Humphries Earns Raves for Making Big Plays

SAN DIEGO —  Charger linebacker Gary Plummer had barely heard of Stan Humphries when the Chargers acquired him from Washington this summer. All Plummer knew was that Humphries was a fourth-string quarterback with the Redskins and that General Manager Bobby Beathard liked him.

Now that the season is two-thirds of the way completed, Plummer is starting to see why Beathard liked him so much.

Humphries’ numbers from Sunday’s 27-3 victory over the Raiders weren’t spectacular -- 13 of 26 for 164 yards with a touchdown and an interception -- but Plummer wasn’t complaining.

“It’s something we’ve been looking for since Dan (Fouts) left,” Plummer said. “He’s playing as well as any quarterback in the league right now. With the skill people we have on offense and the lineman we have, that’s all we needed. A guy that’s not going to make mistakes. Not only has he not made mistakes, he’s made big plays.”

Humphries only made one major mistake Sunday, throwing an ill-advised pass to Shawn Jefferson that Raider cornerback Torin Dorn intercepted in the fourth quarter. But by then, Humphries had already made enough big plays that his interception didn’t even matter.

He had led the Chargers into the end zone three times, giving them a 21-3 lead.

“I thought I had a good game as far as the reads go,” Humphries said. “If it wasn’t there, I threw the ball away.”

His quotes are about as flashy as his wardrobe -- jeans and rugby shirts. But Humphries said he’s not trying to impress anyone, not even a national television audience that saw him for the first time.

“I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody,” he said. “I just try to stay consistent every week.”

But after four games, Humphries performances were consistently bad. He held the ball too long, misread receivers’ routes and his throwing was erratic.

The results?

Humphries had thrown one touchdown pass and eight interceptions. The Chargers were 0-4.

But in the last eight games, seven of them Charger victories, Humphries has thrown 11 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions.

Plummer said much of Humphries’ early problems were not his fault.

“He wasn’t playing well, but the offensive line wasn’t playing well and I don’t think many people realized how much of a factor that was,” Plummer said. “With Broderick Thompson out, they were in disarray.

“You can look at (Washington quarterback) Mark Rypien. He’s gone from the penthouse to the outhouse this year. I think it’s because of his offensive line.”

Humphries was not sacked Sunday and was barely touched. And now Thompson, who is back from the injured reserve list, is one of Humphries’ biggest fans.

“I love playing for the guy. I love blocking for him,” Thompson said. “He’s just so self-assured about his abilities and what he can do.”

Charger running back Marion Butts has noticed it too.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence. You can see it out on the field and in the huddle.”

Humphries said the confidence has always been there. It was even there as he sat on the bench for three years in Washington.

So for Humphries, leading a team to a 7-5 record and shot at the playoffs is not that shocking.

“I envisioned that I’d go somewhere else and play,” he said. “I had confidence in what I can do.”