1994_Los_Angeles_Rams_season

1994 Los Angeles Rams season
1994 Los Angeles Rams season
Owner	Georgia Frontiere
General manager	John Shaw
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Home field	Anaheim Stadium ; (since 1980)
Local radio	KMPC (710 AM)
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Jerome Bettis, RB
Uniform
	← 1993; Rams seasons; 1995 (St. Louis) →;

1994 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season (last season in Los Angeles until 2016)

The 1994 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Football League, their 58th overall, and their 49th and final in the Greater Los Angeles Area until their 2016 relocation back to Los Angeles. After nearly 50 years in the Greater Los Angeles Area, including 15 seasons at Anaheim Stadium, owner Georgia Frontiere announced that the team would relocate to St. Louis, Missouri on January 15, 1995. While the owners initially rejected the move, permission was eventually granted therefore bringing an end to Southern California's first major professional sports franchise until 2016.^[1]

Quick Facts Los Angeles Rams season, Owner ...

The threat of relocation dominated talk about the Rams from early in the offseason right up to the moment the move was announced and it had a major effect on the franchise's standing in the market.^[2] Average attendance for Rams games at Anaheim Stadium was at an all-time low (an average of 43,312 a game) as ownership negotiated with both Baltimore and St. Louis. Leigh Steinberg organized a group known as "Save the Rams" and attempted to reach out to ownership and strike a deal to keep the team in the Southern California market, however, their efforts proved to be unsuccessful.^[3]

On the field, the Rams continued their downward spiral and missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. Los Angeles only won four games and clinched their fifth losing season in a row on December 4 against the New Orleans Saints and finished the season on a seven-game losing streak. The Rams defense saw some glimmers of hope, shutting out Joe Montana's Chiefs and putting together solid performances against Arizona and New York, but it was not nearly enough to lift the Rams back to the .500 mark. At the end of the season, head coach Chuck Knox was fired after three consecutive last place finishes in the NFC West and Frontiere also relieved John Shaw of his General Manager duties, although he remained with the team as a high-ranking executive.

Game summaries

Relocation to St. Louis

By 1994, the Los Angeles Rams had withered to a mere shadow of their former self. Accusations and excuses were constantly thrown back and forth between the Rams' fan base, ownership, and local politicians. Many in the fan base blamed the ownership of Georgia Frontiere for the franchise's woes, while ownership cited the outdated stadium and withering fan support for the problems that were plaguing the Rams. On March 15, 1994, the National Football League owners rejected Ms. Frontiere's bid to move the franchise to St. Louis, Missouri, her native city, by a 21–3–6 vote, with the Raiders abstaining. Then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stated after rejecting the move that

This was one of the most complex issues we have had to approach in years. We had to balance the interest of fans in Los Angeles and in St. Louis that we appreciate very much. In my judgment, they did not meet the guidelines we have in place for such a move.

The commissioner also added:

Once the bridges have been burned and people get turned off on a sports franchise, years of loyalty is not respected and it is difficult to get it back. By the same token, there are millions of fans in that area who have supported the Rams in an extraordinary way. The Rams have 50 years of history and the last 5 or so years of difficult times can be corrected.^[6]^[7]

Frontiere, however, responded with a thinly veiled threat at a lawsuit and the NFL owners eventually acquiesced to her demands, weary of going through a long, protracted legal battle. Tagliabue simply stated that "The desire to have peace and not be at war was a big factor" in allowing the Rams move to go forward. In a matter of a month, the vote had gone from 21–6 opposed to 23–6 in favor, with the Raiders again abstaining. Jonathan Kraft, son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, elaborated on the commissioners remarks by saying "About five or six owners didn't want to get the other owners into litigation, so they switched their votes." Only six teams remained in opposition to the Rams move from Los Angeles: the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals (who played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987), and Washington Redskins. After the vote was over, Dan Rooney publicly stated that he opposed the move of the Los Angeles Rams because

I believe we should support the fans who have supported us for years.^[8]

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[1] [1]
Simers, T.J. (January 15, 1995). "Despite Regrets, Owner Says Rams Leaving". Los Angeles Times.

[2] [2]
"Rams moving closer to St. Louis". Baltimore Sun.

[3] [3]
Friend, Tom (December 22, 1994). "PRO FOOTBALL; A Farewell to Tinsel Town". The New York Times.

[4] [4]
"1994 Los Angeles Rams starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.

[5] [5]
Digiovanna, Mike (December 25, 1994). "It Was Sad Day at the Big A for Rams Fans". Los Angeles Times.

[6] [6]
George, Thomas (March 16, 1993). "PRO FOOTBALL; N.F.L. Owners Reject Rams' Bid to Move To St. Louis". The New York Times.

[7] [7]
Simers, T.J.; Plaschke, Bill (March 16, 1994). "League Owners Reject Rams' Move to St. Louis". Los Angeles Times.

