IT’S ALL UPHILL AT MILE HIGH : Chargers Battle Bad Memories In Denver Today
The Chargers better savor this. The week leading up to today’s first place showdown/faceoff/shootout against the Broncos may be as good as it gets.
Of course they could win, which would be even better for them. It would put them in a first place tie with the Broncos at 3-2. And it would be an upset of epic proportions.
But if past performances mean anything, the injury-riddled Chargers will be lucky to score a touchdown. They haven’t produced one since 1985 in the rarefied air of Mile High Stadium, where their offense usually winds up 20,000 leagues beneath the sea. They haven’t done much better at home against Denver.
Last year the Chargers took a two-game winning streak into Week Five against the Broncos at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium and they didn’t score a point. They lost 12-0. And they dropped their next five games after that, too.
“I’m not saying we’re not going to lose,” Charger free safety Vencie Glenn said bravely. “But I guarantee you: I don’t think we’ll lose six in a row.”
“The difference between this year and last year is, last year we didn’t think we could win games,” said Charger H-back Rod Bernstine, the team’s leading receiver and second-leading rusher.
Trouble is for the Chargers, Denver may have improved more than the Chargers have since last year, when neither team won more than eight games. The Broncos have a new defensive coordinator in Wade Phillips, who has his unit ranked No. 1 in the league against the rush. Last year Denver finished second-to-last in that category.
The Broncos have a re-tooled running game that ranks fifth in the NFL after four weeks. And they also have a slumping quarterback in John Elway, which, if you subscribe to the popular NFL “wounded rhino” theory, makes the Broncos more dangerous than, well, Cleveland Stadium.
That’s where Elway completed just six passes in 19 attempts last Sunday. Denver lost 16-13 on a last-second field goal by Matt Bahr, whose brother Chris kicks for the Chargers. The defeat was a controversial one because of referee Tom Dooley’s decision to combat boorish crowd behavior by switching the direction each team was heading early in the final period.
Dooley never restored the original direction, which enabled Bahr’s game-winner to be downwind. The resultant fuss partially obscured the problems Elway has been having all season with the passing game Bronco Coach Dan Reeves tried to make more sophisticated in the off-season. The consequence has been mostly confusion.
And Elway has suffered statistically. He ranks 12th among AFC passers and he has thrown one more interception (6) than touchdowns.
“In a way that’s bad,” Glenn says of Elway’s struggle. “But hopefully we can do some things to make him have another bad game.”
Charger Coach Dan Henning has some thoughts about the ‘What’s-Wrong-With-Elway’ talk.
“I think when you’re 3-1 and you’ve got concerns about what’s going on because of statistics, you’re making an error,” Henning said.
Asked at mid-week why the Broncos had changed their passing game so drastically, Elway said, “You’ll have to ask Dan that.”
By the end of the week, Reeves had given in. The passing game, he said, was going back to basics. Reeves also said rookie running back Bobby Humphrey would become more involved in the running game. Veteran Sammy Winder, the man Humphrey will replace, said he was not surprised.
Humphrey ranks seventh in AFC rushing. Charger rookie Marion Butts, who leads the conference with five touchdowns, ranks 11th in rushing. The Charger running game ranks fourth in the league in average gain per rush. And, says Henning, “that’s definitely a barometer.”
If the Chargers can establish the run, Denver won’t be able to turn loose right outside rush man Simon Fletcher, who leads the league with 6 1/2 sacks. If Charger left tackle Joel Patten (sprained knee) can’t play, the Chargers will have to hope untested second-year offensive lineman Joey Howard can protect quarterback Jim McMahon’s blind side.
Patten, McMahon, Bernstine and Butts are just four of the 15 players Charger trainer Keoki Kamau listed on the team’s injury report this week. He upgraded Patten from doubtful to questionable on Friday. And even though he listed McMahon as questionable with a bad back, both Henning and McMahon said McMahon will start and play.
The last time McMahon played at Mile High Stadium was in 1987. It was also the first time in his NFL career he passed for more than 300 yards. His team at the time, Chicago, lost 31-29. Elway threw for 341 yards in the same game.
McMahon lightly dismisses hype that accentuates any rivalry he might have with Elway. “My motivation is that we have a chance to be tied for first after this game,” McMahon says. “I’m not playing against John.”
Charger Notes
Denver nose tackle Greg Kragen, out with a knee injury, will be replaced by right end Andre Townsend. Either Ron Holmes or Warren Powers will take Townsend’s place at right end. . . . Not long ago, Charger Coach Dan Henning said he thought Raider owner Al Davis would make a great commissioner for the NFL. Seems people can’t stop talking about the Raiders. Bronco quarterback John Elway had this to say about Mike Shanahan, the coach Davis fired Tuesday: “I was disappointed for Mike because I know he wanted to make it happen there (with the Raiders). But I also think that in the long run, maybe it’s the best thing for Mike Shanahan because of the fact, in just talking to him, I don’t know how happy he was in that situation. I don’t think he had the control he wanted. I’m sure it (the firing) hurts right now. But probably in the long run it’s going to help him that he’s outta there.” . . . Even though the Chargers haven’t scored a touchdown in Denver since 1985, they beat the Broncos there, 9-3, in 1986. . . . Denver kicker David Treadwell leads the AFC in scoring with 38 points on nine of nine field goals and 11 of 11 extra points. His longest field goal is 46 yards. . . . Bronco running back Bobby Humphrey has had at least one gain of 10 yards or more in each of Denver’s last three games. . . . The Chargers have outscored opponents, 37-12, in the final period. . . . Denver Coach Dan Reeves’ 50-13 coaching record at home from 1981-89 is the best in the NFL during that span. . . . The Broncos have not allowed any of their opponents this year to rush for 100 yards or more.