Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 38

Vi -cft-SE AsiVv' "is D2 TIMES-ADVOCATE, Escondido, Ca Sunday, December 22, 1985 Chargers win would bring a more difficult schedule NFL Notes When is fourth place better than third place? Well, if youre the Chargers, it might he this year. San Diego can clinch third place in the AFC West today with a victory oer Kansas City, but it may not want to. Not that the Chargers are planning on throwing the game the players would like nothing more than a winning season but lourth place would actually benefit the lub when it comes to next ears schedule. Should the Chargers win today and finish 9 7 and in third place, i heir eight non-division games would be as follows (assuming a Miami-New York Jets-New England finish in the AFC East): Home: New York Iitts-burgh. New York (Hants and Ihil ailelphia.

Away: New England, Cincinnati, Dallas and Washington. The home games are all winna-ble, but visiting teams rarely, if ever, win in Washington, Dallas and New England. The Chargers won in Cincinnati this year, but the Uengals appear to be an up and coming team. On the other hand, should the Chargers lose today and finish 8-8 and in fourth place (Seattle, also 8 8, would get third place based on their head to-head sweep of San Diego), the Chargers 111, HI! non-di-vision schedule would be as and they must win to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. 3.

Miami Only way for Dolphins not to make playoffs is to lose to Bills by more than 39 points and have Patriots and Jets also win. Yeah, right. 4. New England Nice pass on Monday night, Tony. 5.

San Francisco Whod have thought 49ers wouldnt have clinched a playoff spot yet. 6. L.A. Rams Mondays game means nothing unless Cowboys upset 49ers today. 7.

N.Y. Jets Two-for-nine lifetime against Browns. 8. Dallas How did this team beat Giants twice? 9. Denver Another close game, another win for Broncos.

10. N.Y. Giants Against Dallas last week, another close game, another loss for Giants. Bottom 5: 1. Buffalo See Miami.

Bills are 1-16-1 at Orange Bowl since 1966. 2. Tampa Bay Bucs have allowed more points than the Chargers. 3. Atlanta Say goodbye, Dan.

4. St. Louis Say goodbye, Jim. 5. Indianapolis, Houston (tie) What a game this should be today.

Quiz answer: Dan Fouts and Dan Marino. len, said Fritz Shurmur, the Rams defensive coordinator. Add Raiders: This weeks Lester Hayes quote describes Lesters feelings on not being selected to the AFC Pro Bowl team for the first time in seven years. What really has Hayes upset is that he was left off after being included last year, when he played hurt the last eight games. I think in 1984, 1 snuck into the Pro Bowl by some method, but I had a semi-off season, Hayes said.

I played the last eight games with a torn calf muscle. I couldnt cover. I was scared. I was nervous. Still, I made the Pro Bowl.

It was baffling. In 1985 1 probably had, with the exception of (one) game, the best season Ive had since 1980, in which I procured 18 interceptions. Procured? Thats Lester. So be it. Posners Picks: Again, no guarantees, but heres how the weeks NFL action should go (last week: 8-4; six-week total: 69-39): Chargers over Chiefs, Saints over Falcons, Dolphins over Bills, Bears over Lions, Patriots over Bengals, Jets over Browns, Packers over Buccaneers, Vikings over Eagles, Colts over Oilers, 49ers over Cowboys and Raiders over Rams.

Top 10: 1. Chicago Waiting for January. 2. L.A, Raiders Raiders are 22-4-1 on Monday Night Football NFC wild-card game winner at Chicago and the AFC wild-card game winnner at the L.A. Raiders.

If Denver wins the wild-card game, it would play at Miami and Cleveland would play the Raiders. The conference title games are scheduled for Jan. 12, with the Super Bowl in New Orleans slated for Jan. 26. Home sweet home: Home teams are about to set a record this year for winning percentage, showing why the home-field advantage is so important in the playoffs.

Entering this weekends play, here are the numbers: Home teams are 137-73 this year. The record, set in 1981, is 140-83-1. Since 1970, home teams are 75-35 in the playoffs, a .680 winning percentage. MVP: Marcus Allen, who should be voted the leagues most valuable player, needs 100 yards or more Monday night against the Rams to tie Walter Paytons NFL record of nine consecutive 100-yard games (Paytons streak was halted last week). However, tying the record wont be easy, even for the gifted Allen.

In their last 26 games, the Rams have allowed just two runners to reach the magic 100 mark. The only one this year was Atlantas Gerald Riggs, and he needed 41 carries to gain 123 yards. But nobody stops Marcus Al clinch the remaining spot with a victory at home over Dallas. Should the Cowboys win, Washington would play the Giants in next weeks wild-card game. In either case, the game will be at the Meadowlands.

