Cowboys Are Split on Rams’ Chances in Championship
After the Rams disposed of the Cowboys with a 20-0 victory, there was talk of a possible matchup between Los Angeles and the Chicago Bears for the NFC Championship.
Some Cowboys opinions:
Quarterback Danny White: “I’m much more impressed with the Rams now. Maybe coming in I didn’t give them enough credit. They have a chance to beat anyone. If Chicago beats the Giants, it will be an interesting game.”
Offensive tackle Howard Richards: “(The Rams) can go a long way in the playoffs from what they showed today.”
Linebacker Eugene Lockhart: “They (the Rams) are a really solid football team. I think they’re conservative on offense. They try to let you beat yourself. I don’t think they’re in the league with Chicago right now.”
Linebacker Mike Hegman: “I don’t think anybody could beat Chicago .Not up there. (The Bears) ain’t going to let them run.”
All right, who did what on Saturday? Did the Rams make the Cowboys look bad or did the Cowboys make the Rams look good?
“I think the Rams made us look bad because we knew what they were going to do,” defensive back Everson Walls said. “They just came out and did it. That was it. No surprises, no trick plays. They handed off to the fullback and they ran an option to (Eric) Dickerson. One play. They faked a reverse and got five yards. Big deal.
“When they start running those tricks, that’s when they get in trouble. John (Robinson) went back to what they did best: Run the ball.
Could we see those stats again, please? Rams quarterback Dieter Brock completed 6 of 22 passes for 50 yards and 1 interception Saturday. But, as he said, everything’s right on schedule. “This is where I wanted to be when I first came here. We played a real good game today.”
Earlier in the week, Lockhart took time to voice his dislike for Dickerson. Lockhart played at the University of Houston when Dickerson played for Southern Methodist, both Southwest Conference schools.
But after Dickerson’s 248-yard performance on Saturday, Lockhart was full of compliments.
“When I first heard he had 133 yards I thought, ‘I’ll never hear the end of this,’ ” Lockhart said. “He did a good job today. You can’t take anything away from him.”
Cornerback LeRoy Irvin returned an interception 55 yards to midfield at the end of the half.
“I really didn’t think I’d score,” he said. “I started cramping up. I was just trying to give the fans a good show.”
Irvin admitted that when he reached over Gordon Banks to knock down a pass at the goal line, “that could have been a flag (for pass interference). But that makes up for the one they called on me in New York.”
Irvin was voted into the Pro Bowl for the first time this season but still said that Ram teammate Gary Green “is the best cornerback in the league.”
“Gary is an All-Pro. (Free safety) Johnnie Johnson is an All-Pro. (Strong safety) Nolan Cromwell is an All-Pro. I guess I was the weak link in the secondary. But now I’m All-Pro.”
So you think Dallas running back, Tony Dorsett, was a little upset after the loss?
“It seemed like we just gave up,” he said. “We should have just gone back to Dallas and given the game at half time. We came out in the third quarter and I barely even touched the football.”
Ram Coach John Robinson stumbled while climbing onto a platform for his postgame interview.
“I’m glad our team is more agile than I am,” he said.
In case you’re wondering how Dickerson has done against the Bears, his track record is pretty good.
He rushed for 127 yards against them as a rookie in 1983 and 149 yards last season.
Inside linebacker Jim Collins saw more action than usual as part of the “33” defense, featuring three linebackers.
As for next week’s NFC title game, Collins said: “I’d rather play the Giants because we’d play ‘em out here. It’s always better to play at home. But if we have to play the Bears back there, we can do that, too.”
Times Staff Writers Chris Dufresne, Rich Roberts and Gene Wojciechowski contributed to this story.