Chargers’ Primary Goal Is Fixing Secondary
The San Diego Chargers’ defensive backs won’t be hurting for motivation this season. All they have to do is look at the first few plays of last season’s Super Bowl.
For three of the last four seasons, the Chargers have been ranked toward the bottom of the NFL in passing yards allowed. Their secondary bottomed out in the first 5 minutes of the Super Bowl, when Jerry Rice and Ricky Watters split the safeties for the first two of six touchdown passes thrown by San Francisco’s Steve Young in a 49-26 blowout.
Both those safeties are gone. Free safety Stanley Richard, a No. 1 draft pick in 1991, left for financial reasons, accepting a four-year, $8.5 million contract from the Washington Redskins. The Chargers felt they couldn’t afford to match the deal. Strong safety Darren Carrington was put on the expansion draft list and went to Jacksonville.
Second-year pro Rodney Harrison, who will play every third series at free safety, as well as in nickel situations, said he feels for Richard and Carrington.
“I think we struggled a little bit at the safety spot, and I know they wish they could have had the plays back, because they would have made them,” Harrison said. “But I mean, that’s something you live with. It just happened to be in the Super Bowl. The game’s in the past, everyone moved on. But there’s a lot of lessons to be learned from that.”
That big lessons are that the Chargers want more aggressiveness and better tackling by the secondary. So in came strong safety Shaun Gayle, who spent the previous 11 years with the Chicago Bears, and Bo Orlando, a six-year veteran from the Houston Oilers.
“I didn’t come here saying that I was a harder hitter than Stanley Richard,” said Orlando, who won the starting job at free safety over Harrison. “We just want to be a better team defense, period.”
Harper sprains ankle
Tampa Bay receiver Alvin Harper, sidelined for much of training camp with an injured left knee and foot, sprained his right ankle during practice Thursday.
Harper, who signed a four-year, $10.6 million contract in March, hurt the ankle when he tried to catch a pass thrown slightly behind him as the Buccaneers prepared for Sunday’s opener against Philadelphia.
The team downgraded him from probable to questionable on the injury report.
Oakland sellout completed
The Oakland Raiders sold out their season opener against San Diego, assuring the game will be televised locally and avoiding a marketing embarrassment.
About 600 tickets left unsold early Thursday were purchased prior to a 1 p.m. deadline, said Beverly Hennessey of the Oakland Football Marketing Association.
To reach the sellout, a total of about 14,000 single-game tickets were sold in addition to some 33,000 tickets purchased by seasonticket holders.
Sunday’s game at 1 p.m. against the Chargers marks the first regular season Oakland Raiders game since December 1981. Owner Al Davis agreed to return the team this summer after an extended stay in Los Angeles.
Around the league
Jacksonville cornerback Al Jackson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out for the year, the expansion team said Thursday… . The Miami Dolphins restructured tackle Ron Heller’s contract Thursday to make room under the salary cap for the acquisition of veteran guard-tackle Tom McHale… . Tampa Bay cornerback Jerry Wilson was placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury that occurred during practice Wednesday. Cornerback Tony Stargell, who was waived Tuesday, was re-signed to take Wilson’s spot on the roster… . Richard Dent, the Chicago Bears’ career sack leader, said there’s a chance he could rejoin the team by the end of September.