Rams’ Unmatched Pair of Aces : Gray and Irvin Hold Down Opposite Corners of Defense

Jerry Gray and LeRoy Irvin play on opposite corners, all right. Opposite galaxies maybe.

One is quiet, the other is a riot. Let’s take contract situations, for example.

You may remember Irvin and his little problem last year. Irvin went to the Pro Bowl twice but was convinced that sideline chain gangs were better paid.

What did Irvin do? He changed his personality, that’s all. He held out of training camp, sulked on the sidelines, phoned in sick a lot, whined to the press and wound up suspended. Eventually, he ended up with a new three-year contract.

“I really hated that,” Irvin said of the way he acted. “But I had to do it.”

The only way you’d know Jerry Gray is unhappy with his contract is if you looked at his paycheck. Gray is a two-time Pro Bowl player earning $200,000.

Yet, there was barely a peep from him all season. Armed with the legacy of successful front-office battles won by Rams Eric Dickerson, Irvin and Tom Newberry, Jerry Gray decided to report to camp on time and keep his mouth shut. Nice strategy, huh?

Irvin thinks his friend is exploring new negotiating territory.

“Everyone’s waiting to see if being a nice guy is the way to do it,” Irvin said. “In the past, you kind of had to be an ass, a la Newberry, Dickerson, (me?) to get anything done. But Jerry, well, being quiet, the world is waiting to see: What happens if you’re nice?”

Gray is working quietly behind the scenes. He recently hired Irvin’s agent, Charles Chin, to get started on renegotiation. But that’s about it. Basically, Gray whistles while he works.

“I just didn’t see myself not coming in,” he said. “On the other hand, it could have been easier for me to do that. But I hope we can work it out on a good basis. It gets to the point that if you feel like you’ve got a gun at your head, you may have to do something drastic. But now, we’re trying to work on something.”

Gray has been most accommodating. He was a first-round pick as an All-American safety at the University of Texas in 1985. But in 1986, when a neck injury forced Gary Green into retirement, the Rams asked Gray to move to the corner. He did and proceeded directly to the Pro Bowl.

Now, the Rams are talking about moving Gray back to free safety. Instead of asking why in the world the Rams can’t make up their minds, Gray has said OK, with one condition.

“I just want to know where I’m going to be,” he said. “I don’t expect to be given a job, but I don’t want them to take a job away from me if I’m starting at one position.”

Fat chance. Gray is becoming such a force on the corner that he’s chasing all the action to Irvin, who turned 31 Thursday. Irvin figures it will be more of the same Sunday, when the Raiders come at the Rams with their track-team receiving corps of Willie Gault, James Lofton and Tim Brown.

Former Raider cornerback Lester Hayes used to salivate when thoughts turned to the Ram secondary. He said he could play in their zone defense until the year 2000.

But times are changing. The Rams are blitzing more these days--12 sacks in 2 games--which is forcing Irvin and Gray into more man-to-man coverage.

“I don’t sleep much at night worrying about these guys,” Irvin said of the Raider receivers. “Before, I could back up 20 yards and wait for them to get there. Now, there’ll be situations where I’m singled up on them and Jerry’s singled up on them. It’s just a matter of who Steve (Beuerlein) wants to pick on. Chances are it will be me. I don’t care. I’m used to it now.”

Irvin knows it’s more of a tribute to Gray.

“His stock is coming up,” Irvin said. “He’s one of the best all-around corners in the league. Actually, when you look at guys who play the run, pass, man-to-man and zone, Jerry and I do that better than any cornerbacks in football. Jerry’s younger, and they think he’s got a step on me. That’s why they go at me.”

Gray, from Lubbock, Tex., the home of Buddy Holly, promises he won’t stay silent forever. Silence is too often mistaken for weakness, he said. And Jerry Gray, 25, is strong-willed. It’s just that, one of these days, he’d like to be able to buy a round of drinks for the guys at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

“It can come to a point where (Ram management) say that because Jerry’s not going to say anything, we’re not going to do anything,” he said, explaining his contract position. “That can be bad, too. Then you may have to do something. Hey, the media knows I’m doing my job every day. They didn’t expect me to start here. They didn’t think I’d be playing until my third or fourth year. I’ve been to the Pro Bowl twice in a row and I’m making $200,000.

“Look at all the other guys in the Pro Bowl. Darrell Green, Hanford Dixon, Frank Minnifield. I can’t help it that I’m just as good as they are at an earlier age. If you don’t want me to be that good, don’t tell me to make those plays.”

Ram Notes

Coach John Robinson said tailback Charles White has been working out regularly during his suspension, but wouldn’t offer any more details. “That’s private between me and Charlie,” he said. . . . The Rams re-signed rookie tailback Keith Jones this week, but Robinson said he and nose tackle Greg Meisner will likely remain on the team’s inactive list this week. . . . Wide receiver Henry Ellard needs 5 yards for 3,000 in his career, and cornerback LeRoy Irvin’s next interception with be his 30th.