Rams Step On, Over and Around the Cowboys : Everett’s Passes Give Rams Jump on the Cowboys

For all the hoopla and hype, for all the talk about how a child would lead them to the promised land of Pasadena in January, the Rams’ Jim Everett looked very much the rookie quarterback in the first quarter of his first three games as a professional.

He made his pro debut three weeks ago against New England, but spent the first quarter in the quintessential rookie role: Standing on the sidelines wearing a baseball cap and holding a clipboard.

He started the next two games, but didn’t exactly get out of the blocks in great shape.

He threw two interceptions in the first quarter of both games, and, had the competition for the position been a little stronger, he probably would have been back in the baseball cap.

But Everett is the Rams’ quarterback of the present as well as the future and Sunday night against the Cowboys, he got another chance. This time he quit playing the first-quarter blues and played a decidedly more up-tempo tune.

Everett completed 4 of 7 first-quarter passes for 65 yards and by halftime had run his totals to 10 of 18 for 182 yards and a touchdown.

“I’d been thinking about it and I knew with the rivalry we have with Dallas that I couldn’t start like that again tonight,” Everett said. “I just wanted to concentrate and stay as aggressive as possible.”

Everett became the first Ram quarterback to pass for more than 200 yards this season--he finished with 212, completing 14 of 25 passes--but his quick start didn’t help. When the Rams went up, 22-10, in the third quarter, the number of passing plays went down.

Remember that Dickerson guy? The one who gets the ball a lot . . . especially when the Rams are ahead?

The Cowboys didn’t forget him, of course. They came in intent on stopping him and when they did, Everett beat them.

At least that’s the way Cowboy Coach Tom Landry saw it.

“Our objective was to stop (Eric) Dickerson and I think we slowed him down a little,” Landry said. “But we couldn’t contain Everett and that was the thing that really hurt us.”

Everett’s ability to escape the rush has been a big plus. He’s been sacked just twice in 82 passing attempts and he frustrated the Cowboys all night with his ability to turn near-sacks into big plays.

“It’s just a feeling you get,” Everett said, trying to explain his ability to avoid sacks. “Something inside you says to get those big, long legs rolling.”

Everett ran three times, including one planned bootleg on fourth and one from the Cowboy 40-yard line. That drive ended when Everett slipped away from the Dallas rush only to throw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Michael Downs in the end zone.

That didn’t bother Ram Coach John Robinson, who is understandably overjoyed with the way the quarterback position has evolved from national-debt-size liability to money in the bank.

Robinson’s evaluation of Everett was typically restrained.

“Jim Everett played a great football game tonight,” he said. “It’s often feast or famine against Dallas and he was able to take advantage of his opportunities.”

Those chances came less and less often in the second half as the Rams started working the clock. Four times, on third and three or longer, Everett was asked to use his million-dollar arm to hand the ball to Dickerson.

But don’t expect this youngster to complain.

“I, well, I guess I’m content,” he said, taking the tactful approach. “Anytime you have a guy like Eric getting the ball on an obvious passing down, he can be pretty damn effective.”

No longer is the Ram ground attack the only part of the offense that comes under the “effective” category. That’s got a lot of people in and around Anaheim Stadium pretty excited about the distant and not-so-distant future.

It’s amazing how one 23 year old can make a whole football team fall asleep with visions of Super Bowls in their heads.