PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Injured Slater, Brostek Are Sidelined
The Rams’ struggling offensive line suffered two major losses in Sunday’s 24-17 loss at Green Bay--right tackle Jackie Slater and center Bern Brostek.
Slater is expected to miss three weeks because of a tear in his triceps, and Brostek is lost for two to four weeks because of a broken bone in his right leg and a sprained right ankle.
The loss of Slater means struggling rookie Wayne Gandy, is expected to take over at starting right tackle. Left guard Tom Newberry will move to center in place of Brostek, and second-year player Chuck Belin is expected to become the starting left guard.
Coach Chuck Knox said the Rams plan to work out some free agents this week in hopes of adding depth to the thin offensive line, which has struggled in the team’s 2-4 start this season.
To sign an offensive lineman, the Rams will have to cut a player from the roster. With quarterback Chris Chandler’s sprained left ankle showing improvement, backup Jamie Martin, re-signed as an emergency quarterback, could be expendable.
The Rams would like to re-sign offensive lineman Jeff Pahukoa, who can play guard or tackle, but cannot do so because Pahukoa’s contract was guaranteed when the team cut him before the season.
The Rams also are in the market for a punter to replace Sean Landeta, who’s expected to be out two weeks with a shoulder injury. Tony Zendejas is the team’s backup punter, but Knox said the team could bring in a free-agent punter for a workout as soon as today.
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Slater said he tore his triceps while making a block on the next-to-last play of the game. He was replaced by Gandy, who was beaten badly by Reggie White for a sack of Chris Miller. Gandy earlier had been called for holding on a sweep play on second and goal from the Green Bay two, and the Rams’ drive ended a few plays later when Miller was intercepted in the end zone.
After watching game film Monday, Miller was critical of the Rams’ play-calling and execution on the series.
“You look at the film on some of our run plays on third down and short and one or two guys just weren’t getting it done,” Miller said. “They just weren’t executing.”
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Tailback Jerome Bettis averaged 8.8 yards a carry on sweep plays last season, but the offensive line has struggled when blocking for him on short-yardage pitches this season. Case in point: Gandy’s holding penalty on second and goal from the Green Bay two.
“If we go outside and don’t make it, then we should go inside, right?” Knox said. “And if we go inside, then we should go outside. Anybody can have 20-20 vision on Monday. We just need to execute the play better.”
If the Rams had scored on Bettis’ sweep play from the two, would Knox have tried a two-point conversion to win it? “That’s foolish for me to say,” he said. “It didn’t come to pass.”