1993 Los Angeles Rams season

Summary

The 1993 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 56th season in the National Football League and the 48th in Los Angeles.

1993 Los Angeles Rams season
OwnerGeorgia Frontiere
General managerJohn Shaw
Head coachChuck Knox
Home fieldAnaheim Stadium
Local radioKMPC (710 AM)
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersJerome Bettis, RB
Sean Gilbert, DT
Team MVPJerome Bettis
Team ROYJerome Bettis
Uniform

The Rams looked to improve on their 6–10 record from 1992 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1989. However, the season started off horribly, as the Rams were stomped 36–6 by the Packers in Green Bay in their first game. The Rams, however, rebounded with a 27–0 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. This was followed by a 20–10 loss to the New York Giants and a 28–13 win over the Houston Oilers in Houston. After the win over Houston, the Rams dipped even further, losing their next 5 games to the New Orleans Saints at home (37–6), the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta (30–24), the Detroit Lions at home (16–13), the arch-rival 49ers in San Francisco (40–17), and the Falcons at home (13–0), to drop to 2–7. After a surprising win over the Washington Redskins at home, the Rams were walloped in their next two games by the 49ers and Cardinals. This assured them of a fourth consecutive losing season and eliminated them from division contention, yet a win over the Saints in New Orleans kept the Rams in the playoff race until a 15–3 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati eliminated the team from the playoffs for a fourth straight season. This was followed by an embarrassing 42–14 loss at home to the Cleveland Browns and a 20–6 win over the Bears at home.

Ultimately, the Rams finished with a hapless 5–11 record, one win worse than 1992. Worse, the Rams lost ten games by double-digit margins, the first time that had ever happened in franchise history.

To further compound matters, speculation began to mount that the team might relocate to Baltimore. Reports surfaced as the Rams prepared to play the 49ers in San Francisco. The rumors, and further erosion of fan support, exacerbated a 40–17 defeat—their sixth consecutive defeat by San Francisco—and a 2–6 start. The Rams' most recent start of similar quality—or lack thereof—came in 1965, when the Rams played their home games at the L. A. Coliseum and the team was coached by Harland Svare.[1]

However, not all of the developments regarding the Rams constituted a lost season. In fact, early-season routs of the Oilers and Steelers, including the 27–0 shutout of Pittsburgh at Anaheim Stadium, proved to be rare highlights. Jerome Bettis enjoyed a spectacular rookie year and would go on to have a Hall of Fame career.

Offseason edit

1993 Draft Class edit

1993 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 10 Jerome Bettis *   Running back Notre Dame
2 39 Troy Drayton  Tight end Penn State
3 73 Russell White  Running back California
5 122 Sean LaChapelle  Wide receiver UCLA
5 127 Chuck Belin  Guard Wisconsin
6 149 Deral Boykin  Defensive back Louisville
7 179 Brad Fichtel  Center Eastern Illinois
8 206 Jeff Buffaloe  Punter Memphis
8 209 Maa Tanuvasa  Defensive end Hawaii
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents edit

1993 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jamie Martin Quarterback Weber State

Personnel edit

Staff edit

1993 Los Angeles Rams staff

Front office

  • Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere
  • Executive Vice President – John Shaw
  • Senior Vice President – Jay Zygmunt
  • Administrator of Football Operations – Jack Faulkner
  • Director of Player Personnel – John Becker

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – Ernie Zampese
  • Quarterbacks – Ted Tollner
  • Running backs – Chick Harris
  • Wide receivers – Milt Jackson
  • Tight ends – Howard Tippett
  • Offensive line – Jim Erkenbeck
  • Offensive assistant – Chuck Knox Jr.
  • Offensive assistant – Mike Martz
Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator/defensive line – George Dyer
  • Linebackers – Dick Selcer
  • Defensive backs – Rod Perry
  • Defensive Assistant – Greg Gaines

