COMMENTARY : Two Years Later, 336 Is Merely a Memory

Finally, after four quarters of passes out of bounds, passes into the artificial turf, passes over heads and passes to the opposition, Jim Everett’s hands were good for something Sunday night.

Stat-keeping.

How many passes did Everett complete against the New Orleans Saints?

Hold out six fingers, Jim.

How many passes did Everett complete to his Pro-Bowl wide receiver tandem of Flipper Anderson and Henry Ellard?

One more finger.

How many touchdown passes has Everett thrown this season, now three games old?

Look, ma, no hands.

“I imagine most rotisserie league players are a little ticked off right now,” Everett said.

Two years ago, this was the place Everett and Anderson combined for an NFL-record 336 passing yards. Sunday they combined for zero. Last year under the Superdome, Everett and Ellard combined for 130 yards. Sunday, it was zero until Ellard squirmed free in the vacant middle of the New Orleans prevent defense for a 19-yard reception with 3 1/2 minutes to play.

Until that completion, Everett was zeroing in on personal-worst territory. Until that completion, Everett was four for 14 for 20 yards, all four to tight end Damone Johnson, none longer than seven yards.

For the record, Everett’s lowest ebb as a Ram came in his first professional start, in 1986, also against the Saints. That day, a jittery rookie completed seven of 20 attempts for 56 yards in a 26-13 Ram victory.

Five years later, Everett finishes six for 17 for 71 yards and an interception. The Rams lose, 24-7, without scoring an offensive touchdown.

This is progress?

Of more concern for the Rams, this is beginning to resemble a trend. Last week in New Jersey, Everett was seven for 16 for 83 yards, but because Robert Delpino rushed for 116 and the Ram defense forced three turnovers, the Rams won. Not only was Everett absolved, he was applauded. “He played what I call ‘winning quarterback,’ ” Coach John Robinson said then.

Sunday, Everett played losing quarterback. Robinson wouldn’t call it that, but it was nothing but.

“It was not stellar,” Robinson said. “Obviously, we were overwhelmed on offense. New Orleans put a great deal of pressure on us and, basically, they took away our passing game.”

Or whatever Robinson hadn’t already taken away.

For three weeks, Robinson has been turning back the clock on his offense and Sunday he reached the Stone Age. With an offensive line depleted by injuries, most notably Jackie Slater’s separated shoulder, Robinson decided to remove the complexities of pass-blocking from the Ram playbook.

Against the Giants, it was Delpino 27 times into the teeth of the defense. Against the Saints, it was Delpino up the middle 19 more times.

“We handled it last week,” Delpino said. “This week, we didn’t.”

On those rare occasions Everett was allowed to throw, he found success only via the shortest, safest route--quick passes to the tight end.

“We didn’t want to play as conservatively as we did,” Robinson said. “At least, we thought we could throw on them.

“But then we got another tackle hurt (Robert Jenkins), we’re playing one of the best pass-rushing defenses in the league and things went downhill after that.”

If the world isn’t ready for a football season during which Jim Harbaugh is outpassing Jim Everett, neither is Everett. He is clearly chafing under the bridle of the new system--and came as close as to saying so as Everett, consummate company man, is going to get.

“That’s what Coach Robinson thinks is going to make us a better team,” Everett said, “and I’m going with it. I try to do the best I can within the system.”

Two years ago, Everett was as feared as any quarterback not named Montana, a 55-yard touchdown strike waiting to happen at any second. But if you don’t use it, you lose it, and after three weeks of handoffs and pitchouts, atrophy is setting in.

“After playing the way we did for the first three quarters,” Everett said, “you get to the very end and you say, ‘Hey, let’s win it.’ But you’re not used to playing that way.”

The Rams did not convert a third down in 10 chances.

“Not a very good stat, is it?” Everett said.

What more could he say? The Ram offense was awful, the Ram passing attack was awful, the Ram quarterback was awful.

Everett did say he missed offensive tackle Irv Pankey, now an Indianapolis Colt.

“But that was a decision management felt they had to make,” he said with a sigh.

There once was a time the Rams were as good as their quarterback.

Maybe they still are.