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Record: 7-9-0, Finished 5th in AFC West Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 394 points (24.6/g), 6th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 413 points (25.8/g), 24th.
Differential of -19 points (-1.2/g), 17th.
Expected W-L: 7.6-8.4.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -2 (-0.1/g), 15th.
Simple Rating System: Total 0.8, Offense: 4.8, Defense: -4.0, SoS: 2.0, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Don Coryell (7-9-0)
Offensive Coordinator: Ernie Zampese
Defensive Coordinator: Tom Bass
Training Camp: UC San Diego (San Diego, California)
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| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Dan Fouts | 33 | 11 | 13 | 317 for 507, 3,740 yards, 19 td, 17 int, & 12 rushes for -29 yards and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 64th pick / 1973 |
| QB | Ed Luther | 27 | 4 | 3 | 83 for 151, 1,163 yards, 5 td, 3 int, & 4 rushes for 11 yards and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 101st pick / 1980 |
| RB | Earnest Jackson* | 25 | 1 | 14 | 296 rushes for 1,179 yards, 8 td, & 39 catches for 222 yards and 1 td | San Diego Chargers / 8th / 202nd pick / 1983 |
| WR | Wes Chandler | 28 | 6 | 15 | 52 catches for 708 yards, 6 td | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 3rd pick / 1978 |
| WR | Charlie Joiner | 37 | 15 | 16 | 61 catches for 793 yards, 6 td | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| TE | Eric Sievers | 27 | 3 | 13 | 41 catches for 438 yards, 3 td | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 107th pick / 1981 |
| TE | Kellen Winslow | 27 | 5 | 7 | 55 catches for 663 yards, 2 td | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 13th pick / 1979 |
| LT | Sam Claphan | 28 | 3 | 16 | Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 47th pick / 1979 | |
| LG | Doug Wilkerson | 37 | 14 | 16 | 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 14th pick / 1970 |
| C | Don Macek | 30 | 8 | 13 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1976 | |
| RG | Dennis McKnight | 25 | 2 | 16 | 2 fumbles recovered | |
| RT | Ed White | 37 | 15 | 13 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 39th pick / 1969 | |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Chuck Ehin | 23 | 1 | 15 | 2.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 12th / 329th pick / 1983 |
| NT | Bill Elko | 25 | 1 | 12 | 1.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 7th / 192nd pick / 1983 |
| RDE | Keith Ferguson | 25 | 3 | 16 | 8.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1981 |
| LOLB | Linden King | 29 | 6 | 16 | 4.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1977 |
| LILB | Mike Green | 23 | 1 | 16 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | San Diego Chargers / 9th / 245th pick / 1983 |
| RILB | Billy Ray Smith | 23 | 1 | 16 | 3.0 sacks, 3 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 5th pick / 1983 |
| ROLB | Woodrow Lowe | 30 | 8 | 15 | 3.0 sacks, 3 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1976 |
| LCB | Gill Byrd | 23 | 1 | 13 | 0.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1983 |
| RCB | Danny Walters | 24 | 1 | 7 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 95th pick / 1983 | |
