The heat, the humidity, the monotony. For NFL players, training camp is a far cry from summer vacation.
Adam Carriker, however, is thrilled to be visiting an outpost known as Mequon, Wis., where he and his St. Louis Rams teammates will report today to prepare for the upcoming season.
Carriker, the Rams' No. 1 pick from the 2007 NFL draft, is eager to crash helmets and swap sweat with fellow linemen on the campus of Concordia University. The former Kennewick Lion is, pardon the pun, roaring to go after missing the team's minicamps and OTAs (Offseason Training Activities) while recuperating from shoulder surgery.
"I'm so ready," Carriker said from his home in Weldon Spring, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. "I've been pretty restless. During practices, all I could do was sit and watch and think, 'I should be out there.' "
Carriker, 24, almost escaped his rookie season with only the usual bumps and bruises that come with working in the trenches. But on the second play of the final game of the year -- a 48-19 loss at Arizona -- the 6-foot-6, 300-pound nose guard was injured while attempting to fight off a double team.
"My arm went back, back, back, then my shoulder popped," Carriker said. "I stayed in the game for as long as I could, but there was just no way I could continue playing with one arm."
When Carriker returned to St. Louis for further medical tests, it was discovered he had a torn labrum that required six months of rehabilitation.
"I wasn't too happy," Carriker said. "I mean, I played the whole season and then to get hurt in the last game of the season ... it was tough to take."
Struggling through a 3-13 season and a last-place finish in the NFC West wasn't much fun, either.
Injuries ravaged the Rams, mainly on the offensive line. All-Pro tackle Orlando Pace missed the final 15 games with a shoulder injury, starting guard Richie Incognito sat out 12 games with knee and ankle injuries, and starting guard Mark Setterstrom was lost for 13 games with a bad knee.
And if that wasn't enough, standout running back Steven Jackson missed time because of an injured groin and defensive end Leonard Little, the team's best pass rusher, was sidelined for nine games because of a toe problem.
"It was crazy," Carriker said of the injuries. "We had new players show up on Monday and by Sunday they were on the field. We were always shorthanded. There was just no way we could win consistently with so many guys hurt."
Despite the black cloud hanging over the organization, Carriker, whom St. Louis selected with the 13th overall pick, put together a productive rookie season. He was an All-Big 12 Conference defensive end at the University of Nebraska but was moved inside to help the Rams fill a dire need for run stoppers.
Nicknamed "Bam Bam" by his teammates, Carriker shifted between the three-technique position and nose guard, showing steady improvement as the season progressed.
"It definitely took some time to get used to," Carriker said of the pro game. "The NFL is so much more challenging. You see more double teams and everything just happens so much faster. Overall, I thought I had a pretty good rookie year, but I know I can get a lot better."
Getting better does not mean getting bigger, though. Carriker is not your typical nose guard. Believe it or not, at 6-6, 300, he's a little on the small side as far as weight is concerned. The model nose guard is more in the mold of All-Pros Jamal Williams (6-3, 350) of the San Diego Chargers and Casey Hampton (6-1, 340) of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"My position coach (Brian Baker) always tells me that bigger is not necessarily better," Carriker said. "I might be a few pounds underweight and a little too tall, but the coaches like my flexibility, my motor and my ability to bend and play shorter. As long as I get the job done, that's all that matters."
A nose guard's primary job is to tie up as many blockers as possible, which means his teammates pile up most of the tackles. Carriker, who started all 16 games, still managed to record some solid numbers, finishing with 30 tackles, two sacks and a safety. Thus, he was awarded the Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award as the team's top rookie. The honor, in memory of the team's former owner, was voted on by the players and coaches.
Speaking of coaches, there's a Mid-Columbia connection with the Rams. Head coach Scott Linehan is a Sunnyside native and Greg Olson, who spent time as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last season, is from Richland. Olson now is the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"The Eastern Washington
deal is a neat thing," Carriker said. "We used to joke about it once in a while."
Carriker, whose family still lives in Kennewick, monitors the happenings in the Tri-Cities. He's also extremely proud of his beloved Cornhuskers.
"I loved my time at Nebraska and still follow the team closely," said Carriker, who earned a degree in business administration. His wife Angela is a Nebraska native and sister of
former Huskers defensive end Jeff McBride.
Carriker was born in Hastings, Neb., but his father Dave moved the family to Kennewick because of a job transfer when Adam was a toddler. Still, Adam grew up a Huskers fan and dreamed of playing for the Big Red, and it became evident during his junior season that a scholarship was a gimme.
Carriker was a three-year starter at quarterback and also played defensive end his senior season for a Lions team that won only two games during his prep career. But his size, strength and athletic ability drew the attention of several major-college recruiters. Carriker visited Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State but jumped at the opportunity to sign with Nebraska when the offer came.
Carriker's quarterback days were history when he arrived in Lincoln, but he still had a chance to show off his arm. Rumor has it that one day Huskers quarterback Joe Dailey was boasting about his arm strength and decided to show it off. He proceeded to fire the ball 60 yards downfield.
Carriker, not too impressed, answered with an 80-yard heave. This, while wearing a protective boot over his badly sprained left ankle.
"I can't throw it that far anymore," Carriker said. "But I think I can still throw it a good 70."
That's probably not what his coaches want to hear. But it's no big deal for Carriker, who much prefers wrestling offensive linemen and burying fullbacks.
"Everything is on schedule," Carriker said. "I'm about 80 percent and should be 100 percent by the first game (Sept. 7 at Philadelphia). I just can't wait to get back on the field."
Even if it's in Mequon, Wis.
