"That scared me a lot," said McMichael, who rose slowly and spent a few minutes on the sideline gathering himself before returning to the field. "I woke up (the next) morning a little sore, but it's nothing that's going to keep me down."

After two years of discontent, McMichael is tired of being down. "You really take (success) for granted until you don't have it," he said. "I'm just glad to be back out here with these guys."

A prolific pass-catcher in Miami, where he averaged 56 receptions and 619 yards over five seasons, McMichael spent the bulk of his first year with the Rams blocking because of injuries to the offensive line. He finished with just 39 catches and 429 yards in 2007 after arriving here as a free agent.

He was on pace last year to reprise his Dolphins numbers when he suffered a broken bone in his lower right leg in Week 4 vs. Buffalo. McMichael, who never had missed a game in the NFL, was in tears after being told that his season was over.

"I was trying to do something that no tight end has ever done - play in every game," he said. "Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be that way. But I can start a new streak."

A healthy McMichael figures to be a key component in the West Coast-style offense that new coordinator Pat Shurmur is installing, first-year coach Steve Spagnuolo pointed out.

"The defense has to be concerned about the tight end, or else there are so many other things you can do to take away the wideouts," the former New York Giants defensive coordinator said. "So, having a tight end that can stretch the field vertically, I think it's huge."

McMichael recalled a conversation he had a few years ago with Tony Gonzalez, then the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end. "He said, 'The West Coast offense is probably the best offense a tight end can be in,'" McMichael said. "I didn't really realize that until I got here and saw what Coach Shurmur is putting in.

"There are so many throws underneath. Everybody knows the West Coast offense is, get the ball out of (the quarterback's) hands fast and get the ball to your playmakers and let them do what they do. I'm just really excited to be a part of it."

After the releases of Torry Holt and Drew Bennett, the Rams' corps of wide receivers is young and largely inexperienced. That means that McMichael could be an even more frequent target for quarterback Marc Bulger.

"We noticed the difference when he went out" last year, Bulger said. "But he's back, and he's hungry. And Daniel Fells is also playing lights-out. I think we'll have a couple of tight ends that can do some things."

The hardest part after the injury was "just not being around the guys," McMichael said. Sundays, he added, were particularly difficult.

"You look from the sideline and you see plays that probably could be made and how you could help the team," he said. "I think that was probably the most frustrating thing."

His leg bothered him a bit during the club's first minicamp, in early April. But now, "the leg's fine, a hundred percent," McMichael reported. "No swelling, no pain when you wake up in the morning."

Which means, he explained, that he can finally put 2008 behind him and focus on re-establishing himself in 2009.

"I think I have to prove myself to myself," he said. "I don't really worry about what anybody else says. I'm my harshest critic. Nobody pushes me harder than I push myself.

"I'm just really glad to be a part of this Football team, and I'm looking forward to doing some good things here."