| RCB | John Turner | 28 | 6 | 6 | 0.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 48th pick / 1978 |
| SS | Ken Greene | 28 | 6 | 13 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | St. Louis Cardinals / 1st / 19th pick / 1978 |
| FS | Tim Fox | 31 | 8 | 10 | 1.0 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | New England Patriots / 1st / 21st pick / 1976 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Rolf Benirschke | 29 | 7 | 0 | 17 of 26 field goals & 41 of 41 extra points | Oakland Raiders / 12th / 334th pick / 1977 |
| P | Maury Buford | 24 | 2 | 0 | 66 punts for a 42.0 average, 0 blocked | San Diego Chargers / 8th / 215th pick / 1982 |
| PR | Lionel James | 22 | Rook | 2 | 30 punt returns for a 6.9 average and 1 td | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 118th pick / 1984 |
| KR | Lionel James | 22 | Rook | 2 | 43 kick returns for a 22.3 average and 0 td | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 118th pick / 1984 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Rick Ackerman | 25 | NT-DT | 9 | 0 | 258 | 6-4 | Memphis | 6/16/1959 | 2 | |
| 86 | Jesse Bendross | 22 | WR | 16 | 0 | 196 | 6-0 | Alabama | 7/19/1962 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 7th / 174th pick / 1984 |
| 6 | Rolf Benirschke | 29 | K | 14 | 0 | 171 | 6-0 | California-Davis | 2/7/1955 | 7 | Oakland Raiders / 12th / 334th pick / 1977 |
| 81 | Steve Bird | 24 | WR | 1 | 0 | 171 | 5-11 | East. Kentucky | 10/20/1960 | 1 | St. Louis Cardinals / 5th / 130th pick / 1983 |
| 50 | Carlos Bradley | 24 | LB | 8 | 1 | 224 | 6-0 | Wake Forest | 4/27/1960 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 11th / 300th pick / 1981 |
| 7 | Maury Buford | 24 | P | 16 | 0 | 191 | 6-1 | Texas Tech | 2/18/1960 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 8th / 215th pick / 1982 |
| 30 | Scott Byers | 26 | DB | 6 | 0 | 170 | 5-11 | Long Beach St. | 7/3/1958 | Rook | |
| 22 | Gill Byrd | 23 | DB | 13 | 13 | 195 | 5-11 | San Jose St. | 2/20/1961 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1983 |
| 89 | Wes Chandler | 28 | WR | 15 | 15 | 196 | 6-0 | Florida | 8/22/1956 | 6 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 3rd pick / 1978 |
| 91 | Tony Chickillo | 24 | NT-DE-G | 1 | 0 | 262 | 6-3 | Miami (FL) | 7/8/1960 | Rook | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 5th / 131st pick / 1983 |
| 77 | Sam Claphan | 28 | T-G | 16 | 16 | 285 | 6-6 | Oklahoma | 10/10/1956 | 3 | Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 47th pick / 1979 |
| 45 | Mike Dennis | 26 | DB | 2 | 0 | 190 | 5-10 | Wyoming | 6/6/1958 | 4 | |
| 82 | Bobby Duckworth | 26 | WR | 16 | 1 | 198 | 6-3 | Arkansas | 11/27/1958 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 162nd pick / 1981 |
| 84 | Ron Egloff | 29 | TE | 12 | 4 | 230 | 6-5 | Wisconsin | 10/3/1955 | 7 | |
| 78 | Chuck Ehin | 23 | NT-DE-LB | 16 | 15 | 261 | 6-4 | BYU | 7/1/1961 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 12th / 329th pick / 1983 |
| 68 | Bill Elko | 25 | NT-G | 15 | 12 | 278 | 6-5 | Arizona St.,LSU | 12/28/1959 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 7th / 192nd pick / 1983 |
| 76 | Keith Ferguson | 25 | DE | 16 | 16 | 252 | 6-5 | Ohio St. | 4/3/1959 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1981 |
| 14 | Dan Fouts | 33 | QB | 13 | 13 | 204 | 6-3 | Oregon | 6/10/1951 | 11 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 64th pick / 1973 |
