COMMENTARY : Flashes in Pan Put Rams Into the Fire Again

They meet in November and a perfect season ends.

They meet in December and a season ends perfectly.

When the math finally caught up Monday night with what was general knowledge a month ago, at least the Rams got to name their poison.

It had to be against San Francisco, which finally gave the 1990 Rams something in common with the 1989 Rams.

It had to come at Anaheim Stadium, where Joe Montana never loses, where Joe Montana’s 49ers have turned the Rams into the 0-9ers.

And it had to happen on a night when the Rams caught the 49ers down one Ronnie Lott and down the real Roger Craig--and proceeded to usher their replacements, Dave Waymer and Dexter Carter, into the prime time, big time.

As they had for Anthony Dilweg.

And Jim Harbaugh.

And Bubby Brister.

And Emmitt Smith.

And Gill Fenerty.

Against the Rams, they all can be heroes . . . for one day.

Finally, the George Romero portion of this Ram season is over. The Rams are dead on their feet no more. Monday night’s 26-10 defeat left the Rams at 5-9 and officially eliminated from the NFL playoffs until 1991, when they may or may not be coached by John Robinson.

Unthinkable as it might have sounded before this season, Robinson might have coached his last home game at Anaheim Stadium. Rumors had the Rams playing for Robinson’s job three weeks ago in San Francisco, where they retrieved a reprieve until last Sunday, when the Rams outpassed New Orleans, outrushed New Orleans, outdefensed New Orleans, but didn’t outpoint New Orleans.

Robinson still has a year left on his contract, and Ram management has been known to gag while trying to eat $750,000 salaries, but if Robinson wanted out, who could possibly blame him?

Jackie Slater, the veteran Ram offensive tackle who has seen it all, except a Ram Super Bowl victory, would like to see Robinson back.

“This season has been like turning on a record,” Slater said. “(But) every game we’ve played, we’ve been well-prepared. We were never outcoached, we were never fooled by another team.

“We have one of the best football staffs in the league and one of the best head coaches in the league.”

So why have they had the most disappointing season in the league?

Monday night didn’t provide the answer.

The Ram running game, as confused as it has ever been under Robinson, was thrust into hands of Gaston Green because whatever’s been thrust into the hands of Cleveland Gary has usually wound up on the ground.

Green, however, didn’t sit out the 1988 and 1989 seasons for no reason, and when Robinson went with the switch, he did it reluctantly.

“Gaston’s a speed runner, the kind of guy who can hurt you if he gets into the secondary,” Robinson said. “(But) when you run against the 49ers, you’ve got to try to nickel-and-dime them, plug away for four, five yards at a time.”

Green is a dollar-or-nothing kind of runner and Monday, he spent most of the evening with the pockets pulled out of his pants. In 12 carries, Green netted 34 yards. His longest run covered eight yards.

By the third quarter, Gary was back in, fumble fingers and all.

The 49ers also have a speed runner, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound oversight named Dexter Carter, who, like Green, had been a No. 1 draft choice and who, like Green, usually strikes his best poses on the sidelines. But with Craig slowed by a troublesome knee, San Francisco Coach George Seifert decided to go with little Dexter . . . and a little Dexter went a long way.

Carter rushed 13 times and gained 124 yards. One time, he gained 74 yards. That one, good for a game-icing fourth-quarter touchdown, set the Ram season high for Longest Run Allowed By A Previous Unknown, eclipsing Fenerty’s week-old mark by a good 14 yards.

Simply punch in the names and punch the Rams out. An injury also claimed Ronnie Lott, the longtime Ram nemesis, so Seifert shifted Waymer over from strong safety and watched him create a Lott of havoc.

Waymer made five tackles, intercepted a pass and generally made life miserable for Jim Everett. Everett, needing a quick strike if the Rams were going to have any kind of chance, completed one of seven passes in the first quarter and was one for 10 before he completed a second pass.

Eventually, Everett would pass for a total of 232 yards, more than Montana, but as usual, Montana passed him on the scoreboard.

The play of the game, if not the Rams’ season, came as the first-half ended. The 49ers led, 16-7, and were lining up for a what-the-heck 63-yard field goal attempt by Mike Cofer. Never mind that Cofer couldn’t kick 63 yards with a good head monsoon; the Rams made no attempt to block it and then, when Pat Terrell caught the ball in the end zone, he made no attempt to run with it.

No, Terrell elected to run to the exit, with the rest of the Rams falling over themselves to join them.

Thirty minutes later, they exitted this season for good. And for the past month-and-a-half, isn’t that all the Rams wanted?