Ortmayer on Trial for League’s Two Worst Trades
The Rams have no defense, as evidenced by their scores and record, but something should be said on behalf of Steve Ortmayer, the embattled general manager, who has been accused of making the two worst trades in NFL history.
He’s guilty.
Guilty, at least, of making the worst trade in NFL history and dealing Charger Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Jim Lachey to the Raiders in 1987 for tackle John Clay, who failed his preliminary physical examination and then started one game in San Diego before retiring.
It seems Ortmayer, a former Raider honcho, took Al Davis’ recommendation of Clay on good faith, and Charger fans, who can’t stand the Raiders, never forgave him for being duped. That trade ultimately led to Ortmayer’s dismissal as general manager of the Chargers, and now he’s rumored to be on the way out in St. Louis with Coach Rich Brooks.
Ortmayer has been blamed for trading defensive tackle Sean Gilbert to Washington, but that deal was engineered by team President John Shaw because Gilbert becomes a free agent at season’s end, and he would undoubtedly not have re-signed with the Rams.
Ortmayer’s crime in St. Louis: trading running back Jerome Bettis to Pittsburgh, making him the engineer of two of the NFL’s worst trades.
“The two worst trades in NFL history?” said someone in the Ram organization. “What about Lou Cordileone for Y.A. Tittle? You could say maybe two of the three worst trades in NFL history.”
That’s better! But then did Ortmayer really goof in trading Bettis? Did he have any other choice?
Bettis was a lug the last half of the 1994 season for the Rams, and a tubby lug in 1995 after missing training camp in a ridiculous attempt to win a new contract after the Rams went 4-12 and he gained 1,025 yards, while averaging only 3.2 yards a carry. As a rookie, he was unstoppable. But beginning his sophomore year, he looked like a target who had taken too many hits.
In 1995, Bettis gained 637 yards and appeared to be running in sand. The St. Louis media suggested the team needed to direct its attention to finding a new running back, and when Lawrence Phillips became available, the Rams took him.
OK, so Ortmayer is guilty of making the worst draft selection in the history of the NFL.
“We’ve made far worse draft selections,” said someone in the Ram organization.
Bettis was dealt to Pittsburgh, and the Rams received two draft picks. One, Ernie Conwell, is their starting tight end. The other, a fourth-rounder, comes in next year’s draft.
“We probably have some blame in Jerome not playing to his potential over the last year and a half here, and he probably deserves some blame,” Ortmayer said. “The stark reality of it is Jerome did not perform like he did his first year.
“When we traded him, I announced he was going to a team that suited him to a ‘T’ and there was a high likelihood of seeing him return to form. I’m happy for Jerome, although it certainly doesn’t make us look very good.”
The Rams, of course, look terrible. Bettis has eight 100-yard games this season, 1,117 yards and Monday night he goes national again against Miami with a reminder of what the Rams gave away.
This week Bettis, who is one of the nicest and most approachable players in the NFL, was also afforded the forum via teleconference call to tell the national print media that he had no chance for success in St. Louis.
“Look at the number of carries; if you don’t get the football, you don’t get the opportunity to get good stats,” he said. “The offense when I was with the Rams just couldn’t get anything going. The offensive scheme just wasn’t good in terms of running the ball.
“I knew it wasn’t me; I just didn’t get the opportunity. Coming to Pittsburgh pretty much rejuvenated my career. A lot of people assumed I was a problem, I was washed up and took too many hits my first year. But I was only 24 years old, and that was nowhere near the case.”
Bettis’ revisionist history, while kind to himself, does not tell the whole story. He wasn’t the same back with the Rams, and while the Rams’ offensive line did him no favors, he lacked the intensity he demonstrated before becoming an overnight star. Do you dismiss Ortmayer for trading a player who showed no inclination to be productive?
“Anybody who saw me in practice wouldn’t say anything like that,” Bettis said when challenged with the suggestion that he might have quit in the end in St. Louis. “It’s like night and day between St. Louis and Pittsburgh. The holes I’m seeing here, anybody could run through these holes.”
Once Bettis passes the 1,200-yard mark, the final year of his contract becomes void, and Bettis becomes free to go anywhere next year--well, anywhere but St. Louis.
“They may make a coaching change,” Bettis said in ruling out no location. “Things have a funny way of happening, but as of right now, no, not St. Louis.”
And what if he leaves Pittsburgh for more money elsewhere after one season? Does Ortmayer’s trade still qualify for one of the two worst trades in modern history?
No, of course not. The two worst trades in the NFL beyond Y.A. Tittle would be Ortmayer’s trade for Clay and the deal he made earlier this season sending Ram tight end Troy Drayton to Miami for some Clay-like tackle named Billy Milner.
DO OR DIE
The Chargers, who are really the NFL’s best stand-up comedians, have pronounced this week’s game against Kansas City--as opposed to the other 15 games on their schedule--a must win.
