Season Preview: Rams ’92 : Back on Line : After Shuffling Positions Last Season, Staff Hopes Players Will Find Their Niches
Ram offensive linemen used to be able to plan an annual trip to Hawaii without worrying about air fare or accommodations. The NFL pays the way for Pro Bowlers and Ram piefaces --as six-time All-Pro guard Dennis Harrah used to call his fellow linemen--made a habit of traveling together to the postseason luau for the league’s best players.
Eight times during the ‘80s, two or more Ram offensive linemen were named to play in the Pro Bowl. Six times, three or more were selected. In 1985, Harrah, Kent Hill, Jackie Slater and Doug Smith made it a foursome.
The good old days officially ended last year, however. For the first time since 1966, no Ram offensive lineman made the Pro Bowl team.
The Rams were 3-13 in 1991, a won-loss record that comes as no surprise when you consider their pathetic running game managed to net more than 100 yards rushing only three times all year. In six games, they were held to less than 65.
“I think we had a good line last year, but things just didn’t correlate,” tackle Gerald Perry said. “We just weren’t on the same page, sometimes it seemed like we weren’t even playing in the same game.”
Tom Newberry, a two-time Pro Bowler at guard who was temporarily converted to center last season, thinks he knows what the problem was. The Ram linemen were playing the wrong game.
“Nobody was ever in the same position,” he said. “We were playing . . . musical chairs.”
And when the music stopped, the guys up front in the horned helmets were too dizzy to block the right people.
No one made 16 starts at the same position. Here’s how they lined up in ‘91:
* Left tackle: Perry started nine games; Rob Jenkins seven.
* Left guard: Bern Brostek started eight; Newberry eight.
* Center: Newberry started eight; Smith eight.
* Right guard: Duval Love started 11; Joe Milinichik five.
* Right tackle: Slater started 13; Love two, and Jenkins one.
For the time being, Ram offensive linemen know where to stand when the team lines up for a walk-through practice. And now that Chuck Knox is in charge, they also know where they stand.
The Knox Regime quickly ended the Great Experiment of 1991, putting Newberry back at guard and Brostek, the Rams’ first-round pick in 1990 and an All-American center at Washington, back at center.
Asked why, Knox responded with a typically understated Knox-like answer. But it speaks volumes.
“We just think Newberry is a guard and Brostek is a center,” he said.
Newberry and Brostek say they are happy to be back at positions where they achieved notoriety and success, but neither is willing to take any shots at former Coach John Robinson or former offensive line coach Hudson Houck.
“Let’s just say we have a lot of people in places where they’re feeling pretty comfortable,” Slater said. “Bern’s been playing center all his career and now he’s back. Tom’s been a guard all his career and now he’s back there.
“So we’ve got people playing in positions where they’re used to seeing the types of things that will be coming at them during a game, and that’s a big advantage right there.”
Jim Everett, for one, hopes so. The fact that the Rams ended up 27th in the league in rushing had plenty to do with Everett’s four-year low in passing numbers: 3,438 passing yards and 11 touchdowns.
Everett also had a career high in interceptions (20) and was forced to endure a career-high 30 sacks.
“Barring injury, hopefully it will be a more stable situation this year,” Everett said. “Bern is now our center and that’s the way it’s going to be. I’ve had a full four or five weeks to work with him at that position. And, of course, we’ve got the All-Pro, Tom Newberry, back at guard.
“I feel really good about the six guys we’ve got up there. They’re doing a fine job.”
A quick scouting report on the Rams’ Big Six:
Jackie Slater--At 38, the 16-year veteran still moves fluidly and displays textbook techniques. He frustrates pass rushers with his long arms and though his run blocking has deteriorated, he still knows how to get the right angle.
Tom Newberry--He’s hobbled somewhat by sore knees, but he’s still very strong and explosive. At 6-foot-2, he uses his lack of height as an advantage, getting under defenders and maintaining a solid foundation while blocking.
Bern Brostek--At 300 pounds, Brostek is a steamroller of a run blocker and a well-balanced pass protector. The previous Ram staff thought he wasn’t ready to make offensive line calls, but new line coach Jim Erkenbeck says it’s an overrated talent, anyway.
