Brock Will Start Where He Left Off as Rams No. 1 Quarterback Tonight
Rams fans, gracious as they are, couldn’t even wait until tonight’s first meaningless exhibition game to let the free world know how they feel about their quarterback, Dieter Brock.
No, they got a chance to clear their wind pipes last week when the Rams held an open scrimmage at Anaheim Stadium, making Brock possibly the first quarterback in NFL history ever to be booed at practice. All for free, too.
Well, tonight at 7:30, fans will have to pay for the privilege when the Rams and Houston Oilers meet at Anaheim Stadium.
And yes, battered and beleaguered as he was, and is, Dieter Brock will start at quarterback for the Rams, just as he did Jan. 12 against the Chicago Bears.
Ram Coach John Robinson said Brock is the starter only for now. Whether he remains there is largely up to him.
“Dieter’s the starter and we’ll play the best guy at the end of training camp,” Robinson said. “We’ll just play the one who turns out the best.”
Against the Oilers, Robinson said that Brock would be followed by newcomer Steve Bartkowski and then Steve Dils.
But the starting rotation will change during the exhibition season.
The crowd favorite? Bartkowski, of course. Nothing but cheers could be heard when he entered the scrimmage last Thursday.
But he’s been on the other end, too.
“Every incomplete pass I threw in Atlanta during my last seven years there, I got booed,” Bartkowski said. “It just comes with the territory, especially when you’ve got the best job in the Western Hemisphere.”
Bartkowski, 33, is trying to salvage a career that many thought had flamed out in Atlanta. He’s a former All-Pro who was released by the Falcons after five games last season. He’s had five knee operations and his mobility is limited, but the Rams signed him in the off-season anyway.
And they’ll take a good long look at him tonight.
Otherwise, tonight’s game is only interesting if you want to come and count all the guys on the sideline who be playing.
At last count, 17 Rams are out because of injuries, the most serious being All-Pro cornerback Gary Green.
Green, who is suffering from a bulging disc in his neck, may be out indefinitely.
He was examined Monday morning by Dr. Robert Watkins, but the doctor would not release him to play.
“His chances of playing may appear bleak,” Robinson said. “Things don’t appear positive.”
Green said surgery is not an alternative because the disc is not ruptured and isn’t causing any nerve damage.
“It’s just a nagging disc that’s protruding,” he said. “And the chances of it getting better while I’m playing are slim. The real danger is taking a lick on it.”
For now, Green can only do exercises to strengthen the muscles around the neck.
Other starters missing the game because of injury include guard Kent Hill (knee), defensive end Reggie Doss (knee), safety Johnnie Johnson (knee) and cornerback LeRoy Irvin (ankle).
Eric Dickerson will start at halfback but isn’t expected to play much.
The Rams on Monday tied up some more loose ends when they signed their No. 1 draft choice, offensive tackle, Mike Schad, to a four-year contract, ending one of the least dramatic holdouts in Ram history.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but a source close to the deal said it was worth slightly more than $1 million.
Schad, from Queen’s University in Canada, was seeking a contract comparable to players drafted around him.
Schad was the 23rd player selected in the first round. The player taken before him, Mike Haight, an offensive tackle from Iowa, signed with the Jets for $1.3 million. The 24th pick, defensive end Bob Buczkowski from Pitt, signed with the Raiders for $1.2 million.
Initially, the Rams were believed to be offering Schad $900,000.
Schad boarded a plane in Canada and arrived in Orange County late Sunday night, but not before losing his luggage in Dallas. He signed a little after noon Monday and suited up for afternoon practice, though he won’t play in tonight’s exhibition opener against Houston.
“I would have liked to have been here a lot earlier,” Schad said. “But a lot of those things were not in my power.”
Schad, 6-5 and 290 pounds, said he’s been working out twice daily with his brother back in Canada and has spent hours browsing through his own personal copy of the Rams playbook.
Schad said he was anxious to see what effect his holdout had on his teammates.
“I worry a lot about how they feel,” he said. “But I know a lot of players here have gone through some contract things, so I hope they understand.”
Schad’s signing leaves the Rams with only three remaining holdouts: wide receiver Henry Ellard, defensive end Doug Reed and linebacker Mel Owens.
Ram Notes
United States Football League owners decided to postpone their upcoming season for at least one year, seemingly stripping Ram receiver Henry Ellard of his trump card. Ellard, who made $145,000 in 1985 and is holding out for more, had threatened to jump to the USFL’s Arizona Outlaws, who were reportedly offering him a four-year contract worth $1.6 million. Ellard, the NFC’s best punt returner last season and the Rams’ leading receiver, reportedly is asking for a $500,000-per-year deal from the Rams, who are offering $1.2 million for four. As for how Monday’s USFL decision might affect Ellard’s negotiations with the Rams, you’d have to ask his Stockton-based agent, Mike Blatt. “It doesn’t bother my player at all,” Blatt said of the USFL’s decision. Blatt said he talked with the Outlaws owner, Bill Tatham, last week and was assured the team was still interested in Ellard, regardless of what happened at Monday’s USFL meeting. “Henry might just sit out a year,” Blatt said. “They’d be paying him for three years what the Rams are offering for four.” Blatt said he hasn’t heard for the Rams in a month. . . . The Rams signed free-agent wide receiver Allen Pitts, who played for Gene Murphy at Cal State Fullerton. Pitts is 6-3 and 200 pounds. . . . Because of a conflict of schedules with the Angels, tonight’s Rams game will be broadcast on KRTH (930 AM), not the team’s flagship station, KMPC.
