Bahr Expected to Kick Against Steelers
Charger Coach Dan Henning said Monday he is optimistic placekicker Chris Bahr’s cracked rib will heal sufficiently by next Sunday to enable him to kick against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Three Rivers Stadium.
The Chargers (4-6) have won two straight but can’t afford to lose any offense. They have slipped to 27th in the league’s total offense rankings. Only Pittsburgh (4-6) has gained fewer yards.
Bahr’s injury occurred late in the first period of the Chargers’ 14-12 come-from-behind victory over the Steelers Sunday. He left the field on a golf cart but returned in the second half to kick both the Chargers’ extra points.
Monday he was extremely sore. “When I saw him he looked like Scarlet O’Hara getting ready for the party,” Henning said, referring to corset-like look of the ace bandages covering much of Bahr’s trunk.
Had Bahr been unable to kick the extra points against the Raiders, the Chargers would have used linebacker Billy Ray Smith. Had they needed a long field goal, they would have tried punter Hank Ilesic, who took over the kickoff duties Sunday after Bahr’s injury.
“I hope by Wednesday morning Chris will be better,” Henning said. “The doctor told me he would be able to kick pain free on Sunday.”
But Henning didn’t rule out the possibility of Bahr missing the Pittsburgh game. And special teams coach Joe Madden said the “most likely” candidate to replace Bahr, if that becomes necessary, is Vince Abbott.
Abbott was the Chargers placekicker last year. But he lost his job to Bahr this summer. Abbott tried out with the Patriots last week but was not signed.
Madden said he talked to Charger trainer Keoki Kamau three times Monday about Bahr. He said Kamau told him if Bahr’s pain “localized,” he would have a good chance of playing next Sunday.
Bahr has converted seven of 10 field goals this season and 19 of 20 extra points. His longest field goal was the 49-yarder that beat the Eagles two weeks ago, 20-17, with four seconds remaining.
Chris Gannon, who doubles as the Chargers’ short and long snapper, might also miss the Steeler game. He injured his knee against the Raiders. If he can’t play next Sunday, Courtney Hall will do the short snaps and Andy Parker will handle the long-snapping responsibilities.
The Charger defense continues to improve. No team in the league has allowed fewer points in the last eight weeks. But the Charger offense has scored just seven touchdowns in the past six games.
Henning says he is concerned about the lack of touchdowns. But he says he would be more concerned if the Chargers were committing turnovers trying to do things offensively that might produce more points.
“The production value of our offense is that it does not turn the ball over and it does not make it difficult for the defense,” he says. “That’s the number one objective--don’t (mess) it up.”
Even more important than scoring touchdowns?
“Absolutely,” he said. “I don’t want you to interpret that that we’re not trying to score points. We are. But we’re not trying to score points at all costs by trying to do things outside our capabilities.”
Only four NFC teams and four AFC teams have turned the ball over fewer times than the Chargers.
Madden said there were at least eight “key” blocks on the 91-yard kickoff return by Anthony Miller Sunday that brought the Chargers back from a 12-0 deficit and got them into the game.
But Henning continues to worry about using Miller on kickoff returns. The reason: Miller ranks third in the AFC in receiving yardage (725) behind Buffalo’s Andre Reed (879) and Cleveland’s Webster Slaughter (841).
Miller finished third in the AFC in kickoff returns last year with a 25.9 yard average. But he didn’t start returning kicks regularly this year until three weeks ago.
“It makes me nervous every time we line Anthony up for a kick return,” Henning said. “He’s a guy who has given us a great deal of production (catching passes) and he could be knocked out any time.”