RAM NOTEBOOK : Delpino, Thompson Are Watching Gary

The game plan last Sunday against the Jets included an increased workload for Robert Delpino and even a chance for Anthony Thompson to show what he can do.

But Cleveland Gary took the ball and ran with it: 74 yards in 19 carries and flashes of the kind of tackle-breaking power running that helped him gain 808 yards and score 14 touchdowns in 1990.

Gary has 64 carries in four games. Delpino, last year’s featured back, has 19. Thompson, the 1989 Heisman Trophy runner-up who was picked up off waivers, hasn’t touched the football yet.

“You never know in a game how many carries a particular back is going to get,” Coach Chuck Knox said. “You only have one football, though. Only one guy can carry it at a time, and Cleveland Gary has been doing a good job for us.

“We hope he continues to do that, and we would like to get increased run productivity out of our other backs. But there again, you have to give them the ball.”

If Gary picks up where he left off--bouncing off defenders--Delpino and Thompson figure to be standing around empty-handed Sunday against the 49ers. Gary gained 57 yards in 13 second-half carries against the Jets.

On the Rams’ first drive of the third quarter, Gary crashed up the middle for 16 yards, went around right end for 12 yards and went back up the middle for seven more. It’s no surprise that Jim Everett found Flipper Anderson in single coverage and connected for a 31-yard touchdown on the next play.

“It just started flowing in the second half, but the game is four quarters,” Gary said. “The way things went in the last two quarters, I would have been glad to play six quarters. Things were starting to click, but then it was over.”

Gary will get ample chances to regain the feeling, if the Rams can avoid another first-quarter disaster. Gary had only 24 yards against the Bills in a game the Rams trailed, 21-0, early in the second quarter. Since then, he has averaged 74 yards per game.

Good news: Nobody likes to see a guy hurting, but Ram fans can be forgiven if they are relieved to find that Joe Montana’s sore elbow will keep him on injured reserve for at least one more week.

Bad news: The 49ers have a couple of other quarterbacks--Steve Young and Steve Bono--who have quarterback ratings about twice that of Everett’s.

Still, if the Rams can somehow manage to grab a lead, they might feel a little better without having to face Montana’s last-minute magic.

Montana is close to returning, however.

“Joe threw well on Saturday in New Orleans,” Coach George Seifert said. “He’s going to rest his arm, and my understanding is he won’t throw again for a few days. I’ve pretty much turned that over to the medical staff.

“In the past, we’ve gone up and down as to when he might start and made predictions and so forth. It just has to be a time when they come to me and say he can throw over a sustained period of time, and we’re not at that point right now. Joe is working diligently to get to that point, but I have to focus on the club and the players that are playing.”

And the boys playing quarterback are doing more than all right. Young is the third-rated passer in the NFL and has an 8.4-yard per rush average in 20 attempts. Bono has played in only two games but has completed 67% of his passes and thrown for two touchdowns.

A tight spot: Damone Johnson underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery Wednesday, leaving the Rams--a team that uses a lot of two-tight-end formations--short of tight ends familiar with the offensive scheme.

At least the continued improvement of starter Pat Carter has the team worrying mostly about depth at the position.

Carter says he won the starting position “by default” because Johnson, who was the starter last year, had been trying to play through the pain since suffering the shoulder injury early in training camp. But Carter, a fifth-year player acquired in a 1989 trade with Detroit, has taken his level of play up a notch.

“He’s played well, and he had an excellent game against the Jets,” Knox said.

Knox was talking about Carter’s overall performance--blocking, route-running, decision-making--but with five catches for 66 yards, Carter is also establishing himself as a receiver. He has never had more than eight receptions in a season with the Rams.

“I’ve improved all aspects of my game, but especially my pass catching,” Carter said. “They thought of me more as a blocker than a pass-catching guy in the past.

“But I think I’ve practiced well and played pretty good, so I guess they feel comfortable enough with me to leave me in there.”

Old friend, new foe: Jeff Fisher, whose attacking 4-3 defense patterned after the Philadelphia Eagles’ scheme was a flop with the Rams when he was their defensive coordinator last year, is coaching the 49ers’ defensive backs.

Seifert had a number of coaching positions to fill when former offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren and two other top assistants went to Green Bay.

“We lost some very good coaches when Mike went to Green Bay,” Seifert said. “Ray Rhodes, our defensive backs coach, went with him. Ray and I had worked together for a long time.

“Jeff was available, and I know his experience as a coach and having played in the league. After visiting with him, we felt that his personality would make him a positive addition to the staff.”

Fisher is proof good coaching is not enough. Under Fisher’s guidance, the Eagles’ defense was first in the NFL in interceptions and sacks in 1989 and No. 1 against the rush in 1990.

In 1991, the Ram defense ranked 23rd in the league.