Friesz Proves He Can Become a Bigger Part of the Offense
Wandering and wondering . . .
Isn’t it time for the Chargers to write John Friesz into the game plan as more than just a valet for Marion Butts, Rod Bernstine and Ronnie Harmon?
Friesz, 24, is starting to look like a genuine National Football League quarterback. He looked the part in his 306-yard passing game Sunday against the Rams.
Maybe it’s time to ask him to make good things happen rather than sheltering him from having bad things happen. It’s time to upgrade his profile.
And what better time than against the Cleveland Browns?
Bobby Beathard, the general manager, has taken some raps on a few things he has done, but it certainly appears he was right in determining Friesz, and not Billy Joe Tolliver, was the quarterback of the future.
Isn’t it nice to see Mike Pagliarulo doing so well with the Minnesota Twins?
Jack Clark’s erstwhile lackey actually hits a game-winning home run in the American League Championship Series. Lo and behold, he finds himself a participant beginning Saturday in the World Series.
Pagliarulo, of course, was a principal figure in the unrest in the Padres’ clubhouse in the summer of 1990. In fact, he was the first to advise the world that Tony Gwynn was a selfish player concerned mainly with his own statistics.
Had Pagliarulo been concerned mainly with his own statistics, he would have been appalled to find that he hardly had any. I don’t know why he even bothered taking a bat to the plate with him.
This guy could hit seven home runs in the World Series and not a soul in San Diego would rue the day he got away . . .
If Dan Henning had not made those two much-maligned and little-celebrated “calls” Sunday, what might the final score have been?
Barring a rather surprising mini-miracle on a final Charger drive, the Rams would have won, 28-24.
The safety near the end of the first half, while a downer in a psychological sense, was not a factor in what the Chargers needed to do at the end. There was no difference between being behind 30-24 or 28-24.
As for the draw with Ronnie Harmon coming up short on fourth down, the Chargers still had much work to do and little time . . . even if they had made that first down. It would have to be considered unlikely that they would have scored the touchdown they needed to win.
Thus, the whole controversy might have been much ado about not much . . .
A couple of physical penalties, holding, on a rookie lineman, Eric Moten, were costly to the Chargers Sunday, but they could be excused in relation to a veteran defensive lineman simply lining up offside.
That would have been Burt Grossman.
Twice.
Stupidity is a bit harder to excuse . . .
Folks tend to forget the importance of depth as it relates to the game of football.
The emergence of Marshall Faulk seemed to make T.C. Wright, the incumbent starting running back at SDSU, a forgotten man. It was as if he was destined to spend the remainder of his senior year a victim of the Wally Pipp Syndrome.
Alas, the freshman Faulk is now sidelined indefinitely because of cracked ribs and a punctured lung. Mr. Wright is suddenly the leading man once again, perhaps the key to keeping this team alive in the Western Athletic Conference race.
What should be realized was that Wright did not lose the job because he was not performing, but rather that Faulk was performing unbelievably.
There’s nothing wrong with Wright time at SDSU . . .
Is Darrin Jackson considered the Padres’ center fielder for 1992? Or is he “sort of” the center fielder depending on what happens in the off-season?
Jackson has always been a backup/platoon player, presumed vulnerable to right-handed pitching.
Consider now that he batted 163 times against lefties in 1991 and hit .264 with 11 home runs. Against those villainous right-handers, he batted 196 times and hit .260 with 10 home runs.
Not much platoon differential, huh? . . .
How bad must the Cleveland Browns be if they are 5 1/2-point underdogs to the Chargers on Sunday?
Given the Chargers’ propensity for playing about anyone close, this would seem a perfect spot to take the Browns and the points. The only safer place for your money would probably be under the mattress.
Of course, this wisdom comes from someone who has such bad luck he has not even won the lottery.