Rams May End on Lowest Note : Pro football: Small crowd expected for game against Washington Redskins that could be Anaheim Stadium finale.

This could be the Los Angeles Rams’ final appearance as the Los Angeles Rams, and local malls will draw better. The game will not be shown on local television, and as if Ram President John Shaw needed one more reason to make his case, today’s attendance is expected to be the team’s lowest since moving to Anaheim in 1980.

While the Kansas City Chiefs and Raiders compete in the Coliseum for postseason glory in front of a sellout crowd, the contest between the Rams (4-11) and Washington Redskins (2-13) before maybe 32,000 in Anaheim Stadium is almost irrelevant.

This could be the end of a 49-season run in Southern California for the Rams, and if rumors become reality, it might be the last Ram game coached by Chuck Knox, the sixth-winningest coach in NFL history.

“The fear of the unknown is one of the greatest things a man can face,” said Jim Erkenbeck, Ram offensive line coach. “It’s sort of like walking on Jell-O right now. In a word, everything’s kind of shaky right now.”

The Rams conducted practice as usual this week, and although they have insisted for months that talk of a move has had no impact, they are now being put to the final test.

“I’m focusing on the Redskins,” said Joe Vitt, assistant head coach. “If I make a bad call defensively, (Washington quarterback) Heath Shuler is not going to take the excuse, ‘I was thinking about moving.’ I have a 13-year-old son, and one of the things I try to teach him is to be personally accountable for what he does and what he says. I’m personally accountable for getting this team ready to play the Redskins.”

There is the possibility of a move, and there is also the possibility of unemployment. Vitt, a Knox loyalist and a man who has slept as many as four nights a week at Rams Park to prepare his team, said he will not concern himself with things he cannot control.

“I’ve worked as hard as I can work, and the players have worked as hard as they can work,” Vitt said. “Our record is absolutely terrible and we have not gotten it done. But it doesn’t mean there haven’t been some good things that have happened.

“I don’t care what the fans think or anyone else. We know what we’ve done and the things we have had to go through this year. Joe Kelly, Roman Phifer and Shane Conlan have had unbelievable years. You watch the way Toby Wright and Marquez Pope have come on. Todd Lyght is one of the premier corners in the league right now, and although Darryl Henley has been hurt the past three weeks, he hasn’t missed a snap.”

Solid individual performances aside, beyond today there are no guarantees.

“Everything’s up in the air, including my own career,” guard Tom Newberry said. “I’m a free agent, plus the team might leave and everyone’s talking about the coaching staff; there are just so many things hanging there.”

Knox & Co. have a 15-32 record in three years here, and although the team has better players and appears more competitive than before their arrival, there is already talk around the league that the Rams will make a move on San Francisco assistant Mike Shanahan.

“I have one more year on my contract and one more game this season,” Knox said. “We are a better football team, although the record might not show it. I’m going to coach this game to win, and then whatever happens, happens.”

The Rams have compiled a 377-318-19 mark while competing as the Los Angeles Rams.

“I don’t care about that (franchise moving),” linebacker Conlan said. “The only thing that would concern me is the coaching staff. Let me tell you something. I was in Buffalo, and Marv Levy is a great coach, but defensively I’ve learned more here in two years than I’ve learned since I was at Penn State. If they go, it’s a raw deal.”

Players appear more concerned about a change in leadership than a change in address. “A lot of these players live out of state, so to them it’s going to be, well, I’ll just go to another city,” kicker Tony Zendejas said. “It’s going to be like that for a majority of the players.”

Jack Faulkner, administrator of pro personnel, has been employed by the Rams for 30 years, but instead of nostalgia, Faulkner has concerned himself with finding an edge for success.

“Everybody from the gas station attendant to whoever has said we’re going, but Georgia Frontiere has not said one thing about moving to St. Louis,” Faulkner said. “So my total focus is on doing whatever I can to help this team defeat the Redskins.”

A victory will end the Rams’ losing streak at six and extend the Redskins’ mark to eight consecutive losses. Win or lose, though, there will still be no immediate answers on the future of the Rams or their head coach.

“Who knows what is going to happen?” defensive end Fred Stokes said. “But you know what I’d like to see? I’d like the fans to be totally radical for this game. I’d like to see people having a great time instead of mourning and looking at this like death. I mean if I could drive around with a bullhorn, I’d be shouting to people to come out to the game and just have fun.

“Let’s go out with a bang, whether we’re here next year or not.”