‘Anaheim’ Rams Are Thrashed : Pro football: St. Louis reverts to old bad habits as 49ers and Grbac romp to a 44-10 victory.

The fans, who came to watch the Rams, were booing. Nothing new, of course, but this was a little different.

Referee Ed Hochuli turned on his microphone in the second quarter and announced: “Penalty on Los Angeles.”

In hindsight, 49er linebacker Gary Plummer said after San Francisco’s 44-10 demolition of St. Louis in front of 59,915, “That was appropriate.

“The fans didn’t appreciate it, but that was right on: that’s the way they played.”

It was ugly, Anaheim ugly. Quarterback Chris Miller had four of his passes intercepted and he was out of the game with 11:19 remaining in the third quarter.

San Francisco linebacker Ken Norton Jr. returned two interceptions for touchdowns on runs of 21 and 35 yards, then imitated his heavyweight boxing father Ken Norton, pounding the padded goalposts in celebration.

“I thought he dropped his left guard,” Plummer said after the 49ers recorded their 10th consecutive victory over the Rams. “You’ve heard the saying, silence is golden, well, it was great today. We heard all week long how the Rams’ 12th-man advantage was going to make the difference, but we shut them up early. I don’t know if it was that quiet in Anaheim even in the last year.”

Until the 49ers (5-2) showed up, the local citizens here thought the Rams could do no wrong. The Rams were 3-0 in Busch Stadium, an amazing 5-1 overall and one game up on the NFL champions in the NFC West Division.

But less than five minutes into the biggest game in this franchise’s history since the NFC Championship game against the 49ers following the 1989 season, it was all over.

The 49ers jumped to a 14-0 lead because of Miller’s wildness, and by the end of the third quarter, with San Francisco leading, 44-3, both teams were playing their substitutes as if it were an exhibition game.

“Reality is reality,” said Marquez Pope, a Ram last season and a starting cornerback for the 49ers this year. “This was all about putting things back in perspective.”

No argument, said Fred Stokes, St. Louis defensive end. “The Los Angeles Rams showed up today. We were standing there in the third quarter and the score was the way it is, and it was like, ‘Will somebody please stop the bleeding? Can’t we just say, we give, you win, now can we go home?’ ”

And it all came compliments of Elvis Grbac, Steve Young’s understudy, who was making his first NFL start because of a shoulder injury to last year’s Super Bowl MVP.

On the Rams’ fifth offensive play of the game, 49er safety Dedrick Dodge intercepted a Miller pass at the St. Louis 48-yard line and returned it to the 35. Grbac came on the field, scrambled right on his first offensive play and then threw a touchdown pass to John Taylor, who had beaten the coverage of Anthony Parker.

Punter Tommy Thompson, subbing for Grbac as Tony Zendejas’ holder, mishandled the snap to prevent the 49ers from adding the extra point. They would not be disappointed, however, the remainder of the day.

“That system is just so great,” said Shane Conlan, Ram linebacker. “They can keep bringing guys in, and just keep going.”

The 49ers, in fact, are 19-6-1 in games started by a backup quarterback since they began their championship run in 1981.

“We came here with a real purpose,” said Young, who tutored Grbac throughout the game. “On the road with a big crowd and what this game meant, I couldn’t imagine a better start for all of us.”

On the Rams’ second offensive possession, Norton intercepted a Miller pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. Grbac, who completed 11 of 14 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns, passed to wide receiver Jerry Rice for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead.

The Rams replied with a Steve McLaughlin 25-yard field goal, but Zendejas then kicked a 38-yard field goal against his former team for a 17-3 lead. Grbac’s four-yard touchdown pass to Rice with 4:08 left in the half sent the Rams into a dive.

Running the reverse to perfection, Rice went 20 yards in the third quarter for a 30-3 lead. On Miller’s second offensive play in the third quarter--his last of the game--he threw a pass directly to Norton, who went on to score from 35 yards.

“I hadn’t seen Norton catch too many balls,” said Miller, who completed 8 of 22 for 141 yards before being replaced by Mark Rypien. “I know now he can catch when you hit him with the ball right in the chest.

“It was just a terrible performance on my part. If the coach hadn’t pulled me, I might have had eight interceptions. I just didn’t give our team a chance to compete with the 49ers.”