Nose Tackle Meisner Finally Gets to Enjoy Sweet Smell of Success

Until Sunday, Ram nose tackle Greg Meisner possessed all the timing of a dime store wristwatch submerged under water.

Meisner picked this season to stay out of training camp and demand more money. Another Ram, somebody named Eric Dickerson, did the same thing. Guess who got the headlines?

” . . . And all the attention and all the money,” Meisner said of Dickerson. “It was not a good year to do it from that standpoint. Plus I lost a lot of leverage because the USFL didn’t have a good year. I really didn’t have too many pluses in my favor.”

There’s more. When Meisner finally decided to come back on Sept. 19, he ended up signing for less than the Rams had offered back in July and was docked for the two games he missed this season.

“And I not only lost the money I didn’t get, but I have to get my starting job back, too,” he said.

But Meisner, in his fifth season, finally got a break against Vikings in the Rams’ 13-10 win Sunday. With one second remaining and the Vikings on the Ram one-yard line, Meisner shot through a crack in the offensive line and hit the feet of Minnesota back Darrin Nelson, who was attempting a swan dive into the end zone.

Meisner nudged Nelson off his orbit, putting Ram linebacker Jim Collins in position to make the final hit.

Finally, a good day for Meisner.

“He had the most affect on the play,” Coach John Robinson of the Rams said. “He had excellent penetration.”

Meisner, the starting nose guard last season, is trying to work his way back into the starting lineup. He played only 15 plays Sunday.

But playing the part of a hero on Sunday certainly won’t hurt his chances. The names of nose tackles rarely make their way into headlines.

“No, it’s not a glamour position,” Meisner said. “It’s not like boxing where you’re one-on-one and everyone can see what’s going on. It’s certainly not the cleanest job in the world. It’s kind of like being a garbage man. Nobody wants to do it, but . . . “

The trouble with nose tackles is that you’re never sure when they’ve had a good game.

“A guy that’s known as a pass rusher can have a terrible game, but if he gets one sack everyone thinks he played a great game,” Meisner said. “You can play a great game at nose tackle and never make a tackle.”

No matter how much you rationalize, there’s no denying the Rams are one of only two undefeated teams left in the NFL. The Bears are the other.

So why is Robinson acting more like Perry Mason these days? A typical question from the press.

“Ah, Mr. Robinson, your client is being accused of misrepresentation on the football field. The charges on offense range from sedating hot dog vendors to loitering in a public facility. Your team gained just 188 yards in total offense Sunday, and it’s getting embarrassing in the press box because we’re all shouting out the next play before your team breaks huddle.”

At Monday’s media luncheon, Robinson defended his struggling 5-0 team.

“We’re not a boring team,” Robinson said. “If you paid $21 yesterday, you got your $21 worth. I bet a lot of people were walking out of the stadium, saying, ‘Gosh, I wish they could move the ball.’ But they were trembling (from excitement) when they said it.”

The goal-line stand by the defense that preserved the Rams’ 13-10 win was exciting all right, but the Ram offense didn’t have much to do with that.

But, as Robinson said: “I am gleefully jumping on all our problems.” Robinson all but admitted his team’s offense is painfully predictable.

On seven of their eight possessions Sunday, the Rams ran the ball on first down.

Six times the ball went to Dickerson. The Vikings detected a trend and piled eight defenders on the line of scrimmage whenever the Rams took possession. A lot of teams are doing that against the Rams.

Call it a hunch.

Ram Notes The Rams came out of Sunday’s game with no serious injuries. Nose tackle Charles DeJurnett sprained an ankle, but he should be back in practice no later than Wednesday . . . Irv Pankey, normally a tackle, is playing right guard for the injured Dennis Harrah. How’d he look Sunday? “OK,” Robinson said. Dennis Harrison, newly acquired defensive end, played a few plays Sunday. How’d he look? “OK,” Robinson said.