PACE Reports to date are encouraging as left tackle puts shoulder to the test.
Rams left tackle Orlando Pace stonewalls defensive end Chris Long during a training camp drill.
(Chris Lee/P-D)By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/30/2008
MEQUON, WIS. ? It's not as if Marc Bulger crosses his fingers every time he drops back to pass. Offensive line coach Steve Loney doesn't hyperventilate during line drills. And offensive coordinator Al Saunders hasn't attached a rabbit's foot next to the blocking schemes on his practice scripts.
But it's safe to say there was ? and remains ? a level of curiosity and anxiety about the health and welfare of Orlando Pace. You can talk all you want about the outlook and possibilities at the "skill" positions, but if Pace's surgically repaired right shoulder doesn't work this season, it will be hard for the St. Louis offense to do so.
As Scott Linehan succinctly puts it: "Left tackles, they're hard to come by. And he's one of the best of all time. You miss them when they're gone. You can't really replace them."
The Rams learned that the hard way last season. You could almost hear the air go out of the Edward Jones Dome last Sept. 9 when Pace felt his shoulder pop trying to block Carolina defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. The result was a torn rotator cuff, a torn labrum and season-ending surgery 11 days later.
Between training camp practice sessions a couple of days ago at Concordia University Wisconsin, Pace recalled the "small state of depression" he went through for several weeks after the injury.
There was nothing small about the depressed state of the Rams' offense following Pace's injury. Bulger was battered and under siege; the running game lacked consistency; and the losses mounted as the Rams spiraled to an 0-8 start and a 3-13 season.
Besides being one of the best pass blockers of the modern era and an efficient run blocker, he poses a threat mentally for opposing defenses in terms of preparation, and what center Brett Romberg calls the challenge of "going against a legend like Orlando."
Conversely, the mere sight of the player known as "the Big O" on the practice field is uplifting for players and coaches alike. As the Rams approach the end of their first week in Wisconsin, the early returns have been encouraging.
"Looking at Big O, he came in (to camp) in incredible shape," said wide receiver Torry Holt, Pace's training camp roommate at Concordia. "He looks like a basketball player. He's got his smile. He's got his confidence. He's going through his drills. He's not complaining.
"He seems to be healthy. And for him to be healthy, that just anchors our offensive line. He's the standard up front. If he's healthy and playing well and excited, then it should translate all across the board to those other guys (on the line)."
