Loss to Oilers Shows Rams’ Rough Edges : NFL: Los Angeles closes out 1-3 exhibition season by losing to Houston, 16-13.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Wideouts and blitzers blew past each other like ships in the night, but footballs only occasionally landed in the hands for which they were intended in the Rams’ 16-13 loss to the Houston Oilers Thursday night before 63,273 at the Liberty Bowl.
The Rams, who played a sloppy game for the third time in four outings, finished the exhibition season with a 1-3 record and turned their attention toward Sept. 1, when they open the regular season against the Phoenix Cardinals.
“I feel damn good about it,” said Coach John Robinson when asked about the current state of his team. “I’m scared, I’m excited and I’m looking forward to it.”
After this exhibition, the Rams have plenty of rough edges to smooth and nine days to do it. They had their second punt blocked of the exhibition season, their two tailbacks were both too injured to play and the offense as a whole is still wobbly, inconsistent and turning the football over at an alarming rate.
“We left the ball lying on the ground about what, half a million times?” said quarterback Jim Everett with a smile, referring to the Rams’ three turnovers.
But what the Rams will remember from this sultry night is the way their secondary stood face-to-face with the frenetic Houston offense and came out with more big plays and the feeling they could slug it out with anyone.
“It’s a boost for the defense, no question,” said rookie linebacker Roman Phifer, who often was asked to cover receivers. “Obviously, we feel it’s coming together.”
In contrast to last season’s exhibition closer, a game in Washington in which the Rams lost two defensive starters to injury and set the tone for the season, this game was a breeze.
The Ram defense, choosing a plan of seek-and-destroy rather than sit-back-and-take-it against the Oilers’ potent four-receiver offense, blitzed linebackers at quarterback Warren Moon, pressuring him, though they did not sack him.
That left four Ram defensive backs--two safeties, two cornerbacks--to cover four Oiler receivers, usually a formula to set passing records, not shut them down.
But by buzzing around Moon frequently enough, the Rams forced three first-half interceptions (two by cornerback Darryl Henley) to complement their one first-half fumble recovery.
“Hey, it was like one-on-one basketball out there,” cornerback Jerry Gray said. “We were going against some of the best players in football, and it turned out OK.
“Darryl had a great day. In this defense, when an offense is coming at you, you’ve got to make the plays or else you’re going to give up a lot of yards. You better make them. Darryl made them.”
Moon played the first half, and finished 11 for 19 for 140 yards with the three interceptions. The Oilers’ best drive--their first--was stopped in the Rams’ end zone when a harried Moon overthrew Ernest Givins and hit safety Michael Stewart instead.
When the Rams did go to a four-cornerback, zero-linebacker set that included No. 1 pick Todd Lyght’s NFL debut, they blanketed the receivers well enough to keep Houston to one first-half score.
Lyght saw action in about 10 plays in the first half, but he didn’t have a ball thrown his way and made one tackle. He didn’t play much in the second half after suffering a slight injury to his left leg.
“I like this defense,” Lyght said. “The biggest thing we have to do is force turnovers the way we showed tonight. It was real good for us to come up with so many of them.”
Offensively, rookie running back David Lang was a one-man show, running for 68 yards in 21 carries in the absence of injured Cleveland Gary (right hamstring) and Marcus Dupree (left toe), including one 20-yard gain, one 17-yard loss and two lost fumbles. Everett completed 10 of 20 passes for 94 yards and an interception in one half of action.
At the end of the first half, the Rams led, 10-7, on a two-yard pass to tight end Damone Johnson and a 46-yard field goal by Tony Zendejas. They weren’t too concerned that a blown punt and more offensive stumbling lost them the game in the second half.
The Oilers scored their only touchdown of the half after a fumble by Lang gave them ball at the Ram 19.
“A lot of the things that are going wrong are with people who won’t be playing,” Robinson said. “You can make a judgment about that. Or you can make a judgment that we’re making a lot of errors.”
Ram Notes
After his pro debut, Rams No. 1 pick Todd Lyght said he was glad he didn’t make any mental mistakes and generally felt his game was a success. “Everything went well,” Lyght said. “Now lining up against Warren Moon, a guy I’ve watched plenty of times on Sunday pile up big yards, that was pretty exciting. But I think I did all right.”
Mike Pagel started the third quarter at quarterback for the Rams and was eight for 11 for 80 yards. Chuck Long, with whom Pagel is battling for the No. 2 spot, played the fourth quarter, and completed four of his nine attempts. Pagel could get the edge as the No. 2 guy because it looks clear he’ll be the Rams’ kick-holder. “That’s OK. I came here to be a quarterback, not a kick-holder,” Long said. “This’ll all be sifted out in the next week.”
Injury report: Robinson said it appears that tackle Gerald Perry, held out of this game with a sore right knee, can play in the season-opener Sept. 1. In the game, linebacker Roman Phifer suffered a right hip pointer, David Lang and guard Joe Milinchik strained their right hamstrings and cornerback Lyght felt a slight twinge in his left leg. None are believed serious.
