As if their fourth consecutive road loss of the season didn't do enough to imperial the St. Louis Rams' 2010 season, a second quarter injury to starting left tackle Rodger Saffold threatened to take things way off the rails.
Saffold had an ankle injury. Follow-up x-rays were negative and the team does not expect it to be serious.
Whew. That could have been a costly loss for the Rams, shades of seasons past even. Hats off to Renardo Foster for stepping in and playing well in Saffold's place. That's two games in a row that the Rams have pressed Foster into service, with encouraging results both times. That said, the Rams are much better off with Saffold starting, but having a capable backup at a key position offers at least some comfort considering there were very real concerns about it earlier in the year.
Let me rephrase this post a little bit re: Renardo Foster. I don't mean to give the guy undue praise. He's adequate, not a 1-1 replacement for the starting OTs. In fact, Foster allowed a pretty big sack on third down of the Rams' only overtime possession. Would Saffold have allowed that sack? It's impossible to say, but precedent indicates it would have been far less likely.
And another though...why not move Jason Smith over to LT? He should know the position. Yes, they like having his run blocking on the right side, but given the emphasis on the pass wouldn't it have been better to put Smith over there? When the headlines focused on the rookie Saffold earning the LT spot, the Rams coaches mentioned more than once how beneficial it was to have offensive tackles who could play both positions.