Tolliver Has Just a Fair Day as Chargers Lose
Charger quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver slumped against the back of a storage shed Saturday, hung his ahead, talked in a whisper and acted as if he had just lost the Super Bowl.
“I always sulk when I lose,” he said.
Actually, the Chargers had just lost a meaningless scrimmage to the Dallas Cowboys, 14-3.
Which means Tolliver was acting like the rookie he is.
Still, Tolliver led all three Charger quarterbacks with seven completions in 13 attempts for 76 yards. Mark Malone, last year’s starter, completed one of four for 24 yards. David Archer was two for four for 40 yards.
Vince Abbott’s 19-yard field goal accounted for the Chargers’ only points in the controlled scrimmage that gave each team a chance to run 40 offensive plays. Tim Spencer led all Charger running backs with 56 yards on nine rushes. The two Dallas touchdowns came on runs of four yards by former Eagle Junior Tautalatasi and one yard by Broderick Sargent.
“I think Billy Joe showed some poise,” Charger Coach Dan Henning said of Tolliver. “For how long he’s been here, I thought he did all right.”
Tolliver, a second-rounder from Texas Tech, didn’t sign a contract with the Chargers until last Sunday.
“I have a better sense of what’s going on since I got here,” he said. “But I have a long way to go. I’ve got a lot to learn. Playing against another professional team for the first time was a lot of fun. But the bottom line was winning, and we didn’t.”
Former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, the highest-paid quarterback on the field, completed three of five for 26 yards. But the best looking passer on either side was Dallas rookie Steve Walsh, who connected on all six of his passes for 74 yards.
The Chargers had two other excellent opportunities to score. But the Cowboy defense rose up to stop Spencer on fourth-and-goal from the half-yard line. Earlier, Steve DeLine missed a 33-yard field goal attempt for the Chargers.
Charger Notes
Neither Charger starting inside linebacker played in Saturday’s scrimmage. Gary Plummer only reported to camp last week, and ex-Ram Jim Collins is saving his surgically repaired knee for the pre- and regular-season. . . . If Billy Joe Tolliver hadn’t signed with the Chargers, he could have joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. He is on their negotiating list. “Billy Joe’s style would be ideal for our league,” said Mike McCarthy, the Ti-Cats personnel director who was in attendance at the scrimmage Saturday. “But we don’t have the kind of money to get a guy like Tolliver.”