FanHouse BrettRomberg

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

The 2008 season was an unmitigated disaster for the Rams. They had their star running back hold out, only to be re-signed and get injured -- an injury which lingered far too long. They fired their coach after four embarrassing games, won two straight under his replacement, but then dropped their final 10.

It was hard to find a strength on this team. The offense ranked 27th in the league, while the defense was 28th. Then again, Donnie Jones was one of the best punters in the league. So there's that.

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

The Rams' offensive line was destroyed by injuries last year. They hope that additions in free agency and the draft will improve the unit's overall talent and depth, but they're pitting two of the players hurt last year -- Brett Romberg and Mark Setterstrom -- against each other at center.

Romberg is a natural center out of the University of Miami who was the starting snapper for nine of his healthy games last year. Setterstrom has never played the position before, starting his career as a left guard, but the team sees a lot of promise in the 24-year-old and wanted to find a spot for him after signing Jacob Bell to fill that spot this year.

Setterstrom is also significantly bigger, with two inches and almost 20 lbs. on Romberg. That's a significant difference in a division with a lot of big-bodied defensive tackles.

After last season, it'll be a nice problem to have two capable centers on the roster. And if this season's anything like last, they'll both be needed. In the end, the Rams need to just let the best man win and hope that guy stays healthy for all 16, depth or no depth. For Marc Bulger's sake.

As an impartial observer of the trainwreck that is the 2007 Rams, I'm finding it pretty easy to laugh. Though, you know, it's probably at the point where Rams fans themselves have to chuckle too, if for nothing else than to stave off utter despair. The team's overwhelming injury trend has been pretty odd, but the injury details are beginning to prove that karma exists, and it's got a pretty good sense of humor.

Take Brett Romberg. The center sprained his left ankle two weeks ago and was expected to miss some game time. He fought it off in time to play last week against Seattle. That's good luck, right? Yeah, that didn't last long -- he had to leave the game after spraining the other ankle.

And then there's Leonard Little. Little might miss game time -- if not the rest of the season -- with a torn ligament. Nothing odd there, right? I mean, players miss significant playing time with torn ligaments all the time. Except this one's not in his knee. It's in his big toe. I didn't even know there were ligaments in a big toe.

Next week: Will Witherspoon misses a quarter with menstrual cramps.

For some reason, Marc Bulger is actually itching to get back behind the Rams' offensive line. His ribs are still broken, the line is still injury-riddled (this time it's center Brett Romberg), but Bulger will be back this Sunday against the Seahawks. Dude must be a masochist.

The best part is that both Bulger and Scott Linehan admit that this is basically a desperation move.

"I don't know," Linehan replied. "I'm not sure too many people consider me the smartest guy in town, so I wouldn't worry about how it's going to damage my (image)."

And from Bulger: "I don't think we have an option right now. It doesn't matter if it's smart."

You do have an option, Marc. The season is already over. Desperation should be reserved for last chances, and the Rams' has already passed. Save your ass, let Gus Frerotte take the beating for a few more weeks, and enjoy getting a top 3 talent in the draft next year. I guess it's admirable that Bulger is a gamer, he wants to go out and earn his paycheck, but ... that, the Rams' offensive line, and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee and a few more broken ribs.

It's a very, very, very distant second to actually winning a game, but there's a bit of good news in St. Louis: at least they're getting healthier, at least in certain areas.

Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa and guard Richie Incognito returned to practice on Wednesday. Tinoisamoa will return to the lineup Sunday, while Incognito is questionable. The Rams are being guarded with information Incognito's progress, lending validity to that awesome, awesome birthname (my first born shall be dubbed Incognito Mantzouranis), but it looks as if he'll sit one more game before returning in Week 5.

Getting both players back will be important, but Incognito's injury is certainly more detrimental. Actually, the Rams' run defense has been better without Tinoisamoa in the lineup. Chris Draft was signed in the offseason to help in that role, and Tinoisamoa's absence has led to more playing time for the former Panther.

Meanwhile, the Rams' offensive line currently consists of former first-round pick Alex Barron, Brett Romberg, and three guys that played offensive linemen in The Replacements. And things haven't been good. The litany of injuries on the offensive line have led to a couple of broken ribs for Marc Bulger and a torn groin for Steven Jackson, the two most important players on the team. It's also been a large part of the team's winless start, so, yeah, probably good to get all these guys back on the field.

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