Notes on a Scorecard - Oct. 5, 1992

It is time, at long last, to praise Los Angeles’ pro quarterbacks. . . .

At the Coliseum, the Raiders’ Todd Marinovich showed that he is capable of playing efficient, winning football. . . .

At Candlestick Park, the Rams’ Jim Everett regained the form that had made him one of the league’s best passers. . . .

The Raiders’ touchdown production against the New York Giants was limited to one for the third consecutive week, but the difference was that young Marinovich didn’t make the same mistakes he did against the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns. . . .

Everett, who completed 20 of 24 for 232 yards and two touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers, answered his growing number of critics this time with deeds instead of words. . . .

However, it is going to take more than a narrow victory over the Giants and a narrow loss to the 49ers to bring Southland fans out to the stadiums again. No local NFL game has drawn as many as 50,000 this season and the four-game average at the Coliseum and Anaheim Stadium is a dismal 43,402. . . .

Remember the old TV show “Beat the Clock?” The Giants would have been lousy contestants. They wasted 19 seconds before calling a timeout late in the first half, ran out of timeouts, and were forced to kick a field goal on first down from the one-yard line with five seconds remaining. . . .

There still doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the Raiders’ rotation at tailback. . . .

The Raiders had the ball in New York territory during each of their four possessions of the first half without scoring a point. . . .

Even though the Raiders were 0-4, the usual group of about 100 fans surrounded Al Davis’ limousine when it arrived 90 minutes before kickoff and yelled encouragement at the man in white. . . .

ABC analyst Dan Dierdorf made a big deal Monday night of Marinovich supposedly having started only 15 college and pro games. Actually, he now has started 28. . . .

I can’t remember an NFL comeback more improbable than the one the Phoenix Cardinals staged against the Washington Redskins. . . .

There isn’t a great team in college football this season. . . .

No. 1 Washington might have been upset by USC in Seattle if the Trojans had a better pass protection unit. . . .

Starting quarterback Rob Johnson has had people in his face every Saturday, so it was no surprise that he was knocked goofy during the second quarter and was unable to return. . . .

Coach Larry Smith gambled when he gave Kyle Wachholtz, a redshirt freshmen who hadn’t played a down of college football, a chance with nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter and the Trojans trailing by only seven points. . . .

But it was a worthwhile gamble because Wachholtz is a better dropback passer than Reggie Perry, who had completed only one of his seven attempts of the second half. . . . Even Billy Joe Hobert, who starts and gets the bulk of the work, isn’t overjoyed by Don James’ rotation of the Washington quarterbacks. Said Hobert: “I’ve got to be in control. I’m not.” Hobert was in the lineup for 11 possessions and Mark Brunell for four Saturday. . . .

Maybe the Huskies believed the public address announcer when he said, “That’s the end of the fourth quarter,” after the first quarter. . . .

No. 2 Miami doesn’t appear to be as strong as usual because of a sluggish offense. In fact, the Hurricanes’ 22-game winning streak will be in big danger Saturday against Penn State at State College, Pa.. . . .

Texas A&M; probably has the best chance of finishing the regular season unbeaten because of a favorable schedule, but how can you be sure about a team that needs a field goal on its home field to beat Texas Tech on the final play? . . .

Bill Walsh is much more effective on the sidelines at Notre Dame Stadium than he was in the broadcasting booth. . . .

The UCLA-Stanford game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night looks much different that it did, say, last week. . . .

I can’t blame Terry Donahue going for the field goal in Tucson that kept the UCLA scoring streak alive. The Bruins’ chances of overcoming Arizona with three touchdowns and three two-point conversions in 1:21 weren’t real good. . . .

USC has one more losing streak it would like to end Saturday against Oregon at the Coliseum--six consecutive Pacific 10 Conference defeats. . . .

The Notre Dame defense hasn’t been the same since Barry Alvarez left, and neither has Wisconsin. . . .

Mr. Humility: Said Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones: “I wish I could wear a jersey with a number 106 on it because I feel I’m a combination of Lawrence Taylor and Mike Singletary.” . . .

Baseball playoff picks: Oakland over Toronto in seven games, Atlanta over Pittsburgh in six.