Everett Has the Offense Passing All Tests : Rams: With an on-target attack leading the way, Robinson likes his team’s chances against any team.
Has Jim Everett hurled the Rams into a new league? Is the franchise no longer destined to playoff disappointments rooted in an offense that wasn’t quite potent enough?
Could be. At least Coach John Robinson believes so. These days, you’ll hear him talk about seeing “eye-to-eye” with any team in football and how this team has as good a chance to reach to the Super Bowl as any he has coached.
And most of that optimism centers on an offense that seems capable of scoring 40 points against anyone . . . when it’s in sync.
“Offensively, we’re a load to handle,” Robinson said. “We have a lot of weapons, a lot of ways to strike. I think we’re a pretty dangerous offensive team.
“I think we have the potential to win any of the remaining games we play. We certainly don’t look at anybody we would play and say those people are better than us.”
Everett, of course, is the key player, coordinating the Ram arsenal from his command post in the pocket. And lately, the fourth-year quarterback has been doing the two things that win games: he’s making the right decisions and delivering the ball with accuracy.
Everett leads the National Football League in touchdown passes (28) and yards (4,129) and is the league’s third-best passer with a rating of 93.2. If you’ve seen him play recently, you don’t need to know the numbers to judge Everett’s ability to throw the football. A lot of his passes hit receivers in the hands.
Everett even seems to know when to underthrow a long pass just enough to allow Henry Ellard or Flipper Anderson time to slow down and catch it.
“I think accuracy comes with confidence and timing,” Robinson said. “Ernie (Zampese, the offensive coordinator) always says, ‘Turn it loose, turn it loose. If you feel it, turn it loose.’ You know, don’t aim, throw it out there and make the receiver catch it.
“And (Everett) turns the damn thing loose, so he’s never really late and he doesn’t have to throw it so hard. He’s just putting it out and he isn’t waiting to see if guys are open.”
The trick here, of course, is to have the correct feeling before turning it loose. Throwing the ball to the other team is frowned upon.
Either Everett is beginning to master this somewhat spiritual art or he has been guessing right a lot.
“What’s amazing to me is how his vision seems to be broadening,” Robinson said. “He’s coming off the field and describing what he saw, and you look the next day (at the films) where you get to see the complete picture, and he’s pretty damn accurate.
“He’ll say, ‘I saw that guy widen his stance and I knew we could get behind him,’ and I’ll say, ‘Yeah, right.’ But it appears to be true. I’m really impressed with what he sees now.”
Everett would be the first to point out that what he sees are a bunch of guys getting open.
Eight Rams have 19 or more catches this season.
Wide receivers Ellard, Anderson and Aaron Cox have caught a total of 127 passes for 2,723 yards and 16 touchdowns. Tight ends Pete Holohan and Damone Johnson have 74 receptions, 650 yards and 10 touchdowns. And running backs Buford McGee, Bobby Delpino and Greg Bell have 86 catches, 694 yards and four touchdowns.
When you consider that Anderson and Cox accounted for 28 catches and 571 yards in the two games Ellard missed with a hamstring injury, the depth of the Ram receiving corps is evident.
Anderson, who has a reception average of 27.1 yards, has been an important addition. A threat to score on every play, he has relieved some of the pressure previously directed toward Ellard.
“Flipper has had a great year with the big play,” Robinson said. “It almost seems like magic. He’s got great speed and great concentration at the point of reception.”
Robinson has no doubts about Anderson’s ability to join Ellard in catching 75 to 80 passes a season, but the coach is not so sure that would be a prudent goal.
“I don’t know what’s more valuable than 27.1,” Robinson said. “That’s a phenomenal number. I don’t know that we want to try and change our concept and get Henry with 80 and Flipper with 80.”
Cornerback LeRoy Irvin may have said the Rams and Jets played with the emotions of two 80-year-olds Sunday, but Robinson was satisfied with the Rams’ effort.
“People seem to get on these emotion kicks,” Robinson said. “You play a game like this and people ask if you’re going to be flat. And then you play the game and people say you were flat and you win, 38-14.
“I thought we played the game the way you’re supposed to play the game. I think we did an effective job of preparing and executing our responsibilities. I thought we were efficient and solid and controlled the game completely.
“I thought it was a rather dominant performance. I did not think we were flat at all.”
Which team do you think the Rams would least like to face in the playoffs? A good bet is Minnesota. The Vikings have one of the best home-field advantages in football.
And then there’s the Minnesota defense.
Robinson, on filling out his Pro Bowl ballot: “You almost want to put their whole defensive team on.”
Patriots’ Coach Raymond Berry said quarterback Steve Grogan will play Sunday against the Rams if Marc Wilson’s injured finger “interferes with his execution significantly.”
Wilson has a stress fracture on the index finger of his right hand. He was injured in the second half of last week’s 28-10 loss at Pittsburgh and has a splint on the finger.