I was caught off-guard when the Denver Broncos fired long-time head coach Mike Shanahan yesterday, but I shouldn't have been. They haven't made the playoffs for three years and had the epic meltdown in December, losing three straight to blow a two-game lead in the division with three weeks left. That Nov. 23 blowout loss to Oakland couldn't have helped things, either.
Shanahan ought to shoot to the top of the Rams' HC candidates list immediately. The guy's won two Super Bowls, and who would be a more perfect coach for the running attack the Rams say they want to run? Shanahan could make Steven Jackson a 2,000-yard back. Plus whatever he gains receiving!
Then again, Shanahan's going to want to be a full-control kind of head coach, I assume, and that's not going to mesh at all with what the Rams want to do. Shanahan's the dummy who drafted Maurice Clarett; you don't want him in charge of the draft or personnel, which may be a dealbreaker from his standpoint. I also thought, even though it worked, that Shanahan was certifiably insane to try that two-pointer at the end of their home win over San Diego earlier this season. That was an idiotic gamble, and EVERYBODY knows it, but you won't find anybody criticizing the call because Denver got the two and the win.
Denver's likely to be a factor in the quest for Cowher, Mangini and Spagnuolo, possibly also Rex Ryan, in the high-dollar neighborhood the Rams don't seem inclined to move to. For his part, I doubt Shanahan will work for any team next year, more likely a network. Not with the Broncos owing him $20 million.
But, as with Mangini, I'd better hear that Devaney at least tried to contact Shanahan about the Rams' HC job. Any head coaching search that doesn't involve at least contacting those two would be a farce.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
...so is Mike Martz
The 49ers dumped Martz yesterday. Mike should be a candidate for almost all of the head coaching jobs out there. He's a proven keen football mind. He's a proven salvager and resurrector of QBs. He led the Ram offense on one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history. His offenses produce.
Of course, he also tends to abandon the run way too early and his low-protection schemes get his QBs killed. Look at the QB carnage everywhere he goes. And he went pretty much psycho at the last place he was head coach.
If this were a truly open head coach search in St. Louis, Mike Martz would get an interview. Jay Zygmunt is gone. John Shaw is (supposed to be) in the shadows. The personalities that clashed here aren't here anymore. But of course, we've also seen Mike Martz draft and know he really shouldn't have any functional control over personnel. If he insists on that, he won't be a head coach anywhere. Right now, he's probably best suited as an OC, even though he's been fired by two teams in two years at that position.
I've thought for a couple of years that with their offensive talent, Cincinnati would be a perfect place for Martz, but it looks like they're keeping Marvin Lewis (well beyond his shelf date). Martz has also interviewed for the open position at San Diego State.
And the rumor mill has the Rams pairing Martz up with Haslett as OC in an attempt to energize the fan base. And you know what? They could do a lot worse.
They sure are now.
Of course, he also tends to abandon the run way too early and his low-protection schemes get his QBs killed. Look at the QB carnage everywhere he goes. And he went pretty much psycho at the last place he was head coach.
If this were a truly open head coach search in St. Louis, Mike Martz would get an interview. Jay Zygmunt is gone. John Shaw is (supposed to be) in the shadows. The personalities that clashed here aren't here anymore. But of course, we've also seen Mike Martz draft and know he really shouldn't have any functional control over personnel. If he insists on that, he won't be a head coach anywhere. Right now, he's probably best suited as an OC, even though he's been fired by two teams in two years at that position.
I've thought for a couple of years that with their offensive talent, Cincinnati would be a perfect place for Martz, but it looks like they're keeping Marvin Lewis (well beyond his shelf date). Martz has also interviewed for the open position at San Diego State.
And the rumor mill has the Rams pairing Martz up with Haslett as OC in an attempt to energize the fan base. And you know what? They could do a lot worse.
They sure are now.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
2009 Opponents
Something I always enjoy about the NFL is the minute your season ends, your opponents for the next season are set. Here are the Rams' opponents for 2009:
Road: Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Detroit, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Washington.
They'll lose all 3 road division games. Chicago and Tennessee look like pretty sure losses.
Their one must win next season is at Detroit.
They can split the other two games. After all, they beat Washington in their place this year.
And the Jagwires were poor at home this season. Good chance to take either of those.
Home: Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Minnesota
Tough-looking home schedule. Besides the Colts and 10-6 Vikings, they've got a couple of 9-7's and a couple of 8-8's.
I demand they win at least 2 of the three division games.
Green Bay, Houston and New Orleans were poor road teams. Toss in a Minnesota team QB'ed by Tavaris Jackson or Gus Frerotte, and 3 wins against those 4 is very reasonable.
A 7-9 record isn't a lot to ask from next year's team. Then again, that's the record I was looking for this season.
Road: Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Detroit, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Washington.
They'll lose all 3 road division games. Chicago and Tennessee look like pretty sure losses.
Their one must win next season is at Detroit.
They can split the other two games. After all, they beat Washington in their place this year.
And the Jagwires were poor at home this season. Good chance to take either of those.
Home: Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Minnesota
Tough-looking home schedule. Besides the Colts and 10-6 Vikings, they've got a couple of 9-7's and a couple of 8-8's.
I demand they win at least 2 of the three division games.
Green Bay, Houston and New Orleans were poor road teams. Toss in a Minnesota team QB'ed by Tavaris Jackson or Gus Frerotte, and 3 wins against those 4 is very reasonable.
A 7-9 record isn't a lot to ask from next year's team. Then again, that's the record I was looking for this season.
Winston Moss?
Billy Devaney has begun making requests around the league for candidates to interview for the Rams' head coaching position. This should be an exciting time at Rams Park, right? (Not Rams Park, actually. The team will demonstrate its deep ties to the city it's been in for FOURTEEN years by conducting all interviews in LOS ANGELES.) We'll be seeing top names coming in and out of there like Eric Mangini and Jim Schwartz and Steve Spagnuolo, all of whom can be interviewed RIGHT NOW while Devaney waits for his chance to talk to Rex Ryan and Leslie Frazier and others, right? So who's the first guy Devaney's going after?
Winston Moss?
Moss is the Packers' linebackers coach, and that is a high-performing group. He's also the assistant head coach, a position from which a lot of new head coaches are launched. He was an NFL linebacker for 11 years and has been coaching LBs since 2000.
When Jim Haslett hired him.
This will be Moss' first head coaching interview. He hasn't been a head coach or even a coordinator at any level. He has plenty of references who vouch for his leadership skills and character. Those are all well and good.
But if Billy Devaney wants to even give the impression of an open head coach search, he'd better do a lot better than to bring in an old Haslett crony who's mainly helping Haslett out by providing the Rams their official Rooney Rule interview.
Good luck to coach Moss, but this smells a little funny.
Winston Moss?
Moss is the Packers' linebackers coach, and that is a high-performing group. He's also the assistant head coach, a position from which a lot of new head coaches are launched. He was an NFL linebacker for 11 years and has been coaching LBs since 2000.
When Jim Haslett hired him.
This will be Moss' first head coaching interview. He hasn't been a head coach or even a coordinator at any level. He has plenty of references who vouch for his leadership skills and character. Those are all well and good.
But if Billy Devaney wants to even give the impression of an open head coach search, he'd better do a lot better than to bring in an old Haslett crony who's mainly helping Haslett out by providing the Rams their official Rooney Rule interview.
Good luck to coach Moss, but this smells a little funny.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Andre Smith suspended for Sugar Bowl
From espn.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls08/news/story?id=3798417
---
So, we can be pretty sure he's coming out for the '09 draft, then.
A lot of people out there don't like Smith as an NFL LT. They say his size is more befitting a RT or even a guard. Let's not use the #2 overall pick on a guard.
Improper dealings with an agent isn't what I would call a character flaw, but it's kind of dumb and at least raises flags about Smith's judgment and whether he loves the game more, or the money.
Alabama junior offensive tackle Andre Smith has been suspended and will not play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Alabama coach Nick Saban said Monday.
Smith, the Outland Trophy winner this season, was a huge part of the Crimson Tide's offensive success. They were second in the SEC and 22nd nationally in rushing offense and routinely ran to his side on key downs. He's widely considered to be one of the best left tackles to play in the SEC in the last decade. Sources told ESPN.com that Smith's suspension was related to improper dealings with an agent. Saban's statement on the matter said only that it was due to violation of team rules and policies.---
So, we can be pretty sure he's coming out for the '09 draft, then.
A lot of people out there don't like Smith as an NFL LT. They say his size is more befitting a RT or even a guard. Let's not use the #2 overall pick on a guard.
Improper dealings with an agent isn't what I would call a character flaw, but it's kind of dumb and at least raises flags about Smith's judgment and whether he loves the game more, or the money.
Marinelli, Crennel, Mangini fired
The axe is already starting to swing around the NFL. There's little surprise that Rod Marinelli was fired after steering Detroit to the worst season in NFL history, 0-16. Romeo Crennel wasn't cut much slack for injuries on his team, especially at QB, but his dismissal has been in the rumor mill for quite a while.
The biggest surprise to me, and I think the most short-sighted move, was the Jets' firing of the Mangenius. (Think Belichick will welcome him back to the Patriot fold?) I thought Mangini did a good job there. They had a ton of injuries last year, and he had a winning record this year with a young offensive line and a very young secondary. He's put together a good staff. Bob Sutton and Brian Schottenheimer did good work there and shouldn't have any trouble finding their next job, especially Schottenheimer, who's probably already got an interview set up in Cleveland if not also Kansas City.
The Jets faded down the stretch, but I think they overreacted in giving Mangini the quick hook.
Meanwhile in St. Louis, Jim "2-10" Haslett is STILL the Rams' head coach.
Billy Devaney will whiff badly if he doesn't get Mangini in here for an interview pronto. I'd take most of the Jets' staff here in a heartbeat.
The biggest surprise to me, and I think the most short-sighted move, was the Jets' firing of the Mangenius. (Think Belichick will welcome him back to the Patriot fold?) I thought Mangini did a good job there. They had a ton of injuries last year, and he had a winning record this year with a young offensive line and a very young secondary. He's put together a good staff. Bob Sutton and Brian Schottenheimer did good work there and shouldn't have any trouble finding their next job, especially Schottenheimer, who's probably already got an interview set up in Cleveland if not also Kansas City.
The Jets faded down the stretch, but I think they overreacted in giving Mangini the quick hook.
Meanwhile in St. Louis, Jim "2-10" Haslett is STILL the Rams' head coach.
Billy Devaney will whiff badly if he doesn't get Mangini in here for an interview pronto. I'd take most of the Jets' staff here in a heartbeat.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Breaking down this week's game-losing play
I've gotten to see the Josh Morgan TD catch that won the game for the 49ers Sunday, and it's remarkable just how badly the veteran Rams secondary played it.
Jeff Gordon has repeatedly described the Rams as blitzing on the play. I guess he's considering Will Witherspoon at LDE as a blitzer out of a 3-4 look, but I don't see anything really special about the Rams bringing 4 on a pass rush. Will was rushing out of that position all day; I don't really think of what he was doing as blitzing. Pisa was up on the play but dropped back and picked up a receiver out of the backfield.
Meanwhile, the Ram secondary has given Josh Morgan AT LEAST TWELVE yards of cushion. There is no Ram DB in sight on the left side of the field. So the first thing they've done is give Morgan a free run. All that space is supposed to save the secondary from getting burned, but that fails miserably when Brown bites like a rank rookie on the double move by Morgan, who IS a rank rookie, and he beats Brown downfield by 3 or 4 yards. Great coverage, Brown!
