Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 17

0X0 Times-Advocate Business Monday, December 7, 1987 mst Chargers fumble, stumble jt I loss out ou I S- A -u- 4. Jt ft. It? 'V question. The man who is, Saunders, said, When we won eight games (in a row), we felt good about what we were doing. Even after losses to Seattle and Denver, the Chargers remained confident.

They had played against two pretty good teams. But the Oilers? They had allowed 91 points in their last two games. Now? We have to take a hard look at where we are, do some real soul-searching, Saunders said. While theyre at it, the Chargers should search for their offense. It 3 Y'Y1-' jt -s 's iscj 'v a Sloppy to Oilers gives Denver lead By Jay Posner Times Advocate Sportswriter HOUSTON The Chargers finally have fallen out of first place in the AFC West but it could be worse.

The way theyve performed the last three weeks, theyre lucky Pete Rozelle doesnt order them disbanded. Three straight losses, all by 14 points or more, have dropped the Chargers (8-4) a half-game behind Denver (8-3-1). The latest debacle occurred Sunday at the Astrodome, where the Houston Oilers rolled up a 20-0 lead en route to a 33-18 victory. Amazingly enough, however, when Seattle (7-5) lost to Pittsburgh and Denver fell behind by 14 points at halftime of its game with New England, it appeared for a time as though the charmed Chargers would somehow remain in first place. But the Broncos rallied for a 31-20 victory, and the Chargers tumbled out of first place for the the first time in nearly two months Oct.

12, to be exact. Now, with just three games remaining in the regular season Pittsburgh and Indianapolis at home and at Denver the Chargers suddenly are in danger of slumping themselves right out of the playoffs. Seattle, Houston. Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Indianapolis all are 7-5just a game behind the Chargers in the race for the two wildcard berths. A sixth team, the New York Jets, can move to 7-5 with a win tonight over Miami.

It's really getting to the point where were running out of weeks to get it turned around," said quarterback Dan Fouts, who completed 16 of 33 passes for just 196 yards Sunday Fortunately, I guess were still not in too bad a position, but its past the time of talking about position. "Were at the point where we've got to in a football game. Once we do, we'll feel good about ourselves and the way we played and our chances from there. But this has got to stop." The Chargers, as they like to say, still control their own destiny, but the way theyre playing, that may not be such a good thing. In the last three weeks, the i V.

4. VXi' -T 4 W' 10 catches in the Chargers big loss to Houston. Oilers Domingo Bryant (38) and Patrick Allen make a A.wfe A -V 4, 'S 4 ty; nothing at all, said Bayless. Even the always outgoing Kellen Winslow said, Im pretty speechless about this, so you can imagine the depths of this problem. Of course, Winslow then proceeded to try anyway.

If I had the answers to (whats wrong), Id be in another profession, Winslow said, adding, Maybe I should be in another profession. Id be really upset if I saw a bunch of people not giving full effort, Winslow continued, but its not lack of effort. Were just going about it the hard way. Why? Im not the person to answer that Wes Chandler makes one of his Chargers have been outscored 98-38 They have made 43 first downs to 1 16 for their opponents. In two of the three games, they made only one first down by rushing something that in their 27 previous seasons had happened only three times.

Coach A1 Saunders took the blame for the skid It's my responsibility as the head football coach to win football games and we havent done that but such a collapse cant be blamed on just one man. Besides, the players said they were well-prepared for the Oilers. We knew the importance of the Raiders show flashes with commanding win QeE33b -Yi "A 'i' Vv Yl YY-SY Yyy Ine Associatec the stop. hasnt been seen since the end of the Cleveland game Nov. 1.

In five games since then, the Chargers have scored a total of 70 points. That works out to 14 points a game or about two quarters worth of production when Air Coryell was in operation. The 18 points they scored Sunday were actually the most since the Cleveland contest. But they also lost a season-high four fumbles and converted just two of 13 third-down attempts. We havent had a real good feeling about the offense in a while, Please see Chargers, page C2 of potential over Buffalo The Associated '-fess off lusty celebrations by a crowd of 66,471 fans, the Saints locker room was suprisingly subdued.

Since I grew up in the area, I know what this means to these fans, said Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert, who enjoyed the best outing of his three-year NFL career, completing 16 of 24 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. But, really, what we want is to go ahead and win the division if we can. Thats what were supposed to do, Please see Saints, page C2 Indeed, all of this comes a bit late to be much help this season. The Raiders may suddenly look like a playoff-caliber team, but theyre still no better than 5-7 with three games to play. And in the Please see Raiders, page C2 game, the coaches had prepared us well, and we were fired up, but we just didnt get it done, said guard James FitzPatrick.

Its really frustrating right now. We're down." Why? No one seems to have a definitive answer. Its like Chinese anthmetic; I'm totally confused," said safety Ven-cie Glenn. Im kind of shell-shocked. I really don't know what to say.

