St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 33

spouts ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1975. SECTION 1-UD Mr'- WM? CARDINAL COACH 'ra -csartia jackson kccutchkk hack nelson scicelit r- -f; Cards Have Confidence Up Their Sleeves Harris Practices, Who'll Start? LOS ANGELES, Dec. (UPI) James Harris was back throwing the ball in the Los Angeles Rams' practice yesterday, but coach Chuck Knox said he probably would withhold the announcement of his starting quarterback in tomorrow's playoff game with the Cardinals until tomorrow morning. Harris suffered a shoulder bruise on his passing arm and missed the Rams' season-ending game and all but three plays of the next-to-last game.

Ron Jaworski took over and directed the Rams to a 22-5 victory over the Green Bay Packers and a 10-3 triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Running back John Cappelletti, who was stricken with mononucleosis, returned to. practice yesterday and Knox said there was a possibility he would play tomorrow. Running back Lawrence McCutcheon, who sat out the Pittsburgh game with a pulled thigh muscle, was ready to play. Offensive tackle Charlie Cowan reported that his sprained ankle felt better, but he was held out of the drills.

"It all seems so shallow," he had said then. "Here we have a 10-4 season after being 4-9-1 for the previous three years. We win our division and we get in the playoffs. Then we play one game and go home. There's just no depth to it." This year, the Cardinals are 11-3.

They're convinced they'll find the depth they missed out on a year ago. But they also are aware some strange things can happen. "When you get into the playoffs," Hart said after the Cardinals clinched their second successive division title in Chicago, "it's a lot like shooting craps." And because the Cardinals are here, the dice are loaded in favor of the Rams. In five playoff games, Los Angeles has compiled a 1-4 record their four losses all came on the road, their only victory came at home. The Rams have lost only two home games in the last three years.

Individual Leaders RUSHING RAMS McCutcheon 213-91 1,4.3 per carry; Bertelsen 116- 457, 3.9, Brvont CARDINALS Otis 269-1076, 4.0; Metcalf 165-816, 4.9; Jone! 54-275, 5.1 PASSING RAMS Harris 157 completions, 285 attempts, 2148 yards, 14 touchdowns, 15 interceptions; Jaworski 24-48, 302 yards, no touchdowns, 2 interceptions. CARDINALS Hart 182-345, 2507 yards, 19 TD, 19 Interceptions. RECEIVING RAMS Jackson 43-786, 7 TD; Jessie 40-533, 3 TD; McCutcheon, 31-230, 1 TD. CARDINALS Gray 48-926, 19.3 11 TD; Metcalf 43-378, 2 TD; Thomas 21-375, 2 TD; Jones 19-194, 1 TD. Harris completed 55 per cent of his 285 passes during the season for 2440 yards and 14 touchdowns, but there is a general feeling that he may be the Rams' weak offensive link.

A former teammate, who didn't want to be identified, said that Harris, "can be intimidated. You can't intimidate him physically, but if you can force a couple of mistakes maybe get an interception on one series and sack him on the next series, he loses confidence. Gets a little rattled." Obviously, though, not many rattled either Harris or the Rams very much this season. Los Angeles compiled a 12-2 record in winning the National Conference's Western Division. And although it was the Los Angeles defense that got most of the publicity the 135 points yielded by the Rams were just two more than the NFL record set by the 1969 Vikings the Rams offense was fifth in the NFL in points scored.

When Harris does throw just sort of muscles the ball in there," said a Big Red defensive back) he generally looks for his wide receivers, Harold Jackson and Ron Jessie. Harris was intercepted 15 times this season. Last year, the Rams defeated the Washington Redskins in the first round of the playoffs, ifl-10, then lost to the Vikings in the NFC championship game, 14-10. The Cardinals had lost to the Vikings a week earlier, 30-14. "I remember," said Rams guard Joe Scibelli, "after the game we had lost (to the Vikings), that the significance of the game dawned on me.

I could see then just how much we'd thrown away by losing, what a chance we'd had." A year ago in Minnesota, Hart had said nearly the same thing. By Doug Grow Of the Post-Dispatch Staff LOS ANGELES, Dec. 26 There is a difference, said quarterback Jim Hart, between the Cardinals football team that arrived here today for final preparations for tomorrow's National Conference playoff game with the Los Angeles Rams and the team that arrived in Minnesota a year ago for a playoff game with the Vikings. "There is a matter of confidence," Hart said. "The way we won games the last half of the year makes a big difference.

We've added a facet to our game." The Cardinals quarterback calmly talked about how a year ago the Big Red surprised themselves by grabbing a 7-0 lead over the Vikings. "That was an unusual situation for us," he said, "and we didn't know how to react. Last year and the first part of this year we had to eke out games. But lately, we've been able to attack. "Now we've got that extra facet I was talking about.

