Chargers Look to Be Assembling a New Air Force : Led by Anthony Miller, Young Receivers Catch 389 Yards Worth of McMahon Passes

In the good old days of Air Coryell and Sid Gillman, Charger receivers used to roam through opposing secondaries making the kinds of catches that made highlight films necessary.

Guys named J.J., Kellen, Charlie and Wes were perennial all-pros for the Don Coryell teams of the late 1970s and early ‘80s.

In the ‘60s, Lance Alworth, Gary Garrison, Don Norton and Dave Kocourek executed Gillman’s revolutionary offense and made impressions at Balboa Stadium that would change the way pro football teams passed the ball.

So what legacies will the Chargers of the ‘90s leave?

Well, if Sunday’s game--a 34-27 loss to the Houston Oilers--is any indication, Anthony Miller, Rod Bernstine, Quinn Early and Jamie Holland may someday find their names grouped with the other legends in the Charger record book.

Along with tight end Arthur Cox, receiver Dana Brinson and running backs Tim Spencer and Marion Butts, the group enabled quarterback Jim McMahon to throw for a career-high 389 yards against Houston.

McMahon’s total is the eighth best in Charger history and the most since Dan Fouts’ 436 yards on Nov. 10, 1985, against the Raiders.

But while the yardage was impressive and the play of the receivers was good, McMahon said both could have been better.

“We should have thrown for 500 yards today. We had a couple guys open I didn’t hit, and we had a couple of balls dropped,” he said.

“They have the potential to be as good (as us),” said Charlie Joiner, the receivers coach and Chargers’ all-time leading receiver with 586 receptions for 9,203 yards.

“Those guys are young and getting better. I’m very proud of them today. But what I’m most proud of is that they didn’t give up.”

He added, “We all came together after we’d been in the league awhile. Those guys are coming in and learning together while they’re young. This is going to be a good group.”

Miller, a 1988 No. 1 draft choice from Tennessee, had a game-high 162 yards receiving. His seven catches included two touchdowns (63 and 10 yards) and four catches for 58 yards in the final drive, when the Chargers pulled to within 34-27 with 55 seconds remaining.

“Anthony Miller is one of the best receivers in this league,” McMahon said. “If people want to cover him man-to-man, he’s going to catch a lot of balls.”

Said Miller: “It’s my best game as a pro, but I want to have better games. I made some mistakes today, too. I still have to get better with my reads.”

One in particular was right on the money. Of course, Mr. Magoo could have seen this one developing; no one was covering Miller.

In the first quarter, with the Chargers trailing, 3-0, Miller went in motion to the left sideline. When he cut up field, no defender picked him up. At the 25, Miller had to slow up before hauling in a long but underthrown McMahon pass. He then planted and cut to his right to avoid a tackler coming from behind before reaching the end zone.

“It was just a broken play in their defense,” Miller explained. “I really couldn’t believe it. I guess he thought it was a run. Nobody picked me up.”

McMahon almost did not pick him up, either.

“I had trouble finding him at first,” McMahon said. “He was supposed to be in the middle of the field, and he was way out by the sideline.”

On Miller’s second touchdown, a 10-yard grab in the back of the end zone, McMahon rolled to his right, looking to hit one of three receivers that had flooded the right side of the end zone. With plenty of time, McMahon motioned Miller to the far side before lofting the scoring pass.

Plays such as those had receivers, coaches and McMahon uttering phrases with the words “good rapport” and “gaining confidence” in them.

While Miller led in yardage, third-year H-back Rod Bernstine, himself a No. 1 draft choice in 1987, had a game-high eight catches for 78 yards, including six for 54 yards in the first half. Bernstine also ran two times, gaining 14 and 10 yards.

Cox, a big tight end used primarily for blocking, caught four passes for 45 yards. Early added three for 46 yards, Holland two for 33 yards; Brinson, Butts and Spencer had one apiece.

Said Bernstine, “When you’ve got McMahon and the receivers we have, I think we can put the ball in the end zone from any place on the field.”