This Time, Rams Can Throw a Little Something Extra at Saints
Two weeks ago, the New Orleans Saints shut out the Rams at the Superdome and were delirious enough to think that it might be the start of something big, like, say, an NFC Western Division title.
All-Pro linebacker Rickey Jackson was talking about the Saints winning their final six games and finishing 11-5 and making plans for the playoffs and all that stuff.
Of course, that was before he arrived. He, of course, is Ram quarterback Jim Everett, mover of mountains, offenses and divisional races.
“It sets the Rams apart from where they were before,” New Orleans Coach Jim Mora said. “And before, they won the division. With Everett, it puts them a notch higher, no question. I knew it would happen. I thought he would play this year. I just wish they would have waited another week.”
The Rams and the Saints, of course, will play again today at Anaheim Stadium in an important division game.
Lost in the Everett hoopla are a couple of minor details: The Saints have won three in a row, and the Rams have lost two straight. A Saint win today would put both teams at 7-5.
Yet, as Mora says, the Rams are not the same limp offensive team that showed up in New Orleans two weeks ago. The Rams have done something with their hair. In fact, they’ve gone and moussed up their whole division.
And now the Saints, who have waited and worked so long to get to 6-5, get the dubious pleasure of walking head on into the Rams’ fountain of youth, Everett, a quarterback who made his NFL debut last week by coming off the bench and, with no warmup, throwing three touchdown passes.
So impressive was Everett’s performance that some people overlooked the salient point that the Rams lost the game.
So what are the Saints to do? Two weeks ago, they stacked eight men at the line of scrimmage and held Eric Dickerson to a season-low 57 yards, which is usually a nice game plan against the Rams.
But say the Saints would be willing to try that again.
“If they put eight guys up front, then they would only have three guys deep,” Everett said.
Somehow, it seems to mean more when Everett says it. Last week, for openers, he completed 12 of 19 passes for 193 yards and the 3 touchdowns. And, remember, he didn’t even play the first quarter.
Mora has decided to play the game as scheduled anyway.
“It’s not like we’re playing against Superman,” he said of Everett.
That’s not what they’re saying about Everett in Hollywood.
The Rams have spent the week searching for some perspective on all this. The Rams have latched onto Everett like puppies to a mother collie. Everett is already calling veteran guard Dennis Harrah ‘Pappy,’ and Harrah has renamed the quarterback ‘Blade,’ because of Everett’s angular face.
Can a television pilot be far behind?
In light of Everett’s day, it was tough to get too depressed over last weekend’s last-second 30-28 loss to New England.
If ever the cliche about the silver lining and the dark cloud applied, well, Rams, meet Jim Everett, your silver lining.
Still, the Rams had to put on their game faces. How can a team riding a two-game losing streak take anything for granted?
“No one on this team does,” Coach John Robinson said. “We’re anxious to play them. We realize that we must win.”
Said Ram cornerback LeRoy Irvin: “The focus has been on Everett. He’s like our savior. But we still win games on defense around here, no matter what the media hype.”
Everett, too, has not allowed a hectic week of interviews and hype get away from him.
“This team was solid without Jim Everett,” Everett said. “I hope I can add a little bounce to the offense, so maybe what happened in New Orleans doesn’t happen again.”
Neither the Rams nor the Saints have forgotten about the last Battle of New Orleans. Players from both sides still have bruises as reminders.
“I’ve never played in a game that physical,” Saint linebacker Jackson said. “We put some licks on them, and they put some on us.”
And although the Rams have changed their look with Everett, the Saints don’t figure to change much at all.
New Orleans’ offense is built on ball control, with much of the work going to running back Rueben Mayes, who leads all rookie backs with 810 yards. In fact, the Saints operate much the same as a team from Anaheim used to, before a certain quarterback arrived.
“They’re not subtle,” Robinson said. “They don’t pretend to be subtle. Their identity is pretty clear.”
The Rams, on the other hand, appear dangerously close to finding a new one.
Ram Notes
How close could the race in the NFC West get today? If the Saints beat the Rams and Atlanta defeats San Francisco, the Rams and the Saints will share first place at 7-5, and the Falcons and the 49ers will be close at 6-5-1. . . . When was the last time the Saints won four straight games in a season? Try never. . . . The Ram defense, which allowed 30 points to New England last week, slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 overall in the NFL. . . . The Saint defense ranks 19th overall in the NFL, but only two teams (Chicago and the New York Giants) have yielded fewer points . . . Ram guard Dennis Harrah, who has a ligament strain in his left knee, is expected to play today . . . . Safety Tim Fox’s thigh injury, thought to be serious, responded well to treatment and he will be available as a backup.
