Bobby Humphery

Call this one a rookie faux pas . Certainly, Bern Brostek was the only guy in the Ram locker room Sunday talking about how much fun he had during the 36-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers. "I was nervous as heck at first, but it was really fun," Brostek said. Standing in front of an adjacent locker, 13-year veteran Doug Smith winced. Brostek also made some rookie mistakes on the field, but the Rams' first-round draft choice made a good impression on the right people during his NFL debut.

Running back Curt Warner was in Ram Park Monday. Running back Greg Bell wasn't. And it appears the same probably could be said about the Rams' starting lineup on opening day: Warner in; Bell out. Bell, who rushed for 2,349 yards and 31 touchdowns the past two seasons, became the odd man out when the Rams acquired Warner as a Plan B free agent March 30. Ram Coach John Robinson said Bell had been excused from attending the team's four-day mini-camp, which began Monday.

Sure, all-pro tight end Keith Jackson is back from his holdout, and five-time Pro Bowl receiver Mike Quick has returned to form after surgery on both knees. But the biggest factor in the Philadelphia Eagles' 27-21 victory over the Rams was the return of Randall Cunningham. And you thought he never left. Well, Eagle fans have spent two worrisome weeks pondering what had happened to their main man with all the moves, their master of the momentous, their savior of third and long.

The team some have billed as the second-best in pro football is giving thanks today that the regular-season opener is still three weeks away. After Saturday night's 30-27 loss to the Chargers, the Rams remain a struggling work in progress. If the Rams were a stage play, Coach John Robinson said, they'd probably be dodging tomatoes and bringing down curtains. "We obviously could not open the season right now," he said. "We wouldn't want to return to Broadway at the moment.

The plot thickened for the New York Jets' wide receivers early last week when the club announced it had agreed to contract terms with United States Football League standout Jojo Townsell, who was drafted by the Jets in 1983 but signed with the Los Angeles Express in the rival league. Jets Coach Joe Walton denied a report by a telephone sports news service that the Jets are close to trading veteran wide receiver Wesley Walker and a No.

Two weeks before the season opener, the three-man battle for the Rams' starting tailback job has given way to a three-man race at another position--backup receiver. Who could have imagined in July that someone named Derrick Faison would push Curt Warner out of the spotlight? In the Rams' 27-7 victory over the Phoenix Cardinals before 44,134 at Anaheim Stadium Saturday night, the tailback race between Gaston Green and Warner fizzled for the moment.

After jet-lagging through the first half of Saturday night's game, the Rams rallied from a 17-point deficit to take a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter. It lasted 17 seconds. Nate Lewis returned a kickoff 87 yards with 5:02 remaining to give the San Diego Chargers a 30-27 victory before 45,684 at Anaheim Stadium in the 46th annual Times/Rams Charity Game. After a miserable first half of mistakes, the Rams could find solace only in waking in time for the third quarter.

Cincinnati quarterback Boomer Esiason threw a club-record five touchdown passes Sunday to sustain the Bengals' wild-card chances and send the New York Jets into the playoffs as a downtrodden team. Esiason threw four second-half touchdown passes to rally the Bengals to a come-from-behind, 52-21 victory over the playoff-bound Jets, who finish the season with five consecutive losses.

Just as soon as Jerry Gray and Larry Kelm blew out their knees Saturday night, Kevin Greene knew he had the Rams right where he wanted them. If the 16 1/2 sacks Greene accumulated in 1989 weren't enough to convince the Rams to sign their first line of defense for 1990, Greene could now point to some numbers that might. 1. Gray (torn knee ligament). 2. Kelm (torn knee ligament). 3. Jackie Slater (dislocated toe). 4. Alfred Jackson (groin). 5. Irv Pankey (back). 6. Mel Owens (back). 7.

Linebacker Kevin Greene, still a star without a contract, met Tuesday with Coach John Robinson at Rams Park, but no progress in negotiations was reported. Greene declined to speak with reporters afterward, saying only that he did not meet with the team's chief negotiator, Jay Zygmunt, who also was in Anaheim on Tuesday. Robinson, as usual, declined to discuss the details of their private meeting.