At least three of Glenns defensive teammates Mike Charles, Mike Davis and Martin Bayless didnt even try; all three declined to comment. I dont have nothing good to say, so Id rather not say The Associated Press lost in the first round of the ACC tournament we didnt think wed be here either. Sundays title match was the most improbable of pairings as Clemson, the 23rd team selected to the 24-team playoff field, and the Aztecs, the last team selected, tangled before a sellout crowd of 8,000 fans. The Tigers, 18-5-1, and unranked going into the playoffs, dominated the first half, taking nine shots on goal to only two for the Aztecs. Senior Paul Rutenis gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead at the 22:31 mark of the half on a five-yard header off an assist by Murray following a throw-in from the corner.

That lead held up despite San Diego States more aggressive second-half play. The Aztecs missed three opportunities in Please see Aztecs, page C2 Aztecs goalie Bryan Finnerty, left, teammate Ken Taylor, dark shirt, battle two Clemson players for the ball. Pete Rose may give up on playing DALLAS (AP) Pete Rose may finally hang em up while Dave Parker, Phil Bradley and Floyd Bannister might be moving as teams keep talking trade at major league baseball's winter meetings. Mike Marshall, Glenn Wilson and Dave Stieb also could be on the go with trade winds rustling. But the only action Sunday was free agent Ron Hassey signing with Oakland.

There was a report, however, that 46-year-old Rose might finally announce his retirement as a player, perhaps today. The Cincinnati Reds manager, baseballs all-time hit leader with 4.256, did not play last season for the first time since 1963. The Rocky Mountain News reported today that Rose would make his announcement this week. The New York Yankees, always active at this annual swap mart, and the New York Mets seemed certain to deal big-name players this week while other clubs prepared to shuffle prospects. Free agents, Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and the major league draft also were on the agenda today.

Teams have until midnight to offer salary arbitration to their free agents or lose the right to sign them until May 1. The St. Louis Cardinals were expected to make that offer to Jack Clark while Detroit was likely to do the same with Frank Tanana. Ueberroth began Monday morning with his State of the Game address, which was likely to deal with baseballs better financial outlook. Immediately after the speech was the draft, in which players not on any 40-man roster could be claimed for $50,000.

Craig McMur-try was the most notable among the available, although lesser-known minor leaguers often turn out to be the best picks. Toronto Please see Baseball, page C2 Aztecs dreams of title are dashed by Clemson Owner Tom Benson celebrates the Saints first playoff berth. Saints be praised: Longtime losers claim first playoff berth By Eric Noland Los Angeles Daily News LOS ANGELES It was more what A1 Davis envisioned for his football team this season: Bo Jackson right. Marcus Allen left. James Lofton down the middle.

Todd Christensen over on the sideline. Dokie Williams in the end zone. The line blocking. The defense hounding and containing a quarterback the caliber of Jim Kelly. The enduring anguish for the Los Angeles Raiders owner, his team and its fans is that all of this took so many weeks to reach fruition.

The Raiders offered another glimpse of their abundant potential Sunday, powering past the Buffalo Bills to a 34-21 victory before 43,143 fans at the Coliseum. It was a day when spectators held their breath in anticipation of the feats of Jackson, the rookie halfback who had rushed for 221 yards and scored three touchdowns the previous week at Seattle. Instead, against a defense that undoubtedly had Bo on the brain, the Raiders worked the entire cast into the act. Wide receiver Lofton caught six passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Allen had 58 yards receiving, 47 rushing (plus a touchdown) and 23 passing.

Quarterback Marc Wilson hit 21 of 32 passes (65.6 percent) for 337 yards and three touchdowns and enjoyed his third straight game without an interception. The offensive line helped the Raiders average nearly seven yards per play, and gave up only one sack of Wilson. The defense shut out the Bills in the final quarter and at least minimized the Kelly threat. Oh, yes. And Jackson, a virtual afterthought on this day, rushed for a mere 78 yards on 19 carries and caught four passes for 59, including a 14-yard touchdown toss from Wilson in the first quarter.

Wide receiver Williams, who contributed a decisive, 23-yard touchdown reception from Wilson in the fourth quarter, surveyed the CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -Clemson soccer Coach I.M. Ibrahim usually goes into each season thinking about national championships, but he said this one came as a surprise. Freshman Richie Richmond, subbing for injured All-American Bruce Murray, drove home a 12-yard shot in the final minute of play as Clemson clinched a 2-0 victory over San Diego State in the championship match of the NCAA soccer tournament Sunday. The championship was the second for Clemson in the past four years and represented the third national title for an Atlantic Coast Conference team in four seasons.

Duke won the title in 1986. I dreamed about it going into the season, but I really didnt think it would happen, Ibrahim said. A lot of people didnt think wed be here, and when we By Slim Smith Knight-Ridder News Service NEW ORLEANS Go ahead. Say it. Say the word.

Thats as in playoffs, where the New Orleans Saints found themselves headed for the first time in the franchises 21-year history, thanks to a 44-34 victory over 4-8 Tampa Bay. The Saints win, coupled with losses by Philadelphia and St. Louis, assured New Orleans a playoff berth. But while the victory touched Raiders sudden revival and said, Its frustrating to look back and wish it could have started earlier, but after losing so many in a row, five games (actually seven), its just a good feeling to know and to show that were capable of playing good football. a.

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