> proCanes > 
Brett Romberg
proCanes
Rams Training Camp Battle: Andy McCollum vs. Brett Romberg
Jul/30/07 03:24 PM | Permalink
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.

(sports.aol.com)
|
McCollum is planning to fight for center job
Jun/13/07 09:36 AM | Permalink
At age 37 and coming off major knee surgery, it looked very much as if Andy McCollum was nearing the end of the line in professional football. If he were a dinosaur, the next stop would be the tar pits.

But McCollum, a brontosaurus-size center, seems intent on avoiding professional extinction. As the Rams' offense broke the huddle Tuesday — the first day of the team's full-squad minicamp — McCollum was snapping the ball to quarterback Marc Bulger with the first offensive unit.

It was widely assumed that Brett Romberg, who started the last three games of the 2006 season at center, would begin '07 as the starter. Romberg rotated in with the first unit Tuesday. But with McCollum's left knee healthy, it looks as if center will be one of the team's most hotly contested positions when training camp opens in late July.

"Certainly the group that we finished the season with played very well," Rams coach Scott Linehan said. "But Andy's back. When we put the pads on and we start training camp, we'll resume the center competition there."
|
Brett Romberg Update
Apr/02/07 11:33 AM | Permalink
SCOUTING REPORT:C Brett Romberg was a college star at Miami but had to wait more than three seasons to get a chance to see what he could do in the NFL. Romberg made the most of the opportunity in three starts at the end of 2006. The Rams won all three games and averaged 33 points and nearly 170 yards rushing a game. Relatively speaking, Romberg lacks ideal size for the center position and has short arms. But he is a skilled technician with some quickness who makes excellent use of leverage to handle bigger defensive linemen. Romberg showed himself to be an intelligent player, adept at making the line calls that are critical from the center position. His co-op blocking improved the more he played. By making the most of his opportunity last season, Romberg has put himself very much in the mix for the starting center position. He will be challenged by veteran Andy McCollum, who is rehabbing from knee surgery.

(clanram.com)
|
Brett Romberg Update
Mar/12/07 03:50 PM | Permalink
Brett Romberg finally gets to play center, his natural position, this season, ready to pinch opponents in the ass. Romberg is still a legend at Miami, and looked good finally getting his chance to play last season. Of all the O-linemen, Romberg might have the biggest question mark above his head. A bit on the small side at 293 lbs, the Rams coaches want competition for him this summer, reportedly looking into free agent Al Johnson earlier this month, before he signed with Arizona. Good depth at the center position wouldn't be a bad thing; although, I think Romberg should work out well there based on his college performance and a preview last season.

(turfshowtimes.com)
|
Brett Romberg Update
Jan/26/07 08:15 AM | Permalink
Brett Romberg was a late-season surprise who plays with good leverage and savvy. Romberg emerged from the practice squad and started the last three games, and rookie Mark Setterstrom, a seventh-round pick, finished the year as the starter at the guard.

(stltoday.com)
|