NO JOB SAFETY : Johnnie Johnson Finds the Real Pain in Ill-Timed Injury

Security is a thing some find in a blanket, others in a savings account.

Defensive backs, Johnnie Johnson can tell you, never quite have it. They are unlike businessmen who can climb their way to the top and then take three-hour lunches the rest of their lives.

Johnson can tell you a thing or two about job security.

He was once a star safety for the Rams and better known in sports jargon as a mainstay or fixture in the secondary, a rock , if you prefer.

Yet, at 29, in the prime of his athletic life, Johnson can’t even call himself a starter anymore.

This after six years with the Rams in which he never once called in sick or drew a funny mustache on the boss’ picture.

Johnson, in fact, was top man in the office. But it was as if one day he went out for his coffee break and came back to find some new guy cleaning out his desk.

“There are no guarantees in this business,” Steve Shafer, Ram secondary coach, said. “Because there’s no guarantee that you’ll perform at the level you did the year before.”

Johnson found out the hard way. He injured his right knee in training camp Aug. 3 and debated having surgery.

He decided it was early enough in the season to chance it, especially with today’s arthroscopic procedure that can get a player back in uniform in four weeks.

Johnson, in fact, was back in three, but by that time Vince Newsome had taken over as starting free safety. That he is still the starting free safety is Johnson’s problem.

Unless Newsome plays himself out of the job or gets injured, it’s his job to keep, Shafer said.

“The situation is not pleasant for Johnnie,” he said. “He just had something bad (the injury) happen to him.”

It was clear that Newsome, in his fourth season, was too good to sit on the bench another season. The battle between Johnson and Newsome seemed inevitable, but Johnson had thought he wouldn’t have to worry for at least another year or two.

“Obviously, this situation was going to come up,” Johnson said. “When the time comes, and the situation gets too sticky, there will be a move. One of us (he or safety Nolan Cromwell) will move on. But I don’t know when that will be.”

Some might say that time has come. Johnson and Cromwell have played side by side going on seven years now, but the arrival of Newsome as a star and the signing of Tim Fox has added spice and competition to the Ram secondary. Cromwell, the perennial all-pro, has kept his starting position.

“If all four guys were the same ability, I’d play Johnnie and Nolan,” Shafer said. “We have a lot of feelings for those guys. But we’re not going to play musical chairs to keep guys happy.”

Johnson still plays extensively in the Rams’ nickel defense, but you don’t have to read between the lines to guess how he feels about losing his job.

“I’m tired of hearing people say that Vince beat me out,” Johnson said. “Coming into the season, I was the starter. It’s like being the champion in boxing. The challenger has to take the title away. I was injured. I’ve only been back three weeks. I consider myself the starting free safety for the Rams. I’ve got a number of great years left in this league. I’ve just got to play myself back to form.”

It’s been a struggle for Johnson, who has spent what should have been the best years of his career battling back from injuries.

After a great 1983 season, Johnson figured his position was safe. Then, in training camp of 1984, he broke his left ankle and missed the first seven games of the regular season.

He struggled when he returned but rebounded and won his starting job back last season.

Johnson still doesn’t believe that he has regained the form he had in 1983, but says he’s getting close.

Last week, he and Shafer sat down and had a heart-to-heart talk about what was going to happen when Johnson regained peak form.

Johnson also spoke with defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur and the head coach, John Robinson.

“Steve came to me and explained his feelings, and I appreciated that,” Johnson said. “I talked to John and Fritz and they told me the way they felt. They all said the same thing, that I missed training camp and had only been back two weeks. They assured me that it was a continual evaluation.”

Johnson said he can feel for Newsome, who has waited for three years to get his break. Johnson had no such problem.

The Rams drafted him in the first round in 1980 specifically to fill the void left by Dave Elmendorf, who had retired. Johnson has been a starter ever since.

Johnson said he would never let his desire to play affect his relationship with Newsome or the team.

“A situation like this could create conflict, not only on the outside, but with teammates,” Johnson said. “But through the whole thing, Vince and I and everyone else have been a close-knit group. We can’t play any other way.”

So how long will Johnson be able to stand there and watch? How deeply has his ego been bruised? At some point will he demand a trade?

“You’ll never know,” he said. “That’s not the way I operate.”

He said that no one will ever know of his displeasure by looking at his face. He swears no one will know by watching him play, either.

He speaks out because he thinks he has to, not to cause dissension. He says you might, too, if someone took your job away while you went out for coffee.

Ram Notes William Fuller, former USFL defensive end, arrived in Southern California Tuesday and took a physical for the Rams. He has tentatively agreed to terms and is expected to sign today. Fuller played two years with the Philadelphia-Baltimore Stars. . . . As of noon Tuesday, the Rams needed to sell 1,159 tickets to lift the television blackout of Sunday’s game against the 49ers at Anaheim Stadium. For the game to be shown locally, it must be sold out by 1 p.m. Thursday. . . . The Rams will be giving tryouts today to Lupe Sanchez, a former UCLA defensive back who was released by Kansas City; wide receiver Mark Pattison, who was cut by the Raiders, and linebacker Tim Meamber, who was released by Minnesota.