Pace eases into camp after injury

MEQUON, Wis. -- Orlando Pace has frequently been the player the St. Louis Rams had to do without in training camp. So the seven-time Pro Bowl lineman has an idea what it's like for contract holdout Steven Jackson, absent for a second day Saturday.

Pace missed all of two training camps and most of a third due to contentious contract negotiations, starting with his rookie season in 1997 after being the first overall pick of the draft. He missed being with the team, but definitely didn't miss a routine that can be numbing.

"I was kind of bored," Pace said Saturday. "I worked out and you watch TV, you look at it and see what's going on around other training camps. Hopefully, it won't be a long process."

Jackson's absence has put the Rams' biggest training camp issue, namely questions regarding Pace's durability and long-term viability after two straight years shortened by season-ending injuries, a bit in the background. Still, a big comeback by Pace after getting sidelined in last year's opener by a shoulder injury, is perhaps the key to the team's hopes for a rebound from a 3-13 record.

"Having Big O back is definitely a relief," Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said. "I think he's excited to be out there, too."

The Rams plan on easing Pace into full duty, with limited repetitions and no 1-on-1 challenges for now, although thus far he's seen more practice field time than perhaps anticipated. After the team's first full-pad workout Saturday morning, Pace said he had to get his body used to contact again.

There's also a hurdle to overcome, trusting that he won't get hurt. He was injured on an innocent-looking pass block in last year's opener, tearing his rotator cuff and labrum.

"I feel good, but you never know until you take that one shot," Pace said. "It was just one of those things, that when it was time to go it was time to go, and it finally happened.

"The tough thing about practicing now is mentally just being willing to throw the arm in there and use it without even thinking about it."

Compounding the doubt, Pace missed the second half of the 2006 season with a torn left triceps muscle, and he'll be 33 in November. Before 2006 he had made seven consecutive Pro Bowls and was widely considered the best offensive tackle in the NFL, and a future Hall of Famer.

"You want to be the best at what you do, and I've been working that way," Pace said. "If it happens, it happens, and I'll be excited."

What keeps him going now is showing everyone he can still do it.

"I want to be able, if possible, to walk off the field on my own terms," Pace said. "And not with a doctor by my side."

Pace joked that all players surely have second thoughts about their love of football during the grind of training camp, but is hopeful retirement is a ways off. He's one of three Rams remaining from the 1999 team that won the franchise's only Super Bowl, along with wide receiver Torry Holt -- Pace's roommate in training camp -- and defensive end Leonard Little.

Watching the playoffs on television last year, Pace recalls the memories from the Rams' postseason runs that came flooding back.

"It brings you back to how exciting the playoffs are and making that run," Pace said. "That's one thing that really drives you, you just want to win.

"It's not about money, it's not about Pro Bowls and that type of thing, you just want to win because there's nothing like playing in the playoffs and the Super Bowl."

First, they've got to get Jackson in the fold. The running back's agent turned down the Rams' latest offer Friday afternoon, and the Rams responded by cutting off talks until the running back was in camp. Coach Scott Linehan's concise update Saturday: "Nothing that I know of."

"It's a business, and I think he understands that and the Rams understand that," said Pace, the former serial holdout. "So I wish the best for him.

"We love him and we can't wait until he gets here."