Tweet
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
11/17/2004
There was a time late in Sunday's game against Seattle when Mike Martz looked out at the Rams' offensive huddle from the sideline and saw the numbers 76, 61, 67, 62. . . .
"It just brought back old memories," Martz said.
Suddenly it was 2001 all over again.
For much of the Greatest Show on Turf period - those three seasons of 500-plus points from 1999 through 2001 - offensive linemen Orlando Pace, Tom Nutten, Andy McCollum and Adam Timmerman did much of the heavy lifting for the Rams' high-wire act.
Now, a succession of injuries at left guard has brought Nutten all the way back - from retirement to the Rams' starting lineup.
"It's like old times," said McCollum, the Rams' center. "He's back. I don't know if you watched him much at the (Seattle) game, but he looked really good. Like his old self."
With Scott Tercero a pregame scratch because of a shoulder injury, Nutten was the Rams' next option when Chris Dishman went down early in the third quarter with a knee injury. Dishman tried to return later in the quarter, but after a couple of plays gave way for good to Nutten.
For Nutten, 33, it was his first extended playing time in two years.
"It felt strange, but it felt good at the same time," he said. "It felt natural. There were a lot of emotions that I went through."
Tercero was put on the injured reserve list Tuesday, ending his season, and he will need surgery on the shoulder. Dishman suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, an injury that won't require surgery but will sideline him for four to six weeks.
So as the Rams continue their drive for the playoffs, they are counting on Nutten to fill the void at left guard, perhaps for the rest of the regular season.
"I'm pretty excited," he said Wednesday. "I think somebody said 'anxious' is a good word. We're just starting our work week, so I've got to settle myself down a little bit and make sure I don't peak too early."
When Nutten takes the field Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., it will be almost two years to the day since his last NFL start. On Nov. 24, 2002, Nutten suffered a season-ending broken leg against Washington. The last glimpse of Nutten as a Ram that day was doing an interview for a German television crew in the visitors' locker room at FedEx Field. Nutten, who spent much of his youth in Germany, speaks fluent German.
Unable to offer Nutten much more than a minimum contract in free agency, the Rams could do little but sit and watch him sign with the New York Jets the following offseason.
"I hated losing him," Martz said. "I really like him. He got out there and got a little disillusioned. He missed his buddies here. We had a special group here when he was here before. But he was banged up so bad by the time he left here and got to the Jets."
Nutten's time in St. Louis was marked by some nagging ankle problems. But it was an elbow injury that forced him to retire from football in 2003 without ever playing a regular-season game for the Jets.
"When I walked away in New York, I had some physical problems where I just wasn't able to block the way I wanted to block and play," he said. "Physically, I wasn't able to overcome those injuries in such a short time. I walked away and was feeling good about my situation. I was ready to move on."
He spent part of last year coaching in NFL Europe. He covered the Super Bowl for German TV, looking slender enough to play tight end at the time. The time away from football allowed the injuries to heal, not that it mattered career-wise.
And then the Rams called in mid-August, desperate for veteran help on the line after losing center Dave Wohlabaugh (hip) and tackle Kyle Turley (back). Nutten ended his retirement, even though he had to gain about 20 pounds and build his strength back up before he was ready to play.
"Tommy is so committed to this football team," Martz said. "He's told me time and time again: 'Whatever I can do to help, that's what I want to do. If it's a backup. If it's this. If it's that. All I got, you're going to get.'"
Nutten's comeback was slowed by a turf toe injury in the Aug. 27 preseason game with Washington. Once the regular season started, he didn't play in seven of the Rams' first eight games. It looked as if he would be a background - and backup - player throughout the season. Until now.
"I didn't come back here just to be a training dummy," he said. "So absolutely, this is what I've worked hard for the last 2 1/2 months. I wish it wouldn't have happened, because I don't want anybody to get hurt."
If it had to happen, the timing couldn't have been better. Nutten's toe finally started feeling better about a week or so ago. His elbow and ankles feel fine. Although there are some new plays and line calls since he last started in 2002, enough remains the same that the transition should be fairly smooth back into the starting lineup.
A superb pass blocker in his prior stint with the Rams, Nutten is trying to avoid judging himself by past standards. But it's not as if he has forgotten how to block.
"No," he said, laughing. "That's still there."
