Barron finds comfortable fit on left side of line

~ The offensive tackle is filling the spot vacated by longtime Rams player Orlando Pace

ST. LOUIS -- With Orlando Pace gone, Alex Barron is getting used to playing on the other side of the St. Louis Rams offensive line.

The 6-foot-7, 315-pound Barron made the move to left tackle from right tackle after Pace was not re-signed in the offseason. Pace, a seven-time Pro Bowl player, signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Bears.

Rams rookie coach Steve Spagnuolo gives Barron passing marks so far.

"I think he's been pretty good," Spagnuolo said. "He's a talented guy so we'll keep going with it. He's a talented offensive tackle."

Barron played left tackle at Florida State before being selected by the Rams in the first round (19th overall) in 2005. He said left tackle is where he feels most at home.

"That's what I had been playing [at Florida State] and that's what I wanted to play, but it didn't work out like that when I got here," Barron said.

Barron has started 58 games since arriving in St. Louis. He enters the final year of his contract with the opportunity to show what he can do at left tackle, the premium offensive line position since it usually protects the quarterback's blind side.

Barron played 15 games at left tackle in 2007 when Pace was lost for the season after an injury in the season-opener. His strength is as a pass blocker. In the preseason opener, a 23-20 win over the Jets, Barron was in for about 14 plays and termed his performance "OK."

"It's going all right," Barron said of the transition. "I'm just trying to hone in on some techniques and stuff like that. That's the main part of it anyway. Everything's just flipped over. You've still got the same job -- block your man."

Offensive line mate Adam Goldberg, who played every line position but center last season, has been impressed.

"Alex is a very talented player," Goldberg said. "He has great feet, great quickness, very long arms. He's coming into that veteran status where there's really not much the defense can throw at him that he hasn't seen before. So, around this time, for elite tackles, the game starts to slow down for them.

"Alex is going to be a great player for us this year."

Noteworthy

* Third-string quarterback Brock Berlin did not practice for the second day. He sustained a mild sprain of a knee ligament during the Jets game.

* Today will be the final day of two-a-day practices.