Rams Trying to Step Up in Class : Longtime Pretenders May Be Full-Blown Contenders

OK, class, open your textbooks to the chapter on how to win the Super Bowl. And no more spitwads!

Last season it was lectures on the nutritional hazards of eating cold pizza for breakfast. This year, maybe Ram Coach John Robinson pulls out the slides on dental hygiene.

The Eric Dickerson trade has turned the Indianapolis Colts around and the Ram roster inside out. Fresh from a 4-1 exhibition season, the Rams steam toward Sunday’s opener against the Atlanta Falcons with 27 players 26 or younger.

The question remains: Is this team old enough to win big? The Rams nearly pulled it off last year, finishing in a three-way tie in the NFC West at 10-6. But 12 veterans are gone from that team.

The Dickerson trade left the Rams young and restless. And now the scrutiny begins in earnest. The team is through shopping with Dickerson draft picks and received for him the following seven players: Greg Bell, Gaston Green, Cleveland Gary, Frank Stams, Fred Strickland, Aaron Cox and Darryl Henley.

Quite a haul, sure, but who won?

“It’s going to be years before you can fully determine that,” football analyst Joel Buchsbaum said. “I think the bottom line on the deal is that, since the trade, all three teams (Rams, Colts and Buffalo Bills), have been to the playoffs.”

One team, though, came out ahead in the numbers game.

“The Rams are the team you have to wait on,” Buchsbaum said. “They have so many guys . . . they could be terrific.”

But when? This year? 1993? No one knows for sure. Some experts are picking the Rams to supplant the San Francisco 49ers in the division despite some serious questions, such as:

--Inside linebacker: The Rams opened training camp with two new starters, Strickland and Larry Kelm, but they’ve been hurt most of the summer, leaving free agent Richard Brown and a cast of dozens to plug up the middle. Wait till Dickerson gets the scouting report.

--Running back: Gaston Green is much improved from last season, averaging four yards a carry as the main back this summer, but he also fumbled four times. Green seems destined for a role of spot runner and big-play back.

Greg Bell proved he could carry the load last season, finishing as the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher with 1,212 yards. But he spent the summer in a blue funk trying to settle a contact dispute. Bell finally signed last week, but he wasn’t happy about it, which isn’t the best of signs from a back whose attitude has sometimes been a problem.

Bell ran hard in his brief appearance last Saturday night and opens the season as the starter, which tells you that Green isn’t there yet.

Cleveland Gary is the man Robinson was hoping could win games in the fourth quarter with a time-consuming, inside running game. But the first-round pick finally agreed to contract terms Tuesday night.

“I just want to see the run dominate somebody,” Robinson said. “That’s my wish always. But we’re not going to like I would like because we don’t get enough chances because we’re throwing the ball. But I think it’s something we always have to strive for.”

Some league have-nots might dismiss such talk as high-brow nit-picking: Gee, I could sure use a third Mercedes for the weekend. Let’s face it, the Rams are loaded with talent. Their summer pass offense, with quarterback Jim Everett directing, was at times devastating, dicing up secondaries with uncommon ease.

“We can move the ball,” Robinson said. “When we’re clicking, boy, that ball goes down the field.”

The defense, for so long staid and calculated with trusted veterans, has taken on the free-wheeling personality of Kevin Greene, outside linebacker and sack leader.

The secondary, an interesting mixture of young and old, had 10 interceptions in five exhibition games, including five last week against the Detroit Lions. And that was without veteran right cornerback LeRoy Irvin, who is out of the lineup for three more weeks for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

For Robinson though, youth remains the telling variable.

“We could be 6-10 or 12-4, I really believe that, depending how well we do, and what happens injury-wise,” he said. “So that’s pretty damn exciting, sitting with that kind of swing.”

The Rams have turned over quickly, but are relying on experience in key places to get them through the rough spots. Everett gives them stability at quarterback. The offensive line features three all-pro performers. And although tackles Irv Pankey, 31, and Jackie Slater, 35, are kids no longer, they’ve showed no signs of slowing.

Until Irvin was suspended, the Rams had all-pro-caliber players at both with Irvin and Jerry Gray. Cliff Hicks steps in until Irvin returns in October.

There’s reason for optimism. The Rams won their only NFC West title under Robinson in 1985, the year after the 49ers won the Super Bowl. If there’s a post-title letdown again, the Rams are primed and ready. But the road to the top still leads north.

“I think our sense is to win the division, therefore we have to be successful against San Francisco,” Robinson said. “Now, if something happens to San Francisco, we have to be prepared to be successful against New Orleans and Atlanta.”

The Rams are counting on a quick start out of the blocks. They probably need a 4-1 start against Atlanta, Indianapolis, Green Bay, San Francisco and Atlanta to make a run for the division title. After that, the Rams hit the meat of their schedule: Buffalo, New Orleans, Chicago, Minnesota and the New York Giants.

Of course, the game of the year should be the home opener Sept. 17, when Dickerson returns to Anaheim Stadium with Indianapolis for the first time since his trade in 1987.

In some places, they’d be camping out to get tickets. In Anaheim, as of this week, the Colt game wasn’t even a sellout.

Ram Notes

After they cleared waivers, quarterback Steve Dils and linebacker Richard Brown were re-signed Tuesday by the Rams. Things didn’t work out as well for the offensive linemen. Eighth-round guard Warren Wheat was claimed by Seattle and third-round tackle Kevin Robbins by Dallas.

The team also put linebackers Mark Jerue (knee) and Brian Smith (wrist) on six-week injured reserve. Smith was a second-round draft choice from Auburn, but his progress has been slow. Under new rules, players on injured reserve cannot practice with the team for four weeks.

GARY, RAMS COME TO TERMS

Cleveland Gary agrees to a four-year contract with Rams. Chris Dufresne’s story, Page 7.