Chargers in Rare Favorites’ Role Today Against Cleveland : Football: Browns missing running back Kevin Mack.
Ask each of the Chargers the same question this week, and it has produced the same response:
“They are?”
The conversation abruptly stops, the eyes search for confirmation that it is no joke, and then the voice raises in emphatic disbelief: “They are?”
The Cleveland Browns are 5 1/2-point underdogs to the down-and-out Chargers for today’s game in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.
“They are?” linebacker Leslie O’Neal said. “What? No way. Are you serious? We’re picked to win a game? OK.”
The Browns (2-4), losers of three games in a row, are ranked No. 23 in the NFL on offense, No. 26 in stopping the opposition’s running attack. And they learned this week they will have to play without their pounding fullback, Kevin Mack, who has a hip injury.
The Browns’ only two victories have come against New England and Cincinnati. The Cleveland Indians might offer a more sizeable challenge. Washington toppled the Browns, 42-17, last week, gained 398 yards on offense, scored five touchdowns on the ground and rushed for 208 yards.
“I think that Cleveland will look at our record and think that they have a chance to beat us,” Coach Dan Henning said. “They played Washington, who was undefeated, and they feel like they probably played pretty good and it looks like they did. I think that’s what they’ll think, they have a chance to win a game because this team they’re playing hasn’t had a lot of wins.
“Our team has to rebound from a disappointing, discouraging, frustrating loss up in Los Angeles. Whether they played good, bad or indifferent . . . they fought through it and lost a tight ballgame. They have to come off of that.”
The Chargers (1-6) have dropped 11 of their past 13 games, including three in a row at home. However, they drubbed the Browns, 24-14, in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for their first victory last season.
The Chargers intercepted three of quarterback Bernie Kosar’s passes, collected three sacks and got a pair of Billy Joe Tolliver touchdown passes to wide receiver Anthony Miller.
“From what I see on films, Kosar’s getting protection,” Charger safety Martin Bayless said. “When we played him last year, the offensive line was young and making mistakes. He didn’t have time to throw, he was taking some big-time shots and he was just getting rid of the ball to save his life.
“I don’t see that from him this year. He’s rejuvenated. I see a lot more confidence in him because he has a lot more confidence in his offensive line.”
Kosar has not been intercepted this season. He has thrown 191 passes without being intercepted; the Browns’ team record is 208 by Milt Plum in 1959-1960. However, the Chargers have picked off five of Kosar’s passes in previous meetings and surrendered only four touchdowns.
“He’s making some good decisions,” said cornerback Gill Byrd, who has 25 interceptions over the past four seasons. “He’s not forcing the ball in, and for a defensive back, that’s scary.”
Kosar has been able to hand off the ball to Mack, who gained 241 yards on 64 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Now instead of hammering the Chargers with a 230-pound running back, they will try to chip away with an aging Joe Morris and an overrated Eric Metcalf.
Morris has gained 137 yards on 41 carries for an average of 3.3 yards per carry; Metcalf has handled the ball out of the backfield 23 times for 66 yards, a 2.9-yard average. Fullback Leroy Hoard, who scored against the Chargers last season, has seven rushes for 31 yards.
“If they had Kevin Mack, they were going to put the ball up,” Byrd said. “You go into a game against a defense that is ranked--let’s just say--in the lower echelon (23rd) against the pass, why not devise the game plan to go after what you perceive is a team’s weakness?
“They can use Metcalf all over the place, because he’s just like a receiver, and they have Webster Slaughter. I feel they will do what the Rams did, come out and throw the ball, and off the pass try to run every now and then to keep you honest.”
Metcalf has caught 20 passes for 199 yards, returned 10 punts with an average gain of 9.4 yards and 18 kickoffs with an average return of 14.8 yards. He has not scored a touchdown this season.
“If we had our druthers we’d rather not play them with Mack,” defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said. “But Metcalf presents problems.”
The Browns’ defense is ranked seventh overall, but it has produced only two interceptions. The defense has been hit hard in second-quarter play this season allowing 55 points, but halftime adjustments have been successful--the opposition has scored only one touchdown in the third quarter against the Browns.
“It’s a game where offensively we cannot turn the ball over,” quarterback John Friesz said. “We’re not going to get a lot of possessions because they’re not the kind of team to put the ball on the ground and give it to us in interceptions. We have to play smart.
“They play a little less aggressive style of defense than Rams, but they don’t give up many big plays. They play more conservatively.”
The Chargers have the home-field advantage, they are No. 2 in the league in yards per gain while running the ball (5.0) and they may not have a better chance of winning another game this season.
“I would hope we’re never scared going up against anybody, but I would also hope we have great regard for Cleveland,” Lynn said. “In our present situation we can’t exactly sit here and say, ‘This is an easy game.’ ”
