The big concern is that Stuessie and Pace are out, not just Pace being out. Instead of having a reliable veteran backing Pace like in 06, they will be throwing out a guy who has never played NFL ball before.
P.Manning seems to be doing fine without his anchor at L T.
The Colts drafted Tony Ugoh with the 42nd overall pick. Coming out of Arkansas, he was considered one of the better OL prospects of the 07 class. Adam Goldberg was an undrafted free agent out of Wyoming. It might not be a fair comparison of talent.
Linehan said the coaching staff hadn't decided how to fill the void. The top option would be shifting the other tackle, 2005 first-rounder Alex Barron, to the left side to protect quarterback Marc Bulger's blind side.Barron has indicated his preference for that side, his college position, several times in the past, although Linehan added "it's not set in stone." Olson considers Barron, who has struggled with false starts throughout his career, as one of the most athletic right tackles in the NFL."That was probably the reason Alex was drafted, to eventually take over for Orlando," Olson said. "If we do decide to make that move, we feel confident that Alex can handle the change."Both Linehan and Olson said they'll stick with whatever backup plan they settle on to avoid further strain on a young line. Center Brett Romberg is in his first year as a starter, guard Richie Incognito is in his second and guard Mark Setterstrom, a seventh-rounder last year, made his seventh career start in the opener.Complicating matters, Incognito has a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the opener, and he'll likely miss Sunday's game against the 49ers.Last year, the Rams plugged in Todd Steussie when Pace missed Game 4, a 41-34 victory over the Lions. Adam Goldberg started Game 10, the week after Pace's triceps injury, and struggled, and Steussie started the rest of the season after moving from left guard.The Rams can't fall back on Steussie, 36, for at least a few months this time around after he broke his foot in the final preseason game. Steussie was released with an injury settlement and can't re-sign with the team until November, and in any case won't be ready until the second half of the schedule.Somehow, the Rams had a better record without Pace (5-3) than with him (3-5) last year."Everyone's got to pick their games up," Olson said. "Shoot, the players understand that."Before last season, Pace had been to seven straight Pro Bowls. And until last season he had been durable, missing six games in 2002 with calf and hamstring injuries, but starting every game in the other six seasons.Goldberg, who made two starts in 2006, replaced Pace in Sunday's 27-13 loss to Carolina, and his play was judged by Linehan as "fine." The Rams allowed one sack, but the offense struggled without the anchor of a young line, managing 16 first downs and 238 yards total offense.
The Rams are still going to be a throwing team, that's their identity. Presuming the defense is mediocre, at best, there's no reason to think Bruce won't see a ton of targets just as he did a year ago.
The Rams are still going to be a throwing team, that's their identity. Presuming the defense is mediocre, at best, there's no reason to think Bruce won't see a ton of targets just as he did a year ago.
