Rams and Chargers Will Pay Each Other Sincere Compliments

SAN DIEGO — It’s interesting that the Rams and the San Diego Chargers should meet like this, considering the lengths to which each team has gone to steal the other’s trade secrets.

Don’t be surprised tonight at Jack Murphy Stadium if you happen to confuse the styles with the uniforms.

“It’s funny,” Charger Coach Al Saunders said. “But we’ve always been so diametrically opposed to the Rams.”

And wasn’t it true in the past? On the one hand, you had the Chargers, clearly the most efficient passing machine of the decade, going against the Rams, a dime-store wristwatch in comparison. One team lived on quarterback Dan Fouts and last-second, 60-point wins, the other on tailback Eric Dickerson and a strong defense.

But this season the Rams and the Chargers are desperately trying to move toward each other in an effort to balance their football scales.

To get advice from the experts, of course they sought out each other.

For the Chargers, the move to a stronger running game and defense began last season, when Al Saunders replaced Don Coryell as coach after a 1-7 start.

The Rams were inspired by another frustrating playoff loss and another 28th-place ranking for their pass offense.

Last February, the phone started ringing at Ernie Zampese’s house. The calls, presumably not collect ones, were from the Rams, who were looking to lure the Chargers’ offensive coordinator up the freeway to Anaheim.

They did, and Zampese, a former postman, is busy putting the San Diego stamp on the Ram pass offense.

A few months later, the Chargers called looking for running help. Dickerson, of course, was out of the question, but the Chargers gladly settled for Barry Redden--the back who the wore rusty cleats--and received him in exchange for Buford McGee.

So the wheels of change are in motion, though the Rams and Chargers have moved cautiously toward their goals. Ram Coach John Robinson says the thought of leading a league in passing causes him much discomfort.

It’s the same pain that afflicts Saunders whenever someone mentions a final score of 7-6.

So is the Charger offense really different?

“Not really,” Saunders said. “We would hope we’d have the success that Coryell had. When you lead the NFL in passing six out of eight years, you’d like to be that productive. But there’s a strong feeling in our organization that we have to be more effective running the ball. It’s not the number of times we run, it’s the efficiency.”

Replace the word “pass” for “run” and you have a quote from Robinson about the Rams.

It’s worked out nicely for both teams so far. The Chargers are coming off a 29-0 exhibition win over Dallas. And while the Cowboys have their problems, any Charger shutout at this point is a news bulletin.

The Rams are 2-0 and have shown new offensive spark in both wins, witness Ron Brown’s 46-yard touchdown catch-and-run against the Seattle Seahawks a week ago.

Tonight, though, both teams might need a jump start. Injuries have taken much of the punch and many of the stars out of this game.

First, the Chargers: Starters out tonight include Fouts (back), tight end Kellen Winslow (knee), running back Gary Anderson (ankle), and linebacker Chip Banks (Achilles tendon). Linebacker Billy Ray Smith is still a holdout.

Even the former Ram, Redden, is questionable because of an ankle sprain. The Rams will be without Dickerson, who won’t likely be allowed to stretch his sore hamstrings against the Charger defense.

“He goes through a period of training camp when he has some soreness, and it hasn’t gone away,” Robinson said of Dickerson.

The Rams will also be without starters Henry Ellard (hamstring), Dennis Harrah (calf bruise), Duval Love (knee), Carl Ekern (knee), Mark Jerue (knee) and Charles White, who was arrested Friday on drug charges.

Robert Cox will fill in for Love and holdout Irv Pankey at tackle, while Mike Schad will start at right guard for Harrah. Kevin House will start for Ellard at wide receiver. Ekern’s linebacker spot will be taken by rookie Larry Kelm, who will receive a crash course at the position.

“By the time the season starts, Larry Kelm is going to be a much improved player,” Robinson said. “This is great for him.”

Possibly making his return will be cornerback LeRoy Irvin, who hasn’t played yet this summer because of minor injuries and serious disenchantment over his contract.

Irvin is still bothered with a sore back, an injury suffered while trying to compensate a sore toe.

Ram Notes It’s a 5 p.m. start tonight with the game being televised by both ESPN and Channel 11 locally. . . . Barry Redden, by the way, is still listed as the second-string fullback behind Tim Spencer. But Saunders said that’s only because Spencer is the incumbent. “Both have done extremely well,” he said. “In our offense, both could play in the same backfield.” . . . They won’t get any sympathy from the Rams, but the Chargers play again Thursday night against San Francisco. The Rams have gone the Sunday-Thursday route already, though they had to travel back from London. . . . Apparently the feud between Dan Fouts and San Diego owner Alex Spanos has been patched up. Spanos at one point recently threatened to trade Fouts over a contract dispute, but late this week Spanos called the story a dead issue. . . . Ram quarterback Jim Everett will probably play one half tonight, with reserves Steve Dils and Hugh Millen splitting time in the second half. . . . With Eric Dickerson and Charles White out, Coach John Robinson will take a long look at rookie free agent Gerald Harris, a tailback from Georgia Southern.