Collins Now Has Situation Covered : Giants: Former Cal State Fullerton standout doesn’t take playoffs for granted as he prepares to take on Rams’ talented receivers.

When the New York Giants capped their 1986 season with a Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos, that merely continued the storybook saga of Mark Collins.

After all, how many times does a relatively small guy come out of a relatively little-known school and become a regular NFL cornerback, win all-rookie honors and a championship ring in one season?

It was almost an embarrassment of riches for Collins, who grew up in San Bernardino and set Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. records at Cal State Fullerton before becoming the Giants’ second-round pick--and 44th overall--in the 1986 draft.

“Coming here in ‘86, I came into a situation where we went to the playoffs and the Super Bowl and I really didn’t understand what was going on,” said the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Collins, who had a school-record 20 interceptions at Fullerton and was team captain his senior year. “I kind of expected us to do it every year.

“In ’87 and ‘88, we kind of missed that. Now that we’re in it this year, now I appreciate what happened in ’86 more.

“Like in ‘86, I didn’t talk to the media. This year, I appreciate what’s going on and I’m taking my time to enjoy it. I know that every team doesn’t get here. A lot of teams would like to be in the situation we’re in now.”

That situation is one of eager anticipation of Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game against the Rams at Giants Stadium, the Giants’ first postseason contest in nearly three years. As the Giants’ best cornerback this season, Collins figures to play a key role Sunday in covering Ram receivers, a role he relishes despite its obvious difficulty.

“I’m glad we got a chance to play the Rams,” he said. “It’s not going to be a waltz. It’s going to be a tough game, no doubt about it. No doubt about it. Women and children shouldn’t watch this game because it’s going to be pretty ugly.”

That’s ugly-physical, not ugly-contentious, because Collins considers Ram fullback Buford McGee and wide receiver Henry Ellard his friends. That element of friendly rivalry heightens Collins’ respect for the entire Ram team.

“They do throw the ball downfield and keep you off balance,” Collins said before the Giants practiced Thursday in drizzle and 40-degree temperatures at Giants Stadium. “They do a lot of great things. It’s going to be a big challenge.

“Their receivers are all good. I’d compare their receivers to the Redskins’ receivers. Ellard’s one of the best in the league. I’d rate their wide receivers in the top three in the league--Washington, San Francisco and then the Rams. They’re tough to defend against because of their speed and they’ve got a great quarterback in Jim Everett. He always knows where they’re going to be at all times.”

That he’s now among the NFL’s top cornerbacks is a surprise to Collins, who never dreamed of playing professional football until scouts started coming around in his last two years of college. Equally astonishing to him are the fan letters delivered daily to his locker, missives that confirm his arrival as an NFL standout.

“Yeah, I get mail--surprisingly,” he said. “It comes from everywhere.”

His most important fan, though, is Coach Bill Parcells, who likes Collins enough to overlook a potentially serious flaw.

“He’s a very good player and I’m not holding the fact that he’s from California against him,” Parcells joked. “He’s done very well since he’s been a rookie here. He’s made a very significant contribution to our team. We were fortunate this year, unlike other years, that he was able to play all 16 games.”

Collins missed the last five games of last season because of an abdominal hernia but still made 58 tackles, one interception and had 13 pass-defenses in 11 games, second-best on the Giants. He also had four kickoff returns for 67 yards.

He enjoyed a strong 1987 season, too, leading the secondary with 60 tackles, making two interceptions and joining in on two sacks, but an injury kept him out of the season finale.

As a rookie, he started in nine games and finished as the second-leading tackler in the secondary with 60 tackles, besides intercepting once, forcing a fumble and recovering another. In addition, he returned 11 kickoffs for 204 yards.

This season, he started all 16 games, accumulating 75 tackles--fourth-best on the team--a sack and two fumble recoveries. He was also credited with 12 pass-defenses, third behind Terry Kinard and Perry Williams. They are perhaps Pro Bowl-worthy statistics, but Collins doesn’t mind that he hasn’t had any major accolades.

“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I don’t really care. As long as I do my job and I’m happy with my performance, and the coaches are happy with it, I don’t care. . . .

“I guess I’m somewhat established, but I’m still working at it. I’m going to try to get better. I still have a lot to learn. I have to work on my technique, on reading plays and on diagnosing plays and stuff like that.”

Collins’ acting technique is fine, though, as evidenced by the impromptu entertainment he and linebacker Carl Banks put together Wednesday. They grabbed the public-address microphone in the locker room and staged a mock interview with defensive line coach Lamar Leachman, complete with Leachman’s Southern drawl.

Leachman’s defensive techniques will be tested to their limits Sunday by a team that has defeated the Giants in their last two regular-season meetings.

The Rams, Collins said, “just kicked our butts, basically,” in a 31-10 rout Nov. 10 at Anaheim Stadium and a wild 45-31 victory last season, and Collins is determined to avoid a repeat. He said the Rams can expect the Giants to be more physical on offense and defense than in their previous encounter, but he wouldn’t reveal anything else about the Giants’ game plan.

“On the defensive side of the ball it would be good for us to set the tone and keep things at a standstill pretty much,” he said. “You can’t shut down an offense like that but you can slow them down, and that’s what we’re going to try to do, slow them down a little bit and see what happens.”

Notes

Bill Parcells credited Ram defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur, with whom he worked in New England, for teaching him the nuances of the game and advancing his own coaching career. Shurmur spent two seasons as the Patriots’ defensive line coach and two as their defensive coordinator before joining the Rams. Parcells was the Patriots’ linebacker coach in 1980.

“I learned that I was supposed to buy the doughnuts on Saturday morning for the coaches,” Parcells joked. “The best thing he did for me was take me in and accept me right away and try to call my attention to the things he thought were important to coach defense successfully in the league. He made me very cognizant of the people we were playing against and what each of those individuals could do. It’s a lesson I learned well. I carried it with me and I’m grateful to him for it.

“I think he’s a guy that has proven his ability, year in and year out, in this league and I’d very much like to see him get a head coaching job because he would do a very good job. He gets along with people well and he can make you feel good about yourself. He’s a very honest guy. He says what he thinks all the time, which sometimes irritates people but you appreciate it a lot more when you’re around him because you know what you’ve got all the time.”

Defensive end Eric Dorsey, who has a broken bone in his right foot, isn’t likely to play much Sunday and Guard Brian Williams, who has a strained left knee, is questionable. . . . Parcells denied published reports that quarterback Phil Simms injured his shoulder in early October, which forced Parcells to change his offense from a passing game to a running game. “His injury was an ankle injury, which we made public,” Parcells said.