Why Not Hand It to Elway? Rams Do

DENVER —  Of this game and this town, memories and extremities shall remain frozen in time, a living testament to Mike Lansford’s foot, Buford McGee’s hands, Ron Brown’s chest and a secondary’s heels.

After Sunday’s 35-24 loss to the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium, the Rams have slipped from Desperation Bowl to In-The-Hole Bowl, a depression from which escape may be impossible.

A kick here, a catch there--a big play anywhere--and a Sunday or season might have been different. But that’s not the way of this month’s Rams, a team desperately seeking some sticky fingers and a change in the weather.

“It’s a downpour and we have no umbrella,” said end Gary Jeter, summing up his team’s four-game losing streak. “And there’s no sun in sight.”

There was a shining sun in Denver, yes, but it was all fool’s gold to the Rams, who were deceived often by swirling winds, a biting chill and themselves.

“This loss cut us to the bone in terms of our pride,” Coach John Robinson said. “We’ve got to fight to keep our team together.”

Funny what a 7-6 record means in certain parts of the country. With the loss, the Rams fell to third place in the NFC West and have all but choked themselves out of the playoff picture. In the other locker room, the 7-6 Broncos were exalting their effort and enjoying a first-place--all alone for the moment--stay in the AFC West.

The Rams were numbed by the loss, in every sense of the word. They were rolling along late in the second quarter, a Buford McGee catch away from taking a 17-7 lead into halftime.

It was second and 6 at the Broncos’ 12-yard line when quarterback Jim Everett flipped a swing pass to McGee, all alone in the right flat. If McGee makes the catch, it’s a touchdown, unless Coach Dan Reeves comes off the bench to make the tackle.

But McGee dropped it, begging for an avalanche to begin. It did. Lansford’s 28-yard field goal caromed off the right upright almost as hard as Lansford kicked it.

It was just the opening John Elway was looking for. In a superman-type drive after the miss, Elway took the Broncos 80 yards in 11 plays, highlighted by a 21-yard scramble and a headfirst dive to the Rams’ 1.

Elway, his halo having slipped some in Denver this season, rammed over from the 1 on the next play and spiked the ball with a message intended for Elway-bashers everywhere.

To get Elway playing as if possessed was not in the Rams’ best interests. He would spike the Rams with 3 touchdown passes and 272 yards when it was all over. The Rams should have spiked his punch.

It was downhill fast after Denver went ahead, 14-10, on that Elway touchdown with 41 seconds left in the half.

If the Rams weren’t convinced then, they were seconds later when a 34-yard Lansford attempt hit the left upright with 5 seconds left.

Exactly what Lansford didn’t want--a matching set.

“It’s just the way it’s been for us the last 4 weeks,” he said. “If any plays would indicate our lack of success, those kicks would do it.”

But there would be so much more.

On Elway’s first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, he connected with Mark Jackson on a 58-yard scoring pass, Jackson beating Pro Bowl cornerback Jerry Gray on the play, no less.

Down 21-10, the Rams were still in it for a good 2 or 3 minutes, or the time it took Rich Karlis to kick off to returner Ron Brown, who fumbled it back to the Broncos at the Rams’ 14.

Afterward, Brown said that yes, he was bothered both by the wind and the cold.

“That’s part of the game,” he said of his team’s various blunders. “It doesn’t take but one or two to change it.”

For Elway, it was like shooting darts. On the first play after Brown’s muff, he fired 14 yards to Vance Johnson for a touchdown. Again, Elway picked on corner Gray. And again, down 28-10, the Rams were in big trouble.

As in weeks past, it was catch-up time for the Rams, who know the part oh so well. Once again, a running game that was going well--Greg Bell had 88 yards in the first half--was shelved in a desperation attempt to get back in a game.

In fact, the only memorable run of the second half was another play-turned-calamity. Charles White, who had the big fumble-turned-touchdown in last week’s loss against San Diego, coughed it up again with 7:34 left in the third quarter, leading to Denver’s final touchdown, a 7-yard option pass from tailback Tony Dorsett to Sammy Winder.

Were the Rams surprised? This is Dorsett’s 12th season in the league and his second completed pass.

White’s sudden fumbling problem raised a few eyebrows and some questions. Is Robinson’s tailback rotation messing up both player’s timing? And why, with Bell running so well this week and last, was a cold White in the game at all?

White carried only 4 times for 13 yards Sunday. Bell had 112 yards in 22 carries.

“It certainly doesn’t look like a good idea,” Robinson said, noting the hindsight in which the question was asked.

White, when asked, admitted it was more difficult being thrown into the middle of a drive.

“I think it’s just a lack of concentration on my part,” he said. “It’s something to think about.”

The Rams may have all of January.

Robinson said White was in the game Sunday because the high altitude was tiring Bell, who scored on a 1-yard run late in the game to cut the lead to 35-24.

Who’s playing tailback--and why--is just a teardrop in a sea of Ram concerns right now. At times in every game, Robinson pointed out, his team looks unbeatable.

You want Ram milestones? Quarterback Jim Everett, who threw for 365 yards and 2 touchdowns Sunday, passed the 3,000-yard mark for the season, only the second Ram in history to do so (Vince Ferragamo did it twice).

Receiver Henry Ellard, with 167 receiving yards Sunday and touchdown catches of 23 and 54 yards, became the first 1,000-yard Ram receiver since Tommy McDonald in 1965.

Bell is 40 yards shy of a 1,000-yard rushing season.

The defense leads the league in quarterback sacks.

So what exactly is wrong with this team?

“It’s mystifying to me,” Robinson said. “We just cannot play a total football game at this point. We play parts of it OK. . . . We got inside the 20 and didn’t put points on the board. We’re a very charitable football team. I guess we just want to make everyone else happy.”

The hands of time--frozen ones on Sunday--presently have the Rams gripped by the neck. On deck next Monday night are the Chicago Bears. The Rams wonder if they can ever turn a bunch of fancy statistics into a victory.

Meanwhile, defensive end Doug Reed wonders: Who pulled the plug on his season?

“I don’t want to go down the drain this quickly,” he said.

Ram Notes

Quarterback Jim Everett said afterward he couldn’t have imagined this team losing four straight. “I don’t have the answers,” he said, “but I do have a lot of questions--just like everyone else. It’s time to do some soul-searching. I’m at a loss for words. We just have to hang in there. It’s been a terrible month.” Henry Ellard’s 11 catches were the most he has had as a pro. . . . The Rams finished with 352 yards in total offense and lost by 11 points. . . . Kevin Greene got his 12th sack of the season when he dropped John Elway for a 9-yard loss late in the game. . . . Linebacker Jim Collins made his first appearance of the season, starting for Mark Jerue, who was inactive because of a knee injury.