PRO FOOTBALL : Old, Hard-Running Charles White Is Back
Charles White, recently just a name on the NFL’s waiver list, began Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos as an understudy to an understudy. In fact, the Los Angeles Rams thought so much of White that they placed him on several special teams as if to say, “Here, you get killed.’
But by afternoon’s end, White had salvaged what was left of his Heisman Trophy reputation and, in the process, helped prove the Los Angeles Rams can tread water while Eric Dickerson remains AWOL.
White gained 83 yards in 18 tries against the Broncos. He scored one touchdown--a fourth quarter alumni-body right--that enabled the Rams to overcome a three-point deficit and provide Los Angeles with an unattractive 20-16 victory over an ornery, but crippled Denver team.
Keep in mind that White replaced Barry Redden in the backfield at the start of the second half. Also remember that Redden, who ran as if he had just one good ankle, replaced the absent Dickerson, whose next run soon should take place at the deposit line of his favorite Southern California banking institution. Dickerson and Ram owner Georgia Frontiere are scheduled to exchange pleasantries and contract demands in a meeting today.
Most of all, understand that White, who ran nose-first into a drug problem several seasons ago, came thisclose to becoming unemployed. The Rams informed White last Monday that he was on waivers, which meant any other NFL team could claim his supposed deteriorating running skills for $100. Apparently, no one had change for a $1,000 bill and White remained available. Guessing this much, the Rams then added White to their active roster.
“Coach (John) Robinson’s foresight,” said offensive tackle Bill Bain. “He knew he had a guy with a big heart.”
Robinson also knew he needed another running back, preferably healthy and in attendance. With Redden nursing a sprained ankle and Dickerson nursing a bruised ego and wallet, Robinson had no choice but to ask White to pretend they were both back at USC and the opponent was Ohio State.
Oh, is that all? Well, why didn’t you say something, said White, who in two quarter’s worth of service Sunday gained more yards, ran for more touchdowns and averaged more yards than he did during the entire 1984 season with the Cleveland Browns.
For this, White most likely will return to his special teams duties when the Rams travel to Philadelphia next Sunday to play the Eagles. If Dickerson remains unavailable, a healthy Redden would probably start.
For the moment, White cares not. “Like I say, I’m a role player.”
Before Sunday’s game, the role was minor, like being the coconut tree in the school play. But as Redden’s immobility became more evident, White’s part became that of a leading man.
“If anyone knows my talents, it’s John Robinson,” said White. “He never lost confidence in me, just like I never lost confidence in me.”
White talks about himself in the third person, as if he can separate player from personality. Assessing his four-year NFL career, White, a former first-round choice of the Browns, said this of White: “I felt that Charles White, that this is my last chance to go around.”
He made the most of the opportunity. Few of his runs showed flash, certainly nothing to prompt Frontiere to cancel her meeting with Dickerson today. Instead, White wore blue around his collar. Three yards here. Four yards there. His fourth-period touchdown run was eight yards of bouncing and spinning and finally, open field. “Forty-nine Pitch,” said White, who remembered the same play as 29 Pitch on Robinson’s USC teams.
By the final quarter, the Rams’ offensive line had partially solved Denver’s complex defensive scheme. “One of the toughest,” said offensive tackle Jackie Slater of the Broncos’ defensive ploys. Before the discoveries, though, White found himself with little protection.
“I felt the line was playing better as the game progressed,” White said.
To which Slater replied: “He was doing a lot of that (running) on his own. I don’t think there’s an offensive lineman on the field who would disagree. Vintage Charles.”
Said Robinson, who had as good a view as anyone: “Charles White controlled the football game in the fourth quarter.”
And this from Denver strong safety Dennis Smith, a teammate of White’s at USC: “He didn’t win the Heisman Trophy for nothing.”
At times, White provided the classic goat-to-hero tale. Late in the second quarter, he fielded a kickoff as if he had been told the game’s rules early Sunday afternoon. For a moment, he looked like a rookie who wanted to down the ball on the Los Angeles 2. He recovered in time to gain 14 yards. In the third period, on a crucial fourth-and-one play, White slipped and fell at the Denver 5-yard line. The Broncos led 16-10 at the time.
The 11-play fourth-period drive, which gave the Rams the lead, helped ease the hurt. White carried the ball six times and caught one pass in the drive. The eight-yard touchdown run would be his favorite. “I was so determined,” he said. “I wanted the touchdown.”
And now, curiously enough, a team wants Charles White as bad as he wants it.