Game is on in battle for center's job
By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/25/2008
Nothing has come easy in the NFL for the Rams' Brett Romberg, a highly decorated center at the University of Miami. And now he has another fight on his hands.
"There's always something," said Romberg, who wasn't drafted, began his career on Jacksonville's practice squad and didn't start a game until his fourth year in the league. "There's always somebody ready to come in and test your will."
This time, it's third-year pro
Mark Setterstrom, a former guard who is challenging Romberg for the first-team job at center. The position has been in flux since Andy McCollum suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2006 opener after 97 consecutive starts.
Richie Incognito, now the first-team right guard, filled in for 12 games and Romberg for three that season. Last year, Romberg made nine starts and McCollum seven.
Romberg, 28, and McCollum, 37, were unrestricted free agents after the season. Romberg signed a one-year deal in March; McCollum hasn't landed a new job.
Setterstrom, 24, started the last six games of his rookie season at left guard and held on to that spot heading into last year. But his season ended in Week 3 when he tore a ligament and damaged cartilage in his left knee.
After the Rams signed free agent Jacob Bell, who started 46 games at guard in four seasons with Tennessee, the decision was made to try Setterstrom at center.
Setterstrom has the edge in size: He's 6 feet 4 and 314; Romberg goes 6-2 and 298. But Romberg, a three-year starter for the Hurricanes and the winner of the Rimington Trophy as the nation's top center in 2002, has a vast experience advantage.
"I've never played (center) before, so I'm going to have to work really hard at it," said Setterstrom, a seventh-round draft pick from Minnesota. "But at the same time, it's something new, it's something exciting."
After a somewhat ragged start at minicamp, Setterstrom is beginning to settle in.
"He's taken that role and the challenge of that position to heart, and he wants to be great at it," coach Scott Linehan said. "I think our competition at that position's going to be pretty good."
Romberg, who has been working with the first unit this spring, missed seven games and most of an eighth last year with injuries to both ankles. He acknowledged that at one point he didn't think the Rams would re-sign him.
"But the opportunity arose," he said. "I really wanted to come back; I felt I had a lot of unfinished business here. And I love my teammates here."
Some might not be so fond of him, though. "I keep getting blamed for the sand pit thing," Romberg said.
He urged the team to install a pit at Rams Park for certain drills and individual work that also increases ankle strength and flexibility. The 50-yard-long, 8-yard-wide bunker is being used liberally.
"It was just something that we used a lot at Miami, and I never saw high ankle sprains. I just thought it might help," he explained. "We're in it just about every day, pulling sleds, doing agility drills. It's nothing that people look forward to going into, but the work will pay off."
Neither center reported any lingering problems from his '07 injury during minicamp and organized team activities. Training camp July 25-Aug. 14 in Mequon, Wis., will be far more demanding. And that's where one should emerge as the starter.
"You've always got to create some kind of competition or it would be kind of lackadaisical, and a lot of things would be taken for granted," Romberg said. "Competition is always encouraged."
Added Setterstrom: "I just want to get on the field, so I'm looking forward to the challenge."
RAM-BLINGS
Running back
Steven Jackson sat out Thursday's practice after turning an ankle Wednesday. "It did swell up a little bit, but it's not serious," Linehan said. ... Tackle
Orlando Pace was excused so that he could attend an event in Ohio honoring his foundation. ... OTAs will resume June 3 and wrap up June 12. Then the team will break until training camp.
Linear Mode
