NOTES : Gray Savors Long-Awaited Interception
It has been a long time between interceptions for Jerry Gray, so he took some time to savor his interception and 59-yard touchdown return Sunday night.
Gray was disappointed by the Rams’ 24-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints, but he was warmed by his first big play in more than a season.
“It feels like I’m back to 1989, when I was at my best,” Gray said. “That’s when I felt like they could send their best at me, and I was making many big plays.”
Gray, hobbled all of 1990 with a sore left knee, did not have an interception last season, after getting 19 in the previous four seasons. And he had struggled with the Rams’ new man-to-man scheme in the first two games.
But in the third quarter Sunday night, Gray floated back into soft coverage on receiver Eric Martin, saw that Saints’ quarterback Bobby Hebert was pressured by defensive tackle Chris Pike, and zoomed in front of Martin for the interception on Hebert’s ill-advised throw.
Gray was untouched as he ran down the left sideline and raised his right hand into the air for the final 20 yards. Afterward, he talked about his frustrations for the past 18 or so games.
“I think I’ve been playing on an average level the past year,” Gray said. “I want to be on a higher level, and that’s what the good players do, pick it up a level.”
Turn On the Lyght: Todd Lyght, the Rams’ heretofore inactive No. 1 draft pick, finally saw action as a professional football player Sunday night, getting in on nearly 15 plays in the Rams’ four-cornerback nickel package, often in man-to-man coverage with Martin, the Saints’ best receiver.
“My man never caught a single pass when I was in, and that was my goal tonight,” Lyght said. “You know, you want to make big plays, but basically I just wanted to do that--make sure my guy didn’t catch one.”
Lyght had been sidelined by a left hip injury and general rustiness because of his long training-camp holdout, and was deactivated the first two games of the season. But despite the lack of playing and practice time, he said he felt fairly comfortable on the field.
“I was just lining up and playing ball,” Lyght said. “The guys knew I was the young buck back there, so they made sure to take care of me.”
Where’s Gary? Ram Coach John Robinson was terse and not exactly to the point when asked why tailback Cleveland Gary did not play after Robinson spent the past week saying that he would.
“We were in a place where we just didn’t get it done,” Robinson said.
Robinson, who agreed with the decision to rule incomplete a key pass to Henry Ellard, said he wasn’t pleased with the Superdome Diamond Vision operators showing the play again and again while the replay official was taking a look.
“I think running the replay on the screen is not a positive thing for the game,” Robinson said. “It may be positive at home, but it’s not a positive thing for the game. I think it puts an influence on the people. But it was the right call. I mean, he didn’t catch the ball.”
Lukewarm Reception: Hebert, who was greeted by resounding boos during the Saints’ opener in the Superdome two weeks ago, received a half-and-half welcome Sunday night after leading New Orleans to its first 3-0 start ever.
“I guess I thought it was going to be a little more negative than it was,” Hebert said. “It wasn’t even that bad when I threw the interception that Gray returned for a touchdown.”
Former Saint quarterback Archie Manning, now a broadcaster for the team, isn’t surprised that some fans are slow to forget Hebert’s year-long holdout despite his success in the first three weeks.
“It’s a little unique here, being the only game in town,” said Manning, who never led the Saints to a winning record in 10 years. “Maybe the fans would be more forgiving somewhere else where there’s more going on, but the Saints are the pulse of this whole area.
“You could fly into town from the other side of the world on Sunday night, get up Monday morning, take a stroll down Canal Street and tell if the Saints had won or lost just by the way people are walking.
“Bobby’s a Louisiana boy and they thought that was neat. They felt like he was one of them. Then he said he didn’t want to live in New Orleans or play for the Saints. Fans here don’t forget.”
Hebert’s working hard at changing their minds, though. He completed four of eight passes for 81 yards as the Saints drove for a touchdown on their first possession and finished with a 14-for-28, 193-yard performance.
Add Unpopular Guy: A New Orleans sports apparel store was robbed of about $12,000 worth of merchandise last week. The thieves took all the Morten Andersen and Dalton Hilliard jerseys.
They left all the ones with Hebert’s No. 3 on the rack.
Tackle O’ the Day: After viewing the Superdome’s big-screen replay of Everett’s 25-yard pass to Ellard on a third-and-15 play early in the second quarter, Saint Coach Jim Mora started to sprint onto the field to protest.
Outside linebacker coach Vic Fangio caught Mora in a bear hug from behind, however, and wrestled him back to the sidelines before Mora got a penalty.
Record-Setting Start: The ever-quotable Mora was happy with the way his team played in jumping to its first 3-0 start.
“We played hard, we played good,” he said. “We played a real good football game. I’m very, very proud of them. We played a good team and played well. We played well offensively; we played well defensively and we played well in the kicking game.
“I was pleased with a lot of things.”
Obviously.
