By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Aug. 16 2006
Linebacker
Pisa Tinoisamoa was addressing the topic of the new faces on the
Rams' defense when he just couldn't resist tossing in a final thought.
"And they're some pretty good-looking faces out there, too. We might have the
hottest linebacking corps, at least off the field, in the league," he said,
laughing heartily at his impromptu gag.
Smiles come easily these days for Tinoisamoa. He and his wife, Shannon, are
expecting their third child. And life on the field is looking up, too, he
pointed out.
The team's offseason moves in an attempt to reconstruct a sagging defense
earned Tinoisamoa's enthusiastic approval. "Absolutely ... starting at the
top," he said. "I'm talking from the coaching staff on down."
Tinoisamoa, 25, has led the Rams in tackles each of his three seasons in the
league. But in that time, the team had slid from a 12-4 record and the NFC
West title in 2003 to 8-8 in '04 and 6-10 last season.
Not coincidentally, the defense has tumbled, too, from 16th to 17th to 31st in
'05.
The landscape has changed dramatically since then. Former New Orleans Saints
head coach
Jim Haslett is running the defense now and setting the proper tone,
Tinoisamoa said.
"He brings a real stoutness to us, a real strong character to our team," he
said. "It shows in his defenses, his aggressiveness, his commitment to stopping
the run. It shows through us."
Plus, the team plunked down $73.5 million to bring in tackle La'Roi Glover,
linebacker
Will Witherspoon, strong safety
Corey Chavous and cornerback Fakhir
Brown as free agents. Then the Rams spent their first-round draft pick on
another defender, cornerback
Tye Hill, whose five-year deal could bring him
$12.6 million.
"It's all panning out well," said Tinoisamoa, who figures to cash in after
this season as an unrestricted free agent. "Now we've got that right chemistry
where I think we understand what it takes to win."
Slower Pace
Tackle
Orlando Pace spent much of Tuesday's practice at Rams Park on a
stationary bike, keeping his conditioning up while his sore right side heals.
"I was over there getting my Tour de France workout," Pace quipped.
Pace injured his ankle, knee and hip Monday when he collided with defensive end
Anthony Hargrove. "I think he was making a play, doing a roll or something like
that, and kind of caught the back of my leg," Pace said. "He's playing hard.
It's one of those things in training camp that just happens."
X-rays showed no serious damage, but Pace reported some soreness after
Tuesday's workout and said he was unsure whether he'd be ready for Saturday
night's exhibition game vs. Houston at the Edward Jones Dome. "We're taking it
day by day," he said. "We'll see how it feels" today.
Seats available
As of Tuesday evening, some tickets remained for Saturday's game, but team
executive Bob Wallace said he was confident of a sellout. That means the
contest could be televised locally.
Wallace said the team didn't ask the NFL for an extension of the 72-hour
sellout deadline, which occurs at 7 tonight, "because we think we're close
enough that we won't need one."
Linear Mode
