any problems?

“No, I don’t think so,” Smith said. “If possible, it jacks you up more. Because, if it’s one thing you don’t want, it’s one of your buddies facing you on national TV in a National Football League game.”

Here’s the kicker: Charger kicker Vince Abbott is questionable for Sunday’s game with a knee injury. If he can’t make it, the team will likely sign Steve DeLine, who was with the team in training camp.

If all else fails, though, the team can always turn to Billy Ray Smith. A few years ago, in an exhibition game against New Orleans, Smith stepped in after an injury and kicked the winning field goal, only to have it nullified because he had his ankle wrapped in tape, a violation of league rules for kickers.

Undaunted, Smith took off his shoe and made the winning kick barefooted.

Smith, who doesn’t look the part at 6-feet 3-inches and 236 pounds, said he’ll be ready again.

“If DeLine goes down, I might kick a few,” Smith said. “After I’m finished being a football player, I think I’ll be a kicker.”

You mean they’re not one in the same?

“Certainly not,” he said. “That’s the biggest scam going.”

Just another reason why Saunders calls Smith, without question, “the best football player on this team.”

If you can’t stand the heat, go out and beat the Falcons. Al Saunders said he doesn’t worry about swirling rumors that have him ticketed for the next sailboat out of town, though he did admit Sunday’s 10-7 victory over Atlanta was just about the most important thing he’d ever witnessed.

“It was real big,” he said of the victory, which lifted San Diego’s record to 3-8. “It wasn’t the NFL Game of the Week by any means, but it was the game of the week for us.”

Ram Notes

Linebacker Kevin Greene (leg) and safety Anthony Newman (neck) didn’t practice Wednesday, though both are expected to play Sunday. For the Chargers, kicker Vince Abbott (knee), linebacker David Brandon (groin), safety Vencie Glenn (neck) are questionable; defensive end Leslie O’Neal (knee) and linebacker Billy Ray Smith (toe) are probable. . . . Coach John Robinson said the chances of activating linebacker Jim Collins off injured reserve this week are slim.

Robinson also suggested that Charles White would probably start ahead of Greg Bell again this week at tailback. “I think all along, we saw it as a 2-man position,” Robinson said. “It doesn’t mean it will be the same all the time. Both men will play.” . . . No sellout this week: Wednesday, the Rams still had about 19,000 tickets left. They all must be sold by 1 p.m. today in order for the local television blackout to be lifted. In other words: fat chance.