Pace out for the season--Balzer

[RamWraith]

According to Howard Balzer on the "Ride Home" program on 1380 ESPN, Orlando Pace has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his shoulder and is done for the year. Kenyatta Walker (TB, Car) and Brandon Gorin (NE, Arz) have been brought in for workouts.

Balzer said Linehan will confirm this at his press conference.

[LEEDSRAM]

lets hope this is not true. It would be a disaster !!!

[ramsbruce]

Ouch. Well thanks for the update RW. I guess

Don't kill the messenger right RW.

[BigGameMN]

If it wasn't for his contract I would say this could be the end of Pace as a Ram. He just can't stay healthy and it kills us depending on him.

[RamWraith]

More update....

Per Balzer:
Barron will be moved to the left side and Goldberg will man the right.

[RamWraith]

From KFFL:

Rams | Pace expected to miss rest of the season
Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:26:14 -0700

Adam Caplan, for Scout.com, reports St. Louis Rams OT Orlando Pace (labrum) is expected to miss the rest of the season because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder

[laram0]

Anymore bad news?

We lose to the Panthers and now this.

:x

[SJackson39]

Wow this is a huge news. This could be the end of Pace. This guy cannot stay healthy. We need to look at drafting a OT early in the draft next season.

[viper]

I believe that Barron played mostly at left tackle in college. Making it his natural position. At least he has experience there.

When we drafted Barron, a few people mentioned that Barron would very likely move over to left tackle when Pace retired. We could be witnessing the changing of the guard (or tackle as it were) now. Although, I hope I'm wrong and Pace comes back healthy for many more seasons.

[Nick]

Kenyatta Walker (TB, Car) and Brandon Gorin (NE, Arz) have been brought in for workouts.

Neither of which could stick on teams that likely could have used help on the offensive line, which is troublesome. Walker is a very questionable starter due to inconsistency and lingering knee problems. Gorin was a starter on the right side for a Patriots team that went to the Super Bowl, and though he didn't catch on in Arizona, I think he's probably one of the better available free agent options out there now.

As for Pace himself, it's devastating news. This is the second year in a row where he's missed significant time, and of course we're only three years into his big seven-year deal. I'm not buying into the mindset where we need to question his future with this team just yet, though. One I think he's more than talented enough to be able to come back from something like this especially considering he really hasn't missed a lot of time in the past outside of these last two seasons. But also, and it kind of sucks to put it this way, but because of that contract we're pretty financially tied to him. I have faith that he can rehab and return for next year, though.

I've not been as impressed with Barron as some others have been the last season or two. I hope he's capable of manning that left tackle spot. I think in terms of his skills he's probably better suited for that spot anyways, and he's certainly a better option than Goldberg on the blind side.

[Country]

Neither of which could stick on teams that likely could have used help on the offensive line, which is troublesome. Walker is a very questionable starter due to inconsistency and lingering knee problems. Gorin was a starter on the right side for a Patriots team that went to the Super Bowl, and though he didn't catch on in Arizona, I think he's probably one of the better available free agent options out there now.

As for Pace himself, it's devastating news. This is the second year in a row where he's missed significant time, and of course we're only three years into his big seven-year deal. I'm not buying into the mindset where we need to question his future with this team just yet, though. One I think he's more than talented enough to be able to come back from something like this especially considering he really hasn't missed a lot of time in the past outside of these last two seasons. But also, and it kind of sucks to put it this way, but because of that contract we're pretty financially tied to him. I have faith that he can rehab and return for next year, though.

I've not been as impressed with Barron as some others have been the last season or two. I hope he's capable of manning that left tackle spot. I think in terms of his skills he's probably better suited for that spot anyways, and he's certainly a better option than Goldberg on the blind side.

Can anything else go wrong this ealry in the season. We need to send someone to make sure that the Dome hasn't collapsed.

I agree with you Nick that the free agents are unlikely to be any good and or fill the void left in the line. I think the Rams best option is to move Barron to the LT and trade for a guy like Max Starks form pittsburgh who has become a back up.

[Keenum]

Hopefully Barron can step it up a notch and when we get Incognito back it should help.
I heard Goldberg wasn't BAD, but still, you can't replace an Orlando Pace.

[Nick]

Wow this is a huge news. This could be the end of Pace. This guy cannot stay healthy. We need to look at drafting a OT early in the draft next season.

Perhaps. I think a lot of Pace's future will depend on how well Barron plays at left tackle, which is another reason why I think the talk about Pace possibly being done for us is a bit premature.

If Barron shines there, Pace's value with the team may decline and we could begin looking towards other options for the future (there are some good tackle prospects in this class IMO). But if Barron doesn't impress on the left side, then we'll likely be married to Pace for a while longer. The good news is that this injury is not to the same arm Pace injured last year; had it been, I think rehab would be much tougher.

Financially I think we're tied to him for at least the next year or two, if only because of the size of the accelerated cap hit we'd take if we moved him.

[RebelYell]

Walker was put on the IR last year and then cut in the offseason. With Carolina he was barely with the team and may not have been completely healthy.

Gorin was inactive almost all of last season for Arizona.

[bigcliff99]

This is by far the worst new i have ever herd. as soon as he got hurt bugler was getting rocked after or before every pass. this is one of are biggest losses