The Weight Is Off of Gary’s Shoulders : Rams: The memories of the last two seasons’ failures are overshadowed by a showcase performance.

ATLANTA —  About 50 yards into a 63-yard run Sunday, Cleveland Gary felt as if “the bear got on my back.” Gary was caught from behind by cornerback Tim McKyer, but halfway through the season, one thing is evident: Gary has shaken the monkey off his back.

The 12 fumbles in 1990 are a vague memory. The lost season of 1991, when he lost his starting tailback spot to Robert Delpino and gained only 245 yards, is almost forgotten.

These days, the tapes of Ram games are littered with Gary highlights. Gary high-stepping through the middle of the line and twisting through defenders for an extra five yards. Gary taking a swing pass and slipping a tackle for a sprint down the sideline. Gary sweeping one way and then cutting back against the grain for a big gain.

Sunday in the Georgia Dome, there was a Gary showcase. He had eclipsed his personal-best rushing day by halftime and finished with 144 yards in 18 carries. It was the most yards rushing for a Ram since Greg Bell gained 210 against New England on Christmas Eve in 1989.

Gary also caught seven passes for 39 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s all about opportunity,” Gary said. “You start out rusty in the beginning of the season and then you start getting instinctive as the season progresses.

“The more you play, the more you start seeing things and feeling the flow. And the more opportunities you get, the earlier in the game that you start to feel in the flow.”

With the Rams’ running game revitalized, Gary is getting plenty of chances in the early going. He carried seven times in the Rams’ 13 first-quarter offensive plays.

And that’s when the fun begins, he says.

“You start doing things with (defenders),” Gary said, smiling. “It’s like a game of chess. You start making them commit. If they go right, I go left. If they go left, I go right. If they run up into the tackle, I try and shove it up in there and slide by them.”

After the Falcons had opened a 17-0 lead, the Rams took over on their 21-yard line. Jim Everett tossed a swing pass to Gary for four yards and then the 6-foot, 226-pound tailback sliced through right tackle, broke into the open and sprinted toward the end zone with McKyer in pursuit.

Gary began to lose a little steam, however, and McKyer dragged him down at the Atlanta 12-yard line. Two plays later, Everett found Gary in the flat and Gary dived over the orange pylon that marks the corner of the end zone for his first touchdown.

Later in the second quarter, Gary had carries of 34 and nine yards and caught a pass for 10 yards before scoring again on an almost identical two-yard touchdown catch-and-dive play. The Rams had driven 81 yards to trim their deficit to six at halftime.

The Falcons made some adjustments during the intermission and held Gary to only 14 yards during the second half, but the Rams ran only two running plays while playing catch-up during the fourth quarter.

“The way we prepared for them all week allowed me to utilize my shiftiness and cut-back ability and use my blockers well,” said Gary, who now has 661 yards rushing. “But, in the second half, they started stacking everybody on the line and they brought the strong safety up into a linebacker spot, so they had two guys trying to contain me.”

Still, the Rams were able to capitalize on Gary’s first-half success. Fullback David Lang scored on a 67-yard pass play that began with a play-action fake to Gary. And the Rams managed to get Gary some running room by throwing passes to him in the flat.

Gary, who was known for catching the ball out of the backfield at the University of Miami, had 45 receptions in his first three years with the Rams. Halfway through this season, he already has 23.

“You want to get the ball into the hands of the guy who’s hot,” Everett said.

Gary says he has been concentrating on the running game, but is becoming increasingly comfortable catching the ball.

“That’s something that’s growing each week, too, but it’s growing slowly,” he said. “Now, I’m starting to see and feel things in the flat and that feels good, too.”