Rams May Have a Blessing in Brock

Ken Denlinger of the Washington Post wrote, “Now, Dieter Brock might not be the worst quarterback ever to stumble into a major championship. But he’s erratic. Also short. And his sidearm motion makes him play shorter than he actually is.”

So what to do?

Denlinger quoted former Coach George Allen: “ ‘I would run right at the Bears. I would pound ‘em and pound ‘em and pound ‘em. That’s how you play pass rushers.’

“Allen then offered what seemed a strange opinion: ‘I think the Rams would have less of a chance to win if they had a good quarterback.’

“How’s that?

“ ‘He’s absolutely right,’ said an NFC assistant who traded honesty for anonymity. ‘If the Rams had a better quarterback, they might be tempted to pass more. That would be playing right into the Bears’ hand.’ ”

Note: As coach of the Rams and Washington Redskins, Allen took teams to playoff games on the road six times. His record was 0-6.

Trivia Time: Of the 15 players who played for the NBA champion Lakers in 1979-80, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper remain. How many of the other 12 can you name? (Answer below.)

Steve McMichael of the Bears was formerly with the New England Patriots, where he apparently didn’t get along with the Sullivan family.

When he heard that the Raiders put the bop on Patriot General Manager Patrick Sullivan, he told Christine Brennan of the Washington Post: “I have to applaud those guys for that. I didn’t like those guys that much when I was there, either. I’m gonna buy Matt Millen and Howie Long a drink the next time I see them.”

Buddy Ryan, defensive coordinator of the Bears, on defensive end Richard Dent: “He reminds me of Gerry Philbin when I was with the Jets. Only he’s a bigger version. He’s better than Marc Gastineau because he can play the run. Gastineau and (Howie) Long, neither one is in this kid’s class. They don’t have the quickness that he has.”

From Leigh Montville of the Boston Globe, recalling some of the zanier moments in the history of the Patriots: “There was King Corcoran, a fabled raconteur and minor league quarterback, who came to camp driving a limousine that once belonged to Robert McNamara. There was linebacker Steve Kiner, who arrived driving a bus trailed by the police after skipping all the tolls on the Connecticut Turnpike. There was Bob Gladieux, a running back cut from the team, who was sitting in the stands having a cocktail before the game when he heard himself paged--and wound up in uniform to return the opening kickoff. And we haven’t even mentioned the plan to change the team’s name from the Boston to the Bay State Patriots, which was scotched when someone realized it wouldn’t take the headline writers long to call the team, the BS Patriots.”

Don Shula, recalling the big backs the Miami Dolphins have used in goal-line situations, said: “Pete Johnson had a cup of coffee with us.” After a pause, Shula added, “And dessert.”

Johnson weighed 280.

Trivia Answer: Jamaal Wilkes, Norm Nixon, Mark Landsberger, Jim Chones, Spencer Haywood, Ron Boone, Kenny Carr, Don Ford, Brad Holland, Marty Byrnes, Oliver Mack, Butch Lee.

Quotebook

Dan Hampton of the Chicago Bears, charging that the Rams get away with holding: “If it was a capital offense, they’d all be dead.”