Ram Coach John Robinson

Ram Coach John Robinson has been selected as professional football's man of the year by the Assn. of Representatives of Professional Athletes, an organization of sports agents.

I always thought that Ram Coach John Robinson held Gaston Green down because it was some sort of Trojan conspiracy to keep a UCLA running back from making a big name for himself. But it was no conspiracy. It was just plain stupidity. BILL HARRIS, Los Angeles

With recently acquired Gerald Perry facing third-degree sexual assault charges in Denver, Ram Coach John Robinson said the offensive lineman isn't expected to join the team until July. Robinson had hoped that Perry could be with the Rams during their two-week mini-camp this month. Robinson said: "We expect him early in July, to be here, ready to go, unencumbered by any more legal problems." Perry, who has a June court date in Denver, is expected to serve a jail sentence of about two weeks.

I always thought that Ram Coach John Robinson held Gaston Green down because it was some sort of Trojan conspiracy to keep a UCLA running back from making a big name for himself. But it was no conspiracy. It was just plain stupidity. BILL HARRIS, Los Angeles

With recently acquired Gerald Perry facing third-degree sexual assault charges in Denver, Ram Coach John Robinson said the offensive lineman isn't expected to join the team until July. Robinson had hoped that Perry could be with the Rams during their two-week mini-camp this month. Robinson said: "We expect him early in July, to be here, ready to go, unencumbered by any more legal problems." Perry, who has a June court date in Denver, is expected to serve a jail sentence of about two weeks.

Ram Coach John Robinson received support Wednesday from a coach not usually considered gracious to his peers. But Atlanta Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville says he knows what Robinson is going through. Last season, when he was coach of the Houston Oilers, Glanville sensed trouble despite making the playoffs three consecutive seasons. He interviewed with the Falcons before the Houston Oilers fired him.

Steve Bartkowski will have his homecoming. Ram Coach John Robinson said Monday that the former Falcon quarterback, grounded for a week with a knee strain, would start against his old team at Atlanta Sunday, with at least a share of first place in the NFC West in the balance. Bartkowski spent 11 seasons with the Falcons.

Two more collected draft choices today will close out a mile-wide file on Eric Dickerson at Ram headquarters. The ties that bound--four super seasons, one megaton tirade-and-trade, six Grade-A draft choices, one Bell that tolled (Greg)--shall hereby be forever severed after said paperwork is completed in pro football's deal of the decade. The payoff in the three-team trade will come with the 26th pick in the first round--compensation for Dickerson from Buffalo--and a second-round pick at No. 45, compensation from Indianapolis.

Flipper Anderson's set-up man, Jim Everett, was so lost in the landscape of Anderson's record-breaking receiving performance against New Orleans that it took a night's sleep and a film session to comprehend Everett's role. Now, brace yourself for the two greatest single feats ever witnessed by a coach on the same night. Move over, Flipper. "I think Jim Everett played his best game ever as a pro," Ram Coach John Robinson said.

Ram Coach John Robinson received support Wednesday from a coach not usually considered gracious to his peers. But Atlanta Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville says he knows what Robinson is going through. Last season, when he was coach of the Houston Oilers, Glanville sensed trouble despite making the playoffs three consecutive seasons. He interviewed with the Falcons before the Houston Oilers fired him.

More than ever, this summer's Ram camp promises to be a case of survival of the fittest, quickest and fastest. It's all a part of Coach John Robinson's new theory on natural roster selection. He has created competitive situations and is asking his players to determine the starters. Then again, such a course becomes a must when a coach has so many players of comparable worth. Some years, the gap between Ram starters and reserves has been wide enough to drive a truck through.

Anybody else sick and tired of watching the Denver Broncos being blown out of Super Bowls? I hereby become an honorary member of the Southern California Browns Backers Assn. Let's allow a breath of fresh air into the bowl on Jan. 28. . . . What the Browns must do Sunday against John Elway, though, is tighten up a pass defense that has allowed career-high yardage totals to Buffalo's Jim Kelly and Houston's Warren Moon the past two weeks. . . .

At last glance, it was 14 degrees in New England. The Rams are dropping passes in their sleep just thinking about it. Or so the legend goes. As the mercury plunges, so plunges every postseason notion the Rams will ever consider. This week, the Sunshine Boys take their precision, warm-weather pass offense to Foxboro, Mass., for a crucial season-ending game against the Patriots. Depending on league paper work, the Rams might have to win just to qualify for the playoffs.

Flipper Anderson's set-up man, Jim Everett, was so lost in the landscape of Anderson's record-breaking receiving performance against New Orleans that it took a night's sleep and a film session to comprehend Everett's role. Now, brace yourself for the two greatest single feats ever witnessed by a coach on the same night. Move over, Flipper. "I think Jim Everett played his best game ever as a pro," Ram Coach John Robinson said.

File this under new seasons, new tailbacks, new controversies, new holdouts. Eric Dickerson is only a memory, but the concept lives on in Anaheim, where the Rams open mini-camp today without leading rusher Greg Bell, who is laying the groundwork--"If I was in Buffalo, I'd probably be making a million a year"--for one hot summer of No. 42. The season opener, remember, is Sept. 10 at Atlanta, but don't be shocked if Bell isn't on the midnight plane to Georgia. So what makes for a really good holdout?

Without pomp or circumstance, Charles White Wednesday snipped the umbilical cord that connected him with football. He retired, thus ending an odd career that was both triumphant and tragic, memorable and mysterious. It was an amiable parting. White, 31, said it was time "to step aside," and the Rams, loaded to the horns with young runners, did not disagree. Still, as fond farewells go, this one was like watching Lassie leave little Timmy. Ram Coach John Robinson went so far as to call White "the most aggressive player I've ever coached.