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Howard Tippett

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Chris Clausen

Roster edit

1993 Los Angeles Rams roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • -- Frank Boudreaux DT

53 active, 9 inactive, 1 practice squad


Rookies in italics

Preseason edit

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 7 at Phoenix Cardinals L 13–24 0–1 Sun Devil Stadium Recap
2 August 14 San Diego Chargers L 17–23 0–2 Anaheim Stadium Recap
3 August 21 at Cleveland Browns L 21–10 0–3 Cleveland Stadium Recap
4 August 28 Los Angeles Raiders L 19–20 0–4 Anaheim Stadium Recap

Regular season edit

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 5 at Green Bay Packers L 6–36 0–1 Milwaukee County Stadium Recap
2 September 12 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–0 1–1 Anaheim Stadium Recap
3 September 19 at New York Giants L 10–20 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap
4 September 26 at Houston Oilers W 28–13 2–2 Astrodome Recap
5 October 3 New Orleans Saints L 6–37 2–3 Anaheim Stadium Recap
6 Bye
7 October 14 at Atlanta Falcons L 24–30 2–4 Georgia Dome Recap
8 October 24 Detroit Lions L 13–16 2–5 Anaheim Stadium Recap
9 October 31 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–40 2–6 Candlestick Park Recap
10 Bye
11 November 14 Atlanta Falcons L 0–13 2–7 Anaheim Stadium Recap
12 November 21 Washington Redskins W 10–6 3–7 Anaheim Stadium Recap
13 November 28 San Francisco 49ers L 10–35 3–8 Anaheim Stadium Recap
14 December 5 at Phoenix Cardinals L 10–38 3–9 Sun Devil Stadium Recap
15 December 12 at New Orleans Saints W 23–20 4–9 Louisiana Superdome Recap
16 December 19 at Cincinnati Bengals L 3–15 4–10 Riverfront Stadium Recap
17 December 26 Cleveland Browns L 14–42 4–11 Anaheim Stadium Recap
18 January 2, 1994 Chicago Bears W 20–6 5–11 Anaheim Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries edit

Week 1 edit

Los Angeles Rams (0–0) at Green Bay Packers (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 3 3 006
Packers 9 10 14336

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Date: September 5, 1993
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 67 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 54,648
  • TV announcers (CBS): James Brown and Dan Jiggetts
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information

Week 2 edit

Week Two: Pittsburgh Steelers (0–1) at Los Angeles Rams (0–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 0 0 000
Rams 0 14 31027

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, September 12
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19.4 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 50,588 (73.31% full)
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dan Hicks and Joe Gibbs
  • [2]
    [3]
Game information

Week 3 edit

Week Three: Los Angeles Rams (1–1) at New York Giants (2–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 0 3 0710
Giants 7 6 7020

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: Sunday, September 19
  • Game time: 10:00 a.m. PST
  • Game weather: 65 °F (18.3 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
  • Game attendance: 76,213 (99.12% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [4]
    [5]
Game information

Week 4 edit

Week Four: Los Angeles Rams (1–2) at Houston Oilers (1–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 7 7 7728
Oilers 0 3 10013

at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • Date: Sunday, September 26
  • Game time: 10:00 a.m. PST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 53,072 (85.57% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [6]
    [7]
Game information

Week 5 edit

Week Five: New Orleans Saints (4–0) at Los Angeles Rams (2–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Saints 10 3 32137
Rams 3 0 306

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, October 3
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 69 °F (20.6 °C), wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
  • Game attendance: 50,709 (73.48% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [8]
    [9]
Game information

Week 7 edit

After a week 6 bye, the Rams looked to get back into the win column on a Thursday night matchup with the then-winless Falcons in Atlanta. Los Angeles got off to a good enough start, leading 17–10 at half and 24–17 heading into the fourth quarter, but things fell apart for the Rams in the fourth. Atlanta scored 13 unanswered points in the final quarter to pull away from Los Angeles and register their first win of the 1993 season.

