Ram Notebook : Flipper Runs Wrong Route, but Ellard Jumps In to Save Play

ATLANTA —  Flip was flopped: Wide receiver Willie “Flipper” Anderson said he was out of position on the Hail Mary scoring pass to Henry Ellard on the last play of the first half.

On the Jim Everett desperation pass, Anderson was supposed to trail behind Ellard and Aaron Cox and try to catch any deflection. Instead, Anderson passed Cox on the play and almost made the catch himself.

Anderson said the key to the play was that none of the receivers were bumped by defenders, which allowed them room to jump for the ball.

Said Cox: “I had an excellent view of it.”

Falcon All-Pro guard Bill Fralic admitted he was a little rusty after just returning from his holdout last Tuesday.

“We certainly didn’t run the ball well today,” Fralic said. “I expect good things out of this football team. It was tough for me to get my timing down. I certainly could tell I was just back.”

The Ram defense held Pro Bowl tailback John Settle to 27 yards in eight carries.

“We got behind and had to go to our passing game,” Settle said. “We’ll try to get that running game going next week against Dallas. L.A. has a very talented defense. We knew it would be tough to run on them. We feel we have a very good football team and that we’re getting better. Everybody in here is a professional and we have to be prepared to get our job done and win.”

After the game, Atlanta Coach Marion Campbell still could not get over the Deion Sanders punt return.

“What can you say about that speed?” Campbell said. “I lost him in the crowd from where I was and I heard people screaming. Then he came out of the stack and I thought he might make it all the way. He’s got a lot of talent, and he’s going to add a lot to our football team.”

It’s been quite a summer for the Florida State All-American. Prior to signing a four-year, $4.5-million Falcon contract last Thursday, he had spent the previous four months displaying his baseball talents for the New York Yankees.

Most of that time was spent with the Yankees’ triple-A team in Columbus, Ohio, where, in 70 games, he hit .278 with four home run and 16 stolen bases. He was called up to the parent club at the end of August where in 47 at bats, he hit two homers and drove in seven runs.

He left Yankee fans with something to remember last Tuesday night when he had a home run, two doubles and four RBIs in the Yankees’ 12-2 victory over Seattle.

The ball’s not heavy dept: Rams Coach John Robinson said he wasn’t concerned with tailback Greg Bell’s stamina, despite his just returning from a summer holdout.

“He only carried it 25 times,” Robinson said. “Now, if he carried it 40 or something . . . He doesn’t seem to get tired.”

The play of Sanders wasn’t the only reason Atlanta Coach Marion Campbell was mildly pleased with his team’s effort.

Despite the 31-21 loss, Campbell said there were some “encouraging things about our football team. I liked the way that our team fought, the way they battled. We might become a pretty good football team if we stay together and cut down on our mistakes.”

Campbell certainly couldn’t fault quarterback Chris Miller, who had his best game since entering the league three seasons ago. Miller completed 23 of 37 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns.

Said Miller: “I’m excited about our football team. We lost to a helluva team. I feel real good about the talent on this team. We have players here who can compete with the teams in this league.”

One of them might be rookie receiver Shawn Collins, who caught six passes for 76 yards. And second-year receiver Michael Haynes caught four passes for 62 yards and one touchdown. Collins and Haynes both played at Northern Arizona University.

There’s a reason why Jim Everett completed only three of his first 10 passes: he was, well, jittery.

“I knew before the game that I was uptight, more nervous than any of the five games we played in preseason,” he said. “But I’m glad to get this one under the belt and go on from here.

“We were real hesitant, it seemed like, in the first half. I wasn’t putting the ball on the mark in the early part, there’s no two ways about it.”