1972 Los Angeles Rams

this is the coliseum home of the los angeles rams it is also the home of a team in transition one that is dedicated to an exciting new image the brewers of olympia beer are proud to be associated with the rams and their new owner carol rosenbloom carol acquired the rams in july 1972 and at that time he said he would make haste slowly with carol is barney renderer a sports enthusiast himself who is director of advertising for olympia brewing company good morning barney hi carol how are you smart all right just fine how you doing good good by the way uh what did you mean by that statement you'd make haste slowly oh you're referring to the remark i made when we first came to los angeles barney uh our team had practically been set we had our coaching staff her squad was here and truly there was little that we could do except observe and watch and when the season was over be prepared to make judgments that would help us get a winner those things we did we were patient we did make hay slowly and when the season was over we were prepared to make the moves that we thought and we still think will give us the kind of a team that los angeles fines deserve i see what you mean carol and with that basic philosophy the olympia brewing company is certainly pleased to be associated with the rams and the film in 1973. well thank you barney and the rhymes are delighted to have you with us and now let's you and i take a look at the 1972 rams on film [Music] the 1972 los angeles rams began a new era under carroll rosenbloom and don klosterman these men inherited a team and a coaching staff that was to experience all the emotions in the spectrum from the ecstasy of glorious victory to the despair of disappointing defeat the rams opened the season at home against the saints with number 74 merlin olsen beginning what was to be one of his best seasons in an already distinguished career behind the lead sweep blocking of number 68 mike lahood bob thomas raced for 144 yards his best day as a pro [Music] the rams blasted new orleans 34-14 [Music] in chicago the rams faced the bears who couldn't figure a way to crack the mighty los angeles defense number 85 jack youngblood was outstanding and los angeles gave up only 13 points however 10 minutes before game time roman gabriel came up sore armed and number 12 pete beathard started but with his timing off the rams could manage only 13 points themselves in atlanta the ever-improving falcons came up with one of their best games as the los angeles quarterbacks threw six interceptions [Music] [Applause] [Music] by this time roman gabriel had turned to acupuncture anything to help the soreness in his arms but when he entered the game in the second half he got little protection [Music] [Music] while the atlanta defense made the most of the situation the atlanta offense exploded for 300 yards on the ground and the falcons had their first win ever over the rams [Applause] with the archrival 49ers next on the schedule the situation looked grim in the fourth week of the season the san francisco 49ers came to the coliseum and it was important that the rams begin to click again so coach tommy prothrow changed the style of the ram attack in order to make up for roman gabriel's arm problems the rams passing attack was based on short tosses in unexpected situations to number 29 joe sweet number 80 bob klein and number 13 lance [Music] renzel special plays were added to keep the 49er defense off balance but above all the rams relied on their running game and their great veteran offensive line of charlie cowan tom mack ken eiman joe chebelli harry shoe and john williams blasted open huge holes as the rams runners rampage [Music] the ram offensive line has been among the best for years and most of them have been together as a unit since 1966. [Applause] [Music] and so it was with the offensive line leading the charge an unleashed whirlwind every man giving everything to the team effort the rams blew past the 49ers [Applause] number 42 dave ellendorf was all over the field as he intercepted two passes giving everything lifting the defense [Music] jack snow number 84 gave it everything as he caught eight passes his most ever as a pro and raced for two touchdowns the 31-7 destruction of the 49ers had been an all-out team victory of physical and mental triumph by forty men who had gotten themselves up as a team and gone out and won as a team in week five the rams journeyed to philadelphia to meet the eagles with number 79 coy bacon leading the assault the eagle offense either folded up or fumbled away and when bacon was done sizzling jack youngblood kept the pressure on number 24 clancy williams shut down the corner and the eagles passing game was rendered ineffective by number 21 gene howard and number 19 jim nettles with the defense smothering the philadelphia efforts the rams were able to build a big lead number 45 fast developing rookie jim bertelsen slashed in for one score and then the rams air game soared high and free [Music] john love's touchdown catch put the rams over 30 points for the second straight week as they shot down the eagles 34-3 [Applause] the bengals were in los angeles in week six for a game that meant much to the standings of both teams within their [Music] divisions it was a day that saw the rams special teams perform admirably as courageous jim bertelsen recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff that led to a 7-0 ram lead then a kick by conference punting champion dave chapel was bounced off the leg of the fast pursuing dean halberson and joe sweet and number 46 roger williams turned the bounce into a safety as the rams increased their lead linebacker ken gettys number 36 led a defensive charge that had the bengals [Music] reeling but then a tricky triple handoff led to a cincinnati touchdown when the rams tried a similar play it was also good for a bengal score and with a game tied at 12 and practically no time remaining the rams began an amazing pressure drive they gouged yardage up the middle [Music] [Applause] [Music] then a rifle shot and yardage on a penalty and then with three seconds left david ray kicked a game-winning 32-yard field goal oh my the rams at four one and one were on top in the nfc west even though the rams had reached their peak the road ahead was to be uphill [Music] following the cincinnati victory the rams with the offense limping lost six of their last eight games it was a time for soul searching a time that saw the sweat and sacrifice of summer and the already hard-won victories slipping into obscurity [Music] it was a time of pain and granite stares for the rams players and their fans in oakland the rams fell behind early and lost by 45 to 17. [Music] against denver the passing game misfired and the rams were stunned [Music] 16-10 a loss to the minnesota vikings followed the denver upset [Music] and in new orleans scoring chances slipped away again and again and again but as tough as this stretch of bad track was not one ram gave up not one los angeles player quit the game with minnesota was billed as a defensive battle since the vikings and