*** Official 2013 St. Louis Rams Thread *** (1 Viewer)

[msommer]

Sure it's a silly ESPN exercise but the greater point to is that even the experts agree that this team is FINALLY heading in the right direction.

We've got two first round picks again next year... So...

Speaking of silly exercises, Anybody have thoughts on the 2014 draft / offseason at this point? Adding another first rounder along the defensive front would sure make it scary.

Rams fans should hope that each of those picks are low enough to package both and then trade up to select Jadeveon Clowney

Yes! I would very much like that...

Throw in the towel for Clowney?

 

[TheFanatic]

Sure it's a silly ESPN exercise but the greater point to is that even the experts agree that this team is FINALLY heading in the right direction.

We've got two first round picks again next year... So...

Speaking of silly exercises, Anybody have thoughts on the 2014 draft / offseason at this point? Adding another first rounder along the defensive front would sure make it scary.

Rams fans should hope that each of those picks are low enough to package both and then trade up to select Jadeveon Clowney

Yes! I would very much like that...

Throw in the towel for Clowney?

No. Sick of losing, but having two first rounders, plus maybe a third this year and our first in 2014 might be enough to get the guy... Maybe Washington starts off slow and struggles because of RGIII's injury and that is a top 10 pick?

 

[Junior McSpiffy]

Sure it's a silly ESPN exercise but the greater point to is that even the experts agree that this team is FINALLY heading in the right direction.

We've got two first round picks again next year... So...

Speaking of silly exercises, Anybody have thoughts on the 2014 draft / offseason at this point? Adding another first rounder along the defensive front would sure make it scary.

Rams fans should hope that each of those picks are low enough to package both and then trade up to select Jadeveon Clowney

I was thinking the other way around: I was hoping that the Skins would tank, get the Rams the #1 overall pick, and since they already have Long and Quinn, they could trade that #1 pick to someone desperate for a monster DE, and the circle of life would continue....

 

[heidbrink]

Catching up the thread...

LB Will Witherspoon rejoins the team:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-report/lb-witherspoon-agrees-to-terms-with-rams/article_05d11548-e37e-58d4-8a69-4f3b00cee8b7.html

SS Mikell not likely to return:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/mikell-not-likely-to-return-to-rams/article_5ba13eb0-8a87-5c06-9e3d-78ecdb6ea7bc.html

Two rookie prospects — one big, and one promising — won’t make it to training camp this year for the Rams. The team released offensive tackle Terrell Brown and linebacker Phillip Steward, both with the waived-injured designation Wednesday:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/updated-rams-release-two-lb-witherspoon-expected-to-sign/article_ebe75297-12d1-5aa2-acce-cac3836efbda.html

Rams sign Longsnapper McQuaide to a 4 year deal:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/updated-rams-release-two-lb-witherspoon-expected-to-sign/article_ebe75297-12d1-5aa2-acce-cac3836efbda.html

 

[Bob Magaw]

good article on the ascendant NFC West... ARI would like to join party, and is looking within the division at sudden success for SEA, SF & STL as possible templates for rapid turnarounds...

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/jason-la-canfora/22971570/brains-and-brawn-make-nfc-west-the-best-division-in-the-nfl

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- As the Arizona Cardinals contemplated yet another reboot this winter, trying to devise a strategy for their front office and coaching vacancies, they studied several structures in hopes of duplicating the rapid ascent of their division rivals. In the end, they decided that imitation was the sincerest form of flattery.

It was only a few years ago that the NFC West was the laughingstock of the league (if not all of pro sports), with Seattle snatching a division title in 2010 despite a 7-9 record. The situation was so unsightly that suggestions of altering the playoff seeding system became an offseason talking point.

Contrast that to now, as executives from other divisions fear three teams from the resurgent NFC West -- Seattle, San Francisco and St. Louis -- will reach the postseason.

The rapid ascent is hardly a quirk. It's not been a fluke at all. In fact, several key common denominators are present in the rise of these clubs, which are born of a paradigm in which an aggressive, first-time general manager was paired with an experienced head coach who had pretty much seen it all before.

In conversations with general managers, coaches and players throughout trips to training camps, including stops with every team in the NFC West, it's become apparent that the burgeoning race between these teams stems from the similarities in their construction.

It began with the Seahawks in 2010, when former NFL head coach Pete Carroll, fresh off a dominant run at USC, was paired with rising Green Bay executive John Schneider. It continued in 2011 when San Francisco promoted accomplished scout Trent Baalke to GM and landed Jim Harbaugh, a highly successful college coach most recently at Stanford, who had also apprenticed as an NFL assistant. In 2012 the Rams followed suit, plucking Les Snead from Atlanta as a first-time GM and installing him with Jeff Fisher, who was refreshed after a year off from football following a productive 16-year run coaching the Oilers/Titans.

All of those head coaches are full of boundless positivity; all of the young GMs are fearless and willing to gamble and make huge trades, ground where many older execs dare not tread.

Therefore, it was hardly shocking in January when Cardinals ownership, suddenly trailing the rest of the division and after a long coaching search, ended up promoting well-regarded front office assistant Steve Keim to general manager and went with the NFL's reigning coach of the year, Bruce Arians, a grizzled longtime offensive coordinator, as head coach.

With the Seahawks coming a field goal from playing in the NFC Championship Game last year, the 49ers coming a fourth-down pass from winning the Super Bowl and the Rams widely regarded as one of the most improved franchises in football since Snead/Fisher took over (St. Louis won just 15 games from 2007-2011 but surged to 7-8-1 last year), the Cardinals, who finished last year in a 1-11 rut, realize they need to improve quickly to compete.

"It's not an accident," Keim said. "That's been a successful model, and I talked with (owner) Michael Bidwill about that. Here are two teams in Seattle and San Francisco that got better, and it wasn't like it took multiple years. They got better, and they got better quickly, and there's a reason behind that and that comes from the way they put their power structure together.

"It's because Trent has done a fantastic job in San Francisco, and obviously John has done a great job up in Seattle. They have a lot of energy, positive energy and the head coaches there also have a lot of energy in those places. And I think that's the model you want."

There was an overall trend in the NFL the past decade to seek out hot young coordinators, owners looking to keep costs down and find the next Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh. The rise of the West has run counter to that groupthink, with Seattle, San Francisco and the Rams all spending top dollar for more proven commodities -- hardly a coincidence as well.

"The owners reshaped this division," said Rams COO and executive VP of football operations Kevin Demoff. "This was the division that got back to the highly sought-after and highly paid coach. You have to give credit first and foremost for saying we're going to get back into this arm's race. And you wound up with guys who are tough-nosed, like the power running game, and now the teams are very similar in how being constructed."

Keim realizes the chore ahead of him, now.

Schneider was willing to make bold, sage trades like acquiring running back Marshawn Lynch and pass rusher Chris Clemons; drafting Bruce Irvin in the first round; and finding steals in the draft with Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner.

The 49ers have drafted as well as any team in the league the last five years or so, stockpiling the best offensive line and linebackers in football in the opinions of many, Baalke trading up to land dynamic quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the second round.

The Rams stockpiled a bunch of draft picks and wound up with playmaker Tavon Austin. (USATSI)

Snead executed one of the biggest trades in NFL history, getting a massive haul trading out of the second overall pick in 2012 (which Washington used on Robert Griffin III), loading up with draft picks, and pulling off a gutsy trade up to get versatile receiver Tavon Austin in the first round this spring.

Keim, in his first offseason at the helm, pulled off a trade for quarterback Carson Palmer and made a series of prudent "prove-it" signings for other veterans with a chip on their shoulder, landing guys like John Abraham, Eric Winston, and Rashard Mendenhall with essentially one-year deals, trying to plug holes while replenishing for the long haul through the draft.

And having replenished their rosters, those GMs also focused on getting their core players signed to extensions sooner rather than later, mitigating some costs while sending a strong message to the locker room about rewarding their own.

"All of those guys have a real aggressive streak," Keim said of his fellow NFC West GMs. "That's how they operate. You can't just sit back and be passive. You have to be willing to take risks. If you're going to keep up with the Joneses in this division, you'd better be willing to be creative."

Demoff said: "You wound up with these teams hiring very highly sought-after head coaches and then paired them with up-and-coming GMs, and in so many of the cases it was thought that the GMs were really riding below the head coaches, But all three have proven to be really good, and have earned their own credibility through this process."

Snead attributes part of the overall go-getter nature of the NFC West GMs to their relative youth, and them also taking over at a time when the new CBA has kept entry-level player compensation so low that it's less dangerous than ever to make sweeping moves up or down the draft. And there has been a trend among owners to look for younger guys, with fresh ideas, who came up with a strong scouting background.

"We're a generation that, I don't know if I'd call us risk-takers, but we're certainly more aggressive," Snead said. "When I got it in it in '95, there used to be the old five-year plan. And our generation, we've been raised where it went from five to maybe you get three. Or less. And the changes to the CBA makes a difference, too.

"And in this division, we all took over teams that were down. And it was, 'Hey, we better go get what we need and do it rapidly.' I've said you can't build Rome in a day, but you'd better be able to do it in about three days."

Fisher, the top coaching prize of the 2012 offseason, did plenty of homework before making a decision on where to relaunch his career. He anticipated the NFC West was going to be more competitive than many assumed, and knew the 49ers had a head start, considering all of the talent San Francisco had amassed prior to Harbaugh's arrival (credit must be given to former head coach Mike Nolan and former GM Scot McCloughan, who is now with Schneider in Seattle). He appreciated the brains-race that was going on in the division, with so many bright coaches and execs heading West, but he wasn't quite expecting this.

"Because of the key players in some key positions in the division, I thought it would be good," Fisher said before the Rams' afternoon practice here today. "But I didn't think it would be as good as it was last year." Snead chuckled, thinking back to the texts he received when he took this job, so many of his peers telling him how easy the NFC West was, how that would hasten the Rams' development.

"Seattle had yet become SEATTLE," Snead said, "and San Francisco was obviously a good team, but it was 'Can Alex Smith really do it?' And things like that. And then halfway through last season I remember going. "Yeah, easy division! But it's fun being in it. It's fun being relevant."

There has been some tension between Carroll and Harbaugh in the past, and the Seattle-San Francisco rivalry is brewing as one of the NFL's best. That occasional friction only makes the football better and seems to be bringing out the best in all of the organizations.

"We have tremendous competition in this division," Baalke said, "and certainly if you don't respect the competition at some point that catches up to you. I've got great respect for all of those men. I thin John has done an excellent job and I think Les has done an excellent job, and I think Steve has already stared out and made some significant headway there.

"I've got great respect for all three of them, and that's what we're in this for, competition. If you're afraid to compete, you're in the wrong position. So while I respect them, we're certainly not going to back down. We're going to compete."

The other coaches and evaluators in the division said it was clear, at the time they took over at their respective clubs, that San Francisco was the most talented team in the division. They hadn't put it all together yet, obviously, and it took Harbaugh to mold them, but the presence Frank Gore and Joe Staley and Vernon Davis and Patrick Willis, to name a few, put them at a distinct advantage.

"When Pete and I first got here, they were clearly the most talented team in this division," Schneider said. "We looked at that their roster, and we played them out first game of the year (in 2010) and ended up wining the game.

"But at the time you looked at the two rosters and it was like, man, we were kind of like going out there like in high school for the coin flip and we look across and it's like, 'Oh man those are some big dudes.' Big, fast, athletic. So ourselves, the Rams and Cardinals really have kind of, from a talent standpoint, all been chasing the Niners for a little while."

It used to be in the old days of the NFC West, With Bill Walsh the architect of the 49ers dynasty, teams had to be built to stop the rhythm, short-passing attack of his West Coast Offense. The division may have been perceived as perhaps a little soft, not as bare-knuckled as say, the NFC Central at the time.

No longer.

The 49ers are now built to beat you and roll through you, with one of the biggest offensive lines in the league, a power run game, huge tight ends and linebackers. They assault at the line of scrimmage, and that has become the blueprint out here. Carroll loves to road-grade with Lynch; Fisher has always been a power run team (think of Eddie George in Tennessee) and Arians spent so long running Pittsburgh's offense, which is synonymous with ground and pound.

"It's definitely not like anything finesse anymore," Carroll said. "This is a tough, tough division to play in. We all take pride in being physical and tough. And where that fits with rest of the league, I don't know, but I know each week it's a battle."

When Snead and Fisher arrived, an immediate premium was placed on rebuilding the defensive line, with them focusing on drafting tackle Michael Brockers and signing tackle Kendall Langford. "You knew you were going to have to try to stop Lynch, and you were going to have to try to stop Gore," Snead said. "That was one of our goals last year."

These teams are all built to attack the quarterback (San Fran with Justin Smith and Aldon Smith; Seattle adding Clif Avril to Irvin and Clemons; Arizona with Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell which forced Keim, with a weak offensive line, to prioritize patching it up, immediately, through the draft (taking guard Jonathan Cooper historically high) and free agency.

Things also changed drastically last season when Wilson won the Seahawks starting quarterback job, excelled in traditional and read-option schemes and had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history. And then Kaepernick took over under center for San Francisco midway through the season and was outright dominating at times also in a hybrid zone-option attack. Wasn't that long ago that the biggest advantage the Rams thought they would have in the NFC West with former first-overall pick Sam Bradford, who they believe will become a franchise quarterback. Then, suddenly, with Wilson and Kaepernick changing the way the position was played.

"I always thought with Sam we had an opportunity to distance ourselves from the other teams in our division," Demoff said. "Once they got young quarterbacks they could grow with, now that changes things."

So no surprise that the 49ers loaded up on edge defenders and St. Louis took a chance on talented-but-troubled speed linebacker Alec Ogletree in the first round, continuing to prize athleticism.

"That's what you have to keep in mind when you build you team, whether drafting players or signing them." Keim said. "What kind of defenders do we want? We need long, athletic defenders who can run, because there's already two quarterbacks in this division who can get out of the pocket and kill you on the perimeter."

There is some hope in Arizona as well, with Palmer the best shot they have had for competent quarterbacking since Kurt Warner retired, and, as Demoff pointed out, Eli Manning, just entering his prime was drafted just one year before the recently traveled Palmer, also a first-round pick. "Every team in this division could be set up for a run," Demoff said.

At least for now, before a real game has been played, I believe this is the best division in football, and only getting better. There is star power, overall youth, teams without salary cap handcuffs, rosters seemingly just coming into their own. And it's more than mere coincidence.

"Personally, I believe this is the best division in football," said Cardinals All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald. "Just look at the teams and the coaching pedigrees and all the moves these teams made. I don't see a better division around."

 

[ImTheScientist]

I still say, would have been much better off trying to trade Bradford and picking RGIII. Bradford is awful. Love your defensive line though.

 

[Bob Magaw]

not sure how you define awful...

bradford's career arc and trajectory is pointed up... imo, this time next year, he will be in the conversation as one of the ten best young QBs in the game (not counting manning, brady, brees, romo, etc.)...

lets see how he does with a stabilized OL, first time with same offensive scheme in consecutive years as a pro and upgraded receiving weapons such as cook and austin, among the fastest and most explosive players in the league at their respective positions...

* injuries, turnover, organizational ineptness, lack of surrounding talent all have conspired to hold bradford back, but i remember how good he looked at oklahoma... some scouts attending his pro day said it was the best or in top few they had ever seen...

barring injury, this is the year i think he shows why he was picked #1 overall, surpassing 4,000 passing yards (not the highest bar, but it would set a new personal mark for the second year in a row) and making a push for 30+ TDs.

