Exhibition Means This Chris Plays

Today’s exhibition game against the Packers at Camp Randall Stadium will allow the Rams to rehearse for the regular season, which explains why Chris Chandler will start in place of Chris Miller at quarterback.

Miller, well-known for his accurate passes and physical misfortune, will miss today’s game because of a sore abdominal muscle and tender right knee. The injuries are not considered serious, but they accentuate the Rams’ need to employ a second quarterback with starting capabilities.

“That’s no secret,” said Chandler, who was 9-4 as a starting rookie quarterback for the Colts in 1988. “I thought this was the best place for a chance to help a team out, but I didn’t look solely at the fact that Chris has gotten hurt a lot the last few years.

“I wanted to work with somebody who would make it easy to be around, and Chris is real easy to be around. That played a big part in my decision to come here. If nothing else, we’ll have a fun season.”

Quarterbacks have fun when given the chance to play.

Chandler left Indianapolis because he wasn’t going to have that chance once Jeff George arrived.

“After my first year in Indy I thought, ‘Look out, Johnny Unitas.’ I thought I was going to be there for the next 12 years,” Chandler said. “But one bad cut on the turf, and boom , there goes an anterior cruciate ligament.

“I felt Indy gave up on me before I was able to show I was back with my knee. They shut the door too soon.”

Traded to Tampa Bay, Chandler criticized Buccaneer management for playing Vinny Testaverde, and a few days later Chandler was fired.

“I apologized the next day, but sometimes you can’t take things back,” Chandler said. “Ray Perkins traded for me and said he was going to give Vinny one more year. At the end of that year, Perkins got fired, Richard Williamson took over and I don’t think he shared the same opinion.”

The Cardinals claimed Chandler off waivers, he became a starter, but then wanted out of Phoenix after playing Ed McMahon to Steve Beuerlein.

“I needed to get out of the situation I was in,” Chandler said. “Chris is a good friend, which makes this situation so much easier than the other one.”

A year ago Chandler told the media in Phoenix, “I know I’m not a backup.”

Miller, however, is the Rams’ clear-cut starter, and Chandler’s a backup.

“I had a chance to play and played well in Phoenix, but when your team is 4-12, you get blamed,” Chandler said. “Playing isn’t always the thing. Look at Beuerlein, he played five games for a Dallas Cowboy team that went to the playoffs and became the hottest property around. Sometimes you have to be in the right situation and get the good break.”

The Minnesota Vikings were interested in signing Chandler this past off-season with the purpose of making him their starter, but that was before they swung a deal for Warren Moon. Chandler remains just a backup.

“There was a time when I’d say, ‘Dang it, I can’t let people say that about me,’ ” Chandler said. “That would actually affect me. As I’ve gotten older, survival has made me a lot less affected about what other people say or do.

“I can’t sit here and feel sorry for myself and ask, ‘Why haven’t I had a team like San Francisco to play for or an organization like Miami to play for?’ People don’t want to hear that.”

After serving hard time in Indianapolis, Tampa and Phoenix, why the Rams?

“It’s the first time I’ve been with a quality, proven head coach,” Chandler said. “Ron Meyer was fun to play for because training camp was easy, but as far as his honesty and integrity, there wasn’t any.

“I got along with Perkins because he traded a No. 1 pick for me, but he was fired. Then I got a receivers coach in Williamson, and in Phoenix, Joe Bugel was a great offensive line coach, but the jury was still out on how good a head coach he was going to be.”

The Rams took a look at several backup candidates during the offseason, including Jack Trudeau and Dave Krieg, but Knox wanted Chandler from the outset.

“When I’ve gotten the chance to play consistently, I have always played well,” Chandler said.

Chandler gets the chance to play against the Packers, and a chance to play a lot because of injuries to Miller and T.J. Rubley (sore arm).

“Jamie Martin and I are going to get all the work, which is something you kind of dread, because you like to try and stay healthy in preseason,” Chandler said. “I’ve been in this offense for about a month, so being under the gun in a game situation is exactly what I need. From that standpoint I’m looking forward to it.

“I don’t think I have to do anything in terms of who I am. This is the preseason, you can go out and stink or be the best quarterback ever, and it doesn’t mean a thing. It’s just the preseason.”

The Rams were winless in four exhibition games last season and it served as a warning of things to come. This year’s plan is to find success in exhibition games, build on it, but avoid injury at all costs.

In addition to Miller, the Rams will not play defensive end Robert Young (groin), cornerback Steve Israel (hamstring), wide receiver Sean LaChapelle (ankle), wide receiver Todd Kinchen (knee), running back David Lang (knee) and cornerback Darryl Henley (bail restrictions).

Running back Jerome Bettis, who is healthy, will also not play--because it’s just the exhibition season.