Battered Rams Have Plenty in Reserves : Injuries: Farr, Gandy and Belin rise to the occasion when they are needed the most.

In an apparent case of rookie panic, Ram defensive tackle D’Marco Farr headed out of the Anaheim Stadium locker room for the parking lot, only to be stopped by assistant head coach Joe Vitt.

Confronting a player who was an hour away from making his first NFL start, Vitt figured he had to make the play. No way was Farr going AWOL.

“Wait, you can’t leave,” Vitt told him. “What are you running from?”

Farr laughed.

“Nothing,” he said, “I’m just going to my car to get my gym bag. I left it there.”

Vitt’s response: “OK, you better be back here in five minutes. You’re not running away from us.”

Sure enough, Farr came back, suited up and played admirably substituting for Pro Bowl tackle Sean Gilbert in the Rams’ 17-10 victory over the New York Giants.

Farr, a rookie free agent out of Washington, finished with three tackles, deflected a Dave Brown pass and helped hold Giant running back Rodney Hampton to only 44 yards in the second half.

“Oh, my Lord,” Farr said of tackling the 230-pound Hampton, “He’s a big man. That should be illegal. (A running back’s weight) should be limited to under 200 pounds.”

Farr, 6 feet 1, 270 pounds, was one of three young Rams pressed into starting duty Sunday because of injuries.

Rookie Wayne Gandy made his first NFL start, replacing right tackle Jackie Slater (torn triceps), and second-year guard Chuck Belin started at left tackle for Tom Newberry, who moved to center in place of Bern Brostek (broken leg).

“They hung in there and made the plays, especially when we had a lot of new people in there,” Ram Coach Chuck Knox said. “I thought the people who went in there and played for our starters did an outstanding job.

“They were not going to be denied today.”

Gandy wasn’t.

The Rams’ top draft pick, the 16th overall, Gandy had been a disappointment so far this season. He was called for several foolish holding and offside penalties, including a key holding penalty on second and goal at the Green Bay two-yard line last week.

“This was a chance to get a lot of people off my back and show them I can play at this level,” Gandy said. “I’ve had some rough times, and I’ll have some rough times in the future. Hopefully, I can keep struggling and struggling and get better.

Gandy was called for holding once in the second quarter, but did a good job blocking end Keith Hamilton, who had 11 1/2 sacks last season. But was one good game enough to get the monkey off Gandy’s back?

“I haven’t seen any monkeys in my career,” Gandy said. “I don’t have any at my house, and I haven’t seen any at Rams Park.

“I’ve been here 10 games and had five penalties called on me in one (exhibition). What else can happen? I’ve had all the bad . . . happen to me. What else can happen?”

Another start, perhaps? Slater is expected to be sidelined through the bye week, meaning Gandy will be protecting quarterback Chris Miller again Sunday in New Orleans.

“Wayne showed his versatility today,” Slater said. “He’s a natural left tackle and came over to the other side and did a hell of a job against a very talented defensive player (Hamilton). He should be awfully proud of himself.”

Belin got his first NFL start, taking over at left guard.

“It feels good to get a victory after you’ve been working so hard all week,” Belin said. “There was much more stress this week than a typical week.”

Miller praised the play of Belin and Gandy.

“They did a great job,” he said. “We had a couple of sacks in the second half, but that was mostly because of a scheme we weren’t prepared for. I had a lot of time to step up and find my guys and throw. It’s nice to have guys who can step in and get the job done.”

Farr was waiting for such an opportunity. He wasn’t drafted last spring, mainly because he is small for an NFL lineman. But the Rams took a chance on him--and he has made it pay off.