Vlasic Gets Chargers’ High Sign : Football: Henning opts for former backup as starter over Tolliver. Roster cuts represent an upheaval on offensive line.
Six days before their season opener, the Chargers flip-flopped their quarterbacks and gave the new starter an offensive line chock full of inexperience.
Charger Coach Dan Henning said Mark Vlasic has supplanted Billy Joe Tolliver as the starting quarterback. And Vlasic will have only this week to get acquainted with a retooled offensive line.
In trimming their roster Monday from 60 to the required 47, the Chargers released veteran guard Dennis McKnight and Larry Williams, his backup. Other veterans released Monday were running backs Darrin Nelson, Thomas Sanders and Tim Spencer.
In opting for youth and potential, the Chargers have left themselves with an offensive line that contains four players who have never started a regular-season game at their current position.
Courtney Hall, who started 16 games at center last season, will move to left guard. Rookie Frank Cornish has become the starting center. Eric Floyd, a member of the Chargers’ developmental squad for 13 games last season, will start at left tackle in place of Joel Patten, who is recovering from a knee injury. David Richards remains at right guard. Broderick Thompson will be the right tackle. He switched positions during the offseason after starting 16 games at guard last season.
This might change the question surrounding the quarterbacks from “Who will start?” to “Who will survive?” Vlasic says he isn’t sweating it.
“When you move guys around you take that chance,” he said. “I think we have guys that are good enough players that they can handle playing any position they put them in.”
And how is Tolliver handling being put on the sidelines for Sunday’s opener against Dallas?
“It’s frustrating,” Tolliver said. “I’m not going to sugar-coat anything, but at the same time, Mark has played well and he deserves a chance.
“What can I say? Sure I’m disappointed. Sure I wanted to be the guy going in there. It’s just a situation where Mark had an excellent camp and he deserves a chance to play.”
No question Vlasic has been steadier than Tolliver through the exhibition season. In completing 38 of 53 passes for 495 yards, he has demonstrated more touch than Tolliver, who often underthrew his receivers on the deeper patterns.
Of course, the quarterback switch isn’t set in stone. Henning and quarterback coach Ted Tollner made that clear, saying the situation would be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.
“Nothing is permanent,” Henning said.
Look no further than Monday’s cuts for testimony to that. McKnight was a Pro Bowl alternate two years ago. After missing last season with a knee injury, he worked long hours to rehabilitate during the offseason and then started all four exhibition games this season.
Sunday night he got a call from Henning and was told he didn’t fit into the Chargers’ plans. McKnight began to sense he was on shaky ground after the third exhibition game against the 49ers, in which he said he didn’t play well.
“I knew from then on that I was definitely down on their list,” said McKnight, who said he hopes to be picked up by another team. “They’ve taken away my job. At least they can’t ever take away my memories.”
McKnight was the only remaining player who has worn a Charger uniform in the playoffs. But Henning made it clear the Chargers will rely on the progression of young talent.
At running back, rookie Jerry Mays was kept in favor of Nelson, Spencer and Sanders, all of whom are NFL-tested. Mays tipped the balance in his favor with his ability to return punts, though Henning said he will try to find a way to bring Nelson back if future roster moves allow.
As for the offensive line, Henning concedes the Chargers are taking a gamble, but it is a situation that requires the team to develop its youth.
“We’re not going to sit there and push along the way we are,” Henning said. “We’re not as good as we’d like to be but we have to find a way to get better.
“I see us as a team that has to struggle for every yard, every down, every first down, every touchdown that we get. And we need to get better than that. We need to be able to overcome circumstances in ballgames and right not we’re not going that.
“It’s a calculated risk, but I think it’s the best thing for the football team for now and for the future.”
That figured into Sanders’ release. He led the Chargers in rushing during the exhibition season with 169 yards on 37 carries, but Henning was concerned about his style of holding the football and said he wasn’t a significant contributor on special teams.
Other members of the cut list Monday included defensive lineman Nate Hill, safety Michael Brooks, guard Jeff Novak, defensive end Gerald Robinson, safety Bruce Plummer, tackle Joe Staysniak, tight end Andy Parker and wide receiver Terence Cleveland.
If this were an unusually busy cut day, it isn’t the first for Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard, who said Joe Gibbs started four rookies on the Washington Redskins’ offensive line in 1981 when Beathard was the general manager there.
That season the Redskins lost the first five games but finished strong, winning eight of their last 11.
“I don’t know if there’s anything you can compare there,” Beathard said, “but those guys turned out to be pretty good players.”
Charger Notes
Coach Dan Henning said tight end Arthur Cox (back strain) and tackle Leo Goeas (foot) likely will remain on the active roster rather than going on injured reserve. Tackle Joel Patten (knee) is still a candidate for injured reserve. . . . General Manager Bobby Beathard said the Chargers will look at two or three players who were on Monday’s waiver wire. The Chargers, he said, are looking for offensive linemen and defensive backs. . . . Beathard said other teams have shown interest in running backs Thomas Sanders and Darrin Nelson. . . . When asked about the Chargers’ move toward younger players, waived running back Tim Spencer said: “I don’t really feel old at 29.”