Bailey a Victim of ‘the Moment’ : Pro football: He says emotions got the best of him and apologizes for outburst after Rams’ 30-24 loss to Falcons.

A calm, composed Robert Bailey apologized to Ram coaches and players Friday for his outburst in the locker room after Thursday night’s 30-24 loss to Atlanta.

Bailey, the starting right cornerback, picked up a chair and had to be restrained from attacking a teammate after the Rams blew a 17-3 lead at the Georgia Dome.

“I told the coaches and players how I felt and that I shouldn’t have done that because that was an embarrassment to the team and to myself,” Bailey said. “My emotions got a hold of me a little bit. I apologized, and that was it.”

Tempers flared after Bailey was beaten by Andre Rison on touchdown passes of 21 yards in the second quarter and 42 yards in the fourth quarter. Rison’s second touchdown catch put the Falcons ahead, 27-24, with 4:40 to play.

“Don’t tell me I cost us the game,” Bailey shouted before he was restrained by teammates and assistant coach Joe Vitt in the locker room.

Vitt and the players took Bailey out of the locker room and into another room, where they calmed him down.

Bailey said Friday he was mad at himself about Rison’s touchdown catches, adding that his outburst wasn’t directed toward any particular player or coach.

“It was just the loss and (the fact that) they got two touchdowns on me,” he said. “I thought we should have won the game.”

But was there finger-pointing after the game?

“No, I was just upset about what happened on the field,” Bailey said. “I was trying to hold it in and then I got upset.

“That has never happened to me in a game before in football, high school or anywhere. That’s the first time I have ever been scored on twice, so it’s not like it has happened before and I know how to deal with it. I dealt with it wrong.”

Said wide receiver Flipper Anderson: “Some words were said that weren’t meant at the time. It was just the frustration of the moment. It’s all over with now. It’s going to be frustrating when you lose. If it’s not, then there’s something wrong with you.”

Coach Chuck Knox, who was conducting his news conference in a nearby room when Bailey erupted, didn’t see what happened.

“I heard it,” Knox said. “I haven’t talked with (Bailey) about it, but I have talked to the whole team about it. I’m not sure exactly what transpired.

“But I’ve been in this league 31 years and I’ve seen a lot of frustration and a lot of emotionalism. Those things happen when you’re in a highly competitive game. What happened there was minor compared to some of the things I have seen.”

Injuries and frustrations have been building for the last two weeks with the Ram defense, which played the second half without three starters.

Defensive end Robert Young, the team’s top pass rusher, strained knee ligaments against New Orleans and sat out the Falcon game. Defensive tackle Sean Gilbert strained his left hamstring in the second quarter and didn’t return.

Bailey, a reserve, replaced starter Darryl Henley, who left the team last week pending the outcome of a federal investigation into his alleged role in a cocaine distribution network.

Bailey was clearly beaten by Rison on the first touchdown catch, which cut the Rams’ lead to 17-10 with 1:50 to play in the second quarter. Then Rison made an acrobatic catch on the second touchdown, cutting back in front of Bailey to snare an underthrown pass by Billy Joe Tolliver.

“I was right there,” Bailey said. “What really helped (Rison) was the ball floating and giving him time to readjust.

“When I looked up, I tried to slide under, but he kind of pushed me back through and got under me. It was the luck of the draw.”

Bailey paused.

“Maybe if I had tried to stop earlier in front of him,” he said. “You never know.”