By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Jan. 25 2008
There was a free-agent trip to Detroit last offseason, followed by a training
camp visit to Jacksonville. But Adam Timmerman probably knew he was done as an
NFL player when Washington wanted him to visit around Week 6 of the regular
season.
Timmerman just said no. He didn't want to uproot his wife and three children
from their home in St. Charles County.
After 12 NFL seasons, four Super Bowls, and two Pro Bowls, Timmerman has made a
seamless transition to life after football.
"No more thought of playing," he said emphatically.
He plans to submit his official retirement papers to the NFL in the coming
weeks. Last spring, Timmerman thought he would miss the game once training camp
rolled around. But he didn't. Not even when the 2007 regular season started.
"Especially as the losses started to mount — 0-3, 0-4, or whatever — I was
like, 'I'm so glad I'm not sitting in those meeting rooms, because I know how
brutal that must be,'" Timmerman said.
The injuries on the Rams' offensive line mounted as quickly as the losses.
Whether it was at the grocery store or running an errand, Timmerman ran into
lots of fans who asked, "Hey, they need you. You going to get over there? Are
they calling?"
Timmerman lives just 15 minutes from Rams Park, but he never got a call from
the club. He wasn't really surprised, given his release from the team last
February. He's not sure if he would have returned anyway.
"It probably depends on when they would've called," he said. "And depends on
how that conversation would've went. I don't know what I would've said. It was
kind of obvious that they needed help on the offensive line."
Timmerman watched some of the Rams' games, particularly when good friend — and
fellow "Donut Brother" — Andy McCollum was in the lineup. But it was tough to
watch.
"One game where I was almost embarrassed to be a former Ram was the Baltimore
game, when we couldn't hardly even get a quarterback out on the field,"
Timmerman said.
Wide receiver Marques Hagans took the final two snaps at quarterback because of
injuries to Marc Bulger and Gus Frerotte. The Rams were carrying only two
quarterbacks at the time, so there was no one else.
"It just seemed ridiculous to me," Timmerman said. "That had to be hard on the
fans. I know it would've been ripping my heart out if I was on the team and
that was going on. So maybe it was better that I wasn't there."
After four seasons with Green Bay, Timmerman spent the final eight years of...
-01-25-2008, 05:08 AM
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I just found this on Wikipedia as I was searching for facts on my favorite offensive linemen:
I really hope timmerman regains his form, he sure looks like a shadow of his former self out there. I wonder whether he should sit for a week to see if it heals. No one is tougher than timmerman, but if he cant get closer to full strength, at some point terrell is going to need to get a shot.
By Jim Thomas
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