Rams’ Optimism Gives Way to Realism : Watters Finally Washes Over the Rams
The water’s always running when the San Francisco 49ers have the football, to say nothing of Ricky Watters, and it usually comes in waves, washing opponents off the field and down the drain in a sheer matter of minutes.
Ninety-three points in their first two games of the season.
Ninety-seven points in their two games against the Atlanta Falcons.
But for 3 1/2 quarters against the sponge-and-mop brigade more commonly referred to as the Rams, the 49ers found their plumbing clogged, their faucet flow slowed to a drip.
Fifteen minutes produced one touchdown.
Fifteen more minutes produced a field goal.
Fifteen minutes after that, another field goal.
The 49ers had turned into the New Orleans Saints. Grind it out, take what you can, take a 13-10 lead over the Rams into the last seven minutes of Sunday afternoon’s game.
This couldn’t be happening, the 49ers said to themselves.
This couldn’t be happening, the Rams said to themselves.
On second and eight from the Ram 42-yard line, the Rams were two defensive stands away from regaining the football, passing it up field and angling into game-tying range for Tony Zendejas. Two incompletions, that’s all the Rams were asking.
But, you know, whenever Steve Young’s doing the throwing and Jerry Rice the catching, that’s an awful lot to ask.
Anthony Newman, the Rams’ strong safety, knew it was coming, if he failed to actually see it. Young flung the ball high, toward the left sideline pylon, and Newman was right where he should be, matching Rice stride for stride.
“I knew we were going to have to battle for the ball,” Newman said. “I was right with Jerry, watching his eyes, watching his hands.”
And then, Newman made a fateful miscalculation.
“I didn’t think the ball would be underthrown.”
Rice never played an inning of baseball in high school or college, but the deke he put on Newman was straight out of the Gene Mauch handbook. Look south, make the other guy think the ball isn’t going north. “He tricked me,” Newman said. “He’s good at tricking defenders.”
The next move was straight out of the Jerry Rice handbook, and no other. Stopping cold in his tracks, Rice contorted his body so he could reach back for the ball, basically plucking it from behind Newman’s head. Then, returning to earth, he twisted his body again, spinning away from Newman and nearby onlooker Darryl Henley to complete a 42-yard scoring play.
“That broke our backs,” said Newman, who was still having trouble believing Rice caught the ball, one-half hour after the fact.
“I thought the ball was over his shoulder. When he put on the brakes, it messed me up. That’s the thing about Jerry Rice. He always knows where the ball is and where the ball is going to be.
“You’ve got to play your butt off every play against him. You can shut him down for three quarters and then he hits a home run.”
What Rice did was knock the Rams out of the park. His touchdown doubled the 49er output for the day, doubled the Rams’ point total, and finally got the spigot cranked wide open.
Three Jim Everett incompletions and 29 seconds later, San Francisco had the ball back, en route to a 61-yard drive and a three-yard touchdown run by Watters and a 27-10 final score that will forever misrepresent what really transpired Sunday afternoon at Anaheim Stadium. Before Rice’s divine intervention, the Rams were positioning themselves for the parlay of this NFL season--back-to-back upsets of Dallas and San Francisco, arguably the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the league.
Pull off that number and who knows what happens next? Sellouts every Sunday, instead of one per season, rampant Ram-mania in the streets.
Sean Gilbert, the rookie defensive tackle who sacked Young twice, hasn’t been around long enough, so, at 13-10, he was thinking sweep.
“Of course,” exclaimed Gilbert, incredulous that anyone in the Ram locker room, even a lowly, jaded, muckraking sportswriter, might possibly suggest otherwise.
“I’m always positive. There was not any ‘We may not do it.’ I never think that way. I always think we’re going to win, 105-0.”
Good thing Gilbert plays football and doesn’t bet on it.
Cornerback Todd Lyght, who has a year of experience on Gilbert, has seen enough to sag his shoulders.
“I’ve been here two years now and only won seven games,” Lyght said. “It’s ridiculous. We play well for most of the game and then we get to this one point. . . .
“It’s become very, very repetitive.”
Instead of topping the Sunday night news for the second week in a row, the 4-7 Rams were of value, in the aftermath, only for the purpose of research.
Who’s a better quarterback, Young or Joe Montana?
“Young gets a little confused if you disguise your coverages and mix it up on him,” Newman testified. “He’s not like Joe Montana when it comes to reading defenses. And he’s so anxious to run that he’s always looking for alleys, instead of holding the ball until the last possible second.
“You knew Joe Montana was not going to run. He’s going to wait and wait and wait until a receiver’s open. That’s what kills a secondary, when the quarterback holds the ball.”
Who’s the better team, 9-2 Dallas or 9-2 San Francisco?
“I really like the Cowboys,” Newman said. “Emmitt Smith--that running game can kill you. I’d rather face a good passing team than a good running team, but it’s tough. They’re 1-2, that’s for sure.
“Dallas might have the better defense, but we’ll have to wait to see when they play. They should meet somewhere in the playoffs.”
The Rams will be watching, as is their custom of late. Playing with the big boys in November--the Rams have proven they can handle that. Playing with them in January? That will require a larger leap, and after what Rice did to them Sunday, the Rams were in no mood for further discussion about leaps.