 

[Junior McSpiffy]

I still say, would have been much better off trying to trade Bradford and picking RGIII. Bradford is awful. Love your defensive line though.

Well, ask yourself this:

A team coming off a 2-14 season, undergoing coaching and GM changes, a team that does a wholesale blood-letting to the roster, keeping less than half the previous team, and still doesn't have a viable offensive line... and a team that doesn't have Mickael Brockers or Janoris Jenkins (if the Rams don't take B Quick with Washington's pick, they take him with their own and forego Janoris).... how many wins does RG3 lead that team to?

 

[Bob Magaw]

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/08/03/st-louis-rams-preview/?xid=si_nfl

Rams Preview: Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn YouDespite playing in a loaded division, Jeff Fisher is quietly building a very talented team in St. Louis

The mission of this report is to prevent people from saying in December that “nobody saw the Rams coming.” Playing in the same division as the Seahawks and the 49ers might make it tough for this rebuilding team to reach the postseason, but expect the Rams to be, at the very least, a meaningful part of the playoff picture.

Since taking over a team last year that had won just 15 games over the past five years and was bad enough to have just earned the No. 2 overall draft pick, coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead have had their pick of holes to fill on both sides of the ball. With ample cap space available, they’ve been able to fill some of those holes with major free-agent signings: cornerback Cortland Finnegan and center Scott Wells in 2012; left tackle Jake Long and tight end Jared Cook in 2013.

But most of the holes are being plugged through the draft, with Fisher and Snead focused on accumulating raw athleticism. In leveraging that No. 2 pick into three years’ worth of first-round picks plus two additional second-rounders, they were able to draft five high-shelf athletes in the first 65 picks last year (DT Michael Brockers, WR Brian Quick, CB Janoris Jenkins, RB Isaiah Pead and CB Trumaine Johnson) and two top-shelf athletes in the first 30 picks this year (WR Tavon Austin and LB Alec Ogletree).

In their quest for speed and athleticism, the Rams have been accused of turning a blind eye to character. Half of their 10-man 2012 draft class has gotten in some sort of trouble since joining the team, and two other members of that class had minor legal issues in college. This offseason, the Rams had disgraced ex-Lion Titus Young on the roster for a few days. And they drafted Ogletree, who had been removed from some teams’ boards because of problems at Georgia and a recent DUI. At one point, COO Kevin Demoff felt the need to publicly assert that this is “not an organization of renegades.”

We can’t analyze and project how players’ character will affect a team. We can analyze and project what impact players’ talents will impact have. The Rams are quietly assembling a strong collection of talent. More intriguing, when you look closely, there appears to be a clear, and shrewd, plan for how use it all.

OFFENSEFourteen years ago the Rams introduced a revolutionary concept to pro football: four-receiver sets on all downs, not just 3rd-and-long. An aggressive barrage of downfield bombs and intricate route combinations created the Greatest Show on Turf and recast how the NFL viewed offense. Since then, multi-receiver offenses have become more prevalent, though they’ve gradually morphed into more versatile variations that include mismatch-creating tight ends and a broader stylistic array of wide receivers.

Every team has been a part of this evolution somehow, though not every team has committed to it. The previous Rams regimes would dabble with more innovative schemes, but they never could find the right types of players to execute them. Last season Fisher and new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer took some creative stabs, but, lacking resources in the passing game, they often wound up using more traditional, controlled concepts.

Things are about to change. Fisher and Snead seem bent on modernizing their offense. Look at the moves they made this offseason: cutting workhorse black-and-blue running back Steven Jackson and going with smaller but dynamic second-year scatbacks Pead and Daryl Richardson; signing flex tight end Cook; and, most telling, trading their No. 16 pick, a second-rounder and seventh-rounder to move up and draft Austin at No. 8. Smells like the Rams are brewing a new spread-oriented system.The sense intensifies when you consider that Sam Bradford played in a spread system at Oklahoma. Last season Schottenheimer—Bradford’s third offensive coordinator in his three-year NFL career—worked closely with Bradford on getting rid of the ball quicker. Whether they knew it at the time or not, the Rams were laying the groundwork for what appears to be the new long-term system.

They may not have to wait too long for the plan to bear fruit. Austin has unique, even unparalleled, playmaking potential. He won’t be a slot receiver, outside receiver, running back or H-back; he’ll simply be a ball-handler. The Rams will do whatever they can to get him touches in space. Some are skeptical of the 5-8, 174-pounder’s ability to hold up in the NFL. But Austin missed only one practice in his four years at West Virginia. And, the way he will be used, defenders will rarely get a clean shot on him.

Even if he winds up struggling a bit with his transition to the pros, Austin will still be of tremendous value because he gives this offense multidimensionality. Defenses will have to go outside their schematic comfort zones in figuring out their responses to the various threats he poses. Look for the Rams to accentuate this by having Austin frequently shift and motion before the snap.

The Rams can also create similar, though less novel, matchup quandaries with tight ends Cook and Lance Kendricks. How they’re used is especially important given that both players are better in abstract than in real life. The long-striding Cook has good straight-line speed, but he’s not nimble enough to warrant the $19 million that St. Louis guaranteed him. There’s a reason Cook never had a 50-catch or 800-yard season in his four years with the Titans. That said, he is capable of flexing from a traditional tight end spot into the slot or even out wide. Kendricks is also capable of flexing or even coming out of the backfield. However, he’ll need other weapons lined up around him because he’s not dynamic enough to consistently create his own opportunities. Nevertheless, there’s possibility for tremendous formation variation in

St. Louis’s passing game. With a clever offensive designer like Schottenheimer, this in and of itself can be extremely valuable.

Given that a flexible, space-oriented attack lightens the demands placed on an offensive line, it’s somewhat surprising that the Rams splurged for veteran left tackle Long, especially given that Long has struggled with various upper-body injuries and pass-blocking the past two years. Then again, Bradford has worked hard to overcome what Ron Jaworski famously described as his “cabin fever” (the tendency to nervously anticipate the rush). Perhaps $9 million a year to ensure your young quarterback’s peace of mind is worth it. After all, Long’s addition moves sound fourth-year pro Rodger Saffold to right tackle, which fixes a perennial weak spot. What’s more, these changes will collectively improve the run-blocking.

As for the men lining up between the tackles: Center Scott Wells is smart and technically sound. At 32 he hasn’t shown any sign of serious decline, but the Rams still spent a fourth-round pick on his possible successor, Barrett Jones. At right guard is Harvey Dahl, an seventh-year journeyman turned starter who has more grit than athleticism. He’ll play ahead of former Chicago first-round bust Chris Williams and opposite 26-year-old fringe starter Shelley Smith.

Exciting as all the new weapons might be, it’s fair to question the Rams’ returning skill players. At wide receiver, Chris Givens has sensational speed and natural movement skills, but he must mature off the field and as a man of his craft. Third-year possession wideout Austin Pettis remains too much of an unknown; last year’s second-rounder, Brian Quick, is still trying to earn his coaches’ trust after a disappointing rookie campaign. If Fisher and Snead were supremely confident in all of these incumbents, they probably would not have drafted Stedman Bailey in the third round.

The backfield is equally tenuous. Cincinnati’s academic calendar and NFL rules prevented Pead from attending early team activities as a second-round rookie last year. He fell miserably behind and wound up seeing his role go to seventh-round rookie Daryl Richardson. Richardson has flashed tremendous lateral burst and acceleration. This, along with quickness through the hole, should make him a nice fit in spread concepts. The hope is Pead, who has a very similar style, can also step up. If he can’t, the Rams will have to preemptively turn to fifth-round rookie Zac Stacy.

Some also apply the backfield question marks to Bradford. Maybe that’s fair given he’s yet to complete more than 60% of his passes in a season. But it’s hard to fully critique a young quarterback when he has constantly had new systems and an iffy supporting cast. On his own, Bradford still exhibits the quick release and intermediate throwing velocity that made him the No. 1 overall pick. Fisher and Snead are wise for not abandoning him.

DEFENSEIt’s not just the looming change and innovation on offense that makes the Rams an intriguing dark horse playoff contender. More so, it’s the raw talent on all three levels of this 4-3 defense. There’s enough of that talent along the first level to give St. Louis one of the best defensive lines in football. Quietly, the defensive line last season was responsible for 39 of the Rams’ NFL-leading 52 sacks.

The final steps to evolving into a Giants-like front four hinge on 2011 first-round defensive end Robert Quinn and 2012 first-round defensive tackle Michael Brockers. Both seem destined for stardom. Quinn is fluid and has remarkable speed and quickness in skimming the edge. He just needs to become more consistent in his technique, particularly on counter moves back to the inside. Brockers shows tremendous suddenness in confined areas. He has natural country strength and the athleticism to dominate laterally. He improved his pass rushing as a rookie, but his forte is stopping the run.

There’s a third former first-round pick along this line: Chris Long, who has already developed from formidable base end to a dynamic all-around force. Long has the strength to move blockers on stunts, but it’s improved closing quickness over the last two years that has led to a lot of his 24.5 sacks. In some nickel packages, usually when there’s a blitz involved, the Rams have played Quinn inside next to Long. But generally, the defensive tackle filling that spot is former Dolphin Kendall Langford, who has an underrated combination of power and quickness against the run.

The Rams also enjoy solid depth along their front four. Fourth-year pro Eugene Sims has a willowy build similar to Quinn’s, which he uses well both as an edge-bender or gap-shooting tackle; defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo offers quick upper body movement; William Hayes is a good in-line run-defender from the edge and inside. He also had seven sacks last season.

The Rams, theoretically, have a potent enough front line to eschew most blitzes and play a host of different field-crowding hybrid coverages behind a straight four-man rush (a la the Giants). However, Fisher, while a fairly strong advocate of traditional 4-3 principles, likes a little more creativity from time to time. After parting ways with longtime friend Gregg Williams (who was suspended all of last season and never wound up coaching in St. Louis) and Williams’ son, Blake, he filled his vacant defensive coordinator position with former Lions secondary coach Tim Walton. Fisher had met with bigger name assistants like **** Jauron, Mike Singletary and Rob Ryan (who was hired as coordinator but left after a few days). None of them were familiar with St. Louis’s defensive terminology. Walton was, thanks to his time in Detroit working for Jim Schwartz, Fisher’s former Titans defensive coordinator.

Under Schwartz, Walton coached a lot of traditional two-deep zone coverages. Here, he should have an opportunity to use more man-to-man. That’s cornerback Jenkins’ specialty. The second-rounder’s scintillating playmaking prowess was evident as a rookie (four touchdown returns), but so was his immaturity (suspended at one point for violating team rules). He also seemed to lose confidence in his man-to-man prowess during a midseason slump, which can’t happen given his greenness as an off-coverage and zone defender.

Opposite Jenkins is Cortland Finnegan. He did not make a ton of plays in his first year with this club, but he was still the stable run-force player and slot shadow that Fisher and Snead expected when guaranteeing him $27 million. It’s crucial that Jenkins further his development and Finnegan stay solid in 2013; the rest of this secondary could be a house of straw. Trumaine Johnson is slated to be the outside nickelback. He gradually improved as a third-round rookie last season but is still very much a mystery. Fifth-round rookie Brandon McGee is the only other drafted cornerback on the roster.

There’s only one drafted safety—T.J. McDonald—and he’s a third-round rookie whom plenty of evaluators aren’t sold on. The Rams are counting on the former Trojan to start in departed veteran Quintin Mikell’s free safety spot. At strong safety is Darian Stewart, a decent downhill player but somewhat iffy pass defender. Stewart was a starter in 2011 but was demoted last season to the back part of a rotation behind Craig Dahl (now a Niner).

Fortunately, the arrival of Ogletree may lighten Stewart’s responsibilities in coverage. Ogletree, who played safety at Georgia as a freshman, has fantastic raw speed and athleticism, which he can apply rushing the passer, chasing down ballcarriers or roaming in coverage. At strongside linebacker is Jo-Lonn Dunbar, who is a sound scheme fit aside from occasional gap discipline issues. He assertively takes on lead blockers and has a great feel for improvised blitzing (evidenced in part by his 4.5 sacks last season). At middle linebacker is James Laurinaitis, who has developed into an active all-around force and lynchpin for most of this defense’s tactics. For depth at linebacker, the Rams signed Will Witherspoon, who has played a variety of positions in a variety of different schemes in his 11-year career.

SPECIAL TEAMSGreg Zuerlein was all the rage after kicking field goals of 56, 58 and 60 yards in his first month as a pro. However, after making all 13 of his field goals in Weeks 1 through 5, he connected on just 10 of his 18 attempts the rest of the way. Punter Johnny Hekker, who unlike Zuerlein was not drafted, is back after netting an acceptable 39.9 yards per boot last year. Someone from St. Louis’ chest of speedy young athletes—Jenkins, Pead, Givens—needs to spark the return game. Last season the Rams’ average drive started on the 23.7 yard line, which ranked dead last in the NFL.

BOTTOM LINEThis young team is poised to take a big step forward in 2013. That is, assuming everyone stays healthy. As is common with second-year rebuilding projects, the Rams have a glaring lack of depth in several key areas. But hey, that’s the most benign “major weakness” this team has had in years.

Andy Benoit is diving deep into each team’s prospects for 2013.

 

[Bob Magaw]

Jason La Canfora CBS Sports NFL Insider

Rams camp observations: Even younger, faster and dangerous
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/jason-la-canfora/23024302/rams-camp-observations-st-louis-is-young-fast-and-looks-dangerous

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The Rams were the youngest team in the NFL last year, loaded with rookies and rising stars still on their rookie contracts, yet they quietly executed one of the best turnarounds in the NFL. Only a tie game with NFC Champion San Francisco kept St. Louis from a .500 record.

So it only stands to reason that the Rams will be older, if not wiser and more experienced, in 2013, right?

"It sounds impossible, mathematically," Rams COO and VP of football operations Kevin Demoff said, "but we actually project to be younger this season." Huh?

Yes, it's true. If the 53-man roster breaks down as expected, the Rams will have even more rookies and younger players this season. And they'll continue to be a better football team, too.

"Somebody told me we have the potential to be the youngest team in NFL history," coach Jeff Fisher said, himself seemingly not yet totally getting his head around the concept. "This is a young, young football team … So there's a lot of things to be excited about, but we're also focused on our depth. That's the issue; when you change so much and go young, your depth is not there."

With the bounty of picks from the 2012 trade with Washington (dealing the second-overall pick that became Robert Griffin III), the Rams continue to rework their roster. Oh, and they have two more first-round picks already lined up for the 2014 draft, when the Griffin bonanza finally comes to an end.

They tied for the NFL lead in sacks a year ago -- again with few noticing -- but look even faster on that side of the ball, with Alec Ogletree now at linebacker. The bulk of this offseason, however, was spent adding cornerstones to give quarterback Sam Bradford the infrastructure he's long been lacking. That included trading up into the top 10 for explosive receiver/returner/possible running back Tavon Austin, getting an athletic tight end, Jared Cook, in free agency (himself still just turned 27), and finally landing what they believe will be a stable left tackle in Jake Long.

"We don't have a receiver or running back over 25," Demoff said.

Demoff admits "it was a little scary" in January when the Rams came to grips that they would probably lose top receiver Danny Amendola and longtime feature back Steven Jackson to free agency. But they knew they would be aggressively seeking reinforcements.