Then, proving he never watched NFL PrimeTime over the years, or at least never heeded Tom Jackson's timely advice, OJ Atogwe gets over in time to break up the play, leaps, AND TRIES TO CATCH THE BALL. It goes through his hands and into Morgan's. What does Jackson say, Atogwe? KNOCK IT DOWN!
Atogwe could have knocked that ball down, or at least tipped it, and saved the game. But the guy who was voted team MVP for his ability to create showy turnovers (certainly not for his coverage skills, which are mediocre), the guy who's gunning for a big new contract after this season because of his showy turnovers, went for the statistic instead of the fundamentally sound play that would have won the game. Consciously or not, he made the selfish play, and selfish play sinks a team.
It sure sank the Rams Sunday. It should be a mark against Atogwe when the Rams are deciding what to offer him next season.
Knock it down, O.J.
Jeff Gordon has repeatedly described the Rams as blitzing on the play. I guess he's considering Will Witherspoon at LDE as a blitzer out of a 3-4 look, but I don't see anything really special about the Rams bringing 4 on a pass rush. Will was rushing out of that position all day; I don't really think of what he was doing as blitzing. Pisa was up on the play but dropped back and picked up a receiver out of the backfield.
Meanwhile, the Ram secondary has given Josh Morgan AT LEAST TWELVE yards of cushion. There is no Ram DB in sight on the left side of the field. So the first thing they've done is give Morgan a free run. All that space is supposed to save the secondary from getting burned, but that fails miserably when Brown bites like a rank rookie on the double move by Morgan, who IS a rank rookie, and he beats Brown downfield by 3 or 4 yards. Great coverage, Brown!
Then, proving he never watched NFL PrimeTime over the years, or at least never heeded Tom Jackson's timely advice, OJ Atogwe gets over in time to break up the play, leaps, AND TRIES TO CATCH THE BALL. It goes through his hands and into Morgan's. What does Jackson say, Atogwe? KNOCK IT DOWN!
Atogwe could have knocked that ball down, or at least tipped it, and saved the game. But the guy who was voted team MVP for his ability to create showy turnovers (certainly not for his coverage skills, which are mediocre), the guy who's gunning for a big new contract after this season because of his showy turnovers, went for the statistic instead of the fundamentally sound play that would have won the game. Consciously or not, he made the selfish play, and selfish play sinks a team.
It sure sank the Rams Sunday. It should be a mark against Atogwe when the Rams are deciding what to offer him next season.
Knock it down, O.J.
Ticket prices on hold
The Rams have announced that ticket prices will not increase for the 2009 season.
On its face, that looks like a good thing. After these last two seasons, though, you could argue that the Rams ought to be cutting ticket prices. Hell, they ought to be paying US. They're getting $30 million worth of stadium improvements from the taxpayers. They got that big chunk of change from league revenue sharing last year. And 2009 ticket prices are still going to include the ridiculous charade known as preseason games, at full price as always.
At least put something on the field worth watching; it's been a while.
On its face, that looks like a good thing. After these last two seasons, though, you could argue that the Rams ought to be cutting ticket prices. Hell, they ought to be paying US. They're getting $30 million worth of stadium improvements from the taxpayers. They got that big chunk of change from league revenue sharing last year. And 2009 ticket prices are still going to include the ridiculous charade known as preseason games, at full price as always.
At least put something on the field worth watching; it's been a while.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Go Isaac
It will be blacked out on local TV, but the greatest wide receiver in Rams history is poised to cross a couple of huge career marks on Sunday. If Isaac Bruce catches 6 passes for 125 yards, he will reach 1,000 receptions and 15,000 yards in his storied career. He needs 60 yards to pass Tim Brown and move into second all-time in receiving yards.
And I'll be standing on my chair and applauding every mark Isaac reaches, right after I spit on Scott Linehan for making it possible for Isaac to do it in a 49er uniform instead of the uniform he belongs in.
And I'll be standing on my chair and applauding every mark Isaac reaches, right after I spit on Scott Linehan for making it possible for Isaac to do it in a 49er uniform instead of the uniform he belongs in.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sorry
This has been a miserable season, and the blog has been as dead as an Illinois government ethics seminar. Starting today, I'll try to return to my goal of posting something every day, which I've been able to do in spurts.
Hey, I'm still more productive than the Ram offense.
Hey, I'm still more productive than the Ram offense.
Donnie Jones snubbed - TWICE!
Anyone watching the Rams this year knows their only consistent player, their only decent player, the only player remotely worth consideration for the Pro Bowl, has been the punter, Donnie Jones. (Scott Linehan's only good personnel move.)
While the rest of the team has crumbled into Washington General-like futility, Donnie Jones just comes on the field and blasts the hell out of the ball every time. Early in the season he was even making TD-saving tackles on punt returns. Little did I realize that coming out of Sunday's game against Seattle, Jones was the #1 punter in the NFL with a 50.2 average, and his 40.9 net led the NFC and was good for 3rd in the entire league. And as the Post-Dispatch pointed out, Jones' performance borders on historical; there hasn't been a punter with a season average over 50 yards since the just-departed Sammy Baugh.
So, he's #1 in pure distance in the league, and #1 in net in the conference (by nearly a yard), so it's obvious who the NFC's Pro Bowl punter is, right?
Of course. Jeff Freaking Feagles.
Jeff Freaking Feagles, who is TWENTIETH in the NFL in punting average (though 2nd in the NFC in net). It's not even close; he's a full SIX YARDS A PUNT worse than Jones.
So we have a further addition to the mountain of evidence that the people who pick all-star rosters in sports are IDIOTS. And the Wise can't blame the fans; Pro Bowl balloting is still 2/3 coaches and players.
Whatever the hell they're watching.
Then again, Jones' own team just this week failed to recognize him as their best player. The Rams' vote for team MVP went to O.J. Atogwe, a few days after his woeful coverage of Deion Branch on a 45-yard bomb set up the Seattle FG that beat the Rams 23-20.
Atogwe's a nice player, and an effective playmaker in his ability to force fumbles, but he's been a repeat offender in coverage, which dulls some of that contribution. Donnie Jones has been playing at a historically-unprecedented level at his position all year and his ability to help the Rams in field position has made the most valuable defensive player on the team.
Jones should be the team MVP and the NFC's Pro Bowl punter, but he gets neither distinction from his inattentive peers.
While the rest of the team has crumbled into Washington General-like futility, Donnie Jones just comes on the field and blasts the hell out of the ball every time. Early in the season he was even making TD-saving tackles on punt returns. Little did I realize that coming out of Sunday's game against Seattle, Jones was the #1 punter in the NFL with a 50.2 average, and his 40.9 net led the NFC and was good for 3rd in the entire league. And as the Post-Dispatch pointed out, Jones' performance borders on historical; there hasn't been a punter with a season average over 50 yards since the just-departed Sammy Baugh.
So, he's #1 in pure distance in the league, and #1 in net in the conference (by nearly a yard), so it's obvious who the NFC's Pro Bowl punter is, right?
Of course. Jeff Freaking Feagles.
Jeff Freaking Feagles, who is TWENTIETH in the NFL in punting average (though 2nd in the NFC in net). It's not even close; he's a full SIX YARDS A PUNT worse than Jones.
So we have a further addition to the mountain of evidence that the people who pick all-star rosters in sports are IDIOTS. And the Wise can't blame the fans; Pro Bowl balloting is still 2/3 coaches and players.
Whatever the hell they're watching.
Then again, Jones' own team just this week failed to recognize him as their best player. The Rams' vote for team MVP went to O.J. Atogwe, a few days after his woeful coverage of Deion Branch on a 45-yard bomb set up the Seattle FG that beat the Rams 23-20.
Atogwe's a nice player, and an effective playmaker in his ability to force fumbles, but he's been a repeat offender in coverage, which dulls some of that contribution. Donnie Jones has been playing at a historically-unprecedented level at his position all year and his ability to help the Rams in field position has made the most valuable defensive player on the team.
Jones should be the team MVP and the NFC's Pro Bowl punter, but he gets neither distinction from his inattentive peers.
How will Kansas City affect the Rams' offseason plans
While we're all trying to figure out what the Ram front office is going to do, heck, what it's even going to look like, after the season, we need to cast a wary eye westward. The Kansas City Chiefs are dueling with the Rams down the stretch for the #2 pick overall. And that isn't all - Carl Peterson has stepped down over there as general manager.
That makes it that much harder for the Rams to hire Marty Schottenheimer as head coach, which has been my preference ever since about halftime of Week 1 this season. Schottenheimer now has long and successful history with two other franchises - K.C. and Cleveland - very likely to be joining the Rams in offseason front-office and/or head coach searches. And complicating those searches.
And if the Rams are looking at Dick Vermeil for a team-president type role, he had a good experience across the state as well.
If the Rams have a candidate they definitely want, they're going to have to come strong and pay big.
That makes it that much harder for the Rams to hire Marty Schottenheimer as head coach, which has been my preference ever since about halftime of Week 1 this season. Schottenheimer now has long and successful history with two other franchises - K.C. and Cleveland - very likely to be joining the Rams in offseason front-office and/or head coach searches. And complicating those searches.
And if the Rams are looking at Dick Vermeil for a team-president type role, he had a good experience across the state as well.
If the Rams have a candidate they definitely want, they're going to have to come strong and pay big.
Stanley out for season
Derek Stanley blew one of his ACLs during the Seattle game and is out for the rest of the season. The timeline for his rehabilitation seems to be that he'll be out until probably the start of 2009 training camp. Bad timing for Stanley, who was establishing himself as the kick and punt return man of the future and was very slowly finding his way into some of the offensive packages.
I'd thought Seattle caused the Stanley fumble they returned for a TD last Sunday but apparently his reaction to his knee blowing out was dropping the ball. Shades of the infamous Fred Taylor groin pull a few years ago...
I'd thought Seattle caused the Stanley fumble they returned for a TD last Sunday but apparently his reaction to his knee blowing out was dropping the ball. Shades of the infamous Fred Taylor groin pull a few years ago...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Screw the NFL Network AGAIN
So, operating theory is that last week's upset by the Rams over the Redskins at the closing gun wasn't selected for NFL Replay because a) there was a lot of bad play and b) in the case of the Browns over the Giants, the game which effectively kept Rams-Redskins out of the running, the game may not have been close but was a bigger upset, I guess, and a more exciting game.
OK, so let's look at the games selected for NFL Replay by the NFL Network this week.
* Bears 48, Vikings 41. Logical choice. Any wild, high-scoring game, especially a rivalry game, is an acceptable pick.
* Bills 23, Chargers 14. A very good choice. The Bills have gotten passed over a couple of times already when they should have been picked. They're overdue for attention, plus this game was tighter most of the way than its 9-point spread indicates.
At this point, I'd like to mention:
- Rams over Cowboys was the biggest upset in the NFL this past weekend. Even without Tony Romo the Cowboys were 7 point road favorites.
- With too many things swirling around the team to list here, the Cowboys are day in and day out the league's most compelling story. A game is watchable just because the Cowboys are in it.
- The Rams-Cowboys game was filled with exciting plays, including Bulger's TD pass to Avery, Jackson's 56-yard TD run, Barber's 35-yard run and a couple of Ram interceptions.
- And who, besides Dallas fans, doesn't like to watch the Cowboys lose? That alone would certainly make Rams-Cowboys a top-four fan pick. And who doesn't love an underdog story like the Rams anyway?
