The Nfl

LAMBS ARE RAMS AGAIN

What better example of the vagaries of pro football than the 1990 Rams? Coming off an 11-5 season and a playoff run that ended in the NFC Championship Game, the Rams decided in the off-season that they needed to change their defense if they were ever going to win The Big One. But after a 1-4 start, they went back to their old system, and L.A.'s defensive mastermind, Fritz Shurmur, entered Sunday's must-win game against the Falcons as worried as he had been in 35 years of coaching. "We're devastated," said Shurmur before the game. "We're confused."

Not to worry, Fritz. Comfortable again in its old defense, the Rams' first unit held Atlanta's potent offense to 239 yards in the first 53 minutes of the game. Los Angeles built a 27-point lead and won 44-24. "It's funny," said Ram coach John Robinson afterward. "We were one step from the edge of oblivion. But things happen in this game you just can't figure. We went out and, except for a couple of plays, dominated a football game."

Having reached the playoffs in six of Robinson's seven seasons as coach, the Rams have made it as far as the NFC Championship Game only twice—losing 24-0 to the Bears in 1985 and 30-3 to the 49ers last season. To increase pressure on the opposing quarterback, Robinson and Shurmur had installed the imaginative Eagle defense (two defensive linemen, five linebackers) two years ago. Sack production picked up in 1988 and '89, but Super Bowl participation remained nil. "We were just a bunch of average guys playing average," Robinson says. "We had to attack the quarterback better."

In the off-season, Robinson and Shurmur switched to the Vikings' version of the 4-3, which frees linemen and linebackers to move around and match up with their strongside or weakside assignments. Linebacker Kevin Greene, one of the NFL sack leaders over the last two seasons, with 33, became the weakside end. He played next to promising tackle Bill Hawkins so that the opposition could not double-team Greene. Also, Pro Bowl cornerback Jerry Gray was moved to strong safety so Robinson would have an experienced signal caller in the deep secondary. Then the fates interceded.

The starting defensive ends, Greene and Doug Reed, were holdouts through training camp and thus missed valuable time learning the new scheme. As for the starting tackles, Hawkins still hasn't recovered from knee surgery last December and Alvin Wright missed most of camp with a knee injury. Darryl Henley, who took Gray's place at corner, suffered a hip injury early in camp and hasn't played since, so Gray had to return to his old position. But in the final preseason game, Gray collided with a teammate and injured his left knee. He had arthroscopic surgery and missed the first three games. Linebacker Larry Kelm, who calls the signals in the defensive huddle, tore a knee ligament in the final preseason game, and he just returned on Sunday. Another linebacker, Fred Strickland, broke his leg in the fifth game and is out for the year.

As a result, the Rams gave up career passing days to the Packers' Anthony Dilweg, the Bengals' Boomer Esiason and the Bears' Jim Harbaugh in three of the first five weeks. "We might have been further along now had we done nothing," Shurmur says. "But I wouldn't have felt good if we hadn't tried something, because I knew we had things to correct."

By reverting to the Eagle defense on Sunday, the Rams had a season-high four sacks, and they continually frustrated Atlanta, especially quarterback Chris Miller, with a disciplined defense; they remained in their pass-rush lanes even when the lanes were full of traffic. That way, no big holes could open. "I couldn't adjust to the new system," says Greene, who has three sacks in '90. "I still feel we can line up and play a vanilla defense, and, with our talent, beat anyone."

THE LIONS ARE RESTLESS

Detroit's 2-4 start isn't tough to figure. Just think in baseball terms: If a team is strong up the middle—catcher, shortstop, second base, centerfield—it's usually a good one. "The bottom line," says Lion coach Wayne Fontes, "is we're like baseball in that way—we lost our middle. That's why we're where we are."