Rams notebook: Terrell's out for now as starter

[RamWraith]

By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Jul. 30 2006

Last year, rookie Claude Terrell learned about being a starter in the NFL: He
was in the lineup at left guard for 10 of the last 11 games, toiling though the
last five with an injured right wrist that required postseason surgery.

This year, Terrell is learning to take nothing for granted: His starting job,
at least for now, has been usurped by another second-year pro, Richie Incognito.

"It's something, ain't it?" Terrell said during a break in training camp at
Rams Park. "I guess that's just the nature of the business. We've got new
coaches in here, and they just want to try some new stuff out."

Actually, it's more than that. Not only has Incognito, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound
Nebraska product, been impressive, but Terrell hurt himself by showing up for
spring minicamps in less-than-ideal condition. Plus, he couldn't participate
fully because he was recovering from the wrist operation.

Terrell, 24, acknowledged that he was hurt by the demotion, especially after
playing hurt. But he also conceded that new head coach Scott Linehan and his
staff "had nothing to do with last year."

"They didn't know the situation; they don't know about the things that I went
through," Terrell added. "They're just coming in looking for a fresh start for
the Rams; that's what they were brought in here to do, help us win."

Linehan noted that the 6-2 Terrell, a fourth-round draft pick from New Mexico,
has dropped most of the excess baggage and is hovering near his playing weight
of 330. Now, he's seeking reliability from Terrell, who also has been getting
some work at right guard.

"He's come out here and shown why we were pretty impressed with how he played
last year as a rookie," Linehan said. "He's got some ability, and he does have
some pride in what he's doing. He's just got to be more consistent with
everything he does."

Terrell said he bore no animosity toward Incognito, a third-round draftee who
missed the '05 season with a knee injury. "We're good friends," Terrell said.
"We're just trying to make each other better and make this team better as a
whole."

But Terrell also vowed not to give up the job without a fight. "It's all about
competition, and I'm not going to just lay down," Terrell said. "I'm going to
make the decision hard on Coach. When they go in there and decide who's going
to be those 11 (starters), I'm going to make them think real hard about 75,"
his uniform number.

Checking out Bennett

The Rams are interested in New Orleans' Michael Bennett as a No. 2 running back
behind Steven Jackson. And Bennett is interested in the Rams.

"I really haven't followed (the trade rumors) too much," Bennett told reporters
Sunday at the Saints' camp in Jackson, Miss. "I heard ... that St. Louis is
right there, and that's a system I'm very familiar with, with Scott Linehan. So
that would be a great fit."

Linehan was the offensive coordinator in Minnesota during three of Bennett's
five seasons there. The Saints signed Bennett, 5-9 and 209, in the offseason.
But Bennett appears to be expendable now that the Saints have signed
first-round draft pick Reggie Bush and with veteran Deuce McAllister showing
signs that he's recovered well from knee surgery.

For now, Tony Fisher is backing up Jackson. "He definitely has the ability to
be a No. 2," Linehan said. But he reiterated that he'd prefer to use Fisher as
a third-down specialist and special-teams contributor.

Carter is back

Second-year safety Jerome Carter returned to the field Sunday after missing
Saturday's practices because of a death in his family.

[Dr. Defense]

I'm not really sure about starting Incognito over Terrell. I mean Icognito is coming of a serious knee injury. Where as Terrell hurt his wrist so he couldn't work out. But then again, it was his responsibility to stay in shape. So now that he's lost the weight, I think he'll have a pretty good shot at starting. I like both of these kids, I just wished that there was a way we could start both of them without benching one of the "Donut Brothers".

[NFLTopGun]

I like Incognito and I want him to be our starting LG next to Pace. I think Incognito can play Center too, so if Terrell gets better and can play good, he could be our starting LG or RG. Timmerman is getting old and he will get banged up sometimes, so Terrell will be right there when needed. It's good to know we'll have good back ups in case the starters go down.

[bigredman]

Hopefully the coach won't be bouncing these guys around too much. Chemistry among the offensive linemen is critical, and they can't develop that if they are constantly in flux.

[Goldenfleece]

Honestly, I can't say I'm that sorry for Terrell. I appreciate that he was willing to play through injury, but that's not an excuse for putting on that much weight. I mean if it were a broken leg, he wouldn't be able to do any running, jogging, or other cardio type exercises, but as far as conditioning goes, a wrist injury would have only affected lifting. I mean wasn't he up around 350 when he first reported in the spring? That wasn't because of the wrist. Anyhow, hopefully the competition will motivate both to play harder.

[Ahbatu Ujeema]

Yahtzee Golden Fleece; You have solved the all elusive mystery everyone is ignoring. Yes he had a wrist injury but that should notkept him from running, jogging biking or any other thing to keep him in shape.

If anyone was at a dis-advantage in training it was Cogs. Yes he could lift his upper body but could not run for a long time or strengthen his legs, he seemed to do the other 90 percent of work he could do and Terrell did not, its right in front of everybodys eyes and I still laugh when they wonder
" What happened " New coaching staff new theme new expectations.

Lets all be honest, the only reason Terrell started last year was because they had no one else to plug in there, period, end of story.