Tolliver Gets Spoonful of Special-Ted

Special-Ted. Sounds like breakfast food. Which it isn’t. But it has everything to do with spoon-feeding. Which is what Ted Tollner, the Chargers’ quarterback coach, has been doing with Billy Joe Tolliver this week.

Tolliver is the Charger rookie with an arm like a carbine who will make his first NFL start today in front of approximately 60,000 screaming meemies at the noisy Kingdome.

“Flannel shirts,” Charger defensive lineman Joe Phillips calls Seahawk fans. With flannel mouths.

Seattle’s beloved Seahawks (3-4) have lost three in a row at the Kingdome for the first time since 1980. That’s why their backers can’t wait to get their lungs on Tolliver. The phrase “fresh meat” comes to mind. Moreover, Seattle has won 11 of its past 12 against the Chargers.

Which brings us back to Special-Ted. When Charger Coach Dan Henning decided early in the week to replace the ailing and ineffective Jim McMahon with Tolliver, Tollner took a special interest in the decision.

“I had Special-Ted film work and Special-Ted practice work,” Tolliver said. “I got Special-Ted work every day.”

“This is not an experiment,” Tollner said.

Henning’s decision was an effort to snap the three-game losing streak that has dropped his team to 2-5. It worked for his predecessor, Al Saunders, last year in Week 11 when Mark Vlasic’s first start at quarterback helped produce a 10-7 victory. But it was against the Falcons. In front of fewer than 27,000 mostly uninterested people in Atlanta. Vlasic completed 16 of 32 for 190 yards that day. The following week he left the game against the Rams with torn knee ligaments and hasn’t played since.

A lot of quarterbacks with higher public profiles than Vlasic have done a lot worse in their first NFL starts. Terry Bradshaw, who would later win four Super Bowl rings in four tries for Pittsburgh, was four of 16 with an interception in his first start. Former Charger Dan Fouts was 12 of 30 with an interception. Denver’s John Elway was one of eight.

Tolliver prefers to remember his first start in college at Texas Tech. He was just a freshman when they threw him in against TCU. The guy ahead of him was also a freshman. But, said Tolliver, that guy hadn’t been doing very well. So in went Billy Joe.

TCU blitzed on Tolliver’s first pass and he calmly found running back Ansel Cole for a 23-yard touchdown. Tolliver wound up throwing for 422 yards and four touchdowns that day and Texas Tech won, 63-7.

“Remember it like it was yesterday,” Tolliver says. “But it was no big deal to me. It’s today and tomorrow that count.”

Well, this is a big deal for the Chargers, who, if they lose, virtually will dash any hope of finishing .500. The playoffs? Dream on.

Tolliver’s strength is his arm. McMahon’s strength was his ability to read defenses. Tollner says the two cancel each other out in any comparison questions about who is the better quarterback.

It’s not political for them to say so, but the happiest Chargers this week are Anthony Miller and Jamie Holland, the team’s two swift wide receivers. Seattle’s defense has allowed 22 pass plays of 20 yards or more this year, 10 of those were 40 yards or more.

In the Chargers’ 17-16 loss to the Seahawks two weeks ago at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, McMahon threw for 286 yards. Miller caught seven passes for 116 yards. Holland caught just three for 23.

Holland, the Chargers’ leading receiver last year with 39 receptions, won’t say he’s excited about the switch from McMahon. But he has caught only 11 passes in 1989. He will say he likes what he sees in Tolliver.

“He’s excited,” Holland says. “You can tell. It’s in his eyes. But he’s calm, too. I think he’s the kind of guy who can handle that stuff.”

Seattle is not a blitzing team, but Tollner says he expects to see more than usual from the Seahawks simply because it is Tolliver’s first start. Outside linebacker Rufus Porter, a second-year free agent from Southern, had three sacks against the Chargers two weeks ago and two more in Seattle’s overtime loss to Denver last Sunday, 24-21.

