Who’s Who: Little-Known Chargers Do Make a Difference

They are Chargers, but without the aid of a uniform or an American Express card, they would have difficulty proving it.

They practice, they get paid and sometimes they even play.

“Two plays against Seattle,” said Mike Zandofsky, while holding two fingers in the air, but who noticed?

And who’s Mike Zandofsky?

He’s a Charger, just like Mark Rodenhauser. Who? You know, like Tony Savage and Anthony Shelton. Who?

While Billy Joe Tolliver and Billy Ray Smith play leading roles for the Chargers, there’s also a who’s who roll call of who are these guys residing in the locker room.

“This is my life being unknown, no respect,” Richard Brown said. “I would like to see the spotlight someday . . .”

But who is Richard Brown?

They don’t get interviewed very often, if at all. They don’t get seen on television unless fans make it back from the bathroom or refrigerator in time to view the kickoff. They don’t get asked for their autographs, because they aren’t Billy Joe or Billy Ray.

For the most part, they are free agents. They are at the bottom of the 47-man roster, and in time they will either replace Billy Joe and Billy Ray or be gone without fanfare.

During the week, they practice as actors and assume the role of the opposition so the Chargers’ better-known players can prepare themselves properly for action.

Someone such as Zandofsky might begin practice wearing the blue jersey of a defender and work at defensive tackle or defensive end against the starting offensive line.

Then it’s off with the blue jersey to wear white and play dummy guard against the likes of Lee Williams or Burt Grossman.

On Sunday, Zandofsky warms up like Williams and Grossman, and then after the national anthem, they separate. Williams and Grossman go to work; Zandofsky stands on the sideline waiting for opportunity to beckon. It will be a long wait.

They are all Chargers, but contributions vary. There are starters, and there are key substitutes, and there are special teams assignments. And although some of these big-time players may finish the afternoon with more fingers than plays in the ballgame, they can still make the difference between victory and defeat.

You may even notice one of them, and recognize the number on his back. But the name, well, it escapes:

No. 64

Next to Jeff Bridges, who gets to make movies with Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Rodenhauser has the best job in America. He will earn $112,500 this year for snapping the ball on punts, field-goal attempts and PATs. Thanks for showing up, Mark. Last week against the Seattle Seahawks he hiked the ball 11 times to earn his $7,031.25 weekly paycheck. And he’s single, and so all that is his.

He has played in 34 NFL games because he can do one thing: snap the football. “If I hadn’t learned how to do that, I’d be working at my construction company in Illinois right now,” Rodenhauser said. “My coach took me to the side in high school and said, ‘You’re going to be a long snapper.’ He started me on some drills, and I was really horrible on it. Couldn’t do the drills, and still can’t, but I could snap the ball.”

He knows the other side of professional football: He played for the Chicago Bruisers in the Arena Football League before signing as a replacement player with the Chicago Bears during the 1987 strike. He stuck around to cash a playoff check before being released before the 1988 season. He played 16 games as a punt snapper for the Minnesota Vikings, but was left unprotected as a Plan B free agent.

Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard was out of town when Rodenhauser arrived for a tryout. Billy Devaney, director of personnel, took a gander and immediately signed him. “You could say that’s the easiest job on the field in total work output,” special teams coordinator Larry Pasquale said. “But the responsibility is pretty awesome.”

No. 27

The NFL fairy tale of the year begins in Tarbaro, N.C., and ends in San Diego.

Donald Frank is a strong safety at Winston Salem State, and Devaney is there to look him over. “I’m looking at videotapes and there isn’t anything to get excited about, so I go over to Wake Forest,” he said. “I figure I might as well accomplish something while I’m down here, so I also get in a good run before going back to Winston Salem State later in the day. The field they have is real clumpy, so I time him running on the tennis courts.

“He runs like gangbusters, but the thing that strikes me is he looks like a bodybuilder. I say to him, ‘You don’t mess around with any of those illegal substances to make you bigger?’ Shock of all shocks, he says, no. But that’s how he works out. He’s stiff, so I say, get off the weights. And in my infinite wisdom, I go back and say, ‘Shoot, he might be a decent free agent, but I don’t think he’s worth a draft choice.’ You can see, we were right on top of that one.”

After the draft, Frank’s agent couldn’t find any other takers, so he agreed to have his client sign with the Chargers. After two days of practice at safety, the Chargers concluded that he had little chance to make the team, so why not move him to corner? “The rest they say, is mini-history,” Devaney said.

