Rams Try to Get Running Game Back in Gear Against Chargers

One team is pouting over a 2-game losing streak. The other is streaking toward meatier matters, such as losing a dozen games and a coach, perhaps.

Sure, the Rams can’t run these days. But the San Diego Chargers can’t hide. You know it’s a rough season when a 3-point victory over the Atlanta Falcons becomes a watershed event.

“It wasn’t the NFL game of the week by any means,” Coach Al Saunders said of last week’s 10-7 success. “But it was the game of the week for us.”

It’s nice that the Chargers (3-8) could bring a little perspective to Anaheim Stadium today, where the teams meet in the anticlimax of a local football weekend.

The Rams are trying to work out minor problems--a running game, a pass rush--as they gear up for the home stretch in a tight divisional race. The Chargers are working on major ones--no offense, saving a coach--as they gear up for the off-season.

Saunders says he fears no evil as the rumors swirl about his future in San Diego.

“Our owner (Alex Spanos) has been really supportive to me,” Saunders said this week. “He’s like everyone else--like us, the fans--everyone wants to win. We want to win. People get frustrated with that. Mr. Spanos has been very encouraging. We just have to keep going, keep working. . . . We can’t allow outside factors and those kinds of things to be a distraction.”

If those encouraging words sound like a kiss of death, it wouldn’t be the first time in the National Football League.

But are these really the San Diego Chargers? Honestly, who thought they’d live long enough to see the day when the Chargers’ offense ranked 27th in a field of 28?

Suddenly, the talk in San Diego has turned defensive. The Chargers are ranked only 17th overall on defense, but if it wasn’t for that lousy excuse they call an offense. . . .

“We’ve played as good a defense as we’ve played in a long time,” Saunders said. “The rankings in the NFL are not indicative of the way we’ve played, simply because we’ve played more plays than anybody else in the NFL. Had we been more productive on offense, I’m sure our defensive stats would be outstanding.”

Saunders really thinks he’s on the right track in San Diego, re-building the team from the defense up. The turnstiles are spinning. Saunders only hopes he can survive the re-stocking.

“We have 33 players who were not on this roster a year ago,” Saunders said.

On offense, the Chargers are working on their third quarterback, Mark Vlasic, who made his NFL debut against Atlanta. The shame of the game was that the Falcons didn’t counter with quarterback Steve Dils (make your own pickle jokes). Vlasic was OK (16 of 32, 170 yards, 2 interceptions), but 10 points won’t win many games in this league. In fact, the Chargers have scored only 129 points all season, fewest in the league.

So it is with a certain envy that the Chargers will peer over at the Ram offense, which has scored 276 points with a look designed by former Charger offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese. He left San Diego in 1986 and ended up coaching such ex-Chargers as fullback Buford McGee and tight end Pete Holohan, who has 37 catches so far this season.

The Chargers sent Holohan to the Rams last April for a fourth-round pick, who ended up being outside linebacker Joe Campbell, a reserve.

Not unlike a lot of Charger passes thrown this season, San Diego might have liked to pull this one back.

Linebacker Billy Ray Smith, the team’s best player according to Saunders, said the Charger offense could use a few Pete Holohans these days.

“I absolutely, definitely do,” Smith said. “We not only lost a great player, but probably the best hands that I’ve seen in the league. I think the guy is a real inspirational leader.”

Saunders said he was sorry to see Holohan and Zampese go and admits that knowing the Ram playbook inside and out is little consolation.

“I don’t know if it’s an advantage or not knowing how devastating it can be when great players are playing in it,” Saunders said.

Saunders also made it clear that any offense, even Zampese’s, is nothing without talent.

“Ernie would be the first to tell you that it’s the players in the system making the system work that is the thing behind it,” Saunders said.

In other words, the talent in Saunders’ offensive pool is obviously lacking. Make that drowning.

Ram Notes

The Rams are asking fans to bring cans of food to the stadium today to benefit the Halcyon Shelter for the homeless in Anaheim. . . . .Ram reserve tackle Robert Cox is expected back today after attending the funeral of his younger brother, who was killed last week in a drive-by shooting in Richmond, Calif. . . . Charger Coach Al Saunders said defensive end Leslie O’Neal will play sparingly today. . . . O’Neal, who had 12 1/2 sacks as a rookie in 1986, returned to the team in Week 7 after missing 23 months because of reconstructive knee surgery. “I’m sure he’ll be much better next year than he is now,” Saunders said. “It’s really remarkable he can go in and play with the intensity that he’s playing with at this time after such a long rehabilitation process.” . . . The Chargers’ 10-7 victory over Atlanta last week snapped a 6-game losing streak. . . . The Rams will likely be without safety Anthony Newman, who is suffering from a neck injury. . . . Who scored the only touchdown for the Chargers last week? None other than Barry Redden, the former Ram. It was his first touchdown in San Diego since his trade before the 1987 season. . . . Broken record department: Ram linebacker Mel Owens is out again with his severely sprained ankle. . . . At tailback, Charles White should get the start ahead of Greg Bell again this week. . . . .Even though the Charger defense is improving, linebacker Billy Ray Smith said the stigma of futility remains. “I still think that follows us around to an extent,” he said. “But we’re working week by week to try to erase that.”