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1997 St. Louis Rams
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Record: 5-11-0, Finished 5th in NFC West Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 299 points (18.7/g), 23rd of 30 in the NFL.
Allowed 359 points (22.4/g), 19th.
Differential of -60 points (-3.8/g), 23rd.
Expected W-L: 6.3-9.7.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +9 (0.6/g), 6th.
Coached by Dick Vermeil (5-11-0)
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1997 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Tony Banks | 24 | 1 | 16 | 252 for 487, 3,254 yards, 14 td, 13 int, & 47 rushes for 186 yards and 1 td | St. Louis Rams / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1996 |
| RB | Lawrence Phillips | 22 | 1 | 9 | 183 rushes for 633 yards, 8 td, & 10 catches for 33 yards and 0 td | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 6th pick / 1996 |
| RB | Jerald Moore | 23 | 1 | 5 | 104 rushes for 380 yards, 3 td, & 8 catches for 69 yards and 0 td | St. Louis Rams / 3rd / 83rd pick / 1996 |
| FB | Craig Heyward | 31 | 9 | 12 | 34 rushes for 84 yards, 1 td, & 8 catches for 77 yards and 0 td | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 24th pick / 1988 |
| WR | Isaac Bruce | 25 | 3 | 12 | 56 catches for 815 yards, 5 td | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1994 |
| WR | Eddie Kennison | 24 | 1 | 9 | 25 catches for 404 yards, 0 td, & 3 rushes for 13 yards and 0 td | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 18th pick / 1996 |
| WR | Torrance Small | 27 | 5 | 7 | 32 catches for 488 yards, 1 td | New Orleans Saints / 5th / 138th pick / 1992 |
| TE | Ernie Conwell | 25 | 1 | 16 | 38 catches for 404 yards, 4 td | St. Louis Rams / 2nd / 59th pick / 1996 |
| LT | Orlando Pace | 22 | Rook | 9 | 1 fumble recovered | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 1st pick / 1997 |
| LT | Fred Miller | 24 | 1 | 7 | St. Louis Rams / 5th / 141st pick / 1996 |
|
| LG | John Gerak | 27 | 4 | 16 | Minnesota Vikings / 3rd / 57th pick / 1993 |
|
| C | Mike Gruttadauria | 25 | 1 | 14 | ||
| RG | Zach Wiegert | 25 | 2 | 15 | 4 fumbles recovered | St. Louis Rams / 2nd / 38th pick / 1995 |
| RT | Wayne Gandy | 26 | 3 | 16 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 15th pick / 1994 |
|
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Kevin Carter | 24 | 2 | 16 | 7.5 sacks, 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 6th pick / 1995 |
| LDT | Bill E. Johnson | 29 | 5 | 16 | 4.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Cleveland Browns / 3rd / 65th pick / 1992 |
| RDT | D'Marco Farr | 26 | 3 | 16 | 3.0 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| RDE | Leslie O'Neal | 33 | 11 | 14 | 10.0 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 8th pick / 1986 |
| LLB | Mike Jones | 28 | 6 | 15 | 2.0 sacks, 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | |
| MLB | Robert Jones | 28 | 5 | 15 | 1.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 24th pick / 1992 |
| RLB | Roman Phifer | 29 | 6 | 15 | 2.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 31st pick / 1991 |
| LCB | Todd Lyght | 28 | 6 | 16 | 1.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 5th pick / 1991 |
| RCB | Ryan McNeil | 27 | 4 | 16 | 0.0 sacks, 9 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1993 |
| SS | Toby Wright | 27 | 3 | 11 | 0.0 sacks, 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 49th pick / 1994 |
| FS | Keith Lyle | 25 | 3 | 16 | 2.0 sacks, 8 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 3rd / 71st pick / 1994 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Jeff Wilkins | 25 | 3 | 0 | 25 of 37 field goals & 32 of 32 extra points | |
