PRO FOOTBALL : Ram Notebook : Hey, the Coach’s Daughter Deserves a Game Ball, Too

Ram Coach John Robinson said he awarded game balls to Charles White and Gary Green, “and I probably should have given another one. My daughter just had a baby named Matthew Robert Medina.”

Robinson’s daughter Teresa gave birth to his first grandchild over the weekend.

White was sent to the sideline late in the third period. An official noticed White had a sticky substance--”Goop,” White called it--on his hands. The NFL has outlawed any substance that allows a player to hold onto the ball easier. White was gone for one play as trainers washed his hands.

Guard and offensive captain Dennis Harrah said he had little time to appreciate White’s efforts. “My job is to block,” he said. “I don’t care who’s behind me.”

Denver linebacker Steve Busick was a teammate of Charles White’s at USC, so he was not surprised at White’s performance. But, Busick said, White’s blockers deserve their share of the credit.

“The Rams have a great offensive line,” he said. “It seems like whoever you put back there is going to get the yardage.”

The Rams were feeling frustrated trailing 16-10 in the third quarter when Harrah was cited for holding defensive end Rulon Jones.

Harrah was so upset he butted his helmet against Jones’ helmet.

“I was mad at myself,” Harrah said. “I held. I got caught. I wanted to hit myself right in the head.

“I apologized to everybody later--but I didn’t apologize to him (Jones).”

Ram tight end David Hill has been more of a blocking tight end than the downfield receiver he was at Detroit, but Sunday he caught 4 passes for 41 yards, including one for 22 yards.

“The offensive line kicked me out of the fraternity,” Hill said. “They said it was OK to catch a pass for 20 yards once in awhile, but anything over that makes me a receiver again. I’ll have to watch it.”

Ram linebacker Norwood Vann recovered a punt fumbled by Denver rookie Vance Johnson at the four-yard line to set up the Rams’ first touchdown.

“I was getting behind him and hollering at him, ‘Look out, we’ll knock you out . . . you didn’t give the fair-catch signal’--anything to confuse him,” Vann said. “He didn’t know where he was. I just tried to scoop it up and roll into the end zone.”

Cornerback LeRoy Irvin didn’t play much in pre-season because of a torn hamstring.

“I really thought they’d come after me today,” Irvin said. “I couldn’t eat yesterday, couldn’t sleep last night. But they didn’t seem to have anything special for me.”

Coach and quarterback were in agreement that turnovers were the difference for Denver’s opening downfall.

Bronco Coach Dan Reeves: “For us to be successful, we have to keep from beating ourselves with mistakes. That’s what we did today.”

Quarterback John Elway: “When we’re playing a ball-control team like the Rams, we can’t make mistakes. We’ve got to play perfect football, because we’re not going to get many chances.”

Denver defensive back Louis Wright, who was sidelined with a knee injury, on whether he could have played in the wake of injuries to three members of the Broncos’ secondary: “I think if it had come down to it, I guess I could have. I’m not 100%. I don’t think I could have made that much difference.”