OL Orlando Pace (Chicago Bears)

[osugrad21]

KFFL

Rams | Pace injury update
Mon, 2 Oct 2006 22:35:27 -0700
St. Louis Rams OLT Orlando Pace (concussion) did not play during Week 4 but is feeling much better. He is expected to resume practice Wednesday, Oct. 4.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Orlando Pace, who sat out last Sunday with a concussion, did limited work in practice and was listed as questionable.

[Buckskin86]

Orlando Pace is surrounded by Sandusky High School cheerleaders. Pace's jersey was retired during Friday night's football game.

Orlando returns, but Streaks can't win
STEVE WALKER, Morning Journal Correspondent
10/21/2006
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SANDUSKY -- As former Blue Streak great Orlando Pace sat high above in the press box at Stroebel Field, he sat proud.

His former team dug itself into a 35-0 halftime deficit in a 50-14 Greater Buckeye Conference loss, but it was his night as the Blue Streaks honored the greatest player to ever come through Sandusky.

Last night, Pace became the first player in Sandusky's 107-year history to get his jersey, No. 75, retired in a special dedication at halftime.

''When I heard it, I was excited,'' Pace said. ''Anytime you're honored in that respect, and it hasn't happened in 107 years, to be a part of Blue Streak history forever is always special. It's something I cherish. It's always fun any time you come back to your home and visit your family. To be here and to be honored is always special also.''

Pace doesn't get to make it back to Sandusky as much as he would like, but he enjoys his time when he does.

''I'm a little older now and have a family,'' he said. ''I probably don't come home as much as I used to. I try to come a couple times a year.''

The loss wasn't what the Blue Streaks anticipated on Pace's dedication night. Findlay came out and scored five touchdowns in the first half to go up 35-0, dominating every aspect of the game.

Matt Alexander scored two TDs, while Ryan Kuhlman, Chris Schneider and Tom Miller also added scores in the first half for Findlay.

The second half was more of the same as Findlay went up 50-0 before Sandusky found the end zone. Aries Irby broke off an 11-yard TD run and Martel Brown nabbed a 7-yard TD reception from second string quarterback Richie Niehm to make the score more respectable.

Pace smiled when his Blue Streaks scored, while he reminisced with former players and faculty. Pace, now an All-Pro tackle with St. Louis Rams in the NFL, was a 1994 graduate who earned All-Ohio and All-America honors while playing for the Blue Streaks.

He then went to Ohio State, where he was a two-time All-American and won the Outland Trophy in 1996. He won the Lombardi Award in '95 and '96, as the nation's best college lineman. Pace was the first-overall selection in the 1997 NFL draft and helped the Rams win the Super Bowl in 2000.

Pace also said why he was enjoying his week off.

''The older you get the more you enjoy the bye week,'' he said. ''Anytime you get a week off about midway through the season is always good to get re-energized for the upcoming games. We're 4-2 and we're just trying to make a run. We got the meat of our schedule coming up. We just got to take it game by game and hopefully we got some wins and get into the playoffs.''

?The Morning Journal 2006

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...id=46370&rfi=6

[Buckskin86]

10-Spot: Pace celebrates a decade in Rams uniform
By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/05/2006

Ten Aprils ago, the Rams held the first overall spot in the NFL draft for the first time in 34 years. They used it to select a man-mountain of a tackle from Ohio State ? the first offensive lineman to go No. 1 in 30 years.

The fledgling St. Louis Rams sent four future picks to the New York Jets for the right to plant 6-foot-7, 325-pound Orlando Pace in the all-important left tackle position.

That investment, which seemed wildly steep at the time, has turned out to be a bargain. Pace, a starter since early in his rookie season, has been selected for the past seven Pro Bowls.

"He's been a dominant player, a true professional," said Kansas City coach Herm Edwards, whose Chiefs will play the Rams at noon Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome. "He's one of the better tackles who has ever played that position."

Seated at a table in the lunch room at Rams Park, Pace chewed on the fact that he's spent nearly a decade in the NFL.

"Before the season, you kind of reflect a little bit," said Pace, who turned 31 on Saturday. "To think that it's been 10 years already ... wow. The time really flew by."

Pace speaks quietly and evenly, belying his bulk and strength. His gentleness with his four young children ? Justin, 6; Jalen, 4 (on Monday); Kendall, 20 months; and Landon, 3 months ? is conspicuous.

Rising to the challenge

But on the field, Pace can be ferocious. Publicists at Ohio State coined the phrase "pancake block" as a marketing-savvy description for the way Pace routinely dumped opposing players on their backs.

"For being such a big guy, he glides ... he's very light on his feet," said Rams left guard Todd Steussie, who spent most of his previous 12 NFL seasons at left tackle. "So, he's able to react like a smaller guy. But he's solid against the stronger guys, too."

Marc Bulger, in his fifth season as the Rams' starting quarterback, noted that having Pace protecting his blind side substantially increases his comfort level.

"It's a luxury I don't take for granted," Bulger said.

