Ram Victory Over Favored 49ers Defies Logic

Logic and reason departed early from Candlestick Park Monday evening, leaving good seats on the 50 for those two faithful Ram followers, absurdity and strangeness.

Here was a team that needed flak glasses to read the Bay Area newspapers. This from Lowell Cohn in Monday’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle:

“Tonight’s 49er/Ram game seems like a lock. The Rams show up, get chased out of Candlestick and run shrieking down the Bayshore Freeway. The 49ers end up in first place with a clear highway to the division championship.”

There was more and it seemed to have found its way into the hands of every Ram player by dusk.

This was a team that was one game away from sharing the NFC West lead with the 49ers. The Rams had lost four of their last six games. There was talk of contacting Bob Geldof or Willie Nelson and beginning a Ram-Aid benefit

“Some of the (49er) players were talking, saying that maybe we don’t have the type of individuals that can do something like this, you know, come back,” said David Hill, Ram tight end. “No one ever thought we were worth anything.”

Well, there was this embarrassing business of blowing a four-game lead in the division after beginning the year 7-0. And most recently, there was the memory of a convincing loss to the New Orleans Saints. So it only figured that the 49ers, not the Rams, be considered the likely choices for a victory Monday.

Somehow, though, what was supposed to be a leisurely visit home for the favored 49ers became a 27-20 win for the schizophrenic Rams, who can’t decide whether they’re a football team or a vaudeville act.

On Monday, they decided to be a bit of both.

Sure, they won, but here’s how:

- An 86-yard kickoff return by Ron Brown.

- A 39-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Henry Ellard. Nothing unusual about that except two 49er defenders collided at the last moment, causing the ball to carom into Ellard’s hands.

- And, of course, your basic 41-yard interception return (tipped, mind you) by cornerback Gary Green that all but clinched the victory.

There were several other minor oddities, including the forgettable first-half performance of running back Eric Dickerson. He celebrated the announcement of a contract extension by gaining 13 yards in 6 tries in the first two periods. The Rams were considering breach of contract. Someone suggested that perhaps Dickerson had included a “no-carry” clause in his agreement.

But like everything else in Monday evening’s game, Ram wrongs became Ram rights. Dickerson finished the night with 97 yards, including a 41-yard run that later set up a field goal.

“We had a one-game lead, but yet we were a bunch of slobs, marshmallows and all that,” Dickerson said. “A lot of these players were shooting their mouths off.”

Said a sarcastic LeRoy Irvin, Ram cornerback: “We just thank the Lord that we didn’t have to write the loss in like the papers here said we should.”

Then with a satisfied smile, Irvin added, “From the opening bell, we just dominated the game, from start to finish.”

Not exactly. The 49ers led midway through the fourth period and San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice had caught about 2,000 yards worth of passes. Quarterback Joe Montana was his usual self which, in this case, was 26 of 36 for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Still, the Rams managed to win.

How? Don’t ask.

“We don’t seem to do too many things easy,” Ram guard Dennis Harrah said. “It’s something in the air in California. It’s something in the air, something in the water. We never quit making mistakes. But I’ll tell you one thing, though, we’ll beat on a man whether we’re right or wrong for four quarters.”

Said Brown: “That’s the Ram philosophy. We have to play with our backs to the wall.”

Brown, with his return for a touchdown, created a small space between brick and shoulder pad. His score gave the Rams a 10-7 lead early in the third period.

“We had planned to go return right,” he said. “We felt we could return one.”

Next, after San Francisco had regained the lead, 20-13, Ellard contributed his strange play. With a second-and-one on the 49er 39-yard line, quarterback Dieter Brock lofted a pass to Ellard, who was running down the sideline. Defensive backs Dwight Hicks and Ronnie Lott were close by. The ball was tipped by Hicks, Ellard grabbed the ball and jogged into the end zone.

“And I was going to try to prevent them from catching it the best way I could,” Ellard said.

“A sickening feeling,” said Irvin, when asked how Hicks and Lott must have felt.

Green followed with his interception several minutes later. A Montana pass was tipped by 49er running back Derrick Harmon, then Ram linebacker Mike Wilcher. Green did the rest.