The Rams Change Quarterbacks : Switch Comes as No Surprise to Ram Players

Ram Coach Chuck Knox insisted there wouldn’t be a vote among the players. And there wasn’t.

So the Rams sat quietly at a team meeting Wednesday as Knox broke the news of his decision: He was replacing starting quarterback Jim Everett with second-year backup T. J. Rubley for Sunday’s game at San Francisco.

Quarterback changes on Knox teams occur about every decade or so. When asked about the last non-injury related change he made at the position, Knox answered: “When we replaced Jim Zorn with Dave Krieg in Seattle (in the early 1980s).”

It was the first change for the Rams since Everett took over in 1986.

But the move came as little surprise to the players, who had watched Everett struggle and get benched in favor of Rubley Sunday in a 16-13 loss to Detroit.

“I’ve learned in a short time that anything can happen in the NFL,” wide receiver Todd Kinchen said. “I’ve seen guys come in and set their locker up, then go home the next day.

“It’s just a real crazy business. When you’re struggling, everything is wrong. We could have made 40 changes on the team, and you could say they were needed. It’s not just the quarterback.”

Rookie tailback Jerome Bettis said the Rams (2-5) were “in a bad situation” and “needed a boost” that Rubley should provide. He also warned not to write off Everett taking his starting job back someday.

“I don’t think you can come out and say that Jim will never play here again,” Bettis said. “He’s still a great quarterback. Coach Knox just wants to look at a young guy.”

The Rams certainly appear to be pushing a youth movement. Bettis, a rookie from Notre Dame, replaced Cleveland Gary as the starting tailback after rushing for 101 yards against New Orleans.

“It wasn’t hard for me to accept,” Gary said. “I never lost any sleep over it. I didn’t take it personally. I made it impersonal. Jerome (Bettis) has been playing well, and I’m a proven guy in this league. I’m not some old guy over the hill.”

As Rubley gets his feet wet as a starter, even more of the offensive burden could fall on Bettis, who has rushed for 299 yards in the past three games.

“It’s not really a burden,” Bettis said. “It might put more carries in my hand, and I don’t think that’s really a burden.

“All in all, I think we’ll come out of this in good shape.”

San Francisco quarterback Steve Young caught his first glimpse of Rubley watching highlights of last Sunday’s game. Rubley completed 12 of 17 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns after replacing Everett in the third quarter.

“Anyone who can come into a game and throw touchdowns the first time he steps on the field in the NFL,” Young said, “obviously, you have to respect that.”

Following in the jittery cleats of Everett, Rubley’s elusiveness opened a new dimension to the Ram offense. Against Detroit, Rubley rushed three times for 24 yards, including a designed bootleg play that netted 11 yards and a first down.

“T. J. is definitely a plus,” Bettis said. “He’s got a great arm, all the strength you need out of a quarterback, and he has great mobility. We aren’t losing anything by having him in there.”

But Young, considered the best scrambling quarterback in the league, offered some advice to Rubley: Keep it simple.

“For me, playing quarterback is all about studying,” Young said. “You try to get things in your head so you can go in the huddle and have an idea about what’s going to take place in the next 15 seconds.