"The fact that Jeff got the defense there so quickly," Demoff said, "we were able to spend a majority of our resources this offseason on offense, which is where it needed to be."

I was high on this group a year ago, and believed the Rams were primed for good things after they had one of the best offseasons in the NFL. This year there is no reason to believe that won't continue.

A second year under Fisher's strong, experienced staff will only help. And there is a very strong sense from all areas of this building during training camp that Bradford is primed to absolutely take off. Their effort and investment in him doesn't waver, and won't, and the Rams now have the quickness on offense to match that of their defense (and they play their first five games in domes, on a fast surface).

"It's easy to see this is the fastest group of skill players we've had since I've been here," said Bradford, eager to see this offense expand as he enters his fourth season.

This should be his breakthrough year for Bradford, who also benefits from finally having two years under the same coordinator, the very capable Brian Schottenheimer.

"Sam is walking around more confident, like he knows, 'Hey, I'm that guy,'" said linebacker James Laurinaitis, one of the elder statesmen on this team though himself just entering year No. 5 in the NFL. "And at quarterback you have to be that guy. It's maybe not in the same style as Tom Brady, but when he speaks up, people are going to listen more. He's embraced that more and he's more comfortable in it. He just seems way more comfortable in that."

If the Rams' offense can come close to mimicking the gains their offense made in Year No. 1 under Fisher, this team could very well find itself in the thick of the playoff race. And if they are as good within the division as they were a year ago, then they just might find themselves battling for a division title.

They might not be the Greatest Show on Turf just yet, but the Youngest Show on Turf isn't bad for now.

Observations• The Rams will only continue adjusting to the read-option defensively. They stifled RG3 in Week 2, and their approach to Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick provided a blueprint for other teams. They held Kaepernick to 13 points and beat Wilson and got after him another time. The way they played physical against read-option attacks, crashing their ends on the quarterback and attacking him, won't change.

"They're going to keep evolving and so we're going to have to keep evolving," Demoff said. "But I look at it that of our 11 starters, nine are under contract at least through the next two seasons. And they're all 27 or younger. So they're going to grow together."

Fisher is very high on former first-round pick Michael Brockers, who was slowed for much of 2012 due to a high ankle strain but came on late.

"He's changed his body, he's much stronger," Fisher said. "He's going to be eventually one of those dominant type of defensive tackles."

Overall, the pass rush that tied for the NFL lead in sacks should be improved, and once again defensive line coach Mike Waufle is doing an excellent job.

"We were tied in sacks with Denver, but in sacks-per-pass play we were way up there," Fisher said, "and we didn't go into every game with a 14- or 21-point fourth quarter lead like they did." Good point.

• Health issues have dogged Jake Long, and it's rare a rebuilding team lets its former first-overall pick and former Pro Bowl left tackle get away in free agency at age 28. So obviously there are fingers crossed around here about Long's knees. But Long is already an upgrade over anything the Rams have had in a long time. Rodger Saffold is adjusting to right tackle and the entire offensive line seems way more settled than it has been for a long time. Former tackle Chris Williams is making a nice transition to left guard and could win that position battle.

"Thus far, it's panned out," Fisher said of signing Long. "He's healthy, he's playing well, he's really talented, and he is a great teammate."

The Rams are enthused that center Scott Wells appears to be over his health woes as well and he looks very good in camp, too. "We've taken what was a problem area last year and we've potentially turned it into one of the strengths of the team," Fisher said.

• I would expect the Rams to be shopping some running backs, or putting backs on waivers who get claimed elsewhere once cuts begin. They have six on the roster Fisher believes are NFL-worthy, and the hopes are high that second-year backs Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson will take big steps this season. "I think they've grown up a ton since last year," Bradford said.

I was really intrigued by back Benjamin Cunningham out of Middle Tennessee State leading up the draft -- a speedster who missed almost all of his senior year with a patella injury. He was signed un-drafted out of Middle-Tennessee State, and his explosiveness has returned. Even in this crowded backfield I bet he makes the team.

"It's all back," Fisher said of the speed that jumped out to him on film. "I wouldn't hesitate to play him."

However, some within the organization have cautioned about Pead's issues in pass protection and that there is still much debate about whether or not he can get it together at this level. One name to watch in this bunch is Zac Stacy, who looks like a good fit in a lot of the one-back stuff Schottenheimer wants to run to spread the field and attack defenses.

Stacy, a fifth-round pick out of Vanderbilt, has explosion and could be a sleeper who emerges as a rookie.

• Rookie TJ McDonald, a third-round pick, is showing breakout potential through the early stages of camp and there is a feeling he could be a real contributor from the onset. No one wants to get too carried away, but if he plays in the preseason like he's practiced, this kid will be given every opportunity to play.

• There remains great uncertainty about the future of the team, with the Rams able to get out of their lease in 2014. Owner Stan Kroenke has strong ties to the Los Angeles area and the Rams have long been considered a top candidate to head back West. This will be a big year from an attendance standpoint and I didn't detect any strong rumblings of a new stadium getting built in St. Louis. The longer things progress without a plan for staying in St. Louis -- and renovating the dome doesn't seem realistic -- the more you will hear about the franchise moving. Sources said to this point that Kroenke hasn't given any strong indications internally about what the next step will be, either.

• Top pick Tavon Austin is everything the Rams hoped. Think of him as a smaller Percy Harvin, because that's the role they have envisioned for him. He's a dervish in the return game and they will line him up outside, in the slot, in the backfield. Anywhere.

"In addition to the talent, he's really instinctive," Fisher said. "He's a smart football player, the playbook is not going to be an issue. We'll do all those things with him." Austin's West Virginia teammate Stedman Bailey is also making a strong impression in his first camp.

Of the group of 2012 rookie receivers who struggled a year ago, Brian Quick is making some strides and Bradford praised his physicality.

The Rams aren't getting nearly the hype surrounding Seattle and San Francisco in their division, but that seems to suit them just fine.

"We can't go in here with any mindset of being too ambitious or relying on what we did last year," corner Cortland Finnegan said.

"When you're a team that lost more games in a five year span than any in NFL history, you're not going to get a lot of attention," Fisher said. "But it's a really fun team to coach."

 

[TheFanatic]

Some tweets from the Rams Beat Writer:

From @jthom1: Richardson is the #1 back, and Pead is the #2. They both can run the ball, but the concern with both backs is the blitz pickup

From @jthom1:You watch Brian Quick, and it's almost the same as last year. He'll make a great play and then drop one. He's got to get better

From @jthom1: The coaches have been really, really happy with safety TJ McDonald.

From @jthom1: Nobody can cover Tavon Austin in practice. He reminds me of Az Hakim in the early years xcept he has better straightline speed

 

[Junior McSpiffy]

Some tweets from the Rams Beat Writer:

From @jthom1:You watch Brian Quick, and it's almost the same as last year. He'll make a great play and then drop one. He's got to get better

No cares whatsoever. He has the physical tools. The issue with him isn't the drops. It's whether he can wrap his head around the playbook. From what I've heard, the answer is "better, but not all the way there yet." I'm guessing the lightbulb goes on about halfway through the season.

 

[TheFanatic]

Some tweets from the Rams Beat Writer:

From @jthom1:You watch Brian Quick, and it's almost the same as last year. He'll make a great play and then drop one. He's got to get better

No cares whatsoever. He has the physical tools. The issue with him isn't the drops. It's whether he can wrap his head around the playbook. From what I've heard, the answer is "better, but not all the way there yet." I'm guessing the lightbulb goes on about halfway through the season.

I've heard some of that myself. That he does know some of the playbook this year, but still has a ways to go. As a fan, I'm optimistic still...

 

[Bob Magaw]

player development key organizational axis with coaching, scouting, personell for snead, fisher and demoff...

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/jason-la-canfora/23082070/rams-calculated-risktaking-on-prospects-working-wonders-so-far

Jason La Canfora

Rams' calculated risk-taking on prospects working wonders so far

August 9, 2013 10:52 am ET

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Shortly after the Rams drafted talented but troubled corner Janoris Jenkins in the second round in 2012, Rams coach Jeff Fisher had a few surprises for the rookie. He showed Jenkins a photo of the prospect's boyhood home, in rural Pahokee, Fla. (pop: 6,500), and had a detailed dossier of information on the youngster; who he hangs out with, what makes him tick.

Jenkins unquestionably possessed the skills to be a top-10 pick, but concerns about his off-field pursuits and maturity led to him slipping all the way to the Rams at No. 39, a point where the potential value in landing a shutdown corner outweighed the risks, at least as best the Rams could determine having invested countless man-hours investigating Jenkins. Fisher has long had a reputation for being willing to gamble in these cases -- whether it be guys like Adam "Pacman" Jones in Tennessee or his two drafts in St. Louis, which included taking another character risk this year at 30th overall in linebacker Alec Ogletree.

In the post-Aaron Hernandez NFL, these calculated decisions come with even greater scrutiny; the Patriots tight end faces allegations of playing a role in multiple murders. And while those shocking developments reverberated with all 32 franchises, including in St. Louis, it won't change Fisher's approach to securing young talent. The Rams believed they were already at the vanguard of the player-development movement in the NFL, and so there was no great pause or navel-gazing going on in their organization this offseason, just an affirmation that abundant resources must remain available in this charged personnel landscape.

"It hasn't changed anything, because we're always doing more and more every year, and we're able to do more and more every year," Fisher said. "I know what people say about us, but we take guys off the board every year, and so there were a lot of names that weren't on our board when we were drafting. But as the case was last year, you've got a talent value up there, and there may have been some issues that lead you to say maybe we'll put a guy here and if he's there you go get him.

"We do the research like everybody is talking about now. We did our research on Janoris, and we went down to Pahokee and we sent people down there and we did everything we could. And at the end of the day as was the case, every single person we talked to said, 'Draft him, he's a great kid.' We're going to do our homework and our interviews like everybody else and we'll make decisions like we did with Tree. Alec is a really good football player and he's going to be a good pro."

The Rams rely on certain hallmarks as they navigate these murky scenarios. They thoroughly investigate the friends of the player, to see how much they will hold him back. Are the people back home rooting for him? Or do they just want him out of their backyards and to be someone else's problem? Does he truly love football, or does he just happen to be really good at it? Is he open to mentoring and assistance, or too withdrawn or far gone to reach?

Player development was vital to the overall organization paradigm established when this regime took over the Rams in 2012, with new general manager Les Snead believing it was just as important as coaching and personnel in terms of the pillars of turning the franchise around. Snead, previously an exec in Atlanta, watched firsthand as the Falcons splintered after quarterback Michael Vick's incarceration for dog-fighting crimes.

Team COO Kevin Demoff, owner Stan Kroenke's right-hand man in terms of budgets and spending, is equally devoted to creating any advantage possible for the Rams in terms of player development. Along with the coaches, they continue individualized mentoring, training and assistance with their young players, focused primarily on their first three to four years in the league, when the Rams' research indicated things have greatest odds of going sideways.

Fisher has been blown away by the degree to which Kroenke is willing to spend to fly club officials and security officials around the country spending days, if not weeks, checking out the backgrounds of certain draft prospects, according to those who know him well. It's unlike anything that was available to him during his 16 years with the Oilers/Titans, they say. That won't be changing, especially in this climate with Hernandez now the most glaring example of the damage possible from a misguided character evaluation on a player. The Rams will do exhaustive work on their own, trying to avoid what Demoff dubbed the "lazy narratives" that sweep the NFL from the combine through the draft in which young men are stuck with dubious labels that aren't always grounded in fact.

During Snead's first interview with Demoff for the vacant GM position, he shared a vision that went beyond X's and O's and scouting. He told Demoff they can build a great coaching staff, led by Fisher (and they certainly have one of the best staffs in the league) and they would work hard to find players. "But where we really have to get a cutting edge is in player development," Snead implored.

NCAA restrictions limit the time coaches spend with these kids at that level, and that additional time on their own can lead to bad habits forming. Snead realizes that some of the very same characteristics that make someone a dominant defensive end, for instance -- a ferocity, an edge, a mean streak, a focus on developing superior strength and speed -- could create problems away from the gridiron.

"There may be some life issues we have to be committed to helping them deal with," Snead said. Demoff agreed as they sought a Moneyball-esque approach to find efficiencies in player development.

"When I watch Jeff and Les together in the draft process, where they both share a fascination is in player development, and off-field character development," Demoff said. "And I've always thought that if we could develop a core competency in that area better than other teams, then maybe we'd have a strategic advantage. Because maybe you would know the kinds of guys you could take a chance on -- who is going to thrive vs. one who will not.

"I know people think this is Boys Town and we'll just take anybody, but there are lots of people we take off our board and don't even look at, because we don't think that they can succeed here; we can't come up with a plan to make them successful."

The Rams start out with player development primers as soon as they can get the prospects in their facility. There is a broader component of general life skills, fiscal responsibility, decision making. Certain lessons will be provided across the board.

Last year Fisher had armored guards bring a Brinks truck to the team's facility and put $1 million in cash on a table in front of his young players. Then he cut the pile in half -- "$1 million isn't as large a pile as you would think," Fisher said -- which goes to the IRS, then he took another large chunk out for a house for mom, a new car, living expenses in the NFL.

"This is about all that's left," Fisher said, making a square with his hands around the corner of his desk. "We tell them, if you're smart about your money and save this much, then we'll help you build it back up to here," Fisher said, moving his arms out to mimic the original pile of money. "But if you don't save this much," he said, moving his hands back to the smaller imaginary pile, "then you're left with nothing."

All rookie contracts are structured so that signing bonus payments are deferred until players report for training camp, which should limit their ability to blow through cash and get into trouble in their first offseason in the league. The Rams also got this entire draft class signed at the same time, in one fell swoop, wanting the seventh-round pick to feel as included as their first-rounders, tweeting out a photo of all of them signing and not just the first pick.

"It has to be an organization-wide approach," Demoff said. "It can't just be piecemeal. It has to be an organizational philosophy from the top to the bottom, and you do it with your 'perceived trouble children,' and you also do it with your 'non-trouble children.' If you treat everybody the same, that's important when building a locker room."

While the macro-level involves across-the-board initiatives, the rest of the approach is much more stylized to the attributes and needs of the individual player. At what Snead considers the "101 Level" you deal with basic life skills and global issues. But by the second year, or "102 level," things must be much more streamlined. "OK, we know he's good here and here," Snead said, "but this is where he's struggling. And by then the player has felt it and he's generally ready to raise his hand and say I need help." By Year 3, the 103 curriculum should be completely catered to any lingering issues.

There is an ongoing dialogue maintained with the family and folks back home. That initial series of interviews determining if the player is worthy of a draft pick does not end the conversation with those who know the prospect best. And, at the team facility, player development is looked at as the domain of all those who might regularly come into contact with the youngsters, be it equipment personnel, cafeteria staff, whoever is in position to speak to and see them on a daily basis.

"It can't be cookie cutter," Snead said. "Each person has got to have a different plan. One guy maybe can't cope with pressure, one guy it's too many people trying to get at his money. One guy it's problems with some of his friends from back home."

Fisher structures his roster in a way that there are stable, solid veterans at every position group who are willing and able to help serve as mentors. That is something corner Cortland Finnegan, who spent five years with Fisher in Tennessee, said empowers the locker room.

"When he puts the veterans in those key roles," Finnegan said, "he expects and demands a lot out of them, and that's part of coming to work. And doing that, it's also like a little brother/big brother thing, and in every realm and in every position group he has those relationships that he wants to see guys build. And that helps build a good team."

