Chargers Bicker Over Williams : Football: O’Neal takes verbal aim at Grossman, who returns fire. Williams claims contract irregularity.

Linebacker Leslie O’Neal said Thursday that Lee Williams has been treated with disrespect, adding that if the Chargers try to fill the void left by Williams with Burt Grossman, the team will suffer.

“If Lee Williams isn’t around, it will be sad,” O’Neal said the day after Williams, absent from training camp, declared he would never again play for the Chargers because the team criticized him and played him out of position.

“Regardless of what Burt Grossman says, I honestly feel that Lee is a better player at that position,” O’Neal said. “If Lee’s not out there then we’re taking a step back regardless of what anyone says. I don’t think Burt can make the plays. Yes, I’m very interested in what’s going on because now I’ve got to change my game around.

“Because we don’t have the same type of player at that position, now I’m going to get double-teamed more and my effectiveness will be gone. I’m very bothered by what has happened.”

Grossman had an immediate reply for O’Neal.

“That’s bull,” Grossman said. “Go through the films and see one time that he has been double-teamed, and I’ll give you a hundred bucks. He doesn’t get double-teamed.

“Leslie’s always upset; that’s just the way he is. I’m bothered Lee isn’t here, but not for those reasons. I’m not going to lie and say it won’t hurt us. But that’s business.”

Williams, a two-time Pro Bowler, was shifted from defensive end to defensive tackle two years ago to make room for Grossman. Williams pleaded with the team to leave him at defensive end.

Grossman predicted last year that one of the three--Williams, O’Neal or himself--had to go if the Chargers were to remain happy up front on defense.

“I told you so,” Grossman said. “But if Leslie’s bothered by the three of us here, then why doesn’t O’Neal leave? All three of us agree that the problem is that one of us has to go, so why not O’Neal?

“If it’s Lee, then I think Leslie has a problem. He’s going to have to play defensive end and line up over a blocker like Lee and me. God forbid. He won’t be standing over air like he has been at linebacker. And then we’ll see how good he really is.”

O’Neal and Grossman have adjoining lockers at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, but they have not been a cozy twosome. The loss of Williams, who played the role of buffer in the past, adds to the Charger woes.

“We don’t get along; that’s obvious,” Grossman said. “But I think the whole problem is, O’Neal doesn’t want to play defensive end, and if Lee’s gone, he may have to play there.

“Maybe if Junior Seau played outside linebacker he’d do twice what Leslie does and Leslie wouldn’t look so good.”

O’Neal played defensive end as a rookie, and before being injured, recorded 12 1/2 sacks. He’s considered by many in the Chargers’ organization as its finest player, but his opinions have gotten him in trouble.

Last year, Coach Dan Henning threatened to suspend him for his published remarks. O’Neal, however, did not apologize.

“It’s only my opinions,” he said Thursday. “I say things, but the bottom line is I go on the field and make the plays. I’m going on the field (today) and it’s the start of a journey to get this team in the playoffs, and at the same time, to make myself one of the best players in the league.”

Henning hired a new defensive line coach to work with his troubled trio of defensive linemen. He also announced earlier this year that Williams would be given an opportunity to return to defensive end, but he would have to compete against Grossman for the position.

“I can see where Lee has not been given respect,” O’Neal said. “He had to give up his position to make room for somebody else without losing that job. Any man is going to get (ticked). And that is accentuated by the fact we were 6-10. It wasn’t like we went to the playoffs and that sacrifice meant something.

“You give someone a job, but you earn respect. Lee Williams deserves respect, but not (Grossman)--not as an every-down player, not as a guy that’s going to go out there and bust his butt every play and help this organization to win and be the best he can be as a person.

“Who knows?” O’Neal said, “Burt might suck it up and turn into a player. But as of this point, he’s not the player Lee Williams is. I’ve been in two Pro Bowls and I study players and see every defensive end in the league. Lee Williams, in my opinion, is one of the top four defensive ends in the league.”

Williams needs one more sack to become the team’s all-time pass rusher. He has earned or shared the title of lineman of the year for the past three seasons as voted by his teammates.

“My heart goes out to Lee,” O’Neal said. “As close as he was to breaking a bunch of Charger records, he had my respect as a player. If I hadn’t gotten hurt a few years ago, they wouldn’t have had to bring people in and Lee wouldn’t have had to move and this wouldn’t have happened. So maybe it’s my fault.”

Or maybe it’s Grossman.

“I don’t think it’s all a problem with Burt because I never thought we needed him in the first place,” O’Neal said. “I don’t throw it all on Burt, but I do on anyone who hears this and gets offended by what I say. It’s the way it is.”

If Williams is to be believed, the Chargers will need both Grossman and O’Neal now. Williams said he is through with the Chargers, and Thursday he accused them of making changes in his contract without his approval.

The Chargers received a letter on Williams’ behalf from lawyer Peter Seidenberg. Williams claimed through his attorney that the Chargers added a clause to his contract, after he had signed it, that spread out payments of his annual salary over several seasons.

Williams’ base pay for 1991 is $950,000, but according to the deferred payment noted in his contract, he will receive only $450,000 of that money this season. Williams said he never agreed to that and suggested that he might take legal action against the team.

“I don’t have much reaction,” General Manager Bobby Beathard said. “There was never a misunderstanding in the negotiation of this contract. There was a reason for the deferral and he (Williams) knows the reason. It’s kind of ludicrous.”

It’s also the kind of distraction the Chargers do not need. They are still waiting for first-round pick Stanley Richard to come to terms, and running back Marion Butts remains a holdout.

O’Neal and Grossman are sparring, and now the Chargers have begun talking to teams about trading Williams.