Going to Defense of Rams’ Prevent : NFL playoffs: Bend-but-don’t-break drives fans crazy, but Robinson doesn’t have the personnel for anything else.

“Prevent defense” may have become the quiche of our time. Real men don’t play it. Philadelphia Eagle Coach Buddy Ryan wouldn’t be caught dead in a zone.

“I only use it with two plays left in the game,” Ryan said this week. “I’ve never been much of a prevent guy. Prevent defense prevents you from winning.”

That said, there is one defensive unit that still dabbles in it occasionally on weekends--Ryan’s opponent this Sunday, as a matter of fact. You may have caught their act last Sunday in New England, sewing up the last wild-card playoff spot. Piece of cake, really. The Rams, protecting a four-point lead, dropped into their zone, called off the pass rush, dished out yards like peanuts, then stopped the Patriots three times inside their five-yard line, the last stand coming as the clock, the regular season and a few Ram loyalists expired in unison.

No one ever said prevent defense was easy to stomach, the axiom being: Thou shalt surrender everything but game-winning touchdowns.

“I don’t give a . . . what Buddy Ryan says,” Ram defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur said in defense of his strategies. “It caused us to win last week. The bottom line is this: Do you in fact win or lose the game? Obviously, if it works out that you lose the game, then it’s the wrong choice. But if you’re going to say because they got 95 yards on you, it was wrong, that’s bull. They didn’t get the last four.”

If Shurmur seems a bit testy, it’s only because he is a bit testy. He has taken enough shots about his defense in recent weeks to warrant a bulletproof vest. The Rams enter Sunday’s playoff game in Philadelphia with the league’s 21st-ranked defense, 28th--and last--against the pass.

“Before, we had great defenses and we never won,” cornerback LeRoy Irvin theorized. “So, maybe since we have such a lousy defense, maybe we’ll pull it out.”

The defense wasn’t lousy by design, of course. The Rams planned a more aggressive style this year until a half dozen or so key players started checking in for surgery.

Coach John Robinson commends Ryan’s attacking style, wishing he had the beef-eating front four--Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons and Mike Pitts--that Ryan has to rush the quarterback on every down.

Who wouldn’t hate prevent defense?

“I’m sure he hates it,” Robinson said of Ryan. “He’s got four guys that can come in and get you.”

By contrast, because of serious injuries to the defensive front, the Rams may introduce the league’s first all-linebacker pass-rush this weekend. Meet the Leansome Foursome--Kevin Greene, Brett Faryniarz, Fred Strickland and George Bethune.

Against New England, Bethune learned to play defensive end in 25 quick steps, all leading to the huddle.

Coach Marv Goux basically diagramed a three-point stance in the dirt for Bethune and shoved the rookie onto the field for the Patriots’ final drive.

“And people are screaming, ‘Why didn’t you blitz?’ ” Shurmur said. “We were playing a guy at left defensive end the whole series who had never had lined up a down in practice, George Bethune. And if I called a blitz, and he took the wrong gap, and they got more time to throw the ball, now how smart was that?”

The Ram defense had been reduced to this: “George,” Shurmur told Bethune, “we’ve got no other defensive left ends. You’ve got to put your hand on the ground and line up outside the guy.”

Shurmur added: “You’ve got to throw all those factors in 25 seconds and make a call.”

Robinson thinks that prevent defense gets a bad rap.

“I think the god of prevent defense is not getting a fair shake up there,” he said.

Yet, the Rams wouldn’t be taking such preventive tacts had the first-team defense shown up this season. Instead, they’ve had to work around some sizable roadblocks:

--Larry Kelm and Strickland. Out of the lineup because of assorted injuries, the Rams’ projected starters as inside linebackers didn’t start a game together until Week 10.

--On Nov. 19, starting left end Doug Reed twisted an ankle against Phoenix. He was supposed to be out two weeks until a crack was found in the ankle, whereupon Reed was shipped to injured reserved. Update: Reed still walks with a limp and would be eligible to return only if the Rams advance to the Super Bowl.

--On Nov. 26, cornerback Cliff Hicks strained his right knee against New Orleans. He missed the next game against Dallas, then played sparingly in the final three games. Update: Hicks underwent reconstructive knee surgery Wednesday.

--On Dec. 3, starting right end Mike Piel dislocated his left elbow against Dallas. Update: He’s going to try to return this week, playing with a brace.

--On Dec. 11, first-round draft pick Bill Hawkins, finally playing well after a rough start, suffered left knee-ligament damage against San Francisco. Update: Hawkins underwent arthroscopic surgery and could return only if the Rams went on world tour in March, Robinson quips.

--On Dec. 17, safety Anthony Newman broke his left elbow in the team’s rout of the New York Jets. In the locker room afterward, Newman vowed to return quickly. Update: Newman was placed on injured reserve Dec. 21.

As stop-gap measures, the Rams recently signed Sean Smith, a former Chicago Bear defensive end who had been unemployed, and recalled rookie linebacker Brian Smith from injured reserve, moving him to defensive end. Linebacker Mark Messner, released from the developmental squad at one point this year, was also recalled and placed on active duty.

In fact, the two Smiths and Messner formed the Rams’ defensive front during one series against New England.

Shurmur said: “There were a hell of a lot of weeks here when they weren’t on the roster, or even in this town. Our best accomplishment was coaching George Bethune into getting ready in 25 seconds, between plays on the sideline. It was a great clinic.”

Still, this week the opposing coach was indirectly taking swipes at the Rams’ manhood, saying that prevent defense prevents you from winning.

“I feel pretty good,” Shurmur countered. “We’ve won six out of seven. A lot of guys can sit here until 5 in the morning and come up with grand schemes, but what we get paid for is what happens on Sunday. That’s what the game is all about. It’s sure not about statistics.”

And this, Buddy, is for you: Shurmur says zone defense is far more difficult to teach than man-to-man.

“The easiest way to play defense is to have four guys up front that will come and completely dominate the line of scrimmage,” Shurmur said, “where there’s no pressure on the cover guys and no pressure on your calls. Where the pressure comes on your calls is when the ball goes down the field, and they’re going to make the play or you’re going to make the play.”

The challenge this week is containing Eagle quarterback Randall Cunningham, the most elusive open-field runner since Manuel Noriega. An impossible task for the porous Rams?

Maybe not. Shurmur guesses that a controlled zone defense might be the best way to keep Cunningham in check. It just so happens, that’s what the Rams play. Or haven’t you noticed?

“I’m not sure patience isn’t a pretty good attribute,” Shurmur said. “And if you don’t have any, you’d better not be messing around with zone defense.”

Mess around--the Rams?

Ram Notes

More bad news for the Ram defense, and not just for this weekend. Third-year cornerback Clifford Hicks underwent surgery Wednesday to repair anterior cruciate damage in his right knee. It was a major reconstructive operation, and Hicks is expected to be out at least eight months. Hicks injured the knee against New Orleans on Nov. 26 but returned to play sparingly in the team’s last three games. “Obviously, he’s gone for a long period of time,” Coach John Robinson said. “Whether he’s back next year, I don’t know.” Robinson added that Hicks’ future in the league will probably be at safety, a position that requires less speed than cornerback. Hicks won the starting right corner position over LeRoy Irvin before his injury against the Saints. Hicks started six games in all, making 22 tackles and two interceptions.