Finnegan was one of those to help guide and watch over Jenkins, and stalwart linebacker James Laurinaitis has gladly taken on those responsibilities with Ogletree now in his position meetings. That's simply part of being a Ram.

"Coach Fisher trusts the other players in the locker room that if something needs to be handled, it will be," Laurinaitis said.

Laurinaitis said Jenkins, whose problems led him to transfer from Florida to North Alabama, has not been a problem in St. Louis, and Ogletree, whose issues at Georgia were heightened by a DUI arrest, has been quiet and thoughtful in meetings and above all else loves football.

"We've all done things when we were young and dumb," Laurainitis said. "It could have been a lot of us back in the day, so if you make a mistake, hey, don't make it again or else we're going to have a problem. Coach is very loose and he gives you a lot of slack, but when we come out here it's time to work, it's all about football. And I think he picks guys that way."

Being calculated about the right prospect, at the right spot in the draft, serves as a motivation of its own. When a kid who, on football prowess alone, ends up being picked a round or more below where he would have if not for his other flaws, well, that tends to resonate.

"Ogletree is probably a top-10 or top-15 pick, on talent alone, and we got him in the bottom of the first round," Demoff said. "Janoris is a top-10 talent and we got him in the top part of the second round. That's a start for some of these guys because if they're never going to change then they'll never change. All you can bank on is your locker room and your coaches and your personnel staff -- everyone who touches the players, whether it be equipment staff, training room, your communications department. If we all help nurture these players along, you hope you can get it right."

Snead's moment of clarity about player development came not with Hernandez this summer, but in the unraveling of the Falcons organization following Vick's role in a dog fighting operation. It crumbled all aspects of the franchise and from then on Snead vowed if he ever had a chance to run his own team he would prize development and trying to provide a bridge for players in need as much as he did finding the talent itself.

"I was a part of some things in Atlanta that caused you to pause and say, 'OK, we better get this right and we better get that right,'" Snead said.

Snead worked under Atlanta's new general manager, Thomas Dimitroff, who took over the Falcons in 2008, and Dimitroff shared a vision born of his time with Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli in New England -- the same Patriots organization now coping with the Hernandez fallout. Dimitroff's vision is generally more risk-averse to gambling on character flaws, a direct nod to his New England roots, he says.

"I was schooled extremely well by two of the best team builders in the league in Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli," Demitroff said, "and I want to go on record saying I don't think there are two gentlemen in the league more focused on team chemistry and the character that was right for that team. That's Bill and Scott. And I'm very proud to have carried that background with me to Atlanta and to combine that very adept training I had in New England to a place that was coming off a very tumultuous 2007 season."

Owner Arthur Blank made it explicitly clear to Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith he wanted them to "clean up" the organization and to ensure "the character was right" and the locker room was rooted in a solid culture. Dimitroff scoffs at the notion he has set on "bringing in a bunch of angelic souls who are soft and evasive," but he admits he has little tolerance for guys who don't have a team-centric focus.

In the end, this is clearly the most inexact art and philosophies will vary. But the Rams will continue spending energy, resources and time trying to cultivate the science behind it. They'll think and rethink how high to take a player, and in how prominent a role, assessing where the costs in terms of salary and potential dysfunction that could result in the worst-case scenario. And it's quite likely Jenkins and Ogletree won't be the last youngsters they gamble on.

"When you take a chance, it's an educated risk," Demoff said. "But it's still a risk, and I'll be the first to say that one of these is going to blow up on us. You just kind of know it. That's just the odds, that one of them we're going to have a plan for and it's not going to work. The question is, can you spot that in advance and do it before it really drags your whole team down? And how much effort does it take, and what's the opportunity cost?"

 

[Bob Magaw]

don't see richardson getting 1,300 rushing yards (or any rams RB, for that matter, fully expect RBBC comprised of 2-4 backs)...

but do agree with a lot rest, including realistically probably being year away from more serious playoff threat...

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pete-prisco/23181183/rams-observations-will-they-throw-it-more-now

Pete Prisco

Senior NFL Columnist

Rams Observations: Will they throw it more now?

August 16, 2013 5:46 pm ET

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher has always been a run-first coach, dating back to his days with the Tennessee Titans. He still believes strongly in it, but the addition of several key weapons on offense for quarterback Sam Bradford could alter that thinking a bit.

Or will it?

"What we've acquired will allow us to run it more efficiently," Fisher said.

He might say that now, but the Rams have added speed in first-round pick Tavon Austin at receiver, signed tight end Jared Cook as a free agent and added left tackle Jake Long to a line that needed help in pass protection.

That all should help Bradford, who has been maligned in his three seasons with the Rams since being the first overall pick in 2010.

The Rams were 18th in passing last season and 23rd in total offense. Bradford threw 21 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions and completed less than 60 percent of his passes. That's not top-overall pick type stuff.

But Fisher is still a big believer that Bradford has what it takes to be a top quarterback.

"There are a lot of things we have to do better around him," Fisher said. "When we do that, he will be better."

There are some who say this is a make-or-break year for Bradford. I don't buy it. He's never had a good group of weapons and his line has been a problem his entire career.

With improvements in both areas, look for Bradford to take some big strides.

More observations

• The Rams let Steven Jackson leave via free agency, so the idea is they have little left at running back. Don't believe it. Daryl Richardson is projected as the starter and the coaches are raving about him. Richardson did a nice job as the backup last year, rushing for 478 yards on 98 carries. He averaged 4.8 per rush, which was impressive. The next steps for him are handling being the No. 1 back and also short-yardage running. "I don't know if he's going to be a back that gets 80-percent of the snaps," Fisher said. That means rookie Zac Stacy and Isaiah Pead, who hasn't done much, will get their chances.

• By signing Jake Long, the Rams have significantly upgraded their line. Long battled injuries issues in Miami, but the Rams are excited to have him. His addition allows the team to move Rodger Saffold to right tackle. That makes them stronger in two spots. Saffold is out with an injury for another week or so. The only spot of concern on the line is left guard. But the coaches like what they've seen from Chris Williams and Shelley Smith started there last season.

• By moving up to get Austin, the Rams made a bold move in the April draft. I thought Austin was one of the best players coming into the draft and he hasn't disappointed. "He's been better than we expected," Fisher said. The big question for Austin will be how he handles the physical corners in press coverage. So far, he's done a nice job with it.

• Second-year receiver Chris Givens, who did some good things last season, has also impressed. He might be one of the most-improved players in the league. He has been much more committed this year to becoming a better player.

• The Rams defensive line is as talented a young group as there is in the league. With ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn, plus Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford inside, the Rams had 52 sacks in 2012 to tie Denver for the league lead. Long has played at a Pro Bowl level the past two seasons, but still hasn't made his way to the game, while Brockers and Quinn have that type of ability. There is also a lot of depth. William Hayes, a backup end, was re-signed as a free agent and he could start on a lot of teams.

• The corners are solid with Janoris Jenkins and veteran Cortland Finnegan, but the guy who has impressed is rookie Brandon McGee from Miami. As a former track star, he is raw. But he has impressed with how quickly he has picked up things and could push second-year corner Trumaine Johnson for the nickel job.

• While the corners are solid, I worry about the safeties. They appear to have two strong safeties in Darian Stewart and T.J. McDonald. They might have some problems in coverage, but the tackling should be better than in 2012.

There, I said it

• Richardson will rush for 1,300 yards and show he is plenty capable of being an every-down back.

• Defensive tackle Michael Brockers will be a Pro Bowl player.

• Jenkins will make big strides as a ball-hawking corner and also push for a spot.

• Tavon Austin will have 75 catches and be in the Offensive Rookie of the Year talk.

• The Rams will be a Super contender in 2014. They look to be a year away.

 

[Bob Magaw]

rams still winless in preseason - approx 2:30 video recap by local journalist jim thomas (formerly sporting news beat reporter for long time, not sure if still case?)...

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/jim-thomas-rams-still-winless-in-preseason/html_bde064f8-3d43-5591-b182-6d4bf122ae8e.html

____________________________________________________________________________

rams looking for fundamental improvement - nick wagoner (now with espn)

exec summary excerpt - "Fisher pointed to missed tackles, penalties, turnovers and third downs as specific areas of interest with his team now halfway through the exhibition slate."

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/106848/rams-looking-for-fundamental-improvement

EARTH CITY, Mo. – Following the St. Louis Rams' 19-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, coach Jeff Fisher said that at first it did not seem like the team had improved from the first week of the preseason.

After reviewing the game the film Sunday morning and afternoon, Fisher saw a few more bright spots than he first recognized. But that does not mean he will take focus off the areas that need improvement.

"There's some good things in there," Fisher said. "There's some things that need correcting."


In keeping with their plan to be vanilla schematically in all phases, the Rams didn't tip their hand much against the Packers.That left Fisher and his staff looking to see gains made in more fundamental areas.

Fisher pointed to missed tackles, penalties, turnovers and third downs as specific areas of interest with his team now halfway through the exhibition slate.

Perhaps most glaring was the missed tackles, an area that is only correlated to scheme in terms of player positioning.

According to Pro Football Focus' evaluation, the Rams missed 12 tackles against the Packers, with eight of those coming from presumed starters. This was a week after they had the Rams down for seven missed tackles in Cleveland with two coming from likely starters.

"We've had enough opportunities and we are football players, we should have that ingrained in our heads to know how to tackle," Chris Long said. "We've got to shoulder the football and just tackle."

The Rams had some similar early tackling issues a year ago, namely in the 2012 season opener against Indianapolis. That game caused some panic amongst fans but the Rams did iron it out and tackling wasn't much of a problem for them throughout last season save for the safeties.

Fisher remains confident that the defense will make the necessary strides in the next couple of weeks.

"We had one-on-one situations and you need to finish the play," Fisher said. "So we'll look at it. Those things get corrected. I thought overall last year we were a good tackling defense and we've got to do better than we did today."

Another area where the Rams struggled against Green Bay was penalties. Officials flagged the Rams nine times for 52 yards and there were a few more calls on the Rams that the Packers did not accept. More maddening is that the bulk of those penalties were of the five-yard, pre-snap variety.

Some Rams fans might have had nightmares as the offense was called for illegal formation three times, dredging up memories of the same penalty on receiver Brandon Gibson that nullified a huge gain by Danny Amendola that might have set up the winning score in San Francisco in 2012.

Green Bay accepted just one of those three penalties but Fisher pointed out that it's a call that may become more commonplace this year.

"There's an emphasis on it this preseason and it's good that it came up," Fisher said. "We'll get it resolved. The players were frustrated at the process. Normally if the tackle starts to get back a little bit, he's warned and then the next series they usually, if you don't adjust, then they'll penalize it. But those things, we can get those fixed. Now you'd like to see a little bit of consistency from crew to crew, but this crew is going to go right down the line with calling them."

The penalties also had a direct impact on another area where the Rams struggled: third down. The offense was just 1-of-14 on third-down conversion attempts and failed to convert any of their three fourth down tries.

Granted, the starting offense was responsible for just four of those missed conversions but it's still something Fisher said the team plans to address this week.

"That's something we'll work on and actually emphasize this week and hope to improve upon it," Fisher said.

The upshot of all the penalties, though, was that the Rams found themselves in multiple third and long situations.

Of the four third down opportunities the starting offense had, they faced distances of 14, 2, 3, 18 and 23 (the final one the result of another penalty).

"I think we killed ourselves with penalties," Bradford said. "We were in third and 18, third and 15, and it seemed like third and forever a lot of the night."

Unlike the tackling, penalties were an issue for the Rams throughout last season. They were the most penalized team in the league, drawing 130 flags, nine more than Baltimore.

On the turnover front, the Rams were minus-2 as Sam Bradford coughed up a fumble and backup quarterback Kellen Clemens threw a pair of interceptions. Bradford's fumble and Clemens' interceptions were particularly damaging since both came near Green Bay's goal line.

"When you look at the game just from a win loss perspective and what contributes to that, you're minus in the takeaway/giveaway category and you convert one third down, you don't have much chance of being successful there," Fisher said.

__________________________________________________________________________________

potential is there for the rams offense - bryan burwell (covers rams locally, writes nationally for usa today, or used to)

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bryan-burwell/potential-is-there-for-the-rams-offense/article_5999c0ef-05ba-505d-9c1e-b6976d38b1ae.html

The NFL preseason is professional football of another distinction, a curious blend of impressive hints and giddy promise, followed closely by false reads and bland nothingness. It’s never wise to believe everything you see, but it’s also foolish to ignore so many fascinating things that are put right in front of your eyes.

So what do we cull from this new edition of the St. Louis Rams halfway through their 2013 preseason schedule?

As he sat in the still crowded Rams locker room after Saturday night’s 19-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers, quarterback Sam Bradford’s smile spoke almost as loud as his words. As crazy as it might seem after witnessing only one touchdown out of the Rams first-unit offense in two games, it’s fairly obvious that Bradford and this revamped offense really are headed in the right direction.

After four years laboring around here with sticks and stones in an NFL world where everyone else was playing with smart bombs, Bradford believes his offense has finally caught up in the arms race.

Exhibit No. 1 was a second-quarter grab by newly acquired free agent tight end Jared Cook. A 37-yard catch-and-run began with the 6-5, 254-pound receiver running a simple three-yard crossing route against a zone defense, twisting an outmatched linebacker into a knot as he stopped on a dime and turned up field to get open, then snatched a shoe-string catch in full stride, pulling away from two linebackers in pursuit, hauling away from a trailing defensive back, then stiff-arming a safety as he strided out of bounds.

“I haven’t seen anything like that in four years around here,” Bradford said as he finished putting on his street clothes. “Those are the sort of explosive plays that have been missing around here. But now we have guys who can do that. A lot of guys.”

A few minutes earlier, with the media horde surrounding him, Bradford was even more effusive. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen (a play like that) ... get out the door for 30, 40 yards,” he said. “I think that just shows the type of athlete he is, the type of speed he has, and his ability to create after the ball hits his hands. I hope that’s just a small sample of what we’ll see the rest of the season, and I’m excited to see him do it.”

It all does begin with Cook, the fast, athletic hybrid tight end who looks like a giant, runs like a gazelle and seems to be as good as advertised.

But what’s making it so intriguing as we impatiently wait for this regular season to begin is how it at long last seems like there are so many more explosive weapons in the Rams offensive huddle.

I tend not to get much definitive confirmation about an offense’s potential by numbers on the scoreboard. Remember that was Aaron freakin’ Rodgers over in the other huddle on Saturday night, and the best quarterback in the NFL put up zero TDs while he was on the field, too. And I bet no one in the NFL is thinking that the Pack is in trouble, are they?

What I do watch for are how key individuals and selective groups execute. And here’s what was rather apparent in observing the Rams first unit offense for two fascinating quarters: even operating with a scaled-back, incredibly vanilla playbook, you could see enough glimpses of what this offense is capable of. No, there weren’t any flashbacks to video-game, high-octane gadgetry of the Greatest Show on Turf. But you clearly saw enough of what’s truly possible now that Bradford has some dangerous toys at his disposal like Cook.

“I wish we had a little more time to prove what the offense could do,” Cook said. “But I understand it’s a stepping stone and we’re still building. We've still got two more games left, so we’ll get ready for the regular season.”

These were the steps the Rams offense took against the Packers. Completing eight of 12 passes for 156 yards and a 109.7 pass efficiency rating, Bradford distributed the ball around quite nicely to all his offensive weapons.

