Phillips Gives Rams A Reason To Breath Easy
Lawrence Phillips is starting to show the St. Louis Rams he might be worth the trouble.
In his first extensive NFL action Friday, the sixth pick of the draft rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown and also had an 11-yard reception in a 17-10 exhibition victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I feel like I’ve been playing catchup with each and every game with the new plays they bring in every week,” Phillips said. “I’m running mostly on instinct right now and my instincts are pretty good.”
“He looks like he’s getting his groove,” Jacksonville linebacker Reggie Clark said. “He ran with a lot more confidence than on the film we’ve seen of him.”
Phillips held out of training camp for 16 days as the Rams and his agent hammered out a unique, three-year $5.625 million contract that doesn’t include a signing bonus. The Rams insisted that he receive no up-front money because of his off-field problems, which might have kept him from being the first pick of the draft.
Phillips was arrested for drunken driving in June in California while on probation for pleading no contest to assaulting a former girlfriend while at the University of Nebraska.
As a consequence of his troubles, he’s behind the learning curve, especially on the passing game. Phillips saw little action in St. Louis’ exhibition opener at Pittsburgh last week, rushing for 17 yards on six carries.
“It will help when he learns all of our pass blocking,” coach Rich Brooks said. “I do not want to get a quarterback killed because he isn’t up to snuff on assignments on all the blitzes.”
Still, the Rams set him loose somewhat. He also caught a pass for 11 yards and a first down.
“You don’t want to think too much, just basically react, and when I learn the offense I’ll be better,” Phillips said. “I believe I’ll be at 100 percent by the season opener.”
Seattle fans keep their distance
The Seattle Seahawks retired uniform No. 12 in the 1980s as a tribute to their fans, the “12th man” in their success. But the Seahawks may want to ‘unretire’ it. Miffed at owner Ken Behring’s attempt to move the club to Los Angeles in the off-season, the fans have purchased only 36,500 season tickets for the 1996 season. The Kingdome seats 66,400.
“I don’t blame them,” Seahawks quarterback Rick Mirer said. “But we’ll need them in about a month. Hopefully, by then, they’ll be there.”
Cunningham recalls bumpy Rhodes
Former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham blasted his former coach, Ray Rhodes. He claimed he had no respect for Rhodes because of trust breakdowns and how the coach told the team that football was more important than Christmas.
“Ray likes thug-type players,” Cunningham said. “I’m not a thug.”
At the moment, Cunningham isn’t a player, either.
Steve Wallace helped the San Francisco 49ers win three Super Bowls with his blocking at left tackle. But at 31, with a $1.83 million cap figure, he became expendable. So Wallace became a salary-cap casualty of the 49ers this off-season. He signed with the Eagles, and already is starting for them.
“I want to win a championship before the 49ers do,” said, joining ex-49er assistant Rhodes in Philadelphia. “It’s like a personal vendetta. I want to win a championship before they win another one. I didn’t think I got the respect I deserved there last year. You get tired of hearing so many negative statements.”
Bettis speaks out
Ex-Rams running back Jerome Bettis, now a Steeler, described a back-stabbing locker room last year for first-year Rams coach Rich Brooks.
“Everybody wasn’t on one page,” he said. “You’ve got other receivers upset because Chris Miller was always looking at Isaac Bruce. You had other running backs wanting to play.”
Around the league
When former Buffalo Bills linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who’s now with the Atlanta Falcons, was issued a speeding ticket last Monday, the arresting officer’s name was Jim Kelly. … Running back Johnny Johnson is quickly wearing out his welcome in San Francisco. The 49ers gave Johnson a $500,000 signing bonus as part of a two-year package, but Johnson has been out with a bad back, and may not even make the opening-day roster. Niners officials are privately wondering whether Johnson has lost his desire to play. … Dan Marino needs 1,159 yards to become the first quarterback to pass for 50,000. That’s more than 28 miles, longer than the length of Manhattan (13 miles), the Strait of Magellan (20 miles) and the ozone layer (25 miles). … Minnesota running back Robert Smith joined the Vikings training camp, ending his second holdout in two years. … The Carolina Panthers pulled their latest offer for firstround choice, running back Tim Biakabutuka, because his holdout has gone on so long that he won’t be a factor in the Panthers’ season-opener against Atlanta. … Poor Brett Carolan. This could have been his chance to win significant playing time as a tight end for the 49ers. Injuries have sidelined three 49ers tight ends - Brent Jones, Adrian Cooper and Ted Popson. The former Washington State star caught a virus early in camp, lost 12 pounds and wasn’t the same player. The 49ers cut him Thursday. … Expect Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek to opt for back surgery soon and be out for the season.