Getting Up to Play Falcons? No Problem : The Moment Will Lend Some Needed Fervor to Rams
ATLANTA — It’s lucky for the Rams that today’s game against the Atlanta Falcons is a league opener, a day when pile-driving tackles finally mean something.
Otherwise, a matchup at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium might have caught the Rams napping.
“Let’s go get those Falcons!”somehow lacks the punch it had when Steve Bartkowski and Co. could give the Rams a game.
Today’s nonmotivational tape includes the following facts:
--In their last three meetings, all victories, the Rams have outscored the Falcons, 88-7. The scores, 33-0, 33-0, 22-7, are misleading. The games weren’t that close. The Falcons scored on a fumble return.
The Rams averaged 437 total yards a game and more than doubled the Falcons in first downs, 76 to 34.
--Greg Bell, today’s starter at tailback, had a nice little game in Atlanta last season, gaining 100 yards rushing--in the first quarter. He finished with 155 and might have gained 300 had there been a need to play him in the second half.
--Gaston Green, the then-rookie who gained 117 yards in 35 carries all season, gained 80 of those in two games against: (a) Chicago? (b) Minnesota? or (c) Atlanta? You get the idea.
--The Rams sacked Falcon quarterbacks nines times for minus-71 yards in last year’s victory here.
This summer, Atlanta’s offensive line has been a shambles. Starting center Wayne Radloff and guard John Scully were still holdouts through the weekend. All-pro guard Bill Fralic arrived Tuesday, after a summer-long hold out. Starting tackles Mike Kenn and Houston Hoover are returning from injuries.
Chris Miller, the Falcons’ talented young quarterback, has spent the summer imitating Fran Tarkenton, the master scrambler.
“It got to be pretty messy in the pocket sometimes,” Miller said this week.
The quarterback was, in fact, quite disturbed about the line situation. He had figured that the Falcons were heading in the right direction after splitting their final eight games last season and finishing 5-11.
Coach Marion Campbell had to sit Miller down at one point and explain to him the facts of football life.
“The thing I kept saying is that I’ve been in this business long enough to know they may hold out forever,” Campbell said. “I kept telling him that this may be it. We don’t have those guys in there so we have to push it out of our minds. . . . I’ll tell you, it’s been rough on him, because we had one offensive lineman that was a starter in the hole in which he finished (in 1988) and that was Hoover, the right tackle. Kenn was missing the whole training camp.”
Kenn is back today to protect Miller’s blind side, although he still may need a rear-view mirror to avoid the Rams’ pass rush.
You couldn’t ask for a more explosive combination; one team with a massive pass rush going against another with patchwork pass protectors.
“We’ve got to face them sometime,” Campbell said. “A lot of people are concerned for us for just the reasons you said. However, there’s nothing we can do about that. They’re just a tough football team. They’re going to be good 16 weeks from now. So we might as well get started with it.”
But the Rams must be wary of the preseason hype that has followed them through the summer. Some have called them the team of football’s next generation. And they’re supposed to get up for Atlanta?
Ram Coach John Robinson, sifting through history in search of motivational literature, found one good reason to think the Falcons could be a problem.
“They obviously were for the 49ers last year,” he said. “They started horribly against the same team.”
The Falcons did beat the 49ers last September, 34-17. It was the highlight of Atlanta’s 1-7 start.
Sooner or later, the Falcons figure to get better. They continue to stockpile first-round draft choices--Deion Sanders, Chris Miller, Aundray Bruce, Tony Casillas, Tim Green, Rick Bryan, Fralic, Shawn Collins--but haven’t had a winning season since 1982, when they finished 5-4 in a strike-shortened season.
Those aren’t the kinds of names you take lightly, but Falcon opponents continue to do so.
Not the one from Anaheim, however. At least not this early in the season.
“I think we’re so excited to play a ballgame that it doesn’t make a difference,” quarterback Jim Everett said. “We want to play somebody and make it count.”
The Rams aren’t without their problems. They will start minus inside linebackers Larry Kelm and Fred Strickland, both out because of injuries.
Linebacker Richard Brown, a second-year man with little experience, moves onto the hot seat.
“There’s always going to be butterflies,” Brown said. “But everyone on defense is helping me out. It’s hard for me, from last year’s situation (he was cut) and the year before I never played. Suddenly, the whole thing’s going to be a shock. My first NFL game.”
Ram Notes
Atlanta Coach Marion Campbell doesn’t know how effective all-pro right guard Bill Fralic will be after only three days’ practice. “He’s the kind of guy who stays in shape,” he said. “He’s a big weightlifter and a big run guy. From that standpoint he’ll be OK. But it’s not the same as putting pads on. He’ll let us know how far he can go.” . . . Cornerback Deion Sanders is supposed to make his debut today for Atlanta, if only as a punt returner.
Ram fullback Cleveland Gary, who signed Thursday, will not be activated for the game. . . . The Falcons were 5-5 in games that quarterback Chris Miller started and finished last season. . . . Greg Bell will start at tailback for the Rams, ahead of Gaston Green. Tony Slaton will start at right guard for Duval Love, a summer holdout. Flipper Anderson will start at wide receiver ahead of Aaron Cox, who is returning from a summer hamstring pull. And Cliff Hicks will start at right cornerback for LeRoy Irvin, who is out until Oct. 1 for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
