Seems Like Old Times for Everett : Rams: He shows the form and confidence of his glory days, completing 18 of 21 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
When things go bad, Jim Everett can be very, very bad. Remember when he sacked himself during the Rams’ 30-3 NFC championship game loss to San Francisco in 1989?
When things go swimmingly, however, he’s a regular Matt Biondi. Unbeatable. Unstoppable. Incredible. You pick the adjective.
Sunday during the Rams’ 38-17 victory over the New York Giants, Everett was so good, he was almost perfect. He completed his first three passes before throwing a slightly-high-but-catchable pass that glanced off the hands of Henry Ellard. He then completed 11 in a row before David Lang dropped a ball that was thrown slightly behind him.
Everett was so good that linebacker Kevin Greene exploded into a postgame Khrushchev imitation, screaming and pounding his fist into his hand.
“It was really great to see Jimbo stand in the pocket and leading this team,” Greene said. “Was he leading this team? He was leading this team.”
Quarterbacks are supposed to be leaders, of course, but on this Sunday in the park, Everett was clearly the leader of the pack. He completed 18 of 21 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a career-best 85.7 completion percentage, eclipsing the 83.3 mark he set two weeks ago in San Francisco.
And he was leading the charge with pre-play pep talks in the huddle.
“We would come back to the huddle and all he’s talking about is what a great job the offensive line did to keep opening holes,” veteran tackle Jackie Slater said. “You start to feed off that. He’s the leader in the huddle and he just took charge of the game.
‘He talked to everybody. It really made a difference. In my opinion, it made a big difference.”
Everett’s evil twin spent the first part of the season so far down the quarterback ratings ladder that he could barely see the first rung. These days, the good twin is shooting up the charts with a bullet.
After four games, Everett had completed 58 of 114 passes for three touchdowns with six interceptions. In the past three, he’s 49 of 65 with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
But before you label him a streak player, quarterback coach Ted Tollner would like to make a point. He won’t deny that Everett feeds off success and that his game deteriorates when things go wrong, but he believes Everett’s steadfast dedication to preparation never varies.
“Jim went down as other things went down,” Tollner said. “That’s the fair thing to say. No doubt, he didn’t play as well as he’s capable of. I think that happens to anybody to a degree, but he’s not a streak guy because of a difference in preparation.
“It has more to do with the way the game unfolds, and there’s a difference there. When nobody makes plays, you lose confidence. That’s the way it goes in all of sport.”
So, on a day when everybody in blue and gold was making the plays--the offensive line allowed only one sack and very little pressure and Cleveland Gary rushed for a career-best 126 yards--Everett came out smoking. He passed for 54 yards as the Rams drove 67 yards for a touchdown on their first possession and he didn’t let up until the smoke had cleared and he was kneeling down to run out the clock on a rare Ram rout.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to take a knee at the end of the game and beat somebody the way we beat the Giants today,” Everett said. “A lot of credit goes to a lot of people. Cleveland was running hard and the offensive line played the best game they have all season. It allowed me to be confident and do the things in the pocket I’m asked to do.”
That, according to Everett and Tollner, is a key factor in the mystery of the Everett mystique. If he can get off to a quick start, maintain his focus on his own role and not try to do anymore than what he is asked to do, he can be an awesome force.
Both of his touchdown passes Sunday were examples of what a confident Everett can do for his team. Midway through the second quarter, after Gary had already established the Rams’ ability to run the ball up the middle, they faced a second-and-four situation at the New York nine-yard line.
Everett faked a handoff to Gary and rolled to his right. No one followed and Everett tossed a touchdown pass to a wide-open Pat Carter.
“We just called our keeper and everyone bit on Cleveland’s run,” Everett said. “The pass was wide open. They had to cover Cleveland and that allowed us to have that touchdown.”
His second touchdown pass came late in the third quarter on a third-and-inches play from the Giants’ 19-yard line. With New York again expecting the run, Everett laid up a perfect touch pass to Jeff Chadwick in the corner of the end zone.
“We took the risk and went right up top,” Everett said, unable to suppress a wide grin. “At first, I didn’t think Jeff was going to get off the line of scrimmage because they chucked him pretty good. But he’s a big boy and he got off the line and made the great play.
“That’s the kind of thing you can do when things are going your way.”
Three weeks ago, you would have had a hard time getting anyone to believe that Chuck Knox was going to call a pass play on third and inches when he had a lead. And an even harder time persuading even the most loyal of Ram fans that Everett was again, as Gary said Sunday, “one of the elite quarterbacks in the league.”
If Everett’s performance in San Francisco didn’t make some converts, Sunday’s outing against the Giants clearly should have.
“This was a truly incredible performance,” Tollner said. “He’s playing extremely smart. If there’s something up the field, he’s throwing it. If there’s not, he’s checking down to second and third reads.
“He’s making all the right decisions, staying focused, taking the sack instead of making the big mistake. What’s happening, I think, is that he’s putting himself in order. He has ability, without question, but now he’s playing it the way it should be played, and I think he’s had some just rewards the last couple of weeks.”