1987 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Los Angeles Rams 1987 6–9 3rd NFC West John Robinson Georgia Frontiere Anaheim Stadium Did not qualify LCB Jerry Gray RG Dennis Harrah RT Jackie Slater C Doug Smith RB Charles White Rams seasons thumb|right|Uniforms worn by the 1987 Rams The 1987 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's strike shortened 50th season in the National Football League, their 51st overall, and their 42nd in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The season saw the Rams attempting to improve on their 10–6 record from 1986 and make the playoffs for the 5th straight season. However, the Rams struggled right out the gate. In their first 2 games against the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings, the Rams had 4th quarter leads and blew them. They led 13–0 in the 4th quarter at Houston and lost 20–16, while they led 16–14 at home against Minnesota and lost 21–16. The next week, a strike occurred which wiped out all week 3 games. As a result, their game at home against the Cincinnati Bengals was canceled. One week later, the Rams were thumped by the Saints 37–10 to start the season 0–3, their first such start since 1982, which was, ironically, also a season that saw a strike take place. The Rams finally got in the win column the next week, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers at home, 31–21. However, the next week in Atlanta, the Rams lost another big lead, this time after leading 17–0 at halftime and 20–7 in the 4th quarter. This was followed by embarrassing losses to the Cleveland Browns (30–17), the arch-rival San Francisco 49ers (31–10), and the Saints again (31–14) to drop to 1–7, their worst start since 1965, when they started 1–9. However, the Rams then caught fire, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis, 27–24, after trailing 24–14 in the 3rd quarter. The next week in Washington, the Rams outlasted the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football 30–26, and it appeared as though the Rams were poised to get back in the playoff race. The win over Washington was followed by blowout wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (35–3), Detroit Lions (37–6), and Atlanta Falcons (33–0) and the Rams were looking to make an improbable in-season turnaround. However, the next week against the Dallas Cowboys, the Rams lost 29–21 to eliminate them from the playoffs. The season ended with the Rams getting pummeled by the 49ers on the road, 48–0. Ultimately, the Rams finished the strike-shortened season 6–9 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1982. Offseason NFL draft 1987 NFL draft 1987 Los Angeles Rams 2 47 Donald Evans Defensive end Winston-Salem State no yes 3 76 Cliff Hicks Cornerback Oregon no yes 4 91 Doug Bartlett Defensive tackle Northern Illinois no yes 4 108 Larry Kelm Linebacker Texas A&M no yes 5 136 Scott Mersereau Defensive tackle Southern Connecticut no yes 6 166 John Embree Tight end Colorado no yes 8 213 Michael Stewart Safety Fresno State no yes 9 240 Tracy Ham Running back Georgia Southern Signed with and played for the Edmonton Eskimos as a quarterback no no 10 272 David Smith Linebacker Northern Arizona no no 12 326 Alonzo Williams Running back Colorado Mesa no yes 12 332 Fred Stokes Defensive end Georgia Southern no yes no Personnel Staff 1987 Los Angeles Rams Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere Vice president of finance – John Shaw General counsel – Jay Zygmunt Administrator of football operations – Jack Faulkner Director of operations – Dick Beam Director of player personnel – John Math Head coach – John Robinson Offensive coordinator – Ernie Zampese Quarterbacks – Dick Coury Running backs – Gil Haskell Tight ends/wide receivers – Norv Turner Offensive line – Hudson Houck Defensive coordinator/inside linebackers – Fritz Shurmur Defensive line – Marv Goux Assistant defensive line – Larry Brooks Outside linebackers – Fred Whittingham Defensive backs – Steve Shafer Special teams – Artie Gigantino NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled: 1987 Los Angeles Rams replacement rosterQuarterbacks 4 Robert Frasco 8 Steve Dils 9 Bernard Quarles Running backs 31 Alonzo Williams 32 Cullen Bryant 33 Charles White 34 Dwaine Wilson 35 Jon Francis 39 William Stone 42 Casey Tiumalu 44 Mike Guman Wide receivers 82 Bernard Henry 14 Ricky Martin 17 Steve Marks 18 Brian Coushay 81 Stacey Mobley 88 Phil Smith 89 Samuel Johnson Tight ends 38 Dan Noble 83 James McDonald 84 Malcolm Moore Offensive linemen 51 Chris Matau 62 Tom Taylor 63 Hank Goebel 64 Greg Sinnott 68 Navy Tuiasosopo 72 Tom Cox 73 Kelly Thomas 76 Joe Murray Defensive linemen 69 Greg Meisner 70 Tom Hensley 76 Shelby Nevens 79 Suge Knight 90 Jim Crane 90 Sherman Nevens 90 Gregory Sims 95 Dennis Edwards 97 Chris Pacheco 98 Shawn