Frank has started two games as a rookie free agent and has an interception, “and is the talk of the league,” Devaney said. “We figured we’d sign him, give him some reps in training camp, it’s been real, and then send him back to Tarbaro in three weeks.”

Said Beathard, “It’s a fluke. Every once in a while you have to get lucky, and we got lucky with Donald Frank.”

No. 34

“He’s a certified psycho,” Devaney said. Some folks have business cards, Steve Hendrickson inspires nicknames. Teammates have nicknamed him “Rockethead.” He made the first tackle in last year’s Super Bowl for San Francisco, and although he missed five games, he was the 49ers’ special teams player of the year. It takes a rare athlete to turn the heads of other athletes, but when Hendrickson runs down the field in kickoff coverage, they all watch.

Hendrickson plays on all four major special teams (kickoff coverage and return, punt coverage and return), and would play every day if they let him. He’s listed as a linebacker, but is being used as an H-back. He practiced as a fullback with the 49ers, but he has yet to carry the ball in an NFL game. If he ever scores, look for him to spike the ball so hard that it sticks in the ground.

“We were in Indianapolis this year when the Plan B free agent list came out,” Devaney said. “And as soon as we saw the 49ers didn’t protect him, he was the first guy we called. It was a matter of 10 minutes after the list came out. We called his agent and said we’d do anything, and he said, ‘no, he’s still with the 49ers.’ ”

The 49ers had worked out a deal behind the scenes to keep Hendrickson from going elsewhere. “I had 18 teams call me and San Diego was first, but . . . I had made an agreement with the 49ers that I would stay and they would increase my salary,” Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson said he came close to making John Madden’s All-Madden team last year, but was advised by the CBS broadcaster that he’ll be in the running down the road.

“I don’t think he’ll ever be a superstar, but he’s going to play a long time in this league,” Devaney said. “He adds so much to a team. His enthusiasm is infectious.”

No. 70

The rap on Mike Zandofsky in Phoenix, besides that he was a disappointment on the field, was that he gave dull interviews. The Chargers went ahead and traded for him anyway.

He was a third-round pick for Phoenix and started seven games as a rookie, but the Chargers got him for a ninth-round choice in 1991. And it will be 1991 before the Chargers find out if he can play.

No need to wait that long to find out if he provides good quotes.

No. 79

He played four years in high school, four years in college and now Tony Savage trails Coach Dan Henning on the sideline making sure the coach doesn’t trip over the wires coming from his headset. “It’s something you don’t want to make a career out of,” Savage said.

Savage was a fifth-round pick of the New York Jets this season, and was released on the final cut before the start of the regular season. He needs only a Spanish class to earn his degree in sociology from Washington State. He was prepared to return to school when the Green Bay Packers, Seahawks and Chargers called. “I was going to go to Kansas City, too, for a tryout, but the Chargers signed me,” he said.

The loss of Joe Phillips gave Savage a chance to earn a steady NFL paycheck, and follow Henning on the sideline. The last guy to carry Henning’s wires, Mike Withycombe, lasted three games and then was cut. Tough business.

“We picked him up based on what he did his junior season in college,” Beathard said. “He was one of the highest-rated defensive lineman, but he got too heavy. The Jets wanted to keep him, but at his junior weight of 285. He came in there at 305. We may want to take a look at him as an offensive guard, but we’ll find out first what he can do on defense.”

Said Savage: “That’s news to me.”

No. 90

The Chargers had chance to sign Richard Brown as a free agent two years ago, but passed. “Rudy Feldman (Chargers’ director of pro personnel) wanted me, but I guess the man (Steve Ortmayer) who is no longer here didn’t like me. But I’m here now and that’s all that counts.”

When Brown was selected the Chargers’ special teams captain he acted like someone who was called on stage by Bob Barker of “The Price Is Right.”

Brown, who was defensive MVP in the Holiday Bowl for San Diego State, went on to become the Rams’ top special teams performer. He bought a house near Rams Park, played for the Rams in 1987, and then again in 1989, and now says of the situation, “as far as the Rams are concerned, I don’t care about them anymore.”

Since joining the Chargers, he has had to contend with ticket requests from former San Diego State friends. “I see them at grocery stores and see them around town, and I give them tickets,” he said. “I want everyone to come and see the Chargers’ improvement. I spent like $300 on tickets for the Raiders’ game for people . . . some people I really didn’t know . . . but that’s just something I like to do.”

