Todds Get Nod at Quarterback : Pro football: Marinovich, Philcox thrown into the fray today for their winless teams.

His name is Todd.

A week ago, he was a backup, waiting and hoping for playing time. Today, through circumstances he didn’t foresee, his time will come when the 0-2 Raiders play their home opener at the Coliseum against the 0-2 Cleveland Browns.

Todd Marinovich?

Yes, and Todd Philcox.

And Todd Peat.

Welcome to the Todd Bowl, the name of this game in which the ability to substitute skill and confidence for experience could prove crucial.

The Marinovich story has hogged the headlines and monopolized the airwaves in this town.

But in Cleveland, there is no such excitement over their quarterback named Todd. Philcox is in there only because starter Bernie Kosar has been knocked out of action with a hairline fracture of one ankle, suffered last Monday night against the Miami Dolphins.

“He played in the preseason and knows the system pretty well,” Brown Coach Bill Belichick said of Philcox. “I have confidence in him and so do the players. He’s performed well under pressure before and we’re confident he’ll be able to do it again.”

That confidence, however, has its limits.

Earlier this week, Cleveland signed quarterback Mike Tomczak, a seven-year veteran who had been waived by the Green Bay Packers after holding out in the exhibition season. The longtime Chicago Bear could soon be elevated to the starting job and may even play a little today.

So that puts even more pressure on Philcox, a 6-foot-4, 225-pounder from Syracuse who spent 1989, his rookie season, on the Cincinnati Bengals’ developmental squad, then threw a total of two passes for the Bengals in 1990.

Signed as a free agent by the Browns before last season, Philcox appeared in four games, completing four of eight passes for 49 yards with one interception.

Experience has always been a problem for Philcox, 26. He didn’t get into the lineup in college until his senior year, but made the most of it, throwing for 2,076 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

“He’s a pretty good athlete,” Belichick said. “He’s got a good arm. He’s a real intelligent guy who works hard. Just hasn’t had a lot of playing experience and it looks like he’ll get that real soon.”

One advantage Philcox would appear to have over Kosar is mobility.

“Yeah, I’d say he’s more mobile than Bernie is,” Belichick said. “I mean, he’s not Randall Cunningham, but he can move around.”

Given the choice, however, the Browns wouldn’t hesitate to take Kosar, even on one good leg.

Philcox figures to need all the mobility he can muster. The Cleveland offensive line surrendered 11 sacks in its opening game against the Indianapolis Colts, one shy of the league record, then gave up three more Monday night against Miami.

The third Todd in today’s game will be filling in for a key figure in the Raider offense. The Raiders didn’t hesitate to yank starting quarterback Jay Schroeder, despite his 380-yard passing day last week, but there is no question that they hated to replace right guard Max Montoya, now in his 14th season. But they had no choice.

Montoya, who suffered a partial ligament tear in his right knee last Sunday against Cincinnati, has chosen to heal with rest and rehabilitation rather than surgery. But he’s still looking at four to six weeks on the sidelines.

In the meantime, Peat, a 6-2, 315-pounder signed by the Raiders as a free agent in 1990 after spending three years with the Cardinals, will try to fill the gaping hole left by Montoya.

“I wish I had Max in there,” said Raider Coach Art Shell. “But Todd Peat is ready to go. He’s been working at center, he’s been working at guard and even at tackle every now and then in practice. We feel he’s a very capable player who can step in and we won’t have a big fall-off, if any at all.”

Several Browns have taken umbrage at the insinuation that Marinovich was put in there this week because it looks like a soft spot on the Raider schedule, a good time to ease him in.

But there can be no disputing that Cleveland figures to have problems, coming off a short week after the Monday night game and facing a veteran defense on the road with an inexperienced quarterback.

It also figures that the outcome will be determined, one way or the other, by a guy named Todd.

Raider Notes

Three Raider defenders--linemen Chester McGlockton and Nolan Harrison and linebacker Winston Moss--are listed as questionable with foot, knee and groin problems, respectively. Of the three, McGlockton, who has been out since the first exhibition game, seems the closest to being ready. . . . Cleveland defensive lineman Michael Dean Perry, a dominating force for the Browns, did not make the trip because of a knee injury. . . . Also missing will be receiver Webster Slaughter, still a holdout.