You've already figured out by now, I'm sure, that the assholes at NFL Network have stiffed the Rams again. Here are their other two selections for the week's four BEST games:
* GREEN BAY 34, INDIANAPOLIS 14. You have got to be fucking kidding me. This game was a blowout by halftime, and had no significant statistical performances (like say, Steven Jackson running for 160 yards and 3 TDs). It was an ugly blowout with a boring second half which was mostly Peyton Manning making mind-blowingly bad plays. There were 21 total penalties for 180 yards. None of the team's star players performed especially well. Green Bay winning at home over anyone does not constitute a significant upset, which I say because I think the Colts were favored. There were SIX closer games in score than this which did not get NFL Replay treatment. Hell, I'd rather watch Detroit-Houston; at least the Lions made that a game at the end, though they were rarely in it.
This is a top four game at NFL Network because there is a clear Green Bay bias at NFL Network. This isn't the first time a Green Bay blowout was picked for NFL Replay over closer, more tightly-played games. Week 2, we got a Packers 3-TD blowout over Detroit instead of Buffalo's impressive 20-16 road victory at Jacksonville that came right down to the end. I know, why should Green Bay get so much love when they don't even have Brett Favre? You know who -does- have Brett Favre?
That would be the other NFL Replay this week:
OAKLAND 16, NY JETS 13. Never mind that this game was unwatchable and dreadful. The halftime score was 3-3. After three quarters, it was 10-3, Oakland. Oh, that's electrifying stuff. In its favor, Thomas Jones had a big game and the ending of regulation was wacky. Then again, these two offenses were so dreadful, all they did for 12 1/2 minutes of overtime was punt to one another before Janikowski hit a 57-yard bomb. I guess the Raiders were so excited about finally crossing midfield they figured they'd better go for a score! The teams combined for SIX fumbles (amazingly, only one lost) and TWENTY-ONE penalties. Favre added two picks. Other than its closeness, by what measure is this even considered a "good" game, let alone one of the best of the week? The bypassed Ram-Redskin game last week was easily better than this, let alone the Rams' win Sunday over Dallas!
The message last week was that an exciting upset, regardless of victory margin, makes for a better game than a close but sloppy game. But this week, the Rams' upset of the league's marquee team takes a back seat to a miserable 3 TD blowout and an even worse game than the kind of game the Rams were in last week that wasn't good enough for NFL Replay.
Ahem.
Fuck you, NFL Network. Again.
OK, so let's look at the games selected for NFL Replay by the NFL Network this week.
* Bears 48, Vikings 41. Logical choice. Any wild, high-scoring game, especially a rivalry game, is an acceptable pick.
* Bills 23, Chargers 14. A very good choice. The Bills have gotten passed over a couple of times already when they should have been picked. They're overdue for attention, plus this game was tighter most of the way than its 9-point spread indicates.
At this point, I'd like to mention:
- Rams over Cowboys was the biggest upset in the NFL this past weekend. Even without Tony Romo the Cowboys were 7 point road favorites.
- With too many things swirling around the team to list here, the Cowboys are day in and day out the league's most compelling story. A game is watchable just because the Cowboys are in it.
- The Rams-Cowboys game was filled with exciting plays, including Bulger's TD pass to Avery, Jackson's 56-yard TD run, Barber's 35-yard run and a couple of Ram interceptions.
- And who, besides Dallas fans, doesn't like to watch the Cowboys lose? That alone would certainly make Rams-Cowboys a top-four fan pick. And who doesn't love an underdog story like the Rams anyway?
You've already figured out by now, I'm sure, that the assholes at NFL Network have stiffed the Rams again. Here are their other two selections for the week's four BEST games:
* GREEN BAY 34, INDIANAPOLIS 14. You have got to be fucking kidding me. This game was a blowout by halftime, and had no significant statistical performances (like say, Steven Jackson running for 160 yards and 3 TDs). It was an ugly blowout with a boring second half which was mostly Peyton Manning making mind-blowingly bad plays. There were 21 total penalties for 180 yards. None of the team's star players performed especially well. Green Bay winning at home over anyone does not constitute a significant upset, which I say because I think the Colts were favored. There were SIX closer games in score than this which did not get NFL Replay treatment. Hell, I'd rather watch Detroit-Houston; at least the Lions made that a game at the end, though they were rarely in it.
This is a top four game at NFL Network because there is a clear Green Bay bias at NFL Network. This isn't the first time a Green Bay blowout was picked for NFL Replay over closer, more tightly-played games. Week 2, we got a Packers 3-TD blowout over Detroit instead of Buffalo's impressive 20-16 road victory at Jacksonville that came right down to the end. I know, why should Green Bay get so much love when they don't even have Brett Favre? You know who -does- have Brett Favre?
That would be the other NFL Replay this week:
OAKLAND 16, NY JETS 13. Never mind that this game was unwatchable and dreadful. The halftime score was 3-3. After three quarters, it was 10-3, Oakland. Oh, that's electrifying stuff. In its favor, Thomas Jones had a big game and the ending of regulation was wacky. Then again, these two offenses were so dreadful, all they did for 12 1/2 minutes of overtime was punt to one another before Janikowski hit a 57-yard bomb. I guess the Raiders were so excited about finally crossing midfield they figured they'd better go for a score! The teams combined for SIX fumbles (amazingly, only one lost) and TWENTY-ONE penalties. Favre added two picks. Other than its closeness, by what measure is this even considered a "good" game, let alone one of the best of the week? The bypassed Ram-Redskin game last week was easily better than this, let alone the Rams' win Sunday over Dallas!
The message last week was that an exciting upset, regardless of victory margin, makes for a better game than a close but sloppy game. But this week, the Rams' upset of the league's marquee team takes a back seat to a miserable 3 TD blowout and an even worse game than the kind of game the Rams were in last week that wasn't good enough for NFL Replay.
Ahem.
Fuck you, NFL Network. Again.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Screw the NFL Network
The NFL Network's "NFL Replay" program is advertised as a show that replays the four *best* games of the past weekend. This weekend we had five games come down to the final play. Minnesota-Detroit, though close, was so ugly it wasn't really watchable. Cowboys-Cardinals, Bears-Falcons and Dolphins-Texans all had remarkable finishes, and have been, or will be featured on NFL Replay. Good, though easy, choices.
The two biggest upsets of the season also occurred this weekend. One was the Browns whipping the Giants 35-14 Monday night. The other, of course, was the Rams over the Redskins on Sunday, a close, tense game with a fantastic finish and a fairly wild 4th quarter. What's better, a 3-TD game or a 2-point game won on the last play? No contest, right? The Rams make NFL Replay for the first and possibly only time this year, right?
Tonight on NFL Replay: Giants at Browns.
Fuck you, NFL Network.
The two biggest upsets of the season also occurred this weekend. One was the Browns whipping the Giants 35-14 Monday night. The other, of course, was the Rams over the Redskins on Sunday, a close, tense game with a fantastic finish and a fairly wild 4th quarter. What's better, a 3-TD game or a 2-point game won on the last play? No contest, right? The Rams make NFL Replay for the first and possibly only time this year, right?
Tonight on NFL Replay: Giants at Browns.
Fuck you, NFL Network.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Coaching change
Multiple media outlets report this morning that Rams head coach Scott Linehan was fired overnight. The Rams led Buffalo 14-6 at halftime yesterday but lost 31-14 to drop to 0-4 on the season, extend their current losing streak to 8, and drop their record since 2007 to 3-17. Linehan leaves the Rams as inarguably their worst head coach of the St. Louis era, with an 11-25 record. (I think Rich Brooks was 13-19.)
Dubiously, one of the people most responsible for the Rams' further downfall this season, Jim Haslett, was tabbed to replace Linehan as interim head coach. It feels better to think about Haslett's "promotion" as punishment for his awful defense, so that's the way I plan to think about it.
I'm working on this week's RamView now; it will probably be out this afternoon.
Dubiously, one of the people most responsible for the Rams' further downfall this season, Jim Haslett, was tabbed to replace Linehan as interim head coach. It feels better to think about Haslett's "promotion" as punishment for his awful defense, so that's the way I plan to think about it.
I'm working on this week's RamView now; it will probably be out this afternoon.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Look out below!
Reported in the Post-Dispatch this morning, Steven Jackson made it pretty clear on his radio show last night that the Rams' locker room is imploding. He suggested that several Rams players were not happy with Scott Linehan's move to bench Marc Bulger, and came out himself as one of those players. He called the move "the wrong decision", adding "He's our general... you don't pay someone $60-something million then sit him on the bench."
I like what Jackson said & I like that he stood up for his teammate. But even though the dismantling of this coaching staff is a fait accompli, Jackson shouldn't be publicly ripping on his head coach. Steven seems to be becoming what we call a "coach killer". He's got his big-ass contract. He fully knows the team depends very heavily on him to be successful. So he feels free to rip on whoever he wants knowing he's not likely to feel any ramifications. If Linehan would retaliate and bench Jackson for any amount of time Sunday, the fans would boo the roof right off the building. Jackson certainly picked his spot last night.
Bulger, meanwhile, doesn't want to play for Linehan any more according to team sources. He has not spoken to the press since his demotion, leaving tea leaves formed to spell "I'M PISSED OFF THE COACH IS SCAPEGOATING ME, OF ALL PEOPLE" that are pretty easy to read. Sure, this could be Marc trying to engineer a trade. Or since it comes from "team sources", it could be diabolical spin meant to keep Bulger buried in the press. More than likely, what it is is the truth, and Bulger's doing the right thing by staying away from the press. He got stabbed in the back and doesn't want to end up in a spot where he's publicly ripping his head coach. Difference in styles between Bulger and Jackson.
Orlando Pace, then, seems to have thrown a grenade into the whole mess with this quote reported in Bill Coats' blog:
"Hopefully I do my job so I don't get replaced."
What a wonderfully divisive quote. If taken in context, Pace is throwing his QB and his head coach under the bus.
The Rams' locker room is becoming a bigger mess than the Roman Senate chambers right around 3/15/-44.
And in perhaps the biggest shock of the week, St. Louis' version of the Colosseum is sold out for Sunday's game.
Guess nobody can pass up the chance to see a good car wreck.
I like what Jackson said & I like that he stood up for his teammate. But even though the dismantling of this coaching staff is a fait accompli, Jackson shouldn't be publicly ripping on his head coach. Steven seems to be becoming what we call a "coach killer". He's got his big-ass contract. He fully knows the team depends very heavily on him to be successful. So he feels free to rip on whoever he wants knowing he's not likely to feel any ramifications. If Linehan would retaliate and bench Jackson for any amount of time Sunday, the fans would boo the roof right off the building. Jackson certainly picked his spot last night.
Bulger, meanwhile, doesn't want to play for Linehan any more according to team sources. He has not spoken to the press since his demotion, leaving tea leaves formed to spell "I'M PISSED OFF THE COACH IS SCAPEGOATING ME, OF ALL PEOPLE" that are pretty easy to read. Sure, this could be Marc trying to engineer a trade. Or since it comes from "team sources", it could be diabolical spin meant to keep Bulger buried in the press. More than likely, what it is is the truth, and Bulger's doing the right thing by staying away from the press. He got stabbed in the back and doesn't want to end up in a spot where he's publicly ripping his head coach. Difference in styles between Bulger and Jackson.
Orlando Pace, then, seems to have thrown a grenade into the whole mess with this quote reported in Bill Coats' blog:
"Hopefully I do my job so I don't get replaced."
What a wonderfully divisive quote. If taken in context, Pace is throwing his QB and his head coach under the bus.
The Rams' locker room is becoming a bigger mess than the Roman Senate chambers right around 3/15/-44.
