Rams Hoping to Snap Slump and Put Chargers Back in One

ANAHEIM — The Rams, they say, are in a slump. Two consecutive losses. Three defeats in the past five games. Six interceptions thrown by their quarterback the last 2 weeks. Less than 3 yards per rush by their estimable running backs in the month of November.

And an ignominious fall from first place and grace in the NFC West. Their record is 7-4. Not all that long ago, they were 4-0.

The Chargers should have it so bad.

They rattle into Anaheim Stadium today with a 3-8 record, which means two things right off the bat: Their playoff hopes are dimmer than W.C. Fields’ views on children; and they have at least temporarily lost their place in line for next spring’s draft rights to UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman.

You see the Chargers won last week, 10-7, in Atlanta. It was the first time they had done so since Sept. 25. And they did it with a second-year quarterback named Mark Vlasic, who completed 16 of 32 passes in his first NFL start.

Their defense limited the Falcon running game, ranked fourth in the league at the time, to 57 yards in 22 attempts. And they left Atlanta with a 1-game winning streak.

The Rams should have it so good.

Maybe they will. They still lead the league in sacks. And earnest, young Vlasic is more noble than he is mobile.

In its capsule previews, Pro Football Weekly says this about the Chargers vs. the Rams: “Game has all the appearances of a classic mismatch.”

After all, the Rams manhandled the Chargers twice in exhibition games. The scores were 27-6 and 31-24. More significantly, the halftime scores of those two games--when it was first string against first string--were 17-3 and 31-0. The phrase “men against boys” comes to mind.

But, says Ram Coach John Robinson, “I don’t think any of us can remember the preseason, to be honest with you.”

That was then and this is now. And, Robinson concedes, the Rams are struggling.

“I don’t feel good about it,” he says of the 2-game losing streak. “You go through periods in this league when you get out of rhythm, out of sync. Slumps. Whatever you want to call them. You gotta a find a way to get out of them.”

No, says Charger defensive lineman Joe Phillips. “We have to find a way to keep teams down when they’re down.” But the Chargers have done a poor job of that to date.

They led New Orleans, 14-0, less than 6 minutes into the game in Week 6 before losing, 23-17. The following Sunday, they were ahead in Miami, 28-17, after 3 quarters before losing, 31-28. And 3 weeks later, they were ahead of the Raiders at home before losing again.

The Charger running game resurfaced in Atlanta, where Gary Anderson rushed for a season-high 145 yards. It ranks third in the league (behind San Francisco and Cincinnati) in average yards per rush. And the Charger defense ranks fourth in average yards allowed per rush.

These numbers concern Robinson. But winning concerns him more. “Every game from now on is the most important game of the season,” he says. “There’s no other way to look at it.”

Robinson can take his comfort from other numbers. The Chargers have scored fewer points than any team in the league. They rank last offensively in NFL third-down percentage and last defensively in AFC third-down percentage.

After this week, the Rams are at Denver, at home against Chicago and Atlanta and at San Francisco. New Orleans, the team they trail by a game in the NFC West, plays host to Denver today and the Giants next week before traveling to Minnesota and San Francisco. The Saints finish at home Dec. 18 against Atlanta.

“The Rams are definitely going to be hungry for a win,” Vlasic says.

And like it or not, the Chargers are relegated to the role of spoiler. Next week, they play host to the 49ers. The week after that, they travel to Cincinnati.

“I don’t think we see ourselves as spoilers,” Charger Coach Al Saunders says. “I think we see ourselves as a football team wanting to win a game on Sunday.”

The key to upsetting the Rams, according to Saunders, lies in upsetting the balance of their offense. Through 11 games, the Rams have rushed the ball 349 times and passed the ball 339 times.

“What we have to do is get (quarterback Jim) Everett out of his rhythm. He’s the style of quarterback that if you allow him to get into a rhythm and have some success early in the game, they can really get on a roll.”

On offense, the Chargers have to avoid the kind of disasters that frequently occur when sack-happy defenses face young quarterbacks.

“If they decide to pressure our passer early, we’ve got to hit the big play up the field against the 1-1 coverage,” Saunders says. “If they drop off and play zone, we’ve got to be able to run the ball well.”

Charger Notes

“Maybe we should do that,” said a Charger spokesman. He was referring to the Anaheim Stadium parking regulation aimed at preventing incidents such as the Hibachi fire at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium a month ago that resulted in the torching of a number of cars. Under Anaheim Municipal Code 11.04.095 on BARBECUES it says: “ONLY approved gas/propane units with fuel valve turn offs” are allowed. . . . Ram running back Greg Bell leads the NFL with 13 touchdowns. . . . Of the Rams’ 4 losses, 3 have come at Anaheim Stadium. . . . In last week’s 14-10 loss to the Saints, the Rams failed to register a sack for the first time this year. . . . Ram quarterback Jim Everett has dropped from second to fifth in the last 2 weeks in the quarterback ratings standings.