In the AFC, the East is not really in doubt since it would take more than a miracle for Buffalo to defeat Miami today and deny the Dolphins the division title. Should that happen, the Jets can win the Flast by beating Cleveland. As for the wild cards, the Jets and Patriots can earn the spots by beating Cleveland and Cincinnati, respectively. Should either team lose, Denver will make the playoffs. Otherwise, the Broncos, despite being 11-5, will miss out.

Add playoffs: The Super Bowl tournament begins next weekend with the AFC and NFC wild-card games. Both will be Sunday unless the Jets and Giants are the respective host teams. Since they play in the same stadium, one game would be Saturday, probably the AFC contest. The weekend of Jan. 4-5 will feature four games, but which teams will play on which day hasnt yet been officially announced.

According to the Dallas Morning News, however, the Jan. 4 games would match Cleveland at Miami and Dallas vs. the Rams (in Anaheim if L.A. wins Monday or Dallas loses today). Jan.

5 would feature the By Jay PosnerT-A Sportswriter Home: Miami, Houston, Dallas and Washington. Away: Indianapolis, Cleveland, New York (Hants and Philadelphia. This home schedule is laden with box-office draws like the Dolphins, Cowboys and Redskins, and while all are strong teams, the Chargers were (5-2 at home this year. Also, the road schedule is far less demanding. Quiz: Name the only two quarterbacks ever to pass twice for 4,000 yards in a season? Answer below.

Playoff picture: The Giants and Browns both clinched playoff berths Saturday, but the AFC East title and three wild-card spots remain in doubt heading into todays action. In the NFC, San Francisco can Rosters Scouting Report Chargers (8-7) vs. Chiefs (5-10) Time: 10 a.m. PST Site: Arrowhead Stadium (capacity TV: Channel 39. Charlie Jones and Jimmy Cefalo call the action.

Radio: KLZZ (600). Ted Leitner and Pat Curran describe the action. The NFL Today, hosted by Randy Flahn, begins at 8:45 a.m. Series: The Chargers hold a 26-23-1 advantage, including a 31-20 victory earlier this year. Key matchups: Chargers quarterback Mark Herrmann vs.

Chiefs defense Herrmann won his first game as a pro earlier this year against K.C. by completing 26 of 36 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns. He seems to have found new life in the Chargers offensive scheme. Chargers tackle Dennis McKnight vs. Chiefs defensive end Bill Maas Two players at new positions square off.

Maas was moved from nose tackle to end because of an injury to Art Still and Mike Bells drug arrest, and he leads the club with seven sacks. McKnight pass blocked well against Reggie White last week, though his run blocking has suffered because of a sore ankle. Chargers wide receiver Charlie Joiner vs. Chiefs secondary With Wes Chandler sidelined in the first meeting, Joiner had his best outing of the year, six catches for 1 1 8 and one TD. The Chiefs will be bolstered by safety Lloyd Burruss, who missed most of the first game.

Injury report: For the Chargers, quarterback Dan Fouts will play only in an emergency because of a small crack in his left fibula. Mark Herrmann will start in his place. Also, linebacker Billy Ray Smith was placed on injured reserve Friday because of back spasms. Derrie Nelson will start in his place. For Kansas City, four players are questionable: safety Deron Cherry (thigh), linebacker Gary Spani (hamstring), running back Herman Heard (elbow) and guard Scott Auer (ankle).

Notes: The Chargers have lost five straight road games. Ed White will play in his 241st career game, setting an NFL record for offensive linemen. Lionel James needs 170 all-purpose yards to break Terry Metcalf's NFL record of 2,462. Charlie Joiner needs 163 yards receiving to break Don Maynard's NFL record of 11,834. Joiner needs one touchdown to set a career high of eight.

Pro Bowl selection Wes Chandler needs nine catches and 33 yards to set personal records in those two categories. Chandler currently has 61 catches for 1,111 yards. He also needs one touchdowns to set a career high of 1 0. The Chargers have allowed only six sacks over the last five games. 13 to Denver on a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining.

The loss dropped the Chiefs record to 5-10, but a losing season is nothing new to K.C. they have had only one winning campaign since 1973. However, if the Chiefs could play only the last game of the regular season each year, theyd go undefeated. The Chiefs have not lost a season finale this decade, and they have scored 37 points or more in four of the five victories. The last three wins have all been blowouts, 37-13, 48-17 and 42-21.

That last one, against the Chargers, was one of the Chiefs best games in three years under Mac-kovic, but the coach told Kansas City reporters this week the 31-20 loss to San Diego in October was the worst No. 47 out of 47 games. We certainly werent ready to play when we came out there, Mackovic said. After that game, Mackovic imposed a series of disciplinary measures against his players, hoping to shake them up, but instead, they fell apart. Looking back, Mackovic admits he may have erred.

