New Faces Offer Team Some Hope

John Friesz fired a five-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game to Shawn Jefferson.

Who are these guys?

They are the future for the Chargers, and on an otherwise dismal day here, they offered a glimpse of encouragement in a 26-20 defeat.

Friesz completed 19 of 41 passes for 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception; Jefferson caught three passes for 23 yards.

“I’m encouraged by John’s ability to stay composed and poised after being so ineffective early on,” said Ted Tollner, Charger offensive coordinator. “I think it’s easy for anybody, especially a young guy, if he fumbles on his first possession to let it get away from him and never regroup.

“He did regroup, and had the circumstances been different we might have had the last possession and it meant something.”

Friesz let the ball roll out of his hands on the Chargers’ first possession, and the Steelers recovered and converted it into a 3-0 lead.

“I must have been more nervous than I felt,” he said. “It was a good snap, I had the ball and it just kept slipping. I’m sure it was nerves.”

Friesz was matched against the league’s top defense last season, and early on he did his Billy Joe Tolliver imitation, overthrowing several receivers.

Dropped passes by Nate Lewis, Anthony Miller and Derrick Walker, however, had to make him feel just like Tolliver, too.

Friesz held his ground despite bone-jarring blows by Steeler pass rushers.

“Overall I think I played a little more consistent and better each series that went along,” Friesz said. “But I’m not happy at all with my performance. I have a long ways to go and I think everybody on the offense has a long ways to go.

“There are a lot of breakdowns. It seems like every other play some one is breaking down and it’s causing the play to go wrong. It was a team effort, but I have to play a lot better for us to win.”

Friesz is 0-2 as a starter in the NFL, but he may have found a new weapon in the Charger arsenal in Jefferson. Jefferson, next to Miller, is the team’s fastest player, and he was on his way to catching a 67-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but Friesz underthrew him.

Steeler cornerback David Johnson went up with Jefferson and came down with the ball.

“Shawn has a real burst of speed, but he didn’t get a chance to use it there,” Tollner said. “I think the next time John gets that play, he’ll throw it way out there and let Shawn go get it.”

The Chargers lost No. 3 wide receiver Kitrick Taylor last week because of a knee injury, and they now might have to play without Miller. That leaves Lewis and Jefferson.

“The main thing Shawn is lacking now is experience in our offense,” Friesz said. “He’s a little bit confused out there, but ability-wise Shawn has what it takes.”

In the coming weeks, the Chargers will see if Friesz can succeed.

“He got hit a couple of times; he got nailed right in the mouth one time,” said guard David Richards. “But he maintained his composure and command of the huddle. I’m proud of him; he did a good job.”

As he did in the team’s exhibition finale, Friesz gave the Chargers encouragement in defeat.

“I’m not happy because we didn’t win, but with a little bit of luck we had a chance to win,” Friesz said. “I feel good only in the aspect that we continued to improve during the game. There was never a comfort zone like I felt last week against the Raiders (completing 17 of 19 passes), but there was a steady incline in performance. And we got on the board.”

One small step into the future.