And in perhaps the biggest shock of the week, St. Louis' version of the Colosseum is sold out for Sunday's game.
Guess nobody can pass up the chance to see a good car wreck.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
More defensive shake-ups
Per Bill Coats from today's practice:
Cliff Ryan replaces Le'Roi Glover.
Victor Adeyanju replaces James Hall.
Chris Draft in for Quinton Culberson.
OK, but Corey Chavous continues to play????
AND TYE HILL IS BACK IN THE STARTING LINEUP?????
Those aren't exactly improvements.
Cliff Ryan replaces Le'Roi Glover.
Victor Adeyanju replaces James Hall.
Chris Draft in for Quinton Culberson.
OK, but Corey Chavous continues to play????
AND TYE HILL IS BACK IN THE STARTING LINEUP?????
Those aren't exactly improvements.
Fakhir Brown released
per stltoday.com. He is replaced on the roster by Jason Craft, who I believe is another Saint DB reject, and that's a team you don't really want to be scooping up DB rejects from.
I am fairly surprised by this move because all the Wise around here are always saying what a good cover back Brown is (even as he's getting torched constantly by big receivers and never EVER manages to TURN HIS HEAD and find the ball). Brown didn't work much of training camp due to a shoulder injury, but he also didn't seem to be anywhere near the biggest screwup the first two games. He was pretty rotten last week against Seattle, though.
One assumes Ricky Manning Jr FINALLY steps up into the starting lineup?
But what the hell, Brown's the one who gets CUT while Tye Hill will still be on the field? I'm guessing there's more behind two-time drug test loser Brown's release than on-the-field issues. It's too late, but at least it's a move to clean up the locker room, if that's what it is.
Or maybe it's a message to Jim Haslett, the guy who wanted to sign Brown in the first place.
Whether it's a defensive shakeup, a locker room cleanup, or a message to a complacent DC, I support whatever they're trying to do here, even if I'm a little surprised. It's not like Brown ever struck fear in the hearts of WRs around the league anyway, though it does leave the Ram secondary dreadfully thin.
I am fairly surprised by this move because all the Wise around here are always saying what a good cover back Brown is (even as he's getting torched constantly by big receivers and never EVER manages to TURN HIS HEAD and find the ball). Brown didn't work much of training camp due to a shoulder injury, but he also didn't seem to be anywhere near the biggest screwup the first two games. He was pretty rotten last week against Seattle, though.
One assumes Ricky Manning Jr FINALLY steps up into the starting lineup?
But what the hell, Brown's the one who gets CUT while Tye Hill will still be on the field? I'm guessing there's more behind two-time drug test loser Brown's release than on-the-field issues. It's too late, but at least it's a move to clean up the locker room, if that's what it is.
Or maybe it's a message to Jim Haslett, the guy who wanted to sign Brown in the first place.
Whether it's a defensive shakeup, a locker room cleanup, or a message to a complacent DC, I support whatever they're trying to do here, even if I'm a little surprised. It's not like Brown ever struck fear in the hearts of WRs around the league anyway, though it does leave the Ram secondary dreadfully thin.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Bulger'd better not be alone
Scott Linehan's been teasing lineup changes the last week and a half during this dismal streak, and he dropped the big one today by benching Marc Bulger. The thing is, Bulger should have a lot of company on the bench I don't know that he'll actually have.
* Corey Chavous can't cover or tackle anyone anymore at SS. Todd Johnson or Brannon Condren can at least tackle. Chavous should have been benched two weeks ago.
* Pisa Tinoisamoa has been terrible and there is no reason not to go ahead and try Chris Chamberlain at his spot. Chris Draft should see more playing time, too. My impression is that Quinton Culberson is struggling in pass coverage. I'd like to see more of a platoon working there.
* I don't know why Ricky Manning Jr. has not yet put Tye Hill's bust of a butt on the bench, but it needs to happen soon. Honestly, the Rams would be just as well off with Jonathan Wade if they want to go there.
* James Hall has no value to this team. I'd rather see Eric Moore get his snaps. He certainly shouldn't be taking any snaps away from Victor Adeyanju any more. Hall is a liability on every play he's in.
* I've been theorizing that the best way to light a fire under Richie Incognito's ass would be to give his starting job to John Greco. Maybe then Cogs would come back with a vengeance. Since Cogs is hurt now anyway, that point is moot. (Or as we say in Missouri, mute.)
* And could we get the bone stimulator hooked up to Brett Romberg or something? What is taking so long with his injury? I thought it was a short-term thing. LeCharles Bentley isn't looking too bad these days, you know?
* Dan Kreider has been highly disappointing at fullback. No reason that job can't be done by Brian Leonard or the Weil kid on the practice squad.
* Dante Hall is useless to this team. He LONG ago lost the speed needed for the way the team is trying to use him. I've been pounding all year that ANYBODY would be an improvement over Hall jogging up to the 19 yard line 6 times a game. Give Derrick Stanley, or Donnie Avery, or why not even Jonathan Wade, a shot at his return job.
* Avery needs to start and play all game, not come in as a change of pace for Dane Looker. Looker is getting so overused in this offense for his speed I almost wish he hadn't made the team.
Those are all the moves I've got for now. I agree Bulger has not performed remotely close to what you want out of a $60 million QB. I agree that benching him is one way of putting a spark under everybody else's butts. But he's not the player most worthy of benching (I'm looking at you, Corey Chavous), and he'd better not be the only starter who gets demoted this week.
* Corey Chavous can't cover or tackle anyone anymore at SS. Todd Johnson or Brannon Condren can at least tackle. Chavous should have been benched two weeks ago.
* Pisa Tinoisamoa has been terrible and there is no reason not to go ahead and try Chris Chamberlain at his spot. Chris Draft should see more playing time, too. My impression is that Quinton Culberson is struggling in pass coverage. I'd like to see more of a platoon working there.
* I don't know why Ricky Manning Jr. has not yet put Tye Hill's bust of a butt on the bench, but it needs to happen soon. Honestly, the Rams would be just as well off with Jonathan Wade if they want to go there.
* James Hall has no value to this team. I'd rather see Eric Moore get his snaps. He certainly shouldn't be taking any snaps away from Victor Adeyanju any more. Hall is a liability on every play he's in.
* I've been theorizing that the best way to light a fire under Richie Incognito's ass would be to give his starting job to John Greco. Maybe then Cogs would come back with a vengeance. Since Cogs is hurt now anyway, that point is moot. (Or as we say in Missouri, mute.)
* And could we get the bone stimulator hooked up to Brett Romberg or something? What is taking so long with his injury? I thought it was a short-term thing. LeCharles Bentley isn't looking too bad these days, you know?
* Dan Kreider has been highly disappointing at fullback. No reason that job can't be done by Brian Leonard or the Weil kid on the practice squad.
* Dante Hall is useless to this team. He LONG ago lost the speed needed for the way the team is trying to use him. I've been pounding all year that ANYBODY would be an improvement over Hall jogging up to the 19 yard line 6 times a game. Give Derrick Stanley, or Donnie Avery, or why not even Jonathan Wade, a shot at his return job.
* Avery needs to start and play all game, not come in as a change of pace for Dane Looker. Looker is getting so overused in this offense for his speed I almost wish he hadn't made the team.
Those are all the moves I've got for now. I agree Bulger has not performed remotely close to what you want out of a $60 million QB. I agree that benching him is one way of putting a spark under everybody else's butts. But he's not the player most worthy of benching (I'm looking at you, Corey Chavous), and he'd better not be the only starter who gets demoted this week.
Marc Bulger benched
Trent Green will start at QB for the Rams against Buffalo this Sunday.
Here's the official word from Jim Thomas at stltoday:
Rams bench Bulger
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/23/2008
The Rams have benched quarterback Marc Bulger and will replace him with Trent Green this week against Buffalo.
Bulger completed 18 of 31 passes for 184 yards and one interception last Sunday in a loss to Seattle.
He is rated 22nd in the league's passer rating system.
The team is 0-3 going into Sunday's home game against the 3-0 Bills.
Green, 38, last started in Week 5 of the 2007 season for the Miami Dolphins in a loss to the Houston Texans. He was 0-5 with Miami.
A native St. Louisan and Vianney High graduate, Green started for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2001 until halfway through the 2006 season, when he was sidelined by injuries.
He was slated to be the Rams' starter in 1999 but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the final preseason game. Unheralded Kurt Warner took over and led the Rams on an improbable run to the Super Bowl championship.
Green also was the Washington Redskins' starter in 1998.
Bulger, 31, took over from Warner as the Rams' starter in 2002. After a stellar 2006 season in which he passed for more than 4,300 yards and 24 TDs with only eight interceptions, Bulger signed a $65 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid player in Rams history.
Playing for a 3-13 team, Bulger had his worst season in 2007 and missed four games because of injuries.
Sacks have taken a heavy toll on Bulger, who has been dropped 97 times in 31 starts from 2006 until now.
Bulger's entire 2008 base salary of $7 million is guaranteed, as is $3 million (of his $6.5 million base) in '09.
Here's the official word from Jim Thomas at stltoday:
Rams bench Bulger
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/23/2008
The Rams have benched quarterback Marc Bulger and will replace him with Trent Green this week against Buffalo.
Bulger completed 18 of 31 passes for 184 yards and one interception last Sunday in a loss to Seattle.
He is rated 22nd in the league's passer rating system.
The team is 0-3 going into Sunday's home game against the 3-0 Bills.
Green, 38, last started in Week 5 of the 2007 season for the Miami Dolphins in a loss to the Houston Texans. He was 0-5 with Miami.
A native St. Louisan and Vianney High graduate, Green started for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2001 until halfway through the 2006 season, when he was sidelined by injuries.
He was slated to be the Rams' starter in 1999 but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the final preseason game. Unheralded Kurt Warner took over and led the Rams on an improbable run to the Super Bowl championship.
Green also was the Washington Redskins' starter in 1998.
Bulger, 31, took over from Warner as the Rams' starter in 2002. After a stellar 2006 season in which he passed for more than 4,300 yards and 24 TDs with only eight interceptions, Bulger signed a $65 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid player in Rams history.
Playing for a 3-13 team, Bulger had his worst season in 2007 and missed four games because of injuries.
Sacks have taken a heavy toll on Bulger, who has been dropped 97 times in 31 starts from 2006 until now.
Bulger's entire 2008 base salary of $7 million is guaranteed, as is $3 million (of his $6.5 million base) in '09.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Put a gag order on Josh Brown
From today's Jim Thomas article on Rams kicker/former Seahawk Josh Brown returning to face Seattle's fans Sunday:
...in a not-so-veiled shot at Rams fans from Sunday's 41-13 loss to the New York Giants, Brown added, "You
get booed at home, you get booed away, what's the difference? It's going to feel like a home game."
Boy, I tell you, that sucker better NEVER miss a field goal if he's going to bag on Rams fans when he's been a Ram FOR TWO GAMES.
Your team LOST 41-13! What were you expecting? Huzzahs and hosannas? Rose petals thrown at your feet? Songs and epic poems written in your honor?
How's about your team comes within FOUR TOUCHDOWNS of a fellow National Football League opponent before you whine about how you're getting treated by the fans?
I'm rooting for Seattle fans to boo Josh Brown's head off Sunday. Douchebag.
...in a not-so-veiled shot at Rams fans from Sunday's 41-13 loss to the New York Giants, Brown added, "You
get booed at home, you get booed away, what's the difference? It's going to feel like a home game."
Boy, I tell you, that sucker better NEVER miss a field goal if he's going to bag on Rams fans when he's been a Ram FOR TWO GAMES.
