The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 258

San Diego County Thursday, September 2, 1982 Part IX fl-as Much Moire Tlhairo a PassSimg Facicy A Offense May Well Be Best Ever, Old Pros Say By CHRIS COBBS, Times Staff Writer The NFL has never seen anything like it. Never in the league's 61 years have there been so many problems at which to throw TV lucre drugs litigation, strike threats. And never has there been an offense like that of the Chargers. Because of all the distractions, it's probably a good thing the Chargers have assembled the most potent and entertaining attack in pro football history. The game needs Air Coryell.

But maybe we're moving too fast here. Who says the Chargers have the best offense ever? What about the 1940 Chicago Bears? The 1950-51 Rams? Now those were the days when men were men, Coke came in bottles rather than lines, and strikes were only called on baseball diamonds. Well, the 1982 Chargers may not be old enough to know the exact origins of the T-formation and the single wing. But Fouts, Winslow, Jefferson, Chandler Co. have covered so much turf in the past three seasons that the descendants of George Halas must now concede San Diego's passing tree is of the ages, like a Redwood.

And they do. Some of the most dazzling names in NFL history acknowledge the Chargers' offensive preeminence. In telephone interviews with Hall of Fame quarterbacks Sid Luckman, Sammy Baugh, Norm Van Brocklin, Bobby Layne and Johnny Unitas, the Chargers were saluted as equal or superior to any offensive team that ever made a first down. Quarterback Dan Fouts was praised for his accuracy and toughness, tight end Kellen Winslow for his athleticism and Coach Don Coryell for his imagination. Please see OFFENSE, Page 6 Illustration: PETE BENTOVOJA Angelea Times They Get Air Coryell Off the Ground gf 14) and (clockwise from top right) Charlie Joiner, Wes Jf f'''' Chandler, Coach Don Coryell and Kellen Winslow.

These days, there could be a new slogan: "When Dan -tEI: 'p Fouts passes the ball, one of three good things usually hfbSr'-' happens Winslow, Joiner or Chandler catch it." -'j. tjm Not long ago, a slogan became popular in football. It went, "When a team passes the ball, three things can happen and two of them are bad." That was before Air Coryell. The Charger offense last season set an NFL record of 4,739 yards passing, thanks to Dan Fouts INSIDE Season Outlook For Winslow, Tight End Was Only the Beginning What the Big Needs Is a Little By DAVE DISTEL, Times Staff Writer THE CONNECTION What do Tom Bass, David Lewis, Dewey Selmon and Ricky Bell have in common? Answer on Page 2. CIRCUS MAXIMUS Training camp at UCSD is a frenetic scene filled with players, food, hijinks, laundry and adhesive tape.

Page 3. FACTS AND FIGURES Schedule, roster, depth chart, NFL and Chargers statistics and a recap of the Charger games last season. Page 7. Kellen Winslow's life story would probably not be the stuff of which movies are made. The World According to Winslow, for example, has been considerably more mundane than the World According to Carp.

Fast Times at East St. Louis High? Not for a chess champion who became a tight end and did not score as many touchdowns as a defensive end on his own team. E.T.? No physical resemblance, of course, but Kellen Winslow, at the age of 24, has become The Extra-Terrestrial Tight End for the Space Age. Call him E.T.T.E. So what if Hollywood gasps and says.

"Forget it. No way it would sell." Let Hollywood write a script to match the ebbs and flows of Jan. 2, 1982 in Miami's Orange Bowl. Let Hollywood create a character who drains the last vestiges of physical and emotional energy from his system and leads his team to a 41-38 win. "Kellen Winslow portrayed in Miami what it takes to be great," said Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka, a reasonably accomplished tight end himself.

"The difference between great and good is a matter of heart. He gave a tremendous amount to help his team win one of the great games ever played." In truth, on that one long afternoon's journey into a humid night, Kellen Winslow was the principal character in a gut-wrenching plot. On and off the field because of injuries and exhaustion, he set a playoff record with 13 receptions and Please tee WINSLOW, Page 4 By CHRIS COBBS, Times Staff Writer It's called Air Coryell. That's misleading, however, because Don Coryell is not really the mastermind of the Charger-offense, A more accurate nickname, if less pleasing, would be Air Committee, since all those imaginative formations, men in motion and pass patterns are the result of an interchange of ideas. The heartening news for Charger fans is that, even after three years of unprecedented passing achievements, there's still plenty of innovative design going into San Diego's 1982 attack.

In fact, the Chargers' key thinkers have enough creative ideas to keep statisticians busy until Dan Fouts reaches middle age. Armed with pro football's flashiest offense plus the most effective special teams in the game the Chargers are primed for another go at the Super Bowl. They have advanced to the AFC championship game each of the past two seasons, and it doesn't require much imagination to see them finally attaining the big prize if they can make some modest defensive gains this year. In order to affirm their status as a team of destiny, the Chargers absolutely must move up from their place at the bottom of the defensive statistics. Last year, they were 28th in pass defense (269.4 yards a game) and 27th in total defense (383.5 yards a game).

Coryell's expectation is that new defensive coordinator Tom Bass, who quickly crafted a playoff-caliber defense for Tampa Bay's expansion franchise, can bring about similar results in San Diego. The respected Jack Pardee tried, failed and departed last year. Really, all Bass has to do is make the Chargers a middle echelon defense. To effect the needed improvements, Bass will employ just about every zone configuration known to man. Eliminating long gains is the first goal.

So much hinges on the Charger defense that AFC rivals had to be keenly disappointed when Louie Kelcher abruptly unretired less than three weeks after he announced he wasn't going to be squeezing his estimated 300 pounds into jersey No. 74 anymore. Kelcher's comeback restored muscle to the strongest part of the San, Diego defense, the front four. Even Please see OUTLOOK. Page 8.