Joe Milinichik--The 29-year-old, who played only five games last year because of a shoulder injury, will take over at right guard for Duval Love, who went to Pittsburgh via Plan B. Milinichik, 6-5 and 290 pounds, is a very effective straight-ahead blocker.
Gerald Perry--A knee that swells and fills with fluid after almost every practice or game has kept Perry from realizing his potential. An awesome combination of size and athleticism, the 6-6, 305-pounder says he’s looking for a big year.
Rob Jenkins--The former UCLA player could see plenty of action again this year, depending on how Perry’s knees hold up. He has quick feet and good body control, and no one has ever doubted his competitive spirit.
It may be a case of old faces in old positions, but at least the Ram offensive linemen seem to feel it’s a new day. Knox and Erkenbeck have given them a new practice regimen, some new blocking schemes to master, and, maybe more important, a new attitude.
“It’s like we’ve got a new life,” Perry said. “We’re doing some techniques different, but everyone seems to be adapting and everyone seems really up-tempo. You can see that the guys are enjoying it more.
“The way Coach Knox does it, practice is more like a game-oriented type of practice. It’s situation, situation, situation. There’s just a little more excitement because we’re looking forward.”
Slater, who says he is living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks, has embraced the challenge of becoming a student again.
“It’s been exciting and sometimes very uncomfortable, dealing with new coaches and new personnel and a new system,” he said. “But there’s been a real good attitude about getting the job done and getting the offense down.
“I think some of the new techniques that Coach Erkenbeck has brought in can really make a difference in our running game. Unfortunately, they’re things we haven’t done before, so it’s going to take time.
“It’s a matter of learning and adjusting, and it’s not easy. But it’s fresh and we want to work hard to learn it. It’s all part of the challenge of being productive again.”
The Rams’ offensive line doesn’t figure to make any en masse trips to the Islands next winter, but in the Knox tradition, they seem to be taking tiny steps in the right direction.
Rams’ Depth Chart
Pos. First Second OFFENSE WR Willie Anderson Jeff Chadwick LT Gerald Perry Robert Jenkins LG Tom Newberry Jeff Pahukoa C Bern Brostek Blair Bush RG Joe Milinichik Jeff Pahukoa RT Jackie Slater Darryl Ashmore TE Pat Carter Damone Johnson WR Henry Ellard Aaron Cox QB Jim Everett Mike Pagel RB Cleveland Gary David Lang SB Robert Delpino Tim Lester K Tony Zendejas DEFENSE LE Robert Young Mike Piel LT Alvin Wright Marc Boutte RT Sean Gilbert David Rocker RE Bill Hawkins Gerald Robinson LLB Kevin Greene Fred Strickland MLB Larry Kelm Fred Strickland RLB Paul Butcher Roman Phifer LCB Todd Lyght Robert Bailey RCB Darryl Henley Steve Israel SS Anthony Newman Michael Stewart FS Pat Terrell Chris Crooms P Don Bracken
NFL Elder Statesmen
Ranked by age as of September 6 and by number of games played.
OPENING DAY AGE
Player, Team Yrs. Mos. Days Steve DeBerg, Tampa Bay 38 7 18 Jackie Slater, Rams 38 3 10 Phil Simms, NY Giants 36 10 3 Mike Kenn, Atlanta 36 6 28 Clay Matthews, Cleveland 36 5 22 Jim Breech, Cincinnati 36 4 26 Don Warren, Washington 36 4 1 Max Montoya, Raiders 36 2 25 James Lofton, Buffalo 36 2 1 Matt Bahr, NY Giants 36 2 0 Warren Moon, Houston 35 9 19
GAMES PLAYED
Player, Team Games Jackie Slater, Rams 222 James Lofton, Buffalo 207 Mike Kenn, Atlanta 204 Clay Matthews, Cleveland 200 Blair Bush, Rams 198 Nesby Glagow, Seattle 192 Steve DeBerg, Tampa Bay 184 Fred Smerlas, New England 184 Nick Lowery, Kansas City 183 Max Montoya, Raiders 183 Three tied at 181
