Ram Camp : This Move Is One Jeter Doesn’t Want to Tackle

After 10 seasons in the National Football League, Gary Jeter has been asked by the Rams to slide down the line from his spot at right defensive end to make room for another.

That new spot has been reserved for rookie Donald Evans of Winston-Salem State, the one who at last count had recorded exactly 53 1/2 fewer quarterback sacks than Jeter, a former two-time All-American at USC.

This is the same Evans who hails from a school with a student body the size of the crowd at a Trojan pep club meeting. It’s the same Evans who held out of camp for two weeks and wondered all the time what the fuss over the art of quarterback sacking was about?

“I don’t have to play quarterback,” Evans said.

It’s the same dirt-poor Evans who has public sympathy on his side, the one who needs his weekly check to help support the growing metropolis of Raleigh, N.C., which houses hundreds of his closest relatives.

So you think it’s been easy for Jeter?

“Yeah, I’m a team player, but it gets to the point where I have my pride too,” Jeter said.

The Rams are not moving Jeter out of the lineup, just over one spot to the left, from end to defensive tackle, in the Rams’ pass-rush defense. The idea was born at mini-camp in May, after the Rams had drafted defensive end Evans on the second round, and will be continued Thursday night in Anaheim Stadium when the Rams play the Seattle Seahawks at 7:30 in the annual Times charity game.

The theory in moving Jeter, still quick and strong at 32, is to utilize his skill and experience inside, hoping that it will clear a path to the quarterback for Evans, who at this point must rely on physical talent alone.

The team’s coaching staff is looking for ways to increase the Rams’ sack total, which dropped from 56 in 1985 to 39 last season.

But Jeter sees himself in a new world of being double- and triple-teamed, a world where sacks don’t come as easily.

Jeter didn’t like the idea at mini-camp, doesn’t like it now and probably will never like it. In his mind, he’s still a defensive end.

“The jury’s still out on the whole situation,” he said.

That’s because the move was based on the Rams’ assumption that Evans could make an immediate impact, an idea that his lengthy contract holdout has clouded considerably.

If things don’t work out, Jeter might well be back at end. Until then, he’s coping with the reality of being a tackle.

What’s surprising, though, has been the relationship between Jeter and Evans, which could have been many things besides cordial. But cordial it has been. Evans, in fact, has found a mentor in Jeter.

“He’s helped me out a whole lot,” Evans said. “I can look back at him in practice and he’ll be saying ‘Hey, get a little lower.’ He’s so quick for his size. I’ve never seen a big man so quick.”

In the London practices, Jeter seemed to be Evans’ personal tutor, forever counseling the youngster on the techniques of his position, offering all this for the man who was hired take his job.

Jeter, knowingly, is sharpening the blade that ultimately will be used in his own demise.

“I want the guy I’m competing against to be at his best,” Jeter said. “And he’s shown a lot of hustle. If he had a casual attitude, I’d have nothing to do with him. Someone’s got to take care of him. I was in the same position 10 years ago, and no one took me under their wing. It took me a couple of years just to know what’s going on.”

Jeter isn’t looking to win any humanitarian awards. He just thinks the competition will make both players better, and if that means getting the Rams to the Super Bowl, that’s fine by him.

But there’s another side of Jeter that sees him winning out in the end. That’s why it doesn’t bother him to help a competitor.

“I’m confident in my own ability,” Jeter said. “I don’t fear Donald Evans.”

Jeter said he wants to play two more quality seasons and then retire. Used almost exclusively as a pass rusher since coming to the Rams in 1983, Jeter had his best NFL season in 1985 with 11 sacks. He added eight more last season.

What he fears most is being judged this season only by his sacks, which are likely to decrease at the tackle position. Jeter wants everyone to understand the difference in positions. He can just imagine management at season’s end drawing some graph showing a decrease in production, perhaps paving the way for an early release.

“I could conceivably see this happening.” Jeter said, “It’s third down and long, I get doubled with two players and (Evans) gets the sack and the numbers and looks like the greatest thing since sliced bread. That could happen. But as long as Gary Jeter has a ring on his finger at the end of the season, fine, I’ll sacrifice.”

Jeter said he will go along with the plan so long as it works.

“But if it’s not working, and I’m getting my jaw realigned every week, then I’ll be upset,” he said.

Ram coaches, though, are not looking at the move as a demotion of Jeter.

“There are more reasons to move him inside and use his skills than there are just moving him inside to put another guy on the outside,” Fritz Shurmur, defensive coordinator, said. “Jeter can be effective inside or out. It’s hard to find a guy with that strength and quickness.”

Jeter will just have to wait and see. Until then, he says he’ll do his best to prepare Evans, who represents the future.

Even so, for Donald Evans, the road to the quarterback will most likely be long and arduous.

Gary Jeter knows the feeling. It came to him in 1977.

“He has to learn everything,” Jeter said. “It’s that simple. He has to take a basic course in the concept of playing football in the NFL.”

Teaching Concept 101 this season, Gary Jeter.

London leftovers: For those who thought the one-game, one-kick Ram career of Welsh rugby star Paul Thorburn was a publicity flop of the highest order, read on.

This glowing tribute came the London Daily Telegraph.

“More than 72,000 saw the Welsh Rugby Union international Paul Thorburn trying skill at the game, and the Neath fullback did not disgrace himself. One of rugby’s best goal kickers, Thorburn, launched the ball 43 yards for the Rams.”

Thorburn’s only kickoff attempt was “launched” to the Denver 22-yard line.

The Times of London added perspective, reporting that Thorburn had “made the most of his chance to try out with the Rams, but although his kickoff had plenty of height, it was lacking in range.”

Ram Notes The Rams arrived back from England in good shape. Injuries suffered by linebacker Kevin Greene (ankle) and cornerback Cliff Hicks (thumb) aren’t serious, and both will play Thursday night against Seattle. Those who won’t play include cornerback LeRoy Irvin, tight end Damone Johnson and back Buford McGee, all out with hamstring injuries. . . . Coach John Robinson on rookie defensive end Donald Evans, who was pushed around in London: “Does he have a long way to go? Yes. He doesn’t have a specific skill at the position, but he has an abundance of natural skill.” . . . Robinson said he’ll make player cuts Friday, after evaluating film from Thursday’s game.