Ellard’s Return Is Well-Received by Rams; He’ll Play Sunday
It’s not as though the Rams need help at wide receiver or anything, but Henry Ellard, who had not been in shoulder pads and helmet since last January, worked out with the Rams Thursday and was pronounced fit to play in Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons at Anaheim Stadium.
The Rams, of course, brought Ellard along slowly.
He had missed the first seven games of the season in a contract dispute, but Thursday he signed a clever pay-by-the-game deal with the Rams that will take him through the rest of the season.
The team eased Ellard back into the schedule. He met briefly with Coach John Robinson late in the morning and was whisked into the team’s noon meetings.
Ellard emerged a few minutes later, having memorized the team’s pass offense.
Ellard then ate lunch, spaghetti and meatballs, and promptly dressed for practice.
Teammate David Hill welcomed Ellard back by hiding his helmet, but he found it in time for practice.
“Henry looked fine,” Robinson said afterward. “He’s in good shape, and we’ll play him in some degree. The exact degree has not been determined.”
The Rams are ranked last in the National Football League in passing, which might be a reason to rush your best receiver back into the lineup.
But Ellard hasn’t been sitting on his hands all these months, mind you. He has been working out daily with Fresno State quarterback Kevin Sweeney.
“The work I did in Fresno paid off,” Ellard said. “I didn’t tire that quickly.”
That was enough for the Rams to hear. Ellard will be added to the 45-man roster at noon Saturday, at which time Robinson will announce who will have to go in his place.
Ellard wasn’t sure how much he could play Sunday, but he said he was not ready to return punts.
Ellard was the NFC’s leading punt returner last season, and statistically he was the best in NFL history.
The Rams, naturally, are looking for something or someone to brighten up their offense.
And Ellard might be the guy.
“It’s good to have him back,” receiver Ron Brown, said. “It’s definitely positive. It’s something we need right now. We need a positive flow right now.”
After watching Ellard in practice, quarterback Steve Dils agreed: “Henry’s still the quickest guy I’ve ever seen for his size. You can’t throw the ball ahead of him on an out pattern.”
Ellard’s chief concern right now is which Ram quarterback will be throwing passes to him Sunday.
Will it be Steve Dils or Steve Bartkowski?
Well, even the head coach isn’t sure.
Bartkowski, still limping around on his ailing right knee, split practice time with Dils Thursday. It wasn’t exactly an even split, though.
Dils did most of the work, and Bartkowski, at one point, actually played center in a light shotgun passing drill.
So who’s the starter?
“Based on practice time, it would be me,” Dils said. “But I won’t make any predictions.”
Robinson said he won’t make a decision until today.
Bartkowski, bad knee and all, wants to play. He has said over and over that his oft-injured knee is as good as it’s going to get.
Bartkowski clearly is frustrated. He left practice quickly Thursday, leading some to speculate that Robinson is using his injury to better ease rookie Jim Everett into the lineup. Everett isn’t expected to play Sunday unless the game is one-sided.
But Robinson gave Bartkowski a public vote of confidence.
“I want him in top health for as many of the nine remaining games as I can,” Robinson said. “If his knee is not well, and he’s not able to play his best, then I’m not going to play him that week. As courageous as he is, he’s going to go out there no matter what condition the leg is. But to be effective, he has to be bouncy (in the pocket).”
Bartkowski won’t really say how badly his knee hurts him.
But others can tell. “He’s in pain, no doubt,” Dils said “He walks with a limp and drops back in the pocket with a limp. How much pain there is, I don’t know.”
Dils said Bartkowski has mentioned the pain to him only once--before the game against Philadelphia Sept. 28.
“He just told me that the thing really hurts,” Dils said. “It surprised me because that was the week after the Indianapolis game, when he didn’t get touched.”
Bartkowski has had five knee operations on the right knee and has no cartilage remaining.
He has taken two major hits on the knee this season. The first was in the Rams’ opener against St. Louis. The second was at Philadelphia, when Bartkowski left the game after being struck by Eagle safety Andre Waters.
Still, Bartkowski wants to play.
“If it (his knee) was falling off, he’d say that,” Robinson said. “That’s the way he’s approaching it. I admire the hell out of him.”
Ram Notes Quarterback Steve Dils said he didn’t mind waiting until today for Coach John Robinson to name his starter. . . . Once, in 1980, when Dils was with the Minnesota Vikings, then coach Bud Grant waited until the final minute to tell Dils he was starting. “I was waiting in the men’s room before the game,” Dils said. “That’s when I found out.” . . . Atlanta safety Kenny Johnson is in the hospital with a virus and will miss Sunday’s game with the Rams. That’s just more bad news for the Falcon secondary. Last week, cornerback Bobby Butler broke his leg against San Francisco and will be lost for eight weeks. . . . Ram tight end, Tony Hunter, didn’t practice Thursday because of an ankle injury but is expected to play Sunday.