Pace rarely is outplayed. But he struggled against Seattle on Oct. 15, yielding two sacks to defensive end Bruce Fisher, a former teammate, in a 30-28 loss.

"He had a real bad game, for his standards," offensive line coach Paul Boudreau said. "Then last week (at San Diego), he was back to normal again. Really, nothing fazes him. You can count on him to rise up to a challenge."

Boudreau said Pace never balked when new coach Scott Linehan and his staff arrived.

"You have a guy who's a Pro Bowler, he's a future Hall of Famer, and I'm a new guy coming in, and he didn't try to big-time me," Boudreau said. "He just accepted the change."

Pace said: "With a new coaching staff, it's actually good for a player coming into his 10th year, because there are different challenges and different expectations. It's almost like going to a new team and starting all over."

A timid youngster

Joyce Caffey and her mother, Idella, raised Orlando and his sister, Katrina, in a modest apartment in Sandusky, Ohio, a blue-collar community of about 28,000 on the shores of Lake Erie. Orlando's father, Melvin Reynolds, left the family years ago and has no contact with his son.

Orlando's uncle, John Pace, pushed him toward sports, noting his uncommon size and athleticism. At first, the timid youngster was an unwilling participant, crying when it was time to go to football practice. At Sandusky High, Pace averaged 18 points for the basketball team and starred as a two-way force in football. One national publication named him an All-America offensive lineman; another named him an All-America defensive lineman.

In three seasons at Ohio State, Pace started 33 games, was a consensus All-American twice, won two Lombardi Awards (the only player to do so) and an Outland Trophy. When he left after his junior year, virtually assured of being the first player drafted, he hadn't given up a sack in two seasons.

Caffey, who worked at a crayon factory to support her family, said she never could have guessed how her son's life would evolve. "I heard people saying things, but I really didn't listen," she said. "I just didn't imagine this."

The future

In March 2005, Pace signed a seven-year deal worth $52.9 million. Caffey still lives in Sandusky, but she visits Orlando, wife Carla and the grandkids often. She was in town when Pace suffered a concussion Sept. 17 at San Francisco.

"We saw it on TV; I went into prayer right away," Caffey said. "He didn't want me to worry, but I was kind of concerned."

Pace played the next week, but recurring symptoms sidelined him for the Detroit game Oct. 1 ? the first time he'd been out of the lineup since 2002. Pace acknowledged that he was shaken by the concussion and that it forced him to ponder his future.

"When you're talking about an injury dealing with the brain, it makes you sit back and wonder," he said. "You don't want to be one of those guys that later on down the road has side effects."

For the first time, Pace is mulling how long he'll continue to play.

"When you first set out as a rookie, you wanted to play 10 years. And then once you get to 10, you've got to see how your body feels," he said. "As long as you stay healthy and you still love to play and you're still having fun ... who knows?"

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...2?OpenDocument

[osugrad21]

Scout $

11/12

Big O tore his bicep.

[Steve19]

Yep. He's out for the year. Sorry, big guy. http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/STL/9797480

Rams' Pace done for season with torn triceps

NFL.com wire reports

SEATTLE (Nov. 12, 2006) -- The St. Louis Rams lost Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Pace for the season after he tore his left triceps against Seattle.

Pace left in the second quarter of the Rams' 24-22 loss to the Seahawks, dropping them two games back in the NFC West. The Rams announced the injury at halftime as a torn biceps muscle, but afterward Pace and coach Scott Linehan said he tore his triceps. Pace's arm was wrapped and immobilized and said he'll have an MRI on Nov. 13.

Linehan ruled Pace out for the year.

Pace, who has been selected to seven consecutive Pro Bowls, was injured while pass blocking with about five minutes remaining in the first half. After a 7-yard pass, he held his limp left arm at his side and called for trainers to assist him off the field.

"I felt something snap a little bit," Pace said. "I thought my elbow might have been dislocated or something like that, but when I got to the sideline, they told me it was a torn triceps."

After a couple of minutes on the bench, Pace walked into the locker room while a trainer held his arm at the elbow.

It was Pace's 143rd game for the Rams in his 10-year career. Adam Goldberg, a fourth-year veteran, replaced him.

"Sometimes on that, you reach out and the guy hits it just right," Linehan said.

Cornerback Travis Fisher left in the second half with a right forearm injury and did not return. Fisher said X-rays were inconclusive and he'd be further examined Nov. 13.

The fifth-year cornerback said he was hurt tackling Seattle fullback Mack Strong.

"It was just a collision, a body-to-body collision," Fisher said.

[osugrad21]

Link

Caution is word for Pace

By Bill Coats

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

05/22/2007

Rams left tackle Orlando Pace participates in a drill during a Rams OTA (organized team activity) at Rams Park last week.
(Chris Lee/P-D)

Perhaps no one took it harder last season when injury struck down Rams left tackle Orlando Pace than he and wife Carla's four children. Not that they were worried so much about Dad; it was the loss of their annual Hawaiian vacation that saddened young Justin, Jalen, Landon and Kendall.

