Injury bug plagues OTAs

Who's been the biggest success at the Rams' organized team activities this spring? Sure, Sam Bradford's getting work in, Michael Hoomanawanui's made a bunch of plays, and Craig Dahl and James Hall have become defensive starters, but the real impact player at OTAs has been more of a "what" than a "who". The injury bug.

The bug is decimating the Ram offensive line before the season can even start. Hell, it took Jacob Bell out before OTAs could even start, as he needed a repair job to his knee. 2009 first-round pick Jason Smith's transition to starting left tackle is on pause until training camp; he has a stress fracture in one of his toes. 2010 second-round pick Rodger Saffold dodged one bullet from the bug early in OTAs but caught another and has been out the last couple of weeks due to a strained knee.

The bug has always been especially mean to Mark Setterstrom; Friday, he tore the same triceps that tore and ended his 2009 season. That would seem to be the now-fourth serious injury of Setterstrom's career, and possibly a career-ender, but the Rams have yet to make an official move. A real shame for Setterstrom, who's been a capable player but has absolutely zero injury luck.

Like this whole team. If you've been counting, that's FOUR projected starters on the Ram offensive line that have already gone down to injury, and it's only June. Whatever lucky charm Jason Brown has in his locker, he needs to share it with his linemates. Your current Rams offensive line: Brown, guards Hank Fraley and John Greco, right tackle Adam Goldberg, and at left tackle..... PHIL TRAUTWEIN. Yeah, don't expect to see $50 million worth of Sam Bradford behind center right away if this is the starting offensive line.

It hasn't been just the line, either. CB Bradley Fletcher, TE Daniel Fells and G Roger Allen are still on the mend from major injuries at the end of last year. Brandon Gibson, one of last year's more-promising WRs, is out due to a hamstring injury. Heck, Isaac Bruce was probably fortunate he didn't get injured during his final day-or-so stint as a Ram!

And of course there's the injury looming over this franchise like a pool of oil off your favorite Southern beach, Steven Jackson's back. The load he bore last season took its toll in the form of a herniated disk, and he's been on the sidelines since April recovering from surgery to fix that. (And STILL the Rams have done nothing to improve their depth at RB, unless you count crossing their fingers that Chris Ogbonnaya breaks out.) Coach Steve Spagnuolo's had the players go on team activities the last couple of weeks building a school playground and going bowling. I kind of think a visit to Lourdes may be more in order.

It's not really a joking matter, though. It's going to be impossible for the Rams to put together a cohesive offensive line when they can barely keep anyone on the field. The offense is nothing but a gigantic question mark anyway until we know what kind of shape Jackson's going to be in, what kind of load he can carry (or continue to).

And Sam Bradford's going to be $50 million worth of clipboard-carrier unless the Rams can put an NFL-quality line in front of him and all-pro Jackson behind him.

As hard as it is to believe things can get worse for a team coming off a 1-15 season, this preseason to date hasn't bode well for starting a turnaround. The good news is that it's only June. I don't think any team has ever had its season fall apart in June. I'm not even sure it's possible.

Is it?