The first practice of the Rams' training camp is a week away.  It's tough to get from the final days of April, which host the draft, to the end of July which awakens the football fans who have slept through the summer.

But now we're here, close enough to start looking at some of the storylines we should be following as Rams fans, storylines that hint at whatever destiny awaits us over the next 5 months of this NFL season.

Position breakdowns after the fold.

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Missing out on Barry Sims didn't exactly qualify as missing the opportunity of a lifetime, after all, Sims is essentially an Alex Barron clone, right down to the penalties, except for having more starting expereince. Still, as we've talked about here before, the Rams could still use some depth at offensive tackle.

Bringing on another guard/center candidate and allowing the Rams to install Incognito at OT, if the injury bug bites, gives the Rams one route around that problem. The reason I mention this is because former Saints center and Browns free agent bust, LeCharles Bentley is reportedly healthy and looking for work. He would reportedly prefer to play gaurd too. Bentley has been out since 2005 with knee surgeries and staph infection (ewww), which means his market value sits right around what the Rams paid for the services of the street free agents who rounded out the o-line last season.

The key here is Richie Incognito, who the Rams, right now, envision as their starting center for 2008. If he doesn't start at C, he's a good bet to start at RG. Thus, in case of injury at OT, Incognito could replace an injured OT and Bentley could replace Cogs in the middle.

Either way, there's not much happening right now on the free agent front. Personnel staff not vacationing ahead fo camp is scrambling to get rookie deals done in time for camp, which starts next Friday.

Speaking of camp and the O-line, I'm anxious to see what draftees John Greco and Roy Schuening can do in their rookie season. Based on the scouting reports, either one is a sure bet to step in and play guard at the NFL level in their rookie season. The question is how ready is Greco to play OT at the NFL level?

Nominally naming Richie Incognito as the Rams starting center and moving Setterstrom to right guard gives the Rams a beefy middle to go with their offseason acquisition of Jacob Bell at left guard.

Think Al Saunders plans to use the middle of the field much? Last season runs through the center/guard positions accounted for 39% of Washington's running plays, and 33% in 2006.

First, look at size here. Romberg, now #2 on the depth chart at C, is 6' 2" 298 lbs, the smallest of the trio with Setterstrom listed at 6' 4" 314 lbs and Cogs listed at 6' 3" 330 lbs. Now, look beyond size. Setterstrom's still somewhat unproven, but he's got good agility and athleticism to go mobile without losing anything; he can pull when the play calls for a pulling guard and he can use that field vision to keep out defensive linemen looking to crash the pocket. Since being drafted in 2006, he's added more than 30 lbs to his frame, and has improved in one-on-one blocking situations. Obviously, the coaches have seen some improvement from him in minicamp and OTAs to be making this declaration ahead of training camp.

Since Richie Incognito learned to channel his nasty disposition onto the playing field, he's emerged as one of the team's best blockers, in my opinion. He;s played C, G and OT, but he's been at his best in the interior. With DTs getting bigger and faster in the NFL, putting Cogs at center makes sense as his skills can keep defenders out in pass protection and push them aside on the run. Now, on the snap, Cogs looked a little raw at times when he filled in for Andy McCollum in 2006, but that's something he should be able to improve on with practice. There's no doubting the results though from 2006 when the Rams had Cogs and Setterstrom on the interior at various points throughout the season; they ranked second in the league in adjusted line yards (4.77) in the middle of the field. 

This could all change come camp time later this summer.