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1978 San Diego Chargers
Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season
Record: 9-7-0, Finished 2nd in AFC West Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 355 points (22.2/g), 6th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 309 points (19.3/g), 21st.
Differential of 46 points (2.9/g), 7th.
Expected W-L: 9.3-6.7.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -13 (-0.8/g), 27th.
Simple Rating System: Total 3.6, Offense: 4.6, Defense: -0.9, SoS: 0.7, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Tommy Prothro (1-3-0) and Don Coryell (8-4-0)
Offensive Coordinator: Ray Perkins
Training Camp: UC San Diego (San Diego, California)
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Starters
ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),Hide Non-primary Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Dan Fouts | 27 | 5 | 14 | 224 for 381, 2,999 yards, 24 td, 20 int, & 20 rushes for 43 yards and 2 td | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 64th pick / 1973 |
| RB | Lydell Mitchell | 29 | 6 | 11 | 214 rushes for 820 yards, 3 td, & 57 catches for 500 yards and 2 td | Baltimore Colts / 2nd / 48th pick / 1972 |
| FB | Don Woods | 27 | 4 | 7 | 151 rushes for 514 yards, 3 td, & 34 catches for 295 yards and 0 td | Green Bay Packers / 6th / 134th pick / 1974 |
| FB | Bo Matthews | 27 | 4 | 9 | 71 rushes for 286 yards, 0 td, & 11 catches for 78 yards and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 2nd pick / 1974 |
| WR | John Jefferson* | 22 | Rook | 14 | 56 catches for 1,001 yards, 13 td, & 1 rush for 7 yards and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 14th pick / 1978 |
| WR | Charlie Joiner | 31 | 9 | 15 | 33 catches for 607 yards, 1 td | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| TE | Bob Klein | 31 | 9 | 16 | 34 catches for 413 yards, 2 td | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 21st pick / 1969 |
| LT | Billy Shields | 25 | 3 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 136th pick / 1975 |
| LG | Doug Wilkerson | 31 | 8 | 16 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 14th pick / 1970 | |
| C | Don Macek | 24 | 2 | 9 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1976 | |
| C | Ralph Perretta | 25 | 3 | 8 | 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 8th / 206th pick / 1975 |
| RG | Ed White | 31 | 9 | 15 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 39th pick / 1969 | |
| RT | Russ Washington* | 32 | 10 | 16 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 4th pick / 1968 | |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Leroy Jones | 28 | 2 | 15 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 48th pick / 1975 |
| LDT | Louie Kelcher*+ | 25 | 3 | 15 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 30th pick / 1975 |
| RDT | Gary Johnson | 26 | 3 | 14 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 8th pick / 1975 |
| RDE | Fred Dean | 26 | 3 | 14 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1975 |
| LLB | Don Goode | 27 | 4 | 14 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 15th pick / 1974 |
| MLB | Bob Horn | 24 | 2 | 16 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 94th pick / 1976 |
| RLB | Woodrow Lowe | 24 | 2 | 16 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1976 |
| LCB | Hal Stringert | 26 | 3 | 10 | 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| LCB | Jerome Dove | 25 | 1 | 7 | 1 interception, 4 fumbles recovered | Oakland Raiders / 8th / 220th pick / 1976 |
| RCB | Mike H. Williams | 25 | 3 | 15 | 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1975 |
| SS | Mike Fuller | 25 | 3 | 16 | 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1975 |
