NFL REPORT / WEEKDAY UPDATE : CHARGERS : Butts Shoulders the Blame for Missing Block on Fake

The mystery man who missed the block on the botched fake punt that contributed to the Chargers’ 17-14 loss Sunday to the Cowboys was running back Marion Butts. On the play, linebacker Gary Plummer called an audible. Ten men heard it. Butts didn’t. So when the ball was hiked to Plummer, he ran smack into Cowboy safety Bill Bates. From there, the Chargers swirled down the drain.

“When (the coach) calls your number, he intends for you to get the job done,” Butts said. “Ten guys were ready and I wasn’t. Hopefully, I can do something to make up for the mistake I made.”

Charger Coach Dan Henning took responsibility for the play, saying he shouldn’t have made the call. Butts would have none of that.

“All the blame shouldn’t go to the coaches,” Butts said. “The players sometimes make mistakes. You can’t really blame the coaches. You kind of have to blame yourself. If I would have picked up that block, the only person that could have tried to cover was the deep man and he was probably 40 yards deep.”

Butts said he missed the call while yelling to intimidate the opposing lineman. He looked back after the play was run and thought Plummer had fumbled. Upon his arrival at the sideline, he was told otherwise by Henning.

“He handled it pretty well,” Butts said. “He’s a pretty calm coach.”

The Chargers released veteran guard Tom Toth on Monday. General Manager Bobby Beathard said that the Chargers didn’t think Toth was the right man for the job.

Beathard’s list of possible replacements includes: Tony Brown, waived by the Dolphins, Curt Singer and Mike Withycombe, waived by the Jets, and Michael Harris, waived by the Chiefs.

Toth, a five-year veteran who was signed as a Plan B free agent from Miami, was Courtney Hall’s back up at left guard.

The Chargers season ticket sales are up this year for the first time in six years, president assistant Jack Teele said. Last year, the Chargers sold 38,124 season tickets. The team’s all-time high was 56,600 in 1984, the year San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium was expanded.

Teele said sales may tail off this week after Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys. “I don’t think we’ll sell as many as we’d hoped,” he said. “Fans are very sensitive to wins and losses.”

Kicker Fuad Reveiz had a rather inauspicious debut to his Charger career, missing a 31-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

For now, Reveiz’s roster spot is safe, Henning said. “We’ll go with the one we have,” Henning said. “I feel like he’s had his two misses for the first half of the season.”