Bieniemy Gets High Marks

SAN DIEGO â€”  Marion Butts, take note.

The Chargers handed the ball to Eric Bieniemy in Saturday’s scrimmage against the Rams, and the body-by-Schwarzenagger running back ran like, well, Marion Butts.

Bieniemy, the team’s second-round draft choice, rushed for 42 yards on 16 carries, scored a pair of touchdowns in the Chargers’ 24-12 victory in front of an estimated 5,000 Family Day fans. Bieniemy also traded insults and punches with several Rams’ defenders.

“It seems like he wants to fight every time some guy tackles him,” said defensive end Burt Grossman.

Bieniemy, 5-feet-7 and 204 pounds, sparred verbally with Rams’ linebacker Frank Stams, and then after being mugged by 6-2, 230-pound linebacker Vernon Maxwell, Bieniemy bounced to his feet doing the Ali Shuffle.

“He made a great play, but after the play he gave me a little extra hit (on the facemask),” Bieniemy said. “I think that’s all unnecessary. I’m a man and I’m going to defend myself.”

Bieniemy’s fiesty debut was reminiscent of the circumstances surrounding Butts’ coming-out party two years ago. Butts, a seventh-round draft choice, was projected to be a special teams performer, but he earned additional playing time when Gary Anderson refused to report to training camp.

Butts went on to become the team’s single-season rushing leader, and how quickly everyone forgot Gary Anderson. But now Butts is sitting out, and Bieniemy is getting the football.

“I thought Bieniemy ran hard,” Coach Dan Henning said. “I like his personality; I like his intensity.

“But that position he plays, he can’t afford to be expending too much excess energy in getting involved in action other than the football action. I think he’ll tone that down, but he has a personality I would call fiery.”

After scoring his second touchdown of the day on a five-yard run to the outside, he was hit hard in the end zone. For a moment, it appeared as if the fighting was about to begin again.

“Most definitely I’m going to tone down,” Bieniemy said. “If you keep that type of style of play up, you’ll find yourself sitting right next to the coach. Once the yellow flag goes up and you’re ejected, it’s no fun sitting on the sidelines watching.”

While most of the Chargers’ veteran players, including running backs Rod Bernstine and Ronnie Harmon, remained spectators during Saturday’s scrimmage, Bieniemy worked overtime.

After quarterback John Friesz hit H-back Terry Orr with a three-yard touchdown pass, Bieniemy added a short touchdown run and a mighty spike.

“I’ve always wanted to spike an NFL football and it felt pretty good,” Bieniemy said. “But that’s not my style. I won’t ever spike it again.”

Chris Samuels, the Chargers’ 12th-round pick and an impressive first-week performer in training camp, complemented Bieniemy’s performance with a 12-yard touchdown reception to close the scrimmage. Samuels caught a short pass from Bob Gagliano, bounced off Rams’ defender Jeff Hammerschmidt and slammed into the end zone.

Gagliano, who is battling Friesz for backup duty to Billy Joe Tolliver, had difficulty releasing the football early in the scrimmage and was sacked several times.

He finished the afternoon seven for nine for 107 yards, including a 45-yarder to rookie receiver Joe Weinberg, and Friesz went seven for 10 for 11 yards.

A trio of Rams’ quarterbacks completed 16 of 22 passes against the Chargers for 164 yards. Rams’ starting quarterback Jim Everett did not participate, but Chuck Long delivered a scoring toss to Derrick Faison.

David Lang, who missed the Rams’ training camp last season while spending 120 days in the Arizona State Prison for receiving stolen goods, ran eight times for 32 yards, including a one-yard touchdown leap.

Defensive tackle George Thornton, one of the Chargers’ second-round picks, Plan B free agent linebacker Galand Thaxton and free agent defensive back Kris McCall earned plaudits from Henning on their play.

Tolliver participated in the team’s seven-on-seven drills with the Rams, but before the scrimmage he acknowledged he has been battling a painful back injury.

“It hurts like hell,” he said. “But I’m not worried about it.”

Tolliver pulled a lower back muscle in summer school, and was forced to miss several days of practice. He said he re-injured the muscle a couple of days ago and was advised by the team’s trainers to stop practicing.

“They tried to tell me that, but I said, ‘No, I’m fine,’ ” Tolliver said. “It’s no big deal. It will go away in a couple of days.

“It doesn’t hurt too bad when I throw; once you’re in your throwing motion you don’t think about it. It’s pulling away from center that’s tough. It’s just a muscle spasm.”

Henning said he’s not concerned about Tolliver’s back injury, unless it becomes a chronic problem forcing him to miss practice time.

“In some ways I think it helps him,” Henning said. “Sometimes when he gets in a little trouble, he winds up to throw the ball. When his back is hurting, he never winds up. He’s got plenty of arm to throw without doing that, and when it is sore, he seems to be more accurate.

“I told him the other day maybe I’ll kick him in the back before every game.”

After the first week of camp, it has appeared to some that the Charger quarterbacks haven’t been very impressive.

“They haven’t been dazzling,” said Ted Tollner, the team’s quarterbacks coach. “But we don’t need a dazzler. We need a consistent performer. And we haven’t had that.

“I don’t think we have anybody at that level yet that can be a dazzler. The guys that dazzle you are the Jim Kellys, the John Elways and the Joe Montanas. Every other team in the league that doesn’t have one of those guys is where we are.

“We’re just trying to bring them to a consistent level, and as long as we’re realistic there in our expectations, we can have a positive situation and we can win.”

The Chargers bought 24 more hours of football for one unlucky soul who must be cut today.

The team reached a contract agreement Friday with second-round pick Eric Moten, a guard from Michigan State, but kept his signature off the contract Saturday so they wouldn’t have to cut a player before the scrimmage with the Rams.

The Chargers also are expected to announce today that they have reached a contract agreement with veteran defensive lineman George Hinkle.