There was that perfect 24-yard pass to running back Daryl Richardson rolling out of the backfield on a wheel route on the third offensive play of the night. I’m not sure which part of the play was most impressive: was it Richardson speeding down the sideline and jetting past an outmatched Green Bay linebacker, or seeing him stretch out to make a finger-tip grab? Or was it Bradford’s deft touch on a throw that arched nicely over the defender and fell out of the sky precisely at the right spot for Richardson to make the grab?

And for the second week in a row, Bradford and second-year wideout Chris Givens hooked up for another big play. This time it was Givens running a post route on another perfectly thrown deep ball from Bradford for 57 yards to the Packer four-yard line.

These were all perfect examples of the potentially explosive match-up problems this new Rams offense can pose to opposing defenses that it could hardly imagine doing a year ago. This was the hint of promise that we all need to see, the sort of wonderful tease that makes so many Rams fans hopeful that this season could be one of the most interesting seasons this franchise could produce in ages.

These were the tantalizing glimpses that will bring people back into the building in September when the games start counting for real.

What was so encouraging about watching the offense was seeing so many skilled, fast and athletic players running all over the place, and that wasn’t limited to the first unit either. Even though backup quarterback Kellen Clemens couldn’t get the ball in his hands, we saw how much progress second-year receiver Brian Quick continues to make this summer. He caught one pass for 20 yards, but got deep on two other throws targeted to him, but Clemens either overthrew him or underthrew him.

I loved what I saw out of Bradford, the way he was able to drop delicate touch passes to Richardson, then look so effortless in dropping precise deep balls into Givens' hands for the second week in a row. I also liked seeing a rather mobile Bradford move around in the pocket, waiting patiently on Cook to work over a helpless defender (oh yes, that offensive line had a lot to do with that). It was nothing fancy. There weren't a lot of wild and crazy formations, but sticking to the basics, Bradford and his offense did move the ball.

 

[Bob Magaw]

twitter streams - game three against DEN

first half

http://www.rams-news.com/first-half-twitter-play-by-play-rams-vs-broncos/

second half

http://www.rams-news.com/second-half-twitter-play-by-play-rams-vs-broncos/

 

[Bob Magaw]

one of best team reports i've seen, from MMQB

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/08/03/st-louis-rams-preview/

Rams Preview: Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You

Despite playing in a loaded division, Jeff Fisher is quietly building a very talented team in St. Louis

by Andy Benoit (3 weeks ago)

The mission of this report is to prevent people from saying in December that “nobody saw the Rams coming.” Playing in the same division as the Seahawks and the 49ers might make it tough for this rebuilding team to reach the postseason, but expect the Rams to be, at the very least, a meaningful part of the playoff picture.

Since taking over a team last year that had won just 15 games over the past five years and was bad enough to have just earned the No. 2 overall draft pick, coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead have had their pick of holes to fill on both sides of the ball. With ample cap space available, they’ve been able to fill some of those holes with major free-agent signings: cornerback Cortland Finnegan and center Scott Wells in 2012; left tackle Jake Long and tight end Jared Cook in 2013.

But most of the holes are being plugged through the draft, with Fisher and Snead focused on accumulating raw athleticism. In leveraging that No. 2 pick into three years’ worth of first-round picks plus two additional second-rounders, they were able to draft five high-shelf athletes in the first 65 picks last year (DT Michael Brockers, WR Brian Quick, CB Janoris Jenkins, RB Isaiah Pead and CB Trumaine Johnson) and two top-shelf athletes in the first 30 picks this year (WR Tavon Austin and LB Alec Ogletree).

In their quest for speed and athleticism, the Rams have been accused of turning a blind eye to character. Half of their 10-man 2012 draft class has gotten in some sort of trouble since joining the team, and two other members of that class had minor legal issues in college. This offseason, the Rams had disgraced ex-Lion Titus Young on the roster for a few days. And they drafted Ogletree, who had been removed from some teams’ boards because of problems at Georgia and a recent DUI. At one point, COO Kevin Demoff felt the need to publicly assert that this is “not an organization of renegades.”

We can’t analyze and project how players’ character will affect a team. We can analyze and project what impact players’ talents will impact have. The Rams are quietly assembling a strong collection of talent. More intriguing, when you look closely, there appears to be a clear, and shrewd, plan for how use it all.

OFFENSE

Fourteen years ago the Rams introduced a revolutionary concept to pro football: four-receiver sets on all downs, not just 3rd-and-long. An aggressive barrage of downfield bombs and intricate route combinations created the Greatest Show on Turf and recast how the NFL viewed offense. Since then, multi-receiver offenses have become more prevalent, though they’ve gradually morphed into more versatile variations that include mismatch-creating tight ends and a broader stylistic array of wide receivers.

Every team has been a part of this evolution somehow, though not every team has committed to it. The previous Rams regimes would dabble with more innovative schemes, but they never could find the right types of players to execute them. Last season Fisher and new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer took some creative stabs, but, lacking resources in the passing game, they often wound up using more traditional, controlled concepts.

Things are about to change. Fisher and Snead seem bent on modernizing their offense. Look at the moves they made this offseason: cutting workhorse black-and-blue running back Steven Jackson and going with smaller but dynamic second-year scatbacks Pead and Daryl Richardson; signing flex tight end Cook; and, most telling, trading their No. 16 pick, a second-rounder and seventh-rounder to move up and draft Austin at No. 8. Smells like the Rams are brewing a new spread-oriented system.

The sense intensifies when you consider that Sam Bradford played in a spread system at Oklahoma. Last season Schottenheimer—Bradford’s third offensive coordinator in his three-year NFL career—worked closely with Bradford on getting rid of the ball quicker. Whether they knew it at the time or not, the Rams were laying the groundwork for what appears to be the new long-term system.

They may not have to wait too long for the plan to bear fruit. Austin has unique, even unparalleled, playmaking potential. He won’t be a slot receiver, outside receiver, running back or H-back; he’ll simply be a ball-handler. The Rams will do whatever they can to get him touches in space. Some are skeptical of the 5-8, 174-pounder’s ability to hold up in the NFL. But Austin missed only one practice in his four years at West Virginia. And, the way he will be used, defenders will rarely get a clean shot on him.

Even if he winds up struggling a bit with his transition to the pros, Austin will still be of tremendous value because he gives this offense multidimensionality. Defenses will have to go outside their schematic comfort zones in figuring out their responses to the various threats he poses. Look for the Rams to accentuate this by having Austin frequently shift and motion before the snap.

The Rams can also create similar, though less novel, matchup quandaries with tight ends Cook and Lance Kendricks. How they’re used is especially important given that both players are better in abstract than in real life. The long-striding Cook has good straight-line speed, but he’s not nimble enough to warrant the $19 million that St. Louis guaranteed him. There’s a reason Cook never had a 50-catch or 800-yard season in his four years with the Titans. That said, he is capable of flexing from a traditional tight end spot into the slot or even out wide. Kendricks is also capable of flexing or even coming out of the backfield. However, he’ll need other weapons lined up around him because he’s not dynamic enough to consistently create his own opportunities. Nevertheless, there’s possibility for tremendous formation variation in St. Louis’s passing game. With a clever offensive designer like Schottenheimer, this in and of itself can be extremely valuable.

Given that a flexible, space-oriented attack lightens the demands placed on an offensive line, it’s somewhat surprising that the Rams splurged for veteran left tackle Long, especially given that Long has struggled with various upper-body injuries and pass-blocking the past two years. Then again, Bradford has worked hard to overcome what Ron Jaworski famously described as his “cabin fever” (the tendency to nervously anticipate the rush). Perhaps $9 million a year to ensure your young quarterback’s peace of mind is worth it. After all, Long’s addition moves sound fourth-year pro Rodger Saffold to right tackle, which fixes a perennial weak spot. What’s more, these changes will collectively improve the run-blocking.

As for the men lining up between the tackles: Center Scott Wells is smart and technically sound. At 32 he hasn’t shown any sign of serious decline, but the Rams still spent a fourth-round pick on his possible successor, Barrett Jones. At right guard is Harvey Dahl, an seventh-year journeyman turned starter who has more grit than athleticism. He’ll play ahead of former Chicago first-round bust Chris Williams and opposite 26-year-old fringe starter Shelley Smith.

Exciting as all the new weapons might be, it’s fair to question the Rams’ returning skill players. At wide receiver, Chris Givens has sensational speed and natural movement skills, but he must mature off the field and as a man of his craft. Third-year possession wideout Austin Pettis remains too much of an unknown; last year’s second-rounder, Brian Quick, is still trying to earn his coaches’ trust after a disappointing rookie campaign. If Fisher and Snead were supremely confident in all of these incumbents, they probably would not have drafted Stedman Bailey in the third round.

The backfield is equally tenuous. Cincinnati’s academic calendar and NFL rules prevented Pead from attending early team activities as a second-round rookie last year. He fell miserably behind and wound up seeing his role go to seventh-round rookie Daryl Richardson. Richardson has flashed tremendous lateral burst and acceleration. This, along with quickness through the hole, should make him a nice fit in spread concepts. The hope is Pead, who has a very similar style, can also step up. If he can’t, the Rams will have to preemptively turn to fifth-round rookie Zac Stacy.

Some also apply the backfield question marks to Bradford. Maybe that’s fair given he’s yet to complete more than 60% of his passes in a season. But it’s hard to fully critique a young quarterback when he has constantly had new systems and an iffy supporting cast. On his own, Bradford still exhibits the quick release and intermediate throwing velocity that made him the No. 1 overall pick. Fisher and Snead are wise for not abandoning him.

DEFENSE

It’s not just the looming change and innovation on offense that makes the Rams an intriguing dark horse playoff contender. More so, it’s the raw talent on all three levels of this 4-3 defense. There’s enough of that talent along the first level to give St. Louis one of the best defensive lines in football. Quietly, the defensive line last season was responsible for 39 of the Rams’ NFL-leading 52 sacks.

The final steps to evolving into a Giants-like front four hinge on 2011 first-round defensive end Robert Quinn and 2012 first-round defensive tackle Michael Brockers. Both seem destined for stardom. Quinn is fluid and has remarkable speed and quickness in skimming the edge. He just needs to become more consistent in his technique, particularly on counter moves back to the inside. Brockers shows tremendous suddenness in confined areas. He has natural country strength and the athleticism to dominate laterally. He improved his pass rushing as a rookie, but his forte is stopping the run.

There’s a third former first-round pick along this line: Chris Long, who has already developed from formidable base end to a dynamic all-around force. Long has the strength to move blockers on stunts, but it’s improved closing quickness over the last two years that has led to a lot of his 24.5 sacks. In some nickel packages, usually when there’s a blitz involved, the Rams have played Quinn inside next to Long. But generally, the defensive tackle filling that spot is former Dolphin Kendall Langford, who has an underrated combination of power and quickness against the run.

The Rams also enjoy solid depth along their front four. Fourth-year pro Eugene Sims has a willowy build similar to Quinn’s, which he uses well both as an edge-bender or gap-shooting tackle; defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo offers quick upper body movement; William Hayes is a good in-line run-defender from the edge and inside. He also had seven sacks last season.

The Rams, theoretically, have a potent enough front line to eschew most blitzes and play a host of different field-crowding hybrid coverages behind a straight four-man rush (a la the Giants). However, Fisher, while a fairly strong advocate of traditional 4-3 principles, likes a little more creativity from time to time. After parting ways with longtime friend Gregg Williams (who was suspended all of last season and never wound up coaching in St. Louis) and Williams’ son, Blake, he filled his vacant defensive coordinator position with former Lions secondary coach Tim Walton. Fisher had met with bigger name assistants like **** Jauron, Mike Singletary and Rob Ryan (who was hired as coordinator but left after a few days). None of them were familiar with St. Louis’s defensive terminology. Walton was, thanks to his time in Detroit working for Jim Schwartz, Fisher’s former Titans defensive coordinator.

Under Schwartz, Walton coached a lot of traditional two-deep zone coverages. Here, he should have an opportunity to use more man-to-man. That’s cornerback Jenkins’ specialty. The second-rounder’s scintillating playmaking prowess was evident as a rookie (four touchdown returns), but so was his immaturity (suspended at one point for violating team rules). He also seemed to lose confidence in his man-to-man prowess during a midseason slump, which can’t happen given his greenness as an off-coverage and zone defender.

Opposite Jenkins is Cortland Finnegan. He did not make a ton of plays in his first year with this club, but he was still the stable run-force player and slot shadow that Fisher and Snead expected when guaranteeing him $27 million. It’s crucial that Jenkins further his development and Finnegan stay solid in 2013; the rest of this secondary could be a house of straw. Trumaine Johnson is slated to be the outside nickelback. He gradually improved as a third-round rookie last season but is still very much a mystery. Fifth-round rookie Brandon McGee is the only other drafted cornerback on the roster.

There’s only one drafted safety—T.J. McDonald—and he’s a third-round rookie whom plenty of evaluators aren’t sold on. The Rams are counting on the former Trojan to start in departed veteran Quintin Mikell’s free safety spot. At strong safety is Darian Stewart, a decent downhill player but somewhat iffy pass defender. Stewart was a starter in 2011 but was demoted last season to the back part of a rotation behind Craig Dahl (now a Niner).

Fortunately, the arrival of Ogletree may lighten Stewart’s responsibilities in coverage. Ogletree, who played safety at Georgia as a freshman, has fantastic raw speed and athleticism, which he can apply rushing the passer, chasing down ballcarriers or roaming in coverage. At strongside linebacker is Jo-Lonn Dunbar, who is a sound scheme fit aside from occasional gap discipline issues. He assertively takes on lead blockers and has a great feel for improvised blitzing (evidenced in part by his 4.5 sacks last season). At middle linebacker is James Laurinaitis, who has developed into an active all-around force and lynchpin for most of this defense’s tactics. For depth at linebacker, the Rams signed Will Witherspoon, who has played a variety of positions in a variety of different schemes in his 11-year career.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Greg Zuerlein was all the rage after kicking field goals of 56, 58 and 60 yards in his first month as a pro. However, after making all 13 of his field goals in Weeks 1 through 5, he connected on just 10 of his 18 attempts the rest of the way. Punter Johnny Hekker, who unlike Zuerlein was not drafted, is back after netting an acceptable 39.9 yards per boot last year. Someone from St. Louis’ chest of speedy young athletes—Jenkins, Pead, Givens—needs to spark the return game. Last season the Rams’ average drive started on the 23.7 yard line, which ranked dead last in the NFL.

BOTTOM LINE

This young team is poised to take a big step forward in 2013. That is, assuming everyone stays healthy. As is common with second-year rebuilding projects, the Rams have a glaring lack of depth in several key areas. But hey, that’s the most benign “major weakness” this team has had in years.

 

[drummer]

Love what Fisher is doing in STL. The NFCW is gonna be fun to watch, finally.

 

[jurb26]

Huh, it isn't common knowledge that St. L is a very good team?

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Love what Fisher is doing in STL. The NFCW is gonna be fun to watch, finally.

Agreed, still liking the Hawks to win it but sensing some serious competition from the Rams to take the 9ers down for no. 2, and even the Cards being in there with a decent record.

 

[drummer]

Huh, it isn't common knowledge that St. L is a very good team?

They've only won 15 games since 2007 before Fisher.

 

[jurb26]

Huh, it isn't common knowledge that St. L is a very good team?

They've only won 15 games since 2007 before Fisher.

