OL Orlando Pace (official thread)

[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.