Cold, Snow to Test Character

It was 14 degrees in New England Sunday. Not counting the wind-chill factor. There was a foot of snow on the ground and you know how the Rams feel about snow. Not counting Jack.

This is where the Rams will attempt to clinch a wild-card playoff berth next weekend. December in New England. A 10-5 Ram team with everything at stake against a 5-10 Patriot team with nothing to lose in weather fit more for Haagen-Dazs than guys named Flipper.

Why do images of 1982 keep flashing back?

That, you might recall, was the year of John Deere, the Foxboro Snow Bowl that was decided by a tractor. The Patriots and the Dolphins are frozen in a 0-0 tie, it’s late in the fourth quarter and out comes the snow blower to clear a spot for New England placekicker John Smith. Smith connects and out goes Miami. Final score: 3-0.

Three thousand miles away, you can almost hear the motor revving again.

By now, the Rams should have been able to dispense with the suspense. They should have had the playoffs iced, the wild-card home-field advantage under wraps. New England would have been a good place for Mark Herrmann to get a few snaps, don’t you think?

But because the Rams forgot to block Mike Merriweather in Minnesota and forgot to hold onto the football against San Francisco, they are here: Ready to risk frostbite for the right to play the following week on the Meadowlands tundra.

“It has to be done,” said Ram receiver Henry Ellard following Sunday’s 38-14 dismissal of the New York Jets. “There’s nowhere else to go. We know it’s going to be cold. We just have to be ready to go down there and play through the conditions.”

Look on the bright side, quarterback Jim Everett says. “This gives us a chance to go on the road and play in the cold, which is what we’ll have to do in the playoffs,” he said. “This is great preparation for us.”

Provided the Rams get past the preparation.

The way Ram Coach John Robinson looks at it, his team is already in the playoffs. And, no, that quote is not intended for the Patriot bulletin board.

“We’re in the tournament now, where if we win, we keep playing, and if we don’t, we’re out,” Robinson said. “It’s that simple. We have to win next week if we want to play the week after that.

“We’re in postseason play as far as I’m concerned.”

Actually, the Rams could lose in New England and still qualify for the playoffs, although four out of five doctors wouldn’t advise it. At 10-6, the Rams could still get a wild-card berth if (a) Philadelphia (currently 10-4) loses tonight to New Orleans and next week to Phoenix and (b) Minnesota (9-6) loses to Cincinnati and (c) Washington (9-6) loses to Seattle.

Or something like that.

Confusion reigned in the Ram dressing room as all the variables were bandied about.

“Washington?” defensive back LeRoy Irvin asked. “How’d Washington get in there?”

“Minnesota,” Robinson said. “The fact that they lost (to Cleveland on Sunday) is the new deal. If they’re 10-6, they go.”

Unless the Rams beat New England and Green Bay beats Dallas.

Whatever, Robinson finally said. “The issue is, we have to go back and beat New England,” he said. “If we don’t, we’ll decline the invitation.”

He says that now.

At any rate, a Ram victory over the Patriots would make the math basic. And, should that happen, the Rams might even weasel the home field in the wild-card game, provided the Raiders upset the Giants next Sunday.

Some scenario that would be. Rams rooting for Raiders.

It’s a strange sport.

Robinson says he only wants a playoff berth, any playoff berth, because of what the Rams might give birth to during those playoffs.

“Of all the teams I’ve had here, this one has the best chance to go far in the playoffs,” he said. “I think we’re as dangerous as anybody . . .

“We’ve played well against very good teams. And in those games, we’ve either beaten them (Green Bay, the Giants, San Francisco once) or lost in the last seconds (Minnesota, Buffalo, San Francisco). Next to the 49ers, I think we’re the best in the two-minute drill.

“We’re in any game, against any team we play. That’s fairly obvious.”

At the very least, this is the most diverse Ram team Robinson has coached. These Rams have a 4,000-yard passer in Everett, a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Ellard and Flipper Anderson and, with 73 more yards next Sunday, they’ll have a 1,000-yard rusher in Greg Bell.

Ellard, whose eyes have seen the Dieter Brock incompletion and the Eric Dickerson sweep on third-and-11, thought he’d never see the day.

“When (offensive coordinator) Ernie Zampese came in and said, ‘Henry, you’re going to the Pro Bowl and you’re going to catch 60, 70 balls without a problem,’ I had to say, ‘Huh?’ ” Ellard remembered. “That was just something I couldn’t relate to. It was hard to imagine something like that when I was happy just to catch 30 or 40 balls.

“Now, I’ve got my 1,000 yards, but back then, it was hard to believe. Hey, the man has thrown for 4,000 yards. It’ nice to be a part of that.

“That balances us out. That’s what we need to get us where we want to go.”

The destination is the Superdome on Jan. 28. As Ram offensive tackle Irv Pankey said, “If we get to the Bowl, we’ll be warm. Until then, it’s bring the gloves and the trench coats.”

And that’s snow lie.