These Two Young Rams Worthy of Second Look
At the Big A the other night, I kept picturing a Ram offense for the 1993 season with the football in the hands of quarterback Jim Everett, running back Cleveland Gary and wide receivers Flipper Anderson and Henry Ellard.
My first thought was: “These are the new Los Angeles Rams?”
Then, T.J. Rubley took the field.
Along with Russell White.
And I said to myself: “Ah, back to the future.”
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if these two guys dominated the Ram attack this season. Maybe even by October.
Rubley’s arm, I’m not positive about, but he sure does have great feet. It was quite a sight seeing a Ram quarterback rambling and scrambling that way.
Even the starter, Everett, said he enjoyed watching his replacement as he “half-Houdini’d” his way out of trouble.
Was T.J. uptight? Nervous? Afraid for his life as a pack of carnivorous San Diego Chargers came after him?
“No, not at all,” Rubley said. “Playing football is one of the few places on earth that I’m at peace.”
Good to know. Just in case.
Quarterbacks come and go, as the San Francisco 49ers have found out the hard way. The team that had Joe Montana, Steve Young and Steve Bono is suddenly wondering what NFL life might be like being quarterbacked by Elvis Grbac.
This is why this NFL “rookie salary cap” is an outrage. Guys like Drew Bledsoe, Rick Mirer and now even Grbac are expected to accept mandated limits on their salaries after being forced to accept no money at all for playing in college. Then they get stuck with a “rookie cap” even though they are now working as professional starting quarterbacks.
America, land of limited opportunity.
The Rams don’t anticipate changing their quarterback. And I am not part of any dump-Everett movement. I figure Chuck Knox knows what he is doing and I also figure Everett’s job is pretty secure. Then again, because Knox is one key lower than low-key, he doesn’t exactly tip his hand.
Asked if it’s a fight between Rubley and veteran Mike Pagel for the No. 2 quarterbacking job, Knox responded, “It’s a fight for everything.”
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Candid.
I do know Knox was anticipating a change or two at the Ram “skill” positions this season, but the longer this training camp continues, the more it looks as though we’re right back to rounding up the usual suspects.
Some of those in attendance last Saturday might need to be reminded that Rubley and White had much of their success against San Diego’s second stringers. Just the same, each of them did some very good things.
Rubley out-rushed everybody on the team except White. He also lobbed a short touchdown pass to Pat Carter, which pleased him more than all that scrambling did.
“You can’t make a living running the ball in this league,” Rubley said, speaking on behalf of quarterbacks, not tailbacks.
As for the Ram backfield, more and more the coaching staff’s longing eyes are turning to Rushin’ Russell, the second-round rookie from Cal.
Seeing as how David Lang, Anthony Thompson and first-rounder Jerome Bettis couldn’t even make it out of the exhibition season in one piece, and seeing as how Cleveland Gary apparently believed that he didn’t need to report until he saw the word Cleveland listed on the Ram exhibition schedule, there isn’t much else the Rams can do but see what White can do.
And he apparently can do just fine, thank you. Averaging 5.6 yards per carry, White gained considerable ground last Saturday, and I mean that figuratively as well as literally. He definitely moved forward in the Rams’ eyes.
White said afterward , “You have to establish yourself as an inside runner and as an outside runner. You have to become the player that the Rams want you to be.”
Bright and earnest, Russell hasn’t always let the expectations of others stand in his way. One of the things some of Cal’s coaches never could figure out, for example, was that the principal reason White returned to school autumn after autumn was not to play football. His education truly mattered to him.
About the only thing he never learned there was the school song.
When I asked him if the Ram veterans were giving him the traditional rookie hazing and making him stand up in the cafeteria and sing his school song, White laughed and said: “I hope not. I don’t even know it.”
He’s better off learning the Ram playbook.
“I like my chances more and more here every day,” White said.
Me, too.