Defense Has a Sackful of Heroes

Junior Seau threw his gloves into the stands. Gary Plummer shook hands with the fans. Blaise Winter mugged for the crowd. Stanley Richard posed for the cameras. Delton Hall threw a cap into the seats.

These were Sunday’s matinee idols, the newest darlings of Mission Valley.

They are defensive players with the Chargers, of all people. Laughed at and maligned for so long and so often, these guys have gone from buffoons to bullies of the block.

“Four,” yelled Winter, the 278-pound tackle from Syracuse. “Four in a row.”

As far as the defense was concerned, and probably the offense as well, the Chargers’ fourth consecutive victory had to be the best of the season. As far as the defense was concerned, it might have been the best of many seasons.

This defense shut down and, ultimately, shut out the Indianapolis Colts, 26-0. It was the Chargers’ first shutout in six years.

“We wanted the shutout real bad,” Winter said later. “Our focus went from shutting them down to keeping a zero on the board.”

It might be tempting to suggest that shutting out the Colts is a little bit like shutting out Columbia, but it wouldn’t be a fair statement on what this team accomplished Sunday afternoon. The Colts, after all, came into this game with a winning record and were coming off a 31-20 victory over previously undefeated Miami.

If the Colts dreamed of using this game as a springboard to contention in the AFC East, they found it to be a nightmare instead.

This Charger defense held Indianapolis to minus-five yards total offense in the first half. Going into the Colts’ final possession, they had 31 yards in total offense. That last drive, with backup quarterback Jack Trudeau, pushed the Colts total all the way to 99 yards.

To put that in perspective, it has been 31 years since a Charger defense has held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards in offense. The Oakland Raiders gained a mere 58 yards in 1961. This was second only to that.

Indeed, the Indianapolis offense might not have gotten the ball into the end zone if it played until midnight. It might not have scored if it played until Christmas, for that matter.

The Colts used a no-huddle offense the entire game, probably because there wasn’t anything to talk about.

If the Padres need a pitching coach, someone who can put together a shutout, they might see if Bill Arnsparger, the Chargers’ defensive coordinator, would like to do some moonlighting. Nolan Ryan never threw a more dominating shutout than this one.

In fact, for a while, the scoreboard looked more like it was posting inning-by-inning scores rather than quarter-by-quarter scores.

San Diego led 2-0 and then 5-0. Someone in the press box quipped that Fred McGriff must have hit a three-run homer.

Appropriately, the defense scored first. The only end zone the Colts were able to get close to was their own. Early in the second period, quarterback Jeff George was trying to throw from his own end zone when he was sacked for a safety by Burt Grossman.

Young Mr. George did not have what might be called a pleasant afternoon on this pleasant afternoon. He was sacked six times for 32 yards in losses and completed only seven passes in 18 attempts. The only time he spiked the ball all day was in frustration over being sacked on successive plays by Leslie O’Neal and Winter in the second period.

Trudeau came in for the last Colt possession and actually moved them into position to see the end zone with the Palomar telescope. However, the Colts were turned away first by Sean Vanhorse’s defense in the end zone of a pass aimed at Reggie Langhorne and finally when Grossman forced a fumble with his second sack of the afternoon.

“As the game went on and got closer to the end,” Vanhorse said, “we really wanted to get that shutout. Hopefully, there will be many more to come.”

In truth, this defense does not need to throw shutouts to win. The offense has gotten it into gear. It stopped itself more than it was stopped in the first half, then put together three second half touchdowns. The Chargers gained 400 yards and had the ball 42:47 of the 60 minutes.

“It was a total team effort,” said veteran defensive back Gill Byrd, ever the diplomat. “The offense drove the ball all day and the defense kept the pressure on the Colts.”

However, this one really belonged to the defense.

“I can’t remember anything like this,” Byrd conceded. “It feels good.”

And so it has come to pass that the Chargers have come back from a dead and dreary 0-4 start to even their record at 4-4. They are tied for second in the AFC West, only one game behind the Denver Broncos.

There was joy in Mission Valley as fans leaned over the railing next to the tunnel and clamored for their defensive heroes. About all these Charger defenders didn’t throw to their admirers was the enemy quarterback. The way the day went for Jeff George, he had to be wishing he was already in the stands.

Stingy Defense

Fewest net yards allowed by the Chargers in a single game:

Yds Opponent Date Result 58 Oakland Oct. 22, 1961 W 41-10 99 Indianapolis Nov. 1, 1992 W 26-0 106 Oakland Sept. 17, 1961 W 44-0 112 Chicago Dec. 4, 1978 W 40-7