RAMS 45, GIANTS 31 : Former Charger Holohan Catches On With the Rams in Hurry

Tight end Pete Holohan was making a beeline for the Ram locker room door Sunday evening when LeRoy Irvin stopped him. Irvin had a question.

“How in the hell,” asked Irvin, “did we get you from the Chargers?”

Holohan grinned. Was Irvin joking? Then he noticed Irvin’s deadpan expression, the way Irvin stood there, hands on hips, waiting patiently for an explanation as to why San Diego would deprive itself of someone like Holohan.

So Holohan told him. He told him about the Chargers’ supposed glut of tight ends. He told him a trade was inevitable. He told him about the fourth-round draft choice the Chargers received in exchange for Holohan.

And then Holohan was off. He’s from the Syracuse area and he had friends to see. For Sunday’s game against the Giants, Holohan had left 52 tickets for family and assorted pals. Now he had some celebrating to do.

“See ya,” he told Irvin.

Irvin shook his head. “That’s got to be the steal of the century there,” he said, admiringly. “I mean, that . . . can catch . You know what I mean? He can catch.”

Looking for reasons why the Rams are undefeated? Then look at Holohan, who caught three more passes (one for a touchdown) in the Rams’ 45-31 victory. In no time at all, Holohan has become perhaps the Rams’ most dependable receiver, the guy who makes difficult catches look routine.

For instance:

First quarter. Second and 9 at the Giants 14. Ram quarterback Jim Everett finds Holohan wide open. Holohan cradles the ball in his hands, lumbers toward the end zone and then, at the last moment, leaps over would-be tackler Terry Kinard at the goal line and tumbles into the end zone.

Third quarter. The Giants have just cut the lead to 28-17. The Rams are looking at second and 13 at their own 46. Everett finds Holohan near the sideline. The rest is the stuff of which highlight films are made.

Holohan plants his toes just inches inside the line. The pass actually is thrown out of bounds, but Holohan leans over the sideline and catches the ball while falling down. First down. Six plays later, the Rams score.

“Heck, when I threw that ball I thought to myself, ‘This might have a chance to be intercepted,”’ Everett said. “But Pete made a great catch to keep the drive going.”

So stunned were the game officials by Holohan’s catch, that they asked for a replay. “In bounds,” came the reply from upstairs.

“I thought I was in all the way,” Holohan said. “They reviewed it, didn’t they?”

Uh, huh.

“Well, I agreed with their call.”

Then Holohan laughed. He can afford to these days. He has 13 of the Rams’ 66 pass receptions. He has his first regular season touchdown as a Ram. And he has respect. Lots of it.

“He makes those catches in practice all the time,” said Damone Johnson, the Rams’ starting tight end. “He’s got the softest hands I’ve seen yet.”

So why did the Chargers trade him?

Johnson hesitated. “I don’t know why,” he said. “It was a bad move.”

Said cornerback Jerry Gray: “The guy is great. That’s all I can say. Every time a ball is thrown his way, he catches it. I don’t know how we got him.”

Holohan was such a mystery that Gray and Irvin spent time in training camp discussing the acquisition. Problem was, they didn’t know how the Rams got him. Someone told them that Ram offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese (formerly of the Chargers) had engineered the trade. Someone else said the Chargers had released him.

Now Irvin and Gray know the truth. Next, they’ll want to know the Chargers’ mailing address--the better to send thank you notes.

“Unbelievable,” Irvin said. “I knew that Pete was a legitimate tight end. I just couldn’t understand why they traded him to the Rams knowing that we had Ernie Zampese as well.”

Here’s why:

The Chargers had Rod Bernstine, a recent first-round pick. They had Eric Sievers. They had Kellen Winslow. The last thing they needed was another tight end to clutter their roster.

That’s when the Rams called, dangling that fourth-round choice in front of them. What a deal. The Chargers get a draft pick, the Rams get a sure-handed tight end intimately familiar with Ernie Zampese’s offense--which is really San Diego’s old offense with a running game added.

“The passing game is the same as it was in San Diego,” Holohan said. “What makes it effective up here is that the Rams have the capacity to run the ball and sustain drives on the ground. With that combination, it’s a pretty good punch.”

Holohan helps plenty. While not a starter per se, he sees plenty of action on borderline and obvious passing situations. That’s more than he would have done had he stayed in San Diego.

“I think I was destined to be traded maybe two years ago, but (Bernstine) reported late, so . . . But I’m extremely happy with the move, obviously. I’m playing more and I’m able to contribute.”

And how.