Momentum Goes to San Francisco : Reeling Rams Must Stop Montana as Rivalry Resumes Monday Night
It appeared early this season that the power had shifted back to the Rams in the NFC West, but the teeter is tottering the 49ers’ way as they await Monday night’s showdown at San Francisco.
Time was when the Rams (9-4) dominated the series, even when the 49ers (8-5) had better teams. From 1967 through ’80 the Rams won 23, lost 3 and tied 1, and they won 9 in a row from ’76 through ’80.
Then Joe Montana came along. No single player has been as large a factor in turning the rivalry around than the third-round draft choice from Notre Dame.
Former Ram linebacker Jack (Hacksaw) Reynolds, who finished his career with the 49ers, recalled this week the instructions a Ram coach gave the defense in 1980, when Montana was backing up Steve DeBerg.
“Go in and sack him (DeBerg), but don’t hurt him,” the Rams were told. “We don’t want Montana in the game.”
Once Montana got into the games against the Rams, it was all over. This season he stopped their win streak at seven by blowing them out in the first half, 28-0, at Anaheim (final score: 28-14).
Bill Walsh, the 49er coach, says: “Joe has had good games against a lot of teams, not just the Rams.”
But Montana has won 7 of 9 contests with the Rams. Against them, he has thrown for 17 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions and has enjoyed 5 of his 18 career 300-yard-plus passing games.
Give the Rams enough cracks at Montana and they’ll put him in the Hall of Fame by themselves.
He hasn’t thrown an interception against them in his last 210 attempts, covering three years and five-plus games, and he isn’t likely to Monday night, if you put any stock in trends.
You may have noticed that the Rams aren’t taking the ball away from anybody lately, either.
Ram cornerback LeRoy Irvin said: “The reason he’s been hot against us is we’ve let him. The plays he’s made against us, we’ve done something wrong. You give him the opportunity to make a play, and he’ll make it.”
Before running into Montana and the 49ers this season, the Rams were 7-0 and led the National Football League in collecting mistakes: 11 fumbles and 18 interceptions, a total of 29 takeaways.
Since then they are 2-4 and have taken the ball away only nine times, on three fumbles and six interceptions.
“You force turnovers,” Irvin said. “We’d like to think we’re as aggressive as we were early in the season, but when we run the films back we see we’re not getting to the ball like we were, and when we’re getting to the ball we’re not making the plays.
“We have to fly around and hit people. Just getting there is not good enough. The third and fourth guy has to come in and get some good shots.
“What really got me after the first game was when (49er receiver Dwight) Clark made the statement that he thought we’d be more physical, and he’s right.”
If the Rams’ defensive fire has flickered out, Irvin doesn’t know why.
“I wish I knew,” Irvin said. “Earlier, we were hungry for recognition. Then we were riding pretty high and that part of the game got away from us. We’ve got to make things happen on defense again.”
Irvin suspects Montana is not invincible. He only looks that way against the Rams.
“They’ve been struggling on offense, too,” Irvin said, “and the teams that have been successful against them have been very physical.”
Fritz Shurmur, the Rams’ defensive coordinator, said: “We had a lot of takeaways early in the year, and a lot of that came from aggressive play, but a lot of it came from opportunity, too. People are playing us close to the vest, figuring they’re gonna be involved in a low-scoring ball game.
“You’re gonna see, I think, a lower frequency of pass, a higher frequency of run. (Opponents) have decreased our chances to make big plays by not putting themselves in situations where we could tee off.”
But, considering past performance, Montana would seem a fool not to pass against the Rams. It’s been the quickest and safest route to the end zone.
Ram Notes
Drug tests on Ram wide receiver Bobby Duckworth were negative. Duckworth, who was AWOL for the game at New Orleans last week, is suspended for the game at San Francisco Monday night but returned to practice Thursday . . . Center Doug Smith’s head injury was diagnosed as “a bruise to the brain,” according to trainer Jim Anderson. Smith remained overnight in New Orleans and had a CAT-scan, then had another CAT-scan and an electro encephalogram after returning home Monday. He had further tests Thursday and returned to watch practice in a sweatsuit. “He’ll practice tomorrow and the doctors will re-test him,” offensive line coach Hudson Houck said, “but we’re not sure he’s going to start. If there’s any doubt or hesitation on anybody’s part, he won’t play.” Tony Slaton is Smith’s backup. Anderson said Smith was never unconscious but complained first of a finger and then his tongue going numb, “and he didn’t know what the score was,” Anderson said . . . The Rams hit bottom in passing this week when they were ranked 28th and last in the NFL, averaging only 152.8 yards per game. However, they have thrown fewer passes (330) than anyone, and Dieter Brock is rated 13th among passers at 75.6...The Rams are 25th in offense (14th rushing) and fifth in defense (fourth against rushing, 11th against passing). The 49ers rank seventh in offense and 13th in defense, but their defense hasn’t surrendered a touchdown in 14 quarters, or 3 hours, 38 minutes and 59 seconds.