Week Seven: Los Angeles Rams (2–3) at Atlanta Falcons (0–5)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 10 7 7024
Falcons 3 7 71330

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta

  • Date: Thursday, October 14
  • Game time: 4:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 45,231 (63.50% full)
  • TV announcers (TNT): Gary Bender and Pat Haden
  • [10]
    [11]
Game information

Week 8 edit

Week Eight: Detroit Lions (4–2) at Los Angeles Rams (2–4)
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 3 31016
Rams 0 0 01313

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, October 24
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 65 °F (18.3 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • Game attendance: 43,850 (63.54% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [12]
    [13]
Game information

Week 9 edit

Week Nine: Los Angeles Rams (2–5) at San Francisco 49ers (4–3)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 3 0 7717
49ers 6 17 71040

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

  • Date: Sunday, October 31
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C), wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • Game attendance: 63,417 (95.35% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [14]
    [15]
Game information

Week 11 edit

Coming out of their second bye week, Los Angeles once again faced the Atlanta Falcons—this time, in Anaheim. While the Falcons were winless going into their early meeting with the Rams, since then, they had won two of their last three and came into the second matchup at 2–6. While Los Angeles was favored by three, the Rams could not get anything going offensively and lost to the Falcons, 13–0, being shut out at home for the first time since 1984.

Week Eleven: Atlanta Falcons (2–6) at Los Angeles Rams (2–6)
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 3 3 7013
Rams 0 0 000

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, November 14
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
  • Game attendance: 37,073 (53.72% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [16]
    [17]
Game information

Week 12 edit

Week Twelve: Washington Redskins (2–7) at Los Angeles Rams (2–7)
Period 1 2 34Total
Redskins 3 0 306
Rams 0 0 01010

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, November 21
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • Game attendance: 45,546 (66.00% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [18]
    [19]
Game information

Week 13 edit

Week Thirteen: San Francisco 49ers (7–3) at Los Angeles Rams (3–7)
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 7 14 7735
Rams 3 0 0710

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, November 28
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 66 °F (18.9 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 62,143 (90.05% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [20]
    [21]
Game information

Week 14 edit

Week fourteen saw Los Angeles lose yet again, falling to 3–9 on the season. While the Rams had been considered out of the running for the NFC West Championship for many weeks, with their loss to Phoenix, Los Angeles became mathematically eliminated from the NFC West. The Rams would eventually finish last in the division.

Week Fourteen: Los Angeles Rams (3–8) at Phoenix Cardinals (3–8)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 3 0 0710
Cardinals 7 7 141038

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

  • Date: Sunday, December 5
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 55 °F (12.8 °C), wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
  • Game attendance: 33,964 (46.23% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [22]
    [23]
Game information

Week 15 edit

Week Fifteen: Los Angeles Rams (3–9) at New Orleans Saints (7–5)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 10 0 13023
Saints 7 6 0720

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans

  • Date: Sunday, December 12
  • Game time: 10:00 a.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 69,033 (99.95% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [24]
    [25]
Game information

Week 16 edit

For week 16, Los Angeles traveled to Cincinnati to face the one-win Bengals. Once again, the Rams were unable to put together a competent offense and were only able to score three points the entire game. With the loss to Cincinnati, Los Angeles found itself mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth straight season. At the time, the Rams also handed the Bengals only their second win of the season—their first incidentally came against the Rams’ cross-town rival, the Raiders. Ram tackle Irv Eatman stated that “They [Cincinnati] beat us, they beat the Raiders, they played the 49ers tough and obviously they’re just hell on California...they might be looking to put us on the schedule more frequently.”[26]

Week Sixteen: Los Angeles Rams (4–9) at Cincinnati Bengals (1–12)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 0 3 003
Bengals 3 6 3315

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Date: Sunday, December 19
  • Game time: 10:00 a.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 35 °F (1.7 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
  • Game attendance: 36,612 (60.63% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [27]
Game information

Week 17 edit

Week Seventeen: Cleveland Browns (6–8) at Los Angeles Rams (4–10)
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 7 7 72142
Rams 7 0 0714

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, December 26
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 34,155 (49.49% full)
  • TV: NBC
  • [28]
    [29]
Game information

Week 18 edit

Week Eighteen: Chicago Bears (7–8) at Los Angeles Rams (4–11)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 3 036
Rams 3 3 01420