| FS | Pete Shaw | 24 | 1 | 14 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 152nd pick / 1977 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Rolf Benirschke | 23 | 1 | 0 | 18 of 22 field goals & 37 of 43 extra points | Oakland Raiders / 12th / 334th pick / 1977 |
| P | Jeff West | 25 | 3 | 0 | 73 punts for a 37.3 average, 2 blocked | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 122nd pick / 1975 |
| PR | Mike Fuller | 25 | 3 | 16 | 39 punt returns for a 11.2 average and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1975 |
| KR | Artie Owens | 25 | 2 | 2 | 20 kick returns for a 26.2 average and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 115th pick / 1976 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Charles Aiu | 24 | G | 6 | 0 | 251 | 6-2 | Hawaii | 5/22/1954 | 2 | |
| 43 | Rickey Anderson | 25 | RB | 16 | 0 | 211 | 6-1 | South Carolina St. | 3/21/1953 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 71st pick / 1978 |
| 60 | Dan Audick | 24 | T-G | 1 | 0 | 252 | 6-3 | Hawaii | 11/15/1954 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 106th pick / 1977 |
| 35 | Larry Barnes | 24 | RB | 4 | 0 | 220 | 5-11 | Tennessee St. | 7/17/1954 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 151st pick / 1977 |
| 37 | Hank Bauer | 24 | RB | 16 | 4 | 200 | 5-10 | California Lutheran | 7/15/1954 | 1 | |
| 6 | Rolf Benirschke | 23 | K | 15 | 0 | 171 | 6-0 | California-Davis | 2/7/1955 | 1 | Oakland Raiders / 12th / 334th pick / 1977 |
| 87 | Larry Burton | 27 | WR | 3 | 0 | 192 | 6-1 | Purdue | 12/15/1951 | 3 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 7th pick / 1975 |
| 82 | Pat Curran | 33 | TE-TB | 14 | 0 | 238 | 6-4 | Iowa St.,Lakeland | 9/21/1945 | 9 | Los Angeles Rams / 6th / 151st pick / 1969 |
| 71 | Fred Dean | 26 | DE | 15 | 14 | 230 | 6-3 | Louisiana Tech | 2/24/1952 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1975 |
| 73 | Charles DeJurnett | 26 | NT-DT | 15 | 3 | 263 | 6-4 | San Jose St. | 6/17/1952 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 17th / 418th pick / 1974 |
| 48 | Jerome Dove | 25 | DB | 14 | 7 | 190 | 6-0 | Colorado St. | 10/3/1953 | 1 | Oakland Raiders / 8th / 220th pick / 1976 |
| 27 | Glen Edwards | 31 | DB | 14 | 2 | 185 | 6-0 | Florida A&M | 7/31/1947 | 7 | |
| 14 | Dan Fouts | 27 | QB | 15 | 14 | 204 | 6-3 | Oregon | 6/10/1951 | 5 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 64th pick / 1973 |
| 42 | Mike Fuller | 25 | DB | 16 | 16 | 188 | 5-10 | Auburn | 4/7/1953 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1975 |
| 50 | Don Goode | 27 | LB | 14 | 14 | 234 | 6-2 | Kansas | 6/21/1951 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 15th pick / 1974 |
| 77 | Buddy Hardaway | 24 | T | 12 | 0 | 309 | 6-9 | Oklahoma St. | 12/12/1954 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 41st pick / 1978 |
| 12 | James Harris | 31 | QB | 9 | 2 | 210 | 6-4 | Grambling St. | 7/20/1947 | 9 | Buffalo Bills / 8th / 192nd pick / 1969 |
| 55 | Bob Horn | 24 | LB | 16 | 16 | 235 | 6-3 | Oregon St. | 2/6/1954 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 94th pick / 1976 |
| 83 | John Jefferson* | 22 | WR | 14 | 14 | 198 | 6-1 | Arizona St. | 2/3/1956 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 14th pick / 1978 |
| 79 | Gary Johnson | 26 | DT-DE-NT | 15 | 14 | 257 | 6-2 | Grambling St. | 8/31/1952 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 8th pick / 1975 |
| 18 | Charlie Joiner | 31 | WR | 16 | 15 | 188 | 5-11 | Grambling St. | 10/14/1947 | 9 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| 68 | Leroy Jones | 28 | DE | 16 | 15 | 263 | 6-8 | Norfolk St. | 9/29/1950 | 2 | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 48th pick / 1975 |
| 74 | Louie Kelcher*+ | 25 | DT-NT | 15 | 15 | 291 | 6-5 | SMU | 8/23/1953 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 30th pick / 1975 |
| 31 | Linden King | 23 | LB | 14 | 0 | 241 | 6-4 | Colorado St. | 6/28/1955 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1977 |
