MONDAY,AUGUST 16,2004
SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 15E
The Associated Press
Denver Broncos tight end O.J. Santiago fights for position with rookie linebacker D.J. Williams, left, from Miami during the morning training camp practice at Broncos headquarters in Denver on Friday.
Chamberlain seeks starting role
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — Byron Chamberlain knows he will never make people forget Shannon Sharpe.
All he wants to do is be the replacement for the greatest tight end in Broncos history.
"Those are big shoes to fill." Chamberlain said Thursday. "My strong point is catching the ball, something I've done my whole career and something I'm comfortable with now."
Chamberlain, who returned to the Broncos after spending two seasons with Minnesota and last
year with Washington, credits Sharpe with helping his development.
"Shannon is one of the greats and when he was here I was definitely a sponge," Chamberlain said. "He taught me how to run pass routes and run them differently based on who was covering you."
Chamberlain added the lessons Sharpe taught him to an existing ledger that included quick moves and precise cuts.
The combination helped him to catch 57 passes and three touchdowns in 2001 and earn a
trip to the Pro Bowl.
"Byron has always been a gamer that would make a big play at the right time," coach Mike Shanahan said. "The only problem has been Byron has had a problem controlling his weight."
That problem surfaced in 1997 when he was inoved from wide receiver to tight end.
Chamberlain's weight ballooned to over 280 pounds and drew Shanahan's wrath.
Shanahan had Chamberlain running laps during the entire practice period as punishment.
sweets and got my weight up to 268 last year," Chamberlain said. "I realized the weight cost me my speed and quickness, and when I lost the weight it brought a lot of my speed and quickness back."
"I liked to eat doughnuts and
Chamberlain showed off his new, hard-earned speed by running away from defenders and getting to seemingly overthrown balls.
"That's why I made a point to come into camp in the best shape that I've ever been in," Chamberlain said. "Just to give me a chance to win the starting job."
Though 'doing fine,' Rams lose to Bears in preseason opener
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — So far, the St. Louis Rams are doing just fine without their two bookend offensive tackles.
Grant Williams stepped in for Pace, as he has done in the past. Scott Tercero, a sixth-round pick last year who missed the entire season with a knee injury sustained early in training camp, was solid at Turley's right tackle spot.
Andy McCollum, who has moved from guard to center while center Dave Wohlabaugh recovers from hip surgery,has played more center anyway.
It would have been logical for quarterback Marc Bulger to have concerns for his safety before the preseason opener, considering Orlando Pace is in a contract holdout again and Kyle Turley hasn't practiced since reinjuring his surgically-repaired back early in training camp.
And Andy King, who has minimal NFL experience and played in only one game last year, was solid at McCollum's left guard spot.
But Bulger was hit only twice in the first quarter on a 13-10 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears on August 12, when the first-stringers were on the field. So the concerns about the makeshift alignment vanished.
"They did a fantastic job," Bulger said. "I didn't have too many pressures, and the one sack was a hot route."
"They came through fine," said coach Mike Martz, who singled out Tercero for praise. "I really watched the offensive line in the first half as much as I could. The protection held up well."
It would have been logical for quarterback Marc Bulger to have concerns for his safety before the preseason opener, considering Orlando Pace is in a contract holdout again and Kyle Turley hasn't practiced since reinjuring his surgically-repaired back early in training camp.
"I was a little sore, but we don't have a lot of numbers," Timmerman said. "I took a few days off and it's feeling pretty good.
Right guard Adam Timmerman helped hold things together with a quick recovery from a nerve injury to his neck and back. A cortisone shot the day before the game helped matters.
"Hopefully, it all kicks in."
Help is definitely on the way, too.
It's just a matter of time before Pace, designated as the franchise player for the second straight year, agrees to a one-year tender offer and joins the team.
Team doctors are hopeful that Turley will be back also after he visited two specialists since leaving camp. Turley roamed the sideline in street clothes at the preseason opener, although he didn't stick around afterward.
"I didn't get any details from him," McCollum said. "I think he wanted to escape before you guys [the media] grabbed him."
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