RAM NOTEBOOK : Anderson’s Disappearing Act Finally Ends

Wide receiver Flipper Anderson, who had been missing in action the past three weeks, made an appearance Sunday in Anaheim Stadium and caught five passes for 58 yards.

Anderson caught a 23-yard pass for a touchdown, his first scoring reception since Oct. 14 against Atlanta.

Where has Anderson been?

“I really couldn’t tell you; I ask myself the same thing,” he said. “You know I’m the fastest guy on the team and I’m not being involved in the offense at all. It’s puzzling.

“I know Jerome (Bettis) was doing really good. I guess they won a couple without me; they can do it. I can’t really tell you why I was left out. All I can do is keep working.”

After 15 games Anderson has 31 catches--four for touchdowns.

“Getting the chance to catch a few balls feels really good, but we’ve got to throw some of them down the field, too,” he said. “All those crossing routes--you just get first downs with them. You can’t really make big plays with them.”

Rubley had Anderson wide open for a 37-yard touchdown in the first half, but as he has demonstrated on previous occasions, Rubley was unable to deliver the ball in timely fashion to Anderson deep.

*

Pouring it on? The Cleveland Browns, who fell from first to third place after Coach Bill Belichick released quarterback Bernie Kosar earlier this season, opted to go for a touchdown in the fourth quarter with a 35-7 lead rather than settle for a field goal.

On fourth and goal at the one, Belichick elected to keep his offense on the field and had Kevin Mack run up the middle for a touchdown and a 42-7 lead with 3:51 to play.

Ram linebacker Chris Martin took notice.

“I’ve been in the league 11 years and I’ve never seen anybody pour it on like this guy (Belichick) did,” Martin said. “I don’t think that’s going to bring Bernie back to them.

“But that’s fine; somewhere down the road we’ll get the chance to meet again. It wasn’t like we were threatening them or anything at the time, but I guess they needed the touchdown.”

*

Surprise starter: Linebacker Henry Rolling never made an appearance on the team’s injury report, but after hurting himself a week ago against Cincinnati, he was unable to start Sunday.

The Rams started Martin in place of Rolling, who was bothered by a hip flexor.

“I thought I could go,” said Rolling, who came into the game on goal-line and short-yardage situations. “It’s something we decided before the game; I just couldn’t go all the way.”

*

Shaky foundation: Ram defensive tackle Sean Gilbert is considered one of the team’s best players, but after the team’s latest collapse, Gilbert began to question his own credentials.

“When you’re losing and you’re considered one of the team’s best players,” Gilbert said, “I mean you think, ‘How good am I?’ ”

*

Makes no sense: The Rams made a big deal out of signing linebacker Shane Conlan to help stop the opposition’s running attack and yet they continue to pull him from the game in goal-line situations.

On second and goal from the three-yard line in the first quarter, the Rams removed Conlan from the game and inserted linebacker Leon White. White stopped running back Tommy Vardell after a two-yard gain, but Vardell went the final yard for the touchdown on the next play.

*

Momentum without Modell: Cleveland owner Art Modell was snowed in back in Cleveland and was unable to attend Sunday’s game in Anaheim, the first time in 33 years he has missed a Browns’ regular-season game. In 1983, he missed a preseason game because of medical reasons.

With Modell gone, the Browns scored a season-high 42 points, 14 more than their previous bests against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Was Cleveland Coach Bill Belichick going to have Modell stay home every game after the way the team played in the owner’s absence?

“Absolutely,” Belichick said, smiling.

*

Dash for cash: Cornerback Dexter Davis picked up what he thought was a Leroy Hoard fumble at the Ram one-yard line, raced 99 yards for what he thought was a touchdown, and tossed the ball into the stands in what he thought was a post-score celebration.

It was all for nothing. Officials ruled Hoard down before the fumble, negating Davis’ recovery, return and touchdown. But what about tossing the ball into the end zone, which carries a $500 fine? Stay tuned.

*

Bad stats: When Cleveland quarterback Vinny Testaverde came off the field in the fourth quarter Sunday, someone told him he had completed 19 of 21 passes to set an NFL record for completion percentage.

It wasn’t until the post-game press conference that Testaverde learned he actually had completed 21 of 23 passes (91.3%) to break Ken Anderson’s 19-year-old record of 20 of 22 (90.9%). Completing 19 of 21 wouldn’t have set the record.

“I guess I was given some bad information,” Testaverde said.

*

Big on Bettis: Cleveland defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry on Jerome Bettis, the Rams’ rookie tailback that the Browns held to 56 yards in 16 carries: “He should make the Pro Bowl this year. The guy’s big, fast and he’s quick. And he’s light on his feet at 255 (actually 243) pounds. He’s almost like a Barry Sanders.”

*

Who dat? Cleveland returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown Sunday, but it wasn’t by the Browns’ Eric Metcalf, the league’s top return specialist.

Metcalf bruised his knee when Rams’ defensive tackle Sean Gilbert fell on him during a running play early in the fourth quarter. With Metcalf out, Mark Carrier, a wide receiver, was pressed into duty as the return man.

On his first return of the game, Carrier took a 43-yard punt by Sean Landeta, picked up a couple blocks and streaked down the right sideline for the touchdown. It was his first punt return for a touchdown in seven years in the league and the third for the Browns this season, a team record.

It also was the second time this season that the Rams have allowed a punt return for a score. New Orleans rookie Tyrone Hughes returned one 74 yards for a touchdown Oct. 3 at Anaheim Stadium.

*

Cleveland’s Keenan McCardell, who started for the second consecutive week in place of the injured Michael Jackson (knee), burned the Rams’ secondary for four catches for 72 yards, including touchdown receptions of eight and 28 yards.

The eight-yard touchdown came on a corner route and gave the Browns a 14-7 lead with 3:33 left in the second quarter.

“It was man-to-man coverage and I started licking my chops,” McCardell said. “I wanted the ball right away.”

Testaverde made sure he got it.

Notes

Cleveland Coach Bill Belichick said Eric Metcalf’s knee injury wasn’t serious. . . . Sunday’s victory gives the Browns a 10-8 series lead over the Rams.

Times staff writer Mike Reilley contributed to this story.