Gray’s Hit Gives Rams the Lift They Need : His Tackle Separates Walker From the Ball, Jets From a Touchdown

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jerry Gray, sounding more like a NASA ground control engineer than a football player, explained that he was just “looking for separation.”

And when he got it, Sunday’s Ram mission was off to a perfect start.

The New York Jets were trying to get their offense off the ground at the time. Quarterback Ken O’Brien had just launched a 31-yard pass and Wesley Walker had caught the ball in stride, three yards from the end zone.

Walker never saw Gray coming . . . and he never got to the end zone, either. After a rib-rattling collision that left Walker gasping for air, the ball was bounding free in the end zone, where safety Nolan Cromwell recovered for the Rams.

Exactly three minutes later, the Rams were leading, 7-0, and the countdown to a 17-3 victory was under way.

The Rams may be a mere bottle rocket in the high-tech society that is the NFL these days, but when they get a lead, they can be frustratingly effective at running the ball and, of course, the clock.

Gray had made a decision to abandon his prescribed duties on the play, but no Rams are going to complain. Instinctively, he knew the team could use his services on another front.

“I was supposed to be covering (Jet receiver Al) Toon,” said Gray, who also had an interception Sunday to tie him with San Francisco’s Ronnie Lott for the NFL lead with eight. “But the safety (Cromwell) went for a great play-action fake and Walker came flying by. He outran Toon, so I went after him.”

Walker was open for the catch, making a nice in-stride reception over his left shoulder. But Gray was closing fast and delivered a blind-side hit that leveled Walker and elicited a collective, sympathetic “oooohh” from the crowd of 70,539 in Giants Stadium.

“I was looking for separation,” Gray explained. “I wasn’t looking to strip, just to hit.”

And hit he did.

“I thought it was gonna be six points,” Walker said. “I never saw him or maybe I could have gone up to catch the ball and protected it better.

“But it was a good, hard shot and a good, smart play.”

It was also a pivotal play. Just ask the Rams’ other cornerback, LeRoy Irvin, never one to pass up the chance to extol the virtues of the Rams’ defense.

“It was the key play of the game, no doubt,” Irvin said. “If they get seven (points) up, it would’ve given them a big, big lift. And when they get an early lead, they usually win.

“The play was a tribute to Jerry Gray, who is emerging as one of the best corners in the game. He doesn’t just play the pass, he’s a hitter. He’s one of the most complete corners in football.”

That’s not exactly the way Gray, a safety at the University of Texas, had it planned, however. He was a highly recruited quarterback at Estacado High School in Lubbock, Tex., but was determined to play defensive back in college, figuring his chances for a career in the NFL were much better in the secondary.

He was a consensus All-American for two years at Texas and figured safety was the spot he’d play in the NFL.

The Rams had other ideas when they drafted him, though. Gray was far from overjoyed with the idea of playing cornerback, but decided to try to learn the position.

The Rams figure he’s come a long way in a short time.

“Jerry’s got great natural ability,” Cromwell said. “He’s got a lot of attributes you can’t coach. But the thing that’s impressed me most is his attitude toward making the switch, the way he’s studied and the way’s he’s challenged himself.”

Cromwell, who admittedly “bit on the fake and left Walker wide open,” can thank Gray for saving him some embarrassment this time. And he’s sure it won’t be the last time, either.

Jerry Gray, it seems, is destined to become a fixture at cornerback.

And Wesley Walker doesn’t figure to be the last player he leaves seeing stars.