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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (July 30, 1998) -- Call it an NFL rarity, perhaps even an NFL first. The No. 1 overall picks from the 1997 and 1998 drafts were on the same practice field together Thursday, each in his first training camp. "I'm a training camp rookie," Orlando Pace of the St. Louis Rams said after he and his team scrimmaged Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. "When the season starts, I won't be a rookie, but right now I am." Pace, who's eventually expected to be one of pro football's dominant offensive linemen, missed all of last season's camp as a holdout. When he finally reported, it was the regular season and he was thrown right into the lineup at left tackle, one of the most difficult positions to learn. He subsequently tore a patellar tendon in a knee, came back and began to show his potential late in the season. Manning was luckier. His holdout lasted only five days, ending Tuesday night with a record $42.7 million, six-year deal. He practiced Wednesday with the Colts, then came with the team to Champaign for three days of work with the Rams. Manning seemed quite at home Thursday. He chatted with defensive tackle Grant Wistrom, the Rams' No. 1 pick, then with Steve Bono, St. Louis' well-traveled backup quarterback, whom he had met in 1984. That was Bono's first year in a pro camp -- with the Minnesota Vikings, where Manning's father Archie was in his final season. "This makes me feel old," Bono told Manning. "I got a chuckle out of it," said Manning, who threw a 50-yard completion on the run, rolling out on a wet field and hurling the ball perfectly downfield through the rain that fell throughout the day. As for Pace, he's dropped 20-30 pounds during the off-season, down to a svelte 307 pounds. On Thursday against the Colts, he made a couple of the "pancake" blocks for which he was known at Ohio State. |