Gilbert: It’s Business as Usual

Rookie mistake.

Day 1 of the Rams’ training camp at Cal State Fullerton and an eager offensive lineman attempted to gain favor with the coaches with an extra push and some trash talk at Sean Gilbert’s expense.

A philosophic Gilbert, who is the team’s premier defensive player, explained later, “It’s like this, when something like that happens you want to say, ‘Hey, we’re teammates, let’s get a good look on the play and then go back to the huddle. That’s all. No big deal. We’re not trying to break any records or outdo each other.’ ”

And so did he tell the hyperactive rookie just that?

“I told him to shut up,” Gilbert snapped.

The rookie shut up, and it was business as usual along the line of scrimmage with Gilbert in command.

“Ram football,” Gilbert said. “Right now the only thing on my mind is Ram football and trying to have a winning season.”

In January, however, Gilbert will face a pretrial hearing in Pittsburgh on felony assault charges on a police officer. There has been talk of a possible out-of-court settlement, but Gilbert said Monday there’s nothing to settle.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

The March incident ignited newspaper and television coverage, but no comment from the second-year Ram defensive tackle at the time.

“When it happened, it was over as far as I was concerned,” Gilbert said. “After they found out who Sean Gilbert really was, then it became a media event.

“If I was at fault, then it would have been probably over a long time ago, and might have been settled out of court. But I wasn’t at fault.”

Gilbert declined to discuss the details of the incident that resulted in his arrest.

“It would do no good to testify in the papers,” he said. “I could say, ‘I did nothing wrong, that wasn’t me.’ But that would be childish; there’s no point to it. It’s all about money anyway.

“Football. That’s my job, that’s what I’m going to concentrate on. If I let this bother me, then apparently I did something that I had no business doing. That’s not the case.”

The Rams have shown no indication of being alarmed by Gilbert’s legal problem in Pittsburgh. From the outset they said such reports were inconsistent with the kind of player they had come to know a year ago.

“This is a great kid,” said George Dyer, Ram defensive coordinator. “He’s got all the God-given talent you would want, a tremendous work ethic and he wants to be the best he can be. He doesn’t rationalize, doesn’t make excuses, and just works and works and works.”

The Rams are hoping that a year of experience for Gilbert will force the opposition to double-team him up the middle this season and free up the outside pass rush.

On the first day of camp, Gilbert labored like a free agent battling to make the 47-man roster. He yelled encouragement to teammates, didn’t miss a turn in drills and on three consecutive plays got past three befuddled offensive linemen in one-on-one drills.

“It hurts to win; you’ve got to work hard,” Gilbert said. “Somebody has got to set the tempo. You have rookies in here and everybody is just lost, tripping over one another.

“I have to work. I mean I haven’t made it. I made it to the league, but I haven’t made it in the league. Big difference. Reggie White’s made it in the league. He’s the man. He knows the game better than I do at this point. I gotta keep working, take the time to get better.”

That’s the plan as designed by Coach Chuck Knox.

“He’s the first step in the rebuilding of the Rams,” announced Knox last year after the team selected him in the first round of the draft.

During the off-season the Rams designated Gilbert their transition player to secure first-refusal rights once he becomes a free agent. How highly do the Rams regard Gilbert? He won’t become a free agent until 1997.

“You can pub anyone up,” Gilbert said. “It takes nothing to say this guy is going to be this or that. It’s a struggle to fill the big shoes.

“Out in the middle of the line, it’s hell. It’s like a constant tug of war and you’re standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon.”