Jones Wouldn’t Mind Being Fifth Wheel That Keeps the Rams Running

Ram Coach John Robinson has said he will keep four or five running backs this season, and three good bets are Barry Redden, Charles White and Eric Dickerson, when he shows up.

That’s a former first-round draft choice, a Heisman Trophy winner whom Robinson coached at USC, and the guy who set the National Football League rushing record last season.

Mike Guman, a solid, steady, reliable type, also seems secure. And then there is A.J. Jones, a fourth-year pro from Texas who has yet to carry the ball in a regular-season game.

Does that make Jones a longshot?

“I don’t look at it like that,” he said Wednesday as training camp broke at Cal State Fullerton, with two more player cuts to come.

“I love competition. I believe in myself. That’s what’s carried me. If I wasn’t as determined and a man of the faith, I’d be lost. Right now, I’m feeling pretty good. You never know what’s going to happen.”

The worst thing that could happen to Jones would be for Dickerson to end his holdout.

“I’ll tell you what,” Jones said. “I miss Eric being around here. We’re good friends. If he was here, I’d just have to go on and do the same things and have the same attitude I have now.”

He also gets along well with White.

“Charlie recruited me out of high school,” Jones said. “He was real nice. He showed me around at USC. We get along right now.”

Jones was asked why he had decided to go to Texas instead.

“Oh, wow,” he said, laughing. “Do I have to say? I’d better not say.”

Jones’ hometown is Youngstown, Ohio. His parents will be at Friday night’s game against the Eagles at Columbus.

The Rams drafted him in the eighth round in 1982, the same year they selected Redden from the University of Richmond in the first. His fourth training camp has been his best.

“I’ve dedicated myself a little more this year,” Jones said. “Nothing has really happened for me in my NFL career, so I felt maybe I needed to dedicate a little more to the game. I worked out a lot this off-season and came in in good shape. My weight was down to 215. Last year I came in at about 220.”

The highlight of Jones’ summer was last week’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, in which he scored two touchdowns, one on a weaving 20-yard run down the middle.

“A lot of people have been talking to me about that, coming up to me and saying, ‘Oh, man, you have it made,’ ” Jones said. “I say, ‘Wait a minute. I’m still fighting my butt off.’ ”

A week earlier, against the Houston Oilers, he had been able to carry the ball only once after a 10-day siege of diarrhea.

“I had a bad stomach virus,” he said. “One of the doctors said it was food poisoning.”

That same night, White broke loose for 79 yards in 16 attempts.

Jones said: “I didn’t look at it saying, ‘Well, since Charlie made his big run, I’m gonna have to make a big run.’ I was just gonna do the best I could with it.”

Jones played out his option last season and signed only a one-year contract, with no option, for this season. He and his younger brother, Michael, who was released by the Minnesota Vikings last week, plan to open a men’s clothing store in Austin.

Clearly, Jones is leaving his options open.

“My agent and I want to continue to do that,” he said.

Some Ram watchers were surprised that Jones was still here at all this summer, after an unforgettable incident at Anaheim early last season when he let a Giant player recover the opening kickoff in the end zone for a touchdown. Afterward and throughout the following week, Jones manfully faced the music.

“People thought I would hide from it, or try to say, ‘Hey, it wasn’t my fault,’ ” he said. “It was my fault. When it was in the zone, I fully admit I forgot about getting on the ball. It just slipped my mind, it happened so fast.

“At first the sun blinded me. That’s why I didn’t catch it. Then I started running after the ball and everything went blank.

“I’m not afraid to admit that. That’s the only way to deal with it. There’s no excuse. Everybody’s not perfect, and that’s one day I was not perfect.”

Bruce Snyder, who coaches the Ram running backs, said: “We were hoping at that point he’d be a return man, because he can run with the football. We all know he didn’t play after that.

“But he’s had a very good camp. He seems happier, more relaxed. He’s very competitive right now for a spot on the roster.”

Ram Notes Eric Dickerson said he isn’t being fined for holding out, but a club source said otherwise--that Dickerson is being assessed the maximum allowable of $1,000 a day, bringing his total to $25,000 through today. . . . With training camp closing Wednesday, one gauge of how tough it was compared to other camps came from veteran trainer George (Mother) Menefee. “It was a lot cooler this year,” Menefee said. “We had to give only one I.V. during the whole camp. Last year we gave about 20.” Players suffering from heat exhaustion or dehydration are given intravenous solutions. . . . Coach John Robinson, on the continued absence of unsigned nose tackle Greg Meisner: “I kind of half-expected something (to happen) today, but I have nothing to report.” . . . Word from Northern California is that San Francisco 49er Coach Bill Walsh was angry at Denver Coach Dan Reeves for using his regulars against 49er rookies and other reserves in coming from behind and winning Monday night’s national TV game, 20-13. That’s why cameras showed Walsh conducting a spirited sideline meeting of his team near the end of the game. One player said Walsh told his troops: “We’re gonna beat the (bleep) out of these guys the next time we play ‘em in the regular season (Nov. 11).” Walsh later told reporters: “(The Broncos) want to win at all costs.”