Rumph may be out for the season with broken arm
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Rumph may be out for the season with broken arm
B
y ROGER PHILLIPS | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 4, 2004 at 9:59 a.m. | UPDATED: August 14, 2016 at 11:05 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO — After missing two games with a strained groin, cornerback Mike Rumph returned to the San Francisco 49ers’ starting lineup Sunday night against the St. Louis Rams.
But Rumph’s comeback lasted only into the second quarter of the 49ers’ 24-14 loss to the Rams at Monster Park, and his latest injury is expected to sideline him for a long time.
Rumph broke his right forearm attempting to tackle Rams running back Steven Jackson. He is expected to undergo surgery this week and will be sidelined anywhere from six weeks to the rest of the season, depending on the result of his operation.
Asked about the play on which he was injured, Rumph said, “The Rams ran the ball to the outside. (Receiver) Isaac Bruce tried to cut-block me, and I couldn’t really get out there to make the
tackle. So I just threw my arm out there. My arm hit Jackson’s knee and I fractured it.”
After Rumph departed, he was replaced by rookie Shawntae Spencer. Coach Dennis Erickson said he will turn to Spencer and reserve cornerback Jimmy Williams to fill the void created by Rumph’s injury.
The other starting cornerback, Ahmed Plummer, also was injured during the game. Plummer bruised his right knee early but was able to return to the game later.
“They’re going to look at it (today),” Plummer said. “A lot of times with injuries, you never know the extent of it until a couple of days later.”
Plummer said he expects to play Sunday when the 49ers host Arizona.
Plummer discounted injuries and bad luck as factors in the 49ers’ first 0-4 start in a quarter-century.
“You can’t blame it on luck,” he said. “I don’t believe in luck. It’s about execution. In the first half, we didn’t do a good job of it on offense and defense.”
OTHER INJURIES: The 49ers had a fairly extensive injury list against the Rams.
Three players are questionable for Sunday’s game: receiver Arnaz Battle (bruised left thigh), defensive end John Engelberger (right abdominal strain) and linebacker Derek Smith (right lower leg).
The following players are probable: defensive end Brandon Whiting (sprained left thumb), linebacker Jeff Ulbrich (strained left hamstring), safety Ronnie Heard (sprained right ankle and thumb), right guard Justin Smiley (bruised right knee), defensive tackle Bryant Young (sprained right shoulder), running back Jamal Robertson (sprained right ankle) and center Brock Gutierrez.
WOODS CATCHES ON: First-round draft pick Rashaun Woods, the wide receiver the 49ers selected with the 31st pick, had his first NFL reception and followed it up with his first touchdown.
With 2:16 left in the third quarter, Woods caught a 17-yard pass from Tim Rattay on third-and-10, a catch which put the ball on the Rams’ 30-yard line and helped set an eventual 9-yard pass to Curtis Conway to break a 49ers scoreless streak dating back to Week 2.
In the fourth quarter, Woods caught an 18-yard scoring pass from Rattay the over his left shoulder in the end zone.
“I guess it’s good to get my feet wet, but losing 24-14 is something I will do my best to change as a player and as a team,” Woods said.
Woods was active in all three previous 49ers games but had not caught a pass.
CONWAY’S TD: Conway felt his streak-breaking touchdown made a statement even if it didn’t change the bottom line as far as won-loss record.
“It was very important to come through and score,” Conway said. “It shows we can keep fighting. We’re young and there’s really some bad stuff going on right now, but we showed some character on the field.”
TAKE IT AWAY: The Rams, who led the league in takeaways last season, came in minus 6 in turnover margin, thanks entirely to the fact that they had no takeaways in the first three games.
But, it took all of 16 minutes for the St. Louis defense to force two 49ers turnovers.
In the first quarter, linebacker Tommy Polley came on a blitz and knocked the ball from San Francisco quarterback Tim Rattay. Leonard Little recovered to set up Shaun McDonald’s 6-yard touchdown reception.
One minute into the second quarter, defensive back Jerametrius Butler picked off a Rattay pass intended for Cedric Wilson and that led to Jeff Wilkins’ 20-yard field goal.
That was the main emphasis,” Polley said. We hadn’t gotten any TOs. We were probably the only team in the league that hadn’t gotten any turnovers. That was big for us to come out and get two turnovers.”
INACTIVE LIST: Receiver Brandon Lloyd was inactive for the second consecutive week because of a groin strain, though he did do some running on the field before the game.
The other inactive 49ers were center Jeremy Newberry (knee surgery), defensive end Andre Carter (back), defensive end Andrew Williams (broken leg), cornerback Joselio Hanson, linebacker Richard Seigler and receiver Derrick Hamilton.
Among the inactive Rams were starting left guard Chris Dishman and starting right cornerback DeJuan Groce, who both have knee injuries. They were replaced by Scott Tercero and Kevin Garrett, respectively.
EXTRA POINTS: Safety Tony Parrish started his 100th consecutive game. … Conway caught his 50th career touchdown pass. … The 49ers allowed the Rams’ Marshall Faulk to rush for 121 yards. It was the first time a visiting player rushed for 100 or more yards against the 49ers since Ricky Williams, then with New Orleans, rushed for 121 yards on Nov.11, 2001.
Staff writers Jerry McDonald and David Schoen contributed to this notebook.