Your team LOST 41-13! What were you expecting? Huzzahs and hosannas? Rose petals thrown at your feet? Songs and epic poems written in your honor?
How's about your team comes within FOUR TOUCHDOWNS of a fellow National Football League opponent before you whine about how you're getting treated by the fans?
I'm rooting for Seattle fans to boo Josh Brown's head off Sunday. Douchebag.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Baskett TD
Got a better look at Hank Baskett's 90-yard TD from Sunday watching NFL Network last night, and now I think I understand what was going on.
My previous thought was that Fakhir Brown gave up the slot man to Corey Chavous and he wasn't supposed to. I wouldn't have been surprised if Brown, who missed all of training camp with a rotator cuff injury, might have made such an assignment error in his first game back. But I didn't know what was going on on the back side of the play.
From the top: Ron Bartell's lined up across from the slot man, Brown across from Baskett. Bartell blitzes. Correct move. Brown swings over to pick up the slot man and sits down in the short zone. Correct move. If McNabb goes to the slot man as his hot receiver, Brown has an excellent chance to break up the pass or pick it off. Baskett and the slot receiver both run upfield, though. Hell, the slot may have run the wrong route for all I know. But a Ram, I think OJ Atogwe, rotates over to pick up the slot man. On some of the replays, you can see OJ right on the slot man. (Obviously I didn't pick up on this last Sunday.) Corey Chavous' only responsibility all along was to stay with Baskett. But he didn't trust that the slot man would get picked up and left himself in "no man's land". McNabb goes to Baskett; Chavous is horribly out of position; 90-yard TD.
The Rams blew a similar coverage earlier in the game to surrender a 32-yard completion to Jason Avant. Same thing. Bartell lined up in front of him and blitzed. Pisa was supposed to provide support from the far side on that play but didn't get there. Chavous probably had that in mind when he blew the Baskett TD.
But the blame for that TD is completely Chavous'. My apologies to Brown that I guessed wrong. And to Jim Haslett that I didn't understand the coverage.
I do not apologize, however, for criticizing Haslett's use of blitzes on third-and-long on both plays. This is all avoided with straight defense.
My previous thought was that Fakhir Brown gave up the slot man to Corey Chavous and he wasn't supposed to. I wouldn't have been surprised if Brown, who missed all of training camp with a rotator cuff injury, might have made such an assignment error in his first game back. But I didn't know what was going on on the back side of the play.
From the top: Ron Bartell's lined up across from the slot man, Brown across from Baskett. Bartell blitzes. Correct move. Brown swings over to pick up the slot man and sits down in the short zone. Correct move. If McNabb goes to the slot man as his hot receiver, Brown has an excellent chance to break up the pass or pick it off. Baskett and the slot receiver both run upfield, though. Hell, the slot may have run the wrong route for all I know. But a Ram, I think OJ Atogwe, rotates over to pick up the slot man. On some of the replays, you can see OJ right on the slot man. (Obviously I didn't pick up on this last Sunday.) Corey Chavous' only responsibility all along was to stay with Baskett. But he didn't trust that the slot man would get picked up and left himself in "no man's land". McNabb goes to Baskett; Chavous is horribly out of position; 90-yard TD.
The Rams blew a similar coverage earlier in the game to surrender a 32-yard completion to Jason Avant. Same thing. Bartell lined up in front of him and blitzed. Pisa was supposed to provide support from the far side on that play but didn't get there. Chavous probably had that in mind when he blew the Baskett TD.
But the blame for that TD is completely Chavous'. My apologies to Brown that I guessed wrong. And to Jim Haslett that I didn't understand the coverage.
I do not apologize, however, for criticizing Haslett's use of blitzes on third-and-long on both plays. This is all avoided with straight defense.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Fallout from the Opening Day fiasco
RamView
* Injury report: Leonard Little has a strained hamstring and may miss the Giants game.
Orlando Pace had the wind knocked out of him and should be OK. (Phew.)
Donnie Avery will likely miss the Giants game due to a sprained knee.
And Drew Bennett, the Worst Free Agent Signing in Rams History, will be out (at least) a month after
getting his foot broken on his only catch Sunday.
* WR shuffle: Bennett's and Avery's injuries have forced some changes in the WR corps. It sounds like Dane Looker (remember him? He was almost cut in August) moves all the way up to WR2, though Keenan Burton should get time there as well. Burton is up for significantly increased playing time.
The Rams are also going to add a veteran receiver to fill out the WR group. Mr. Irrelevant David Vobora has already been cut to clear room for a new wideout. Myself, I'd promote Derek Stanley, but the Rams are trying out the likes of Joe Horn and Keenan McCardell. Yeah, let's not give the young guy a chance, what this offense needs is more slow, old guys.
And it gets better.
The favorite right now to become the newest Rams wide receiver is?
EDDIE FUCKING KENNISON.
Does this front office just have a completely tin ear, or what? Their brilliant idea to get the team ready and re-energize the fan base after Sunday's fiasco is to relive the glories of the Rich Brooks Era?
If Marc Bulger gets hurt against the Giants, can Tony Banks expect a call? Is June Henley still in game shape?
Idiots. Just promote Stanley.
* Defensive shakeup. These kind of things are always impossible for me to figure out on TV. Fakhir Brown started in Philly, but as the nickel back. Tye Hill and Ron Bartell were the starting corners. Hill's play then became so pathetic, Jim Haslett BENCHED him and moved Brown back to corner.
Hill's demotion is still in effect. Brown and Bartell are the starters for the Giants game, and Ricky Manning Jr. has better than a long shot at superseding Hill at nickel. Fuck, Tye Hill may not even be ACTIVE for next Sunday's game.
Another SPECTACULAR DRAFT BUST for the Linehan administration. Tye Hill and Claude Wroten wasn't a very good return for Jay Cutler, was it? At least my pick, Broderick Bunkley, IS PLAYING for the Eagles. I could never argue strongly for or against Antonio Cromartie because I didn't know enough about his knee.
Mark me down forever as a new adherent to Best Player Available, Regardless of Position. Every Round. What the Rams are doing now sure isn't working.
* Defensive snafus. The Rams insist the secondary wasn't confused throughout Sunday's game, that they were making physical mistakes. Haslett blamed the 90-yard Hank Baskett TD on Corey Chavous taking his eye off of Baskett.
The hell? The defensive call there was designed to let two WRs run free downfield to Chavous? I guess it could be that Chavous should have gone to Baskett down the sideline and expected help to come from OJ Atogwe on the other side of the field, but I'm sure shaky on why any of this high-speed shell game was a good gamble on third-and-long.
Just play straight defense!
More news or corrections here as they come up.
* Injury report: Leonard Little has a strained hamstring and may miss the Giants game.
Orlando Pace had the wind knocked out of him and should be OK. (Phew.)
Donnie Avery will likely miss the Giants game due to a sprained knee.
And Drew Bennett, the Worst Free Agent Signing in Rams History, will be out (at least) a month after
getting his foot broken on his only catch Sunday.
* WR shuffle: Bennett's and Avery's injuries have forced some changes in the WR corps. It sounds like Dane Looker (remember him? He was almost cut in August) moves all the way up to WR2, though Keenan Burton should get time there as well. Burton is up for significantly increased playing time.
The Rams are also going to add a veteran receiver to fill out the WR group. Mr. Irrelevant David Vobora has already been cut to clear room for a new wideout. Myself, I'd promote Derek Stanley, but the Rams are trying out the likes of Joe Horn and Keenan McCardell. Yeah, let's not give the young guy a chance, what this offense needs is more slow, old guys.
And it gets better.
The favorite right now to become the newest Rams wide receiver is?
EDDIE FUCKING KENNISON.
Does this front office just have a completely tin ear, or what? Their brilliant idea to get the team ready and re-energize the fan base after Sunday's fiasco is to relive the glories of the Rich Brooks Era?
If Marc Bulger gets hurt against the Giants, can Tony Banks expect a call? Is June Henley still in game shape?
Idiots. Just promote Stanley.
* Defensive shakeup. These kind of things are always impossible for me to figure out on TV. Fakhir Brown started in Philly, but as the nickel back. Tye Hill and Ron Bartell were the starting corners. Hill's play then became so pathetic, Jim Haslett BENCHED him and moved Brown back to corner.
Hill's demotion is still in effect. Brown and Bartell are the starters for the Giants game, and Ricky Manning Jr. has better than a long shot at superseding Hill at nickel. Fuck, Tye Hill may not even be ACTIVE for next Sunday's game.
Another SPECTACULAR DRAFT BUST for the Linehan administration. Tye Hill and Claude Wroten wasn't a very good return for Jay Cutler, was it? At least my pick, Broderick Bunkley, IS PLAYING for the Eagles. I could never argue strongly for or against Antonio Cromartie because I didn't know enough about his knee.
Mark me down forever as a new adherent to Best Player Available, Regardless of Position. Every Round. What the Rams are doing now sure isn't working.
* Defensive snafus. The Rams insist the secondary wasn't confused throughout Sunday's game, that they were making physical mistakes. Haslett blamed the 90-yard Hank Baskett TD on Corey Chavous taking his eye off of Baskett.
The hell? The defensive call there was designed to let two WRs run free downfield to Chavous? I guess it could be that Chavous should have gone to Baskett down the sideline and expected help to come from OJ Atogwe on the other side of the field, but I'm sure shaky on why any of this high-speed shell game was a good gamble on third-and-long.
Just play straight defense!
More news or corrections here as they come up.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Opening Day
The season officially starts tonight with the Redskins at the Giants, 6pm. I'm thinking Giants in a close one. Maybe the Skins can rough them up a little bit prior to their arrival here for the home opener.
As for the Rams' Opening Day:
- the Eggles are 7.5 point favorites.
- the only Ram out for the game for certain appears to be Donnie Avery. I'll mope over the wisdom of that particular pick another time, but if the Rams are this healthy for the Eggle game, it bodes well.
Miscellany:
- Tim McGarigle was the player cut to open up a roster spot for Gary Stills.
As for the Rams' Opening Day:
- the Eggles are 7.5 point favorites.
- the only Ram out for the game for certain appears to be Donnie Avery. I'll mope over the wisdom of that particular pick another time, but if the Rams are this healthy for the Eggle game, it bodes well.
Miscellany:
- Tim McGarigle was the player cut to open up a roster spot for Gary Stills.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Ricky Manning Jr., Brannon Condren, Gary Stills
Info on the Rams' newest or impending members:
On the field, Ricky Manning Jr. has 14 career INTs in 5 seasons. In the '03 postseason he established himself as a big-time defensive playmaker. He ripped a ball away from Torry Holt in Carolina's playoff in at St. Louis and he picked off Donovan McNabb three times to help send the Panthers to Super owl XXXVIII. The Bears signed him to a $21 million offer sheet in 2006. While Carolina deliberated on hether to match, Manning, Maurice Jones-Drew and former UCLA player Tyler Ebell were arrested in L.A. for a brutal assault at a Denny's. It was Manning's second assault arrest; he got in a fight with two bodybuilders outside an L.A. bar in 2002. Though he steadfastly claims that Jones-Drew and Ebell did all the beating, Manning pled no contest to felony assault while charges were dismissed and dropped for the other two. Manning says he pled out to avoid the unpredictability of a trial, even though he believes videotape of the incident would exonerate him. Manning had a career high 5 INTs in 2006, but none last season, and he tumbled down Chicago's depth chart as a result, until they finally cut him last week.
