Lingering Loss Unforgettable

Twenty years after the fact, the memory brings a scowl to Dick Vermeil’s face.

The St. Louis Rams’ coach wanted long-delayed payback from what he has characterized as the worst loss of his career, and his team delivered Sunday in a 38-10 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals at Cincinnati.

Nothing against the current Bengals, who are 0-4 after Sunday’s loss. But on Oct. 28, 1979, Vermeil’s Philadelphia Eagles were coming off their first playoff season in years and were 6-2 heading into a game against another lowly Bengal team that would win only four games.

The Eagles lost, 37-13, and to Vermeil it’s as if it happened recently.

“I’d never been beaten like that,” he said last week. “I’ve never forgotten it.”

Vermeil, whose Rams are 3-0 for only the second time in the ‘90s, took most of the blame.

“I was young and I was starting to feel smart,” said the former UCLA coach. “Fortunately, after that we got back on track and played well, but it cost us the division championship and maybe a trip to the Super Bowl.”

Ironically, that was the season in which the Rams made their only Super Bowl appearance.

Sunday’s loss won’t cost the struggling Bengals a division title--after four games, they’re already three games out of first place in the AFC Central--but it nudged Coach Bruce Coslet a step closer to the unemployment line.

Said the frustrated coach: “I think everybody’s damn job is in jeopardy.”

BLAKE BALKS AFTER BEING PULLED

Bengal quarterback Jeff Blake was miffed when he was replaced by Akili Smith early in the third quarter of Sunday’s game.

Blake flung a cup after getting a drink and gestured with his arm as he talked to an assistant coach and kicker Doug Pelfrey on the sideline.

“You can’t point the finger at one person,” said Blake, who completed 12 of 23 passes for 114 yards. “You can’t single out one guy. I feel like I got singled out. I feel like I got benched because of my performance.”

JUST SAY NO? NOT TO DITKA

Ricky Williams, who wasn’t supposed to play “unless there’s an unbelievable change” because of a hyperextended right elbow, rushed for a season-high 84 yards in 21 carries in the New Orleans Saints’ 14-10 loss to the Chicago Bears at Chicago. He wore a bulky brace on the elbow, but the injury didn’t seem to affect him.

“Honestly, I thought I wasn’t going to make it. I came in after warmups and [Coach Mike Ditka] said, ‘No?’ I wanted to say no, but you can’t say that to Coach, so I just said yeah,” Williams said. “On the sideline, I was so scared right before the first play. I didn’t think I’d be able to play.

“After the first hit I realized it wasn’t going to hurt that bad and it gave me some confidence.”

TO KNOW THEM IS TO RIP THEM

The Kansas City Chiefs complained about being called for 13 penalties--eight offensive holding--for 113 yards in a 21-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers at San Diego.

After the first quarter, “It seemed every time we had a big play . . . the officials wanted to be part of the game,” quarterback Elvis Grbac said.

“I know them [the officiating crew] pretty well, and once I saw the head guy [Ed Hochuli], I knew it was going to be a questionable day.”

Said tackle Glenn Parker: “Every time we had a gain of eight or more yards, a flag came down. I don’t know what they see. I don’t know what they know. I think they know the rules real well, but they don’t know a damn thing about football.”

SANDERS LEAVES PLUMMER HUNGRY

The Dallas Cowboys dominated the Arizona Cardinals, 35-7, at Irving, Texas, thanks in part to the return of Deion Sanders.

Cardinal quarterback Jake Plummer refused to test the All-Pro cornerback’s injured left big toe, ignoring his side of the field. Plummer never even looked that way on the few downs Sanders was on the sidelines.

“Did you think they would?” Sanders said. “I tried to tell you Jake might get a snack or an appetizer against me, but he won’t get a four-course meal.”

PHILLY WELCOMES OBNOXIOUS JERKS

A Philadelphia judge may soon call off having an “Eagles Court” in Veterans Stadium for unruly fans because of fewer arrests this year. The court allows unlawful fans to be arrested, tried and convicted in the stadium, and supporters say it has helped dampen rowdyism at games.

Municipal Court Judge Seamus McCaffery said judges have been sitting idle this season because police are kicking fans out of the stadium instead of collaring them.

McCaffery said he is committed to having judges available for the historically rowdy Eagle-Dallas Cowboy matchup Sunday. But he won’t make any promises for future games.

Police Commissioner John Timoney would like to see the court continue because it helps deter serious offenses. But he said officers should not overreact and arrest overly loud fans.

“Being an obnoxious jerk,” he said, “is not against the law.”

BETTER WITHOUT BARRY?

They have played three games, won two, yet the question persists: Are the Detroit Lions better without Barry Sanders?

The reason it won’t go away is that there still is no definitive answer. The best that can be said about the Lions, who had a bye Sunday, is that they don’t appear to be any worse without the NFL’s most exciting runner.

Through the first three games last season, Sanders had rushed 65 times for 324 yards and three touchdowns.

But numbers can be deceiving. Sanders gained 185 yards--and scored all three of the touchdowns--in one game against the Bengals.

And the Lions started 0-3 last season, on their way to a 5-11 finish.

This season, using a rotation of Ron Rivers, Sedrick Irvin and Greg Hill, the Lions have rushed 90 times for 367 yards and two touchdowns.

Best of all: They’re 2-1. It took them six games to win two a year ago.

“I think the attitude has been great,” free safety Mark Carrier said. “Everyone is working hard, and everyone dealt really well with the Barry situation.”

KIDS WARM PUNTER’S HEART

Green Bay Packer punter Josh Bidwell could amass more than $100,000 in medical bills as he recovers from testicular cancer, but teammates and even school children want to help him.

Bidwell, 23, so far has more than $50,000 in medical bills, but is ineligible for NFL medical benefits because he was never on the Packers’ active roster. Bidwell punted in exhibition games, but before the exhibition finale against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 2, the Packers announced he would be sidelined for the season because of the cancer.

The punter’s teammates have contributed about $50,000 to help out, and some of the Packers’ young fans want to help out too. A group of middle school students in Appleton, Wis., held a car wash Saturday to raise money for Bidwell’s treatment and the American Cancer Society.

Bidwell, recovering at home in Eugene, Ore., was stunned. And touched.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It warms my heart to think a school is doing this for me. I’m really in shock. I’m really floored by the love and the respect shown by these kids.”

LONGTIME ASSISTANT DEAD AT 58

Wayne Sevier, a longtime NFL special teams coach, died Saturday of a heart attack. He was 58.

Sevier was with the San Diego Chargers three times, including the final 15 games of last season. He was not retained when Coach Mike Riley took over this year.

The Chargers held a moment of silence for Sevier prior to Sunday’s game.

--Compiled by Jerry Crowe