PRO FOOTBALL REPORT WEEKDAY UPDATE : CHARGERS : Bernstine’s Blocking Panned

Don’t strain yourself looking for Rod Bernstine on the field. The former tight end, now a running back and sometime H-back, has played sparingly because of less-than-devastating blocking skills.

Charger Coach Dan Henning received a plethora of letters from boosters in past weeks suggesting he could make better use of Bernstine at tight end. Henning offered a rebuttal Friday at a luncheon for Charger backers.

“Rod Bernstine is a very versatile, good athlete,” he said. “His blocking operation right now is minimal. If he were to be a big-time blocker, as a tight end with those types of receiving abilities, then you could put him in the game more often. You have to have a threat to be a blocker, or you’d better be a receiver that can beat the defensive back, because if they don’t think you can block they put a defensive back on you and say ‘OK, run.’ So Rod is at that stage in his career that he needs to improve his blocking.”

Wide receiver Nate Lewis, second in the AFC with a 25-yard average in six kickoff returns, aggravated a shoulder injury in practice and is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Houston Oilers at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Because Houston’s run-and-shoot offense will tax Charger defensive backs, Henning had planned to use running back Darrin Nelson on the kickoff team in place of cornerback Donald Frank, who will play about three times more than usual. If Lewis can’t play, he will be replaced by either Frank or wide receiver Anthony Miller. Nelson will fill the other spot.

“We think we can use Darrin in that capacity,” Henning said. “We’ve seen pluses and minuses in Donald, and Donald is playing full-time now because of the run-and-shoot. We’re trying to take as much of a load off those secondary guys for this game as we possibly can.”

Quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver, from the one-stoplight town of Boyd, Tex., was brimming with Lone Star state pride Friday, and what better time with the Houston Oilers arriving in town.

“What Texas needs to do is secede from the United States and run independently,” he said. “Except it’s such a great state and the United States needs it to survive. They would probably take the military in there and take it back.”

Safety Vencie Glenn doesn’t plan to stand around too long watching from the sidelines. Glenn, who has started 54 consecutive games for the Chargers, will miss the Houston game because of a concussion he suffered against Cleveland Sunday.

Asked about the possibility of a trip to the injured reserve list, Glenn said: “That isn’t my decision. All I know is I’m not playing this week, and I’ll be ready to play the next one.”

Lester Lyles will fill in at safety.

“I’m taking it in stride,” Lyles said. “I’ve been in this league six years, and these kind of things happen. I’ve been in this spot many times before. It’s just a matter of keeping a cool head.”

In partial reaction to the sexual harassment charge Boston Herald sportswriter Lisa Olson has made against the New England Patriots, the Chargers decided to change the location of Henning’s post-game interviews to allow an empty room for female sportswriters to conduct interviews outside of the dressing area.

NFL rules allow women equal access to the locker room, and Henning said female writers will have the choice of entering the locker room or using the separate interview room.

“We’re trying to avoid the type of thing that possibly might have happened in New England,” Henning said.

Tackle Joel Patten, who had arthroscopic surgery before training camp, will be eligible to come off injured reserve Monday, but Henning said Patten will probably remain inactive to allow for further healing. “He feels like he could probably go,” Henning said, “but the doctors are telling him that if he did go . . . he might only last three or four weeks, whereas if he waits awhile longer, his career might be longer too.” . . . Cornerback Gill Byrd said doctors have still not determined the illness of his 6-year-old son, Gill Jr., who has been running a fever and suffering from sore joints the past two weeks. “They’ve taken a conservative approach, just doing blood tests and bone scans,” Byrd said. “I think they may start taking a more aggressive approach and try to find out what is actually wrong.”