Rams Making a Little Offense Go a Long Way
A look at the final statistics leads to the conclusion that John Robinson may qualify as the miracle worker of the National Football League. Seldom before has a coach guided such an inoffensive team into the playoffs.
The Rams ranked 26th in total offensive yardage this season--14th rushing and 28th (last) in passing.
Of the teams in the playoffs, the Rams will be the ones arriving in an Edsel.
“There are times we would have liked to have been more wide-open,” Robinson said Friday, “but we won 11 games (and lost 5) playing the way we played. We did what we wanted to do. We won the division championship, and we’re playing at home.”
The Rams, champions of the NFC West, meet the Dallas Cowboys, champions of the NFC East, at Anaheim next Saturday. Robinson hopes his offense will show up.
“We should have left them home when we went to New Orleans,” he said, reflecting on that 29-3 loss.
Even while Eric Dickerson rushed for a record 2,105 yards in 1984, Robinson became convinced that he needed a passing game to go with Dickerson to succeed in the playoffs.
His solution was to appoint a new offensive coordinator (himself), sign a new quarterback (Dieter Brock) and install a high-powered attack built on the speed of receivers Henry Ellard, Ron Brown and the new tight end, Tony Hunter.
Brock finished as the league’s eighth-ranked passer, but the passing game was unspectacular because, for the second year in a row, the Rams threw fewer passes (403) than any other team.
“We got into a defense and special teams approach, much like the Raiders, and we pursued that,” Robinson said. “Maybe we pursued it too long.
“There was a time that we began to feel the pressure of not being a very good offensive team. But the biggest failure we had this year was in our running game.”
In a league where Robinson is convinced he must live or die on the ground, the Rams slipped from 179.0 to 153.9 yards per game, and Dickerson’s average went from 5.6 yards a carry to 4.2.
Ram Notes The Rams’ ticket office at Anaheim Stadium will be open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There were about 15,000 remaining Friday . . . After watching films, John Robinson reversed himself on the “pick” call that erased the Rams’ touchdown against the Raiders last Monday night. “Ron Brown did run into the guy,” Robinson said. “The call was justified” . . . Robinson also said: “I was impressed with (Raider center Don) Mosebar. Seldom do you see a center who blocks as well as he did in that game.”. . . The Rams kept Howie Long, All-Pro defensive end, from getting a sack by double and triple teaming him. “You have to give Howie credit, even if he doesn’t make the play,” Robinson said. “If you singled him, he’d get 30 sacks a season” . . . When the Rams resumed practice Friday, offensive tackle Jackie Slater was absent. Because of the fog, Slater was late returning from a Christmas holiday in Mississippi. Fog problems also hampered Henry Ellard and Carl Ekern, who barely made it in from Fresno and San Jose, respectively . . . Brown dislocated the ring finger on his right hand Friday, but the injury was not thought to be serious.