Bettis’ Numbers Could Add Up to Starting Job : Rams: Tailback is impressive, rushing for 102 yards. He casts doubt on Gary’s future in the lineup.

Ram tailback Jerome Bettis couldn’t answer the question, but he certainly raised it Sunday.

Will he be the starting tailback Oct. 14 against the Atlanta Falcons?

“Who knows,” said Bettis, who rushed for 102 yards in 22 carries Sunday in a 37-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints. “It’s hard to say. It depends on how the coaches feel about me, the game plans, that kind of thing.

“I think it was a good performance. But we didn’t win, so I don’t know how they (coaches) are going to take it. It’s tough to say what the coaching staff is going to do. But what I can do, is every time my number is called, just run it up in there.”

Bettis did that Sunday, casting serious doubt over Cleveland Gary’s future as starting tailback.

Bettis, a rookie from Notre Dame, rushed for 100 yards for the first time in his pro career against one of the league’s top defenses. He rebounded from a poor performance against the Houston Oilers last week in which he gained 25 yards in 11 carries.

Gary started at tailback against the Saints but was used primarily as a nickel back by the second half. He had 36 yards receiving in three catches, but only 13 yards rushing in four carries. Gary dressed and left the locker room without comment.

Bettis’ future likely will be in doubt for a while. The Rams have a bye next Sunday, and Coach Chuck Knox likely won’t announce any roster move until the week of the Atlanta game. His motto: “We don’t make personnel decisions on Mondays.”

“Whether I start or not doesn’t matter,” Bettis said. “I just want to get in and play. It doesn’t matter if my name’s on the marquee or not. As long as I’m in there, I’ll be productive.”

After entering the game on the Rams’ second possession, Bettis established himself, running off tackle, through tackles and over tacklers.

“They were tough up front,” Bettis said of the Saints. “They came at us full tilt. We had to buckle down and go straight at them and not go around them with sweeps.”

By halftime, he had 61 yards in 13 carries, and the Rams began using him more on first down in the second half.

“If I’m playing well, I want them to get me the ball,” Bettis said. “It’s hard for any running back to be going in and out of the game and expect to be productive. You know what I mean?”

Before Sunday, he had rushed for only 158 yards in 41 carries through the first four games. The Rams’ injury-plagued rushing offense was ranked 27th, averaging 63.8 yards per game.

Bettis has been slowed by a bruised sternum since falling on the ball in the Pittsburgh Steeler game, although he said it didn’t bother him Sunday. Gary has battled a sore thigh and hamstring, fullback Tim Lester a knee and fullback David Lang hasn’t played because of a knee injury.

“Jerome is coming along and getting healthy,” running backs coach Chick Harris said. “We were going with who was hot, and he had made some positive yardage in the first half, so naturally you go back to him to try to generate something. And he did that.

“It’s nothing that Cleveland did wrong. At the time, Jerome was hot, and Cleveland was playing well.”

New Orleans linebackers Vaughan Johnson and Rickey Jackson said Bettis caught the Saints by surprise.

“He did a lot better than I thought he would do,” Jackson said. “He was running the ball well, talking a lot of trash. The key thing was, we missed him. I had a chance to hit him for a loss, and he ended up with eight yards.

Said Johnson: “That man is a load. He’s hard to bring down.”

Saints Coach Jim Mora agreed.

“Bettis pounded us pretty good,” he said.

Bettis’ biggest play came on fourth and one at the Saints’ 25 with the Rams trailing, 13-3, in the third quarter. He plowed behind center Bern Brostek, guard Leo Goeas and tackle Jackie Slater for five yards, setting up Tony Zendejas’ 37-yard field goal.

“I was waiting for that number,” Bettis said.

Bettis carried seven times for 23 yards during the drive, including four consecutive carries for 14 yards. But when the Rams reached the Saints’ 20, they went with three consecutive pass plays to Henry Ellard, all incomplete.

Should they have stuck with Bettis?

“We were down and in a situation where we had to get some points on the board, and we could do that by passing the ball,” Bettis said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go that way.”