Chargers Seek Victory to Set Tone for Ross Era : NFL: Kansas City visits for first season opener at home since 1986.
The last time the Chargers opened the season at home, Don Coryell was the head coach, Dan Fouts the starting quarterback and Gary Anderson was taking a mighty leap into the end zone to cap off an uplifting 50-28 victory over Miami.
Ever since that entertaining day--Sept. 7, 1986--the Chargers have been searching for that shoot-off-the-cannon excitement that rocked San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium Sunday after Sunday.
Ever since that sunny day in San Diego the Chargers have compiled a 33-61 record, including a 5-16 mark in games played in September.
The Chargers have lost their last five season openers.
The Bobby Ross era, however, begins today at home against Kansas City with General Manager Bobby Beathard’s promise of better athletes, improved play and more success.
“I’m very optimistic,” said cornerback Gill Byrd, who will play today for his fourth head coach. “As always with change I think there is a certain degree of optimism. That’s why change occurs.
“I see the attention to detail. Coach Ross is leaving no stone unturned. He’s very meticulous in his preparation. The key now is how does that preparation turn over into execution. We can prepare all we want, but if we don’t execute on Sunday, it’s going to be the same old story.”
The same old story has buried the Chargers in the standings since their last appearance in the playoffs, in 1982. The same old story includes a 6-22 record in games decided by seven or fewer points the past three seasons. The same old story has been all that can go wrong will go wrong.
“There’s no question we have something to prove,” Ross said. “There is a challenge; we’ve been the butt end of the league for a long time. We’re trying to climb out of that won-loss-wise and mentally, too. This game serves as an opportunity for that.
“I don’t think I know how good we are yet. But I think after this game I will get a pretty good indication because this a playoff team we are playing.”
Ross became the Chargers’ ninth head coach on Jan. 2 after compiling a 94-76-2 record as a head coach at The Citadel, Maryland and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech won a share of the national championship in 1990 with an 11-0-1 record.
“I think the guy is doing a hell of a job,” said Sid Gillman, the only head coach in team history to lead the Chargers to a victory in his first game. “I did the same thing; I went from the University of Cincinnati to one of the biggest jobs in professional football as head coach of the Rams. It’s a hell of a move.
“The game is so different; you’re not dealing with kids. But everything I have seen of Bobby Ross I like. He says the right things and his team looks well-coached and disciplined. When you take Georgia Tech to the national championship, you’ve accomplished something. I think he’s going to do just fine.”
Ross put the Chargers through a rigorous off-season practice schedule. The team had conducted almost 50 practices before the first day of training camp. Team owner Alex Spanos provided the money, and Beathard signed all 13 draft choices in time for training camp at UC San Diego.
“From day one I have tried to put a premium to winning,” Ross said. “That’s why we have run after each practice. Maybe, and I don’t know yet, but just maybe that is the one element that can help us in the fourth quarter, in that close game.
“We have worked a lot on our two-minute game. We’ve worked it twice, and sometimes three times a week to deal with that. That is one of the big things we talked about in the preseason and that is being able to come back in the second half.”
In the past three meetings, the Chiefs have been the better team with the game on the line. Kansas City has defeated the Chargers four times in a row, including the last three by a total of seven points.
“One of the things I’ve always contended about the Chargers is they have a lot of good players,” Kansas City Coach Marty Schottenheimer said.
The Chargers have Marion Butts, a bruising running back, Rod Bernstine, a bruising running back, and Ronnie Harmon, a running back who bruises the ego of those trying to corral him. They have a healthy Anthony Miller at wide receiver, the same offensive line that started a year ago and a defense that features such performers as Junior Seau, Leslie O’Neal, Stanley Richard and Byrd.
Can they open the 1992 season with a victory over Chiefs, who have been victorious in seven of their last nine openers?
“A win can set the tone for the whole season,” said Charger starting strong safety Floyd Fields.
The Chargers will start quarterback Bob Gagliano in place of John Friesz, who has been lost for the year with a knee injury. Gagliano, 7-5 as a starter in the league, began his career in Kansas City in 1981 as a 12th-round draft pick.
“I was in the sixth grade,” said Charger linebacker Junior Seau. “That’s amazing; after all these years the guy has a chance to come back and haunt them. Wouldn’t that be great?”
The Chiefs signed former Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg in Plan B free agency. Krieg, who has a 70-49 record as a starter, has thrown 25 touchdown passes against the Chargers with 15 interceptions.
Krieg will be throwing to wide receivers Tim Barnett, Fred Jones and J.J. Birden. Birden caught a 90-yard pass from Steve DeBerg to ignite a 27-10 victory for Kansas City in 1990.
Wide receiver Stephone Paige, who has enjoyed phenomenal success against the Chargers, remains unsigned.
Running back Christian Okoye ended his holdout recently and will be uniform, but the Chargers expect the Chiefs to run Harvey Williams and Barry Word.
“I expect to see a lot of Harvey Williams,” Charger linebacker Gary Plummer said. “An awful lot.”
The Chiefs’ defense, which ranked 13th last season, will be without safeties Deron Cherry and Lloyd Burrruss, who have retired, and linebacker Dino Hackett, who was placed on injured reserve.
Former Charger safety Martin Bayless will start at strong safety and Charles Mincy will make his first start in the NFL at free safety.
“How good Mincy is, I don’t know,” Ross said. “He’s a pretty good player physically, and in their opinion they are more skilled in the secondary than they have been.”
Ross has said the Chargers will place an emphasis on the pass this season, but that does not necessarily mean they won’t run the ball. They will give the ball to Butts and Bernstine to lure the Chiefs’ defense to the line of scrimmage, and then they will send Miller deep.
“I’m glad we’re playing this team,” Ross said. “It will be a real good barometer of just where we are.”
