Rams’ Draft Haul Includes Everything Except Defensive Tackle : Football: Defensive selections together with Plan B players give team hope for instant improvement on defense.
They got a fast start, then plodded through the rest of the NFL draft trying to load up with fast legs and big bodies.
They got defensive sparks and a question mark. They got seven players meant to attack enemy offenses, and dealt for one potential-laden offensive lineman in former Bronco Gerald Perry, whose only enemy is self-destructiveness.
They got everything they wanted in the NFL’s college draft except that one dominating defensive tackle, but the Rams finished with a haul they believe can kick-start them back into contention.
“I suppose the biggest thing that I’m interested in is the chance to get off to a good start defensively,” Coach John Robinson said Monday. “I think (top picks cornerback Todd Lyght and linebacker Roman Phifer) can give us a chance to really move forward . . . quickly adapt to what we’re doing.
“I feel great about it. But (feelings are) of no importance now. We have 13 new defensive players (including five Plan B signees and free-agent defensive lineman Ben Thomas). If they play good, we’ll be good.”
After Lyght and Phifer, the Rams selected five more defensive players in the draft that concluded Monday afternoon. Together with the five Plan B players, that gives the Rams hope for instant improvement on a defense desperately in need of it.
After selecting Miami (Fla.) cornerback Robert Bailey with their fourth-round pick Sunday night, the Rams took defensive lineman Robert Young (Mississippi State) in the fifth round Monday morning.
They changed up a little by taking four offensive players--Brigham Young tackle Neal Fort in Round 6, William & Mary fullback Tyrone Shelton in Round 7, and Washington offensive lineman Jeff Pahukoa and Indiana running back/fullback Ernie Thompson in Round 12.
On the defensive side, the Rams drafted raw but hard-working Nebraska linebacker Pat Tyrance in Round 8, heavy (298 pounds) Arkansas State defensive tackle Jeff Fields in Round 9, and relatively fast (4.55 seconds in the 40-yard dash) Western Michigan defensive end-linebacker Terry Crews in Round 11.
The Rams, needing a defensive tackle, figured to draft Miami (Fla.) tackle Russell Maryland, but watched Dallas take him with the No. 1 overall pick. The only prospect at that position the Rams acquired is Young, a 6-6, 273-pounder with long arms but no inside experience.
The Rams have only Alvin Wright and Mike Piel as pure tackles, and have a grab-bag set of defensive ends in converted linebacker Kevin Greene, Bill Hawkins, Brian Smith and two Plan B players, Karl Wilson and Gerald Robinson.
“Obviously, (we) would’ve liked to have picked up an impact defensive lineman, but that wasn’t the case,” defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher said. “Instead, we got impact players, blue-chippers at other areas. We’ll deal with that.
“We do have plenty of guys up front and it’s one of those deals where you put the names in the hat, shake them around and play the best four.”
As it now stands, with Lyght expected to be the starting right cornerback, Jerry Gray established on the other side, and loads of speedy safeties hitting the primes of their careers, the defense will be anchored by its secondary.
“It’s one of the best secondaries I’ve been associated with in a long time, just at a glance,” Fisher said. “The big thing is getting the pressure up front. When you have safeties that can cover and overlap and corners that can press, then you’ve got a chance to go after people and pressure people.”
Perry’s agent, Gary Ebert, and Robinson said they believed the change of scenery should help the offensive lineman, who has faced numerous charges of assault, sexual assault and soliciting prostitutes during his three years in Denver.
Perry faces two court hearings in June, and could possibly be sentenced to jail. But Robinson, while refusing to comment about the hearing’s specifics, said he expects Perry to play for the Rams this season.
Robinson figures Perry will eventually replace one of the Rams’ aging tackles, but there are hints Perry could step in immediately and start at right guard this year.
“We’re hopeful that by changing his environment, that it’s going to be a positive thing for him,” Robinson said. “He’s had some trouble, but there are also a number of very positive things about him, according to people we know.”
Perry is still unsigned and could choose not to report to the Rams. Ebert said Perry was at home in Baton Rouge, La., and had some financial affairs to attend to before he could head west.
Robinson said no timetable has been set for Perry to report, but Ebert didn’t expect any problems there.
“He’s just looking for a fresh start,” Ebert said. “He’s real happy about it.”
Ebert said his client’s problems aren’t as serious as reported, and emphasized the only crime Perry has been convicted of is soliciting a prostitute. He underwent alcohol and drug rehabilitation last year.
“He’s battled through it, and he’s done the right thing,” Ebert said from his office near Shreveport, La. “He’s just handled it. Considering all the pressure on him, he’s done a tremendous job of handling it.”
One of the reasons the Cleveland Browns passed on Lyght in favor of UCLA safety Eric Turner with the draft’s No. 2 pick is a comment Lyght made to a Cleveland reporter before the draft that was widely interpreted as a slight to the city.
“I heard that report,” Lyght said. “What happened is I did an interview on the phone . . . and the reporter asked me the question, ‘Who would you like to play for?’ And I told him I would like to play for anybody.
“And then he said, ‘Even Cleveland?’ And I said yes. And so he quoted me as saying, “I would like to play for anybody, even Cleveland.’ ”
Art Modell, Browns owner, reportedly saw the quote and was angered by it.