| 48 | Tim Fox | 31 | DB | 11 | 10 | 186 | 5-11 | Ohio St. | 11/1/1953 | 8 | New England Patriots / 1st / 21st pick / 1976 |
| 75 | Andrew Gissinger | 25 | T | 16 | 4 | 280 | 6-5 | Syracuse | 7/4/1959 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 141st pick / 1981 |
| 69 | Derrel Gofourth | 29 | G-C | 16 | 2 | 260 | 6-3 | Oklahoma St. | 3/20/1955 | 7 | Green Bay Packers / 7th / 172nd pick / 1977 |
| 58 | Mike Green | 23 | LB | 16 | 16 | 235 | 6-0 | Oklahoma St. | 6/29/1961 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 9th / 245th pick / 1983 |
| 28 | Ken Greene | 28 | DB | 15 | 13 | 203 | 6-3 | Washington St. | 5/8/1956 | 6 | St. Louis Cardinals / 1st / 19th pick / 1978 |
| 43 | Bob Gregor | 27 | DB | 7 | 2 | 192 | 6-2 | Washington St. | 2/10/1957 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 108th pick / 1980 |
| 73 | Keith Guthrie | 23 | NT | 11 | 2 | 264 | 6-4 | Texas A&M | 8/17/1961 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 6th / 144th pick / 1984 |
| 72 | Rickey Hagood | 23 | NT | 2 | 0 | 286 | 6-2 | South Carolina | 4/24/1961 | Rook | Seattle Seahawks / 4th / 86th pick / 1984 |
| 20 | Reuben Henderson | 26 | DB | 12 | 0 | 196 | 6-1 | Oklahoma St.,San Diego St. | 10/3/1958 | 3 | Chicago Bears / 6th / 150th pick / 1981 |
| 88 | Pete Holohan | 25 | TE | 15 | 4 | 237 | 6-4 | Notre Dame | 7/25/1959 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 7th / 189th pick / 1981 |
| 41 | Earnest Jackson* | 25 | RB | 16 | 14 | 213 | 5-9 | Texas A&M | 12/18/1959 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 8th / 202nd pick / 1983 |
| 26 | Lionel James | 22 | RB-WR | 16 | 2 | 171 | 5-6 | Auburn | 5/25/1962 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 118th pick / 1984 |
| 79 | Gary Johnson | 32 | DT-DE-NT | 4 | 1 | 257 | 6-2 | Grambling St. | 8/31/1952 | 9 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 8th pick / 1975 |
| 42 | Pete Johnson | 30 | RB | 3 | 0 | 252 | 6-0 | Ohio St. | 3/2/1954 | 7 | Cincinnati Bengals / 2nd / 49th pick / 1977 |
| 18 | Charlie Joiner | 37 | WR | 16 | 16 | 188 | 5-11 | Grambling St. | 10/14/1947 | 15 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| 31 | Bill Kay | 24 | DB | 5 | 3 | 190 | 6-1 | Purdue | 1/10/1960 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 159th pick / 1981 |
| 57 | Linden King | 29 | LB | 16 | 16 | 241 | 6-4 | Colorado St. | 6/28/1955 | 6 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1977 |
| 64 | Chuck Loewen | 27 | T-G | 13 | 0 | 263 | 6-3 | South Dakota St. | 1/23/1957 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 7th / 175th pick / 1980 |
| 51 | Woodrow Lowe | 30 | LB | 15 | 15 | 227 | 6-0 | Alabama | 6/9/1954 | 8 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 131st pick / 1976 |
| 11 | Ed Luther | 27 | QB | 15 | 3 | 206 | 6-3 | San Jose St. | 1/2/1957 | 4 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 101st pick / 1980 |
| 62 | Don Macek | 30 | C-G | 13 | 13 | 261 | 6-3 | Boston Col. | 7/21/1954 | 8 | San Diego Chargers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1976 |
| 12 | Bruce Mathison | 25 | QB | 2 | 0 | 205 | 6-3 | Nebraska | 4/25/1959 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 10th / 272nd pick / 1983 |
