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BY JEFF GORDON
Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
Tuesday, Aug. 31 2004
Rams guard Adam Timmerman got pinned to a wall by an anxious mob of reporters
Tuesday afternoon.
"So," a media guy asked, "is Orlando here?"
"Haven't seen him," Timmerman said. "Have you guys seen him?"
Uh, no.
So the Orlando Pace saga marches on. The unsigned "franchise tag" player was a
no-show at Rams Park on Tuesday morning, so the offensive line continued making
do without him.
The line also must muddle along without '03 center Dave Wohlabaugh and '03
right tackle Kyle Turley, veteran blockers who didn't make it back from major
offseason operations in working condition.
Timmerman has soldiered on with a bum shoulder. Tackle Grant Williams has been
playing on a sore ankle. Left guard Chris Dishman is hobbled by a minor ankle
injury and back-up right guard Tom Nutten is recovering from a toe injury.
Scott Tercero? He has played both tackle spots and guard this preseason, after
taking exactly zero snaps as a rookie.
The offensive line has done admirable work under tough circumstances. Whether
they'll be ready for the season opener, whether O.P. will be in the lineup by
then . . . well, we'll just have to see how it goes.
"We kind of joke about it," Timmerman said. "Whenever he gets here, he gets
here. We don't think too much about it.
"I guess all of us, in the back of our minds, we figured that some time this
week he would be here. I was kind of thinking, back in camp, that there was no
guarantee that he would be here. That's just the way it works."
Since the media didn't have Pace to chat with, reporters quizzed Timmerman
about the harm a holdout can do to an offensive lineman.
"Speaking from my own experience, I would need some time, at least, to get my
timing down, stuff like that," he said. "He'll have to decide that for himself.
Hopefully, whenever he gets here, he'll have a little bit of time to get ready
and put himself in a position where he doesn't get hurt."
Timmerman has never seen a fellow offensive lineman hold out for this long.
"Not this far," he said. "We have, what, two days left?"
Pace's holdout, combined with the demise of Wohlabaugh and Turley, has forced
Rams coaches to shuffle players. Dishman and Nutten came out of retirement.
Andy McCollum moved from guard to center.
Williams has played both tackle spots and Tercero has moved all over the line,
as needed.
"This does make it a little trickier," Timmerman said. "In the past, we've had
four guys in place and maybe just rotated one guy in. We've had to shift a lot
of guys because of the injuries.
"But it's been good. The guys who have stepped in have done a good job. Scotty
has stepped in and gotten great experience. Down the road, hopefully we don't
need it, but it'll be valuable if we need it.
"The guys who are here just have to suck it up and do the job. For the most
part, they have."
The unit hasn't had the normal opportunity to build chemistry and get in sync.
"Offensive rhythm is kind of a weird thing," Timmerman said. "The very week
before, everything can be working perfectly. The next week it can be out of
sync just a little bit. I think we're heading in the right direction. I think
we've had one of our better training camps in terms of preparation."
Rams Nation can only hope he's right.
Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
Tuesday, Aug. 31 2004
Rams guard Adam Timmerman got pinned to a wall by an anxious mob of reporters
Tuesday afternoon.
"So," a media guy asked, "is Orlando here?"
"Haven't seen him," Timmerman said. "Have you guys seen him?"
Uh, no.
So the Orlando Pace saga marches on. The unsigned "franchise tag" player was a
no-show at Rams Park on Tuesday morning, so the offensive line continued making
do without him.
The line also must muddle along without '03 center Dave Wohlabaugh and '03
right tackle Kyle Turley, veteran blockers who didn't make it back from major
offseason operations in working condition.
Timmerman has soldiered on with a bum shoulder. Tackle Grant Williams has been
playing on a sore ankle. Left guard Chris Dishman is hobbled by a minor ankle
injury and back-up right guard Tom Nutten is recovering from a toe injury.
Scott Tercero? He has played both tackle spots and guard this preseason, after
taking exactly zero snaps as a rookie.
The offensive line has done admirable work under tough circumstances. Whether
they'll be ready for the season opener, whether O.P. will be in the lineup by
then . . . well, we'll just have to see how it goes.
"We kind of joke about it," Timmerman said. "Whenever he gets here, he gets
here. We don't think too much about it.
"I guess all of us, in the back of our minds, we figured that some time this
week he would be here. I was kind of thinking, back in camp, that there was no
guarantee that he would be here. That's just the way it works."
Since the media didn't have Pace to chat with, reporters quizzed Timmerman
about the harm a holdout can do to an offensive lineman.
"Speaking from my own experience, I would need some time, at least, to get my
timing down, stuff like that," he said. "He'll have to decide that for himself.
Hopefully, whenever he gets here, he'll have a little bit of time to get ready
and put himself in a position where he doesn't get hurt."
Timmerman has never seen a fellow offensive lineman hold out for this long.
"Not this far," he said. "We have, what, two days left?"
Pace's holdout, combined with the demise of Wohlabaugh and Turley, has forced
Rams coaches to shuffle players. Dishman and Nutten came out of retirement.
Andy McCollum moved from guard to center.
Williams has played both tackle spots and Tercero has moved all over the line,
as needed.
"This does make it a little trickier," Timmerman said. "In the past, we've had
four guys in place and maybe just rotated one guy in. We've had to shift a lot
of guys because of the injuries.
"But it's been good. The guys who have stepped in have done a good job. Scotty
has stepped in and gotten great experience. Down the road, hopefully we don't
need it, but it'll be valuable if we need it.
"The guys who are here just have to suck it up and do the job. For the most
part, they have."
The unit hasn't had the normal opportunity to build chemistry and get in sync.
"Offensive rhythm is kind of a weird thing," Timmerman said. "The very week
before, everything can be working perfectly. The next week it can be out of
sync just a little bit. I think we're heading in the right direction. I think
we've had one of our better training camps in terms of preparation."
Rams Nation can only hope he's right.
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