What L.A. Bowl III Lacks in Rivalry, It Provides in Plot : Injured Raiders, Unproven Rams Meet at Coliseum

One team is unbeaten, the other unproven.

One coach is returning to the scene of past glories, the other seeking a first season of glory.

One quarterback may have finally arrived as a force in the league, the other has just arrived in town.

One owner kisses her players on the sidelines, the other has been forced to kiss several big names goodby in a team renovation project that has stretched across the summer.

Welcome to L.A. Bowl III, the Raiders and the Rams at the Coliseum, beginning at 1 p.m. today.

It’s not exactly the Lakers and the Celtics.

Or even UCLA and USC.

Or even the Dodgers and the Angels.

The first requirement of a great rivalry is for the teams to play each other, and the Raiders and the Rams just don’t do that often enough to qualify. They met at the Coliseum in 1982, the first year the Raiders were in town, with the Rams coming out on the short end of a 37-31 score. The Raiders also won the rematch, held three years later at Anaheim Stadium, 16-6.

So these clubs barely have a nodding acquaintance. Different divisions, different conferences, different theories.

It’s big play vs. big drive, man-to-man vs. zone, bump-and-run vs. run and run, and run some more.

Same city name but worlds apart.

“If you were to drop me in the middle of Orange County,” Raider defensive lineman Howie Long said, “I’d have trouble finding my way home.”

Ram Coach John Robinson, who regularly used to roam the sidelines at the Coliseum as USC coach, would like to see it change.

“I don’t feel like it’s a rivalry,” he said. “I would love to have it where we and the Raiders and the 49ers and the Chargers and the Seahawks were all in the same division. But there is no one from the league calling me to get my advice on that kind of a realignment. It would be fantastic if we played the Raiders twice a year.”

A crowd of perhaps 80,000 is expected, with local TV blacked out. Rivalry or not, there is more at stake here than just bragging rights. The Rams, having beaten two teams (the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions) that don’t figure to be involved when playoff time rolls around, still must show what they can do against a quality club.

The Raiders, with a revolving-door roster, have yet to show they are a quality club. They beat the San Diego Chargers, a team in search of a No. 1 quarterback, and then lost to the Houston Oilers, a team that had lost its No. 1 quarterback.

The question throughout training camp was this: Will the Raiders get Jay Schroeder?

That has now been replaced by: Will Jay Schroeder get to play?

The answer is still no. At least not at the beginning today. At least not as long as 23-year-old Steve Beuerlein can keep things under control.

Asked why Schroeder, a four-year veteran who was traded to the Raiders 14 days ago, is not ready to start, Raider Coach Mike Shanahan responded with an analogy.

“It’d be like if you got a job as a reporter in another country,” he said, “but didn’t speak the language. Jay Schroeder has to learn the terminology, the different patterns. A person has to feel comfortable with the system. I don’t know how he could learn the entire offense until the end of this season. That’s why we have quarterback camps and off-season camps. Now that doesn’t mean he can’t play. I would feel comfortable with Jay in a backup role against the Rams with a game plan that was limited. When he feels comfortable with his reads and the job he has to do, he’ll be in there.”

No question about that. Although he has shown flashes of excellence, Beuerlein has been inconsistent in his first two National Football League regular-season games. The Raiders managed just 158 net yards of offense last week in Houston, their second-lowest total since leaving Oakland. The club is tied with the Kansas City Chiefs at 26th in offense among NFL teams. Only the Lions have been more ineffective.

Read on. It gets worse.

In the Rams, the Raiders are facing the NFL’s No. 2 defensive club. And they are doing so with a makeshift offensive line, a situation caused by the trade of Jim Lachey to the Washington Redskins (for Schroeder) and a series of injuries. Both Don Mosebar (sprained ankle) and Brian Holloway (separated shoulder) are out, leaving the club with its third starting unit in as many weeks. The Raiders will line up with Rory Graves at left tackle, Charley Hannah at left guard, Bill Lewis at center, Bruce Wilkerson at right guard and Steve Wright at right tackle.

It’s no better on defense. Key injuries to defensive backs Vann McElroy (knee), Terry McDaniel (broken leg) and Lionel Washington (groin) have crippled the Raider secondary and have left Dennis Price, a fifth-round draft choice out of UCLA, starting on the left corner. Linebacker Linden King also looks doubtful for today because of a pulled hamstring.

The defensive surge by the Rams has been built around their Eagle defense, an alignment that includes five linebackers and two down linemen. The result is a dozen sacks, twice as many as the club had at the same time a year ago.

Along with the additional blitzing has come more emphasis on man-to-man coverage in the secondary, but with a pair of cornerbacks such as LeRoy Irvin and Jerry Gray, the Rams certainly aren’t hurting there.

As for the Ram offense, it’s the same old story: talk pass, think run.

Much was made of the hiring last year of offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese, co-pilot of the old Air Coryell in San Diego, to install a better passing attack in Robinson’s run-oriented game plan.

So what happens? Exit Eric Dickerson. Exit, temporarily, Charles White. Enter quarterback Jim Everett?

Not exactly. Last week against the Lions, the Rams plugged Greg Bell into the tailback spot and never missed a step. He gained 139 yards.

One of the reasons is the excellent offensive line. A key figure in that unit is Jackie Slater, who will match up today against Long, who is off to a fast start with three sacks and an interception returned 73 yards against the Oilers.

The first time Slater and Long locked helmets was 1982.

“That was one of my first starts, and I went for all the head fakes,” said Long, a smile crossing his face at the memory. “I was like a wide-mouthed bass. You could have just thrown the hook in the water. You didn’t even need to bait it. I went for everything. But it was a good experience for me.”

Slater vs. Long. Do we detect a rivalry here? Hey, it’s a start.