NFL
Injuries, holdout hinder Rams O-line

By Jeremy Rutherford
Special to The Seattle Times

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ST. LOUIS — Andy McCollum, Grant Williams, Chris Dishman, Scott Tercero and Adam Timmerman. Do any of these names ring a bell?

They were the starting offensive line for the St. Louis Rams until Orlando Pace returned yesterday and reclaimed his spot at left tackle. It's still not the group coach Mike Martz envisioned in the offseason, but if these five don't get the job done, quarterback Marc Bulger and running back Marshall Faulk can expect to get their bells rung ... and often.

The Rams are trying to make the best of an injury-riddled offseason that was compounded by the lengthy contract holdout of Pace, the team's franchise player. Pace signed the one-year tender Sunday and is expected to start against the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.

"They're good players," Bulger said before Pace reported. "If you look across the board, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Those guys are a good group."

Even with Pace back, the offensive line remains St. Louis' biggest question mark.

The line had the "Help Wanted" sign out in the preseason as center Dave Wohlabaugh and right tackle Kyle Turley — both starters last year — sat on the sideline. A hip injury has forced Wohlabaugh to consider retirement after he was released by the Rams. Turley is done for the season, with a bulging disk in his back.

The Rams did some shifting that might well have made Faulk jealous.

McCollum, who started 16 games at left guard last year, moved to center, where he played every game in 2002. The team then pulled 375-pound veteran Chris Dishman off the golf course to play in McCollum's spot. Meanwhile, Scott Tercero, a sixth-round draft pick in 2003, stepped in for Turley.

Looking to add depth, Martz conned former St. Louis guard Tom Nutten out of retirement in the middle of training camp. He is likely a week or so away from legitimately contributing.
 
"Just a few months ago, we (thought), 'Yeah, everything should be intact,' " right guard Adam Timmerman said. "But that changed in a matter of a couple weeks."

Another tough blow was the second straight training-camp holdout by Pace.

Pace missed most of training camp last year as the team's designated franchise player, but he arrived in time to play one preseason game. This year, he missed the entire exhibition season.

Martz had taken the "whenever he shows up, he shows up" approach with Pace. His absence had clearly become a distraction.

Williams, a nine-year veteran who played his first four seasons with the Seahawks, began the exhibition season playing in Pace's spot at left tackle. But he moved to right tackle in anticipation of Pace's arrival.

As far as the rest of the line, the more repetitions, the better, the players say.

Martz is happy, too, with the improvement of Williams, who has lost 30 pounds and appears more mobile. He's also thrilled with Tercero, who has played some at left tackle.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contributed information to this story.