Rams’ Plans Don’t Fool Giant Defense : Football: New York’s defense, which gave up 31 points in last year’s game, gives up only one touchdown Sunday.

The chants reverberating through the tunnels of the stadium-- Anaheim Stadium --were meant in praise of the New York Giants’ record.

“Nine-and-oh! Nine-and-oh!”

Unwittingly, they praised the Giant defense as well.

Seven offenses--the Cowboys and Redskins twice--have sent their schemes and best-laid plans against the Giants this season.

And none has walked away with more than 20 points.

Four of those teams have failed to score more than one touchdown. It was that group that the Rams joined Sunday, as an offense that even Giant linebacker Pepper Johnson calls explosive was stifled in a 31-7 loss.

It was not quite the same Giant defense you--or the Rams--once knew.

Lawrence Taylor did not spend the afternoon as close to Jim Everett as center Doug Smith. In fact, the Giants had only two sacks, and Taylor had neither of them.

And this certainly did not look like the Giant defense the Rams scored 31 points against in a regular-season game last year.

“Their scheme is the same,” said Everett, who was intercepted three times. “They’re just playing it better.”

Linebacker Gary Reasons, who intercepted Everett twice in the fourth quarter as the Rams pressed in hopes of another touchdown, laughed at the thought that the defense was any different.

“A lot different,” he said. “We kept the points down.”

That is what they have been doing all season, with a defense that is ranked second overall and first against the pass.

They did it without a dominating game from Taylor, without linebacker Carl Banks, who is out with an injured arm, without any overwhelming individual performances.

Reasons deflected a third-down pass meant for Ellard, stifling a Ram possession in the third quarter when the Giant lead was only 17-7.

Johnson helped keep the pressure on Everett, and the secondary staved off those famous Ram deep strikes.

It is a secondary comprised of such veterans as Everson Walls and Dave Duerson, as well as Mark Collins, the cornerback out of Cal State Fullerton, and two youngsters, safety Myron Guyton, in his second season out of Eastern Kentucky, and Greg Jackson, a second-year free safety out of Louisiana State.

Jackson had one of the two sacks, and six unassisted tackles.

Guyton was there to defend a critical third-down pass meant for Ellard late in the second half. Then Walls was there in the end zone on a last, desperate Ram possession, coming down with a tipped pass meant for Derrick Faison.

With about seven minutes left, the Rams faced a fourth-and-nine, but were put to rest by Johnson and Guyton on a last-gasp play.

Johnson had Everett in his grasp the moment the pass was off, and Guyton made certain Ellard didn’t catch it.

So there wasn’t sack after glorious sack, so what?

“I think sacks are overrated,” Reasons said. “They’re big plays, but they’re not total defense. They’re just a part of the game. I know we’ll always get the pressure and it’s difficult for quarterbacks to throw against that.”

Everett could tell you that, as could his counterpart, Phil Simms, who watched from a more comfortable angle.

“The defense? The defense was magnificent,” Simms said. “That’s the best defensive effort I’ve seen in a long time against a team so explosive.”