No. 23

The Charger scouts focused their off-season attention on Tennessee State cornerback Tony Stargell. The Chargers had the 57th pick in the draft, and were prepared to take him, but with the 56th selection the Jets announced they were grabbing Stargell. San Francisco, meanwhile, waited until the 11th round to take Stargell’s Tennessee State teammate, Anthony Shelton , and that’s what got the Chargers’ attention.

“I got a tip before we played the 49ers in the preseason that they really like Shelton,” Beathard said. “He started our game and I watched him the whole game. They were going to waive him and then bring him back, but we claimed him.” They stole him.

Stargell, meanwhile, has been a bust with the Jets. You remember, Lou Brock?

Shelton played only 13 games in college, and suffered a broken ankle in his junior season. But the 49ers are Super Bowl champs, and they saw fit to make the safety play corner, and who are the Chargers to argue?

While with the 49ers, that left the upstart corner trying to follow Jerry Rice. Thanks for the memories, Anthony. “He made me look bad some days, but he’s made everybody look bad,” Shelton said. “Once you stay with him a couple of times, it builds up your confidence. Once you know you can guard him, you feel like you can guard anybody in the league.”

No. 24

If he were any quieter, Lester Lyles would be declared a statue.

He played in approximately 35 of the team’s 51 defensive plays at Seattle, while also contributing on each of their special teams. And how many people knew he made the trip?

“I always make the joke they are saving my legs to a certain degree and I’m not getting beat up as much if I were playing more,” Lyles said. “I’m basically a role player wherever they want to roll me.”

He was a 220-pound linebacker at Virginia when the Jets took him in the second round of the 1985 draft. He started 14 of 16 games at strong safety for the Jets in his second season, but his career took a nose dive in 1987 as a result of the NFL strike.

“I got labeled a militant of sorts,” Lyles said. “I said one thing in a players’ meeting, and it should have stayed in a players’ meeting, but some individuals went to the head coach and said their piece.”

Lyles was released by the Jets in 1988 and signed with the Cardinals. Left unprotected in 1989, he was signed as a Plan B free agent. He has started three games this season, including the last two for the injured Martin Bayless, “and you’ll notice,” secondary coach Jim Mora said, “there hasn’t been much of a dropoff.”

No. 28

He’s done more traveling than some pilots. Let’s see, Donnie Elder has played for the Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Detroit Lions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now the Chargers. Bad breath or bad breaks?

“He’s really helped us,” Mora said. “He’s given us that spark on special teams and we’re using him in third-down situations on defense.”

Nicknamed “Bump,” for aggressive play on receivers, Elder has played in 59 NFL games after being a third-round draft pick of the Jets in 1985.

“I was up in the coaches’ box during the Houston game, and we got a couple of guys hurt,” Devaney said. “We got on the phone and started looking for Donnie.”

They found him. And he’s already grabbed an interception for the Chargers, and has averaged 22.3 yards a kickoff return. He led the NFC in kickoff returns with a 22.7-yard average in 1988, and so how come he’s always moving?

“He’s a good guy; you get a guy into the season like that, and that’s rare,” Mora said. “I don’t know, maybe he didn’t make the right first impression in some places. All I know is that since the day he’s gotten here, he’s been impressive.”

No. 37

Holyfield had just decked Douglas, and Terry Orr was shooting pool with former Redskins’ teammates in Washington at the home of wide receiver Ricky Sanders. And the phone rang. It was Redskins’ tight end Don Warren, and he was helping out his old buddies, who are now working in the front office for the Chargers.

“It was about 11 o’clock back east when we found him,” Devaney said. “Joe Caravello had gone down with a knee injury that day, and so we told Terry there was a prepaid plane ticket waiting for him at the airport for a 5:45 a.m. flight.”

One day out of work, the next a professional football player.

While in college, he played for Texas as a running back and gained 1,279 yards in 274 carries and then was taken in the 10th round by the Redskins. A Bobby Beathard special. “Bobby worked me out at Texas and told me I’d be moved to H-back if they took me,” Orr said. “And the third day of mini-camp I was switched to H-back, and he was right.”

Of course, it’s not who you are, but who you know, what you do, and how well you do it.

“When (the Redskins) went to the Super Bowl in 1982, we went with 26 free agents on our roster. A lot of guys nobody had heard of then,” Beathard said. “We had no draft choices and lots of open jobs, so we brought a lot of people in.

“But if you don’t have the right coaches, like the Joe Bugels and the Alex Gibbs of the world, then all those free agents don’t end up doing anything. It takes good coaches and good people together--then who knows what might happen.”