The Future Is Today for Jim Everett : Rams: Quarterback focuses on game against Redskins, says everything else is not relevant.

It is a foregone conclusion at Rams Park. Assistant coaches, front-office personnel, teammates--many say quarterback Jim Everett cannot return next season as the Rams’ starting quarterback.

Everett’s critical remarks about the team’s offensive brain trust last week prompted one coach to say: “I don’t care if we win out the rest of the way, old Blue Eyes (Coach Chuck Knox) won’t forget. The guy’s gone.”

The front office already has begun to discuss the future without mentioning Everett.

“I cannot assume those things,” Everett said. “We play Washington this week. I think they are a good football team. Their record doesn’t indicate it, but anything else is totally hypothetical.”

The Rams (2-7) have lost five games in a row, and as they prepare to take on the Redskins (also 2-7) today in Anaheim Stadium, they appear well on their way to a fourth consecutive losing season.

How bad is it? There is talk of the team moving to Baltimore, there are rumors that the coaches are in jeopardy of losing their jobs, and the Rams so far have chosen not to introduce their offense before the hometown fans to avoid the embarrassment of having their starting quarterback booed.

In Everett’s last three appearances in Anaheim Stadium, he has had 26 possessions, including 154 plays, and the Rams have not produced a touchdown.

Has the atmosphere in Anaheim Stadium forced Everett to press?

“I think you’ve gotten from me as much as you are going to get,” Everett said. “I’m focusing on Washington. Everything else is not a relevant point.”

Everett, though, remains the focal point of what ails the Rams. The Rams knew they were going to be caught short at wide receiver when the season began. And they weren’t sure their offensive line would be as strong as last year’s. But what they weren’t prepared for was the dramatic deterioration in production from their quarterback.

“Yeah, it is (baffling),” said Ted Tollner, the quarterback coach. “Last year, we only won six games, but statistically he had a good year. It was not a great year by standards he had set earlier in his career, but a decent comeback year with 22 touchdowns and 60% completion of his passes.

“We felt statistically we were OK, but why didn’t we win more last year? We didn’t win because we turned the ball over. Reduce that and we win. All of our focus has been on turnovers. Look at the results this year and it appears that hasn’t been our focus, but it has. That’s been frustrating.”

Everett threw 60 touchdown passes and had 35 interceptions in 1988 and 1989, and the Rams have waited weekly for him to return to form.

“We saw fewer spurts of that form this year than we saw a year ago,” Tollner said. “We saw it really just on two occasions and they resulted in wins (over Pittsburgh and Houston), and on more occasions we have seen him be ineffective.

“But you’ve got to believe in something, and we believe in what we’re doing and we believe that a man that’s done it can do it again. That’s what we’re working at, but then the longer you go not being effective, you get concerned about what you need to do.”

The Ram front office believes it needs to go in a new direction. It suggested as much during the off-season and expressed an interest in Steve Beuerlein, so long as Everett was shipped elsewhere.

Knox and his staff were willing to sign Beuerlein, but they wanted both Beuerlein and Everett. The front office, citing the anticipated salary cap, said there would be only one high-priced quarterback on the payroll.

The Rams stuck with Everett, who now ranks last among NFC quarterbacks. He has completed 48.5% of his passes for seven touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. In his last 19 possessions, which include games both home and away, the Rams have produced one field goal and have not scored a touchdown.

“I’m disappointed,” Tollner said. “I felt there was enough improvement from a year ago that we were ready to make the next step. We did not make the next step up to this point and that is extremely disappointing. I’m talking about the production of the one position (quarterback) because that’s my responsibility. I don’t know. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

The Redskins have similar concerns. They will start Rich Gannon today in place of a struggling Mark Rypien, who ranks just above Everett in the quarterback rankings.

Gannon, a former Viking who is 19-16 in his career as a starter, injured his foot this season and has not played since completing one pass for 12 yards against Phoenix on Oct. 17.

The Redskins have been devastated by injuries and rank 21st on offense and 27th on defense. Even so, they remain a formidable foe for the Rams, who failed to score a point a week ago against the NFL’s poorest defense.

“I can’t reveal what we’re going to do against these guys,” Everett said. “All I can say without giving it away is I think we have a good solid game plan against these guys and now it’s just a matter of us executing it.”