Sluggish Chargers Get Some Respect : Football: Steelers, 2-0, picked as underdogs to 0-2 Chargers in today’s game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Chargers are 0-2. The Steelers are 2-0. The oddsmakers have made the Chargers the three-point choice to defeat the Steelers.

“Get out of here; you’re lying,” said Charger defensive end Burt Grossman.

Charger fans have watched the receivers drop the ball. Charger fans have watched the special teams self-destruct. If the Steelers missed their plane and were unable to make it to San Diego in time to play, the Chargers might still be considered a three-point lock to lose.

Someone must know something.

“Are we really favored to win?” said Charger guard David Richards. “Wow.”

Maybe the Chargers are getting ready to announce they have swung a deal for Cleveland wide receiver Webster Slaughter.

“No receiver,” General Manager Bobby Beathard said.

Maybe Beathard chewed out his coaching staff after the team’s 0-2 start and threatened their future employment.

“No, I think the coaches are fine,” Beathard said. “I really do like what they’re doing.”

Maybe the Chargers have decided to play Marion Butts, Rod Bernstine, Ronnie Harmon and Anthony Miller at the same time.

“That’s up to Bobby Ross,” said Beathard, but so far the Charger coach has not included Bernstine in the team’s passing attack.

The Chargers have lost six of their last seven games dating to last season. They have lost three games in a row to the Steelers. And they are favored today.

“Very perplexing, isn’t it?” Charger linebacker Gary Plummer said.

The betting line is based on the perception people have of each team and the point spread that will invite equal wagering on each team.

“There’s not a lot of respect for Pittsburgh,” said Danny Sheridan, who sets the betting line for USA Today. “A lot of people consider Pittsburgh lucky.

“San Diego is at home and it played a respectable game against Kansas City. But that’s not to say San Diego is some juggernaut.”

The Chargers and the Steelers each began this season with a new head coach. The Chargers hired Ross, and the Steelers replaced their longtime leader, Chuck Noll, with former Kansas City defensive coordinator Bill Cowher.

Ross is still looking for his first NFL victory. Cowher’s Steelers, meanwhile, upset the Oilers, 29-24 in the Astrodome and then knocked off the Jets in Three Rivers Stadium, 27-10. In each game, they went in as the underdog.

The Steelers’ 2-0 start is their best since opening 2-0 in 1982.

“It’s just two games, so I’m not sure we should jump to any conclusions,” Cowher said. “We’ve been very fortunate in the first two games to overcome the turnovers we have had. We’ve done it, obviously by taking advantage of all the turnovers on the other side of the ball.”

The Steelers have lost five fumbles and have suffered two interceptions. However, their defense has forced three fumbles and has a league-high nine interceptions.

“We’ve been very opportunistic and fortunately we’re sitting here 2-0,” Cowher said. “I look at the Chargers and it’s a very good football team on the brink.”

The Steelers will play the Chargers without four players, who were being counted on heavily to help this season. They released wide receiver Louis Lipps, who failed to come to terms, and tight end Eric Green went down with a shoulder injury on the first play of the opener. Starting right tackle Tunch Ilkin is out with an elbow injury, and free safety Thomas Everett remains unsigned.

Neil O’Donnell has replaced Bubby Brister as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, and running back Barry Foster has become the team’s primary weapon. Foster leads the NFL in rushing with 297 yards on 59 carries for an average gain of five yards.

“You have to stop the run, and if we get that done, we’ll be in good shape,” Plummer said. “O’Donnell is a good quarterback, but he’s definitely not in the class of John Elway.”

The Steelers’ offensive line, which has been devastated by injuries, has allowed eight sacks. If the Chargers can force the Steelers to throw, linebacker Junior Seau and defensive end Leslie O’Neal might have the opportunity to get to the quarterback.

The Chargers’ offensive line has surrendered 10 sacks, but it will be matched against a defensive line that has failed to drop the quarterback this season. The Steelers have one sack in the first two games, and it belongs to cornerback Rod Woodson.

“No one has really taken them out of their game plan this season, so they have been winning,” Grossman said. “I don’t know what happened in Houston, but the Jets were bad and they were kind of outcoached.”

Grossman left the University of Pittsburgh and joined the Chargers. Three years ago he challenged the Steelers with his mouth, but last year he kept silent in preparation for Pittsburgh.

“I didn’t say anything last year,” Grossman said. “I was in my wait-until-Dan Henning-gets-the-hell-out-of-here mode.”

The Steelers are 3-0 against the Chargers with Grossman in the lineup.

“It’s not like we’ve been the 49ers the last three years and they have had this voodoo power over us,” Grossman said. “It’s not like no one else has been beating us.”