Attrition lands Fry starting job on line

~ The rookie has made his way off the practice squad because of injuries to the offensive line.

ST. LOUIS -- Rookie Dustin Fry realizes how many offensive line injuries it took before the St. Louis Rams finally elevated him to the 53-man roster this week.

He also can't blame the team for continually overlooking him, given his self-described mediocre training camp. Fry was drafted in the fifth round and had no quibbles when he was cut and then resigned to the practice squad.

"Of course you're disappointed, but I had a terrible training camp," Fry said. "It was pretty awful for me. I knew that."

Now that he's up, the Rams are trying him at guard instead of center, his college position. Whatever it took and wherever he lands, after eight games on the practice squad Fry may finally get a chance to play soon.

"When they kept bringing guys in it was just, 'I guess I'm not ready yet,"' Fry said. "I guess by now either there was no one left out there or it's just my time.

"Hopefully I've progressed well enough to where maybe coming up I can start to contribute."

The winless Rams (0-8) will be using their seventh line combination in nine games Sunday at New Orleans. Tackle Orlando Pace and guard Mark Setterstrom are out for the season and guard Richie Incognito is out at least a month after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday after missing the first four games with a high ankle sprain, and could miss the rest of the year.

Backup guard-tackle Adam Goldberg (knee) also is out for the year and Todd Steussie, who started 15 games last year, hasn't played yet after breaking his foot in the preseason. Steussie was released with an injury settlement but is expected to re-sign with the Rams later this month.

On and on it goes.

Center Brett Romberg missed the last game before the bye with two sprained ankles. He could be back this week, although he's been limited in practice the last two days with one of the ankles still slow to heal.

If Romberg is able to play he could be at guard, an unfamiliar position, with Andy McCollum starting at center. Milford Brown, one of three linemen released by the Cardinals and picked up by the Rams, has made seven starts at guard and tackle.

"Once we were 0-3 or 0-4 I just knew I had to concentrate on my job rather than try to make up for everyone else," quarterback Marc Bulger said. "Whoever is out there with me I'm going to do my best and as long as everyone concentrates on their job I think that we'll play a lot better."

Into this mess steps the 6-3, 314-pound Fry, a three-year starter at Clemson who impressed the Rams at the Senior Bowl, the combine and an extensive interview. On draft day, the team said Fry's brawling style was similar to that of Incognito and projected that his background as a high school wrestling champion would provide natural leverage.

In training camp, all the Rams saw was a player who needed work.

"It was a bad camp for me," Fry said. "When I watched film every day I kind of like cringed. I knew I could play better, but I wasn't showing it."

Coach Scott Linehan said Fry has improved his strength since the start of the year, but acknowledged he's moving closer to playing only because the bodies won't stop dropping.

"That's why you have a full roster and guys on your practice squad," Linehan said. "We drafted him for the reason he's going to be playing for us, probably sooner than we planned.

"We also thought he could be a very good guard because he has a little more size and bulk."