FanHouse AndyMccollum

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

I'm going to do my best to avoid use of the phrase "Well, things can't get any worse," or anything like that. Really, I am. But it's worth pointing out that this is a true statement. Things are looking up for the Detroit Lions because they absolutely can't get any worse.

With two first-round picks and a ton of available cap space, a well-managed organization could make a significant dent in one year.

Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.

Talk about your superstar power. Your household names. I think the question is: who in the world isn't watching the battle for the Rams' starting spot at center?

Sarcasm aside, the showdown between Donut Brother Andy McCollum and Brett Romberg is probably the most important position battle to the team's success this year. McCollum will be without his partner in baked goods, Adam Timmerman, and is coming back from a knee injury that handed Romberg the starting spot for three games at the end of last year. He's fully healthy, and players aren't supposed to lose their job to injury, but there's one problem in McCollum's case: the offense performed much better with Romberg snapping to Marc Bulger.

Romberg's also almost 10 years younger than McCollum. And the Rams can't afford another potential injury on the offensive line -- especially when the defense, with nine starters returning, looks poised to give up close to 25 points a game again. The offense will most likely have to carry the Rams this year, and the perceived stability Romberg brings could be the difference here, especially when so much of the Rams success hinges on the two guys -- Steven Jackson and the newly-minted $65 million Bulger -- that stand directly behind center.

Training camp battles: See them all

It's been a couple of months since the Rams cut Adam Timmerman, and with offseason activities beginning in Rams Park, Andy McCollum is still feeling the hurt.

"Going out on the field without Adam is strange," McCollum said. "We've been playing together for a long time."

Even stranger, he said, is not having Timmerman keeping the atmosphere loose in meetings and attacking the chow line with him.

"We don't have his bad jokes going in the meetings all the time now. I definitely miss that," McCollum said. "And his eating ability . . . no one really can eat food like Adam could. He's hard to replace as an eating partner; no one wants to eat with the old man."

I guess we should expect nothing but the finest eating prowess from a Doughnut Brother. But McCollum will need to overcome this depression with a night of zealous Sufjan Stevens singalongs or by posting a passionate LiveJournal missive littered with frownie faces, and get over the pain, because he's got more important things to worry about. Like his own job.

McCollum's injury last year opened the door for Brett Romberg to take over at center. As the Rams prepare for the season, the competition for starting center is still very much open, but the fact that Romberg, younger than McCollum, was impressive last year seems to give him the edge. And if times get tough as competition heats up this summer, McCollum can take comfort in knowing that, while Timmerman is no longer a Ram, his BFF is only a short phone call away.

Previously in FanHouse:
Adam Timmerman is Unhappy With Scott Linehan