Manning is probably veteran insurance against the high likelihood of Fakhir Brown and/or Tye Hill missing games due to injuries. Brown's injured right now, and the brittle Hill is probably due to pull, tear or snap something any day now. Manning's an upgrade over Jonathan Wade, Darius Vinnett(PS) or David Macklin (cut). But that's about it. I would be disappointed if Jim Haslett puts Manning on the field ahead of Ron Bartell. He looks like a good pickup for depth. As far as his knucklehead quotient, I wish I could say something better than "he's not Pac-Man Jones". There may be enough doubt around the Denny's incident to cut him an even break, I don't know. He gets so much as a parking ticket around here, I want him out.
Condren was drafted out of Troy by the Colts last year. Injuries kept him out of the Colts' safety rotation until the second half of last season, when he also played special teams. He's a very good athlete and a good tackler. He picked off a couple of ricochets for the Colts a couple of preseason games ago at Atlanta. Richard Owens was released to make roster room for him, but the most appropriate comparison would be to Classy Eric Bassey. Condren's advantage appears to be that he gives the Rams a backup strong safety behind Corey Chavous; with Bassey on the active roster instead, they'd have three free safeties and one strong.
Gary Stills' signing is still pending as I write. He is a career special teamer who represented the Chiefs in the Pro Bowl in 2003 as special teams specialist. Joining the Ravens in 2006, he set a team record for special teams tackles with 44, matching his career high from 2002. He followed that with only 15 tackles last season, though, and the 34-year-old was released by Baltimore in favor of younger special teams bangers like Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski.
This is pretty much a trend with the Rams: sign a special-teamer who played well for Kansas City but is likely past his prime. (See: Hall, Dante.) Then again, who on the Rams' coverage units now actually is any good? Maybe Todd Johnson? Chris Massey? My biggest hope for Stills is that if he's good enough at special teams, he'll become the coach.
On the field, Ricky Manning Jr. has 14 career INTs in 5 seasons. In the '03 postseason he established himself as a big-time defensive playmaker. He ripped a ball away from Torry Holt in Carolina's playoff in at St. Louis and he picked off Donovan McNabb three times to help send the Panthers to Super owl XXXVIII. The Bears signed him to a $21 million offer sheet in 2006. While Carolina deliberated on hether to match, Manning, Maurice Jones-Drew and former UCLA player Tyler Ebell were arrested in L.A. for a brutal assault at a Denny's. It was Manning's second assault arrest; he got in a fight with two bodybuilders outside an L.A. bar in 2002. Though he steadfastly claims that Jones-Drew and Ebell did all the beating, Manning pled no contest to felony assault while charges were dismissed and dropped for the other two. Manning says he pled out to avoid the unpredictability of a trial, even though he believes videotape of the incident would exonerate him. Manning had a career high 5 INTs in 2006, but none last season, and he tumbled down Chicago's depth chart as a result, until they finally cut him last week.
Manning is probably veteran insurance against the high likelihood of Fakhir Brown and/or Tye Hill missing games due to injuries. Brown's injured right now, and the brittle Hill is probably due to pull, tear or snap something any day now. Manning's an upgrade over Jonathan Wade, Darius Vinnett(PS) or David Macklin (cut). But that's about it. I would be disappointed if Jim Haslett puts Manning on the field ahead of Ron Bartell. He looks like a good pickup for depth. As far as his knucklehead quotient, I wish I could say something better than "he's not Pac-Man Jones". There may be enough doubt around the Denny's incident to cut him an even break, I don't know. He gets so much as a parking ticket around here, I want him out.
Condren was drafted out of Troy by the Colts last year. Injuries kept him out of the Colts' safety rotation until the second half of last season, when he also played special teams. He's a very good athlete and a good tackler. He picked off a couple of ricochets for the Colts a couple of preseason games ago at Atlanta. Richard Owens was released to make roster room for him, but the most appropriate comparison would be to Classy Eric Bassey. Condren's advantage appears to be that he gives the Rams a backup strong safety behind Corey Chavous; with Bassey on the active roster instead, they'd have three free safeties and one strong.
Gary Stills' signing is still pending as I write. He is a career special teamer who represented the Chiefs in the Pro Bowl in 2003 as special teams specialist. Joining the Ravens in 2006, he set a team record for special teams tackles with 44, matching his career high from 2002. He followed that with only 15 tackles last season, though, and the 34-year-old was released by Baltimore in favor of younger special teams bangers like Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski.
This is pretty much a trend with the Rams: sign a special-teamer who played well for Kansas City but is likely past his prime. (See: Hall, Dante.) Then again, who on the Rams' coverage units now actually is any good? Maybe Todd Johnson? Chris Massey? My biggest hope for Stills is that if he's good enough at special teams, he'll become the coach.
Final cuts
The Rams made the following moves to get to the 53-man roster limit.
Cut: WR Brandon Williams, WR Reche Caldwell, T Mark LeVoir (signed by New England), CB David Macklin, T Julius Wilson (signed by Tampa Bay), TE Richard Owens, QB Bruce Gradkowski, SS Jerome Carter, WR Marcus Hagans, WR Matt Caddell, LB Marcus Riley, TE Nick Cleaver, CB Cortney Grixby, CB Tanard Davis, C Donovan Raiola, DT Willie Williams and DT Henry Smith.
Practice Squad: WR Derek Stanley, RB Lance Ball, G Dustin Fry, DE CJ Ah You, CB Darius Vinnett, FB Nick Weil, LB Mark Magro, FS Eric Bassey. S Sebastian Sejean
That's 25 guys; technically, Owens and Bassey survived the first cut. Bassey was released to make room for CB Ricky Manning Jr. Owens was replaced by SS Brannon Condren from the Colts. The Rams are also on the verge of signing LB Gary Stills, who would be used as a special teams specialist. That would seem to doom either Tim McGarigle or one of the practice squad members, because I don't believe David Vobora would just be released. More on the new guys in a future post.
RamView went 20/23 on the cuts. I had Weil beating out Dan Kreider and had Owens and Eric Moore out in favor of keeping CBs Vinnett and Macklin. It surprised me that the Rams cut down to 4 CBs when to get to 53 but Manning brings them back up to 5. None of the cuts are really very surprising.
I'll be on top of any roster announcements through the week.
Cut: WR Brandon Williams, WR Reche Caldwell, T Mark LeVoir (signed by New England), CB David Macklin, T Julius Wilson (signed by Tampa Bay), TE Richard Owens, QB Bruce Gradkowski, SS Jerome Carter, WR Marcus Hagans, WR Matt Caddell, LB Marcus Riley, TE Nick Cleaver, CB Cortney Grixby, CB Tanard Davis, C Donovan Raiola, DT Willie Williams and DT Henry Smith.
Practice Squad: WR Derek Stanley, RB Lance Ball, G Dustin Fry, DE CJ Ah You, CB Darius Vinnett, FB Nick Weil, LB Mark Magro, FS Eric Bassey. S Sebastian Sejean
That's 25 guys; technically, Owens and Bassey survived the first cut. Bassey was released to make room for CB Ricky Manning Jr. Owens was replaced by SS Brannon Condren from the Colts. The Rams are also on the verge of signing LB Gary Stills, who would be used as a special teams specialist. That would seem to doom either Tim McGarigle or one of the practice squad members, because I don't believe David Vobora would just be released. More on the new guys in a future post.
RamView went 20/23 on the cuts. I had Weil beating out Dan Kreider and had Owens and Eric Moore out in favor of keeping CBs Vinnett and Macklin. It surprised me that the Rams cut down to 4 CBs when to get to 53 but Manning brings them back up to 5. None of the cuts are really very surprising.
I'll be on top of any roster announcements through the week.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Rams report, 8/28
Not that much going on today, I'll just pass on a few links and short notes...
Rams play the Chiefs tonight, kickoff at 6 p.m. I'm shooting to have RamView out no later than noon Friday. Trent Green will start at QB; expect very few regulars on the field, if any. Curse Scott Linehan for not taking the Governor's Cup seriously!!!?!?!!
Bunch o' links:
- Dante Hall doesn't take the Governor's Cup seriously, either. And this will be his ninth one!!! Bill Coats
- The Rams are comfortable with Adam Goldberg at LT if Orlando Pace can't play. Coats article
- Post-Dispatch writers make their NFL predictions for 2008. No one picked New England to even go to the Super Bowl?
- stlouisrams.com previews the Governor's Cup game. More previews: Nick Wagoner Steve Korte
- Howard Balzer goes back over the cap implications of cutting Drew Bennett. Still sounds good to me.
- John Clayton: Kurt Warner proves he has a future.
- Around the league: Shawn Merriman's skipping surgery.
- Big injury news: Jeff Saturday out six weeks for the Colts.
More here if anything actually happens.
Rams play the Chiefs tonight, kickoff at 6 p.m. I'm shooting to have RamView out no later than noon Friday. Trent Green will start at QB; expect very few regulars on the field, if any. Curse Scott Linehan for not taking the Governor's Cup seriously!!!?!?!!
Bunch o' links:
- Dante Hall doesn't take the Governor's Cup seriously, either. And this will be his ninth one!!! Bill Coats
- The Rams are comfortable with Adam Goldberg at LT if Orlando Pace can't play. Coats article
- Post-Dispatch writers make their NFL predictions for 2008. No one picked New England to even go to the Super Bowl?
- stlouisrams.com previews the Governor's Cup game. More previews: Nick Wagoner Steve Korte
- Howard Balzer goes back over the cap implications of cutting Drew Bennett. Still sounds good to me.
- John Clayton: Kurt Warner proves he has a future.
- Around the league: Shawn Merriman's skipping surgery.
- Big injury news: Jeff Saturday out six weeks for the Colts.
More here if anything actually happens.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Update: Rams report, 8/27
* Update: Trent Green will start at QB tomorrow night. Marc Bulger will not play. It is highly doubtful that Steven Jackson will play, though it apparently hasn't been completely ruled out. The Rams would have to cut a player to have Jackson available for the game.
* Oh dear. From Bill Coats this morning:
"Will Witherspoon's groin injury is worse than first thought and is causing some concern in the Rams' camp." Witherspoon is out for tomorrow night's game in KC, which is no big deal, but the Rams are sunk if he can't play in the season opener.
SUNK.
* Cuts. Cut yesterday to get the team to the 75-man roster limit:
- RB Lavarus Giles, who I doubt was here long enough to learn any plays;
- PK Justin Medlock;
- WR Shaine Smith.
The Rams also placed Justin King on injured reserve. They will have to cut 23 players, not 22, to get to the 53-man roster limit on August 30, because they've got a roster exemption for Steven Jackson.
* Keep dreaming. Those of us hoping the Rams would use a surprise cut and dump Drew Bennett, whose picture is next to the dictionary entry for "underachieving", can stop holding our breath. Scott Linehan says Drew's "..holding himself accountable to a very high standard, and he will play good football for us."
In other words: Signing the guy was my idea and we're not cutting him not matter how much he sucks, which even I realize is a lot.
* Oh dear. From Bill Coats this morning:
"Will Witherspoon's groin injury is worse than first thought and is causing some concern in the Rams' camp." Witherspoon is out for tomorrow night's game in KC, which is no big deal, but the Rams are sunk if he can't play in the season opener.
SUNK.
* Cuts. Cut yesterday to get the team to the 75-man roster limit:
- RB Lavarus Giles, who I doubt was here long enough to learn any plays;
- PK Justin Medlock;
- WR Shaine Smith.
The Rams also placed Justin King on injured reserve. They will have to cut 23 players, not 22, to get to the 53-man roster limit on August 30, because they've got a roster exemption for Steven Jackson.