So? They were 7-8-1 last year and were 4-1-1 in what many considered the toughest division in football. Maybe I just watch too much football but they aren't sneaking up on anyone IMO.

 

[drummer]

Huh, it isn't common knowledge that St. L is a very good team?

They've only won 15 games since 2007 before Fisher.

So? They were 7-8-1 last year and were 4-1-1 in what many considered the toughest division in football. Maybe I just watch too much football but they aren't sneaking up on anyone IMO.

I'm just saying Fisher is doing a great job there rebuilding that team who you say isn't sneaking up on anyone.

 

[Bob Magaw]

Huh, it isn't common knowledge that St. L is a very good team?

They've only won 15 games since 2007 before Fisher.

So? They were 7-8-1 last year and were 4-1-1 in what many considered the toughest division in football. Maybe I just watch too much football but they aren't sneaking up on anyone IMO.

are we talking about the league or FBG cognoscenti , than no, they aren't sneaking up on anybody...

below are vegas odds i just looked up...

http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds/futures/

unsurprising at top...

1 - DEN 7/1

2 - SF 17/2

3 - SEA 17/2

24 - STL - 85/1

so if we use vegas odds as a loose proxy for "consensus" (in actuality, teams like PIT have big national constituencies, so "homer" betting-types can skew betting odds - vegas of course just wants to distribute the action evenly, so they collect all money from losers and vig from winners), best NFC West division record in 2012 notwithstanding, general, more widesprerad cognizance of the rams resurgence may not have trickled down to the public and the crowd as much as we might think... at least, to me, that doesn't seem to be priced into these odds?

so actually, though i would argue that if STL were to win NFC West it shouldn't be a massive shock (though i would be more than mildly surprised), i'm guessing it would be for a lot of people... for them, the rams would have snuck up on them, which might make the title accurate from that perspective...

 

[Bob Magaw]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/preview13/team/_/name/stl

The Rams finished third in the NFC West last season with a 7-8-1 record.

ANALYST PREDICTIONS

Nick Wagoner ESPN.com
DIVISION FINISH: 3 Finishing third in the NFC West doesn't necessarily mean the Rams won't be in the playoff chase given the strength of San Francisco and Seattle. For a team that will again be one of the youngest in the league, the big jump they're hoping for may have to wait until 2014.

John Clayton ESPN.com
DIVISION FINISH: 4 It's just a matter of time before this young team matures enough to make a playoff return. The Rams will be explosive on offense and surprise you with how good they are on defense.

Adam Schefter ESPN.com
DIVISION FINISH: 3 A highly underrated defense on a team whose quarterback needs to prove his worth.

Jeffri Chadiha ESPN.com
DIVISION FINISH: 3 The Rams could be the biggest sleeper in the NFL. They've added more playmakers on offense and head coach Jeff Fisher has toughened them up.

Ashley Fox ESPN.com
DIVISION FINISH: 3 Year 2 for Jeff Fisher. Sam Bradford needs to prove he can take the next step.

Intelligence Report

Five things you need to know about the Rams:

1. Bradford's team: Steven Jackson was the centerpiece of the offense for most of the past decade and also filled a key leadership role for that group. But Jackson now plays in Atlanta and a young offense needs a leader and a new direction. Enter Bradford. He has taken on a larger leadership role in Jackson's absence, regularly providing guidance for the team's young wideouts during practice and in meetings. The offense figures to be more Bradford-centric this year given the team's personnel shift toward adding speedy pass-catchers.

2. What a rush: The Rams finished in a tie with Denver for the most sacks in the league in 2012 with 52. Leading the surge was a defensive line that combined for 39 of those. After re-signing valuable backup end William Hayes to a three-year contract, everybody returns from a group that is quite accomplished for being so young. End Chris Long leads the way as the veteran of the group, but the real upside lies with third-year end Robert Quinn and second-year tackle Michael Brockers.

3. In a hurry: The common perception of the Rams' offense is that it will take on a drastically different look with Bradford spending most of his Sundays in the shotgun and constantly playing in a two-minute mode. The reality is that while the Rams want to incorporate more of that up-tempo approach, it's not going to be a reincarnation of Chip Kelly at Oregon. Instead, Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer wants to be game-plan specific each week while making the best use of the speed and talent in place. So some weeks the Rams may really look to speed things up and on others will look noticeably different.

4. Safety first: The Rams bring back talent and experience at nearly every level of their defense. Among the front seven, only rookie linebacker Alec Ogletree doesn't have meaningful NFL game experience. At corner, the Rams have the tandem of veteran Cortland Finnegan and talented youngster Janoris Jenkins. Safety, on the other hand, brings the defense's biggest question marks. Rookie T.J. McDonald will start at one spot and fourth-year veteran Darian Stewart will likely handle the other. Neither has been overwhelming in camp or the preseason and Stewart has a history of injury issues and missed tackles.

5. Youth movement, part II: The Rams were the youngest team in the league last year and project to be right near the top of that list again this season. Although they have plenty of veterans starting on both lines, they are particularly young at the offensive skill positions and across the board in terms of depth. Among receivers and running backs, wideout Austin Pettis has the most experience and he's entering just his third season. The franchise got plenty of production from young players a year ago, but if it wants to take the next step to the postseason, it'll need even more production from even more younger players in 2013.

-- Nick Wagoner, ESPN.com

Inside The Numbers

In his third season, Sam Bradford posted career highs in Total QBR, touchdowns and yards per attempt. Bradford made progress on deep throws, posting a 90.9 QBR on passes thrown at least 15 yards downfield in 2012, 23.2 rating points higher than his QBR on such throws last season.

Bradford completed a career-high 42.6 percent of his passes 15 or more yards downfield last season, which ranked 15th in the NFL. The move to the middle of the pack was a big improvement for Bradford, who ranked 29th in 2011 and 31st in 2010.

Rookie receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey should give Bradford more options downfield. Last season Chris Givens was Bradford's favorite target on deeper throws, but the duo connected only 33.3 percent of the time, the second-worst rate for Bradford to any Rams receiver last season.

In addition, Austin should help Bradford get some extra yardage. Rams wide receivers averaged 3.8 yards after the catch per reception last season, the eighth-worst rate in the league. Austin gained 947 yards after the catch in 2012 at West Virginia, most among players from automatic-qualifier schools.

• Cornerback Janoris Jenkins scored four defensive touchdowns last season. Only four other players have scored that many defensive touchdowns in a season in NFL history.

• The Rams were one of five teams in the NFL last season to have two players with double-digit sacks (Chris Long, 11.5 and Robert Quinn, 10.5).

 

[Bob Magaw]

double coverage - cross interviews by respective espn beat writers for sun opponents STL/ARI...

STL has longest active opening game losing streak (6) in NFC... CLE (8) has longest in NFL...

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/429/double-coverage-cardinals-at-rams

Double Coverage: Cardinals at Rams

September, 6, 2013Sep 6
12:00
PM ET
By Nick Wagoner and Josh Weinfuss | ESPN.com

The St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals are widely regarded as the afterthoughts of the difficult NFC West Division.

Sure, both teams have done enough to draw optimism from their respective fan bases but when it comes to high expectations, neither team is supposed to keep pace with chic Super Bowl picks Seattle and San Francisco.

If the Rams or Cardinals intend to keep pace with the Seahawks and Niners, it would serve them well to beat the other to open the season.

Rams reporter Nick Wagoner and Cardinals reporter Josh Weinfuss discuss the important topics that will shape Sunday’s outcome.

Nick Wagoner: Sitting here in St. Louis, it looks like it’s been a busy offseason out there, the type that I’m used to seeing around here. The Cardinals had a major makeover in the front office and with the coaching staff. The obvious first question here is what type of impact has new coach Bruce Arians made since his arrival?

Josh Weinfuss: Pretty much from the get-go, Arians has changed the culture throughout the organization. He’s not a micromanager. All he cares about is winning football games. Arians cleaned house almost immediately and brought in his own staff, save for two holdovers -- quarterbacks coach Freddie Kitchens and defensive assistant Ryan Slowik. But it was more than the personnel he changed. The mindset was different, too. Players were excited again after losing seasons two of the past three years, and Arians established respect throughout the locker room quickly. He was open and honest with the players, even if it wasn’t what they wanted to hear, and the players appreciated it, some even relished in it.

It’s not like you haven’t seen some change there in St. Louis. With the loss of Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola, how has the Rams' offensive identity changed this season?

Wagoner: After eight years of Steven Jackson punching the clock and picking up 1,000 yards or more on the ground, things are quite a bit different in that regard. The Rams are faster with tight end Jared Cook and receivers Tavon Austin and Chris Givens. They’ve added those guys to give quarterback Sam Bradford every chance to succeed. The offense has been rebuilt to feature Bradford and allow him to take the next step. While offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer says the tempo and style of offense will change from game to game and be more game-plan specific, there’s little doubt the offense will look much different than it has been around here in some time.

Speaking of building around quarterbacks, Carson Palmer is an obvious upgrade at quarterback but how much will that improve the offense?

Weinfuss: I think it’ll improve the offense more than most people think, but for a few reasons. Not only will the Cardinals now have a capable quarterback who threw for 4,018 yards and 22 touchdowns last season -- they’ll have consistency. The Cardinals trotted out four different starters in 2012 and there was no unity that kept the offense together. Combined, they threw for 3,383 yards and 11 touchdowns -- that’s 635 fewer yards and half as many scores. In Arians’ downfield offense, having a big arm and a smart quarterback is as important as any factor. And Palmer showed during the preseason that he can launch it.

You talk about the new weapons around Bradford, but how will the addition of left tackle Jake Long help the Rams' offense, specifically the running game?

Cardinals at Rams: Stat of the Week


6
The Rams have lost 6 straight season openers, the longest active streak in the NFC and second longest in the NFL, only behind Clevelands eight.

Wagoner: The Rams did everything they could during the preseason and training camp to ensure Long is healthy and ready to go when the season begins. They limited his reps in practice to keep him fresh, and he responded with solid performances in the three preseason games in which he appeared. He says he feels as good as he has in three years and from talking to him, he’s got something of a chip on his shoulder. He was told for years he was an elite tackle then people began doubting him last year. He looks poised to bounce back and be effective in pass protection and the run game.

While we’re on the topic of offensive lines, it certainly seems to be the ongoing saga out there. The Rams had nine sacks last year when Arizona came to town. Has the offensive line improved enough to keep Palmer upright on a consistent basis?

Weinfuss: The short answer is yes. The long, complicated answer is we’ll see. Last year the Cardinals allowed a league-high 58 sacks, but that was with a patchwork offensive line that saw seven different starters. This year, the unit is more solidified with the return of Levi Brown, who missed last season with a torn triceps, and the addition of free agent right tackle Eric Winston, who has started every game since 2008. The biggest question mark will be the interior. First-round pick Jonathan Cooper is out for the year with a broken leg, which forced Daryn Colledge to move from right guard back to left and opened the door for Paul Fanaika at right guard. He was out of football last season. Overall, this year’s line is a veteran, improved unit and I expect it to protect Palmer, who was sacked 26 times last year, better than he’s seen in a while.

Let’s flip to the other side of the ball. How much can the Rams rely on solid corner play to make up for having no starting experience at safety?

Wagoner: Well, the Rams have talent and experience returning at every position on the defense except for safety. Rookie T.J. McDonald and second-year undrafted free agent Rodney McLeod are the likely starters Sunday and they have a total of zero starts between them. They do have veteran Cortland Finnegan to provide leadership in the secondary and McDonald seems wise beyond his years. Still, it may be tough on those young safeties against Arians’ vertical passing attack. McDonald figures to play more of the box safety role and McLeod is a better fit as a center-field type on the back end.

Week 1 Bottom LineThat leads us to prediction time.

MATCHUP ANALYSIS

Josh Weinfuss: To Cardinals around from 2012, the Rams' nine-sack outing still rings fresh. If the Cardinals can control the edge rush and get their passing game working on some level, they will leave their onetime home with a win.
Prediction: Cardinals 24, Rams 21

Nick Wagoner: The Rams end the streak of lost openers on the strength of a pass rush that keeps Palmer and the Cardinals from attacking vertically and an offense thats been itching to unleash its many new toys.
Prediction: Rams 27, Cardinals 16

 

[Bob Magaw]

local reporter's take...

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bonus-bytes-quick-hits-on-the-rams/article_81023685-bdcc-51f1-b9ee-a0b3bf37ab37.html

Bernie Bytes: Quick hits on the Rams

BY BERNIE MIKLASZ

I can't believe this will be the 19th season of Rams football in St. Louis. It's gone by so quickly, even through the drudgery of 12 losing seasons. I suppose the depressingly bad football was the price for all of the enjoyment we experienced when the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Rams averaged more than 500 points per season to win two NFC Championships and one Super Bowl.

Anyway, since this is Year 19 of the Rams in St. Louis, here are 19 quick-hit comments on the 2013 edition of the Rams:

1. Say what you want about Rams owner Stan Kroenke, but he spent a lot of money to hire coach Jeff Fisher and bring in GM Les Snead to install a virtually new football operation, and better times are ahead because of Kroenke's commitment to winning.

2. Offensive left tackle Jake Long can recapture his Pro Bowl form in large part because of Fisher, who does an excellent job of protecting veterans by not getting them beat up in practices.

3. Other than pure excitement, I don't know what to expect from rookie WR Tavon Austin, but in the 10-year period ending in 2012, 470 rookie wide receivers saw action in the NFL regular-season, and only 26 of the 470 accumulated 750 or more receiving yards.

4. I've talked a lot about the inexperience at WR and RB, but there's also been a reordering of the offensive line, where only two starters (center Scott Wells and right guard Harvey Dahl) will line up in the same spot as a year ago.

5. Rookie OLB Alec Ogletree will get his head turned around, and we'll see him running to the wrong place at times, but it will be a lot of fun watching him make plays and chasing down mobile NFC West quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Colin Kapernick.

6. Steve Serby of the New York Post picked the Rams to make it to the Super Bowl and lose to New England; because Serb is a longtime friend I am concerned about his mental health.

7. Fisher has an eye for coaching talent; that's why I think Tim Walton will be a terrific defensive coordinator.

8. In my opinion second-year specialists Greg Zuerlein (kicker) and Johnny Hekker are the most talented kicker-punter tandem to play for a St. Louis NFL team, though old-timers still appreciate the duo of Jim Bakken (K) and Chuck Latourette (P) _ and Josh Brown (K) and Donnie Jones (P) were pretty damned good.

9. Right defensive end Robert Quinn is set for a big year.

10. Cornerbacks Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins must be more consistent this season, and I'm not sure if the Rams will be any better at safety.

11. I don't know how things will shake out among the Rams' young running backs, but in the five-season period that ended in 2012, six rookie RBs rushed for 1,000 yards and nine produced at least 700 yards; backs have an easier transition than wide receivers.

12. In Sam Bradford's two healthy 16-game seasons at quarterback, the Rams weren't eliminated from the playoffs until Week 17 (2010) and Week 16 (2012), and for some reason people insist he hasn't made an impact.

13. This note from Rams historian John Turney: In his first three NFL seasons Bradford had 17 starters on the offensive line and 12 starters at wide receiver; 11 of the 17 O-linemen and 6 of the 12 wideouts are no longer in the NFL.

14. If Benny Cunningham can make some magic happen on kickoff returns, and with Tavon Austin handling the punt returns, the Rams' overall return game could be in for a dramatic reawakening and that's a big plus for field position; this team hasn't had a dangerous set of returners since the days of Tony Horne and Az-Hakim.

