Q&A; : Dickerson Has His Say About the Big Trade

If all goes as expected in today’s National Football League draft, the Rams might, in all fairness, soon refer to themselves as “The Team That Eric Built.� After all, it was the Oct. 31, 1987 trade of running back Eric Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts that eventually provided the Rams with three No. 1 choices, three No. 2 picks and Greg Bell, to boot.

This year, the Rams return for another shopping spree, all thanks to the departure of Dickerson, who became very much available after a long and bitter salary dispute.

Dickerson, who still owns a home in Malibu, recently agreed to discuss life after the Rams. Here is the conversation:

Question: For starters, how have you spent your off-season?

Answer: I travel quite a bit. I’ve been doing appearances, been going back and forth. I just bought a house in Indianapolis.

Q: Some people are going to find that a little strange: Eric Dickerson buying a house in Indianapolis.

A: I like Indy. People ask me that all the time: ‘Do you really like it?’ I like it. I would have never bought a house there if I didn’t like it. People say that I’m from L.A. I’m not from L.A. I’m from Texas and Indy is a lot like Texas.

Q: But a house? Doesn’t that signify some sort of commitment?

A: People buy houses for different types of reasons. I wanted a house there. I don’t like apartments. I don’t like condos. I don’t want somebody above me, or next to me. It’s a brand new house. I’m going back to Indianapolis this week and close on it. It gives you something to go home to.

Q: A friend was curious if, during your off-season, you ever thought of pursuing a modeling or acting career?

A: Modeling, no; acting, yes. I do little things now. But after my football career is over, that’s what I’d like to do. I mean, I look as good as some of those guys on television. But you have to take it seriously. Acting to me is like being a football player. People like Cher, Glenn Close, Michael Douglas, they’re at the top of their profession. And I’m at the top of my profession. With acting, I would have to take it very seriously. I wouldn’t want to half do it. It’s like anything: if an actor tried to come here and be a football player, he’d be an outcast. He’d have to prove himself first. The same thing with acting. I’d have to prove myself. They take their profession just as seriously.

Q: It sounds as if you’ve given this some thought.

A: I’m going to start taking acting lessons. I want to go to classes and not have a private teacher. I think that would be better so you could interact with people. This isn’t just something where you say, ‘I want to be this.’ It’s something I’ve thought about. You have to put some thought into it.

Q: Anybody you go to a movie to specifically see?

A: I like to see certain actors. I like Michael Douglas. I liked John Wayne and his Westerns. I like Clint Eastwood. I like those kind of movies. I wouldn’t want a role where I would have to cry or be a wimp. I like action-packed movies.

Q: How do you think people perceive you? What do you think your image is?

A: I don’t waste my time thinking about this. People are going to think what they think. People who have thoughts, they don’t know me. They say they heard this, or they read this. It’s never that they know something for a fact. I can’t live for whatever people think. I’ve always been like that.

Q: We’re closing in on the two-year anniversary of your trade to the Colts. Do you have specific memories of the day the trade was made?

A: No. It was business. That’s what it was. I don’t have any hostilities toward the Rams. I’m glad we worked out a deal that they’re happy with. I’m happy. I have no gripes. I like my coach. I like my team.

Q: In retrospect, was money the main issue or was it respect?

A: It came to a point where the money didn’t matter anymore. Look at the pay scales now. Houston Oiler quarterback Warren Moon has a $2 million deal. Buffalo Bill Bruce Smith, a defensive end, just signed for something like a million-something a year (a 5-year, $7.5 million deal). But I would still be making 600,000 bucks. I’d feel like a fool. This is a business. People don’t understand that. Players get hurt, released. Eric Dickerson will not always have No. 29 and always be running up a football field the rest of his life.

But if I got hurt, people would ask why I didn’t try to get what I could. They say that later, though. When I want something, and I think I’m right, I’ll fight it all the way. And I thought I was right on this.

Q: How is it a business in your mind?

A: A perfect example is Dwight Stephenson of the Miami Dolphins. He gave them all he had. Then he got hurt and they released him. Tom Landry is another example. Whoever thought they’d fire Tom Landry? It’s a business. People think we shouldn’t ask for money. But I’m 28 years old. It gets tough. There will be times when parts of my body will hurt me. I had a broken hand. And the tackles I’ve taken will affect me later in life. People have to walk in my footsteps to understand. If they did, then they would see what I mean.

Q: Just how do you explain your lack of serious injuries?

A: I’ve been fortunate. As much as I’ve played and carried the ball, I’m still on top of my game. I thank God, first of all. I was blessed with a lot of ability that you cannot compensate with anything--not with steroids, with lifting weights, anything. They can say all the things they want to say about me, but I know for a fact that I’m a good football player. I don’t need anyone to tell me that. They can call me conceited, whatever, but I know I’m a good football player.

Q: Do you think the Rams got everything they could have out of the trade that sent you to the Colts?

A: I don’t know. I think they got a lot for me. For someone that said they didn’t want to pay a million bucks for, I think they got an awful lot for me. Thing is, they got to pay the draft choices, too. But a lot of those guys will never produce. They got some good players, but some of them will never contribute.

Q: Word association time. Give a one- or two-sentence response to these names: John Robinson.

A: John Robinson? (Laughs). Ohhh. Let’s come back to him.

Q: OK, how about Ron Meyer, your head coach?

A: Ron, first of all to me, he’s a good friend of mine. I mean, I like Ron. I love Coach Ron Meyer as a friend and as a person. He’s a very good coach and he’s a very good friend.

Q: Georgia Frontiere.

A: Georgia. Hmmm. I don’t know much about Georgia. Georgia owns the Rams, that’s all I know. She tries to be kind-hearted, but some of the people around her are not as kind-hearted as she is.