* Keep dreaming. Those of us hoping the Rams would use a surprise cut and dump Drew Bennett, whose picture is next to the dictionary entry for "underachieving", can stop holding our breath. Scott Linehan says Drew's "..holding himself accountable to a very high standard, and he will play good football for us."
In other words: Signing the guy was my idea and we're not cutting him not matter how much he sucks, which even I realize is a lot.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Rams report, 8/26
* Perhaps the best news of camp so far is that OJ Atogwe is finally back on the practice field. Nick Wagoner blog He'll only get two practices in before the Chiefs game Saturday, so he's unlikely to appear there. That's OK; September 7 is the important deadline now.
More good news: Orlando Pace is practicing again.
I wouldn't expect to see Steven Jackson on the field at Kansas City. The Rams got an exemption so he doesn't count against the roster unless he plays. So to see him on Thursday, they'll have to cut someone else. (I have a great idea below).
Fakhir Brown's expected back next week. Also out: Dante Hall (ankle), Drew Bennett (useless waste of money).
And - (GULP) - Will Witherspoon (groin). When did this happen? The Rams are f*cked without Witherspoon.
* Speaking of Bennett - cut him! Howard Balzer makes the case today that the Rams should cut their losses and cut Drew Bennett, who's rivalling the Road Grader for worst free-agent pickup of the St. Louis era. I'd never thought it an option just because of the man's huge contract, but Balzer points out cutting him now would only cost an extra half-million against the cap next year.
Knowing those numbers, the Rams should consider cutting Bennett today to help them get down to 75 players. Bennett has been completely useless. He has poor hands. He won't fight for catches. He doesn't use his height to win contested passes. He doesn't stretch the field, and he has not been the red zone weapon the Rams thought they were getting when they signed him. He is CONSTANTLY injured, including right now with a groin pull suffered Saturday night. And did you notice what happened once Bennett was off the field against Baltimore? The Rams' passing offense started clicking!
If you're not looking at his salary, just judging off his demonstrated "talent", -Bennett- would be the one fighting for WR6 with Derek Stanley and the others, not Dane Looker. Looker and Dante Hall aren't tall multi-millionaires, but they're better receivers than Bennett. Rookies Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery stepped up Saturday night and gave the Ram offense a jolt Bennett has never offered. Stanley's not tall, and didn't cost a lot to sign, either. But he can at least return punts.
Cut Drew Bennett.
* LeCharles Bentley in town. The former Saints, then Browns center, who never actually got to play for Cleveland due to injuries, reportedly visited Rams Park yesterday. Jim Thomas article This is an odd-looking move by the Rams, where center hasn't looked like a need area, thanks to the preseason play of Nick Leckey and the past play of Brett Romberg, who'd be the starter if not for a broken hand. And Richie Incognito can play there in an emergency. If the Rams feel there's an immediate need to upgrade at center, how is someone who's been out injured two seasons and hasn't taken a snap in the Rams' system going to help? Bentley was one of the league's top centers before injuries hit, but it's hard to see him as a quick upgrade at center for the Rams.
More good news: Orlando Pace is practicing again.
I wouldn't expect to see Steven Jackson on the field at Kansas City. The Rams got an exemption so he doesn't count against the roster unless he plays. So to see him on Thursday, they'll have to cut someone else. (I have a great idea below).
Fakhir Brown's expected back next week. Also out: Dante Hall (ankle), Drew Bennett (useless waste of money).
And - (GULP) - Will Witherspoon (groin). When did this happen? The Rams are f*cked without Witherspoon.
* Speaking of Bennett - cut him! Howard Balzer makes the case today that the Rams should cut their losses and cut Drew Bennett, who's rivalling the Road Grader for worst free-agent pickup of the St. Louis era. I'd never thought it an option just because of the man's huge contract, but Balzer points out cutting him now would only cost an extra half-million against the cap next year.
Knowing those numbers, the Rams should consider cutting Bennett today to help them get down to 75 players. Bennett has been completely useless. He has poor hands. He won't fight for catches. He doesn't use his height to win contested passes. He doesn't stretch the field, and he has not been the red zone weapon the Rams thought they were getting when they signed him. He is CONSTANTLY injured, including right now with a groin pull suffered Saturday night. And did you notice what happened once Bennett was off the field against Baltimore? The Rams' passing offense started clicking!
If you're not looking at his salary, just judging off his demonstrated "talent", -Bennett- would be the one fighting for WR6 with Derek Stanley and the others, not Dane Looker. Looker and Dante Hall aren't tall multi-millionaires, but they're better receivers than Bennett. Rookies Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery stepped up Saturday night and gave the Ram offense a jolt Bennett has never offered. Stanley's not tall, and didn't cost a lot to sign, either. But he can at least return punts.
Cut Drew Bennett.
* LeCharles Bentley in town. The former Saints, then Browns center, who never actually got to play for Cleveland due to injuries, reportedly visited Rams Park yesterday. Jim Thomas article This is an odd-looking move by the Rams, where center hasn't looked like a need area, thanks to the preseason play of Nick Leckey and the past play of Brett Romberg, who'd be the starter if not for a broken hand. And Richie Incognito can play there in an emergency. If the Rams feel there's an immediate need to upgrade at center, how is someone who's been out injured two seasons and hasn't taken a snap in the Rams' system going to help? Bentley was one of the league's top centers before injuries hit, but it's hard to see him as a quick upgrade at center for the Rams.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Rams report. 8/25
Good effort by the Rams in their 24-10 win over Baltimore Saturday night. RamView
After that disaster of a game in Tennessee, they've bounced back to where I'd say they're playing better now than they were at this time last preseason. If that means much considering the slaughterhouse of an early-season schedule they have, I don't know, but at least Scott Linehan worked the starters more than last preseason, and the results are apparent.
The Rams look as ready as they're going to be.
* Injury report. Just about all of Rams Nation sees Drew Bennett's groin injury Saturday night as a blessing in disguise. It got the young receivers on the field, and Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery shone, looking well-acquainted with Marc Bulger and the Ram offense.
The injury also gets Bennett off the field, which is another good thing in itself.
- Dante Hall sprained an ankle on a punt return, but we don't yet have an idea of the severity of the injury. Or maybe we do; Linehan said it was not as bad as his injury last year, and we all know the coach is a big fat liar about injuries.
- Mark Setterstrom made it through waivers and is on the Rams' injured reserve list.
* Stuff I missed in RamView.
- Donnie Jones' average was low because the Ravens blocked a punt in the first and it traveled forward 11 yards. I completely forgot about that blocked punt in the special teams rundown.
Oh great, another reason to worry about special teams.
Justin Medlock also sent a kickoff out of bounds, but I left that out because he barely missed sending it into the endzone, or even killing it inside the 5; and if Yamon Figurs had returned it, he would have gotten to the 40 anyway.
* Around the league. Kurt Warner has been named the Big Dead's starting QB after Matt Leinart's disastrous 3-interception performance against the Raiders.
Unfortunately, Leinart at QB gives the Rams their only chance of beating the Big Dead these days, so I'm expecting another fucking Arizona season sweep and getting ripped at home fucking AGAIN.
After that disaster of a game in Tennessee, they've bounced back to where I'd say they're playing better now than they were at this time last preseason. If that means much considering the slaughterhouse of an early-season schedule they have, I don't know, but at least Scott Linehan worked the starters more than last preseason, and the results are apparent.
The Rams look as ready as they're going to be.
* Injury report. Just about all of Rams Nation sees Drew Bennett's groin injury Saturday night as a blessing in disguise. It got the young receivers on the field, and Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery shone, looking well-acquainted with Marc Bulger and the Ram offense.
The injury also gets Bennett off the field, which is another good thing in itself.
- Dante Hall sprained an ankle on a punt return, but we don't yet have an idea of the severity of the injury. Or maybe we do; Linehan said it was not as bad as his injury last year, and we all know the coach is a big fat liar about injuries.
- Mark Setterstrom made it through waivers and is on the Rams' injured reserve list.
* Stuff I missed in RamView.
- Donnie Jones' average was low because the Ravens blocked a punt in the first and it traveled forward 11 yards. I completely forgot about that blocked punt in the special teams rundown.
Oh great, another reason to worry about special teams.
Justin Medlock also sent a kickoff out of bounds, but I left that out because he barely missed sending it into the endzone, or even killing it inside the 5; and if Yamon Figurs had returned it, he would have gotten to the 40 anyway.
* Around the league. Kurt Warner has been named the Big Dead's starting QB after Matt Leinart's disastrous 3-interception performance against the Raiders.
Unfortunately, Leinart at QB gives the Rams their only chance of beating the Big Dead these days, so I'm expecting another fucking Arizona season sweep and getting ripped at home fucking AGAIN.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Rams report, 8/22
* Pace's shoulder RE-injured. (stltoday/Bill Coats) Orlando Pace has been sitting out because he landed on it hard trying to make a tackle after one of Marc Bulger's interceptions last Saturday. The shoulder swelled up and restricted the range of motion of his arm.
Pace's status for tomorrow night's game against Baltimore is uncertain. I'd prefer he not play, myself.
Also, since Scott Linehan told the press all week that Pace just had lingering soreness from the Charger game, is there any reason to EVER believe him about a player's injury status again?
* Setterstrom waived. (stlouisrams/Nick Wagoner) Yes, waived, as in waived/injured, to make room for Steven Jackson on the 80-man roster. He has to be put on waivers because he hasn't been in the league long enough. Assuming no other team claims him, he will go on the Rams' IR. This seems like a stupid risk on the Rams' part, if they really want to keep Setterstrom in the first place. They could have held onto him a few more days and moved him to the IR during the roster cutdown phase, like they'll have to do with Justin King. With 11 wide receivers on the roster right now, it certainly seems as though one of them could have been cut to keep Setterstrom on the 80-man until cutdown day on Tuesday. How many snaps do they really think, say, Shaine Smith, is in line for Saturday night? Or Matt Caddell? Or Brandon Williams? I don't think he's even eligible for the practice squad.
And an apparent clarification on Brandon Gorin: he is already listed on the Rams' website on injured reserve. He's got the seniority (7 years) to not have to clear waivers first.
* Jackson contract. (stltoday/Jim Thomas) I've already seen different descriptions of the terms of Steven Jackson's contract, so I went to Jim Thomas' article for confirmation. It is a six year deal worth up to $44 million (original report was 50). The final two years may void out based on performance, which would turn it into a 4-year, $30 million deal. $20 million is guaranteed and Jackson received an $11 million signing bonus. (Minus a $405,000 fine, I trust.)
Linehan lost more points yesterday when he told the press, when asked about Jackson's contract negotiations, "It never once felt like it wasn't going to get done and get done in time and it's all behind us now."
DONE IN TIME? So Linehan didn't notice Jackson missed 27 days of camp, two preseason games, and EVERY TRAINING CAMP practice?
DONE IN TIME?
Jeez.
* Gene Upshaw 1945-2008. The Hall-of-Famer and players' union representative passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer yesterday. NFLPA has named Richard Berthelsen as an interim successor, but, as Georgia Frontiere's passing seems to be marking a turning point for the Rams' future, Upshaw's passing may well be a turning point in the future of the relationship between players and owners. With Upshaw gone, the players' union is far more likely to dig in its heels when the owners try to make back some of the concessions they made in the last contract. That increases the possibility of hitting the 2010 season with no salary cap. And it'll all blow up from there.
