RAMS : Robinson Won’t Let Slow Start Detour Team’s Drive to Playoffs
John Robinson is not the kind of guy you’d expect to throw up his hands and yell, “We stink.” So the Ram coach’s optimism in the face of a 1-3 start is not surprising.
However, the Rams’ No. 1 propagandist does make some valid points in his analysis of his team’s woes and foes.
“Defensively, there have been lapses in our performance, but overall the defense has played pretty well,” he said. “We’re clearly not quite in rhythm (offensively), but the last three weeks, we’ve played against what I consider three of the best defenses in football.
“We need to get ourselves in rhythm and get a chance to go against some defenses that aren’t quite as efficient.”
All three of those games--against the Giants, Saints and 49ers--were played on the road. New Orleans has the No. 2-ranked defense in the NFL, New York is third and San Francisco 15th.
The Rams play their next two opponents, Green Bay and San Diego, at Anaheim Stadium--with a bye week sandwiched in between--and Robinson believes a rebound to 3-3 could be a springboard to playoff contention.
“We’ve had the toughest schedule, been on the road, we have more injuries than anyone else in the league, so we’ve gone through a difficult time,” Robinson said. “Clearly, we must win these next two to stay on any kind of track to be in the playoffs. And, if we do win these next two games and get a portion of these players back and make progress in the areas that are off, I think we can get back in this hunt.”
One-and-three? Robinson will tell you it’s all a matter of how you look at it.
“You get to choose if you want to look at us from a positive standpoint or a negative standpoint,” he said. “This is a team that plays hard. It has screwed up things, but it’s not a team that plays indifferently.
“The key for us is how we deal with the situation. If we’re able to deal positively with this and win the next two games and be 3-3, by that time, there will be a lot of 3-3 teams competing for the playoffs. That’s our outlook.”
Good News/Bad News: When it comes to the early season, the past seven Ram teams have either had great starts or struggled. They just can’t seem to find the middle ground in the first four games.
In 1985, 1988 and 1989, they started 4-0. In 1986, they were 3-1. In 1987, 1990 and again this year, they staggered to 1-3.
How did those teams fare at season’s end?
The Rams won the NFC West in 1985 with an 11-5 record and finished second in both ’88 (10-6) and ’89 (11-5). They also were second in 1986 (10-6).
They ended up 6-9 and in third place after the strike-shortened ’87 season. And they were third again last year at 5-11.
Add Sunny Side Up: Could there possibly be a bright side to the fact that almost as many Rams are wearing casts and knee braces as helmets and pads these days?
At least a couple of rookies-- Roman Phifer, an outside linebacker from UCLA picked on the second round, and Robert Young, a defensive tackle from Mississippi State selected in the fifth round--are getting the benefits of on-the-job training.
“We’ve got players on the field, well, Young is our ‘veteran’ starter at left tackle,” Robinson said, “and Phifer really shouldn’t be playing full time right now. It’s just a little too early.
“It’s a complicated system and we’ve got rookies who played as backups in camp who are handling it. Phifer is a high draft choice so you expect he might play some, and Young is a clear positive guy in the future. There’s a chance he might emerge as a very successful defensive lineman in the NFL.
“It’s great for them. Their careers will be launched in great style. But it’s a little painful for us at the moment.”
Wideouts Left Out: Jim Everett threw 17 touchdown passes last year. Wide receivers Henry Ellard and Flipper Anderson caught four each. One fourth of the way through the regular season, all three have been shut out in that category.
Ellard, who caught five passes for 85 yards against the 49ers, now has 14 receptions for 226 yards, but is still far behind his usual pace. Ellard has averaged 77 catches over the past three seasons.
And Anderson, who had more than 1,000 receiving yards last season, has only four catches for 61 yards and will miss at least three weeks after cracking a bone in his lower back against the 49ers.
Everett has been taking a lot more heat than the receivers, which Ellard thinks is a bit unfair.
“You can’t blame Jim,” Ellard said. “The way the defenses are playing us, well, they’re taking some things away from us.”
Defenses throughout the NFL are working to take away primary outside receivers these days and the low scores this season seem to indicate the tactic is working.
Too often, the Rams have been unable to adjust.
“We concentrated on getting the five-step drop, medium-range passes out (against the 49ers) and I thought we were pretty effective there,” Robinson said. “We’re still just off a little bit, but I think we’re making progress in that area.”
Record Catcher: Ellard, a nine-year veteran from Fresno State, will establish his fourth all-time Ram receiving record Sunday if he catches a pass against Green Bay. It will be his 69th consecutive game with at least one reception, a streak that dates to Nov. 9, 1986, in New Orleans.
He has missed only six games during the streak, three because of the players’ strike in 1987 and three because of injury.