Once Again, Rams Are Burned by a Hot Team : Los Angeles Is Victimized by Big-Play Offense for Second Time in Five Days
In the world according to Ram cornerback Johnnie Johnson, there are two character traits that defensive backs must have to succeed in the National Football League.
“First, you have to be one tough individual,” Johnson said. “And second, you have to have a real short memory.”
Johnson is blessed with both but will need a heavy dose of the latter this week as the Rams prepare for their Dec. 28 wild-card playoff game against the Washington Redskins.
After what San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana did to the Ram secondary Friday night, and after what Miami’s Dan Marino did to it last Sunday, a little amnesia might do wonders for the Rams.
Who would want to remember the sight of Montana carving up this once-proud Ram defense for 238 yards passing and 2 touchdowns in San Francisco’s 24-14 victory at Candlestick Park Friday night?
Or the 403 yards and 5 touchdowns that Marino passed for in last Sunday’s 37-31 overtime victory over the Rams at Anaheim Stadium?
Not these Rams.
“It’s like the whole season starts over now,” Johnson said, trying best to put Friday night’s game behind him. “New England was in the same position (a wild-card entrant into the playoffs) last year as we are this year, and they ended up in the Super Bowl. There’s no reason our season can’t go the same way.”
There are plenty of reasons, if the Rams continue to play as they did Friday night.
Ram Coach John Robinson said: “The 49ers completely outplayed us.”
In doing so, San Francisco overwhelmed a defense that was ranked No. 1 in the NFL in November but has since dropped to sixth. The biggest difference seems to be the Rams’ penchant for giving up the big play.
Last week, Marino reached the end zone with touchdown pass plays of 69 and 43 yards.
While Montana spent most of Friday night throwing short- to medium-range passes, he did burn the Rams with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice that gave the 49ers a 10-0 lead in the first period.
Granted, Montana and Marino are two of the NFL’s finest quarterbacks, and both the 49ers and the Dolphins boast some of football’s best receivers. But that provided little consolation to Johnson.
“We’re not doing anything differently, but for whatever reason, the big plays have been the difference the last few weeks,” Johnson said. “Early in the season, we didn’t give up any 69-yard plays. We have to get back to playing a physical game and not allowing big plays.”
The first step, though, is getting Friday night’s game out of their system. Gary Jeter, Ram defensive end, seems to be on the right track.
“The heck with this game--I’m in the playoffs,” Jeter said. “This is my 10th year in the league, and I’ve gone to the playoffs five times. My season hasn’t ended.”
Added cornerback LeRoy Irvin: “Everything we’ve done before is down the tubes. I’m glad the season is over, and now I’m looking forward to the playoffs.”
Wait a minute. Hasn’t anyone in the Ram locker room remembered that they just blew a 1 1/2-game lead with 2 games to play and lost the West Division title to the 49ers?
Guard Dennis Harrah did, but he tried to turn his disappointment into motivation.
“We haven’t had an easy road the whole season,” he said. “This is par for the course. But if two straight losses aren’t enough to fire you up, then you ought to retire.”
Johnson said: “We’re a loose group no matter what the situation is. The last two weeks, we’ve ran into two hot clubs, and both teams executed at will. As a result, we lost the lead. But we have to learn from what took place.”
Most of all, they have to learn to forget what has just taken place.