"Yeah, my kids were a little upset about that. I missed it, too," Pace said, smiling. "Hopefully we can get back and make that trip again."

Pace had spent part of the last seven Februarys in Honolulu, site of the Pro Bowl. But his reign as an NFL all-star was ripped away Nov. 12 in Seattle when the triceps muscle was ripped away from the bone in his upper left arm.

Cont...

[Buckskin86]

Pace combines more with less
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/30/2007

It wasn't too long ago that Orlando Pace sightings at training camp were as common as football Cardinals playoff wins.

Pace missed more than a month of preseason work (and several exhibition games) in 1997, 2003, and 2004 because of contract impasses, going 0-for-Macomb all three years. But times change. It's now commonplace to see Pace show up on reporting day for training camp.

"I was just thinking that on the way here," Pace said. Then, he added with a "nostalgic" chuckle: "Man, it sure was nice a few years ago. But I guess it's one of those things you have to do now."

STLtoday - Sports - Rams

['BusNative]

Who's Ticketed for Canton? (ESPN)

ESPN has projected Pace in their top 50 to make the Hall of Fame...

Orlando Pace and pancakes. The two have been synonymous since before Pace was the first player taken in the 1997 draft. Pace has contributed mightily to the success of Marshall Faulk and Steven Jackson and provided consistent protection to Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger en route to seven Pro Bowl selections in 10 seasons. As talented as the Rams were in 1999, it's difficult to imagine them winning the Super Bowl without Pace making sure that the stationary Warner stayed upright.

[Buckskin86]

Pace back to lead Rams in opener against Panthers
By R.B. Fallstrom, AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS ? Ten years ago, Orlando Pace was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Now he's the graybeard of the St. Louis Rams' offensive line, coming off an injury that prematurely ended his season and ready to prove himself all over again.
Pace's role in solidifying an inexperienced line could be an early key for the Rams, who open against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in a matchup of .500 teams from last year. He's approaching this year with youthful exuberance produced from the down time a torn triceps created.

"Just to be back playing football again, I'm excited," Pace said. "Sometimes in the 10th or 11th year you can get into a flow of things, but I'm excited.

"You want to go back out there and prove you can still play at a high level, and that's one of my goals."

Pace, who made seven straight Pro Bowls before last season, is 10 pounds lighter than last year, although he's far from wasting away at 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds. That's a concession to his advanced age and a bid to keep him at elite status.

He plans to hit the ground running, opening holes for Steven Jackson and protecting Marc Bulger's blind side.

"I think the older you get, probably the lighter you have to play just because it's easier on your joints," Pace said. "I think it'll help me immensely this year."

"I'm that old guy, I guess I'm the next in line," Pace said. "It's cool. I accept the leadership role on the offensive line, and I told the guys if they need to talk about anything, I'm here."

Pace back to lead Rams in opener against Panthers - USATODAY.com

[Buckskin86]

Rams' Pace Injures Right Shoulder
Monday, September 10, 2007; Page E10

Rams T Orlando Pace will undergo an MRI exam today after injuring his right shoulder in a 27-13 season-opening loss to the Panthers yesterday.

His teammates were bracing themselves for another extended period without the seven-time Pro Bowl selection.

"We played a lot without him last year," QB Marc Bulger said. "So, unfortunately we have some experience with it. Hopefully, it's not major."

The injury happened when Pace was pass-blocking with 1 minute 45 seconds left in the second quarter. It wasn't immediately clear what happened but there was not severe contact when Pace blocked Carolina's Julius Peppers.

After the play, Pace began to run off the field but was in enough pain that he dropped to a knee before reaching the sideline. Pace walked into the locker room for X-rays and did not return. For now, Coach Scott Linehan is calling the injury "a pretty bad sprain."

washingtonpost.com

[Buckskin86]

Pace out for season
Associated Press


ST. LOUIS -- NFL Network's Adam Schefter is reporting that St. Louis Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Pace will miss the entire season with a shoulder injury that he suffered during the team's loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

His teammates were bracing themselves for another extended period without the seven-time Pro Bowler.

"We played a lot without him last year," quarterback Marc Bulger said. "So, unfortunately we have some experience with it. Hopefully it's not major."

The injury happened when Pace was pass-blocking with 1:45 left in the second quarter. It wasn't immediately clear what happened but there was not severe contact when Pace blocked the Panthers' Julius Peppers.

After the play, Pace began to run off the field but was in enough pain that he dropped to a knee before reaching the sideline. Pace walked into the locker room for X-rays and did not return. For now, coach Scott Linehan is calling the injury "a pretty bad sprain."

Pace out for season

[OregonBuckeye]

Tough break.

[Thump]

Gonna make Steven Jackson getting 2500 yards this season that much tougher.

[Steve19]

One wonders if this isn't the end of his playing career. It's been a long time for a lineman his size and playing the central role that he has. Best wishes to OP!