THE ROAD TO MIAMI: SUPER BOWL XXIII : Rams Think Road Is Theirs for the Taking

It’s late December out here on the tundra and look who’s diving headfirst into another Minnesota Vikings cold front?

It’s the Rams, of course, the Purple (Lipped) People (Quiche) Eaters. Is it too late to turn back? The hands of time, that is?

After so many forgettable cold-blooded losses to the Vikings in Bloomington, Minn., the Rams almost swagger into today’s National Football Conference wild-card playoff game, almost as if they have the once-dreaded Vikings pinned against the frozen ropes.

Let’s face it, the series has turned weird. Minnesota moved inside to the Metrodome in 1982 and now some people say the Vikes can’t win in stadiums without thermostats. Two weeks ago, Minnesota lost the division title in a Green Bay snowstorm. The old Vikings never lost titles in snowstorms. Ask the Rams.

So much has changed about this series since the days of Bud Grant and bun warmers. The Rams, once prisoners of their own home, the Coliseum, couldn’t wait to get out of the house in 1988. They were 6-2 away from the code blues at Anaheim Stadium and almost welcomed hostility with open arms. What’s a few tossed beer cups between enemies?

“I think the franchise’s changed now,” kicker Mike Lansford said. “I think we’re a better road team. In those days, it seems the Rams always wanted to be at home. . . . This year, we’ve kind of reversed it.”

Yes, the Metrodome will be crazy today. Yes, the Rams won’t be able to hear themselves think. But they won’t be able to see themselves breathe, either. Given the option, the Rams choose noise.

The Rams don’t know what it is about the road this season. Truck stop food, maybe. They’ve beaten the Giants in New Jersey, the Saints in New Orleans and the 49ers at Candlestick.

“The road has united us,” Quarterback Jim Everett said. “When we’re on the road, we feel together.”

If the Rams make it to the Super Bowl, Bruce Springsteen gets the song rights.

Don’t get the Rams wrong. Anaheim Stadium is a nice place to be a host--for a baby shower.

“It is different,” Coach John Robinson said this week. “Maybe we need to pass out balloons or something.”

The Rams were 4-4 in Anaheim this season, lowlighted by a real stinker loss to the San Diego Chargers in November.

The Rams longed to know: What’s our motivation? Kevin Greene, quarterback sacker and motorcycle rider, yearns for the open highway.

“It doesn’t bother me traveling,” Greene said. “Beat ‘em here, beat ‘em there. It doesn’t matter. We have the talent to beat any team when we want to play. I see a chance for the Super Bowl. Let’s pick ‘em off one at a time.”

If the Rams sound young, cocky and self-assured, well, it’s because they’re all three. They subscribe to the theory that hot hands at the end of the season are the best hands.

The Rams enter the game with a 3-game win streak, longest of any playoff team. Their defense, which basically took November off, is punching the clock again, not to mention opposing quarterbacks. The Rams topped off the season with 12 sacks in 3 games.

And if Jim Everett isn’t the hottest quarterback in the league right now, he’s at least on a back burner.

“I’ve stopped thinking about worrying about him,” Robinson said. “There was a time I watched him to see if he was getting frustrated. I don’t watch him anymore.”

The Rams’ offensive line, made up of three Pro Bowl players and should’ve-been Irv Pankey, has kept Everett’s uniform clean (only 3 sacks in the last 3 games).

How important is this? The pulse of the Vikings’ No. 1-ranked defense beats on its line, led by Keith Millard, Chris Doleman and Henry Thomas.

In fact, Millard vs. Ram guard Tom Newberry could be the face-off of the year.

“I think it’s going to be the clash of the Titans,” Everett said.

Also, the Rams don’t mind that the Vikings love a mystery these days. Three weeks ago, most had Minnesota booked on the midnight special to Miami, this year’s Super Bowl site.

Then the Vikings took a dive in Green Bay on Dec. 11, 18-6, and the NFC Central division title went slip-sliding away.

“We’re not concerned about what happened 2 weeks ago relative to the division,” Minnesota Coach Jerry Burns said. “Our goal was to get in the playoffs. And we’re in the playoffs.”

Then there was last Monday night’s little drama between quarterback Wade Wilson and offensive coordinator Bob Schnelker. Wilson, named to the Pro Bowl not long ago, was replaced by Tommy Kramer in the second half of the Chicago game.

A national audience of lip readers tuned in as Wilson and Schnelker loudly discussed the move on the sideline. After weeks of lip-biting, Wilson admitted that Schnelker was not his tennis partner.

“He was crazy just like always,” Wilson told Viking reporters. “You’re out there playing and you’re dealing with a guy that’s never wrong. We’re doing our best, but we’re always the ones that are wrong. He’s never at fault.”

Burns, head coach and spin doctor, met with Wilson this week and smoothed over the rough edges.

“I think those confrontations are blown way out of proportion,” he said. “It’s an emotional game and sometimes things are said. . . . You can’t be so thin-skinned. Everybody’s just trying to win the game. There’s no particular problem.”

As Burns finished the sentence, he continued the search for his running game. Question: What do you get when you add up the rushing yardage totals for Darrin Nelson, Allen Rice, Alfred Anderson and Rick Fenney?

The answer is 1,273 yards, or just 61 yards more than one Greg Bell gained for the Rams this season.

Nelson led all Viking rushers with 380 yards. Philadelphia quarterback Randall Cunningham ran for 624.

After all these years, and all those heartaches, the Rams finally like their chances in Minnesota.

“Just as long as the roof doesn’t blow off,” Robinson said.

Ram Notes

The Vikings are 4-1 against the Rams in the playoffs, the Rams’ only victory coming 10 years ago in a game at the Coliseum. If the Vikings win, they’ll play the 49ers in San Francisco Jan. 1. If the Rams win, they’ll meet the Bears in Chicago Jan. 1. . . . Attention Greg Bell: After going 38 consecutive games without allowing an opposing runner more than 100 yards rushing in a game, the Vikings’ defense finally cracked last Monday when the Bears’ Neal Anderson took them for 122 yards in 22 carries.