A Defense of Twists and <i> S</i> houts : Ram Unit Plays a Good Game, Then Talks About It

The Ram defense had just spent the afternoon dismantling what was left of the New Orleans Saints. Bits and pieces of Saint quarterbacks Dave Wilson and Richard Todd were strewn about the field. The New Orleans offensive line was being treated for shock. The Saints’ statistics read like a casualty list, what with 9 sacks, 3 interceptions and a measly 187 net yards.

Yet, no Ram wanted to take credit for the damage. It was as if they were afraid of arrest.

Say, cornerback LeRoy Irvin, another nice day for the Ram secondary, don’t you think?

“Hey, our defensive line was the game today,” says Irvin. “When they play like they did today, I could play until I was 50.”

Across the locker room sat Greg Meisner, member of the aforementioned line. Guess you showed the Saints, huh?

“Listen, our secondary is playing well, too,” he says. “We had a lot of coverage sacks. They were doing a good job on their receivers and we were able to get on Wilson.”

Not so, says cornerback Gary Green. “Today, Wilson and Todd were always throwing off their back foot. We can’t help but be a great secondary on that day.”

This is a game the Rams play, like watching two people decide who goes through an open door first. No, you go. No, you. No, I insist. . . .

The Rams could afford to be polite. Against the Saints, they flirted with a shutout until midway in the third period. Even then, the New Orleans score was made possible not by an impressive drive, but rather a fumble by Eric Dickerson on the Ram 11-yard line. The other Saint score came on a 51-yard field goal, hardly a gimme.

Still, the players in question treated praise as if it were a virus. Shoo, get away.

Gary Jeter, who describes himself as “a designated pass rusher and kick blocker,” finished the day with two sacks and another important tackle on an ill-fated New Orleans reverse play. Yet, he treated his deeds with nonchalance.

“I did nothing out there,” he says. “There were 10 other guys out there.”

On the reverse play where Jeter tackled wide receiver Eric Martin for a 12-yard loss, enough to force New Orleans later to settle for a field goal: “I was lucky. I was hoping that the guy fell.”

Not everyone was buying Jeter’s Mother Theresa imitation, Meisner for one.

“Jeter possessed?,” someone asked Meisner.

“He was like Omen VI today,” says Meisner. “Today was his.”

Jeter is 30, young enough to excel, old enough to change. He received a game ball for Sunday’s transformation.

“I’ll throw everything at them,” he says. “They’ll get spins, uppercuts.”

A junkball pitcher of sorts then?

Jeter looks hurt. “I’ve got a fastball,” he says. “But I can change up, too.”

Jeter spent most of his nine-year career with the New York Giants, where he earned a reputation as a brute whose expertise was primarily limited to placing a quarterback on the ground. It is still his forte, but not one that qualifies as an obsession. Those days are finished.

Sacks? Fine, if you can get them.

“I don’t want to win no statistical battle,” says Jeter, when told of the nine sacks the Rams accumulated against the Saints. “I don’t want to lead the league in sacks and be 0-16.”

Jeter isn’t alone in his beliefs. Ask defensive end Dennis Harrison, who was salvaged from the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this season and force-fed a new defense. He struggled at times--the Rams even said so--but against New Orleans he looked quite at ease. Two sacks confirm the feeling.

“I just came here with the attitude of helping them win football games,” says Harrison. “I really didn’t know what to expect.”

The Saints helped ease the uncertainty. After Earl Campbell retired to the sidelines early in the first period of the game and the New Orleans’ running game with it, the Saints relied more and more on the pass.

“When it’s third-and-12, it’s not a mystery,” says Jeter. “But it’s one thing to know, it’s another thing to get the sack.”

Still, rushing the passer became the second-best defensive fantasy.

“Raquel Welch clones in our locker room would be the ultimate fantasy,” says Meisner.

Nine sacks and an eighth victory, though, will have to do.