Culberson on the no-call list

ST. LOUIS -- It was only a year ago that Quinton Culberson found himself holed up in a Holiday Inn hotel room wondering if he would make the St. Louis Rams roster.

Now, he finds himself potentially on the verge of being the team's opening day starter at strong side linebacker.

Although coach Scott Linehan won't go as far as to declare Culberson the starter over veteran Chris Draft, he does admit that it would be hard to keep Culberson out of that top defensive unit.

"I think he's put himself in a pretty good position for that," Linehan said. "We're not naming a starter at this point, but I think 'Q' is making a pretty good statement at this point for playing time at that position."

The fact that Culberson is even on the roster is almost surprising in itself considering where he came from.

After an undistinguished career at Mississippi State in which he played cornerback and all three linebacker spots, Culberson went undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft. He signed with the Rams as a long shot before injuries created some opportunities. The more opportunities Culberson got, the more he excelled.

When cut down day arrived last year, Culberson sat in his room at a local hotel and prayed his phone wouldn't ring.

"I saw a couple of guys packing up bags and I thought, 'Yes, I didn't get that phone call at the Holiday Inn,"' Culberson said. "It's a big difference [this year]."

Culberson worked mainly on special teams as a rookie, but in his only start on the strong side, he recorded 14 tackles and a forced fumble in the season finale against Arizona.

Entering the offseason, the Rams had a decision to make on pending free agent Brandon Chillar, the incumbent at the position. The team decided to let Chillar leave for Green Bay with the knowledge that the veteran Draft and the potential of Culberson were already in place.

"I was coming in this year focused on special teams, but when they let Chillar go, I figured I might have a good chance of playing a lot if they didn't bring anyone in to play the position," Culberson said. "They didn't, and now I am getting my chance."

Culberson has made the most of that chance as Draft missed a large chunk of the preseason because of a back injury. In three preseason contests, Culberson has 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Linehan said Draft is more suited as a backup because he can play all three positions, seemingly clearing the path for Culberson to take over full time.

"The great thing about Chris is he's ready to play whatever role that we would ask him to play, and he's good at all three positions," Linehan said. "'Q' has really played very well for us here in preseason. He played his most solid as far as being assignment perfect and those kinds of things. He still has a couple of mistakes here and there, but he's always around the ball."