Chargers’ Victory Proves to Be Costly for Smith and Vlasic : Injured Pair Will Miss Rest of Season
The price of Sunday’s 38-24 upset victory over the Rams rose dramatically Monday for the Chargers.
Linebacker Billy Ray Smith, the team’s best defensive player, will miss the remainder of the season. Smith has a hairline fracture in his right leg.
The news arrived on the heels of Sunday’s knee injury to quarterback Mark Vlasic that ended his season. Vlasic will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week. Smith’s leg will be placed in a removable cast.
“I’m sure he (Smith) is more disappointed than anybody,” said Steve Ortmayer, Charger director of football operations. “This is the culmination for him of a year that almost doesn’t exist.”
Smith started the first game of the year and injured a calf muscle. He missed the next 3 games and came off the bench in Week 5. He started every game since then. But he told defensive coordinator Ron Lynn the leg was bothering him during pregame warmups. X-rays taken after Sunday’s game showed the hairline fracture in the fibula. Before this year, Smith had missed only one game in his five NFL seasons.
Lynn called the report on Smith “a good way to put a damper on a good victory.”
Smith said he thought he initially hurt the leg in the fourth quarter 2 weeks ago against Atlanta. And he said he was not surprised he is out for the year. He even joked about his status. “The injury will give me more time to pursue my TV career,” he said. “If only they were still doing the ‘Love Boat’, I’d have it made.”
The Chargers have not decided who will replace Smith on the roster. Ortmayer said he expects former Chicago quarterback Steve Fuller to take Vlasic’s roster spot and join the Chargers Wednesday. Fuller spent much of this summer in training camp with the Chargers.
Vlasic’s injury occurred in the third quarter on a play that began with a false-start penalty against right tackle David Richards. The flag was late so the play continued.
“The play should have been stopped by the officials,” Charger offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome said. But, Rhome added, the offensive linemen continued to carry out their assignments.
There had been talk that Ram defensive end Shawn Miller got to Vlasic’s knee because a Charger offensive lineman thought he had heard a whistle. Rhome said that was not the case.
Ortmayer said he would not file a complaint with the NFL office for the officials’ inability to stop the play. “It’s just beating a dead horse,” he said. “It’s not gonna bring our quarterback back. Dead horse.”
Said Charger Coach Al Saunders: “It was an aggressive play on the part of their defense. There was nothing illegal about it. I don’t think there’s any blame to be put on anybody. It’s just a tragic incident and it’s unfortunate it happened.”
After the game, team physician Gary Losse compared the ligament damage in Vlasic’s knee to the ligament damage that sidelined Charger defensive end Leslie O’Neal for more than 22 months after he went down against the Colts late in the 1986 season.
Ortmayer called Losse’s remarks “premature.” He said he expects Vlasic to return for the Chargers’ minicamp this spring until he hears otherwise. The Chargers’ current 2-game winning streak coincides with Vlasic’s only NFL starts.
The Chargers (4-8) still have a mathematical chance to win the AFC West title. They are not holding their breath.
First of all, they would have to win their remaining 4 games against, in order, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. And they would need 2 of the 3 teams ahead of them in the standings--Seattle, Denver and the Raiders, all 6-6--to tie at least 1 game. The other team would have to lose 3 of 4.
For example, if the Seahawks and the Broncos finish 7-8-1 and the Raiders finish 7-9, the Chargers win the division at 8-8.
The Chargers’ chances of earning a wild-card berth are even more muddled and less likely. Tune in next week.
Charger Notes
The Chargers will open their ticket office, Window E at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday to sell tickets for Sunday’s game against the 49ers. The team will retire former Charger quarterback Dan Fouts’ jersey at halftime. . . . Injured Charger offensive lineman John Clay, acquired from the Raiders this summer in the controversial trade that sent Jim Lachey to the Raiders, will have neck surgery today. . . . The early injury report for the 49ers game: running back Barry Redden (shoulder) questionable; running back Tim Spencer (knee) questionable; linebacker David Brandon (knee) questionable; safety Vencie Glenn (shoulder) probable; defensive end Leslie O’Neal (knee) probable; linebacker Gary Plummer (knee and shoulder) probable and Pat Miller (hamstring) probable.