Rams vs. Oilers: Brock Has Spotlight to Himself in Debut
The Rams will be lacking a few of the ingredients they’ll need to reach Super Bowl XX when they open the National Football League exhibition season against the Houston Oilers in the 40th Times Charity Game at Anaheim Stadium tonight at 7.
Missing will be Eric Dickerson, who is holding out for a contract extension. Also missing will be Jack Youngblood and nose tackle Greg Meisner, two-thirds of the defensive line. Youngblood is rehabilitating his back; Meisner is unsigned.
Dickerson, who led the voting for running backs on the Rams’ 40th anniversary all-time team, will also be missing from the ceremonies tonight.
He flew home to Sealy, Tex., Thursday and will remain there until his holdout situation is resolved, according to agent Jack Rodri.
Asked what action by the Rams would be required to bring Dickerson into camp, Rodri said: “It would take negotiations on the extension of his contract in good faith. We would have to have the feeling there is a good possibility to come to an understanding. I can’t have my client going in and out of camp.”
Even without Dickerson, the Rams have a cover story in Dieter Brock, who has been playing quarterback in Canada for the last 11 years.
Brock has been the perfect gentleman all along. He is neither boastful nor controversial, speaking softly but carrying a big arm. Ram Coach John Robinson will thrust him into the spotlight for most of the first half tonight, followed by Jeff Kemp, who was allowed to use his strong right arm to hand the ball to Dickerson last season.
Robinson has said it’s a contest, but statistics won’t mean much when Robinson officially names Brock the starting quarterback for the season opener against the Denver Broncos Sept. 8. Robinson emphatically dismissed the notion that he would base his selection on comparative numbers in the exhibition season.
“That’s stupid,” he said. “You make your judgment on what’s right.”
And Robinson also said: “I have no intention necessarily of being fair. I have the responsibility of picking the best quarterback. (So far in training camp) I’ve given each man an equal chance.”
Some might believe this is Barry Redden’s chance to break through the shadow of Dickerson and gain the prominence that even Robinson has maintained he deserves. A first-round draft choice in 1982, Redden has patiently awaited his opportunities when Dickerson needed a rest, and usually responded well.
What does Redden think of his opportunity now?
“I’m not talking to the media right now,” he says. “Personal reasons.”
He says Dickerson’s absence the past two weeks has nothing to do with his silence.
So Dickerson is absent, Redden isn’t talking and Brock isn’t bragging. What of Youngblood, who is always good for a story?
Youngblood’s presence at camp has been in the form of a uniformed mannequin (No. 85) that is propped against the south goalpost during warmups each afternoon. He has spent this, his 35th summer, exercising at Rams Park to rehabilitate the herniated disk that ended his ’84 season prematurely and still jeopardizes his career.
“Things are going along well,” he said Friday.
He said he now plans to report to camp a week from Monday, following the second practice game, against the St. Louis Cardinals next Thursday night.
Ram Notes The Rams will be missing seven ’84 starters tonight, but the Oilers may be worse off. Coming off a 3-13 season, they haven’t signed their top two draft choices, defensive end Ray Childress of Texas A&M; and defensive back Richard Johnson of Wisconsin. Running back Larry Moriarty is a holdout, and their offensive line has several injuries. A bright spot is wide receiver Drew Hill, who was acquired recently from the Rams. Hill caught five passes in last week’s 21-10 loss to the New York Giants in the Hall of Fame game at Canton, Ohio. Quarterback Warren Moon said: “I don’t see why the Rams let him go.” Hill caught 14 passes for the Rams last season. . . . Ram running back A.J. Jones spent Thursday night and most of Friday in Anaheim Memorial Hospital being treated for dehydration caused by a stomach ailment. He will probably play tonight. . . . Punter John Misko, released by the Rams this week after three seasons, was signed quickly by the New York Jets, who cut him four years ago. . . . Pro Football Weekly publisher Hub Arkush said Friday that the paper hopes to operate with new investors this season while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A decision will be made in about two weeks.