Everybody on this team knows we can come from behind because we've had to do it so often. That means if we can't go out and score quickly, we're not going to get impatient. But we also know that if we go out and get on top, we can stay there." The oddsmakers, of course, don't figure that the Cardinals will either get, or stay, on top of the Rams. They've picked Los Angeles to win tomorrow's 3 p.m. (St.

Louis time) game by seven points. In essence, the gamblers are saying that a good defense (the Rams' defense allowed the fewest points in the National Football League) will beat a good offense (the Big Red offense ranked second in the NFC and fifth in the NFL). The thinking of the oddsmakers matters not to either the Rams or the Cardinals. Nor do statistical rankings concern either team. Both teams simply are convinced that they will win tomorrow's game.

"Our best defensive lineman (Larry Brooks) is out," said Bob DeMarco, "and the team is really crippled with injuries but guys come off the bench and do the job. It's close knit and this team doesn't believe it can lose. There's no pressure. None." Smith To Start LOS ANGELES, Dec. 26 The Cardinals have made a lineup change entering their playoff game here tomorrow.

J. V. Cain will move to wide receiver to replace rookie Jke Harris, with Jackie Smith stepping into his old tight end position. Cardinal coach Don Coryell said that the change was not a demotion for Harris. Rather, he said, that Smith now is healthy and that the Cardinal tight end has contributed so much in his Big Red career, he deserves the opportunity to start in the playoffs.

Cain, he said, will start instead of Harris because of his experience and blocking ability. Doug Grow DeMarco once was a center for the Cardinals fact is, he was the center of an offensive line that considered itself the best In professional football back in the middle 1960s. Another fact is that both the Rams and the Cardinals claim that this year they have the best offensive lines in football. DeMarco, who is in his fifteenth and final year in football, now rides the Rams' bench (behind center Rich Saul). He said he didn't want to get into a game of comparing offensive lines past or present.

"It's tough to make comparisons," he said, "because you've got different philosophies, ditterent expectations." The philosophy of the Rams has been based on getting the ball to either Lawrence McCutcheon, who rushed for 911 yards, or Jim Bertelsen, who had rushed for 457 yards before being lost for the season because of a knee injury in the twelfth game of the season. McCutcheon, who missed the Rams' 10-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, will start against the Big Red. Rob Scribner and Cullen Bryant will alternate at Bertelsen's spot. Most think that the Cardinals' defense needs to force the Rams to throw the ball to have a chance tomorrow. James Harris (sore shoulder) has thrown only two passes in the last two games but he is expected to be able to play.

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One is that they will not have played in two weeks because of exams and the holidays and the other is that two senior regulars winger Jean Bourdon and defenseman Kevin Healy have gone to the sidelines with bad knees. Selman said he was not concerned with the latter because of such backups as freshman forward Bob Keeler, who was a starter earlier in the season before he was injured, and freshman defenseman Pierre Rougeau. Minnesota, which Selman said boasts one of college hockey's best power plays, is led by center Tom Wannelli who has 12 goals and 10 assists and the goaltending tandem of Jeff Tscherne and Tom Mohr, which has a combined goals-against average of 2.50. The series will end with a 1:30 game Sunday. FACTORY BUY BACKS 2 doors MATADORS 4 DOORS $6 or 1 2, either way it's family entertainment at its best.

By Rick Hummel Of the Post-Dispatch Staff On one hand, St. Louis University hockey coach Bill Selman says the two-game series with Minnesota which begins tonight at The Arena could be the most important series the Billikens ever have played in their six seasons on ice. On the other, he says, "I'd just like to stay away from making this series the whole season. I don't want to put it as 'if we lose to the Gophers, there's no way of going to the playoffs. But, if the Billikens have any postseason aspirations, (and they always do) it would behoove them to do well against the Gophers, who are ranked seventh nationally and have finished first and second, respectively, in the last two NCAA tournaments.

Minnesota already has beaten the fifth-ranked Bills twice this season at Minneapolis and has defeated them seven times in eight meetings over the years, including a 6-5 victory in 1972 which ended the Bills' record 11-game winning streak. Ironically, as the Billikens approach tonight's 8 o'clock game, they have another 11-game streak. "We always seem to be saying that the next series is going to be our most important one," said Selman. "When Colorado College was in here a couple of weeks ago, people were saying that was the most important." If the Bills attach more significance to Factory Air, Powtr Sf ring, Automatic, Radio. Vinyl Top, Whltcwalli, Whool Covors, toouHM low mHoooo car $3188 SAVE $1500 FROM ORIGINAL LIST! BALA NCI Of NIW CAI WARRANTY LARGEST AMC-JEEP DEALER Family Night.

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