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: Sunday, January 2
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 58 °F (14.4 °C), wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
  • Game attendance: 39,147 (56.73% full)
  • TV: CBS
  • [30]
    [31]
Game information

Standings edit

NFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) San Francisco 49ers 10 6 0 .625 473 295 L2
New Orleans Saints 8 8 0 .500 317 343 W1
Atlanta Falcons 6 10 0 .375 316 385 L3
Los Angeles Rams 5 11 0 .313 221 367 W1 Rumors of team moving edit

Rumors of relocation affected the Rams’ performance: owner Georgia Frontiere had wanted to break the Rams’ lease of Anaheim Stadium at the end of the 1992 season,[32] and there were over seven thousand no-shows at the November 21 game against the Redskins.[33] At Christmas time, it was revealed that Frontiere wanted to move the Rams to Baltimore,[34] which had lost out surprisingly to Jacksonville, Florida in the recent league expansion bid.[35] This relocation was not approved, but the inadequacy of Anaheim Stadium led Frontiere to move the team to her hometown of St. Louis in 1995.

See also edit

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Moving to Baltimore Easier Than Winning - Los Angeles Times".
  2. ^ Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Rams – September 12th, 1993
  3. ^ For Rams, a 27–0 Reversal of Fortune (Los Angeles Times)
  4. ^ Los Angeles Rams at New York Giants – September 19th, 1993
  5. ^ Everett at Least Completes a Thought (Los Angeles Times)
  6. ^ Los Angeles Rams at Houston Oilers – September 26th, 1993
  7. ^ Everett Goes From Belittled to Big Man (Los Angeles Times)
  8. ^ New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams – October 3rd, 1993
  9. ^ On-Again, Off-Again Rams Are Off Again (Los Angeles Times)
  10. ^ Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons – October 14th, 1993
  11. ^ Rams Reach Boiling Point After 30-24 Loss to Falcons (Los Angeles Times)
  12. ^ Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Rams – October 24th, 1993
  13. ^ Rubley Hot During Game, Everett After (Los Angeles Times)
  14. ^ Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers – October 31st, 1993
  15. ^ Rubley Starts, but 49ers Finish Off Rams (Los Angeles Times)
  16. ^ Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams – November 14th, 1993
  17. ^ Hapless Rams Are Suddenly Pointless, Too (Los Angeles Times)
  18. ^ Washington Redskins at Los Angeles Rams – November 21st, 1993
  19. ^ Rubley Takes Charge, Rams Beat Redskins (Los Angeles Times)
  20. ^ San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams – November 28th, 1993
  21. ^ Rams Knocked Senseless by 49ers, 35-10 (Los Angeles Times)
  22. ^ Los Angeles Rams at Phoenix Cardinals – December 5th, 1993
  23. ^ There They Go Again: Rams Routed, 38-10 (Los Angeles Times)
  24. ^ Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints – December 12th, 1993
  25. ^ A Battering Ram Goes Through Saints (Los Angeles Times)
  26. ^ Bengals Take Chant “Beat L.A.” to Extreme (Los Angeles Times)
  27. ^ Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals – December 19th, 1993
  28. ^ Cleveland Browns at Los Angeles Rams – December 26th, 1993
  29. ^ Testaverde Toys With the Rams (Los Angeles Times)
  30. ^ Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams – January 2nd, 1994
  31. ^ Bettis Carries Rams Past the Bears, 20-6 (Los Angeles Times)
  32. ^ Shaffer, Gina; ‘Pasadena, Los Angeles looking into bids for Rams: The field of potential rivals for the team widens after Rams officials announce their intention to break their lease’; Orange County Register, January 11, 1993, p. B08
  33. ^ Stellino, Vito; ‘Rams’ shopping bag is filled with NFL frustration’; The Baltimore Sun, November 25, 1993, p. 1D
  34. ^ ‘Frontiere Might Move Rams to Baltimore’; Austin American-Statesman, December 25, 1993, p. E3
  35. ^ Murray, Ken with Stellino, Vito and Morgan, John; ‘Baltimore is in no hurry to lure team: NFL snubs Baltimore with upset pick’; The Baltimore Sun, December 1, 1993, p. 1A