| 84 | Bob Klein | 31 | TE | 16 | 16 | 235 | 6-5 | USC | 7/27/1947 | 9 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 21st pick / 1969 |
| 54 | Jim Laslavic | 27 | LB | 16 | 0 | 237 | 6-2 | Penn St. | 10/24/1951 | 5 | Detroit Lions / 3rd / 71st pick / 1973 |
| 69 | John Lee | 25 | DE | 1 | 1 | 255 | 6-2 | Nebraska | 2/17/1953 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 13th / 351st pick / 1976 |
| 51 | Woodrow Lowe | 24 | LB | 16 | 16 | 227 | 6-0 | Alabama | 6/9/1954 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1976 |
| 62 | Don Macek | 24 | C-G | 14 | 9 | 261 | 6-3 | Boston Col. | 7/21/1954 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1976 |
| 41 | Bo Matthews | 27 | RB | 11 | 9 | 230 | 6-4 | Colorado | 11/15/1951 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 2nd pick / 1974 |
| 88 | Greg McCrary | 26 | TE | 8 | 1 | 233 | 6-1 | Clark (GA) | 3/24/1952 | 3 | Atlanta Falcons / 5th / 123rd pick / 1975 |
| 89 | Dwight McDonald | 27 | WR | 12 | 0 | 185 | 6-3 | U.S. International,San Diego St. | 5/24/1951 | 3 | |
| 57 | Rick Middleton | 27 | LB | 12 | 2 | 228 | 6-2 | Ohio St. | 11/28/1951 | 4 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 13th pick / 1974 |
| 26 | Lydell Mitchell | 29 | RB | 16 | 11 | 204 | 5-11 | Penn St. | 5/30/1949 | 6 | Baltimore Colts / 2nd / 48th pick / 1972 |
| 10 | Cliff Olander | 23 | QB | 9 | 0 | 191 | 6-5 | New Mexico St. | 5/15/1955 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 128th pick / 1977 |
| 85 | Artie Owens | 25 | WR-RB | 13 | 2 | 176 | 5-10 | West Virginia | 1/14/1953 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 115th pick / 1976 |
| 53 | Ralph Perretta | 25 | C-G | 15 | 8 | 252 | 6-2 | Purdue | 1/30/1953 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 8th / 206th pick / 1975 |
| 52 | Ray Preston | 24 | LB | 16 | 1 | 218 | 6-0 | Syracuse | 1/25/1954 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 11th / 295th pick / 1976 |
| 20 | Johnny Rodgers | 27 | WR | 6 | 0 | 180 | 5-10 | Nebraska | 7/5/1951 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 25th pick / 1973 |
| 44 | Pete Shaw | 24 | DB | 16 | 14 | 183 | 5-10 | Northwestern | 8/25/1954 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 152nd pick / 1977 |
| 66 | Billy Shields | 25 | T | 16 | 16 | 272 | 6-8 | Georgia Tech | 8/23/1953 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 136th pick / 1975 |
| 58 | Mark Slater | 23 | C | 9 | 0 | 257 | 6-2 | Minnesota | 2/1/1955 | Rook | Philadelphia Eagles / 12th / 315th pick / 1978 |
| 45 | Hal Stringert | 26 | DB | 13 | 10 | 185 | 5-11 | Hawaii,Willamette | 1/2/1952 | 3 | |
| 70 | Russ Washington* | 32 | T-DT | 16 | 16 | 289 | 6-6 | Missouri | 12/17/1946 | 10 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 4th pick / 1968 |
| 80 | Jeff West | 25 | P-TE | 16 | 0 | 212 | 6-3 | Cincinnati | 4/6/1953 | 3 | Cincinnati Bengals / 5th / 122nd pick / 1975 |
| 67 | Ed White | 31 | G-T | 15 | 15 | 269 | 6-1 | California | 4/4/1947 | 9 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 39th pick / 1969 |
| 63 | Doug Wilkerson | 31 | G | 16 | 16 | 253 | 6-3 | North Carolina Central | 3/27/1947 | 8 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 14th pick / 1970 |
| 40 | Clarence Williams | 23 | RB | 10 | 1 | 194 | 5-9 | South Carolina | 1/25/1955 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 124th pick / 1977 |
| 29 | Mike H. Williams | 25 | DB | 16 | 15 | 181 | 5-10 | LSU | 11/22/1953 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1975 |
| 33 | Don Woods | 27 | RB | 16 | 7 | 210 | 6-1 | New Mex. Highlands,New Mexico | 2/17/1951 | 4 | Green Bay Packers / 6th / 134th pick / 1974 |
| 99 | Wilbur Young | 29 | DE-DT | 10 | 2 | 285 | 6-6 | William Penn | 4/20/1949 | 7 | Kansas City Chiefs / 2nd / 39th pick / 1971 |
| Team Total | 26.2 | 16 | 225.9 | 6-1.9 | 3.4 |