They’ll Be Chargers On the Spot : Football: Fringe players try to work their way into Henning’s plans with good showings tonight against Rams.
The Rams and the Chargers will play at 7 tonight in Anaheim Stadium using a whole lot more players than are necessary for an NFL football game. But that’s what exhibition season is all about . . . showtime for the fringe players.
Teams are allowed 80-man rosters until Aug. 28., 60 until Sept. 3 and 47 during the regular season.
Those Chargers who know they still will be around for the Sept. 9 opener at Dallas, such as defensive end Burt Grossman, get motivated for exhibition games mostly so people watching don’t think they’ve lost their touch in the off-season.
“Anytime you put on the uniform,” Grossman said, “you’ve still got to show them.”
But Grossman doesn’t have to worry about a roster spot. A guy such as Jerry Mays, a 5-foot-7, 173-pound running back from Georgia Tech, does.
Mays is one of the pack. He wasn’t selected in April’s draft but was picked up by the Chargers as a free agent.
Since the running back position is well stocked, it’s up to Mays to prove he is versatile. He’ll shag punts tonight, try to make a few people miss on the return and try not to dwell on what might happen 10 days from now.
“The pressure comes from yourself,” Mays said. “I try to stay relaxed and just do my job. Hopefully, I can do something that makes them remember me.”
How has he done so far?
“As long as you’re here, I guess so far so good,” he said.
That’s often a player’s only way of telling. David Archer, a backup quarterback released two weeks ago, had no idea he was about to be dumped.
Other players who will be under the microscope tonight are receivers Walter Wilson and Nate Lewis, running back Thomas Sanders and Rod Bernstine, whatever position he plays. At one time or another, Bernstine has been an H-back, a tight end and a running back. He won’t be cut, but the Chargers will either have to find a spot for him or make a trade.
Coach Dan Henning plans to start Billy Joe Tolliver at quarterback and relieve him with Mark Vlasic, who will be returning to Los Angeles for his first game action since injuring his knee there on Nov. 20, 1988. That kept him out the remainder of the season and all of last season.
At this point, Tolliver still has a firm grip on the starting job, but Vlasic made a strong showing in last Saturday’s 28-16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, completing 11 of 13 passes for 135 yards and no interceptions.
Still on the “Missing in Negotiations” list are holdouts Leslie O’Neal and Junior Seau. Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard left camp on Friday afternoon with a surfboard in his hand to meet with O’Neal’s agent, Marvin Demoff, in Leucadia. That lasted about an hour and a half.
Said Demoff: “We’re close.”
Another meeting is scheduled for today.
Seau, a linebacker from USC who was the Chargers’ first-round draft selection, has been out of camp 29 days. No meeting with Steve Feldman, Seau’s agent, is on the agenda, Beathard said.
By contrast, the Rams have all of their draft selections signed and practicing. Ram Coach John Robinson says that is the way it should be.
“It’s ridiculous for somebody to start a job and then not show up for the training period,” he said. “That’s hard to believe, really, when you think about it. People would laugh at you if you said ‘Well, I’m going to get a job with Xerox and there’s a two-week training period but I won’t go. I’ll show up after it.’ It really destroys the first season.”
The Rams went through it last year. Defensive tackle Bill Hawkins and running back Cleveland Gary had extended holdouts and, Robinson said, were less effective as a result of it.
Last weekend, the Chargers opened the exhibition season with a 28-16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in San Diego. In their opener, the Rams defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 19-3, at the American Bowl in Berlin--a trip that was fun but had its downside, Robinson said.
“You fall behind in terms of putting things in and making progress,” he said. “I feel now that we’ve come back we’re just behind in terms of getting ready to play the season.”
This game, though primarily evaluative, may help the Rams catch up. But you get the idea this may not be precision football when Robinson says: “We try to avoid any real focus in preseason games.”
Charger Notes
The Chargers released two players Friday: outside linebacker Ken Woodard and nose tackle Tony Gunn, a free agent from Baker University in Kansas. Woodard, 30, was the Chargers’ outstanding special teams player last season, but Charger Coach Dan Henning said that Woodard (6-1, 220) probably wouldn’t have made the team this year because there are several younger players with similar skills who are bigger. . . . Guard Mike Simmonds, a Plan B free agent from Tampa Bay who dislocated his kneecap in practice Wednesday, is out for the season and will undergo surgery, Henning said. Simmonds suffered a similar injury last season. This one may be career-threatening. “The nature of the business is going to make it more difficult for him to be considered,” Henning said. “He’ll have to pass a lot of tests and a lot of physical tests.” . . . Tight end Arthur Cox (back strain) underwent tests Friday and will not play tonight against the Rams. Henning said his recovery has been slow and his back muscles are still swollen.