SPORTS TALK : Rams Kicker Has High Hopes for Season

Most Los Angeles Rams fans and those connected with the team undoubtedly would like to forget the 1991 season, but don’t blame kicker Tony Zendejas for wanting to remember some of it.

As the Rams skidded to the National Football Conference cellar with a 3-13 record, one of their worst ever, Zendejas provided one of the few highlights with his remarkably consistent kicking foot.

The former Nevada Reno star made 25 of 26 extra points and set a National Football League single-season record by converting his 17 field goal attempts last year, a first for an NFL kicker with at least 15 attempts in a season.

And they weren’t chip shots, either. Thirteen field goals were from 30 yards or farther, including two from more than 50 yards to raise his all-time conversion percentage to 73.3% (11 of 15) from that range, an all-time NFL best. But Zendejas said it was difficult to enjoy his extraordinary streak under the circumstances.

“It was tough in the sense that the team wasn’t doing well,” said Zendejas, 32, one of five brothers or cousins who have been kickers in college or professionally. He is the only one still in the sport.

“The pressure was intensified with the constant rumors of (former coach) John Robinson being fired. But I pride myself in being a professional. I didn’t have control over the rest of that stuff, but I had control in my kicking. That was my approach.”

Robinson resigned at the end of the season and Chuck Knox, the former Rams coach who spent the past nine seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, assumed the post. Under him, Zendejas hopes that the Rams can return to respectability and a successful level of play. The team’s record over the years and its proximity to his home were two reasons the Mexican-born kicker decided to leave the Houston Oilers as a Plan B free agent after the 1990 season.

“After you play pro football for a while, your priorities change,” Zendejas said. “The opportunity to play for the Rams was very appealing. It was something I couldn’t pass up. Now I work only a few minutes from my home. It was important to me to stay close to my family. Plus I always wanted to play for the Rams. It was icing on the cake.”

Zendejas lives in Yorba Linda with his wife, Naomi, and their two daughters, 3-year-old Talia and 11-month-old Tara. He owns Zendejas Mexican restaurants in San Dimas and Chino, and plans to open another in Anaheim Hills in January. The switch to the Rams allows him more time with his family and to stay closer to the business.

Those were not options when Zendejas established himself in Houston as one of the best kickers in the league. In six seasons with the Oilers, Zendejas made 117 of 163 field goal attempts and 205 extra points. His 548 points are second in the all-time Houston scoring list to George Blanda’s 596 points. Last year, Zendejas led the Rams in scoring with 76 points.

The point total was his second lowest in an NFL season; he had 41 in 1990 before he broke a bone in his left leg in an October game against New Orleans and missed the rest of the year. But with what football analysts predict will be a revitalized Ram offense this season, Zendejas should increase his scoring over 1991.

“I’m trying my best, working hard,” Zendejas said. “I think we’ll have a good season. There’s been a lot of attention in practice to the fundamentals, and that’s what wins you games in the long run.”