PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Linebackers Not Among the Chosen

Tailback Jerome Bettis was the only Ram to make the Pro Bowl, and Coach Chuck Knox thinks linebackers Shane Conlan and Roman Phifer might have been overlooked.

“They would be two players who would come to mind without a whole lot of thinking,” Knox said. “But with our record as it is now (4-10), you’re not going to have many on there. Teams that win have more people on there.”

Conlan, a three-time Pro Bowl selection with Buffalo, leads the Rams in tackles with 95.

Ram coaches think Phifer, who is third on the team in tackles with 79, has been overlooked the last two seasons.

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Asked if the 30-degree temperatures expected for Sunday’s game at Chicago could give the Bears an advantage, Knox turned to a tongue-in-cheek explanation of game conditions.

“Scientists have told us that you have to be in a climate for X number of years before the hair follicles grow longer, before the skin gets thicker and you become immune to the cold,” Knox said. “I don’t know how much the blood vessels will thicken. But the skin (will, but) I think it has to be over millions of years, running around in 20-below with nothing on but a T-shirt and loin cloth on.”

Translation: The weather should have no impact.

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Steve Israel continues to practice at cornerback in place of Darryl Henley, but Knox expects Henley, sidelined with a groin injury, to be ready Sunday.

Knox also expects linebacker Tom Homco to play, despite a foot injury, but the status of linebacker Chris Martin, who has a calf injury, could change from questionable to out.