Of the Post-Dispatch
11/17/2004
There was a time late in Sunday's game against Seattle when Mike Martz looked out at the Rams' offensive huddle from the sideline and saw the numbers 76, 61, 67, 62. . . .
"It just brought back old memories," Martz said.
Suddenly it was 2001 all over again.
For much of the Greatest Show on Turf period - those three seasons of 500-plus points from 1999 through 2001 - offensive linemen Orlando Pace, Tom Nutten, Andy McCollum and Adam Timmerman did much of the heavy lifting for the Rams' high-wire act.
Now, a succession of injuries at left guard has brought Nutten all the way back - from retirement to the Rams' starting lineup.
"It's like old times," said McCollum, the Rams' center. "He's back. I don't know if you watched him much at the (Seattle) game, but he looked really good. Like his old self."
With Scott Tercero a pregame scratch because of a shoulder injury, Nutten was the Rams' next option when Chris Dishman went down early in the third quarter with a knee injury. Dishman tried to return later in the quarter, but after a couple of plays gave way for good to Nutten.
For Nutten, 33, it was his first extended playing time in two years.
"It felt strange, but it felt good at the same time," he said. "It felt natural. There were a lot of emotions that I went through."
Tercero was put on the injured reserve list Tuesday, ending his season, and he will need surgery on the shoulder. Dishman suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, an injury that won't require surgery but will sideline him for four to six weeks.
So as the Rams continue their drive for the playoffs, they are counting on Nutten to fill the void at left guard, perhaps for the rest of the regular season.
"I'm pretty excited," he said Wednesday. "I think somebody said 'anxious' is a good word. We're just starting our work week, so I've got to settle myself down a little bit and make sure I don't peak too early."
When Nutten takes the field Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., it will be almost two years to the day since his last NFL start. On Nov. 24, 2002, Nutten suffered a season-ending broken leg against Washington. The last glimpse of Nutten as a Ram that day was doing an interview for a German television crew in the visitors' locker room at FedEx Field. Nutten, who spent much of his youth in Germany, speaks fluent German.
Unable to offer Nutten much more than a minimum contract in free agency, the Rams could do little but sit and watch him sign with the New York Jets the following offseason.
"I hated losing him," Martz said. "I really like him. He got out there and got a little disillusioned. He missed his buddies here. We had a special group here when he was here before. But he was banged up so bad by the time he left here and got to the Jets."
Nutten's time in St. Louis was marked by some nagging ankle problems. But it was an elbow injury that forced him to retire from football in 2003 without ever playing a regular-season game for the Jets.
"When I walked away in New York, I had some physical problems where I just wasn't able to block the way I wanted to block and play," he said. "Physically, I wasn't able to overcome those injuries in such a short time. I walked away and was feeling good about my situation. I was ready to move on."
He spent part of last year coaching in NFL Europe. He covered the Super Bowl for German TV, looking slender enough to play tight end at the time. The time away from football allowed the injuries to heal, not that it mattered career-wise.
And then the Rams called in mid-August, desperate for veteran help on the line after losing center Dave Wohlabaugh (hip) and tackle Kyle Turley (back). Nutten ended his retirement, even though he had to gain about 20 pounds and build his strength back up before he was ready to play.
"Tommy is so committed to this football team," Martz said. "He's told me time and time again: 'Whatever I can do to help, that's what I want to do. If it's a backup. If it's this. If it's that. All I got, you're going to get.'"
Nutten's comeback was slowed by a turf toe injury in the Aug. 27 preseason game with Washington. Once the regular season started, he didn't play in seven of the Rams' first eight games. It looked as if he would be a background - and backup - player throughout the season. Until now.
"I didn't come back here just to be a training dummy," he said. "So absolutely, this is what I've worked hard for the last 2 1/2 months. I wish it wouldn't have happened, because I don't want anybody to get hurt."
If it had to happen, the timing couldn't have been better. Nutten's toe finally started feeling better about a week or so ago. His elbow and ankles feel fine. Although there are some new plays and line calls since he last started in 2002, enough remains the same that the transition should be fairly smooth back into the starting lineup.
A superb pass blocker in his prior stint with the Rams, Nutten is trying to avoid judging himself by past standards. But it's not as if he has forgotten how to block.
"No," he said, laughing. "That's still there."
