RAMS IN TRANSITION : Team Has Plenty of Questions Left
Once, controversy at the Rams’ training camp meant Gabriel vs. Munson, Harris vs. Haden, Ferragamo vs. his playbook.
Life was a simple quarterback squabble back then.
Now look at the Rams. Their quarterback, Jim Everett, is 25 and talented, a likely fixture in the backfield for 10 years.
Suddenly, it’s the rest of the team that’s a mess. There are job openings all over Fullerton these days and some long-time employees are nervous.
Are you ready for 11 rookies on the Rams’ roster?
“There are a ton of positions that are uncertain to this day,” Coach John Robinson said. “This camp is certainly different in that respect. But will the end result be better?”
Remember, this is only Phase I of the post-Eric Dickerson infusion program. Next year, the team has five more first- or second-round draft picks to work with.
In other words, if you’re a Ram in the over-30 club, the squeeze is on. Said veteran linebacker Carl Ekern, 33: “When you’re over 30, you can’t get hurt and expect to make the team.”
Nolan Cromwell, 33, couldn’t stand fighting, and maybe losing, a battle for fourth-string safety. He’s gone. Dennis Harrah is gone. Kevin House, David Hill, Reggie Doss--all gone.
The Rams are turning over faster than blueberry pancakes.
Robinson has declared over and over that no veteran’s job is safe.
“Fear is a good motivator,” he said “I think that’s stirred competition, yes.”
A 6-9 season is another good motivator.
Ekern, for one, has met the challenge head on. He’s had his best camp in years and has, so far, held onto his starting inside linebacker position. Ekern feels the push of younger players, but refuses to look over his shoulder.
“I know my situation,” he said. “Hell, it’s been hard for me every year. We’ve always had good linebackers. If it takes pressure from someone to do better, great. But every year you have to prove yourself.”
Ekern, an 11-year veteran, said he isn’t naive.
“John (Robinson) made it clear in the off-season that it would be competitive,” Ekern said. “Everyone knew that. We had guys retired, released, the team didn’t do well. You look for areas to improve.”
Some may question whether the Rams are turning over too fast. Can top draft choices make the instant transition from college to pro? Does pushing a veteran player make him a better player or a nervous wreck?
So far, the Rams have more clues than answers. Is this a better camp?
“Damned if I know,” Robinson said. “Being in the middle, it’s like going downhill in a car. How fast are we going? I don’t know. Fast, I think. I like this team.”
Still, the coaches face some agonizing decisions come September.
A closer look at some major logjams.
RUNNING BACKS
Ten players are fighting for five positions. Tailbacks include three former first-round draft choices--Charles White, Gaston Green and Greg Bell. There’s also Nebraska rookie Keith Jones, who, assistant coach Gil Haskell said, “may be the fastest of them all.”
Jones’ advantage is that he can return kicks, and the Rams are looking for someone to replace Ron Brown. White, of course, is the starter. Green is the team’s first choice and considered a cinch to make the team. Which leaves Bell, the odd man out. Or is he?
“He’s a former No. 1 pick with great skills,” Haskell said of Bell, acquired last year from Buffalo in the Dickerson trade. “He’s got talent.”
Injuries figure in. Veteran Mike Guman was the starting fullback until Tuesday, when he had arthroscopic knee surgery. He’ll be back, but not before opening day.
Look for fifth-round pick Robert Delpino to move into Guman’s spot. Also in the race are Buford McGee, injured last year but now in good shape, McGee also knows the offense better than the others, having played for Ernie Zampese in San Diego.
And then there’s Tim Tyrrell, the team’s best special teams player. But can the Rams afford to keep a roster spot open for him?
Finally, there’s Donald Evans, the first pick in 1987 who has been moved from defensive end to fullback. Evans has been bothered by illness and injury so far and hasn’t had the chance to prove he can play. Guman’s injury, though, perhaps leaves a crack in the door.
“He’s not fighting a battle of no talent,” Robinson said of Evans. “He’s fighting a battle of time and numbers.”
INSIDE LINEBACKERS
The Rams have so much congestion here that they created a new position for Mark Jerue, who will play nose tackle in one of the team’s defensive sets. In the old 3-4 alignment, there was a three-way battle for two spots among Jerue, Ekern and Jim Collins, until Collins was knocked out with arthroscopic knee surgery last week.
Larry Kelm, who started the season at inside linebacker a year ago, moves in while Collins is away, although he too, has been nagged by injuries.
Lurking in the shadows is rookie Fred Strickland, the second-rounder from Purdue. A broken index finger has barely slowed him down this summer. Strickland has looked good, even in a cast. Things will really heat up when Collins returns in a month.
SECONDARY
The starters, for now, are set-- Leroy Irvin and Jerry Gray at the corners, with Vince Newsome and Johnnie Johnson as safeties. But a few players are charging fast.
The Rams like their second-round pick, Anthony Newman, so much that they’re talking about eventually moving Gray, a two-time Pro Bowl player at corner, back to his original free safety position.
What’s the best place for Jerry Gray to play for the next five years, corner or free safety?
“He’s been Pro Bowl at cornerback the last two years,” Robinson said, “but there’s reason to think he’d be a better free safety than a corner. It’s kind of a juggling act in the secondary. All the pins are up in the air.”
Others in the running are rookie safety James Washington, strong safety Michael Stewart and cornerbacks Cliff Hicks and Mickey Sutton.
Some other key matchups include Steve Dils vs. Hugh Millen for backup quarterback, Damone Johnson vs. Pete Holohan at tight end, Mike Schad vs. Tony Slaton at left guard until Tom Newberry returns, Michael Young vs. Darryl Franklin and Thomas Henley for fourth wide receiver.
Then, there’s the defensive line, which is wide open until holdouts Shawn Miller and Doug Reed return, perhaps even after.
It figures to be a long, hot summer.
Ram Notes
The Rams released linebacker Norwood Vann, a longtime standout special teams player. Vann was a 10th-round pick from East Carolina in 1984. “Woody was kind of a long-term backup,” Coach John Robinson said. “It was time to get somebody else. It was reality as much as anything.” . . . The starting time for Saturday night’s 43rd annual Rams/Times Charity game is 8 p.m., not 7 p.m. as originally scheduled.