Thats not a yes or no answer because I dont have time to go into all the details, he said. I dont think our team responded to it very well and in that regard perhaps it wasnt the best thing to do, hut nevertheless that doesnt mean it wasnt the right thing to do. For a team that had Super Bowl hopes after a 3-1 start, though, it appears wasnt the right thing to do is the correct answer. D7TS DKKSB8 Chargers Continued from page D1 hat, Spencer said. We want to go out on a good note since you remember the last game all winter.

oryell remembers the last game of 1984 and it isnt a fond memory the Chiefs led his team 42-0 after three quarters and won 42-21. It the Chargers are going to have a winning season, though, they apparently will have to do it without Pro Bowl quarterback Dan Fouts, who has a small crack in a bone below the knee and will play only if Mark Herrmann gets injured. Its Marks game, Coryell said. It was also Marks game Oct. 13 against the Chiefs, and he responded with his best game as a professional.

Herrmann completed 26 of 36 (lasses for 320 yards as he won his first pro game by rallying San Diego from a 17-7 deficit to a 31-20 victory. Herrmann also played well last week after Fouts was hurt, completing eight of 14 (lasses for 114 yards as San Diego rallied to defeat Philadelphia 20-14. 'Ihe Chiefs were on the other end of a rally last week, falling 14- Hanifan fired after Cards drop finale ST. LOUIS (AP) William V. Kidwill, owner of the St.

Louis Cardinals of the National Football League, fired head Coach -Jim Hanifan and the teams entire i caching staff alter it lost the final game of the season Saturday, completing a disappointing 5-11 record. I made the decision in the best interest of the team, Bidwill said. Jim Hanifan is a fine man, a good I out hall coach and a good friend. I wish Jim and his staff well in their future endeavors. In six seasons with St.

Louis, Haiiilans teams compiled a 39-19-1 record. They made the play-otts once in that span, in the 1981 strike shortened season. Despite the extreme disappointment of this season. Im leaving with a lot of good memories, Hanifan said. Bill Bidwill has al-was been extremely fair to me as well as to the entire organization.

The Cardinals lost to the Washington Redskins 27-It! Saturday and finished last in the National Conference East Division after being the preseason pick by many to i apture the title. A Cardinals' spokesman refused to comment on whether the decision to fire the coaching staff had been made before Saturdays game. The spokesman also declined to lomnient on a possible successor tor Hanifan. Fired with Hanitan were defensive coordinator Floyd Peters, offensive coordinator Dick Jumie-s in. line coach Ernie McMillan, mailing hack coach Chuck Banker, lmtbacker coach Rudy Feldman and defensive hack coach Lance Van mdt.

Also dismissed were receiver oach Ernmitt Thomas, special teams coach Jerry Smith, strength coach Pete Hoener and Leon McLaughlin a special assistant to Hanifan. 'ihe status of Harry Gilmer, who as named a special assistant during the 1985 season to help quarterback Neil Lomax, was unclear, a learn spokesman said. 1 until this season, the Cardinal- had improved their record ev rv ear since Hanitan became in ad c. ok 1 981) AMERICANICAR1RADJALSJ UNIR0YAL FASTRAK STEEL BELTED WHITEWALL RADIALS $0099 MaMa 145SR13 155SR13 23.99 165SR13 24.99 175SR13 27.99 175SR14 29.99 165SR15 28.99 HIGH PERFORMANCE STEEL BELTED RADIALS 16570SR13 34.99 175 70SR13 35.99 185 70SR13 37.99 185 70SR14 40.99 $1C99 Hon 1 600 1 3 ATS 1:1 17.99 c.78 14 24.99 B78 1:1 19.99 F78 15 23.99 D78 11 21.99 G78 15 24.99 F.78 14 22.99 H78 15 26.99 F78 14 23.99 L78 15 27.99 jgpigaM! $24" I0ST CARS Chassis lube 1 L'p to 5 qts 30 wt New oil filter 1 Brake and suspension safety check Tuf MONDAY THRU FRIDAY Westminster Not Included fSSSU $24" For foreign cars only Install Wagner Linings Pack front bearings when doing front brakes Turn 2 drums Bleed and adjust system. BETTER TWO WHEEL For most domestic and import cars Good plus: 1 Rebuild two wheel cylinders $36" GOOD TWO WHEEL Install Quality Disc Pads Inspect rear brakes BETTER TWO WHEEL Good plus: Turn front rotors Pack inner outer front bearings Front grease seals Bleed system lisi TWO WHEEL Good and Better plus: Single piston caliper re-build (dual or 4 piston extra) Semi Metallic pads $15 exti a Added parts extra if needed cars extra FRONT.

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