Rams Credit Second Wind for Latest Win
Ever feel like you’ve been beating your head against a 300-pound tackle and need to get away from it all? Ever feel like just phoning in lazy?
A week ago, Ram safety Nolan Cromwell went to see Coach John Robinson about lightening the team’s workload.
“The guys for two or three weeks had been saying they were pretty tired because of the work we were doing in practice,” Cromwell said Monday, a day after the Rams defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 14-7, to claim first place in the NFC West. “It was mentioned enough by different people that I thought something should be said.”
Said Robinson: “Which I think is the role of a captain.”
So Robinson told his players last week that they could practice in shorts instead of game pants: a milestone, of sorts, in labor-management relations. He’ll continue the eased-up schedule in preparation for next Monday night’s game at Chicago, giving the players today and Wednesday off.
If this gets around, every coach in the National Football League is going to have a problem.
“I really felt it paid off this past week,” Cromwell said.
Cromwell thought the difference was most evident in the play of the interior linemen, who helped Eric Dickerson gain 170 yards rushing and held the Falcons to two yards net rushing in the second half.
“They did so much during the week that to do it in the games on Sunday was asking too much,” Cromwell said.
Cromwell, 31, said age has nothing to do with it.
“Even (rookie guard) Tom Newberry was saying he was tired,” Cromwell said. “We’ve been at this since July and we haven’t let up. You’re halfway through, tired and beat up. Just being physically tired, you also get mentally tired and start making mistakes.”
Cromwell said the players usually get a second wind after the 12th game of a 16-game season.
“Once you see the end of the tunnel, things start to pick up again,” he said. “But this is the time you’ve got to get through.”
One thing Cromwell didn’t request was Robinson’s new system of alternating his safeties in the lineup to keep them fresh, considering that most of them also play on special teams.
Said Robinson: “Going into the Detroit game (two weeks ago), we’d been on the road five out of seven weeks. I came out of the game thinking we didn’t have any energy. It was the right time for us to ease off.”
The Rams also will lighten their travel load by flying to New Orleans after Monday’s game and staying there to prepare for the Saints.
“Not coming home will help if we can keep our guys off the streets in New Orleans,” Robinson said.
Ram Notes John Robinson left the quarterback situation open Monday. Will Steve Dils start again? “I don’t know,” he said. Will Steve Bartkowski return if his knee is well? “Let’s wait. All possibilities are possible.” However, it’s not likely he would start Jim Everett against the Bears. . . . Defensive end Gary Jeter left Sunday’s game early with a hamstring injury and was initially listed as “doubtful” for Chicago. Nose tackle Charles DeJurnett, who played end when Jeter went out, has been bothered by a bad back, but end Doug Reed “is really playing good, and nobody blocks better than Atlanta,” Robinson said. . . . Tight end Tony Hunter didn’t play because of a shin injury. He was to be X-rayed for a possible stress fracture. . . . Robinson defended wide receiver Michael Young, whose fumbles after his two catches Sunday cost the Rams a touchdown and led to Atlanta’s only score on a 65-yard return. “I like the way Mike Young plays,” Robinson said. “Both of his plays were positive plays. The ball just got knocked loose.” . . . Henry Ellard, the National Football League’s career punt return leader (13.5-yard average), will probably return to that duty Monday night, but Robinson praised the work of rookie Mickey Sutton. “Mickey’s done a good job there, not screwing it up,” Robinson said. . . . Eric Dickerson, with 1,030 yards, is averaging 128.75 a game, slightly off the 131.6 needed to match his record of 2,105 set in 1984 but 105 ahead of his game-by-game pace that year.