| 21 | Buford McGee | 24 | RB | 16 | 0 | 206 | 6-0 | Mississippi | 8/16/1960 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 11th / 286th pick / 1984 |
| 60 | Dennis McKnight | 25 | G-C | 16 | 16 | 273 | 6-3 | Drake | 9/12/1959 | 2 | |
| 24 | Miles McPherson | 24 | DB | 9 | 4 | 184 | 5-11 | New Haven | 3/30/1960 | 2 | Los Angeles Rams / 10th / 256th pick / 1982 |
| 83 | Bobby Micho | 22 | TE-FB | 6 | 0 | 236 | 6-3 | Texas | 3/7/1962 | Rook | Denver Broncos / 10th / 272nd pick / 1984 |
| 25 | Wayne Morris | 30 | RB | 10 | 3 | 207 | 6-0 | SMU | 5/3/1954 | 8 | St. Louis Cardinals / 5th / 141st pick / 1976 |
| 46 | Chuck Muncie | 31 | RB | 1 | 1 | 227 | 6-3 | California | 3/17/1953 | 8 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 3rd pick / 1976 |
| 55 | Derrie Nelson | 26 | LB | 6 | 0 | 236 | 6-2 | Nebraska | 2/8/1958 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 108th pick / 1981 |
| 56 | Vince Osby | 23 | LB | 16 | 0 | 220 | 5-11 | Illinois | 7/8/1961 | Rook | |
| 52 | Ray Preston | 30 | LB | 10 | 0 | 218 | 6-0 | Syracuse | 1/25/1954 | 8 | San Diego Chargers / 11th / 295th pick / 1976 |
| 1 | Benny Ricardo | 30 | K | 2 | 0 | 175 | 5-10 | San Diego St. | 1/4/1954 | 8 | |
| 90 | Fred Robinson | 23 | LB-DE | 16 | 0 | 240 | 6-4 | Miami (FL) | 10/22/1961 | Rook | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 8th / 198th pick / 1984 |
| 85 | Eric Sievers | 27 | TE | 14 | 13 | 236 | 6-4 | Maryland | 11/9/1957 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 107th pick / 1981 |
| 54 | Billy Ray Smith | 23 | LB | 16 | 16 | 235 | 6-3 | Arkansas | 8/10/1961 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 5th pick / 1983 |
| 45 | Johnny Ray Smith | 27 | DB | 1 | 0 | 183 | 5-9 | Lamar | 9/7/1957 | 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers / 11th / 283rd pick / 1981 |
| 33 | Lucious Smith | 27 | DB | 9 | 3 | 190 | 5-10 | San Diego St.,Cal State-Fullerton | 1/17/1957 | 4 | |
| 32 | Jewerl Thomas | 27 | RB | 7 | 0 | 230 | 5-10 | UCLA,San Jose St. | 9/10/1957 | 4 | Los Angeles Rams / 3rd / 58th pick / 1980 |
| 59 | Cliff Thrift | 28 | LB | 16 | 0 | 232 | 6-1 | East Central (OK) | 5/3/1956 | 5 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 73rd pick / 1979 |
| 27 | John Turner | 28 | DB | 15 | 6 | 197 | 6-0 | Miami (FL) | 2/22/1956 | 6 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 48th pick / 1978 |
| 23 | Danny Walters | 24 | DB | 8 | 7 | 189 | 6-1 | Arkansas | 11/4/1960 | 1 | San Diego Chargers / 4th / 95th pick / 1983 |
| 67 | Ed White | 37 | G-T | 15 | 13 | 269 | 6-1 | California | 4/4/1947 | 15 | Minnesota Vikings / 2nd / 39th pick / 1969 |
| 63 | Doug Wilkerson | 37 | G | 16 | 16 | 253 | 6-3 | North Carolina Central | 3/27/1947 | 14 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 14th pick / 1970 |
| 92 | Eric D. Williams | 29 | LB | 13 | 0 | 227 | 6-2 | USC | 6/17/1955 | 7 | St. Louis Cardinals / 8th / 216th pick / 1977 |
| 99 | Lee Williams | 22 | DE-DT | 8 | 0 | 269 | 6-6 | Bethune-Cookman | 10/15/1962 | Rook | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 6th pick / 1984 Supp |
| 80 | Kellen Winslow | 27 | TE | 7 | 7 | 251 | 6-5 | Missouri | 11/5/1957 | 5 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 13th pick / 1979 |
| 49 | Andre Young | 24 | DB | 13 | 3 | 199 | 6-0 | Louisiana Tech | 11/22/1960 | 2 | San Diego Chargers / 10th / 273rd pick / 1982 |
| Team Total | 26.7 | 16 | 223.5 | 6-1.5 | 4.0 |