Chargers are Hoping to Run Down Falcons : Pro football: Balanced offense, improved defense will be keys to victory.

Each fan attending today’s Charger home opener will receive a neon baseball cap, a bright reminder that it could be worse: They could be cheering for the Atlanta Falcons.

* The Falcons wanted and traded for quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver.

* The Falcons haven’t had a winning record since 1982.

* Since firing head coach Dan Henning in 1986, the Falcons have gone 11-38.

* The Falcons have lost 19 consecutive games on the road; their last away victory coming in the Los Angeles Coliseum on Nov. 20, 1988.

“That’s awful,” Henning said. “That’s too bad.”

There are only three teams in the NFL that have failed to advance to the playoffs since 1982: Tampa Bay, Atlanta and San Diego. The Bucs, Falcons and Chargers are a combined 0-6 this season.

“I think we got a good football team,” Atlanta Coach Jerry Glanville said. “Unfortunately we don’t have any wins.”

Both the Chargers and the Falcons believe they are better than their 1991 records indicate. The Chargers have lost seven of their past eight games, but they are two-point favorites to defeat the Falcons today in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“This is a very important game for everyone on this team and in the upper offices,” Charger linebacker Junior Seau said. “A victory would be a tremendous confidence builder.”

The Charger brass gave Henning a vote of confidence this week, and now Henning must get an error-free effort from his defense and a balanced offense to knock off Atlanta.

“We’re going to hammer these guys, we’re going to hammer them on the ground until they give us something where we can go on top with Anthony Miller or Shawn Jefferson. . . .” Henning said. “And our defense is going to have to give them enough disguise in the secondary where they may complete some passes in the middle of the field, but we’ll pick one off and get the field position we want.”

The Falcons allowed Kansas City running back Christian Okoye to run for 143 yards in Week 1, and Minnesota’s Herschel Walker went for 125 yards last week. Next up: Rod Bernstine and Marion Butts.

“The Falcons blitz, blitz and blitz some more,” Bernstine said. “They play with the image they get from their coach; they’re always putting pressure on you.

“You’re going to have to put the ball up, because this is the kind of ballclub that can make the running game look ugly. But you can break a big play. When they’re blitzing they got nine guys in there, so you can hit a big one and make six points.”

The Chargers’ longest run this season has been for 23 yards by Ronnie Harmon. Bernstine’s biggest gain has been 13 yards.

“It’s real hit and miss with their defense,” Charger guard David Richards said. “You’ll get some negative two-yard plays, and then you’ll bust one for 40, 50 or 60 yards. They get caught out of position on their stunts.

“It’s going to be one of those real patient things on offense. Maybe on first down we will get stopped, but if we stick with our running game, it will bust out of there. They can’t guess right all the time.”

Atlanta’s defense has allowed opponents to convert only 26% of third-down plays, but the Falcons’ cause has been damaged by 17 penalties and eight turnovers.

“I never thought we would be 0-2, but here we are,” Glanville said. “We had a chance to win both games and haven’t won anything. The bottom line is we have to keep at it.”

The Falcons came out running the ball against the Chiefs in the opener and lost 14-3; against Minnesota, they went to their “Red Gun” passing attack, which features four wide receivers, and lost 20-19.

“I think the Red Gun is a big hoax,” Charger nose tackle Joe Phillips said. “Their emphasis on the run-and-shoot is a little bit of deception by a team that reflects the personality of its head coach.

“Hey, they got a lot of real basic running plays where they try to do the same thing every other team in the league does. They do have some of the elements of the run-and-shoot, but they’re running the ball, too. It’s just not like the Houston Oiler attack where they throw every down.”

The Chargers rank last in the league defending against the pass, and as Henning said last week: “Wouldn’t you come out throwing against us?”

Chris Miller will be the Falcons’ starting quarterback, and he will be throwing to Andre Rison, George Thomas, Mike Haynes and rookie Mike Pritchard, whom the Chargers wanted to draft.

“I expect they will come out with four wide receivers and will go with their vaunted Red Gun offense and throw the ball,” Charger defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said. “I don’t think they will do that exclusively, however. It’s not like they can’t run the football.”

Rison, however, has complained about the Falcons’ emphasis on running the ball. Jerry Rice had similar complaints last week in San Francisco, and the 49ers didn’t stop throwing to him until he had nine catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s (Rison) crying so much, but he’s probably typical of any big-time receiver that wants his hands on the ball,” Lynn said. “You can’t fault him for that, I guess. He’s a big-time player.”

The Falcons’ offense ranks seventh in the league, but it has scored only two touchdowns in two games. Miller has completed 58% of his passes, but he has thrown five interceptions.

The Chargers, of course, have their own concerns at quarterback. John Friesz, 0-3 as a starter, has completed 44.6% of his passes, and for the first time this year, will be matched against a defense that will try to rattle him with relentless blitzes.

“Their philosophy is that they’re going to go one-on-one with all the receivers and bring more people in the rush than we have protecting,” Friesz said. “They believe they’re going to get to the quarterback before the ball gets out to the receiver.

“Our philosophy is we’ll have time and we’ll attack that single defender. It’s the first time this season we have faced a lot of blitzing, but we have prepared all week for it.”

The Chargers are also mindful of who will replace Miller, should the Falcons make a change at quarterback.

“It’s kind of an incentive to knock Miller out of there and get Billy Joe in,” defensive end Burt Grossman said. “The fans couldn’t boo him any worse than when he was here.”

Tolliver, who wears No. 13 now, dressed as the Falcons’ No. 2 quarterback last week. He went to the Falcons on Aug. 28 for a fifth-round pick in the 1992 draft.

“It might be fun for the fans, and a good story and all that, but it’s nothing I’m going to be concerned about,” Friesz said. “I can’t worry about who’s running their offense; I need to be worried about what I’m doing.

“If Billy Joe does get into the game, I wish him luck. I hope he throws for 300 yards and doesn’t score a touchdown.”