L.A. Teams Have Shots at Division Titles : Rams’ Fate in Own, Others’ Hands

At 5 o’clock this evening, in the muck and mire of Candlestick Park, site of last season’s 48-0 demolition, the Rams will pause for the playing of the national anthem, buckle their chin straps and direct piercing glances across the field toward the . . . scoreboard?

It’s the Rams against the 49ers, all right, in a game that has taken on new meaning in light of one team’s recent humiliations. Last December, it was the worst loss in Ram history. Last October, it was Roger Craig’s 190-yard cakewalk through the green grass of a home team’s secondary.

“It was embarrassing, yeah,” Ram safety Johnnie Johnson said. “We made his highlight film. You don’t like to be on anyone’s highlight film.”

But as much as this is the Rams vs. the 49ers--the Rams must win to salvage any playoff hopes--it’s also the Rams against the Giants and the Saints and the Eagles. It’s the Rams vs. the satellite dish.

You see, the Rams have the whole wide world in someone else’s hands. And thanks to some late-afternoon scheduling, courtesy of ESPN, both teams will know by kickoff just where they stand in a truly psychedelic playoff picture.

The game can mean everything for the Rams if Atlanta upsets New Orleans earlier in the Superdome. Just like that, a victory over the 49ers clinches the NFC West title for the Rams. Wouldn’t that be something?

The game can mean something if Dallas beats Philadelphia or the New York Jets beat the Giants. Then, a Ram victory assures a wild-card playoff spot against Minnesota Dec. 26.

The game will mean nothing if the Saints, Eagles and Giants all win today. That will lock the Rams out of the playoffs before tonight’s coin toss.

And what about the 49ers?

If the Saints beat Atlanta, the 49ers will have already clinched the NFC West title before kickoff, though they could still be inspired to victory for the benefit of home-field advantage.

Both the Rams and the 49ers will no doubt spend the morning hours waiting for 10-minute ticker updates, but the players insist that a Ram-49er game is all the motivation anyone with adrenal glands could ever want.

“Momentum isn’t something that happens like the turning on of a switch,” Ram defensive end Gary Jeter said. “You should be building momentum all week. It shouldn’t be, ‘Oh, we’re playing for the division now.’ If you’ve waited to that point to get yourself mentally ready to play, then you’re not going to play a good game anyway, because you’re not ready.”

Besides, every playoff formula involving the Rams demands that they defeat the 49ers, something that can hardly be taken for granted these days. See if you can detect a trend here: Bill Walsh is 8-3 against John Robinson since 1983.

The 49ers were a sinking ship a few weeks ago when they dropped to 6-5 and third place after losing, 9-3, to the Raiders at Candlestick. But they have plugged the holes in the hull and righted their course since, winning 4 straight and clinching a playoff spot.

And what happened to all the whispers about the 49ers’ failures and Walsh’s mishandling of quarterback Joe Montana?

Montana, just an ordinary Joe for much of the season, appears to be hitting his stride at just about the right time.

Walsh handled Montana with care early on, pulling him from the starting lineup against the Giants and resting him for 2 series in the first Ram game.

The Bay Area press was certain it was on to something, that Walsh had lost faith in Montana’s abilities. But it turns out that Walsh was just playing Florence Nightingale.

“We really had some problems early on,” Walsh said. “Joe had a dysentery-type thing and lost 10 pounds and never got it back. He was playing fatigued and he himself at a point wasn’t aware of that. He was playing OK, but not up to normal standards. We had to rest him.

“Now, he seems much stronger, much more assertive. He seems to be getting back in form.”

Walsh said he was shocked that some writers had reported it as a controversy.

“To be honest with you, a lot of people doing the criticism knew full well what the problems were,” he said. “They knew that Joe had had major back surgery, that he’d lost 10 pounds and was weakened. Even in his appearance, it was very obvious.

“And the way he played. He was unable to avoid, unable to move . . .. In the Ram game, I had to take him out. You remember the temperature was in the 90s. I stated this, doctors stated this.”

Anything else?

“Still, certain people here in our press made a big issue of the fact that Joe wasn’t playing and did everything they could to convince people that I was confused as to what I was doing as a coach,” Walsh said.

“That wasn’t the case at all. The man had to be rested. The man should not have been on the field.

“The quarterback controversy, I feel, was ill-conceived and unfair to a lot of people, but we’ve gotten through it and we’re on our way.” The Rams hope not.

Ram Notes

Fullback Mike Guman cleared league waivers Saturday and will be activated to the 45-man roster for tonight’s game. To make room on the roster, the Rams placed linebacker Mark Jerue on injured reserve with a knee injury. Jerue, a starter for 12 weeks and nose tackle in the team’s Eagle alignment, has missed the last 3 games because of the injury.

This is the first time this season that the 49ers have been alone in first place. . . . Bill Walsh is looking for his 100th victory tonight. . . . The 49ers are 25-8 in regular-season December games under Walsh and also are the winningest team of the 1980s at 90-44-1.

Tailback Roger Craig needs 49 yards to become the 49ers’ first 1,500-yard rusher. . . . Walsh on Craig: “To be very honest, and I haven’t said this about any of our players before, I think he should be the most valuable player in the NFL.”