Defeat Feeds Dissension on Oilers : Football: Everywhere you turn, someone in Houston is being blamed for the rough start.

Although the ground under Houston Coach Jack Pardee’s feet has all the stability of a fault line, the Oilers can still rest assured of one thing next week. They won’t lose.

They have a bye.

Still, it’s little solace to Pardee, who’s already answering questions about his future and the Oilers’ 1-3 start after the Rams won, 28-13, Sunday in the Astrodome.

“I think this (talk) affects the stability of the organization,” Pardee said. “But we (coaches and players) can’t do anything about it. I do my job and they (front office) do theirs.”

In Houston, Pardee is 32-23 with three consecutive playoff appearances since taking over in 1990. But this year’s shaky start, along with the ominous presence of Buddy Ryan, defensive coordinator and former head coach at Philadelphia, has the Oilers wondering if a coaching change is coming.

“If they want to make a damn change, then that’s it, go ahead,” defensive end Sean Jones said. “I don’t give a . . . All I’m worrying about is what I’m doing wrong, and let everybody else take care of themselves. This damage control thing we have with this team right now is the most ridiculous thing in the world.”

Wide receiver Ernest Givins has traded shots with Ryan recently over what he felt was Ryan’s lack of respect for Pardee, the offensive players and coaches. Givins and quarterback Warren Moon have said Ryan is after Pardee’s job.

After the game, Givins said a coaching change “is not going to happen.”

“No way,” he said. “Once you start building something, you stick with it. You start making changes at this point, and more bad things are going to happen.”

There have been plenty of problems already. The Oilers are off to their worst start since 1986, when they were 1-3 under Jerry Glanville. They were 5-11 that season with an eight-game losing streak.

“We may go 1-4, 1-5, maybe we won’t win another game,” cornerback Cris Dishman said. “Who knows?”

Said Pardee: “I worry about the losses. We expected to be a good team coming into this season and we aren’t.”

The Oiler offense and defense have struggled the past two weeks.

In an 18-17 loss at San Diego last week, Moon saw four passes intercepted, but the defense didn’t give up a touchdown.

The Rams’ Jim Everett, the lowest-rated quarterback in the league the past two weeks, burned Ryan’s blitzing 46 defense for 316 yards passing and three touchdowns. Houston couldn’t sack Everett, who’s not one of the NFL’s more elusive quarterbacks.

Everett’s four-yard touchdown pass to Flipper Anderson in the first quarter was the first passing touchdown against the Oilers in 17 quarters and the first touchdown against them in two games.

“I was very surprised with how our defense played,” Ryan said. “We had a chance to come out and get a little reputation, and the next thing we know, we go right in the drink.”

“I can’t answer for the other side of the ball, but we were busting our butts. But effort without success doesn’t mean a heck of a lot.”

The Rams built a 14-0 lead, but two Al Del Greco field goals and an 80-yard touchdown pass from Moon to Givins cut it to 14-13 with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

“At that point,” Givins said, “it felt like things were going to turn around, finally, and something positive was going to happen to this team.”

It didn’t.

Everett picked apart Houston’s secondary on the next possession, capping a nine-play, 66-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis McNeal with 1:21 left in the third quarter.

The Rams scored again, early in the fourth quarter. Everett threw to Henry Ellard, who slipped through safety Bubba McDowell’s grasp and raced 48 yards for the score.

“I don’t think we went flat,” Jones said. “The defense hasn’t been flat all season.

“With the exception of New Orleans (a 33-21 winner over Houston in the opener), we haven’t seen a team that can play with us yet. That’s the truth. Everybody is basically mediocre. We’re the best 1-3 team, and you should see the relief on peoples’ faces when they squeak out a win against us.”

It won’t get any easier. They play Oct. 11 at Buffalo in a Monday night game.

Nine months ago, the Bills rallied from a 32-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the Oilers, 41-38, in overtime of the AFC wild-card playoff game.

The Oilers will enter this game 1-3 and with questions about their future.

“This hurts us,” Pardee said. “Right now, we’re not where we want to be, should be or need to be.”