Two games into his NFL career, Odom will get his first pro start with Tampa Bay. With the Bucs, however, Odom knows the starting job may be just temporary. Starting left tackle Paul Gruber went down last Sunday with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee and is expected to miss the next two to four weeks. On one side, it's unfortunate that Paul is hurt, but now this is my chance. This wasn't a case where I beat anybody out, but I have to be prepared.
Nothing can beat game experience.
This season, Odom had mainly been backing up veterans Gruber and Doug Riesenberg. From the first play of the game until the 50th, I had to be ready in case something happened. I was always a play away from being in the game. Now that Odom knows he's the guy, at least for now, he will have to be ready Sunday. He will have the daunting task of protecting quarterback Trent Dilfer's blindside against one of the NFL's more aggressive defenses.