| P | Mike Horan | 38 | 13 | 0 | 53 punts for a 42.9 average, 0 blocked | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 235th pick / 1982 |
| PR | Eddie Kennison | 24 | 1 | 9 | 34 punt returns for a 7.3 average and 0 td | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 18th pick / 1996 |
| KR | David Thompson | 22 | Rook | 0 | 49 kick returns for a 22.7 average and 0 td |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taje Allen | 24 | DB | 14 | 1 | 185 | 5-10 | Texas | 11/6/1973 | Rook | St. Louis Rams / 5th / 158th pick / 1997 |
| Tony Banks | 24 | QB | 16 | 16 | 230 | 6-4 | Michigan State | 4/5/1973 | 1 | St. Louis Rams / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1996 |
| Will Brice | 23 | P | 6 | 0 | 227 | 6-4 | Virginia | 10/24/1974 | Rook | |
| Bern Brostek | 31 | C-G | 1 | 1 | 300 | 6-3 | Washington | 9/11/1966 | 7 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 23rd pick / 1990 |
| Isaac Bruce | 25 | WR | 12 | 12 | 188 | 6-0 | Memphis | 11/10/1972 | 3 | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1994 |
| Kevin Carter | 24 | DE-DT | 16 | 16 | 290 | 6-5 | Florida | 9/21/1973 | 2 | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 6th pick / 1995 |
| Charlie Clemons | 25 | LB | 5 | 0 | 250 | 6-2 | Georgia | 7/4/1972 | Rook | |
| Ernie Conwell | 25 | TE | 16 | 16 | 255 | 6-2 | Washington | 8/17/1972 | 1 | St. Louis Rams / 2nd / 59th pick / 1996 |
| Keith Crawford | 27 | WR-DB | 15 | 2 | 188 | 6-2 | Howard Payne | 11/21/1970 | 4 | |
| Nate Dingle | 26 | LB | 9 | 0 | 252 | 6-2 | Cincinnati | 7/23/1971 | 2 | |
| Troy Dumas | 25 | LB | 2 | 0 | 242 | 6-3 | Nebraska | 9/30/1972 | 1 | Kansas City Chiefs / 3rd / 97th pick / 1995 |
| Ernest Dye | 26 | T-G | 13 | 0 | 330 | 6-6 | South Carolina | 7/15/1971 | 4 | Phoenix Cardinals / 1st / 18th pick / 1993 |
| D'Marco Farr | 26 | DT | 16 | 16 | 276 | 6-1 | Washington | 6/9/1971 | 3 | |
| Malcolm Floyd | 25 | WR | 4 | 0 | 194 | 6-0 | Fresno State | 12/19/1972 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 101st pick / 1994 |
| Wayne Gandy | 26 | T | 16 | 16 | 308 | 6-4 | Auburn | 2/10/1971 | 3 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 15th pick / 1994 |
| John Gerak | 27 | G-C | 16 | 16 | 290 | 6-3 | Penn State | 1/6/1970 | 4 | Minnesota Vikings / 3rd / 57th pick / 1993 |
| Mike Gruttadauria | 25 | C | 14 | 14 | 280 | 6-3 | Central Florida | 12/6/1972 | 1 | |
| Britt Hager | 31 | LB | 13 | 0 | 231 | 6-1 | Texas | 2/20/1966 | 8 | Philadelphia Eagles / 3rd / 81st pick / 1989 |
| Craig Heyward | 31 | RB | 16 | 12 | 260 | 5-11 | Pittsburgh | 9/26/1966 | 9 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 24th pick / 1988 |
| Mike Horan | 38 | P | 10 | 0 | 192 | 5-11 | Long Beach State | 2/1/1959 | 13 | Atlanta Falcons / 9th / 235th pick / 1982 |
| Mitch Jacoby | 24 | TE | 14 | 2 | 260 | 6-4 | Northern Illinois | 12/8/1973 | Rook | |
| Billy Jenkins | 23 | DB | 16 | 2 | 205 | 5-10 | Howard | 7/8/1974 | Rook | |
| Bill E. Johnson | 29 | DT-DE | 16 | 16 | 305 | 6-4 | Michigan State | 12/9/1968 | 5 | Cleveland Browns / 3rd / 65th pick / 1992 |
| Mike Jones | 28 | LB | 16 | 15 | 240 | 6-1 | Missouri | 4/15/1969 | 6 | |
| Robert Jones | 28 | LB | 16 | 15 | 244 | 6-3 | East Carolina | 9/27/1969 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 24th pick / 1992 |
| Muadianvita Kazadi | 24 | LB | 12 | 0 | 240 | 6-2 | Tulsa | 12/20/1973 | Rook | St. Louis Rams / 6th / 179th pick / 1997 |
| Eddie Kennison | 24 | WR | 14 | 9 | 201 | 6-1 | LSU | 1/20/1973 | 1 | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 18th pick / 1996 |
| Aaron Laing | 26 | TE | 15 | 4 | 260 | 6-3 | Lamar,New Mexico State | 7/19/1971 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 5th / 137th pick / 1994 |
