49ers Simply Do Number on Rams : San Francisco Holds Dickerson to 68 Yards; Rest Is Easy

His 49er teammates had finished preparing for the Rams, but linebacker Riki Ellison wasn’t quite done yet.

He wasn’t watching film or studying tendencies. Ellison was alone in a corner of the 49ers’ practice field, hurling his body again and again into a tackling dummy with No. 29 pinned on it.

Call it Ellison’s Emotional Attitude Adjustment.

“I took a hard look at the Rams this week,” Ellison said, “and I made them my enemies.”

Public Enemy No. 1 was the Rams’ No. 29, of course. And Friday night at Candlestick Park, Eric Dickerson didn’t fare much better than that tackling dummy. The 49ers held him to 68 yards . . . and that was the bright spot in the Rams’ offense as San Francisco won the showdown for the NFC West title in a 24-14 game that wasn’t nearly that close.

After three quarters, the Rams had managed just 86 yards of total offense. San Francisco, meanwhile, had rolled up 354.

A healthy Joe Montana and Roger Craig at full strength were supposed to be the difference in this game. But the way their defense played Friday night, the 49ers might have won with a high school quarterback and your grandmother running the ball.

Ellison, who had four tackles, was more a spiritual leader than a physical force. He spent more time jumping for joy and pounding the shoulder pads and helmets of his teammates then he did pouncing on Ram ballcarriers.

“I was just jacked up,” he said later. “I was playing on pure emotion and I made some mistakes, too. But I’ve never had so much fun playing football. It was a blast, man.

“I just set the spark . . . and then it spread like a brush fire.”

And the Rams were the ones who got burned.

Rookie quarterback Jim Everett got his first taste of real pressure. He was sacked three times and forced to throw before he was ready on almost every passing play. The result: three 49er interceptions.

“He was just letting the ball go,” nose tackle Michael Carter said. “We went to a four-man rush, and he was getting a lot of pressure from the outside. He’s only played five games, and I think he was a little rattled.”

The 49er secondary isn’t exactly laden with experience, either. Both cornerbacks--Tim McKyer and Don Griffin--are rookies and both have made their share of mistakes this season. But they played more like crafty All-Pros than wide-eyed rookies this time around.

McKyer had two interceptions and broke up three other pass plays. Griffin had four solo tackles and successfully defended against two passes, including one near touchdown play.

“We don’t think about being rookies no more,” McKyer said. “We’ve faced (Mark) Duper, (Mark) Clayton, Irving Fryar, Roy Green, Al Toon . . . hell, we’re shell-shocked, if anything.”

A baptism of fire, indeed. But veteran safety Ronnie Lott, who has taken the youngsters in tow, was feeling like “a proud father” Friday night.

“We’ve had them out on an island all year,” said Lott, who had the other 49er interception. “Most guys would have drowned, but they’ve stayed afloat. And tonight, they swam home and just about carried us with them.”

Everybody in red and gold seemed to be carrying his own weight, though. The Rams ran into an inspired, swarming 49er defense.

And it might just as well have been a brick wall.

“Yeah,” Everett admitted, “they blitzed at the right time and forced us into some situations we didn’t want to get in.”

Most of the time, the situation the Rams found themselves in was this: They could spit in their own end zone and needed binoculars to see San Francisco’s.

The Rams crossed midfield just twice in the first three quarters, and once was because Vince Newsome intercepted a Montana pass and returned it 34 yards to the 49ers’ 42-yard line.

The poor field position, the vociferous crowd, they were all factors. But the 49ers’ gung-ho defense was the deciding factor.

“We pretty much stopped Dickerson and then we just teed off on Everett,” defensive end Jeff Stover said. “We played this game like it was a playoff game. Now, we get to stay home for Christmas and get that extra week of rest.”

Ellison was standing in front of his locker, pounding his fist into his hand. He looked as if he’d rather tape up and play again than settle down in front of the fire and admire the tree.

He was singing an unfamiliar carol, but obviously agreed ‘tis the season to be jolly.

“I think we shocked them,” he said, a wide grin splitting his face. “Maybe they thought we were going to come into this thing mundane or something. But I’ve never seen this team so excited.”

Then he bounded away toward the showers, but it probably would take more than water to extinguish this flame.