Too bad someone didn’t suggest that last week before the Tampa Bay game. Hey, maybe Tampa Bay had it circled on its schedule as a “must win.”
Despite losing to the lowly Buccaneers, dispatches out of San Diego proclaimed: “Chargers not dead yet.”
Wide receiver Tony Martin, obviously giving the situation great thought, said, “It’s never over till it’s over.”
You lose Alfred Pupunu, of course, and it’s over.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can lose Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, Neil O’Donnell, Bam Morris and Leon Searcy and they can go 8-3. But just try and play without Pupunu.
“How can you count us out?” cornerback Terrance Shaw said in ignoring the Pupunu facts and before delivering the punch line. “We could easily end up 11-5.”
These guys are such kidders: The remaining opponents on the Charger schedule have a combined record of 37-18.
First up: Kansas City (8-3), which has beaten the Chargers in 10 of the last 13 meetings.
“I think it’s win or else,” Coach Bobby Ross said.
Translation: Win, or else I don’t get mentioned anymore in those Georgia-Atlanta coaching rumors.
OOPS
--Washington cornerback Tom Carter has been penalized seven times this season for pass interference--the Chicago Bears, as a team, have been penalized five times for pass interference.
--The Bears have limited their opponents in the last four games to an average of 13.5 points. Splendid, except for one detail: The Bear offense has averaged 12.5 points in that time. The Bears split the games.
--A day after the Chargers’ loss to Tampa Bay, season-ticket holders received letters asking for money for playoff tickets. The North County Times quoted a Charger season-ticket holder as saying, “I couldn’t believe the timing. I didn’t even read it. I just glanced at it and put it back in the envelope.”
--Tyrone Williams fired two shots into an occupied car last January. No one was hurt.
A Nebraska judge sentenced Williams, now a cornerback for the Packers, to six months in jail beginning Dec. 3--five days before Green Bay plays Denver. Come on, priorities.
“He’s headed in the right direction, in my opinion,” Green Bay Coach Mike Holmgren said. “He’s been very involved in the Boys Club here. He’s really trying. You’ve got to give these guys a chance, I think.”
Especially if they can cover a wide receiver and help stop John Elway.
GET A LIFE
--Philadelphia Coach Ray Rhodes made his wife and kids wait in his office Sunday before going to dinner so he could watch films of his team’s loss to the Redskins. After a couple of hours, he informed his family he wasn’t hungry, and after going home, he lay awake for 35 minutes and then drove back to Veterans Stadium to watch more film.
Rhodes then informed his team this week that they would be practicing in pads. “We’re going to go back to the trenches and put pads back on and keep them on for a while until we get the fight back in this football team.”
--Paranoia alert: The Packers announced this week they are closing practices to the media for the remainder of the season. Apparently they don’t want anyone to know that their backup receivers can’t catch the ball.
--Seven of the 15 games played last week in the NFL were blacked out because teams were unable to sell out. Apparently, some people do have a life.
EXTRA POINTS
--The Rams will retire the No. 78 jersey of offensive tackle Jackie Slater on Sunday. The only other jersey retired by the Rams was the No. 74 of Merlin Olsen. Unofficially, the team refuses to pass out the jersey numbers worn by Bob Waterfield (7), Elroy Hirsch (40) and Jack Youngblood (85).
--Cleveland’s Jim Brown, by most standards the best running back to ever play, averaged 5.22 yards a carry in his career. The NFL’s all-time No. 2 player on that list at 4.91 yards a carry--Detroit’s Barry Sanders.
--The Packers will continue to make public appearances. Quarterback Brett Favre gets $22,500 for one-hour autograph sessions. Running back Edgar Bennett comes cheaper at $3,700 an hour.
--The Cardinals have the chance to stand .500 with a victory Sunday, which would be only the third time in 19 years they have been in that position after 12 games.
--Deion Sanders, who averaged 45 offensive plays in the first 10 games, played 15 against Green Bay because of the return of wide receiver Kevin Williams.
--Indianapolis quarterback Jim Harbaugh is 46-27 when he throws fewer than 30 passes in a game, and 6-18 when he throws more than 30 passes, including 0-9 when tossing 40.
IN QUOTATIONS
The Broncos thrashed the Patriots, are 10-1 and Coach Mike Shanahan said, “I’m still waiting for them to play the perfect game. I still think we have it in us.”
Last week Houston linebacker Micheal Barrow called Miami quarterback Dan Marino god-like. But after last week’s game, he said, “I can’t say he’s a god. He’s a great player, but I lost a little respect for him because of the way he cussed out the officials. I watched him growing up, and I had put him on such a pedestal. It hurt me a little to see him do that. It worked in his favor, though. He’s such a superstar, it influenced them. I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for the way he worked the refs.”
