NOTEBOOK : Grayson Goes From Happy to Sad in Week

Linebacker David Grayson said earlier this week he was “probably the happiest guy in America,” after signing with his hometown Chargers.

Grayson, however, walked out of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium Sunday on crutches after breaking his leg.

Grayson, who played for Lincoln High School, felt something happen to his leg while covering a punt in the third quarter. He left the field, walked around for a while, and then called for a trainer.

“I didn’t think too much of it, until I pressed down on the spot and it gave way,” Grayson said. “They told me it was a clean break.”

Grayson said he’s been advised that he will be sidelined for four to six weeks, depending on how well the bone heals.

Wide receiver Anthony Miller suffered a hamstring injury in Friday’s practice, and felt it bothering him again in the fourth quarter. He was in for only one play on the team’s final two series and was replaced by Shawn Jefferson.

“He was really hurting; I could tell by the way he was running,” said wide receiver coach Charlie Joiner. “He’s a professional, so I’m sure he’ll work himself out of this and be ready to play soon.”

The first half ended with Atlanta Coach Jerry Glanville and offensive coordinator June Jones having to be restrained by their players from attacking the officials.

The Falcons had the ball at the Chargers’ 31-yard line with 18 seconds to play when they used their final timeout. Quarterback Chris Miller completed a 10-yard pass to Mike Pritchard, and then attempted to line his team up and ground the ball to stop the clock.

Linebacker Leslie O’Neal, however, took his time returning to the line of scrimmage and disrupted the Falcons’ efforts to line up. Miller threw the ball to the ground with one second left on the clock, but the Falcons were penalized for a false start.

The game clock had gone to zero, but instant replay showed the Falcons should have been credited with one second on the clock. After a meeting, the referee waved an end to the half, thereby prompting Glanville and Jones’ outburst.

“The way we interpreted that situation was that the defense got back on their side of the line of scrimmage, the offense was lined up on the ball ready to go, and the left guard moved,” said referee Bernie Kukar. “There was no time remaining on the clock, therefore, the half was over.”

Atlanta center Jamie Dukes had to corral Glanville from accosting Kukar & Co.

“O’Neal was holding me from behind; he grabbed me and pulled me back and kept me from snapping the ball,” he said. “It was a great play on his part, but give me a break, man.”

O’Neal said he couldn’t help it if he bumped into the opposition while trying to regain his position. But he admitted, “it was a game of delay tactic,” and it worked.

Defensive end Burt Grossman said Charger fans were so unhappy with the team after the loss to Atlanta, “that I felt like Billy Joe Tolliver,” walking off the field.

Last year the Chargers finished No. 1 in the league covering punts. They came into Sunday’s game ranked 25th, allowing an average return of 14.4 yards a punt.

Atlanta defensive back Deion Sanders returned three punts for an average gain of 13.6 yards.

Wide receiver Nate Lewis provided a boost for the Chargers with four kickoff returns for 91 yards, and a four punt returns for 57 yards. Lewis also had a 39-yard kickoff return cut back to 15 yards because of a holding penalty.

The Chargers announced earlier in the week that Martin Bayless would start at strong safety in place of a beaten Anthony Shelton.

Bayless, however, didn’t make an appearance on defense until there were four minutes remaining in the game.

“I was in for two plays,” he said.

The Chargers opened the game with six defensive backs in the lineup, including Shelton.

Shelton intercepted a Chris Miller pass in the second quarter, and set up John Friesz’s 15-yard touchdown to Anthony Miller.

Defensive coordinator Ron Lynn was asked about the team’s 0-3 start.

“We’re 0-3 and we’re going to Denver,” he said. “That’s where we are. We’re not an 0-3 team despite what the record says. Just like Atlanta wasn’t an 0-2 team coming into this thing, in my opinion. They got too many weapons being 0-2.”

The Falcons are now 1-2.

“This is Sept. 15th,” Lynn said, “and there’s a lot of time before we end this season.”

H-back Craig McEwen took it upon himself to fire up the crowd in the fourth quarter after he caught an 11-yard pass for a first down.

“I wouldn’t call it cheerleading,” McEwen said. “The crowd was down on us earlier and I just wanted to get them on our side. We had something good going. Dan always says, somebody has to step up and make it happen.”

After McEwen jumped up and down and raised his fist to the crowd, he was removed from the game. The Chargers went on to settle for a 39-yard John Carney field goal.