PRO FOOTBALL REPORT : WEEKDAY UPDATE : RAMS : Gary’s Success Comes at Price

In the past two games, Cleveland Gary has rushed for 171 yards and six touchdowns, but he also has fumbled three times. His fourth-quarter fumble against Dallas two weeks ago probably cost the Rams a victory. And when he dropped and then picked up the ball en route to a fourth-quarter touchdown Sunday in San Francisco, it had to wear on Coach John Robinson’s nerves a bit.

“I think he’s still learning how to play,” Robinson said, “and paying attention to detail is something he’s learning. He loves to play and loves to compete, but he’s a little casual with (the ball).

“Cleveland can really make you miss, even in very confined areas; and the essence of a great runner, I think, is determined in those six-, seven-yard runs, not when you go through a hole and no one’s there and you run down the field.

Gary ranks sixth in the NFC with 623 yards rushing, despite the fact that he carried the ball only 12 times in the first three games. He has fumbled eight times and lost four.