PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Wide Receiver Anderson Gets Off to a Fast Start

After all but vanishing from the Ram offense last year, wide receiver Flipper Anderson has more receiving yards through two games this season than Green Bay’s Sterling Sharpe, New Orleans’ Michael Haynes and Dallas’ Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper.

Anderson’s 154 yards (in five catches) Sunday against Atlanta gives him 198 yards for the season, third in the NFC behind Atlanta’s Andre Rison (316) and San Francisco’s Jerry Rice (247). Irvin has 174 yards, Haynes 158, Harper 146 and Sharpe 101.

“Flipper is running really well right now,” receivers coach Steve Moore said. “I remember working him out at the Senior Bowl, when he was coming out of UCLA, and he is quicker, faster and certainly more skilled than he ever was then.”

Anderson caught only one touchdown pass in his final 10 games last season, his lack of productivity coincided with quarterback Jim Everett’s decline. But when the Rams signed quarterback Chris Miller, one of the best deep throwers in the game, they hoped that Anderson would return to his form in 1989, when he caught 44 passes for 1,146 yards and five touchdowns.

He’s averaging 33 yards a catch this season, including a 54-yarder from Miller and a 41-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Chris Chandler.

“They connected well deep,” Moore said of Miller and Anderson, “and he (Anderson) ran a couple of out routes that I would like to put in a can and pull out during training camp to teach how it’s done.”

Anderson’s 154 yards ranked second only to his 336 yards against New Orleans in 1989, when he set the NFL single-game reception record with 15 catches. He had not had more than 100 yards receiving in a game since Dec. 15, 1991, when he had 103 yards against the Vikings.

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With San Francisco defensive end Richard Dent out with a torn knee ligament, the Rams might be lining up across from Charles Mann on Sunday.

Mann, a former All-Pro with Washington, met with 49er coaches and officials Tuesday. The Rams worked out Mann during training camp, but didn’t offer him a contract.

Mann, who has had knee surgery twice in the past year, also worked out for the 49ers during training camp, but turned down a minimum $162,000 contract, calling it “an insult.”