Pats Admit It: Everett Looked Good : But They Have Last Word: Eason Was the Winning QB

Jim Everett’s debut was everything the Rams hoped it would be. Up to a point.

Even the New England Patriots were impressed. Somewhat.

“You’d have to give him passing marks on his first game,” Ray Clayborn conceded, “because I consider our defense to be one of the better defenses in the National Football League.”

Passing marks? Didn’t he see Everett complete 12 of 19 passes for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns, with no interceptions? Didn’t he know that some weeks Ram quarterbacks don’t even throw 19 passes?

Didn’t the New England Patriots and their Pro Bowl cornerback sense the drama that was unfolding in Anaheim Stadium Sunday: the premiere of a whole new concept of Ram offense, the birth of a superstar?

“Not really.” Clayborn said. “Not to take anything away from Jim Everett. He’s a very fine and poised young quarterback who I see nothing but good things for in the future, (and) thank goodness we don’t have to play him anymore, unless we play him in the Super Bowl. I know we’re gonna be there, but I don’t know about them.”

Clayborn has been playing cornerback in the NFL long enough--10 years--to know that statistics are only incidental to the last word of any contest, and their quarterback won, 30-28, with a rabbit-out-of-the-hat pass at the end.

“Our man, Champagne Tony,” Clayborn said, smiling broadly. “Tony Eason is playing as well as any quarterback in the league today. He and Ken O’Brien (of the Jets) are, without a doubt, the two top quarterbacks in the NFL.”

And Everett?

“Early in the game we had control of the ballgame but we let it slip away with turnovers and mistakes,” Clayborn said. “We really made it hard on ourselves. We kept them in the game.

“When Mr. Everett came in, he showed a lot of poise. When you had his primary receiver covered, he picked up the secondary receivers very well. He’s tall, he’s strong and has a very strong arm.”

But didn’t he worry them just a little bit, especially after he passed the Rams into a 28-16 lead early in the last quarter?

“We made some adjustments,” Clayborn said, “but, to be honest, we didn’t get a lot of pressure on him. He had time to sit back in and pick up the secondary receiver.”

Linebacker Steve Nelson, who calls the defensive signals, acknowledged that the Patriots did notice when the Rams changed quarterbacks after falling behind, 13-0, at the start of the second quarter.

Hmm, let’s see, No. 11. Big guy from Purdue. Anything else?

“Not seeing him on film, we didn’t know what to expect,” Nelson said.

Up in the press box, Dick Steinberg knew what to expect from Everett. The Patriots’ director of player development has had Everett rated as a sure-fire NFL quarterback for some time.

“I was afraid they’d put him in,” Steinberg said at halftime, groaning, after Everett had passed the Rams back into the game.

The trade with the Oilers, Steinberg said, was “a hell of a deal for the Rams. He has great size, he can run, he has a strong arm, he’s a bright guy and a leader. You look at all the things you look for in an NFL quarterback and they’re there.”

Added Nelson: “Being a rookie quarterback and coming in in that situation would be kind of tough, but he handled it really well.

“We made a few (adjustments) as far as people we brought into the game . . . different coverages and adjustments on our line. Primarily, we were going to stop (Eric) Dickerson, and we did that in the first half pretty well (10 rushes for 25 yards).”

In other words, as Everett passed the Rams into a brief 14-13 lead in the next 13 minutes, the Patriots had to start playing honest defense, which few teams have done against the Rams.

Craig James, who was Dickerson’s former running mate at Southern Methodist University, said: “I told Eric after the game that I think the Rams are the best in the NFC. I thought they were the best before Everett. Especially now, with the addition of Everett, if he can play like that and be consistent, there’s no doubt that they’ll be playing on Jan. 25 (in the Super Bowl).”

When the Patriots adjusted their defense to meet the threat of Everett, the running lanes seemed to open up for Dickerson, who finished with 102 yards.

“He’s still going to touch the ball 25 times,” James said, “but there are going to be a lot better opportunities.”

And he’ll owe that to the presence of Everett.

“We heard he had a strong arm,” Clayborn said, “and when you look at what they gave up in players (Pro Bowl guard Kent Hill, defensive end William Fuller) and draft choices (two firsts and a third) to get him, and the amount of money that they signed him for ($2.55 million for four years), I definitely think he’s going to pay dividends.

“He just started today to show what he can really do. This is a fine young quarterback.”

But not the best one on the field on this particular Sunday.