Chargers Hope to Turn Corner First

The parallels are striking. Maybe frightening.

The Cowboys and Chargers, two teams that weren’t very good last year, open a new regular season today at 1 p.m. in Texas Stadium. The hope from both sides is that bitter times are behind, with better times ahead.

The coaches--Jimmy Johnson of Dallas and Dan Henning of the Chargers--are in their second years. Each had forgettable first years. Henning was busy babysitting Jim McMahon, the punky quarterback, and attempting to figure out why his special teams were so incredibly out of touch with the rest of the NFL. And Johnson, who won a national championship at Miami in 1987, had to adapt to this stuff called losing. His first year in the NFL hit him like a slap in the face.

“A year ago, I was excited just for the simple reason that it was our first year,” said Johnson, whose team was 1-15 in 1989. “If I’d have known what I know now, I don’t know if I’d have been near as excited last year at this time.

“I think the excitement’s real now in that I think we have a legitimate chance of winning some football games. Realistically, last year we were at a level that we had very little chance in most games. We would have had to play perfect, and the opponent would have had to really play poorly for us to win.”

Other similarities:

--Both teams have rosters filled with new faces. The Cowboys have 19 new players, the Chargers 20.

--Both teams are constructed around sturdy defenses. The Cowboy starters allowed only one touchdown and four field goals in 20 opponent possessions during exhibition season. The Chargers return a group that held opponents to a 14.9-point average in the final 14 games of last season.

--Neither Henning nor Johnson is shy about making changes. Earlier this week, the Cowboys traded for fullback Alonzo Highsmith, who came from the Oilers in exchange for draft picks. They also acquired guard John Gesek from the Raiders this week.

“We feel like we have upgraded the talent on our football team,” Johnson said. “The moves that we’ve made here have been to make trades for players that have started in the league.”

--In the same week, the Chargers cut loose their starting and backup left guards (Dennis McKnight and Larry Williams) and overhauled their offensive line, moving center Courtney Hall to left guard and backup center Frank Cornish to starter. Henning doesn’t have delusions of grandeur about this group, but says the team will be better in the long run.

“We’re not going into this game with an idea that we have a veteran offensive line that’s going to be up to the challenges that it has to be up to this year,” he said. “But we’re going in with guys that will fight you and bite you. We’ll get better.”

Given that the Cowboys were nearly winless in 1989, Dallas would appear to be a perfect opponent for a team that must test a restructured offensive line and a quarterback--Mark Vlasic--who has started only two regular-season NFL games.

Vlasic, named the starter over Billy Joe Tolliver on Monday, isn’t buying the “Cowboys-are-a-pushover” theory.

“You could say they’re not one of the stronger teams in the league, but I’m not going to tell you that,” Vlasic said. “I think they’re a good ballclub.”

Looking back, the Chargers’ troubles last season began in the opener. They fell flat on their facemasks, losing to the Raiders, 40-14. Maybe the timing is better this year. The Chargers got stomped by the Raiders, 34-7, last Saturday at the Coliseum, but it was only an exhibition.

“It’s always nice to get that out of the way in preseason,” outside linebacker Billy Ray Smith said.

Though this is the Chargers’ first real test, Henning doesn’t consider this game any more crucial than the remaining 15.

“It’s very important,” he said. “All games are important. This is the only one we can play this week, so that is the most important game on our schedule.”

But last year was evidence that a bad opener can put a lid on any momentum a team has built during training camp.

“You like to win the season opener,” Vlasic said. “I think it would help set some type of tone. But if you win the first one, the second week the team’s not just going to fall over because you come in 1 and 0.”

Charger Notes

The Cowboys activated their top draft pick, running back Emmitt Smith of Florida, who ended his holdout Tuesday. . . . The Chargers haven’t won a regular-season opener since 1986, when they defeated Miami, 50-28, at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Despite that, the Chargers have an 18-12 opening day record. . . . The Cowboys were 3-1 in exhibitions last year. That was three times as many victories as they had the entire regular season. This exhibition season they were 1-3. The Chargers were 3-1, with victories over the Cowboys, the Rams and the 49ers. . . . Charger backup quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver had his fan club ready and waiting when he arrived in Dallas Saturday. His home town of Boyd is about 50 miles outside of Dallas, and his family and a number of his friends are here hoping he will get an opportunity to play.