Biggest Surprise: No Vermeil Tears

By RANDY HARVEY

Jan. 31, 2000 12 AM PT

ATLANTA — How great could the St. Louis Rams’ 23-16 victory in Super Bowl XXXIV have been?

Dick Vermeil didn’t even cry. . . .

Vermeil, the Ed Muskie of NFL coaches, said he wasn’t more emotional because he expected the Rams to win. . . .

So it was no surprise to him when they did, not like his UCLA Bruins’ 23-10 upset of No. 1 Ohio State in the 1976 Rose Bowl. . . .

It was one of the most exciting finishes in Super Bowl history. . . .

I’d rate it behind San Francisco’s 20-16 victory over Cincinnati in 1989 because that one ended with Joe Montana leading the 49ers into the end zone instead of one yard short of the end zone. . . .

But I’d rate it above the Baltimore Colts’ 16-13 victory over Dallas in Super Bowl V and the New York Giants’ 20-19 victory over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXV because both of those games ended with field goal attempts, one made by Jim O’Brien and one missed by Scott Norwood. . . .

Vermeil, though, didn’t seem to appreciate the drama. “If I could write the script, I wouldn’t have written it like that,” he said. “I’d just as soon we won, 32-0.” . . .

There has been speculation that Vermeil, who has two years remaining on his contract before he turns over the team to offensive coordinator Mike Martz, would retire if the Rams won. . . .

“For two years, people have been saying that I couldn’t coach and talking about me being fired,” he said. “I like this better.” . . .

As far as he’s concerned, people can continue speculating, at least until today. . . .

“Right now, I’m not going to give any thought to my future,” he said. “I’m going to go to a victory party with my coaching staff and drink some Napa Valley wine, the good stuff, and I know what it is.”

Georgia Frontiere, who after all these years has decided to tell us her name should be pronounced like frontier, couldn’t resist taking one more shot at Los Angeles and Anaheim. . . .

“It proves we did the right thing by going to St. Louis,” she said upon receiving the Lombardi Trophy from Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. “This trophy belongs to our coach, our team and our fans in St. Louis. . . .

Reminded later that the Rams still have fans in Southern California, she tried to make amends by saying she’d be willing to have a victory parade for the team there as well as in St. Louis. . . .

Gee, thanks, Georgia. We’ll get back to you.

The quote of the week came from Ram President John Shaw, who reacted negatively to media reports portraying Frontiere and the Titans’ Bud Adams as two of the NFL’s more eccentric owners. . . .

“I think that’s inaccurate,” he said. “I think most of the owners are eccentric.”

Two of the most significant plays were made by Rams who moved to St. Louis from Southern California. . . .

But only one played with the team in Anaheim. . . .

That was cornerback Todd Lyght, who blocked an Al Del Greco field-goal attempt in the third quarter. . . .

The other was linebacker Mike Jones, who prevented the potential game-tying touchdown by tackling Tennessee wide receiver Kevin Dyson at the Ram one-yard line as time expired. . . .

Vermeil said he was so certain when Dyson caught the pass at the Ram four that he would score that he was about to tell Martz to get the first three offensive plays ready for the overtime. . . .

“I thought we were going to get it,” Titan quarterback Steve McNair said. “Kevin beat the cornerback, but their linebacker peeled off and made a great play. It was a one-on-one battle, and he won.” . . .

Jones is an eight-year player whose first six seasons were with the Raiders--four in Los Angeles. He came to the Rams in 1997 as an unrestricted free agent.

He accepted congratulations for the game-saving tackle, but that’s not the play he dreamed of making in the Super Bowl when he was a child.

“The ideal dream is to pick it off and go the other way,” he said.

The Rams couldn’t have won if they hadn’t been able to contain Tennessee’s rookie defensive end, Jevon “the Freak” Kearse. They proved that in a 24-21 regular-season loss to the Titans in Week 8. . . .

Kearse humiliated Ram right tackle Fred Miller that day with five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Miller was so jumpy that he was called for six false starts. He also was called twice for holding. . . .

But Kearse didn’t have as much impact Sunday, finishing with four tackles, one blocked pass and no sacks. The Rams gave Miller more help this time, double-teaming Kearse on most plays. But Kearse said the biggest difference was that quarterback Kurt Warner’s drop was changed from five to three steps, enabling him to release the ball quicker. . . .

Kearse still came within inches of making a huge play after beating Miller on the Rams’ final possession. He had Warner in his sights, right before the Ram quarterback completed a 73-yard pass play to Isaac Bruce that proved to be the winning touchdown.

“I was maybe a fingertip away,” Kearse said. “It was a great pass rush. I got my hand up, and the ball just barely got past my hand. I got a good hit on him. It was a lucky throw and a lucky catch.”

The Super Bowl experience was everything Del Greco thought it would be. . . .

“It’s kind of like meeting Shania Twain,” he said. “You have these high expectations, but they get blown away anyway.”

Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: [email protected]