The 6-2 Rams Could Be 2-6 If Not For Their Defense

John Robinson was adamant: The Rams’ ground-control offense was the primary reason for Sunday’s 14-7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. And just in case anyone missed it, he repeated it again and again and again . . . for radio reporters, television crews and newspaper writers.

It’s not likely that many in the Anaheim Stadium crowd of 56,993 consider their football expertise to be on a par with the Rams’ coach, but more than few might wonder if Robinson was watching the same game.

Didn’t the Rams’ first touchdown come on a 22-yard interception return by linebacker Mark Jerue?

Didn’t their other touchdown come one play after Jerue knocked the ball away from Falcon running back Gerald Riggs and nose tackle Greg Meisner returned it to the Atlanta 15-yard line?

Didn’t the Falcons’ only score come on a 65-yard return of a fumble by a Ram offensive player (receiver Michael Young)?

And didn’t the Rams’ offense turn the ball over to the Falcons five times (three via fumbles and twice on interceptions)?

Sure, Eric Dickerson gained 170 yards in 30 carries and the Rams did have a 10-minute edge in time of possession.

But doesn’t the defense deserve a little credit?

Guess not.

“We controlled the game on offense and gave our defense the opportunity to play the way it can,” Robinson insisted.

The problem, it would seem, is that the Ram offense gives the defense too many opportunities to show its stuff. It’s as if they’re handing over the ball and saying, “Boy, you’re in trouble now. Here comes our defense.”

If this is all a motivational ploy, it’s working superbly. The guys on the Ram defense figure if they give up a field goal, it’ll be their fault when the Rams lose, 3-0.

“Through the years, the Rams have had great defenses and struggling offenses,” cornerback LeRoy Irvin said. “We’re just trying to keep up the tradition. The defense feels like if we don’t make the big plays, they won’t be made.”

Jerue had a hand in two of the biggest plays Sunday . . . at least what appeared to the everyday football fan to be big plays.

Early in the second quarter, the Rams’ line pressured Falcon quarterback Dave Archer, who quickly fired a pass toward Billy Johnson. Jerue, hidden behind the Rams’ rush, stepped in front of Johnson, made the interception and sprinted untouched into the end zone.

“He (Archer) never saw me,” Jerue said. “I hope I looked fast. You see linebackers intercept a pass on TV and they always look so slow.”

When you play linebacker for the Rams, just intercepting a pass isn’t good enough. You have to score. And if Jerue hadn’t, this one might still be tied.

Speed was not a factor a few minutes later when Jerue jarred the ball loose from Riggs. Meisner retrieved it and lumbered 15 yards to the Atlanta 15. The Ram offense then managed to mount it’s only scoring drive of the day--a one-trick-play, 15-yard drive--as Dickerson threw the third pass of his career on an option play and found David Hill wide open in the back of the end zone.

After that, the offense seemed content to grind it out between the 20s and work on the clock.

“We’re not the most talented group in the NFL,” Jerue said of the Ram defense, “but we’re ready to play and we know our job.”

With the Rams, that’s not too difficult. Their defense is less complicated than their offense, if you can believe that. They run the same defense 90% of the time. Not even Dickerson gets the call that often.

“It was a typical game for us,” linebacker Mel Owens said. “They scored one touchdown but their offense knew they didn’t earn it. Not against us, anyway.

“We have a good (defensive) concept and a good system. It’s no secret, but we tee it up and go after you. It’s a basic defense, but we run it 1,000 times a week in practice.”

Sometimes it seems the defense lines up that often every Sunday, too.

Which is just fine with Irvin, who reminds anyone who will listen that he would prefer to have the defense on the field with the game on the line, anyway.

Cornerback Jerry Gray, who put an end to Atlanta’s last real threat when he intercepted a Turk Schonert pass at the Ram 30-yard line late in the fourth quarter, would like to see the offense put a few more points on the board. But he won’t downplay his unit’s importance.

“Defense wins championships,” he said. “And a defensive player’s job is to keep the other team from scoring. If they don’t score, they can’t win.”

Sounds logical. But wouldn’t it be easier if you didn’t get quite so many opportunities to keep an opponent from scoring?

“I wish we weren’t out there quite so often,” Jerue admitted. “It’s not like the defense feels extra pressure. But we know it won’t be easy.

“We’re living on the edge. That’s a fact.”

Robinson may not have noticed. But it doesn’t take a football expert to imagine where the 6-2 Rams would be without this defense.

How does 2-6 sound?