RAM NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Knox’s Brand of Discipline Pays Off in Meals for Needy

Discipline has always been the cornerstone of a Chuck Knox rebuilding plan. Conformity and order win football games, so Knox sets the rules and players either follow them or pay a fine.

This holiday season, however, a lot of people who don’t care if the Rams are playing better will benefit from Knox’s demand for uniformity. Wednesday at Rams Park, Knox presented three $5,000 checks to representatives of area charities, the money coming from fines paid by players who were mostly either late to meetings or above their designated weight limit.

The checks went to the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, the Orange County Salvation Army and the Anaheim Police Community Services unit.

“Saturday, we shall feed 3,500 persons, 2,000 at First AME Church, 1,000 at Skid Row and 500 at Imperial Gardens,” said Rev. Cecil L. Murray, after accepting the check for the First AME Church’s assistance fund. “We shall bring food. We shall bring clothing, toilet articles and blankets. You have enabled us to do an immense amount and we love you and thank you.”

Anaheim Police Chief Joe Molloy and Lt. Lee Lescano of the Salvation Army also said the money would go a long way to make Christmas a little better for a number of needy families.

Knox, who has been fining players since he first became a head coach with the Rams in 1973, says the system is an effective mechanism for reducing tardiness and controlling players’ weights. Every pound over the limit--set by the coaching staff before the preseason--costs a player $50.

“We like to say we don’t fine a player, he fines himself,” Knox said. “The rules are for the common good of everybody. It’s an accountability factor, just like there is with any job.

“The question is, after you collect this money, what do you do with it? Some teams have a party for the players. Some teams buy a stereo for the locker room. I’ve always felt that if a stereo for the locker room is important, than the club should buy it. But I’ve never believed in rewarding people for violations, if you will, by having a party for them.”

Knox decided during his first stint with the Rams to donate the money to charity and he continued the practice at Buffalo and Seattle. The decision to hand out a portion of the fund this week was an effort to “help some people who are less fortunate than we are during the holiday season,” Knox said.

The remainder of the money will be distributed among more than 20 charities after the season.

Receiver Jeff Chadwick, a 10-year veteran who played for Knox in Seattle, says that as hard as he tries to avoid it, he always manages to make a yearly contribution.

“I try to keep it under $1,000 a year, that’s my goal,” he said, smiling. “But in the past, I’ve contributed a few thousand dollars. I led our team in fines during my rookie year and we have some rookies who are contributing quite a bit this season.

“Todd (Kinchen), I think, is our team leader. He’s a receiver, too, you know, so hopefully it will turn out as well for him. But the longer you play, the more you realize it’s more beneficial not to get fined. Still, the fact that it is going to charity lessens the blow a little bit.”

Discipline dividends? With two games remaining, the Rams have four fewer interceptions, six fewer fumbles and 37 fewer penalties for 267 fewer yards than they did last season.

Last year, no Ram player was fined.

Sharpe Images: Green Bay receiver Sterling Sharpe is having such a great season that he’s being favorably compared to San Francisco’s Jerry Rice, who used to be just about everyone’s pick as the greatest receiver ever.

Sharpe has 94 receptions this season, already a Packer single-season record, and there are two games to play. He has caught passes in 69 consecutive games, a streak dating to his rookie season and he needs 124 receiving yards to better his Packer single-season mark of 1,423 in 1989.

But it’s not just the numbers that are impressive. Sharpe goes over the middle with an abandon few “star” receivers exhibit and his uncanny knack for the big play in the clutch has been an inspiration to his teammates.

“In my position,” says quarterback Brett Favre, “everybody looks to me. Well, I look to Sterling.”

A case in point from Sunday’s game against the Oilers: Fourth quarter. Third and five on the Houston six-yard line. Favre momentarily spots Sharpe heading for the corner of the end zone. Final score, Green Bay 16, Houston 14.

“I didn’t see it,” Favre said of the winning touchdown pass he threw to Sharpe. “I got hit just as I threw it. But I knew if I put it up there, Sterling would catch it.”

First-year Green Bay Coach Mike Holmgren, who worked with Rice for six years with the 49ers, says he would like to stay away from comparisons between the two.

“Sterling is really a special player,” he said. “I didn’t think he was serious enough when I first got here. He’s always joking around and he’s pretty boisterous at practice. But he’s even a better player than I thought he was. He really brings it on Sunday.

“I’ve had the privilege to be around the best receivers in football and Jerry and Sterling are the best.”