Rush Job Not Getting Done : Chargers: Defense hasn’t been able to pressure opposing quarterbacks in losses to Houston and Pittsburgh. Have opponents adjusted, have injuries taken their toll, or has complacency set in?
Questions abound when a football team gets off to a 1-4 start, but one stands out where the stumbling Chargers are concerned:
What ever became of the team’s vaunted pass rush? The one that left Troy Aikman shaken, that pestered Boomer Esiason and that hammered Bernie Kosar into submission.
In recent years, as the Chargers have become defense-oriented after the unforgettable era of Air Coryell, their entire scheme has been predicated on putting pressure on the passer. All of a sudden, the pressure has vanished.
“Our pride and joy has been getting to the quarterback,” said Gunther Cunningham, the defensive line coach. “We have to get back to doing it if we’re going to come out of this.”
True, the Chargers have been credited with five sacks in the past two games, but three were made by Martin Bayless on safety blitzes. The big three up front--Lee Williams, Burt Grossman and Leslie O’Neal--have been uncharacteristically quiet. Grossman managed a sack and a half in those two games, losses to Houston and Pittsburgh, and that was it for the three men who are supposed to make life miserable for quarterbacks.
Business could pick up Sunday when the Chargers meet the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J., because Ken O’Brien is one of the most vulnerable quarterbacks in the NFL. O’Brien set a league record in 1985 when he was sacked 62 times (broken by Philadelphia’s Randall Cunningham last season with 72) and already has been victimized 15 times this year.
But something seems to be amiss with the Chargers, and reasons for the drought are hard to come by, especially in view of what O’Neal, Williams and Grossman accomplished in the first three games.
Against Dallas, Cincinnati and Cleveland, O’Neal had 3 1/2 sacks and Williams and Grossman three each. Beyond that, they had so many hurries and knockdowns that they left their victims beaten and battered. Aikman, Esiason and Kosar were lucky to be on their feet when the games ended.
No such punishment was meted out to Warren Moon of the Oilers or the pair who shared quarterback duties for the Steelers, Bubby Brister and Rick Strom. The Charger rushers rarely were able to get close to them, let alone knock them down.
The result of this non-aggression was that Moon, Brister and Strom completed 45 of 71 passes for 555 yards and two touchdowns. Even the best of secondaries can’t function effectively without a pass rush, and San Diego’s is not considered one of the best.
Gunther Cunningham blames the wrong-way turnaround more on what the opposition has done than on what his pass-rushers haven’t done.
“Teams have made adjustments against us,” Cunningham said. “They’re half rolling out and throwing a lot of quick passes. They’re putting a lot of variety in their offenses. We’re seeing everything from four wide receivers and one back to the conventional set of one tight end, two wide receivers and two backs.
“Against the run and shoot that Houston uses, rushing the passer is a problem. Moon is always on the move. Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks would take a half-roll and three quick steps and then get rid of the ball.”
The Chargers had three sacks against the Oilers, Bayless making two and Grossman and nose tackle George Hinkle sharing the other. They had two against the Steelers, one each by Bayless and Grossman.
“We’re working this week on third-down plays a bit more,” Cunningham said. “We’re changing some things. Third downs have really been hurting us.”
Actually, “killing us” might have been a more accurate way of putting it. Houston converted seven of 12 third-down situations, Pittsburgh 12 of 16. By contrast, the Chargers’ first three opponents were under .500 on third down--Dallas four of 14, Cincinnati six of 13 and Cleveland four of 13.
“We haven’t played spectacularly,” defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said. “We need to adjust and adapt a little quicker. Also, our coverage needs to be better to give the rush men a chance to get there. It hasn’t been that good.
“Teams have been doing different things--a three-step drop, moving out the pocket, keeping more people in to block. We want to get into one-on-one situations, and when we do, we expect to win.
“The whole defense has to have greater concentration and single-mindedness of purpose. Lately, these qualities have been sporadic.”
Rookie linebacker Junior Seau was an outstanding pass-rusher at USC, but he is without a sack so far.
“Junior missed training camp, and he hasn’t caught up,” Lynn said. “We’d like to have him do a lot of things that he hasn’t done.”
Seau, who has been less than impressive in his first five pro games, said, “I have no control over the pass rush. I played outside in college. Now I’m a middle linebacker, and I do whatever I can.”
Williams went into this season with more sacks (57) than any player in the AFC in the past five years. He reached a career high of 15 in 1986 and fell one short of that number in 1989. His pass-rushing skills have made him a Pro Bowl starter the past two seasons, but now that he plays inside, he has fewer opportunities to use them. Although Williams is still listed as an end, he has been a tackle the past two seasons. O’Neal plays outside him.
“I’ve been isolated a few times, but I haven’t made things happen,” he said. “Inside is a lot tougher than outside. When I was outside, I just had to beat one man. Now I’m double-teamed a lot.
“Another thing, it’s real crowded inside. I’m very athletic, and I beat people with my athleticism. There’s so much traffic inside that sometimes I can’t use it.”
He added: “Everybody knows how I feel about it. I’d rather be outside. But all I want is to do the things that will help us win. If we all do that, we’ll be successful. If we don’t, what will happen is what’s happened the last two weeks.”
O’Neal, who had 12 1/2 sacks in 1986 and again last year, said, “We haven’t made the plays that we need to win games. But it’s hard to rush when it’s third and two, like it was so many times in Pittsburgh. Then they can run on you.
“The last two years, we were so good against the run that we forced them to pass on third down. That’s when we’re most effective.”
Grossman, who had 10 sacks as a rookie last year, is confident that the lack of sacks is only temporary.
“I don’t think there’s any panic reason,” he said. “The Steeler game (34-16) was a bad show, but Houston didn’t put many points on the board (17-7), and it doesn’t matter how many yards you give up.
“If somebody wants to stymie a pass rush, there are ways to do it. It’s tough to mount a rush when the quarterback half-rolls instead of a straight drop-back, like the teams did the last two weeks. We’ll be back.”
Obviously, the defensive line has been weakened by the loss of nose tackle Joe Phillips, who has missed the past two games and will miss many more because of injuries suffered when he was beaten by three men outside a Mission Beach restaurant.
As linebacker Gary Plummer put it, “Joe is the Rock of Gibraltar in the middle. He’s the best in the league. There’s an old saying that you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.”
Phillips’ absence hasn’t had any effect on the pass rush, because he wasn’t used on obvious passing downs, but it has hurt the defense against the run. Les Miller, his backup, has had problems.
“Joe made things happen inside,” Coach Dan Henning said. “They had to put two guys on him, and that singled up our outside guys.”
Miller did well when Phillips was hurt late last season, but he said, “I was pretty lousy last week. I hadn’t practiced at nose tackle until Joe got hurt--I was playing end--but that’s no excuse. I’d have one good play and one bad play. They knocked the daylights out of me.”
Miller did have one moment of glory in the Pittsburgh game, recovering a Steeler fumble in the end zone for his second pro touchdown. He also scored on a fumble recovery in 1987.
As for the overall defense, Plummer offered a theory that sounded plausible.
“We haven’t been playing with reckless abandon,” he said. “We got the reputation of being a good defensive football team, and possibly a little complacency set in.”