Everett’s Numbers Not as Good, Except 26-13

The Rams last week teased the football world with a quarterback capable of bringing a crowd to its feet and an opponent to its knees.

On Sunday, they went and pulled the ol’ bait and switch routine.

Say hello to Jim Everett, the proverbial carrot dangling on a string.

The New Orleans Saints spent sleepless nights this week plotting ways to stop the new kid in town, and here the Rams were back in Anaheim, snickering all along.

You see, it was all a crazy joke.

The Saints came in Sunday expecting Everett and fireworks and wham, the Rams hit them with the old stuff.

It’s the oldest trick in the playbook.

Everett, who proved to be a great-looking decoy, was just your average Jim as he left it up to the reliable firm of D&D; (defense and Dickerson) to beat the Saints, 26-13, before a crowd of 58,600 at Anaheim Stadium.

Coming off dazzling opening-day reviews and making his first NFL start, Everett threw his first two NFL interceptions before some fans found their seats.

And what about those final numbers? Everett completed 7 of 20 passes for 56 measly yards.

But not to worry. The Rams went 51 yards on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead and then let Eric Dickerson and the defense sink their teeth into the Saints.

The defense, led by safety Nolan Cromwell, intercepted Saint quarterback Dave Wilson four times, which pretty much knocked the comeback out of New Orleans.

Cromwell had two interceptions and forced a fumble.

Dickerson, who had not scored a touchdown since back around Columbus Day (Oct. 19 vs. Detroit), ran in from four yards in the first quarter and finished with 116 yards in 27 carries.

Mike Lansford, who could have sat you down and told you all about the slump he’d been in, kicked field goals of 32, 47, 29 and 44 yards.

But of course, all eyes remained riveted on Everett. How would he react to his first ho-hum performance?

Exactly which hole did he wish to crawl into after Saint cornerback Dave Waymer intercepted his second pass with still 5:45 left in the first quarter?

Was it time to call the team psychiatrist?

In fact, Everett didn’t need a couch at all.

“He never blinked,” Ram Coach John Robinson said. “He just kept playing. I tried to pep up his confidence but halfway through I just said, ‘Hey, I don’t need to.’ ”

While Everett wasn’t doing much with his arm, he tried to make up for it with his feet. With 12:16 left in the third quarter, he scored on a four-yard run, giving the Rams a 17-6 lead and becoming the first Ram quarterback to score a rushing touchdown since Jeff Kemp in 1984.

No, Everett didn’t seem at all shaken by his statistics. “I was prepared for it,” he said. “I thought about the negative and how I’d react. I just knew I had to bounce back.”

Of course, Everett can take comfort in knowing that, barring injury, his job is safe until the turn of the century.

“It helps that the coaches have faith in me as a starter,” Everett said. “There was a time at Purdue when I was being juggled in and out of the lineup. It’s hard to play with a noose around your neck.”

Robinson, forever playing the part of coach, said he thought Everett’s performance was even better than last week’s three-touchdown job in a 30-28 loss against New England.

“He got a V (coaching jargon for victory) under his belt,” Robinson said. “Which is the denominator for a quarterback.”

Of course.

The Ram defense, on the other hand, couldn’t thank the offense enough for that early 7-0 lead.

It was seven more points than the Rams scored two weeks ago against New Orleans in the Superdome.

The Saints, much like the Rams, don’t like to play from behind. New Orleans prefers to control a game with running back Rueben Mayes.

When the Saints were forced to pass, the Rams were ready.

“That first touchdown was big for us,” Ram defensive end Gary Jeter said. “It took Mayes out of the game, the same way it would have taken Dickerson out of the game for us. They don’t like to put the pressure on Wilson.”

The Ram defense would take the game from Wilson and the Saints in the third quarter.

Trailing, 10-6, the Saints started the third quarter at their own 19. On first down, Cromwell, stripped the ball from Saint fullback Buford Jordan with Reggie Doss recovering for the Rams at the 22. Six plays later, Everett, on a broken play, ran four yards up the middle for a touchdown.

On the Saints’ next possession, Wilson’s pass intended for Kelvin Edwards was intercepted by Cromwell, who returned it 21 yards to the Saint 24.

The Rams turned that turnover into a 47-yard Lansford field goal to make it 20-6 with 10:26 left in the third quarter.

Three minutes later, it was Ram cornerback Mickey Sutton intercepting a Wilson pass and returning it 20 yards to the New Orleans’ 20.

The Rams turned that into--you got it--a Lansford field goal, this one from 29 yards.

The Rams made it 26-6 with 14:08 remaining on Lansford’s fourth field goal, a 44-yarder.

Cromwell killed any Saint comeback ideas when he intercepted his second pass of the game with 12:20 left at the Saint 37.

“When they got ahead, they dropped into a really good zone defense and played very aggressively to the ball,” Wilson said.

Cromwell said the defense, which slipped from No. 1 in the NFL a week ago to No. 4, had something to prove after last week’s New England loss.

“Anytime we give up 30 points, we should not win,” Cromwell said. “Last week we gave up too many points.”

The Rams were determined on Sunday not to give up any.

They made their point in the first quarter when they stopped New Orleans on fourth and inches near the Ram goal line.

Wilson tried to sneak over the middle but was met head on by Vince Newsome and Carl Ekern.

“You’ve got to make fourth and inches,” Saints Coach Jim Mora said. “Every game has critical plays. I figured we could make an inch.”

He was wrong, of course.

And though Everett didn’t put up the kind of numbers he did last week, Cromwell said that just having him in the lineup takes makes life easier for the Rams.

“When we get turnovers, we feel that we’re going to get at least get three points out of it,” Cromwell said. “We capitalized on the turnovers we got because our offense is more diverse.”

And that, statistics or no, is because of Everett.

“It’s just the thought that he can throw it,” Cromwell said of Everett. “We’re not just one dimensional and it makes their defense think.”

The Saints’ only noteworthy drive of the day came a little too late.

They scored their only touchdown with 9:05 remaining on a seven-yard pass from Wilson to Eric Martin. It completed an 80-yard, 9-play drive that was only made easier by a loose Ram defense that seemed willing to give up yards in chunks.

The win preserved the Rams’ slim half-game lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West. The Rams, though, finish the season with New York Jets, Dallas, Miami and the 49ers.

“These are the ones we have to win now,” Dickerson said. “If we lose all four of these, it’s over for us. We’ll be home for Christmas, watching TV.”