THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411270192
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: AFC Grapevine
SOURCE: Jim Ducibella
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
Suddenly, San Diego is suffering a confidence crisis.
The Chargers' 6-0 start has deteriorated to an 8-3 mark with five games left in the regular season; five games, perhaps, left in the Chargers' season as well.
A Chargers front-office man told the LA Times recently: ``We might not win another game, and if we do, I'm not sure 9-7 is going to put us in the playoffs.''
Weird, huh?
After all, the Chargers finish the season with four of five games at home.
And Stan Humphries is back at quarterback.
What do you mean, that's the problem?
Ever since the second half of a 36-22 victory over the Saints Oct. 16, Humphries has thrown three touchdown passes with seven interceptions, while completing 51 percent of his passes.
``It's too early to tell how Stan will come out of this,'' Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard said. ``I'd like to believe he can lift himself above this and become a real good quarterback in this league over a long period of time.''
If Humphries is worried, he's not showing it.
``People see us go 6-0 and then we're 8-3 and it's like, `My God, what's going on?' '' Humphries said. ``We're on top of our division, we've lost only one game in the division and it's not a reason to get overwhelmed. We have to realize that as a team. . . . It's not something to go crazy over.''
There is a feeling within the Chargers organization that maybe Humphries has lost his confidence and is now pressing to live up to expectations.
``That's what I hope doesn't happen,'' Beathard said. ``I hope he doesn't think he has to do it all, because then he will be pressing to make the big play.''
Sorry, Bobby, Humphries admits that sometimes that's exactly what goes through his mind.
``Sometimes when I get in the huddle I think, well, we're struggling a bit on offense, and maybe if I make a great throw or make a great play then the whole offense will come out of its funk,'' he said.
CHATTING WITH . . . Ex-Patriots QB Steve Grogan
Q: What do you think of Drew Bledsoe?
A: Drew's still only in his second year, so he's going to have his ups and downs. He'll be real lucky if he ever has another game like that (against the Vikings). If he can stay healthy and keep improving, he could become one of the best in the history of the game.
Q: What impresses you most about Bledsoe?
A: He doesn't seem to get too high after a win or too low after a loss. That's good. When you're a quarterback in this league, it's important that you keep things on an even keel.
Q: Is there anything you'd question about his throwing?
A: He still throws off his back foot too often. (But) he can throw any kind of pass. I think he has a good chance of becoming the standard against which future quarterbacks are measured. Drew reminds me of a young Dan Marino.
TRIVIA: Who holds the U.S. pro football record for most passing yards in a game?
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: Five games into the season, Jets coach Pete Carroll evaluated his team's lack of a game-breaking offensive threat and proclaimed: ``We just can't go out there and do it without turnovers.''
The Jets heard.
The situation has turned around so dramatically that the Jets have gone from minus-7 to a plus-6. In that time, they have produced 20 turnovers and yielded only 7. Only five teams in the league are ahead of them now. And only the Cowboys have come close to the Jets since Week 5 in forcing teams to cough up the ball.
Since 1991, the year after Carroll took over as defensive coordinator, the Jets are fourth in the league in taking away the ball.
``Forcing fumbles comes from awareness,'' Carroll said. ``It's not just getting the guy - but knowing where the ball is.''
DID YOU KNOW THAT: The Bills have been outscored by a combined, 75-52, in fourth quarters this season . . . . Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, the Jets have never won a divisional title. They are the only team to claim that lowly distinction. Even Tampa Bay has won the NFC Central twice. . . . Joe Tofflemire, Seahawks center, tripped on the stairs entering his garage recently and chipped a bone in his wrist. While on all fours - and cursing - Tofflemire's son came in and asked, ``Daddy, are you playing dinosaur?'' . . . 11 of the AFC's 14 teams remain in playoff contention.
THEY WROTE IT:
Jim Litke, Associated Press, on the 6-6 Bills: ``Before we get consumed by the playoffs without them, (it) might be the time to thank the Bills for being so stubborn long after the forces in the modern game dictated against it.
``The 1950-55 Cleveland Browns reached the NFL title game six straight times and the Chicago Bears managed the trick four consecutive seasons, from 1940-43. But both those teams played during eras when stockpiling talent was easier, when the divisions were smaller and the schedules shorter.
``These Bills got older, they bickered, they lost big chunks of their offense and defense to free agency. They got dispirited and threatened with an overhaul after every Super Bowl setback. And yet, for all that, they refused to be denied.''
TRIVIA ANSWER: Jim Kelly - then of the Houston Gamblers - passed for 574 yards in a USFL game against the LA Express in 1985. MEMO: Material in this column was obtained from Virginian-Pilot and
Ledger-Star wire services. by CNB