Kidding Aside for Grossman : Chargers: Defensive lineman says he’s tired of providing the punch line for writers and being a punching bag for coaches.

SAN DIEGO — For the past two weeks, the Chargers’ most colorful, loquacious player has refused to speak.

And it has been as incomprehensible as it has been unbelievable.

But now, Garbo talks.

“This is it for the year,” defensive lineman Burt Grossman said Wednesday. “I’m getting something off my chest, and then it’s silence again.”

It’s hard to imagine a marriage more unlikely to succeed than “Grossman and Silence.”

“I miss reading his quotes,” General Manager Bobby Beathard said.

In a little more than a year, Grossman has become the Henny Youngman/Don Rickles of the locker room. He and his one-liners will be lionized in an upcoming Sports Illustrated story, and when the media in Cleveland requested a conference-call interview Wednesday, they wanted “Burt.”

But Grossman said he will no longer be the life of the party. He said he has been stung by criticism from the Charger coaching staff, and at the same time cannot keep witty pace with the expectations of others.

“I think everybody perceives me differently than I am,” he said. “My life’s probably the most boring on the team except for Lee Williams. But people picture me around the pool with eight girls and a cellular phone.

“You can see it when I go out in public. People sit there, and there’s this silence while they wait for me to say something funny. And nothing happens. That’s why I don’t go out very often.”

Grossman should be the talk of town. In his past 11 games, he has piled up more sacks--12--than anyone else in the AFC.

Williams, who led the AFC with 14 a year ago, has nine during that time. And Leslie O’Neal, who went to the Pro Bowl last season, has 11 1/2.

“But who knows it?” Grossman said. “My coach in college told me that I was never going to be recognized for how good I was because, ‘You’re never going to be as good on the field as your mouth is off the field.’ I didn’t believe him at the time . . .

“Pick a city. If I were to walk into Green Bay, for example, I can guarantee you that 99% of the people in the stands wouldn’t know who Burt Grossman is,” he said. “But every reporter who covers Green Bay knows who I am. That’s part of the problem. I’m starting to be more of a legend in the media room than I am on the football field.”

That is only part of the problem. Grossman did not all of a sudden go quiet two weeks ago because of what the folks in Green Bay might or might not think of him. He has been hit hard by criticism from the Charger coaching staff and has been at odds on occasion with Gunther Cunningham, the defensive line coach.

“Yeah, I was hurt somewhat,” he said. “I’m a sensitive guy. I cried after watching ‘Ghost.’ ”

After the Raiders pummeled the Chargers, 34-7, in the final exhibition game, the team addressed its defensive problems. And by Grossman’s recollection, they dwelled on him.

“I didn’t think they should have brought as much down on me as they did,” he said. “I went from hero to zero in one preseason game, and I didn’t think it was handled the right way.

“I didn’t play well, but I missed most of training camp with a shoulder injury and was out of shape. I don’t think a preseason game carries as much weight as the regular season. You can go winless in the preseason and still win the Super Bowl.”

Grossman went silent after being chastised. It’s the Chargers’ loss.

“Burt can be as different as he wants to be if he plays as well as he did against Cincinnati,” defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said.

But Grossman did not play well against the Raiders.

“Burt was criticized in a team meeting, and so were others for not playing hard and going through the motions,” Lynn said. “But he wasn’t by himself.”

Grossman agreed.

“Actually, Lee and I were the whipping boys together,” he said. “But Lee’s been around, and he knew how it is, and it didn’t bother him as much. It jolted me . . . contrary to what some might think, I am not bulletproof.”

The criticism from the Charger brass struck Grossman deeply, maybe more deeply than he will allow anyone to know.

“If I just kept talking to the newspapers and saying funny things, no one would know that I’ve changed,” Grossman said. “Certain people jumped ship on me. I was at odds with the coaches, and they said I wouldn’t play well, and I said I would. And I’ve ended up doing just that.”

Grossman still has his difficulties with Cunningham. He was rapped, ripped and otherwise rubbed wrong by Cunningham after the Raider disaster.

But that’s Cunningham, a volatile and successful assistant coach who makes his way down the line game-by-game, day-by-day. And it’s a rare pass-rusher that escapes his demanding temperament.

“If everybody did what I told them to do without question, I’d probably get out of coaching,” Cunningham said. “I think he thinks I’m dogging him because I’m on him all the time, but I see the results. Maybe he’s being quiet with you guys because he wants to kill me.”

Bingo.

“Today was just an example,” Grossman said. “I’m hurt. The trainer tells me to stay out because of my knee and stitches in my chin. But one side (Cunningham) is pushing me to practice, and the trainer is saying no.

“It makes no sense. They know I’ll be there come game time, and they know how well I’m playing. But they want me running outside in my underwear and making plays when they don’t count. We have a different view on that.”

Lynn laughed. “If you listen to Burt, he’s hurt every day. That’s Burt. The guy is as good as anybody we have, but that’s Burt. He just needs his ears rubbed like a puppy once in a while.”

This is no dog, however. In the first two games this season, Grossman has come on like a bull. He is second in sacks in the AFC, tied with O’Neal, with three. In Sunday’s game with Cincinnati, he terrorized quarterback Boomer Esiason and was credited with 10 quarterback hits, two sacks, a deflected pass and 10 tackles.

“Lee Williams has been a good influence on me,” Grossman said. “I feel I’m playing well, and I know Leslie and I are starting to get some attention.

“But I don’t think Leslie and I are as good as Lee. He can play outside, inside, upside-down or whatever it takes, and in comparison, we’re one-dimensional players rushing from the outside. It really depends on the scheme they throw at us as to who gets the stats.”

No humor, no bravado. Just the facts, ma’am.

“I think everybody talks to me just to hear funny lines,” Grossman said. “When Sports Illustrated interviewed me, they asked me something stupid like, ‘How old are you?’ and then the guy expected something funny out of me. I think he went away disappointed.”

But the monster has been Grossman’s making. “By his design, he’s the witty, urbane Burt Grossman,” Lynn said. “That’s the facade he likes to put forth.”

No more.

“Everybody thinks I’ll break before the Pittsburgh game and talk like I did last year,” Grossman said. “But I’m going to keep my mouth shut.

“I mean Tom Ricketts is still on the bench, Jerry Olsavsky is still ugly, the Steelers still (stink) in my mind, and Tim Worley is still an idiot. Not much to say, nothing’s changed.”