Falcons Get Another Dose of Rams : Things Point to a Long Day for Atlanta
To rate the Rams’ Super Bowl chances this season, we’ve called in our panel of experts on the subject, the Atlanta Falcons.
No team knows better the strength of Jim Everett’s arm, the power of Greg Bell’s legs or the speed of Henry Ellard’s feet.
And who is more qualified than a Falcon to rate Kevin Greene’s pass-rush technique off the left corner? Greene had three sacks in one game against the Falcons last year.
Like the national debt, the numbers keep running up in this series. Pretty soon they’ll need decimal points to keep track.
In the last four meetings, the Rams have outscored Atlanta, 119-28. In the last three games, Bell is averaging 116 yards rushing and 5.3 yards a carry. Ellard has caught 18 passes for 325 yards. Pete Holohan has chipped in with 16 catches for 254 yards. You get the idea.
On their way to 4-0, the Rams have already beaten the Falcons once, 31-21, despite Deion Sanders’ arm-waving, 68-yard punt return in the opener.
So let’s hear it, Atlanta, are the Rams for real?
“I always said if they got there, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Coach Marion Campbell said. “I’m not trying to jinx them or anything like that. That’s the way I feel about that football team. I’m not trying to make someone say they are and will be and all that, I’m just saying it wouldn’t surprise me if they did it.”
More bad news for Falcon followers: Atlanta has beaten the Rams once on the West Coast in the last 23 years.
Is there hope?
Sanders should at least see more playing time today than last time, when he basically stepped off the plane and played against the Rams.
The rookie from Florida State has already proven a whiz as a kick returner--he has taken back one punt for a score and had a 96-yard kickoff return called back last week--but he hasn’t been happy about his slow integration into the pass defense where, up to now, Sanders has been used only as a prevent safety.
“I never sat on the bench for anyone in my whole life,” Sanders complained.
This week, Sanders came as close to pouting as a grown man could on a conference call. He even suggested that the Falcons switch him to offense.
Really, Deion, where is your future in this league?
“If I played, I’d say it was at cornerback,” Sanders droned.
Apparently, Neon Deion will get his wish against the Rams. The Falcons have finally worked him into their starting nickel unit and although he won’t start ahead of Bobby Butler at the left corner, he will play some there, too.
The Rams, meanwhile, are trying to quiet the talk that comes with 4-0 starts and focus on the Falcons, though admittedly it’s a wide scope.
Coach John Robinson said he isn’t into pep talks anymore, suggesting that good teams don’t have to be at emotional peaks every week to win.
“I no longer deal with being up,” Robinson said. “I think the championship teams have a way of not worrying about these things.”
So let this game between the Rams and Things begin.
Ram Notes
Offensive tackle Irv Pankey of the Rams is questionable for the game with a lower back problem. . . . The Falcons are also a bit scrambled on the offensive line. Veteran Mike Kenn is getting beat a lot at left tackle, which greatly concerns quarterback Chris Miller. Houston Hoover is starting at right tackle, despite a recent arrest for driving under the influence just north of Atlanta. Hoover was clocked at 104 m.p.h. in a 55 zone at 3:30 a.m. Sept. 25.
Miller will start today’s game after missing last week’s loss to Green Bay with bruised ribs. Former Ram Hugh Millen started in Miller’s place and fared well, completing 20 of 28 passes for 294 yards in his debut as an NFL starter. . . . Greg Bell is the only back to have rushed for more than 100 yards against the Falcon defense this season. Three players who didn’t are Herschel Walker, Eric Dickerson and Brent Fullwood. . . . Ram linebacker Frank Stams reported that his bruised thigh is feeling better. He is expected to play today. . . . So what, exactly, is Rams’ fever? The game fell more than 18,000 tickets shy of selling out by 1 p.m. Thursday, meaning another local blackout.
