CHARGER REVIEW : NOTEBOOK : Special Teams Fail to Take Control
The Chargers’ special teams enjoyed tremendous success after Larry Pasquale replaced Joe Madden a few years ago.
The biggest disappointment to date, however, has been the play of the special teams.
Pasquale now controls the Eagles’ special teams.
In the first two weeks, the Chargers have had a punt returned for a touchdown, poor blocking on punt returns, uneven play from punt returner Eric Bieniemy, terrible coverage on a squibbed kickoff and penalties.
In Sunday’s 21-13 loss to Denver, cornerback Muhammad Oliver blocked John Carney’s 37-yard field-goal attempt.
“I don’t know yet what went wrong,” said special teams coach Chuck Priefer. “They did exactly what we expected them to do.”
Block the kick?
“I know we had a problem on the left side,” Priefer said. “But I’m not sure what happened.”
The Chargers have not placed the same emphasis in practice on special teams as they did with Pasquale and former special teams coordinator Wayne Sevier. At the conclusion of Friday’s special teams practice, it looked like recess at the local grammar school as players laughed and joked and carried on.
“Our special teams haven’t been as good as we want, that’s for sure,” Priefer said. “We’ve got to get a lot better. We’ve improved in some areas, but in other areas we didn’t do what we needed to do.”
Priefer defended the decision to bounce a kickoff down the field with 28 seconds to play in the first half. Given the Mile High altitude, Carney had kicked the ball successfully into the end zone.
The Broncos had no timeouts remaining, and would have taken possession at their 20.
“If you kick it into the end zone the clock doesn’t go,” Priefer said. “You get one of the big guys to carry it and they’re not used to carrying it. That was a very smart move, I think.”
Carney’s bounding kick was returned 34 yards by tight end Reggie Johnson to the Chargers’ 43 with 20 seconds to play. Fortunately for the Chargers, defensive end Leslie O’Neal sacked Elway on the following play and time ran out.
“We’ll get it right,” Priefer said. “It’s just practice.”
The Chargers may have hired a new coach, but Bobby Ross’ offense looks remarkably like Dan Henning’s offense.
Ross said before the season began that running back Rod Bernstine was going to become a main character in the passing game, but instead Bernstine has been rotated into the game at running back in relief of Marion Butts much the same way that Henning employed him.
On Bernstine’s first carry against the Broncos he twisted and turned for 19 yards.
Bernstine finished with 12 carries for 83 yards, and still has not caught a pass this season.
Given the Chargers’ glaring problems at wide receiver, why do the Chargers persist on keeping Bernstine and his Kellen Winslow-like talent on the sideline?
The Chargers’ defense offered little resistance on the Broncos’ initial drive, but then toughened.
On third and one at the Denver 39 in the first quarter the Broncos tried to smash running back Greg Lewis into the right side of the Chargers’ defense for the first down. Lewis, however, went no further than Burt Grossman and Gary Plummer, who dropped him for no gain.
Dropped passes are to be expected when watching the Charger receivers at work, but Nate Lewis is the early-season leader for drop of the year.
The fans in the stands were closer to Lewis than any Bronco defender in the third quarter when Humphries threw him the ball. The ball hit Lewis in the hands and then fell to the turf.
Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard will meet with agent Leigh Steinberg today to discuss giving Butts a new contract.
Beathard said he may also meet with Joe Phillips’ agent, David Morway today, but he said he has no plans to meet with Phillips.
The Broncos were ahead, 7-0, but the Chargers marched smartly downfield on their first possession, ready to strike back, gain some momentum of their own, and then . . . Denver’s Muhammad Oliver blocked John Carney’s 37-yard field-goal attempt.
Charger Steve Hendrickson took responsibility for allowing Oliver through.
“I don’t know what happened,” Hendrickson said. “They held Courtney (Hall) and squeezed between me and Courtney. I had two guys outside of me. . . .
“Courtney is supposed to punch inside, and I’m supposed to punch inside, too. They just pinned Courtney’s arm down. I guess I should have stayed inside longer.
“It was my fault. Give me the F.”
Brad Daluiso, a Valhalla High alumnus, has not allowed an opponent to return any of his eight kickoffs this season--all have gone into the end zone or beyond.