PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Young Defense Is on the Right Road

The Rams have the lowest-rated run defense in the league but say they won’t start undergoing massive changes that could end up ruining everything they are trying to build.

With two rookie defensive tackles--Sean Gilbert and Marc Boutte--at the heart of their on-field lineup and their future, the Rams say they knew there would be early mistakes.

“The worst thing we can do is panic and start going to a lot of different other schemes when we know what we’re doing is right,” said Joe Vitt, assistant head coach for defense. “We’re teaching it the right way.

“We knew it was going to take some time for these guys to get it down. And they’re going to do nothing but get better.

“You can take a look at the numbers we had in Seattle (two years ago) when we first got Cortez (Kennedy, now a Pro Bowl defensive tackle), and we went to a four-man front. Hey, we weren’t killing anybody on the run. But as we played together more and grew together more, we dominated.”

Coach Chuck Knox said he expects wide receiver Jeff Chadwick, who missed last week’s game because of a cracked bone in the back of his rib cage, to be ready for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. . . . Knox said that free safety Pat Terrell, listed as probable because of a hip pointer, also should play. . . . About 10,000 tickets remained to be sold for Sunday’s game by Thursday’s 1 p.m. deadline, which means the game will be blacked out locally. But the Rams reported brisk sales Thursday and a spokesman said they could have a crowd of about 58,000 Sunday, which would be their largest this season.