More Alike Than They Are Different : Rams: When they play the Falcons today, the one thing that <i> can </i> be depended upon is the unpredictable.
The Rams and the Atlanta Falcons, division rivals with 3-4 records and fragile holds on NFC wild-card aspirations, meet today to determine which can sustain its dream.
They have equally streaky quarterbacks, equally erratic running games, equal tendencies to throw away victory and equally dangerous but equally disastrous defenses. Both are coming off equally disheartening defeats.
And, although Ram Coach John Robinson no longer is inclined to give a game-by-game rating of Ram playoff chances, others do not miss the potential season-turning aspects.
“This is so crucial,” said free safety Pat Terrell. “Not only just for now, but for our entire season. We’ve been self-destructing sometimes. This is the most important game of the season.”
All the Rams have to do is look ahead. They will have the New Orleans Saints (7-0), then the Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) at Anaheim, then travel to play the Detroit Lions (5-2) before playing host to San Francisco, Washington and the Falcons again.
Last week, the Rams outplayed the Raiders for three quarters, then threw away the game in the fourth quarter. Last week, coming off an upset of the 49ers, the Falcons threw away what should have been an easy victory over the Phoenix Cardinals.
The Falcons’ Red Gun offense features four wide receivers, setting up the run with a wide-open attack that has run hot and cold. Atlanta scored 39 points against the 49ers, then Chris Miller threw four interceptions against Phoenix.
The Rams are using a three-receiver set more and more, abandoning the running attack to find the open areas of the defense with Henry Ellard, Jim Price and Robert Delpino running short routes.
But the Rams went their first five games without a touchdown pass and lost a seven-point fourth-quarter lead to the Raiders when Jim Everett threw two interceptions in his last four attempts.
“You’ve constantly heard me say this, but I’m trying to do the things that are going to be successful,” Everett said. “And right now, (the short game is) what’s going to be asked of me.”
The Falcons’ gambling defense can confuse offenses, but it also yields big plays and ranks third-worst in the league against the run.
The Rams’ new gambling defense also can confuse offenses, but it has yielded big passing days against run-oriented teams in the last two games.
“I told the team . . . (the Ram defense) looks like us,” Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville said. “I watch them and they play like we play. It’s hard to believe that it’s the same team (as last season’s).
“I’m a little bit prejudiced toward that type of play, but I think they’ve made an awfully quick transition. . . . How you would perceive (them) is nothing like you used to perceive them.”
Both teams went 5-11 last season, and both drafted cornerbacks in the first round who have seldom played, although the Rams’ Todd Lyght is supposed to play frequently today. The Falcons’ Bruce Pickens reported late and still isn’t in the Falcons’ defensive picture.
“They’re winning on the road a little bit, and losing at home,” Robinson said of the Falcons. “A little less frantic, probably, than they were (last season). They still play hard. A little more balanced.”
But both teams appear too similarly unstable for both to remain in the playoff picture much longer.
“It makes you desperate,” said Falcon cornerback Tim McKyer. “It makes you say, ‘We’ve got to win this.’ The old proverbial back-against-the-wall type of sermons and speeches you get before those kind of games. And no doubt about it, we both have got to win.”
Said Robinson: “We have to win six out of the remaining nine. Every week is a crucial game. All a club has to do is win six out of the remaining nine or five out of the remaining eight (to stay in the race).”
Left unsaid is the knowledge that if the Rams, who have lost five of their last six road games, cannot beat the Falcons, who are 1-2 at home, going 6-2 down the season’s backstretch would appear to be impossible.
Ram Notes
The difference between the San Francisco 49ers’ poor defensive performance against the Atlanta Falcons’ run-and-shoot offense and the Phoenix Cardinals’ sharp effort is simple, Ram defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher says.
“I really feel like you have to have a plan against (the run-and-shoot offense),” Fisher said. “You can’t go into the game thinking that we’ll just play our defense, our scheme, and we’ll take things away and play them. You can’t.
“Those clubs that have success against the run-and-shoot definitely have a plan. Those that don’t, don’t alter their basic defensive scheme.”
Against the Houston Oilers’ four-receiver scheme in an exhibition, the Rams played their basic defense, lining up their outside linebackers against the two inside receivers, and blitzed Warren Moon into confusion. Today, backups Paul Butcher and Roman Phifer, the team’s best pass-coverage linebackers, might play a lot in similar roles.
The Rams are 0-2 in the division and are 2-3 in the NFC. . . . The Georgia Dome is set to open next season so this is probably the Rams’ last appearance at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. . . . Falcon quarterback Chris Miller leads the league with 13 interceptions, but he also has passed for nine touchdowns, second-best in the NFC.
