PRO FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Another holiday season, another Ram team with plenty of time to spend with the family.

Yes, they started the season 4-0 and yes, Coach Rich Brooks at one point was being compared to Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs and Colin Powell.

But proving you can take the Rams out of Los Angeles but you can’t take the Rams out of the Rams, they have since gone 3-8, including Sunday’s 35-23 home loss to the Washington Redskins.

The moment most likely to remind folks of the glory days in Anaheim?

After the Rams had awoken long enough to cut a 28-10 deficit to 28-23 in the fourth quarter, Todd Kinchen caught a pass at about his 10-yard line, was hit and fumbled, the ball bouncing perfectly on that pretty fake grass at the TWA Dome to defensive end Tony Woods, who walked into the end zone.

MIAMI’S HIGH EXPECTATIONS MERE EXPECTORATIONS NOW

You have to hand it to Bryan Cox, a bib that is.

He couldn’t hold the tackle on Thurman Thomas long enough to keep him from getting the first down in the fourth quarter that enabled Buffalo to run out the clock on its 23-20 victory at home.

So he got into a fight with Buffalo fullback Carwell Gardner and was ejected. As he walked off the field, he spit, presumably at fans, every few steps.

The fans then got into the spirit, showering him with beer as he passed.

Said the secretion-savvy Cox afterward: “I’ve got nothing to say.”

PANTHERS WON’T MIND CHANGE OF SCENERY

Carolina played its final home game in Clemson, S.C., on Sunday. Its 72,000-seat Carolinas Stadium, otherwise known as the home that personal seat licenses built, will be ready in Charlotte, N.C., next season.

To a man, the players said they are happy to be rid of the 2 1/2-hour bus ride from Charlotte to the college campus for home games.

They also will have improved attendance, those mad-cap Charlotte residents having tripped over themselves to buy PSLs, assuring that everyone in the country will one day have to pay a fee for the right to buy a ticket.

All they have at Clemson is a stadium called Death Valley because the home team wins more than 70% of the time; Howard’s rock, which every Tiger player rubs on his way to the field for inspiration, and a sleepy little town with a bright orange tiger paw in almost every window.

Who would want to take a 2 1/2-hour bus ride to play there?

NEXT YEAR, EVERYONE GETS A PAIR OF SHADES

The Jacksonville Jaguars, who can only hope their first season is confused in years to come with that of the successful expansion team, the Carolina Panthers, spent all week blaming their woes on the rigid training camp run this summer by Coach Tom Coughlin in Stevens Point, Wis.

You remember, no sun glasses for assistant coaches, no Pez dispensers for players. And this quote from Coughlin: “I like to put people in uncomfortable situations, see who can do the job, see who the leaders are.”

Well, the Jaguars have lost seven in a row and are 3-12 after Sunday’s 44-0 loss to the Detroit Lions. The answer to both questions might be: no one.

At least third-string quarterback Rob Johnson got to play in his first NFL game late in the third quarter. The fourth-round pick from USC was three for seven for 24 yards and one interception in place of ineffective Steve Beuerlein.

AT LEAST THEY CAN’T MOVE AWAY THE MEMORIES

It doesn’t seem that long ago since Luv Ya Blue, since Bum Phillips stood in a packed Astrodome hours after an AFC championship game loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh, promising a welcome-back crowd that the Houston Oilers would knock down the door keeping them from the Super Bowl.

On Sunday, the Oilers played what was probably their final game in Houston after 36 years, beating the New York Jets, 23-6.

Oiler owner Bud Adams, the Art Modell of the Southwest, has a non-binding agreement with Nashville officials to move his club to that city for the start of the 1998 season. Until then, the Oilers are expected to play in Memphis.

As the gun fired to end the game, several players ran to the fans to shake hands.

“I just wanted to show my appreciation,” running back Gary Brown said. “It’s something I thought I owed them.”

Later, some fans wandered to the field and posed for photographs on the team helmet logo at the 50-yard line.

“It’s sad,” Mike Flores, wearing an Oiler shirt and cap, said from his end-zone seat. “You can watch the games on television, but there’s nothing like watching it here. There’s nothing wrong with the Dome. There’s not a bad seat in the place.”

Not according to Adams, who (surprise!) craves massive revenue from luxury boxes, of which NFL owners receive 100%.

AL DAVIS VOODOO DOLL A BIG SELLER THIS SEASON

The stench in El Segundo emanates from the Raider compound, where Al Davis’ troops are in a free fall the likes of which have not been seen in these parts since, well, the Angels’ collapse in September.

If they lose to the Denver Broncos on Sunday--and how could they with that home-field advantage Oakland gives them?--the Raiders probably won’t make the playoffs after an 8-2 start.

“I don’t know what the problem is,” the Raiders’ Harvey Williams said. “Maybe somebody hexed us five weeks ago.”

Someone from the Coliseum Commission, no doubt.

INJURY REPORT

Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino dislocated the fourth finger on his left hand on the second-to-last play of the first half against the Bills. He sat out one play and returned. . . . Bengal receiver Carl Pickens sprained his left shoulder and suffered a mild concussion when he was tackled after a short reception in the second half against the Browns. He is questionable for the Bengals’ finale against Minnesota. . . . Gus Frerotte replaced Heath Shuler at quarterback for the Redskins at the start of the second half against the Rams after Shuler injured a finger on his throwing hand when he was sacked by Cedric Figaro. X-rays showed no break. . . . Buccaneer linebacker Demetrius DuBose strained his shoulder in the third quarter against the Bears and didn’t return. Bear defensive end John Thierry sprained his right knee in the second half and didn’t return. . . . Chief defensive tackle Neil Smith bruised a shoulder late in the first half and did not return against Denver. Linebacker George Jamison injured an elbow in the first half and did not return. Neurological tests were negative on Bronco cornerback Lionel Washington, who was carried from the field on a stretcher following a collision with teammate Steve Atwater in the first half. . . . Falcon guard Mike Zandofsky sprained his right knee in the second half against Carolina and did not return. Cornerback D.J. Johnson left because of dizziness and also did not return.

MILESTONES

Detroit’s Herman Moore broke the NFL record for reception yardage in a season. He had five catches for 59 yards and has 1,581 yards, breaking the record of 1,570 by Jerry Rice in 1986. Lance Alworth and Charley Hennigan each had more receiving yardage in the mid-1960s in the old American Football League, before the leagues merged. Moore’s teammate, Rodney Holman, became the all-time leader for games played by a tight end with 211, passing Jackie Smith. . . . Dallas running back Emmitt Smith tied John Riggins’ 12-year-old NFL record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 24, but he missed a chance to break Jim Brown’s record of being the fastest player to 100 touchdowns. Smith has 99 in 92 games, so he can only tie Brown’s mark of 100 in 93. . . . The Eagles’ Gary Anderson moved into a tie for sixth on the NFL’s all-time scoring list with Jim Turner at 1,439 points. . . . Carolina’s Mark Carrier broke the expansion mark for season receiving yards. He has 901, surpassing the 859 by Jerry Reichow of the 1961 Minnesota Vikings.

QUOTEWORTHY

Brown linebacker Carl Banks, after what was probably his team’s last game in Cleveland: “These fans, you could feel it from their souls. You could really feel the energies coming out of the stands. It wasn’t your regular ‘Let’s-go-team’ energies. This was some deep-down stuff.”

Oiler defensive back Cris Dishman, after what was probably his team’s last game in Houston: “This is real emotional for all of us. It’s hard to believe we’re never coming back here. It’s a sad moment for the city. It’s a sad moment for the Houston organization.”

--Compiled by Bob Cuomo and Emilio Garcia-Ruiz