rams were one and two in the nfc and defense and there was some defense plays the viking defenders turned a los angeles fumble into a score [Music] from there on out it was all offense touchdown for touchdown six for six while the vikings hit on the big plays the rams put together powerful well-planned drives jim bertelsen scored once with a great second effort but it was nullified by minnesota and another big play again the rams came back this time with willie ellison and trailed at 38-34 [Music] but every time los angeles got to within striking distance fran tarkenton hit them with a bomb even as time was running out the rams put together one last scoring drive [Music] although joe sweets touchdown wasn't enough the 45 to 41 loss proved that the rams had never quit in what had been a spectacular game but a tough loss despite their late season defeats two key wins kept the rams in the title race the first was a return match in the eighth week with the atlanta falcons who scored once and then not [Music] the again defense crushed and crumpled the falcons [Music] jim purnell number 53 put down the atlanta air attack jim bertelson continued to develop as a star on his way to the third highest season rushing total of any ram rookie in history [Music] his score gave the rams a big 20-7 win los angeles was still very much in the title race when they again met the 49ers in a monday night musk game in week 12 and again the rams rose to the occasion as a team early in the game they unveiled formation zero [Music] and the confused 49ers never recovered [Music] not once all night were the 49ers able to sack roman gabriel who threw the rams into the lead his strikes to willie ellison and bob klein gave the rams a 26-16 lead which the defense protected well number 90 rookie larry brooks moved into the front four and gave a veteran performance jim nettles doused the 49ers attempt to catch fire number 44 al clark cut off san francisco's last chance and kept the 49ers winless against the rams in 10 of their last 11 games [Music] with only two weeks to go victories over the cardinals and the lions could put the rams into the playoffs but in saint louis on a bitter white cold day the offensive fire flickered low sputtered and went out [Music] so [Music] the cardinals went on to win in an upset and in the last week the rams lost to the lions to end a six seven and one season which at times seemed like a bad dream [Music] despite their six seven and one record there had been some outstanding performers for the rams in 72 such as number 89 fred dryer defensive end defensive end jack youngblood number 85 got better stronger quicker and more alert with every game number 90 larry brooks a super find who moved into the front four and provided great run-stopping ability [Music] and merlin olson had one of his finest seasons in a career that has been filled with all-pro and pro bowl honors he led the defense that had 42 sacks second best in the nfl and was a great tutor for the younger ram defenders such as bill nelson and brother phil number 72. middle linebacker marlon mckeever number 86 had another standout year [Music] and was experienced help for the hard-hitting isaiah robertson number 58. safety jim nettles led the rams with six interceptions safety dave elmendorf in only his second year became a top-flight ball hog cornerback gene howard can stick and stop the six with a talented touch in 1972 the ram special teams led the nfl with mike lahood jack reynolds pat curran john pergine and rich saul covering both the punt and kickoff units were outstanding rookie jim bertelsen was a brilliant performer on specialty teams as well as the offense he's one of those rare players whose heart and courage match his talent and who along with larry mccutchen will provide exuberant youth in next year's running attack [Music] while jim bertelsen's performance was a pleasant surprise number 38 larry smith was no surprise with his usual solid contribution and with number 34 lester josephson who makes things happen the rams running game came within one yard of the all-time los angeles rushing record [Music] when gabriel was throwing well he went off into bob klein who was still improving at tight end and in 1972 jack snow moved up to become the fourth best all-time receiver in ram history in 73 another receiver will be dick gordon former bear star who though injured most of 72 gave a glimpse of big things to come another new face comes to the rams in 73 as john hadel the quarterback who ranks sixth in all-time nfl passing yardage moves up the coast to join the los angeles attack unit yet another new face in los angeles in 73 will be that of dynamic new head coach chuck knox who talks about something he intends to deliver the thing that i'm talking about is a thing that i've referred to as a winning edge winning edge to me is that you out work other people in terms of staff dedication in terms of sound preparation we're hoping that and planning to leave no stone unturned as far as our staff is concerned in developing this football team in terms of sound preparation and hard work next year they'll be new players a new coach and a new look in uniforms for carol rosenbloom's rams because a team's uniform is its outward symbol the rams have changed to one with more color sparkle and glamour but with a rich tradition reminiscent of the early ram years the new look will prevail in both home and away uniforms and will symbolize a team that has changed much in one short year [Music] a team that can look to the future and a coach was confident that in 1973 the los angeles rams are going to go into every game with the winning edge [Applause] [Music] for ticket information call 277-4744 the film was great carol and we're all looking forward to this next season how do you think we're going to do this season well barney i wish i could look into that crystal ball and know for sure i'd be more relaxed going into the season than i normally am however i believe that we have made what i call a beginning a beginning where hopefully we can win in 1973. like every other ram fan i want to win so badly and go to the super bowl and 73 that i can taste it indeed once the 1972 season ended carol rosenbloom did take positive action to bring the rams a winner he did trade for john hadel and he did hire a new head coach in chuck knox rosenbloom has a reputation for selecting winners in fact three of the last five coaches to win the super bowl were discovered by carol rosenbloom in chuck knox carol hopes to make it four out of six carol i'm sure you know the olympia brewing company joins all the rams fans and wishing you and chuck and the entire team a great 73 season well thank you barney i appreciate it and i know we're going to do our best

Channel: Grey Beard

Views: 4,140

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: NFL Films, Steve Sabol, Ed Sabol, Los Angeles Rams, LA Rams, Dick Enberg, Tommy Prothro, Roman Gabriel, Jack Youngblood, Jack Hacksaw Reynolds, Fred Ryer, Merlin Olsen

Id: jues9lIDhO4

Length: 27min 35sec (1655 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 22 2020