Passed Over, Everett Is Caught in the Throws of Frustration

The game was still scoreless, and so was Jim Everett’s throwing arm, 1991.

The ball was on the Green Bay nine-yard line, third down, goal to go.

Everett’s heart told him to pass.

Everett’s mind told him to pass.

But Everett’s coach told him to hand the ball to Robert Delpino, so the draw play was called, the draw play was stalled and the Ram field goal unit was signalled into action.

Inside Everett’s blue and gold helmet, an angry red was added to the color scheme. Everett stomped one foot and shook both fists in the air, in disgust.

Off came the helmet, which Everett slammed against a sideline tray full of plastic cups, spraying Gatorade around the Ram bench. Quickly, he scanned the area, looking to lodge a complaint.

Jimmy Raye, the Rams’ passing game coordinator, got an index finger waved in his face.

Ernie Zampese, the Rams’ offensive coordinator, got an earful over the field-to-press box telephone.

Individual statistics are meaningless?

Not when the individual is a quarterback who has gone a full month without a meaningful pass completion.

“Granted, I’m going through some frustration about not having thrown a touchdown pass,” said Everett, who now needs to throw two of them to tie Blair Kiel, “and I’d like the opportunity to throw the ball in the end zone there. Ernie made a different call and I disagreed with it. I just wanted to take the opportunity to go for it.”

From origin to autopsy, that third-down call said all one needed to know about the Rams and their quarterback and their offense on the fifth week of a wheels-spinning season. As recently as last year, Everett filled the NFL skies with 23 touchdown passes. Now, the Rams call draw plays on third and goal against the 25th-ranked pass defense in the league.

The Rams beat Green Bay at Anaheim Stadium, 23-21, but all Everett did was ride in the sidecar. It was the kind of game where a third-string linebacker named Paul Butcher is the hero because he makes two tackles and the Packers make two fumbles. It was the kind of game where Delpino gets knocked silly, is diagnosed with a concussion, should have been given an ice bag and the rest of the day off--but ends up having to fling his body over the top of a mass of Packers so his team could score one offensive touchdown.

The Pack isn’t back and neither are the Rams, despite John Robinson’s postgame pronouncement that “we’re tied for second. The 49ers are 2-3, the Falcons are 2-3 and we’re 2-3.” All Sunday’s artless scrum proved is that the Rams, on their home field, are two points better than a 1-4 Green Bay team playing without Don Majkowski.

Majkowski separated his shoulder on a two-yard, touchdown-scoring quarterback draw in the second quarter. For the Rams, it was the play of the day, a bargain by any description: Blair Kiel in exchange for six points. Without Majkowski, the Ram offense could sleep through the second half and still come out ahead. As it was, with Kiel, the Packers rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, running out of timeouts before running out of options.

“I don’t know if we’re ready to be a winning football team just yet,” Robinson observed. “We’ve got to get out of the doldrums offensively. . . . We’ve got to start bringing our offense back.”

That starts with the quarterback. According to Robinson, “Again, our biggest concern is getting Jim back in rhythm,” which apparently is easier said than done. To assist Everett’s comeback, the Rams installed the shotgun formation Sunday, attempting to grant Everett’s “happy feet” an extra moment or two of silence. “We want to get Jim throwing with his feet under him,” Robinson said. “If the shotgun can help him with that, we’re going to try it.”

The shotgun’s OK, but the third-and-goal pass is out.

Hey, Robinson says, let’s not get crazy about this thing.

“On third down inside the 20, the draw is one of our best plays,” Robinson said. “Ask the other team what it thinks about the quarterback draw. Normally, the defense has six people covering the pass there and if you run a draw, you can sometimes shoot it right in there.”

Robinson insisted the call had nothing to do with a lack of faith in Everett. He did, however, make note of a second-quarter pass he allowed Everett to try--first down on the Packer 12, Delpino isolated in the left flat, football isolated high over Delpino’s head.

“Bobby was wide open in the flat and Jim overthrew him,” Robinson said. “We’re not necessarily going for three every time we get down close. We had a touchdown set up there. . . “We’re just not a good 20-and-in football team right now.”

Meanwhile, Everett’s incredible streak extends another week. Five games, no touchdown passes. With a bye next Sunday, the earliest Everett could throw his first scoring pass is. . . Oct. 13.

Trick or treat?

Make Henry Ellard happy this Halloween.

“Believe me,” Everett said, “I would love to throw a touchdown pass. I’d love it. I can’t say I’m not thinking about it because that wouldn’t be the truth. I do think about it.”

More and more each Sunday. Two weeks ago in New Orleans, Everett tried to laugh through the disappointment by saying he was sure fantasy-football league players across America were cursing his name. Sunday, he picked up on the same theme and ran with it a little longer.

“Right now,” Everett said, “Jim Everett, Don Majkowski and Flipper Anderson might get you one Jim Harbaugh.”

Next week, at least, the pressure is off. Next week, the Rams are off.

“The bye week,” Everett assessed, “is going to be of tremendous value.”