Rookie Quarterback Tolliver Shows Flashes of a Charger Future

SAN DIEGO —  Aw shucks.

Charger quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver didn’t look too bad Sunday, did he?

There’s something very apple pie about this kid, a refreshing change from the always silent and sometimes sullen Jim McMahon.

Punky is out. Spunky is in.

Get this. Fresh off his third and best start in Sunday’s, 26-21, loss to the Washington Redskins, the rookie Tolliver was saying: “This is a great stadium. I liked it, enjoyed it. I’ve been a Cowboy fan all my life so I hate (the Redskins) and would have loved to have won the game.”

Was that really Billy Joe or was that Beaver Cleaver?

Up until Sunday, Tolliver had just three things working in his favor. Enthusiasm, enthusiasm and enthusiasm. And the rest of what everybody saw was just exactly what you would expect from a rookie. Incompletions and indecisions piled on top of interceptions and losses.

Tolliver made his first start Oct. 29 against Seattle. He completed six passes in 17 attempts for 41 yards and was excused after the third quarter in favor of McMahon. The Chargers lost, 10-7.

Round two was Dec. 3. Tolliver started against the Jets and completed 24 of 51 passes for 230 yards and two interceptions. Better, but still brutal. The Chargers lost, 20-17.

Rather than canceling “The Tolliver Show,” as he did after the Seattle game, Charger Coach Dan Henning stuck with his rookie for a second consecutive week. The result may have put “The McMahon Show,” which is certainly no longer cost effective, in permanent reruns. Tolliver completed 24 of 39 for 350 yards and two touchdowns Sunday.

He got rid of the ball quickly. He avoided the rush. And, for the first time as a starter, he didn’t throw an interception. Against a good defense, too.

Certainly, there were moments when he looked like a rookie. In the final two minutes, Tolliver threw high to receiver Wayne Walker on fourth-and-three from the Redskins’ six, allowing cornerback Martin Mayhew to strip the ball free and prevent the Chargers from a first and goal. But, for the first time in a long while, the big picture was bright.

Tolliver’s progression from atrocious to acceptable wasn’t completely unexpected by his teammates.

“None of what you saw today surprised any of us,” said cornerback Gill Byrd when asked to assess Tolliver’s performance against the Redskins.

Remember, too, Tolliver didn’t roll over and go to sleep when the Chargers traded for McMahon. He said right from the beginning that he planned to make a run at the starting job. But what were the Chargers going to do? Make one of the biggest trades in their history and then start the 51st pick in the draft? Uh-uh.

Besides, Tolliver broke his collarbone in an exhibition game against Phoenix and was forced out of action for the first six weeks of the regular season. All along, Henning has been aware that his rookie is in a pretty big hurry to succeed.

“He has certain beliefs that he brings about with himself that he’s going to be there, that he’s going to be a good quarterback, that he’s going to be a winner,” Henning said. “It’s just a matter of time, and he doesn’t have a lot of patience. He wants to do it now, and he’s willing to do the things it takes to get it done now.”

What remains to be seen, as Henning points out, is whether Tolliver has what it takes to be consistent.

“There were a lot of rough edges, but he had a good performance,” Henning said. “But it bears out the fact that he can do it. Now it has to be determined if he can do it on a regular basis, week in and week out.”

It also has to be determined whether McMahon can sit on the sidelines week in and week out and watch. It’s hard to picture McMahon as the prototype backup, standing around with a baseball cap on his head holding a clipboard.

Henning was asked Monday if McMahon has been supportive of Tolliver.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Both in practice, in the meetings and on the sidelines.”

Charger Notes

Charger tackle Joel Patten, who missed part of Sunday’s game with a hand injury, will be X-rayed for a possible fracture. Coach Dan Henning said it hasn’t yet been determined whether he will be available for Sunday’s game with Kansas City. Other Charger injuries include cornerback Sam Seale (hamstring), outside linebacker David Brandon (hamstring) and defensive tackle George Hinkle (hamstring). All three will likely play Sunday.