CHARGER NOTEBOOK / T.J. SIMERS : Defense Again Falls Down in 4th Quarter
SEATTLE — The Chargers employed “Operation Play More People” on defense Sunday, and nothing changed.
When the Seahawks had to move the ball, the Charger defense went belly-up in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
“We substituted people, so nobody was tired,” defensive end Burt Grossman said. “I don’t know what it’s going to be this week. They still scored in the fourth quarter.”
The Seahawks not only put 10 points on the board in the fourth quarter, but when they had to hold onto the ball and run out the clock, they ground out three first downs.
“We went with a lot of dogs and stunts and we had five consecutive plays where they ran the ball in the right place,” linebacker Gary Plummer said. “We were dogging up inside, and they ran outside. Every time, it was just unbelievable.
“He wasn’t audibiling at the line of scrimmage; it was just uncanny.”
It was also effective.
Seahawks’ kicker John Kasay celebrated his 22nd birthday Sunday--at the Chargers’ expense.
Kasay, a fourth-round pick from the University of Georgia, attempted his first two field goals from beyond 50 yards in the NFL, and made them.
“Kicking a 50-yard field goal,” Kasay said, “is kind of like a 50-foot putt with about 14 breaks up a hill.”
His fourth-quarter kick from 54 yards tied Efren Herrera and Norm Johnson, who was successful twice from the same distance, for the longest field goal in franchise history.
“It’s great having coaches and players behind me,” Kasay said. “We needed to capitalize. When everybody has their uniform all bloody and my uniform is all clean, it is important I make that kick.”
His 51-yarder in the second quarter gave the Seahawks a 10-3 lead, and his long-range shot in the fourth quarter determined the final score at 20-9.
“We didn’t have any doubt that he would have the leg strength to make it,” Seattle Coach Chuck Knox said. “There just wasn’t any question.”
How many would have bet running back Chris Samuels (Who?) would get a chance to run the ball for the Chargers before Eric Bieniemy?
Samuels, a 12th-round pick, was added to the roster Saturday to replace Rod Bernstine, who was placed on injured reserve with a back injury.
Samuels carried the ball in the fourth quarter and gained six yards, and the Seahawks were penalized on the play for tugging at his face mask.
Bieniemy, meanwhile, is still waiting for his first NFL carry.
Linebacker Leslie O’Neal, who has been limited to two sacks in the first eight games, collected sack No. 3, but was called for grabbing Dave Krieg’s face mask.
“That’s the way life is,” O’Neal said. “That’s the way my season has gone.”
Better to be lucky than . . . let the Seahawks score.
In the second quarter, wide receiver Brian Blades was waving his hand and standing all alone in the end zone as quarterback Dave Krieg scrambled for time.
Krieg looked as if he had made up his mind to run the ball, but as he approached the line of scrimmage, he noticed Blades. He stopped abruptly, and tried to fling the ball to Blades, but underthrew it badly.
Cornerback Gill Byrd caught the poorly thrown pass for his fifth interception of the season, and instead of scoring a touchdown, Blades was called on to tackle Byrd.
Plummer was helped off the field in the final seconds with a sprained knee.
“I’ll be ready to play in the next game,” Plummer said.
Mike Zandofsky replaced rookie Eric Moten at left guard, team officials said, because Moten aggravated a neck injury that has plagued him the whole season.
Sign on the wall: “Sorry Seahawks--This week Idaho fans are cheering for a “Deep Friesz.”
John Friesz continues to fill the air with footballs. He completed 27 of 41 passes for 212 yards.
“After each game of the season I’ve been honestly able to say that I’ve improved,” Friesz said. “But right now I don’t have that feeling. I don’t feel I took that next little step of growing.”
The Chargers get a week off and then play the Seahawks again, and that’s probably just fine with Knox.
Knox, who coached previously with the Rams and Bills, has a 16-4 record against the Chargers, including a 13-3 mark while in charge of the Seahawks.
“We struggled offensively, we made some errors, but our defense kept us in the football game,” Knox said. “We’re 5-4 with the bye coming up, and the only nice thing about the bye, is winning before it, because it gives you a chance to kind of enjoy it. There’s so much more satisfaction getting out of here with a win.”
Punter Rick Tuten, known better up here as “Bootin’ Tuten” began his professional career with the Chargers as a free agent in 1988.
He never made it through training camp with the Chargers, however, and went on to play with the Eagles, Bills and Packers before joining the Seahawks on Oct. 9.
Tuten punted four times against the Chargers and averaged 40.5 yards; Kitrick Taylor ran Tuten’s kicks back for a total of 27 yards.
Chargers’ punt John Kidd also kicked four times, and averaged 35.8 yards a attempt. The Seahawks asked for a fair catch on each of Kidds’ kicks.
You look at the statistics compiled against the Chargers’ secondary in recent weeks, and wonder: How bad of a player is cornerback Cedric Mack?
The Chargers claimed Mack off waivers from Phoenix on Aug. 20, but have designated him as on one of their two inactive players seven of the past nine weeks, including the last six.
In the past four weeks the opposition has completed 73 of 111 passes against the Charger defense for 842 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Mack started 84 games for the Cardinals and has 16 career interceptions.
Linebacker Billy Ray Smith, who has remained on the sideline for much of this season with a sore knee, got the call on the team’s third defensive play.
As part of the Chargers’ “Operation Play More People” plan, Smith came in along with defensive lineman Mitchell Benson and defensive backs’ Donnie Elder and Donald Frank.
Smith lined up at inside linebacker, and never got touched as he blitzed Krieg. The quarterback, however, managed to pass the ball before getting decked by Smith and found Blades for a 14-yard gain and a first down.
Smith came back later, however, and intercepted a pass to set up John Carney’s third field goal of the day.
From the “have you heard this before” department: “I don’t see how they’re a 1-8 team,” said Seattle defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy. “They’re a great football team.”
Hey, they might even be the best 1-8 team in football .
