Groce Settling in to Starting Role
Monday, August 15, 2005
By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer
Last year it was Travis Fisher, this year it’s Jerametrius Butler. No matter what happens, it seems like the Rams are making a habit of losing a starting cornerback for an extended period of time.
When the team lost Fisher to a broken arm in its first preseason game against Kansas City last year, DeJuan Groce replaced him the lineup. Butler didn’t even make it to the first preseason game before tearing the posterior cruciate ligament in the back of his knee in training camp.
Once again, that puts Groce at the forefront of the secondary, competing against a number of candidates. Included in his competition are veterans such as Corey Ivy and rookie Ronald Bartell.
As it stands, though, Groce should get the starts. Coach Mike Martz said Groce has stood out above the others, anyway.
“DeJuan Groce is having the best camp of all of our corners so far, by far,” Groce said. “He’s been outstanding. We look at him as a starter. He’s having a terrific camp.”
Groce was good enough to earn the spot vacated by Butler against the Bears. Groce didn’t do anything that made him stand out, collecting one tackle and scooping up a fumble recovery.
Groce bruised the back of his knee during Monday morning’s practice and was forced to sit out for some of the session. Martz said Groce is OK and he didn’t appear to be hurt, but similar things were said about Butler.
Butler was out of town Monday having his knee examined in New York.
“He’s going to see a doctor in New York today then he is going to see a doctor in Alabama and try to get an idea of where he is with the knee and then make a decision,” Martz said.
If Butler opts for knee surgery he will likely be out for the season, but if he hears that he can play on the knee and not serious damage, he could do some rehabilitation and wear a brace. That would presumably allow Butler to play in the regular season, but the decision will ultimately be up to him.
INJURY REPORT: Butler wasn’t the only defensive back to miss a portion of Monday morning’s workout because of an injury.
Ivy arrived at practice and promptly left for treatment of a sprained wrist. Ivy will wear a cast and continue practice.
Undrafted rookie Duvol Thompson broke suffered a hand injury against the Bears and did not practice, either.
“He’s got a fractured hand,” Martz said. “It might be a couple of weeks before it’s to the point where we can put a cast on it and he can play.”
Left tackle
Orlando Pace (thigh) and right guard Adam Timmerman both took part in various parts of practice. Pace did not stay in the entire practice, giving way to
Alex Barron because of continued thigh discomfort, but he appeared closer to playing. Tight end/fullback Erik Jensen also made a short appearance at practice before resuming running on the side with running back Dusty McGrorty.
LIGHT SWITCH: Electricity at Rams Park was lost over the weekend because of the heavy storms in the area. The practice facility/office building lost power around 4 p.m. Saturday and did not get it back until about 5 p.m. Sunday.
The power outage did not keep the team from having practice because none were scheduled, but it did lead to the cancellation of Martz’s Sunday news conference.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE: Training camp was originally scheduled to break Thursday afternoon, but it will end after Wednesday morning’s practice.
After training camp breaks, there won’t be a major change in the way things operate other than the players being allowed to go home and the alteration of the practice schedule to one that more closely resembles the regular season.
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