15. Given their run-heavy backgrounds, will Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer really turn it loose with the passing game?

16. A big key to the season is takeaways by the Rams defense; last year they had only 21, which was tied for 23rd; when the Rams had a takeaway in a game last season they went 7-2-1 and when they didn't force a turnover they were 0-6-1.

17. It's time for second-year players Brian Quick (WR) and Isaiah Pead (RB) to start making more plays; that's what you expect from players that were drafted 33rd and 50th overall, respectively.

18. I think it will be more difficult for the Rams to defeat the 49ers and Seahawks this season, because the surprise-attack element won't be there; that's why it's even more critical for the Rams to take care of business against beatable opponents and not squander easier opportunities for victories.

19. The Rams will make the playoffs if the defense forces 27 takeaways and the offense scores 26.4 points per game; that's what the 12 playoff teams averaged in 2012.

Thanks for reading ...

— Bernie

2013 prediction (7-9)

interesting excerpt...

"According to the astute analysts at Football Outsiders, only four NFL teams since 1991 have opened a season with a set of receivers that have combined for fewer than 3,000 yards and a cast of backs that have amassed fewer than 2,000 combined yards.

The Rams will be the fifth team since '91 with this glaring level of inexperience, and the previous four teams all had losing records."

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/ram-bytes-prediction-for/article_9c2fc711-cfdf-5a84-bdb6-ef56966f6c4e.html

 

[Lott's Fingertip]

In his first three NFL seasons Bradford had 17 starters on the offensive line and 12 starters at wide receiver; 11 of the 17 O-linemen and 6 of the 12 wideouts are no longer in the NFL.

This is crazy.

 

[Bob Magaw]

In his first three NFL seasons Bradford had 17 starters on the offensive line and 12 starters at wide receiver; 11 of the 17 O-linemen and 6 of the 12 wideouts are no longer in the NFL.

This is crazy.

that would be like having completely different starters at all five OL positions and four deep at WR... three years in a row...

that is crazy...

speaks to bad drafting, but also a lot of injuries to OL and WR...

plus he had three different offenses in first three seasons...

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Pulling for the new age Rams to take out the Falcons.

Go get `em.

 

[heidbrink]

Ram Bytes: Tom Brady, meet Sam Bradford
By: Bernie Miklasz

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/ram-bytes-tom-brady-meet-sam-bradford/article_ad452686-3971-5819-9e11-a29fdcb5d167.html

Did you see Tom Brady having a fit during Thursday night’s game on the NFL Network?

The acclaimed New England quarterback may have thrown more tantrums than completed passes in the team’s ugly 13-10 win over the NY Jets.

This display was enlightening.

And hopefully it was educational for some Rams fans.

Brady is among the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history … but even the best quarterbacks need quality receivers.

The Patriots’ two rookie wide receivers (Aaron Dobson, Kenbrell Thompkins) dropped passes, ran the wrong routes, and had Brady barking.

With slot receiver Danny Amendola out because of an injury — shocking, right? — Brady had only one reliable receiver in Julian Edelman.

Edelman isn’t a threat to beat anyone deep, and he's an OK possession receiver. But Brady was so frustrated with the rookies and desperate to complete a pass that targeted the extra-busy Edelman 18 times.

When Brady targeted a receiver other than Edelman, he completed only 6 of 21 passes.

No wonder the Patriots had more punts than first downs.

Through two games Brady ranks 24th among NFL quarterbacks with a 74.1 passer rating and is 30th with his average of 5.2 yards per attempt.

Now Brady understands what it must have been like to be Sam Bradford from 2010 and 2011 and through much of 2012.

Welcome to Sam’s previous world, Tom.

It isn't much fun.

I was always astounded by the bizarre opinions of the serial Bradford haters who dismissed the significance of having effective receivers.

It’s just plain silly to pretend that it doesn’t matter.

And while Bradford is no Brady and obviously could have done a lot of things better in his first three seasons, he was limited by the contingent of mostly pedestrian wide receivers. And stymied by the revolving door of receivers. I'm surprised that Bradford played as decently as he did.

Look at our friend Kurt Warner.

Kurt had amazing success, shredded NFL defenses and won a Super Bowl during his partnership with WRs Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt in St. Louis. In Arizona, Warner connected with the sensational WR Larry Fitzgerald, rolled up big numbers, and led the Cardinals to a Super Bowl.

In New York, Warner wasn’t nearly as effective when he worked with ordinary WRs such as Amani Toomer, Ike Hilliard and Tim Carter.

Gee, that must have been a coincidence.

When a quarterback doesn’t have weapons, his play will suffer.

That’s just common sense.

And Brady suffered plenty Thursday night, repeatedly showing his displeasure by screaming at his receivers, making angry gestures, and looking like a brat as he sat fuming on the bench.

But receivers don’t matter, right?

Right.

Brady may have to cope with this for a while.

The Patriots inexplicably shooed away Brady’s best and favorite receiver, Wes Welker, after last season. After the Pariots showed no interest in keeping him, the perplexed Welker left as a free agent and signed with Denver.

It was a strange move; not only did this weaken the Patriots offense by removing Brady’s go-to receiver, but Welker hopped into Peyton Manning’s huddle to strengthen an already formidable passing attack in Denver.

It would be one thing if Welker signed with an NFC team, but the Broncos are a prime AFC contender and a direct threat to the Patriots in the AFC.

The Patriots believed Amendola could be the Welker II. But as the Rams and their fans know, for all of his virtues Amendola can’t stay on the field because of frequent injuries.

Bradford was a better quarterback when Amendola played, but Amendola played in only 28 of 48 games in Bradford’s first three seasons.

Brady relied heavily on Amendola in the close opening-season win at Buffalo. But now Amendola’s latest injury, a strained groin, could keep him sidelined for several weeks.

In the first game without Amendola, Brady didn’t have any attractive options against the Jets. And we saw the results … just as we saw the difference when Bradford didn’t have Amendola available.

But this isn't just about Amendola being out. Brady doesn't have his preferred tight end, the superb but injured Rob Gronkowski. Another playmaking tight end, Aaron Hernandez, is in jail, awaiting trial on murder charges. That leaves Brady having one of Bradford's former tight ends, Michael Hoomanawanui, as his top tight end.

But tight ends don't matter either, right? Obviously, there will be no difference in Bradford's play now that he has Jared Cook running wild at tight end.

(Pardon my sarcasm. )

Brady’s in-game rants drew the ire of the NFL Network’s Michael Irvin, the Hall of Fame wide receiver. Irvin said Brady had to be patient and more supportive of the young wideouts.

Brady didn’t dispute that. “I've got to do a better job with my body language,” he told reporters after the game. “I can definitely improve on that. I wouldn't say that's a real strong point of mine right now.”

Brady later added that the rookie WRs are “good kids” who are working hard to improve.

Those receivers will get better, and so will the Patriots’ offense — especially if Brady stops hollering at the "good kids" and embarrassing them on national cable TV.

But at least for the first two weeks of the season Tom Brady got a chance to see how other, less fortunate quarterbacks live … including Sam Bradford.

Message: receivers matter.

Thanks for reading ...

 

[Bob Magaw]

young, explosive rams DL wants to be the NFL's best front four...

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pete-prisco/23267257/young-explosive-rams-d-line-wants-to-be-nfls-best-front-four

wired on game day - michael brockers cam (from week one victory over cards)...

http://www.stlouisrams.com/media-center/videos/Michael-Brockers-%E2%80%93-Gameday/da5f81da-a6b0-402a-9bb6-bf93c5a91262

 

[bulger2holt]

Brockers and Quinn are beasts. Throw in Ogletree, Jenkins and McDonald and I have a hard time finding a better young defensive nucleus. Lariunitus and Long aren't excatly old either.

 

[Bob Magaw]

Brockers and Quinn are beasts. Throw in Ogletree, Jenkins and McDonald and I have a hard time finding a better young defensive nucleus. Lariunitus and Long aren't excatly old either.

CIN has one of best young DLs in the league...

but not sure there is another in the league i'd rather have than STL (michael johnson not expected to be on team in 2014)...

when was last time rams had defensive all pro?

in the GSOT days, the stars were on offense (warner, faulk, bruce and holt)...

quinn could have a shot... aaron reminded me in the mon IDP upgrades column that quinn has owned ARI lately... but i think ATL OL is banged up and not an upper echelon unit, so lets see if quinn can keep up the torrid pace with another sack or two?

long was questionable on injury report, but william hayes is better than some teams starters (would start for probably 1/3 of the 4-3 defenses in the league), not only great situational rusher but quality spot starter, signed three year, $10 million contract in the offseason...

 

[Bob Magaw]

BTW,

this will be a huge win if the rams can pull it it off...

been a long time since rams started 2-0...

would be an important confidence booster if they can take down one of the NFC super bowl favorites, at their house...

if falcons lose, they start the season 0-2...

I think ATL is a perfect 12-0 in the smith/ryan era at home, coming off a road loss...

in that sense, odds stacked against STL...

who covers cook (rotation of moore and weatherspoon?)... and if the defensive game plan pays him too much attention, will that free up givens and austin?

pead returns from one game suspension, how will he be worked in? richardson reportedly in what was called precautionary walking boot after game, rams may be wary of overusing him early in the season...

not sure there will be a big revenge factor with steven jackson, I think they parted on amicable terms... jackson preferred to go to a more viable contender in the twilight of his career...

that would be ironic if rams make playoffs and go further than the falcons...

rams catching the falcons at less than full strength, with roddy white hobbled and julio jones also on injury report...

rams biggest weakness on defense is safety... mcdonald is promising in run support, but they could be vulnerable to the big play in the deep secondary...

it will be interesting to see if ogletree is able to neutralize or at least slow down gonzalez... exactly one of the types of situations he was drafted for...

 

[Bob Magaw]

rams 25.5 PPG is 11th in the league...

if honey badger hadn't punched the ball out of cook's hands in week one, they would be at 29 PPG and sixth...

325.5 passing yards average is sixth.

the ATL loss pushed the defense to 27.5 PPG allowed, in the bottom quarter of total/scoring defense rankings...

their six sacks ties STL for 10th in the league...

they are currently on a 48 sack clip, not too far off league lead-tying pace of 2012 (52, with DEN)... one more sack and they would be pacing for 56 (long may be dealing with a hip injury, i don't think he has a sack yet, he led the defense last year with about 12, that would help if he starts to get untracked)...

 

[TheFanatic]

In his first three NFL seasons Bradford had 17 starters on the offensive line and 12 starters at wide receiver; 11 of the 17 O-linemen and 6 of the 12 wideouts are no longer in the NFL.

This is crazy.

Yet there is a thread about Sam Bradford being on the road to out of town...

 

[Bob Magaw]

rams/cowboys matchup, cross-coverage by espn's team beat reporters...

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/910/double-coverage-rams-at-cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams will meet for the second time in three seasons at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys won convincingly, 34-7, in 2011, but this Rams team is different. ESPN Rams reporter Nick Wagoner and Cowboys reporter Todd Archer bring you their Double Coverage preview.

Archer: It's always about the quarterback here with the Cowboys and Tony Romo, but I'm curious about Sam Bradford. Where is he in his development and is there any doubt he is their answer at the game's most important spot?

Wagoner: The Rams have made every effort to turn this into Bradford's team, and, through two weeks, it's absolutely become that. Bradford has had two strong statistical weeks to start the season, led a comeback win against Arizona in the opener and nearly did it again last week in Atlanta. He's clearly more comfortable in his second season with the same offensive coordinator in Brian Schottenheimer and surrounded by better skill position players such as tight end Jared Cook and receiver Tavon Austin. Bradford is showing signs of having the breakthrough season many have long expected. For the Rams' part, there's no doubt he's the guy moving forward and the decision-makers have repeatedly and publicly said as much.

Speaking of quarterbacks and committing, the Cowboys made their move to lock up Romo already. How has he responded to that financial vote of confidence?

Archer: I think it goes beyond the financial commitment, although we’d all like to be guaranteed $55 million at some point in our lives. The bigger vote of confidence came from Jerry Jones wanting him in on the game planning with the coaches. Romo has more say now than he has ever had as the starting quarterback. It’s his offense in a lot of respects. The Cowboys are doing more no-huddle work than ever before, and that’s where Romo has complete control. Now there could be some drawbacks, too, because they’re not running the ball. The Cowboys talked about running the ball more and better in 2013 than they did in 2012, and they have 39 carries for 124 yards in two games. Romo has dropped back to pass nearly 100 times in two games. There is even more of a burden on him now, and he’s already had to do so many things here lately to win games.

One guy I can’t wait to see Sunday is Austin. Everybody had him pegged for greatness this summer, and he’s coming off his first two-touchdown game. How have the Rams tailored their offense for him?

Wagoner: Well, it's been a bit of a mixed bag for Austin so far. Yes, he had a couple of touchdowns last week, but he also had some issues with drops. The Rams have used him as a receiver, lined him up at running back and used him as the primary punt returner, and those will all be ways they'll continue to use him moving forward. Through two weeks, they haven't been able to get him out in space where he can operate at his best. That's why he has yet to hit any of the big plays many are expecting from him. On the flip side, he's been better in short areas moving the chains than expected. His first touchdown catch against Atlanta was particularly encouraging because he showed a knack for being able to make a tough grab in a congested area.

Not to keep piggybacking off your questions, but let's talk a little about Dallas' most exciting wideout, Dez Bryant. Clearly he's not too banged up given his performance last week, but what is his status? The Rams have really struggled against the pass the first two weeks and Bryant could have a monster game if he's up to full strength.

Archer: He should be fine, but this is something that has cropped up the past couple of seasons. He missed a handful of plays against the Chiefs because of back spasms, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as last year’s finale at Washington, where he could barely move. I think it’s a matter of keeping loose for him because they say it’s not a structural issue. He is just a nightmare matchup because he can overpower corners in man-to-man. The Chiefs' Brandon Flowers wasn’t in bad position on a couple of those plays, but Bryant just ripped the ball away from him. And the best pass Romo threw to Bryant all day was the one the receiver dropped on what would’ve been a big gain. Unfortunately for the Rams corners, I think he’ll be fine for this one.

The Cowboys haven’t been able to run the ball early in the season and the Rams look to be pretty good against the run (but maybe that’s because the pass defense has been shaky). How good is the front seven?

----------
Rams at Cowboys: Stat of the Week: 253

DeMarco Murray had a Cowboys record 253 rushing yards on 25 carries when he last saw the Rams on Oct. 23, 2011, at then-Cowboys Stadium.
----------

Wagoner: Yeah, it's hard to get a read on just how good the Rams' run defense is right now because they've played pretty anemic run teams in the first two weeks. I do think they'll be pretty good in that regard over the course of the season, but let's see how they do when they face the likes of San Francisco, Seattle and Houston. The front four is the strength of this team as a whole, and the linebackers are solid, too. The front four generates a pass rush on a consistent basis. Ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn have been as good as ever so far this season.

The Rams haven't given up a sack in the first two games and four in a row dating back to last season. How are the Cowboys adjusting to a new defensive scheme and what kind of challenges do they pose in regard to the pass rush? And how are they using DeMarcus Ware?

