Rams’ Final Four Aren’t Meaningless : NFL: Robinson’s future will be determined by team’s improvement--or lack thereof--during remainder of season.
John Robinson, increasingly isolated in the Ram power structure, probably did not want it to spell it out as his last stand.
But, with the losses piling up and his options diminishing by the week, he found it unavoidable in the wake of Monday night’s 33-10 defeat to say it in any other way.
Ram front-office sources have recently suggested that Robinson seems quietly resolved to play out the string for good or ill, that he knows his fate is out of his hands.
And the coach conceded Tuesday that his future and nine-year career as Ram head coach rests almost solely in how the team performs in its final four otherwise meaningless games.
“After the season’s over, then the Rams as an organization, myself included, will sit down and try to plot out our future and try to focus on it,” Robinson said.
“And I believe if we can give evidence that we can bring this football team back, then there’s a good chance that this staff will stay.”
Left unsaid was the result if the team does not give evidence of improved play, but after the 49ers’ easy victory Monday night, there really was no need to explain.
The Rams are 3-9, with the real possibility of finishing 3-13, their worst record since they were 1-12-1 in 1962. Since 1989, the team is 8-20, and their current six-game losing streak is the longest in Robinson’s tenure.
Executive Vice President John Shaw says the team will definitely not fire Robinson during the season, but no one in the Rams’ organization is denying that once this season is over Robinson will have a difficult time making it back as coach.
Just last week, according to two Ram sources, owner Georgia Frontiere summoned Robinson and Shaw to a three-hour meeting to get answers from Robinson about the club’s hard fall into oblivion.
Robinson, who has appealed directly to Frontiere to keep his job in the past, apparently has offered no such spirited defense this season.
Tuesday, he openly suggested that he might not be able to turn the team around.
“I think we just have to have a sense that . . . wherever the Rams are now, we want to get the Rams back in a competitive place as soon as possible,” Robinson said.
“And that obviously includes next year, includes the draft, includes the acquisition of additional players.
“I think there’s a point where you say, ‘Yes, we can do that,’ or ‘No, we’re dead in the water and can’t continue to function.’
“Those are the decisions that our organization has to deal with.”
If Robinson is fired or resigns under pressure, the team would owe him about $550,000 in future guaranteed money.
Last winter, after Shaw recommended to Frontiere that Robinson be replaced, Robinson signed a three-year deal through 1993. The contract was designed to give the Rams the flexibility of firing him after this season with a minimum of cost.
“There’s obviously speculation about my future and all of that, but we’re going to wait until the end of the season,” Robinson said.
“We’re going to work at what we’re doing, and try to get it, try to improve, try to deal with the play-by-play and day-by-day and see if we can get as many players as we can improving.
“Obviously, the season is a loss, and I feel these last four games are still to be played and we can attack these last four games aggressively.”
The Rams begin their quest Sunday at home against the 11-1 Washington Redskins, who are coming off their first loss of the season.
The final three games are Atlanta at home, then on the road against Minnesota and Seattle.
All four teams are likely to be battling for playoff spots, and the Rams, wobbling both offensively and defensively, could finish the season with a 10-game losing streak.
“We have to find a way to put ourselves back together again in these last four games,” Robinson said.
“Certainly, it’s a monumental task against the Redskins, who are coming off a loss and obviously whatever lack of focus that they had for Dallas, whatever complacency there was, has been knocked out of them. So they will be a focused football team.”
Beyond his general statements, Robinson, whose team was buffeted by Anaheim Stadium boos and banners demanding his firing Monday night, said he had no further comment about his status.
“I’m not going to speculate on my future or those kinds of things,” Robinson said. “I’m not going to answer those kinds of questions because there’s no possible value to getting caught up in that.”
Wasn’t he bothered by the tense atmosphere of the stadium, where his job status was an open question mark?
“Those things all come with the territory,” Robinson said. “That’s not the issue. The issue is, ‘Can we function? Can we get this football team improved?’ ”
Ram Numbers Highlight STEVE BONO
There’s nothing like the Rams to bring out the best in an opposing team’s quarterback. It was Steve Bono, the former UCLA signal caller, directing the 49ers Monday night, not Joe Montana, not Steve Young. But with the stable of receivers and runners the 49ers possess, Bono’s statistics could have been Montana’s or Young’s. Bono completed 18 passes for 306 yards, a startling average of 17 yards per catch. Bono completed them and receivers John Taylor, Jerry Rice and Brent Jones, with some outstanding broken-field running through the Ram secondary, turned short receptions into long gains. SEASON TO DATE Twelve-Game Totals (Record: 3-9) First Downs RAMS: 206 OPP: 218 Rushing Yards RAMS: 920 OPP: 1,272 Passing Yards RAMS: 2,679 OPP: 2,704 Punts/Average RAMS: 57/38.2 OPP: 52/42.4 Rushing RAMS: ATT: 285 AVG: 3.2 TDs: 10 OPP: ATT: 348 AVG: 3.7 TDs: 14 Passing RAMS: ATT: 371 CP: 216 TDs: 10 OPP: ATT: 332 CP: 198 TDs: 19 Penalties/Yards RAMS: 83/611 OPP: 64/599 Fumbles/Lost RAMS: 26/16 OPP: 15/7 Interceptions RAMS: 7/115 OPP: 13/116 Possession Time RAMS: 28:45 OPP: 31:15 Scoring by Quarters
1 2 3 4 OT TOTAL RAMS 16 87 48 40 0 191 OPP 78 83 36 92 0 289