A 17-14 Loss to the Oilers Is Merely the Insult That Rams Add to the Injuries

These exhibition games are great. A perfect time to work out the kinks, sell a few programs, make a few cuts and, if you’re the Rams, send the rest of your starting lineup to the hospital.

Just think, they used to play six of these things.

The Rams entered Tuesday night’s exhibition against the Houston Oilers with enough problems.

Five starters missed the game because of injury. Two bad discs have probably sent cornerbacks Gary Green and Eric Harris into early retirement.

And by the time the Oilers had clawed and scratched their way to a 17-14 win before a crowd of 41,841 (6,345 no-shows) at Anaheim Stadium, the Rams had done little more than batter and bruise the only starters they had left.

With just 7:19 left in the first quarter, the Rams announced injury roll call.

Starting inside linebacker Jim Collins banged up his left shoulder and would not return. Running back Eric Dickerson’s hamstrings tightened up and he took the rest of the night off. Receiver Ron Brown sprained his left wrist and took a seat on the bench.

A few minutes later, receiver Bobby Duckworth bumped his head on the turf and left the game.

None of the injuries were serious, but it seemed a shame to waste so much training room time on the Oilers.

“I wanted to play, but he (Coach John Robinson) said no,” Dickerson said afterward.

The Rams played the rest of the game with a bunch of guys named Manny, Moe and Jack.

Oh, and a guy named Dieter.

But even quarterback Brock didn’t last long, leaving with a bruised left knee with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter after completing 5 of 10 passes for 83 yards.

Though he didn’t look that bad, Brock was booed loudly when he overthrew a wide-open Dickerson.

Then, after driving the Rams deep into Houston territory, Brock bruised his knee and came limping toward the sideline.

With little warning and no warmup, Steve Bartkowski buttoned his chin strap and made his first official game appearance as a Ram.

The crowd, making it clear whose side they were on in the latest Ram quarterback battle, cheered wildly as Bartkowski ducked his head into the huddle.

It was second and six at the Houston 10. What would the wily veteran do? Bartkowski faded to pass and saw an open man. It was Oiler linebacker Avon Riley, who caught the ball at the three and raced 97 yards the other way for a touchdown, giving Houston an early 14-0 lead.

Welcome to L.A., Steve.

“Steve came in and threw a touchdown pass on his first play,” Robinson joked afterward. “But hey, I liked the fact that it didn’t phase him. He’s a veteran.”

Bartkowski wasn’t so happy.

“I was ragged,” he said. “I didn’t play well, didn’t get a real good feel out there. I was hoping they’d play some more zone defense so I could drop back and have some fun.”

Actually, Riley should have been stopped, but the only man who had a shot at him was Bartkowski, who runs like a man who’s had five knee operations.

As for who won the quarterback contest, well it’s hard to say. Brock left in a hurry and Bartkowski’s numbers (5 for 14, 47 yards) were deceiving. Aside from the first pass, he threw the ball well.

“He picked up some things,” Robinson said of Bartkowski. “He did a good job knowing what was happening and how to respond.”

Third-stringer Steve Dils took over with 9:22 left in the third quarter and finished the game.

The Oilers, led by new coach Jerry Glanville, led the whole way.

A 61-yard touchdown pass from Warren Moon to former Ram Drew Hill gave the Oilers a 7-0 lead with 7:19 left in the first quarter. Riley’s interception return made it 14-0 and, after a Ram touchdown, Houston made it 17-7 in the second quarter on a 39-yard field goal by Tony Zendejas.

But, then again, what does it matter?

“We moved the ball well,” Robinson said, “We had 22 first downs. In the second half, we had problems, they were coming with a blitz against our second group and we were ill-equipped to compete with that.”

To show you how things were going for the Rams, Mickey Sutton was the talk of the first half.

A free agent out of the University of Montana, Sutton might not be good enough to make the Rams’ media guide, but without him the Rams would have been held scoreless in the opening half.

Sutton was filling in in two spots--at cornerback for an injured LeRoy Irvin and as a punt returner for Henry Ellard, who is holding out in a contract dispute.

With 12:10 left in the first half, Sutton recovered a Mike Rozier fumble at the Houston 44, giving Bartkowski a chance to demonstrate his ability.

On second down, Barry Redden cut outside and went 29 yards down the left sideline to the Oilers’ 11. Two plays later, Bartkowski threw 11 yards to Charles White, who just stayed in bounds in the right corner of the end zone with 9:55 left in the half.

Sutton proved he is not bad as a kick returner, either. He took the opening one 34 yards. In the second quarter, he set up the Rams’ second touchdown by returning a kickoff 55 yards to the Houston 44.

Four plays later, White scored his second touchdown of the half when he ran eight yards up the middle with 1:13 remaining to cut the Houston lead to 17-14.

Ram Notes The Rams reported that cornerback Gary Green (bulging disc) and safety Eric Harris (herniated disc) were examined by Dr. Robert Watkins and were declared out indefinitely. It is believed Harris will retire because of his injury. Green will be out at least six months and his career might also be over. . . . At halftime, Rams defensive end Gary Jeter received the Halas Award from the Pro Football Writers of America, given annually to “a player who played with abandon despite injury or personal problems off the field.” Jeter returned from a serious back injury in 1985 and finished the season with 11 sacks.