Hot-And-Cold Tolliver Takes the Blame

He is a man.

That is a phrase Charger quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver likes to use when explaining how players handle the difficulties of the NFL.

His friend, David Archer, was cut in training camp this year. Archer was a quarterback. Archer used to play with Tolliver’s son, Austin, after practice. When Tolliver explained to Austin what happened to Archer, he told him: “David is a man. He’ll handle it.”

Tolliver was asked to explain things again Sunday night. Tight end Arthur Cox fumbled once in the fourth quarter and again in overtime to help send the Chargers home from San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium carrying the burden of a 13-10 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks (5-6). The loss put the Chargers’ record at 5-7 and, in all likelihood, put a choke hold on their playoff hopes.

So what about Cox? This one could have been won had it not been for his fumbles. Right?

Said Tolliver: “The bottom line is we had a 10-3 lead with eight (actually 10) minutes left and I threw an interception.”

He took the blame.

Then he said: “Arthur’s a man. He’ll handle that part of it.”

OK. That handles Arthur Cox’s end of it. But what about that of Billy Joe Tolliver?

Sunday was another Dow Jones performance for Tolliver, who finished with 15 completions in 22 attempts for 145 yard and two interceptions. At times, he threw the ball very well. At times, he didn’t.

In the first quarter he overthrew an open Anthony Miller on third and seven from the Charger 47. John Kidd came in on the next play and punted.

On the first play of the next Charger possession, Tolliver threw a rainbow toward Miller on the left sideline. Cornerback Patrick Hunter pulled it down for an interception. Tolliver exited the field shaking his head. The fans booed.

Then came the killer in the fourth quarter. The Chargers led 10-3 and appeared to be in control. On second and nine from the Seattle 49, Tolliver overthrew H-back Craig McEwen and Seattle safety Eugene Robinson intercepted the ball. He returned it to the Charger 40 and 10 plays later, the Seahawks tied the game with 4:17 to play.

“You want to point fingers, point it at me for throwing the interception and giving them the opportunity to tie it up,” Tolliver said. “What I should have done is throw the ball away to the sideline. That was a dumb play.”

So the Seahawks had their opportunity and took advantage of it. That’s what most people will remember about Tolliver’s performance on this night.

But Ted Tollner has a different perspective. Tollner, the Chargers’ quarterback coach, is the man responsible for turning a young player with a strong arm and a barrel full of enthusiasm into an NFL quarterback. It hasn’t been easy.

What happens to Tolliver, Tollner says, is that he sees the open man and he gets excited. And suddenly, his arm moves forward a little quicker than it should, making the ball travel a little further than it should. Tollner expects that from a second-year quarterback who is saddled with this much responsibility.

“That’s where he’s at in his career right now,” Tollner said. “He’s not in a position where he’s going to make every throw. He’s still inconsistent. My job is to make him consistent, and we’re not getting him there as fast as we want to get him there.”

Still, Tollner sees flashes, a signal here and a signal there that the redhead can do this job quite well sometime in the future. Sure, Tolliver’s second interception helped Seattle win. But Tolliver also bounced back and put his team in position to win on the subsequent possession.

He completed three of four passes on that drive, the last of which was fumbled by Cox at the 21-yard line. Should Cox have hung on, the Chargers were in perfect position to kick the same kind of field goal that Seattle kicked a few minutes later. The outcome might have been reversed.

“From my perspective,” Tollner said, “you have to look at the positive side. After he (threw the interception) he put us in position to win it. . . . I choose to look at how he responded after he put us in trouble.”

That’s sometimes easier for a coach to do then a player. All that was on Tolliver’s mind was that this loss didn’t feel too good after all the effort that went into trying to win.

“You’re never satisfied when you lose,” he said. “You always think you could have done more.”