| Amp Lee | 26 | RB | 16 | 1 | 200 | 5-11 | Florida State | 10/1/1971 | 5 | San Francisco 49ers / 2nd / 45th pick / 1992 |
| Todd Lyght | 28 | DB | 16 | 16 | 190 | 6-0 | Notre Dame | 2/9/1969 | 6 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 5th pick / 1991 |
| Keith Lyle | 25 | DB | 16 | 16 | 210 | 6-2 | Virginia | 4/17/1972 | 3 | Los Angeles Rams / 3rd / 71st pick / 1994 |
| Gerald McBurrows | 24 | DB | 8 | 3 | 208 | 5-11 | Kansas | 10/7/1973 | 2 | St. Louis Rams / 7th / 214th pick / 1995 |
| Dexter McCleon | 24 | DB | 16 | 1 | 195 | 5-10 | Clemson | 10/9/1973 | Rook | St. Louis Rams / 2nd / 40th pick / 1997 |
| Ryan McNeil | 27 | DB | 16 | 16 | 210 | 6-2 | Miami (FL) | 10/4/1970 | 4 | Detroit Lions / 2nd / 33rd pick / 1993 |
| Fred Miller | 24 | T-G | 15 | 7 | 320 | 6-7 | Baylor | 2/6/1973 | 1 | St. Louis Rams / 5th / 141st pick / 1996 |
| Jerald Moore | 23 | RB | 9 | 5 | 225 | 5-9 | Oklahoma | 11/20/1974 | 1 | St. Louis Rams / 3rd / 83rd pick / 1996 |
| Ronald Moore | 27 | RB | 7 | 2 | 220 | 5-10 | Pittsburg State | 1/26/1970 | 4 | Phoenix Cardinals / 4th / 87th pick / 1993 |
| Leslie O'Neal | 33 | DE-LB | 15 | 14 | 275 | 6-4 | Oklahoma State | 5/7/1964 | 11 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 8th pick / 1986 |
| Orlando Pace | 22 | T | 13 | 9 | 325 | 6-7 | Ohio State | 11/4/1975 | Rook | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 1st pick / 1997 |
| Roman Phifer | 29 | LB | 16 | 15 | 248 | 6-2 | UCLA | 3/5/1968 | 6 | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 31st pick / 1991 |
| Lawrence Phillips | 22 | RB | 10 | 9 | 212 | 6-0 | Nebraska | 5/12/1975 | 1 | St. Louis Rams / 1st / 6th pick / 1996 |
| Bryan Robinson | 23 | DT-DE | 11 | 0 | 305 | 6-4 | Fresno State | 6/22/1974 | Rook | |
| Jeff Robinson | 27 | TE | 16 | 0 | 264 | 6-4 | Idaho | 2/20/1970 | 4 | Denver Broncos / 4th / 98th pick / 1993 |
| Jermaine Ross | 26 | WR | 4 | 0 | 192 | 6-0 | Purdue | 4/27/1971 | 3 | |
| Joe Rowe | 24 | DB | 2 | 0 | 195 | 6-0 | Virginia | 12/8/1973 | Rook | |
| Mark Rypien | 35 | QB | 5 | 0 | 231 | 6-4 | Washington State | 10/2/1962 | 9 | Washington Redskins / 6th / 146th pick / 1986 |
| Mike Scurlock | 25 | DB | 5 | 0 | 200 | 5-10 | Arizona | 2/26/1972 | 2 | St. Louis Rams / 5th / 140th pick / 1995 |
| Torrance Small | 27 | WR | 13 | 7 | 209 | 6-3 | Alcorn State | 9/4/1970 | 5 | New Orleans Saints / 5th / 138th pick / 1992 |
| Vernice Smith | 32 | G-T | 10 | 2 | 300 | 6-3 | Florida A&M | 10/24/1965 | 7 | |
| Lorenzo Styles | 23 | LB | 3 | 0 | 245 | 6-1 | Ohio State | 1/31/1974 | 2 | Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 77th pick / 1995 |
| J.T. Thomas | 26 | WR | 4 | 0 | 180 | 5-10 | Arizona State | 7/11/1971 | 2 | St. Louis Rams / 7th / 240th pick / 1995 |
| David Thompson | 22 | RB | 11 | 0 | 196 | 5-8 | Oklahoma State | 1/13/1975 | Rook | |
| Ryan Tucker | 22 | T | 7 | 0 | 325 | 6-6 | TCU | 6/12/1975 | Rook | St. Louis Rams / 4th / 112th pick / 1997 |
| Marquis Walker | 25 | DB | 11 | 0 | 175 | 5-10 | Southeast Missouri State | 7/6/1972 | 1 | |
| Brett Wallerstedt | 27 | LB | 2 | 0 | 240 | 6-1 | Arizona State | 11/24/1970 | 4 | Phoenix Cardinals / 6th / 143rd pick / 1993 |
| Zach Wiegert | 25 | G-T | 15 | 15 | 309 | 6-5 | Nebraska | 8/16/1972 | 2 | St. Louis Rams / 2nd / 38th pick / 1995 |
| Jeff Wilkins | 25 | K | 16 | 0 | 205 | 6-2 | Youngstown State | 4/19/1972 | 3 | |
| Jay Williams | 26 | DE | 16 | 2 | 275 | 6-3 | Wake Forest | 10/13/1971 | 2 | |
| Toby Wright | 27 | DB | 11 | 11 | 212 | 5-11 | Nebraska | 11/19/1970 | 3 | Los Angeles Rams / 2nd / 49th pick / 1994 |
| Jeff Zgonina | 27 | DT | 15 | 0 | 285 | 6-2 | Purdue | 5/24/1970 | 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 7th / 185th pick / 1993 |
| Team Total | 26.1 | 16 | 241.7 | 6-1.7 | 3.1 |