It’s Goodby, in Game for Wages : Rams: Robinson’s last game has little riding on it, except that the opposing coach, Knox, might end up in Anaheim.
SEATTLE — What better way to say goodby and good luck to an old and departing comrade than by halting a franchise-record losing streak?
What better way to say hello to the man who might be your next coach than by beating his team on national television?
In about as anticlimactic a finale as football can dream up, the Rams play the Seattle Seahawks tonight, trying to send John Robinson onto his post-Rams life with a decent effort and--if they dare to dream--maybe even a triumph.
A victory would be the team’s first since mid-October and would enable Robinson to bow out of his nine-year Ram tenure with a 4-12 final season and without the excess baggage of a team-record 10-game losing streak.
And on the other sideline tonight will stand Seattle’s Coach Chuck Knox, who is likely to join the resignation parade next week and who just happens to be one of the top candidates to replace Robinson.
Knox, 59, coached the Rams to five consecutive playoff berths in the 1970s, is known as a favorite of Ram owner Georgia Frontiere, and has a two-week January window in his contract that enables Seattle (6-9) to fire him or force him to resign without costing them any additional money. Seattle management is expected to exercise that option.
Robinson exercised his option to resign with a bit of dignity--and a $550,000 settlement--Wednesday, and his players say tonight is a chance to pay their respects.
“I’ve never been one to look at grabbing for a lot of other reasons to win football games other than just the sheer joy involved in just winning for the sake of being good,†right tackle Jackie Slater said.
“But I would like to think that our football team is going to mount a good effort and is going to put together a football game that we will be proud of.
“We obviously would like to win for team unity, for team dignity to start with. But it’s an extra incentive to have an opportunity to win one for Coach Robinson on his way out.â€
Quarterback Jim Everett, who criticized Ram management for failing to give Robinson a proper send-off, sees tonight as a nationally televised opportunity to both end and begin a new era properly.
“I would love to see us get a victory at the end of the season, send him off with a victory, put us in the off-season with a win and close this chapter,†Everett said. “And hopefully we’ll be able to start a new chapter over in a very positive light.â€
With those feelings in the air, at least one Ram veteran said there isn’t a great deal of anxiety among the players because of the uncertainty about the next coach. Anxiety, said center Tom Newberry, is winning three of 15 games.
“Nowhere to go but up from our record this year,†Newberry said. “We just look forward to trying to finish with a win, try to improve in the off-season, come back better next year.â€
Newberry also suggested that Robinson’s announcement could improve the quality of their play.
Free to stop thinking about how they can save Robinson’s job, the Rams say they may just rid themselves of two months of disaster.
“At least it’s out of the way now and everybody knows about it,†Newberry said. “It probably frees everybody up a little bit just to play the game and the hell with it.
“Let’s just go out and try to get a win. Hey, there’s no work to do on Monday or Tuesday, so let’s give it everything we’ve got, don’t save anything for this last game.â€
Robinson himself said that he made the announcement before the game to end the building tension, and if Friday’s relaxed practice was indicative, he was successful.
He said he didn’t expect his last game to be particularly emotional.
“I expect it to be a fun night,†Robinson said. “I expect to enjoy the game, like you enjoy any competition. I expect that.â€
How about for the players?
“Just have fun, compete, play,†Robinson said. “See if we can get through a game without a turnover, and go from there.â€
Although it is known where Robinson will go afterward--straight home for some quality relaxation--where the Rams will go is anybody’s guess.
Ram Notes
Seattle Coach Chuck Knox has made the playoffs 11 times in his 19-year NFL career, including five times in five years with the Rams in the 1970s, and he hasn’t been involved in many meaningless end-of-the-season games. “You come down to a game like this . . . there’s only been a couple times in my years as a head coach where we haven’t challenged for a playoff spot, as far as that last game is concerned,†Knox said.