Q: By the way, did she ever get involved in the negotiations when you were having your problems with the Rams?

A: No. Now I’m not taking anything away from her, but I like having a man on it. Men understand football. Men like to win. They like to sit back, maybe drink a beer and have a laugh. It’s a man’s sport. I’m not saying a woman shouldn’t own a team, but a man can come in the locker room and talk to the players. A woman owner can’t do that. Look at all the owners in the NFL. At least they probably played football as kids. But women don’t play football. I mean, they maybe played powderpuff football.

Q: You’re saying that a male owner can relate to the game more, have a better understanding of what a player goes through?

A: Exactly.

Q: Did Frontiere ever call you after the trade was made?

A: No.

Q: Did John Shaw (Ram vice president) ever call?

A: No. In fact, he went to an arbitration that I had with (former agent) Jack Rodri and he tried to testify against me. I guess you could say that they still had a grudge against me.

Q: What about the day you told reporters at Rams Park to let John Robinson run 47-Gap? Did you say that intentionally or was it spontaneous?

A: It was off the top of my head. But I knew it would get back to John. I knew it would get in the papers. A lot of players are afraid of John. I was not afraid of him. I knew I was a good player. And I didn’t cause problems. I didn’t have a drug problem or anything like that. They try to hang those things over your head, like, ‘We’ll help you out on this, but you owe us.’ They just paid me my money. They didn’t have anything bad to say about me. I played hard, practiced all the time and never missed a meeting unless I called first. And I’ve only missed one practice with the Colts in a year and a half, and that’s because I was sick.

Q: Back to word association. How about Robert Irsay, the Colts owner?

A: Irsay is like, my man. Irsay is funny. He’s fun. If he’s got a good product, he’ll pay for it and pay for it well. I know for a fact we’ve got two players who make a hefty salary and they’re defensive players: Duane Bickett and Fredd Young. Irsay is pretty up front. That’s what I like about him.

Q: John Shaw?

A: John Shaw. (Laughs). I don’t know about Shaw. Whew. I wouldn’t trust Shaw as far as I could throw him. To me, Shaw is, well . . . if you could think of a species on earth, to me, Shaw reminds me kind of like an eel. He’s slick. I don’t want to say slimy, that’s not a good word. But he’s a good negotiator. Though he says no to everybody who comes in. No. No. No. He’s like an eel: slick, slippery. You never know when he’ll try to bite you when your back is turned. Me, I never took my eye off him.

Q: Any reaction to Charles White’s retirement announcement?

A: No. Charlie will do fine. It wasn’t no big surprise to me. I see in the paper that they’re still so happy that he outrushed me that year, the year of the trade. But I played with all the regular football players, the union players. I missed, what, four or five games and I still got beat by just 82 yards. Like this year, I saw where Robinson said that by the end of the season the Rams would have a rusher in the top three. I said, ‘No. 2 or 3 they can have. No. 1 belongs to me.’

Q: And this year?

A: No. 1 belongs to me again. I’ll be in very good shape when I come in.

Q: Have you given any thought to how much longer you’d like to play?

A: I’d like to play five more years. That puts me at 33. To me, they’d say that I was an old football player. I’d play until then and give it up.

Q: You return to Anaheim Stadium this season for the Ram home opener (Sept. 17). What’s that going to be like?

A: To me, it really doesn’t make a difference. When I come to Anaheim Stadium, I’ll come to win, I’ll come for business. I have a lot of friends on that team, but for four quarters, they won’t be friends of mine and I’m sure I won’t be friends of theirs. The fans can boo me, do whatever they want.

Q: Still, you’ve generally played well under difficult circumstances. Take your first game with the Colts, for example.

A: We’ll see. Like I say, when I come to play in Anaheim Stadium, I will be ready to play. Now, you wanted to know about John Robinson?

Q: Go ahead.

A: John Robinson is a good talker. To me, he’s a good BS man. I don’t trust John at all. He’s a coach. I don’t consider him a friend of mine and I don’t consider him an enemy. You asked if anybody called after the trade? He didn’t. If anybody should have talked to me, it should have been him. I don’t think I got 100%, even 80% of support from him during the time I tried to negotiate this contract. That’s fine, I understand. He was under the organization’s thumb. To me, he’s just a coach that I played for.

Q: OK. But couldn’t Robinson say that he put a lot of money into your pocket?

A: How did he put money in my pocket?

Q: Well, didn’t he revolve his offense around you?

A: He’s always revolved his offense around the running back. He’s done that since his college days. He did it last season with the little running back, that (Greg) Bell.

According to Eric . . .

‘I like Indy. People ask me that all the time: “Do you really like it?� I like it. I would have never bought a house there if I didn’t like it.’

‘After my football career is over, (acting is) what I’d like to do. I mean, I look as good as some of those guys on television. But you have to take it seriously.’

‘I don’t waste my time thinking about (my image). People are going to think what they think. People who have thoughts, they don’t know me. They say they heard this, or they read this. It’s never that they know something for a fact.’

‘I don’t have any hostilities toward the Rams. I’m glad we worked out a deal that they’re happy with. I’m happy. I have no gripes. I like my coach. I like my team.’

‘When I come to Anaheim Stadium, I’ll come to win, I’ll come for business. I have a lot of friends on that team, but for four quarters, they won’t be friends of mine and I’m sure I won’t be friends of theirs.’

‘Men understand football. Men like to win. They like to sit back, maybe drink a beer and have a laugh. It’s a man’s sport. I’m not saying a woman shouldn’t own a team, but a man can come in the locker room and talk to the players. A woman owner can’t do that.’