Beuerlein Gets Start Against the Redskins

As expected, young, ebullient Steve Beuerlein became the Raider quarterback Wednesday, replacing slumping Jay Schroeder, the man for whom they surrendered a star tackle and several draft picks one year and five weeks ago.

And how’s this for timing?

Schroeder came from the Washington Redskins, Sunday’s opponent. Schroeder, who isn’t the most popular of their alumni, whose presence in the Raider lineup was specifically and publicly requested by Dexter Manley and Charles Mann, hits the pine, instead.

Beuerlein has his own nemeses, but they’re in Philadelphia and don’t figure in this week’s game. They’re the Eagle pass rushers, whose taunts he returned in kind last week . . . which is one reason the Raiders love him.

Did Clyde Simmons, as reported, threaten to “break your . . . neck?”

Does Art Shell care?

“Steve’s not going to back down from anyone,” Shell said. “Those guys on defense were talking. It’s amazing how you can talk junk on defense to the offensive guys and the offensive guy isn’t supposed to respond.

“That’s not the way it is. A guy says something derogatory to you, you don’t have to stand there and take it. You can respond. If he responds and the guys says, ‘Well, I’m going to get you next time,’ what does that mean? He’s going to try and get him anyway if he doesn’t respond.

“The team sees that (Beuerlein barking at 280-pounders). He’s fiery. He’s a fiery guy.”

No inference on Schroeder’s quieter demeanor should be drawn from that. Schroeder is leaving the lineup for more tangible reasons: The offense isn’t producing and he’s struggling.

A subdued Shell said that he didn’t like doing it but felt he had to, and that he told the quarterbacks Monday.

Difficulty notwithstanding, the move has seemed to be coming since the exhibition season, when Schroeder and the No. 1 offense sagged but Beuerlein was brilliant.

Schroeder’s standing was still somewhat tentative. His strongest promoter within the organization was Mike Shanahan. Al Davis was ambivalent from the beginning, hating to part with tackle Jim Lachey, loving Schroeder’s rifle arm, telling confidants he wasn’t sure he had done the right thing and comparing it--hopefully--to his 1967 deal for Daryle Lamonica.

Shanahan forged a strong bond with John Elway in Denver and worked closely with Schroeder in the off-season. Shanahan had his own problems, however, and when the Raiders went 0-3 in training camp, he almost started Beuerlein in the last exhibition, telling writers privately that he was thinking of it, then changing his mind--or having it changed for him--the next day when speculation stories were published.

Schroeder bailed himself out with a good performance against the Chicago Bears in the last exhibition, then started the season well. When Shanahan was fired after four games, Schroeder had a 57% completion average with five touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Since, however, he’s at 37%, one touchdown, three interceptions.

Raider memories turned quickly to Beuerlein’s exhibition season play and his relief appearance in the opener, when he completed 15 of 22 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

Shell hooked Schroeder on succeeding weeks, against the Kansas City Chiefs and Eagles. A rusty Beuerlein struggled against the Chiefs but did well last week and the handwriting was on the wall.

Today Beuerlein is No. 1 and for how long?

“The way I’m looking at it--of course, I’m not looking past this week--I’m sure if things go well, they’re not going to even consider making a change,” Beuerlein said.

“I’ve been in this business long enough to know nothing is etched in stone. Things can change very quickly, but I know if I produce and this team starts putting some points on the board and winning some ballgames, I should be around for a while.”

Beuerlein is in his third season, one of which he spent on injured reserve, completely out of harm’s way.

He is, in effect, a second-year player with only 13 pro games and eight starts to his credit.

He lacks Schroeder’s experience, size and overall athleticism. But Beuerlein is bright, has a good arm and a buoyant personality that keeps bringing him bubbling back up. The Raiders once fell in love with another young quarterback, Rusty Hilger, for his cocky persona, but Beuerlein has the confidence Hilger only wished he had.

“I don’t know what the reasons have been for success or failure in the past several weeks,” Beuerlein said Wednesday.

“But I do know when I’m out there on the field, I expect to get some points out of it. I don’t know whether my attitude carries over to my teammates or not. I think it does. They get excited and things seem to happen.

“I don’t like to let people dwell on mistakes, penalties, blown assignments. I like to look forward to the next play, no matter what the situation might be. I think that attitude is contagious, and guys are very confident and positive out there.”

Sometimes, though, Beuerlein bubbles over into the wrong huddle. A year ago he faced off with the dreaded Ronnie Lott, and Sunday he had 300-pound Jerome Brown telling the referee that if Beuerlein kept it up, Brown couldn’t be responsible for his own actions.

Beuerlein says he never starts it.

“I can honestly say I don’t try to stir things up,” he said. “If somebody says something to me, I’m very competitive and I say it back. That’s just the way I am. I don’t want people to think they can intimidate me. It’s going to get me in trouble and it has already gotten me in trouble.

“I might have to stop it. You don’t want give all those guys fuel for their fire. They’re already mad enough at quarterbacks.”

For Schroeder, it was a hard day. Significantly, he handled it better than he did his Washington benchings.

When Schroeder lost his Redskin starting job, he withdrew, angering a wide array of teammates and coaches, ultimately changing himself from the toast of D.C. into a Raider.

Wednesday, he even consented to do the conference call back to the Washington writers.

“You’re disappointed, of course,” Schroeder said. “I wanted to play better. I’m sure the whole offensive unit wanted to play better.

“The game for 100 years, it’s been that way: If an offense struggles, it’s either a coach or the quarterback. And we’ve been through both of those this year, so . . . “

His reaction to Mann, who said he was hoping Jay would play, and Manley, who said he wanted to “cut his lights?”

“That’s because they’re competitors,” Schroeder said, laughing. “They’ve never hit me before.”

Are there bad feelings?

“Not at all. I would have liked to throw against some of their defensive backs because you never got that opportunity in game situations. You look at it, it would have been fun to play, but we’ll see what happens. I may still get that opportunity.”

Not if Beuerlein has anything to say about it, and he does.

“What if the Redskins run out singing the Notre Dame fight song?” someone asked the ex-Irish quarterback.

“I can’t comment on that,” said the new, prudent Raider quarterback, grinning. “I don’t want ol’ Dexter coming after me.”