Ram Notebook : Official Has His Way in Making Close Calls
Armen Terzian, instant replay official, made a couple of calls Sunday that didn’t sit too well with Ram fans.
In the second quarter, quarterback Jim Everett dropped back to pass on third and six from the Rams’ 46-yard line. He was blind-sided by 49er linebacker Keena Turner, the ball squirted free and was recovered by the 49ers.
It appeared as if Everett was in the act of passing when he was hit, but Terzian didn’t see it that way.
“We looked at every angle that was shown,” Terzian said. “I could not see the arm coming forward. The arm has to be coming forward with the ball in it to be considered a forward pass and I couldn’t see the ball coming forward at all.”
The second call was more pivotal. In the fourth quarter, Everett completed a third-down pass to Damone Johnson, who had both feet in the end zone. But Johnson was coming back to the ball and, after catching it, fell down inside the one-yard line.
After Terzian reviewed the play, he told referee Jim Tunney that the ball never crossed the plane of the goal line.
On the next play, Charlie White dived for the end zone, was hit in mid-air by linebacker Michael Walter and came up short.
The Rams management may think they came out of the Eric Dickerson trade smelling of roses, but a lot of fans seem to think the deal, well, stunk.
A couple of signs in the Big A Sunday:
--HELP WANTED: Running back. Experience a plus. Must work cheap.
--Trade Georgia, Robinson and Shaw 4 Dr. Jerry Buss. Good Luck, Eric.
And, after White failed to score on that fourth-and-goal play from inside the one-yard line, the crowd broke into the chant: “Er-ic, Er-ic, Er-ic.”
A crowd of 55,328 showed up for Sunday’s game, although only about l0% remained until the bitter end. A total of 67,851 tickets were sold and there were 12,523 no-shows.
The 55,328 total was less than the 55,665 average for 11 home games last season, a number that included three preseason games, none of which drew more than 50,000.
The absence of a television blackout, the threat of rain and the Rams’ dismal record probably had an effect on the no-show total.
So Who Cares About Winning Dept.--Ram running back Charlie White: “We are 1-6 now, but that doesn’t matter. We’ll come back and play the same way we would if we were 6-1.”
Joe Montana, 49er quarterback: “Records don’t mean anything when you play the Rams.”
Somebody Cares Dept.--Ram linebacker Mel Owens: “When you lose, you feel that you’ll keep losing and it’s hard to stay competitive. Right now, it’s gonna take at least one win in a row.”
