RAM NOTEBOOK : Concussion Problems Continuing for Miller

Quarterback Chris Miller, who missed two games after suffering a concussion in an Oct. 23 game at New Orleans, gave no evaluation of his status after suffering another concussion Sunday in the Rams’ 31-15 loss to the Saints.

Miller complained only of a headache after the game, but offered no guarantees on his status for this week’s game at Tampa Bay.

“I’m not sure right now,” Miller said of his status. “I’m not going to make any determination on it. I don’t know what the trainers want to do with me. I’m still pretty coherent.”

Saint defensive end Wayne Martin beat Ram rookie tackle Wayne Gandy and sacked Miller for a seven-yard loss with 4 minutes 45 seconds left to play. Miller had to be helped off the field after hitting his head on the grass.

“I got dinged,” he said. “My head slammed into the turf pretty good and it’s not as bad as the last one. It’s just sore.”

Miller suffered post concussion syndrome after hitting his head on the artificial turf after a hit by Ernest Dixon in the Rams’ 37-34 loss to New Orleans in October. Miller complained of dizziness and headaches, and had trouble focusing for three weeks after the injury.

Miller, 2-7 as the Rams’ starter this season, returned to the starting lineup three weeks ago at San Francisco. On Sunday, he completed 17 of 24 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

But he did get the ball knocked away by Saint linebacker Darion Connor in the second quarter that led to the Saints’ fourth touchdown.

Chris Chandler, coming off an ankle injury, replaced Miller and completed nine of 13 passes for 86 yards. But Chandler failed to get the Rams into the end zone on second and goal from the one with 1:39 left. Tailback Jerome Bettis lost a yard on second down, Chandler spiked it to stop the clock on third down and he was stopped short on a quarterback draw on fourth down.

Other Ram injuries: rookie defensive tackle D’Marco Farr (dislocated left elbow), cornerback Darryl Henley (left hip) and right guard Leo Goeas (sprained ankle).

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Saint defensive back Othello Henderson came up with two big plays Sunday. He recovered Todd Kinchen’s fumble on a punt. Then, he recovered running back David Lang’s fumble.

The first turnover was expected, according to Henderson. He and his teammates had seen Kinchen on film.

“We knew he would cough up the ball at least once,” Henderson said.

The second fumble came as more of a shock.

“I was coming in to make the tackle and the ball came at me,” Henderson said. “Everything happened so quick. The ball hit me in the chest and I just held on.”

Both turnovers led to Saint touchdowns.

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Running back Mario Bates has become comfortable and effective as the Saints’ primary ball carrier.

Bates, taken in the second round, gained 96 yards and scored three touchdowns Sunday, doubling his season total. It was his second biggest game of the season, which was interrupted when teammate Lorenzo Neal broke his jaw outside a nightclub, causing him to miss five games in the middle of the season.

“I was a little rusty. I mean I was a lot rusty,” Bates said. “I wasn’t comfortable until a few weeks ago.”

The Saints were more comfortable after that. Bates gained 141 yards and scored two touchdowns in his first start, a 33-32 victory over Atlanta on Nov. 13.

Bates continued to run strong Sunday. He scored on runs of 26, 11 and one yard, all in the first half. It gave the Saints a 21-7 lead.

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Bates’ emergence has made Derek Brown an afterthought. Brown, rushed for 346 yards as the Saints starting back, has seen limited duty since Bates took over.

Brown, a Servite High graduate, had 30 yards in seven carries against the Rams.

“Right now I have limited playing time and I don’t like it,” Brown said. “I know I’m a good player. I know I’m a good athlete. My day will come, if not here, then somewhere else.

Brown’s contract runs through next season.

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Add quarterbacks: The only Ram player to sack Saint quarterback Jim Everett was defensive end Fred Stokes, one of Everett’s best friends during his days in Anaheim.

Everett struggled with the Rams last season and was eventually benched in favor of T.J. Rubley. Has Stokes noticed a difference in Everett since the Rams traded him to the Saints?

“His confidence level has gone way up,” said Stokes, who was among the first of a handful of Rams to congratulate Everett after the game. “I was surprised. When he scrambled on fourth down and he threw low outside (to Michael Haynes for a first down) I said, ‘Whoa.’

“He’s not a new Jim Everett, he’s still the same person. But his mind-set is different, he has the mind-set he can do it.”

Everett completed 13 of 22 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown Sunday, beating his former team for the second time this season.

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Crowd count: The crowd of 34,960 was the fourth-smallest to watch a Ram game at Anaheim Stadium, but it did outdraw the crowd of 30,065 that came to the stadium Friday night for the Mater Dei-Los Alamitos Division I high school semifinal game.

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In case you missed it: The Rams got the fans fired up before the game by showing highlights of their 31-17 loss at San Diego on their big-screen television in the north end zone.

Times staff writer T.J. Simers contributed to this story.