CHARGER NOTEBOOK / T.J. SIMERS : Special Teams Get Kicks from Carney

The Chargers had taken a 14-13 lead over the Browns in Cleveland last month, and 1:59 remained in the game.

When the Charger kickoff team huddled on the sideline, players such as quarterback Stan Humphries, linebackers Gary Plummer and Steve Hendrickson and defensive end Leslie O’Neal joined them.

“They began offering money for a tackle inside the 20-yard line,” kicker John Carney recalled. “The pot got up to $1,100 and I kicked it into the end zone for a touchback.

“Basically, I took $1,100 out of somebody’s pocket. To avoid a mutiny, I bought shirts for the guys.”

The Chargers defeated Cleveland, and the players awarded Carney $500 for giving the defense good field position.

“And he spent $700 to buy these shirts for us,” Hendrickson said. “He lost $200 on the deal.”

Each member of the kickoff team received a shirt with a lightning bolt running through a skull.

“The Killer Bolts,” Carney said. “I’m proud of my guys because they have been covering so well.”

The players began putting up money for tackles inside the 20 during the Chargers’ 34-14 victory in Indianapolis. It remains a spontaneous practice, depending on the importance of the situation.

“It began with somebody saying, ‘Hundred bucks for a tackle inside the 20,’ and then it would build,” Carney said. “We’ve had kickoffs with the pot up to $700, and the kickoff in Cleveland was $1,100. This last week we had money one kickoff in Phoenix and Deems May and Eugene Marve got it.”

The players pay off each Monday during team meetings.

“It’s a fun thing,” said Chuck Priefer, the Chargers’ special teams coach, “and a very motivational thing.”

Some make money, some don’t.

“I’ve lost about $500 on this thing so far,” Hendrickson said. “Deems May has been the big winner. It’s kind of cool for guys like Deems because that’s like his whole paycheck.

“He even paid for his girlfriend to fly out here with the money. Normally, he would have put her on a Greyhound.”

The Chargers have won eight of their last nine games, and Carney’s kickoffs have been a factor.

“He’s done a great job,” Coach Bobby Ross said. “He’s gotten the ball high, and I think through the entire season he’s had one low kickoff and that was Sunday against Phoenix.”

The Chargers have asked Carney to kick to the corners and keep the ball in the air for four or more seconds to allow the coverage team time to tackle the opposition inside the 20-yard line.

“We’ve stopped them four times inside the 10-yard line in the last three games,” Priefer said, “and that’s unbelievable.”

Carney’s average kickoff traveled 59.6 yards in 1990, 60.2 yards in 1991 and 63.3 yards this season. He kicked the ball into the end zone 15 times in both ’90 and ‘91, but he already has gone deep 27 times this season.

The kickoff coverage team has stopped the opposition inside the 20-yard line 18 times this season.

“I’ve been more adept at placing the ball in certain spots of the field than I have in the past few years,” said Carney, who also has made 16 of 22 field-goal attempts. “We’ve worked on it more; I’ve just become better at the things they’re asking me to do. And I’ve concentrated this year on getting more height on the ball.

“That’s given our coverage team a better opportunity to do their job, and they’ve been just great.”

The Chargers have distributed 45,000 tickets for Sunday’s game with Cincinnati, and the game will be blacked out locally.

Ross said he is leaning at this time toward adding running back Rod Bernstine and cornerback Tony Blaylock to the roster at the end of the week. Bernstine (shoulder) and Blaylock (ankle) have been on injured reserve.

The Chargers on Wednesday released running back Howard Griffith and stopped safety James Fuller from practicing to allow Bernstine and Blaylock the opportunity to work out.

“I don’t want to say I’m ready to play after one day, but I’ve been preparing to play for the past four weeks,” said Bernstine, who underwent surgery Oct. 19 after rushing for 150 yards on 23 carries against the Colts.

What would keep Bernstine from being ready to play?

“If I went out and pulled a hamstring,” said Bernstine, not concerned about his shoulder.

Blaylock, the starting cornerback, injured his ankle in practice before the Nov. 8 game against Kansas City.

“The one that I was the most worried about was Blaylock,” Ross said, “but it looked like he moved pretty well.”

Defensive end Burt Grossman, however, continues to recover slowly from an ankle injury. The Chargers listed Grossman as questionable.

“He didn’t look as well as Bernstine or Blaylock,” Ross said. “I’d say he’s about 50%, and at this late date if we were to put Burt on injured reserve, we would activate Arthur Paul.”

The Chargers also listed running back Peter Tuipulotu as questionable with a thigh injury.

The Bengals listed safety Fernandus Vinson (ankle) doubtful, and starting linebackers Gary Reasons (ribs) and James Francis (knee) and defensive lineman Roosevelt Nix (knee) as questionable.

Rookie quarterback David Klingler, who has completed 28 of 59 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns, will start for Cincinnati.

“We’ve struggled all year and the coach made the decision to go with some of the young guys across the board,” Klingler said. “I didn’t think I’d be playing this early.”

Klingler is 0-2 as a starter, and the Bengals’ offense ranks No. 26 in the league. The defense ranks No. 27.