Archer: Last week against the Chiefs, the Cowboys used Ware on both sides in part so he could go against rookie tackle Eric Fisher. He had two sacks in the game and was a constant source of pressure on quarterback Alex Smith. I wonder if the Cowboys continue to do that this week with Rams tackle Rodger Saffold looking like he will miss the game with an injury. Ware has predominantly lined up against the left tackle for his career, but with George Selvie showing he can play both sides and Anthony Spencer rounding into shape after missing so much time with a knee injury, I think the smart thing is to move Ware around.

Predictions

The final word on Sunday's matchup at AT&T Stadium:

Nick Wagoner: The teams look to be pretty evenly matched, which should make for a close game. Although it's a small sample size, the Rams have showed some moxie to mount late comebacks and finish games strong. They can't afford another slow start on the road, but they'll find a way to finish strong enough to steal a win here. Rams 27, Cowboys 24

Todd Archer: If the Cowboys want to show they are a different team from the one of recent years, they must win this game. It won't be easy, but the defense, held without a takeaway last week at Kansas City, gets a key turnover in the fourth quarter to salt away the win. Cowboys 26, Rams 20

 

[heidbrink]

How do I change the thread title? ... "Season"

 

[Bob Magaw]

How do I change the thread title? ... "Season"

i changed it, if you want modify it...

1 - go to original post

2 - click edit

3 - click use full editor (just to right of save changes)

4 - modify title

5 - click save changes

 

[heidbrink]

Thanks!! Now official with stars and everything.

 

[Bob Magaw]

rams inside slant...

interesting stat excerpt (if we just simply knew in advance if STL was going to have a takeaway or not, it would make it so much easier to win betting on the rams! )...

"In 18 games with Jeff Fisher as head coach, the Rams are 0-7-1 in games where they don't force a takeaway and 8-2 when they do."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130919/st-louis-rams-teamreport

Whenever a team loses, fingers are often pointed at the quarterback and/or the offensive play-calling.

That was certainly the case following the Rams' 31-24 loss to the Falcons Sunday, especially after the Rams scored three second-half touchdowns in a hurry-up offense because they were behind by three touchdowns.

While the focus was on quarterback Sam Bradford supposedly using too many checkdowns in the first half or coordinator Brian Schottenheimer allegedly conservative play-calls, forgotten in the analysis was that the Rams' field position was poor in the first half and it averaged the 16-yard line as the drive start for the game.

In addition, focus somehow avoided the defense, which wasn't able to stop the Falcons twice in the fourth quarter after the lead had been cut to one touchdown.

Also, the Rams forced no takeaways against Atlanta. In 18 games with Jeff Fisher as head coach, the Rams are 0-7-1 in games where they don't force a takeaway and 8-2 when they do.

Sunday in Dallas, the Rams will need to force turnovers and have better results in pass defense than they have so far this season.

In two games, while the Rams do have six sacks, they have also allowed opposing quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Ryan to complete 71.1 percent of their passes and compile a combined passer rating of 107.6.

Ryan continually found open receivers Sunday, especially wide receiver Julio Jones, even with Roddy White playing sparingly and doing little because of a high ankle sprain.

In the second half, the Falcons had four possessions where they gained a total of 27 yards on 14 plays when the Rams mounted their comeback. However, on a touchdown drive after the Rams cut the lead to 24-17, Ryan was 8-for-8 for 74 yards. After the Rams cut the lead again to seven points at 31-24, they weren't able to get the ball back.

With a 94.6 passer rating after two games, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo could have a field day throwing to Dez Bryant (13-163), Miles Austin (13-103) and tight end Jason Witten (11-82).

Third down could be crucial. Last season, the Rams' defense was strong on third down, allowing only a 37.6 percent conversion rate (13th in the NFL). In two games this season, it is at 51.9 percent (14-for-27), which is tied for last in the league. However, the Cowboys rank 29th in the NFL having converted just 30.8 percent (8-for-26) so far this season.

As Fisher said when asked about the pass defense, "Could be better. We had breakdowns. We could be better on third down. We did some good things, but we've got to get better."

Added linebacker James Laurinaitis, noting that good passing teams are going to get their yards, "We have to get takeaways and get off the field on third down."

SERIES HISTORY: 23rd regular-season meeting. Series tied, 11-11. Only twice in this series that dates back to 1960 has one team won two consecutive games. The Rams won two straight in 1967 and 1969, and the Cowboys won two straight in 1981 and 1984. Since that 1984 game, the teams have alternated wins over the last 10 games with the Cowboys winning the last time the teams played in 2011.

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NFL Team Report - St. Louis Rams - NOTES, QUOTES

--Numerous players were held out of practice Wednesday with what are believed to be minor injuries. One reason is that the Rams want to manage the players with two games to be played in five days.

Following Sunday's game in Dallas, the Rams play Thursday night against San Francisco.

"Yeah, anticipation of both games. Yes," coach Jeff Fisher said when asked if that's part of the reason so many players didn't practice. "We talked about it with the team late Monday about what our plans were and how we have to not look past the Cowboys, but understand what the challenges are with the short week next week.

"There were a number of players that didn't practice I think probably could have. Then, there were several that they may not have been able to, and we'll just see how they are tomorrow."

--With Rodger Saffold expected to miss two or three games, Joe Barksdale will replace him at right tackle. Barksdale was acquired on waivers from the Raiders during the 2012 season and started two games at left tackle.

"This is what you practice for," he said. "Practice to be able to play."

Said coach Jeff Fisher, "Joe's done fine. He's gone out there and done fine. He had a very, very productive day last year against the Packers, mainly Clay (Matthews). When he's gone in he's done a good job. It's just a matter of getting the practice reps. You get the practice reps during the week and you prepare and you end up playing better."

Added quarterback Sam Bradford, "Joe's been in that situation before. It's not the first that time he's had to come into a game off the bench. He was thrown into a similar situation last year. He prepares every week like he's going to step on the field, so I thought he did a really good job coming in. It's not easy to step into a game cold like that."

--Coach Jeff Fisher amplified on reasons not to employ an over-abundance of the no-huddle or hurry-up offense early in games.

Said Fisher, "We have done it, obviously, early in the ball game. But, you do it early in the ball game against a guy like Matt Ryan and go three-and-out you've got problems. You're putting him back on the field all the time. You look at Sam's 300-plus yards passing games over his career, they've won two. We have the ability to do it and there's a time do to it and a time not to do it."

--In each of the first two games, the Rams have had an interception returned for a touchdown against them.

Said Fisher, "It's hard to win games when you give up defensive scores."

BY THE NUMBERS: 14-112 - Number of penalties and yards against the Rams in the first two games. There are 11 teams in the league with more penalties and yards, including Denver, San Francisco and Seattle. Two teams also have 14 and three teams have 13 penalties.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "By no means am I placing blame. I have great respect for the officiating department and the officials. We work very close with them and we move on. We had chances in that ballgame. We had chances to get off the field, chances to make plays - didn't make them." - Coach Jeff Fisher, after saying he believes five of the seven penalties called against the Rams against Atlanta shouldn't have been called.

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NFL Team Report - St. Louis Rams - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

INJURY IMPACT

--T Rodger Saffold did not practice Wednesday and is expected to miss two or three weeks because of a sprained MCL in his knee.

--RB Daryl Richardson did not practice Wednesday, and had his left foot in a boot. Richardson missed one day of practice last week because of the foot injury, but played against the Falcons. Coach Jeff Fisher said he believes Richardson will practice Thursday.

--DE Chris Long (hip) did not practice Wednesday. Long missed part of practice last Thursday and did not practice Friday, but played 54 of a possible 64 snaps against Atlanta.

--S Darian Stewart returned to practice for the first time since suffering a thigh injury (which was first reported as a hamstring injury) on Aug. 17 against Green Bay. Stewart was limited in Wednesday's practice.

--DE William Hayes (hip) did not practice Wednesday.

--DT Eugene Sims (foot) did not practice Wednesday.

--CB Cortland Finnegan (nose) did not practice Wednesday.

--TE Mike McNeill (chest) did not practice Wednesday.

--G Chris Williams (foot) did not practice Wednesday.

--CB Quinton Pointer, who has missed the first two games of the season because of a thigh injury, remained out of practice Wednesday.

PLAYER NOTES

--T Joe Barksdale will get the start at right tackle with Rodger Saffold expected to miss as many as three weeks with a sprained MCL ihn his knee.

GAME PLAN: Two seasons ago, Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray gashed the Rams in a 34-7 win for 253 yards on 25 carries, including a 91-yard touchdown run. This season, the Rams have allowed 61.0 yards rushing per game (sixth-best in the league) and 2.9 yards per rush (seventh). But the Rams will have to stop the Dallas passing game to win.

Offensively, it is paramount that the Rams get off to a good start. They have scored a total of 13 first-half points in two games, and they can't fall behind the Cowboys like they did against Atlanta last week.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Rams DTs Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford vs. Cowboys interior line - Brockers and Langford, along with Eugene Sims and Williams Hayes on passing downs, hope to push the pocket to stop the run and get pressure on QB Tony Romo on passing downs. The Cowboys are inexperienced with rookie Travis Frederick at center, along with guards Ronald Leary and Mackenzy Bernadeau.

Rams receivers vs. Cowboys secondary - Dallas will try to keep WR Chris Givens from beating them deep with either CB Brandon Carr or a banged-up Morris Claiborne (shoulder). The Rams will try to free TE Jared Cook like they did the first week against Arizona.

 

[Bob Magaw]

rams search for pass defense solutions

nick wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/993/rams-searching-for-pass-defense-solutions

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- A quick glance at the passing numbers around the league and one might think they’re looking at something straight out of the Madden video game.

For the St. Louis Rams, those numbers have provided plenty of good news but just as much bad news in the first two weeks.

While the Rams’ own passing numbers have taken off in the opening games, they’ve been on the receiving end of some big days by opposing quarterbacks as well.

“I think everybody in the league is trying to get better at pass defense,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “That’s just a part of this game, the ball is going down the field, you have got to make a play so we’re working technique, we’re working fundamentals, we’re working communication, we’re working scheme, we’re doing everything.”

Yes, pass defense has thus far proved to be a league-wide problem, an area where nobody seems to have a solution.

The Rams have a long way to go to get their issues fixed, however. After two weeks -- say it with me: small sample size -- the Rams are 27th in the league in pass defense, allowing 330.5 yards per game through the air.

That’s not the only damaging number that can be directly correlated to the Rams’ struggling pass defense. To wit:

The Rams are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 71.1 percent of their passes, 29th in the league.
Opposing quarterbacks have a 107.6 quarterback rating, which is fifth worst in the league and a total QBR of 79.2, which is the second worst rate allowed.


Those are just a few of the numbers hanging over the defense’s head so far. Where’s the disconnect for a team that allowed more than 100 yards less per game through the air in 2012?

Part of it can be attributed to the increasing talent teams all over the league have at quarterback and receivers. There’s no doubt that numbers are up in the entire NFL for a reason.

In looking at what the Rams choose to do in terms of scheme, though, there are a few things that seem to stick out.

For the most part, the Rams have sat back in soft-zone coverages, opting to allow receivers to get a free release more often than not. Of the corners, only Janoris Jenkins seems to have the green light to step up to the line and play press or at least show it before bailing out.

The idea behind that coverage is to keep the ball in front and not allow big plays but the problem is it has so far allowed for easy completions (see the above percentage stat) and even easier first downs. Big plays haven’t been eliminated by that approach either, as Julio Jones can attest.

Completions made against the Rams have come with an average of 7.3 air yards per attempt. Air yards measures how far down the field the ball is thrown per attempt. That number is actually the ninth lowest in the league.

Along with that, 43.4 percent of the Rams’ opponents' passing attempts have gone for a first down -- the worst percentage in the league.

Those numbers and the tape tell us that the Rams are inviting teams to work their way down the field with the short passing game, things like screens and swing passes, and teams are enthusiastically responding yes.

The easy completions have led to a higher percentage of first downs, which have also turned into an area of concern for middle linebacker James Laurinaitis and his teammates.

“I look at third-down efficiency and turnover margin,” Laurinaitis said. “Are you getting off the field on third down when you’ve got a chance to, which we didn’t when we had a chance to in Atlanta and are we causing turnovers, which we didn’t. We’ve got to find a way, some way to get them.”

The Rams also sit tied for last in the league in third-down conversions, giving them up at a rate of 51.9 percent.

Let’s also be clear here, plenty of teams in the league employ similar coverage styles. There aren’t many teams that have the ability to press successfully down to down like, say, Seattle.


"Technique is the thing we keep harping on," Laurinaitis said."It's all consistency."
That’s why Fisher and his players emphasize things like technique. In the opener against Arizona, Jenkins allowed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

After the game, Jenkins put all the blame on himself and said he played the wrong coverage and thus, the wrong technique. On the play, Jenkins lined up inside Fitzgerald’s inside shoulder, giving up the outside route. That wouldn’t normally be a big issue except for the fact that the coverage clearly provided help inside in the form of safety Rodney McLeod.

That’s just one example of the technique and fundamental breakdowns that have plagued the Rams in the first two weeks.

“Technique is the thing we keep harping on,” Laurinaitis said. “If guys are supposed to be pressed up, be pressed up. If guys are supposed to be off, be off. Just trust in what we have been coached to do. We just need to stay focused on that part of it. It’s all consistency.”

Hope is far from lost, especially just two games into the season. The Rams have a young but talented secondary that one would think will get better as it gets more experience.

There also have been some good signs in terms of the pass defense over the past two weeks. In addition to a pass rush that is one of the league’s best, the Rams are third in the league in pass breakups with 12 and lead the NFL in batted passes with five.

Considering that teams seem to be happy to take the short passes the Rams are giving up, it’s logical to think that the pass rush isn’t always going to have time to get home which puts added importance on defenders to continue to find ways to get their arms up and knock down passes at the line.

In the third quarter last week against Atlanta, the Rams probably played their best pass defense of the season. The front four generated pressure; the coverage was generally good and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan struggled his way to a 2.5 QBR as the Rams mounted a comeback.

It was just one 15-minute stretch but it showed the potential for the Rams defense when the coverage holds long enough to allow the pass rush to generate pressure and what the coverage can do when the pass rush forces the quarterback to get rid of the ball.

“Everything works together,” Laurinaitis said. “It’s rush, it’s coverage. Last week we looked at the tape and we could have had six sacks if we were just a little tighter in coverage and then again, if our rush is just a little better some of the big plays they got wouldn’t have happened. So it’s a mixture.”

 

[jurb26]

Well, that Skins 1st round pick is looking pretty good right about now.

 

[bulger2holt]

Well, that Skins 1st round pick is looking pretty good right about now.

So is the Rams. Both picks might be top 5

 

[Bob Magaw]

it is early, and a long season, but it looks like STL still a year away from being more competitive...

with all the preseason talk of NFC West being best division in the NFL, rams and cards got spanked by two good teams on the road...

with the 49ers loss to colts, after seahawks at 3-0, three 1-2 teams trailing...

STL hosts SF thur night, one team will get to .500, one will be 1-3 (actually they had a tie last year)...

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

The Rams will feel a whole lot better if they can beat the 49ers to go 2-2 on Thursday. I hope they do it, I am just not a Harbaugh fan so I hope they get their confidence back on Thursday.

 

[Yenrub]

Will the Rams have their starting tackle Staffold I think is his name back for the Thursday night game?

With Rodgers on a bye Bradford is my only backup and I am a bit nervous about starting him on a short week against the 49ers and a backup tackle

 

[ImTheScientist]

I thought you all would be better this year. Anyways, good luck on Thursday. You also own the forty whiners.