Rams News

Sore back sidelines newcomer Hill

07/28/98

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

MACOMB, Ill. -- With his painful lower back spasms showing no signs of going away, middle linebacker Eric Hill is shutting down for a few days.
He's going to forgo practice until his back feels better, which probably rules him out of joint workouts with Indianapolis this week.
``I just think rest is probably the only solution to it,'' Hill said. ``We've taken all kinds of tests, haven't found anything wrong. I strained it real bad weightlifting in late June.
``What happened is that I never rested, I never stayed off of it. I continued to work out, kind of dealt with the pain thinking it would go away. But it just got increasingly worse.''
Hill said the current injury has nothing to do with the neck and upper back problems that affected him last season when he played for the Arizona Cardinals.
Three times during Rams camp, Hill has practiced in the morning during two-a-days, only to have the back flare up, making him sit out the afternoon session.
Coach Dick Vermeil has expressed some aggravation over Hill's on-again, off-again practice status.
Hill said, ``I understand his concerns. They brought me in here to better this team. And to contribute. But at the same time, he has to understand my frustrations.
``I'm hurting, I'm not healthy, and I can't go out there and compete on a high level if I'm not healthy. I tried to go and it didn't help. So the solution is to let it rest. Sept. 6 is the day I've got to be available.''
That's the day the Rams open the regular season, against New Orleans.
New Ram: The Rams signed free agent Derrick Frazier, a cornerback. Frazier was on the field Tuesday morning -- in time to make a crunching hit on Tony Horne during a special-teams drill, and get burned on a deep pattern by Isaac Bruce.
``It was a good route,'' Frazier said of the Bruce ``touchdown'' catch. ``I kind of guessed on it. I thought he was going to run a `stop' route on me. But I don't see that happening too much more often.''
Frazier, 28, was a third-round draft pick by Philadelphia in 1993. But he missed the entire '93 season with a knee injury, and was out of football in 1997 while continuing to recover from a broken arm.
In between, Frazier played in 25 regular-season NFL games for the the Eagles and Indianapolis, including eight starts.
He also played in a playoff game for Dallas after the '96 season.
With Ryan McNeil holding out, Joe Rowe hurt, and Gerald McBurrows still recovering from the chicken pox, the signings of Frazier and Tony Stargell this week have added much-needed manpower to the secondary.
Stargell sat out Tuesday afternoon's practice because he was dehydrated. Rowe went to St. Louis for an MRI exam on his ailing back.
At the fights: Rookie Roland Williams and second-year man Mitch Jacoby are fighting each other for a roster spot. Literally.
The two went at it during a special-teams period late in the Tuesday morning practice.
It was arguably the biggest training camp fight since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995.
R.J. Kors vs. Steve Brooks in 1995 at Maryville University is the only altercation that might come close.
The helmets of both players came off during Tuesday's fracas, and both players threw wild haymakers.
Very few connected before special teams coach Frank Gansz broke things up.
So what set off the two during a punt team drill?
``I made a great play in that particular instance, and I think Mitch got a little frustrated about that,'' Williams said. ``It just got out of hand.''
Jacoby, obviously, didn't think Williams' play was all that great.
``I thought he tackled me,'' Jacoboy said. ``I guess it's just hostility. Everybody's getting worked up from two-a-days.''

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