PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Cowboys’ Irvin Has Seen Rams’ Bailey Plenty Before

Michael Irvin, the Dallas Cowboys’ all-pro receiver, has vivid memories of Ram cornerback Robert Bailey, who in 1987 was a sophomore defender trying to impress his coaches at the University of Miami when Irvin was starring there as a senior.

“You tell Bailey I taught him everything he knows,” Irvin said jokingly on a conference call with reporters this week. “Bailey’s a little hitter now, he’ll try to hit me. I’m going to kill his . . . if he tries to hit me in any way.

“Robert’s a helluva worker. I remember, I was the older guy, he was the younger guy, he was trying to get in, and he wanted to make sure they knew he was ready to play. And he used to always grab me, (saying), ‘Come on, man, give me some routes after practice.’ And I used to have to run routes with him after practice.”

Bailey, when presented with Irvin’s thoughts, smiled.

“ He taught me everything I know?” Bailey said. “I did a lot of (working) with him because he was a big guy in college, and I figured the way to get better was to work with him. He’s a great receiver, as you see now in the pros. . . . He’s doing the same things.”

Dallas Coach Jimmy Johnson and Irvin both said the matter of Irvin missing the team flight to Detroit last weekend was considered over. Irvin said he overslept. He was held out of the team’s first series and fined $1,000.

“Michael’s one of my favorite players and that’s one of the things that made it difficult,” Johnson said. “Not only is he a star player, I’ve worked with him for a long time and we have a great relationship.

“But it doesn’t make any difference if it’s a star or backup special teamer, we’ve got rules and regulations.

“I talked to Michael, we had a visit, I told him what the discipline would be and it was history. Everybody understood--here’s where we are and here’s what we expect.”

Cowboy defensive end Charles Haley suffered a groin injury in practice Thursday but was listed as probable Friday and is expected to be ready for Sunday.