Everett Puts It in Good Hands

The order descended from the heavens, or close to it (the Ram coaches’ box high above the Candlestick Park field). It made its way to the sideline headsets worn by assistant Norval Turner and from there, to the Ram huddle where quarterback Jim Everett presided.

Get the ball to Pete Holohan.

It wasn’t a complicated command, just timely. Less than three minutes remained in Sunday’s game between the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, and more important, the 49ers were leading, 12-10.

Then Ram offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese, perched in the coaches box, noticed a little quirk in the 49er pass defense: nobody was covering Holohan.

Well, almost nobody. A 49er linebacker was assigned the duty of tailing Holohan while the rest of the secondary paid close attention to wide receivers Henry Ellard and the suddenly bothersome Flipper Anderson. Ask the Rams who wins the Holohan vs. Linebacker matchup and you get looks of disbelief.

“He has some of the best hands in the NFL,” said fellow tight end Damone Johnson.

“You watch Pete catch a football,” said guard Tom Newberry, “and you realize it’s something you can’t do.”

Maybe so, but the 49ers weren’t entirely convinced. They began dispatching two defenders to Ellard’s side of the field and kept a close eye on Anderson, who had earlier caught a 65-yard touchdown pass and nearly sneaked behind the secondary for another long reception. If the Rams were going to win, decided the 49ers, they were going to have to do it without Ellard or Anderson.

“They doubled me and took me out of the game,” Ellard said. “It kind of left the middle open.”

Sure did, which is why Zampese told Turner to tell Everett that Holohan was available for passes.

So, with a first and 10 on the Ram 44-yard line, and the clock moving toward zeroes, Everett entered the huddle and glanced at Holohan. “I’m going to give you a quick look on the post (pattern),” he said.

This was different. First of all, Ellard was the primary receiver on the play, not Holohan. Also, Holohan’s role had been limited during most of the game. Lots of blocking, little catching. In fact, he had caught only one pass all day.

Holohan took his place in the formation. At the snap, he took off for the middle of the field and found nothing but wide open spaces . . . and the ball. Thirty-one yards later, the Rams were on the 49er 25.

“I don’t know where my man was,” said Holohan, who finally was dragged down by rookie safety Johnny Jackson. “I knew that I was kind of alone. I just caught it and got tackled.”

As for any thoughts of dashing the remaining 25 or so yards, forget it. “No prayer,” Holohan said.

Instead, the Rams happily settled for a first down deep in 49er territory. They had two choices at that point: play it safe (figuring Mike Lansford could make a 42-yard field goal) or try to move the ball even closer.

Under normal circumstances, that is, without the swirling, difficult winds of Candlestick Park, the Rams might have remained cautious. But Coach John Robinson had already made up his mind.

“That wind was very tough,” he said. “We felt like we had to get another first down to get it closer.”

The Rams tried a run . . . and lost three yards. A quick pass to Ellard gained one yard back. On third and 13 from the 49er 27, the order came again.

Look for Holohan.

Everett did just that and found Holohan wide open once more, this time for a 16-yard gain.

Holohan literally jumped for joy after the catch. He had helped place the Rams in perfect position and cut Lansford’s margin of error in half.

“I swear, he’s got flypaper on his hands,” Newberry said. “He’s like Spiderman. Sometimes I think he has little cobwebs in his hands.

“Damn, it’s unbelievable.”

Holohan later thanked the entire Ram roster for making his fourth-period receptions possible. He congratulated the offensive line for blocking, Everett for throwing and Ellard and Anderson for drawing double coverage.

“A lot of times I’m getting single coverage,” Holohan said.

Holohan’s work wasn’t complete. After Greg Bell lurched forward for two yards, Robinson decided it was time to attempt the field goal. Holohan is the holder.

Not to worry. Holohan fielded the snap and Lansford promptly gave the Rams a 13-12 last-second victory.

“Mike nailed it--by two inches,” Holohan said, smiling.