[8] [8]
Simers, T.J. (April 13, 1994). "NFL Owners OK Rams' Move to St. Louis". Los Angeles Times.

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Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	15	Wayne Gandy	Tackle	Auburn
2	33	Isaac Bruce	Wide receiver	Memphis
	49	Toby Wright	Safety	Nebraska
	56	Brad Ottis	Defensive end	Wayne State
3	71	Keith Lyle	Safety	Virginia
	83	James Bostic	Running back	Auburn
	100	Ernest Jones	Linebacker	Oregon
4	108	Chris Brantley	Wide receiver	Rutgers
6	167	Rickey Brady	Tight end	Oklahoma
6	189	Ronald Edwards	Tackle	North Carolina A&T


	Quarterbacks 8 Tommy Maddox 9 Jamie Martin 13 Chris Miller 17 Chris Chandler Running backs 28 Johnny Bailey KR/PR 30 Howard Griffith FB 34 Tim Lester 36 Jerome Bettis 38 David Lang KR Wide receivers 81 Todd Kinchen KR/PR 82 Jermaine Ross 83 Flipper Anderson 86 Jessie Hester 88 Chris Brantley KR Tight ends 48 Rickey Brady 84 Troy Drayton 87 Ron Middleton		Offensive linemen 51 Blair Bush C/LS 61 Bern Brostek C 66 Tom Newberry C/G 70 Wayne Gandy T 71 Chuck Belin G 72 Clarence Jones T 77 Darryl Ashmore G/T 78 Jackie Slater T 79 Leo Goeas G Defensive linemen 60 Fred Stokes DE 76 Robert Young DE 90 Sean Gilbert DT 92 David Rocker DT 95 Brad Ottis DE/DT 96 Jay Williams DE 97 Gerald Robinson DE 98 Jimmie Jones DT		Linebackers 52 Joe Kelly OLB 53 Chris Martin OLB 54 Brett Collins OLB 56 Shane Conlan MLB 57 Thomas Homco MLB 58 Roman Phifer OLB 59 Henry Rolling OLB Defensive backs 20 Darryl Henley CB 22 Marquez Pope SS 24 Wymon Henderson CB/S 26 Anthony Newman FS 28 Robert Bailey CB 29 Dexter Davis CB 31 Steve Israel CB 32 Toby Wright FS 35 Keith Lyle SS 41 Todd Lyght CB Special teams 5 Sean Landeta P 10 Tony Zendejas		Reserve lists 33 James Bostic RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 80 Isaac Bruce WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 89 Richard Buchanan WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 75 D'Marco Farr DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 50 Ernest Jones DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 64 Keith Loneker G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 68 Brad Fichtel C —- Tony Harrison WR -- Roosevelt Patterson G 53 active, 6 inactive, 3 practice squad Rookies in italics

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 6	at Green Bay Packers	L 6–14	0–1	Camp Randall Stadium	Recap
2	August 13	New England Patriots	L 10–28	0–2	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
3	August 20	Los Angeles Raiders	L 20–29	0–3	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
4	August 25	at San Diego Chargers	L 6–24	0–4	Jack Murphy Stadium	Recap

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 4	Arizona Cardinals	W 14–12	1–0	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
2	September 11	at Atlanta Falcons	L 13–31	1–1	Georgia Dome	Recap
3	September 18	San Francisco 49ers	L 19–34	1–2	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
4	September 25	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 16–0	2–2	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
5	October 2	Atlanta Falcons	L 5–8	2–3	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
6	October 9	at Green Bay Packers	L 17–24	2–4	Lambeau Field	Recap
7	October 16	New York Giants	W 17–10	3–4	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
8	October 23	at New Orleans Saints	L 34–37	3–5	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
9	Bye
10	November 6	Denver Broncos	W 27–21	4–5	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
11	November 13	Los Angeles Raiders	L 17–20	4–6	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
12	November 20	at San Francisco 49ers	L 27–31	4–7	Candlestick Park	Recap
13	November 27	at San Diego Chargers	L 17–31	4–8	Jack Murphy Stadium	Recap
14	December 4	New Orleans Saints	L 15–31	4–9	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
15	December 11	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 14–24	4–10	Tampa Stadium	Recap
16	December 18	at Chicago Bears	L 13–27	4–11	Soldier Field	Recap
17	December 24	Washington Redskins	L 21–24	4–12	Anaheim Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	6	6	0	12
Rams	7	0	7	0	14

1994_Los_Angeles_Rams_season

1994 Los Angeles Rams season

Offseason

1994 Draft Class

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Team roster

Staff

Preseason

Schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Standings

Relocation to St. Louis

See also

References

External links

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NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
⁽¹⁾ San Francisco 49ers	13	3	0	.813	505	296	L1
New Orleans Saints	7	9	0	.438	348	407	W1
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	317	385	W1
Los Angeles Rams	4	12	0	.250	286	365	L7