Miller 99 Alvin WrightLinebackers 59 Cary Whittingham 57 Kyle Whittingham 91 Kyle Borland 92 Jim Kalafat 94 Danny Lee Clark 96 Neil Hope Defensive backs 21 Nolan Cromwell 26 Gerald Daniels 29 Kevin Dickson 36 Kirby Jackson 37 Reggie Richardson 41 Ed Zeman 43 Greg Williamson 46 Holbert Johnson 46 Jerome Tyler 48 Craig Rutledge Special teams 1 Mike Lansford K 2 Don Shafer K 5 Dale Hatcher P 6 John Misko P Roster 1987 Los Angeles Rams  8 Steve Dils 11 Jim Everett 12 Hugh Millen 34 Donald Evans American football y 44 Mike Guman 38 Lakei Heimuli y 35 Jon Francis 32 Tim Tyrrell 33 Charles White American football 89 Ron Brown wide receiver 80 Henry Ellard 83 Kevin House 88 Mike Young American football 84 Greg Baty 81 David Hill tight end 86 Damone Johnson 64 Robert Cox T 60 Dennis Harrah G 67 Duval Love G 66 Tom Newberry G 75 Irv Pankey T 76 Mike Schad G 56 Doug Smith offensive lineman C 78 Jackie Slater T 61 Tony Slaton C 71 Reggie Doss DE 77 Gary Jeter DE 69 Greg Meisner NT 98 Shawn Miller American football DE 93 Doug Reed DE 65 Fred Stokes DE 99 Alvin Wright NT 92 Richard Brown linebacker y ILB 50 Jim Collins linebacker ILB 55 Carl Ekern ILB 91 Kevin Greene OLB 52 Larry Kelm y ILB 58 Mel Owens OLB 51 Norwood Vann OLB 54 Mike Wilcher OLB 21 Nolan Cromwell FS 25 Jerry Gray CB 28 Cliff Hicks y CB 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 23 Michael Stewart American football SS 49 Mickey Sutton cornerback CB 41 Frank Wattelet FS  5 Dale Hatcher P  1 Mike Lansford K 90 Mike McDonald American football LS 57 Doug Bartlett American football y DE IR 42 Greg Bell running back, born 1962 RB IR 94 Kyle Borland y LB IR 95 Jim Blyrne DE IR 87 Jon Embree y TE IR 20 Johnnie Johnson American football S IR 59 Mark Jerue LB IR 24 Buford McGee FB IR 22 Vince Newsome S IR —- Tim Ruiz G IR -- Jeff Walker American football T/G IR Regular season On October 31, 1987, the Los Angeles Rams traded Eric Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts in a three team trade involving the Buffalo Bills. The Rams sent Dickerson to the Colts for six draft choices and two players. Buffalo obtained the rights to Cornelius Bennett from Indianapolis. Buffalo sent running back Greg Bell and three draft choices to the Rams, while Indianapolis added Owen Gill and three of their own draft picks to complete the deal with the Rams.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book Workman Publishing Co New York, NY 0-7611-2480-2 286 Former Heisman Trophy winner Charles White would become the starting running back. The 1987 season would be his finest year as a pro, rushing for a league-leading 1,387 yards and 11 touchdowns, which earned him a Pro Bowl selection and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. On November 23, 1987, linebacker Mike Wilcher recovered Doug Williams fumble and ran it back it 35 yards for a touchdown. It was Wilcher's only touchdown in the NFL. Erik Kramer's 3 passing touchdown performance against the Rams on October 18, 1987, was the last three-touchdown game by an undrafted free agent rookie quarterback until Matt McGloin accomplished the feat for the Oakland Raiders against the Houston Texans on November 17, 2013. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13 at Houston Oilers L 16–20 0–1 Houston Astrodome 33,186 2 September 20 Minnesota Vikings L 16–21 0–2 Anaheim Stadium 63,367 – September 27 Cincinnati Bengals canceled 0–2 Anaheim Stadium 3 October 4 at New Orleans Saints L 10–37 0–3 Louisiana Superdome 29,745 4 October 11 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–21 1–3 Anaheim Stadium 20,219 5 October 18 at Atlanta Falcons L 20–24 1–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 15,813 6 October 26, 1987 at Cleveland Browns L 17–30 1–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,933 7 November 1 San Francisco 49ers L 10–31 1–6 Anaheim Stadium 55,328 8 November 8 New Orleans Saints L 14–31 1–7 Anaheim Stadium 43,379 9 November 15 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27–24 2–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 27,730 10 November 23, 1987 at Washington Redskins W 30–26 3–7 RFK Stadium 53,614 11 November 29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 35–3 4–7 Anaheim Stadium 45,188 12 December 6 at Detroit Lions W 37–16 5–7 Pontiac Silverdome 33,413 13 December 13 Atlanta Falcons W 33–0 6–7 Anaheim Stadium 43,310 14 December 21 Dallas Cowboys L 21–29 6–8 Anaheim Stadium 60,700 15 December 27 at San Francisco 49ers L 0–48 6–9 Candlestick Park 57,950 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Awards and honors Jerry Gray, NFC Pro Bowl selection Charles White, NFL Comeback Player of the Year Charles White, Pro Bowl selection References 30em External links 1987 Los Angeles Rams at Pro-Football-Reference.com Los Angeles Rams Category:Los Angeles Rams seasons Los Ang