Seattle would have won that game if place-kicker Norm Johnson hadn’t pulled a 40-yard field goal wide left in overtime. The Chargers probably would have beaten Seattle Oct. 15 if the Seahawks hadn’t blocked a Chris Bahr extra point attempt and a Bahr field goal attempt--both in the fourth quarter.

“Our confidence is not very high,” says Seattle Coach Chuck Knox. “And that’s to be expected. Confidence comes with success.”

Tolliver, like McMahon, has never lacked confidence. He threw four touchdown passes in five quarters during the preseason before breaking his left collarbone against Phoenix. Doctors say the collarbone has healed.

“I hope Seattle blitzes,” Tolliver says. “That means you get man-to-man coverage. But I don’t think they’ll change their game plan just because of me. You make a few big plays and that’ll change their attitude toward blitzes.

“I’m not saying I’m gonna go out and set the world on fire. I’m just saying I’m not expecting to do terrible.”

Says Charger right tackle Brett Miller, “Billy Joe Tolliver is confident, he knows the offense and he doesn’t mince words.”

And what of McMahon if Tolliver does set the world on fire? Henning has indicated he will stay with Tolliver next week if he plays well. Henning hasn’t said who will replace Tolliver today if the need arises. “It will depend on the game,” he says.

Seattle, which ranks 15th in NFL pass offense and 19th in pass defense, will get a boost from the return of wide receiver Steve Largent. Largent fractured his elbow in the season opener at Philadelphia and has spent the last six weeks on injured reserve. The next touchdown reception he gets will tie the NFL career mark of 99 held by the legendary Don Hutson.

Charger Notes

The parents of rookie Charger quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver traveled all the way from tiny Boyd, Tex., this week to visit their son in San Diego. His mother’s reaction to the news he will start against Seattle? “She thinks it’s exciting and all,” Billy Joe said. “But she’s got her own problems.” . . . The Chargers and the Colts are the only teams in the league to allow 20 or fewer points in each of their last five games.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS First NFL starts of selected quarterbacks (Elway did not complete game; NA--not available):

Name, Team When Opponent PC PA Yds TD Int Bob Griese, Miami Game 1, ’67 Kansas City 11 22 101 0 2 Roger Staubach, Dallas Game 1, ’69 St. Louis 7 15 220 1 0 Terry Bradshaw, Pitt. Game 1, ’70 Houston 4 16 70 0 1 Dan Fouts, Chargers Game 5, ’73 at Oakland 12 30 183 2 1 Jim McMahon, Chicago Game 3, ’82 Detroit 16 27 233 2 3 John Elway, Denver Game 1, ’83 at Pittsburgh 1 8 14 0 1 Warren Moon, Houston Game 1, ’84 Raiders 12 29 201 2 0 Jim Kelly, Buffalo Game 1, ’86 N.Y. Jets 20 33 292 3 1 Don Majkowski, G. Bay Game 2, ’87 Denver 10 20 121 1 1 Chris Miller, Atlanta Game 14, ’87 at S. Francisco 13 36 186 0 4 Steve Beuerlein, Raiders Game 1, ’88 Chargers 13 29 171 0 0 Chris Chandler, Indian. Game 4, ’88 Miami 10 18 110 0 1 Mark Rypien, Wash. Game 4, ’88 at Phoenix 26 41 303 3 1 Mark Vlasic, Chargers Game 11, ’89 at Atlanta 16 32 190 0 2

Name, Team Sack Result Bob Griese, Miami NA L 24-0 Roger Staubach, Dallas NA W 24-3 Terry Bradshaw, Pitt. NA L 19-7 Dan Fouts, Chargers 1 L 27-17 Jim McMahon, Chicago 3 W 20-17 John Elway, Denver 4 W 14-10 Warren Moon, Houston 5 L 24-14 Jim Kelly, Buffalo 1 L 28-24 Don Majkowski, G. Bay 3 T 17-17 Chris Miller, Atlanta 3 L 35-7 Steve Beuerlein, Raiders 1 W 24-13 Chris Chandler, Indian. 4 W 15-13 Mark Rypien, Wash. 4 L 30-21 Mark Vlasic, Chargers 1 W 10-7