One hopes the players will remember that Gene Upshaw helped make them very, very rich. One hopes the owners will remember that Gene Upshaw helped them stay very, very, rich. One hopes football players and owners are smart enough not to repeat the near-fatal mistakes of MLB and the NHL. One hopes negotiations will always be held with Upshaw's legacy in mind and that there will be long-time player/owner harmony in the NFL.
One hopes.
One assumes I'll be looking for new stuff to keep me busy in the fall of 2011. Madden Football, anyone?
Pace's status for tomorrow night's game against Baltimore is uncertain. I'd prefer he not play, myself.
Also, since Scott Linehan told the press all week that Pace just had lingering soreness from the Charger game, is there any reason to EVER believe him about a player's injury status again?
* Setterstrom waived. (stlouisrams/Nick Wagoner) Yes, waived, as in waived/injured, to make room for Steven Jackson on the 80-man roster. He has to be put on waivers because he hasn't been in the league long enough. Assuming no other team claims him, he will go on the Rams' IR. This seems like a stupid risk on the Rams' part, if they really want to keep Setterstrom in the first place. They could have held onto him a few more days and moved him to the IR during the roster cutdown phase, like they'll have to do with Justin King. With 11 wide receivers on the roster right now, it certainly seems as though one of them could have been cut to keep Setterstrom on the 80-man until cutdown day on Tuesday. How many snaps do they really think, say, Shaine Smith, is in line for Saturday night? Or Matt Caddell? Or Brandon Williams? I don't think he's even eligible for the practice squad.
And an apparent clarification on Brandon Gorin: he is already listed on the Rams' website on injured reserve. He's got the seniority (7 years) to not have to clear waivers first.
* Jackson contract. (stltoday/Jim Thomas) I've already seen different descriptions of the terms of Steven Jackson's contract, so I went to Jim Thomas' article for confirmation. It is a six year deal worth up to $44 million (original report was 50). The final two years may void out based on performance, which would turn it into a 4-year, $30 million deal. $20 million is guaranteed and Jackson received an $11 million signing bonus. (Minus a $405,000 fine, I trust.)
Linehan lost more points yesterday when he told the press, when asked about Jackson's contract negotiations, "It never once felt like it wasn't going to get done and get done in time and it's all behind us now."
DONE IN TIME? So Linehan didn't notice Jackson missed 27 days of camp, two preseason games, and EVERY TRAINING CAMP practice?
DONE IN TIME?
Jeez.
* Gene Upshaw 1945-2008. The Hall-of-Famer and players' union representative passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer yesterday. NFLPA has named Richard Berthelsen as an interim successor, but, as Georgia Frontiere's passing seems to be marking a turning point for the Rams' future, Upshaw's passing may well be a turning point in the future of the relationship between players and owners. With Upshaw gone, the players' union is far more likely to dig in its heels when the owners try to make back some of the concessions they made in the last contract. That increases the possibility of hitting the 2010 season with no salary cap. And it'll all blow up from there.
One hopes the players will remember that Gene Upshaw helped make them very, very rich. One hopes the owners will remember that Gene Upshaw helped them stay very, very, rich. One hopes football players and owners are smart enough not to repeat the near-fatal mistakes of MLB and the NHL. One hopes negotiations will always be held with Upshaw's legacy in mind and that there will be long-time player/owner harmony in the NFL.
One hopes.
One assumes I'll be looking for new stuff to keep me busy in the fall of 2011. Madden Football, anyone?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
UPDATE: Rams report, 8/21
UPDATE: STEVEN JACKSON SIGNS 6-YEAR DEAL...
(stltoday.com)
* Jackson's back. Well, Steven Jackson has finally chosen to grace us with his presence at Rams camp. He will arrive in town today for a physical and is expected to practice, though his appearance in either of the remaining preseason games is doubtful.
Great. I'm expecting multiple fumbles like the season opener against Carolina, then.
Jackson may even have a new contract shortly, in the 7-year, $50 million, $17 million guaranteed range, pretty much what he was offered BEFORE HE STARTED HIS HOLDOUT.
My analysis of the contract is that it's good for everyone concerned. I still think the Rams are getting Jackson on the cheap for just over $7 mil a year. Jackson will get his money up front, while the Rams don't figure to be on the hook for a lot of money toward the end of the contract. (I say that because all reports make it sound really front-loaded.) The Rams have done Jackson a solid with a long-term, megabucks contract; now he owes them play that lives up to the potential he showed in 2006.
How will Jackson be received by Rams fans? Well, we won't get a chance to greet him in the preseason, so my recommendation to him is to have a bulletproof game in Philadelphia Week 1 and give the Giants plenty to think about in Week 2. Fans have very short memories in the face of a couple hundred yards and 2-3 TDs.
* Injury report.
- Orlando Pace sat out for the third consecutive day. Gulp. He is questionable for Saturday night's game. Gulp.
Supposedly he would play if this were the regular season. We'll see. I am still very leery about this whole situation.
- OJ Atogwe is still out. Gulp.
- Donnie Avery, though, will play Saturday night.
* Upcoming roster moves. Mark Setterstrom and Justin King will go to IR officially on Tuesday when the first, and fairly pointless, roster cutdown is made. It seems like Brandon Gorin should go IR as well. And of course, the Rams will add Jackson back to the roster. So the way I see it, there'll be just 3 guys who have to be cut to get the roster down to 75.
* The Ravens game will be aired live on local TV. The Rams used a couple of accounting tricks to get the game to be considered a sellout. Since I want to records as many home games as possible, I encourage all the creative accounting the front office can muster throughout the regular season. Bill Coats article
(stltoday.com)
* Jackson's back. Well, Steven Jackson has finally chosen to grace us with his presence at Rams camp. He will arrive in town today for a physical and is expected to practice, though his appearance in either of the remaining preseason games is doubtful.
Great. I'm expecting multiple fumbles like the season opener against Carolina, then.
Jackson may even have a new contract shortly, in the 7-year, $50 million, $17 million guaranteed range, pretty much what he was offered BEFORE HE STARTED HIS HOLDOUT.
My analysis of the contract is that it's good for everyone concerned. I still think the Rams are getting Jackson on the cheap for just over $7 mil a year. Jackson will get his money up front, while the Rams don't figure to be on the hook for a lot of money toward the end of the contract. (I say that because all reports make it sound really front-loaded.) The Rams have done Jackson a solid with a long-term, megabucks contract; now he owes them play that lives up to the potential he showed in 2006.
How will Jackson be received by Rams fans? Well, we won't get a chance to greet him in the preseason, so my recommendation to him is to have a bulletproof game in Philadelphia Week 1 and give the Giants plenty to think about in Week 2. Fans have very short memories in the face of a couple hundred yards and 2-3 TDs.
* Injury report.
- Orlando Pace sat out for the third consecutive day. Gulp. He is questionable for Saturday night's game. Gulp.
Supposedly he would play if this were the regular season. We'll see. I am still very leery about this whole situation.
- OJ Atogwe is still out. Gulp.
- Donnie Avery, though, will play Saturday night.
* Upcoming roster moves. Mark Setterstrom and Justin King will go to IR officially on Tuesday when the first, and fairly pointless, roster cutdown is made. It seems like Brandon Gorin should go IR as well. And of course, the Rams will add Jackson back to the roster. So the way I see it, there'll be just 3 guys who have to be cut to get the roster down to 75.
* The Ravens game will be aired live on local TV. The Rams used a couple of accounting tricks to get the game to be considered a sellout. Since I want to records as many home games as possible, I encourage all the creative accounting the front office can muster throughout the regular season. Bill Coats article
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
JACKSON ENDING HOLDOUT
Bernie Miklasz is reporting that Steven Jackson will end his holdout and practice with the team tomorrow. A long-term deal is expected to be done soon; the two sides are very close.
Yeah, I think they've been close since the beginning of training camp. I guess Steven's fine finally had to pass what the President makes in a year to get him back in the fold.
Welcome back. You idiot.
Yeah, I think they've been close since the beginning of training camp. I guess Steven's fine finally had to pass what the President makes in a year to get him back in the fold.
Welcome back. You idiot.
Rams report, 8/20
* Injury worries. There aren't any new major injuries to report, but there are a couple of very high-profile injury situations that really threaten to throw the Rams into a quagmire on both sides of the ball.
Questions are being raised over Orlando Pace's physical condition. He sat out practice for the second straight day Tuesday, which observers believe is a signal that something's going on with Pace. Scott Linehan says not to worry; Pace is actually ahead of schedule. Howard Balzer blog
Pace looked a lot better play-to-play against San Diego than he did against Tennessee, but he gave up a sack, and more importantly, seems to be taking a long time to recover from one half of play. The Rams need him, but they must not rush him, either. Pace deserves all the credit in the world for giving this a go, but he and everyone involved here have to be smart enough to know if shutting Pace down for a while is for the best, and if it is, to do it. Don't end his career rushing him back. Seems like they could I.R. him and bring him back week 6. Assuming he's 100% by then, I'd rather do that and chance it with Adam Goldberg for 6 games than try to force Pace into playing.
On the defensive side, OJ Atogwe STILL isn't practicing due to a hamstring injury from the beginning of training camp. This injury is really flying under the radar around here, but Rams fans ought to be sweating it. Atogwe is a Pro Bowl-level player in the Ram secondary, and they're not going to function well without him.
The Rams are getting along fine so far in the secondary, mainly because they're not, and won't be, tested this preseason. Tennessee has no wide receivers. San Diego played its second string. Kyle Boller is still in the thick of Baltimore's QB competition - need I say more there? And though he's improving, KC's Brodie Croyle is still a major work in progress, and being as the Chiefs game will be week 4, starters on the field may be few and far between anyway. Put differently, the stakes go way, way up September 7th in Philadelphia.
With all the time he's missed - basically as much as Steven Jackson - don't we have to consider we're bordering on a lost season for one of our best defensive players? Atogwe will need time to get back into shape once he ever returns, won't he? (I say "ever" recalling Isaac Bruce's hamstrings in 1998.) Meanwhile, most camp accounts say that Todd Johnson is a major dropoff at free safety.
Atogwe's absence is as big a deal on defense as Pace's would be on offense.
If it weren't for bad injury luck, the Rams would have no injury luck at all these days.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 27. Today's a landmark day in the Jackson holdout - his total current fine now exceeds $400,000, or the annual salary of the President of the United States. Howard Balzer reports Jackson is shopping around for a new agent because he expected Parker to go to Mequon and negotiate with Jay Zygmunt, and is angry with him because he didn't.
OK, Steven, the Rams' request was for YOU to be in camp for negotiations to re-open, not your agent?
Anybody just lose a lot of confidence in how quickly Jackson will learn the new playbook when and if he ever shows up?
Oh, and in real great personal news, I'm picking 10th, as in last, in my FFL this year. Currently showing up in the 10th pick neighborhood in various FFL projections?
Steven Jackson.
* Rams add a new RB.
- Lavarus Giles, previously in camp with the Jagwires, a 6'1" 220-lb player out of Jackson State. With dumbass, er, Jackson, still holding out, and Brian Leonard hurt, Giles has a shot at getting a number of carries Saturday night. Maybe I'll even spell his first name right in RamView.
Questions are being raised over Orlando Pace's physical condition. He sat out practice for the second straight day Tuesday, which observers believe is a signal that something's going on with Pace. Scott Linehan says not to worry; Pace is actually ahead of schedule. Howard Balzer blog
Pace looked a lot better play-to-play against San Diego than he did against Tennessee, but he gave up a sack, and more importantly, seems to be taking a long time to recover from one half of play. The Rams need him, but they must not rush him, either. Pace deserves all the credit in the world for giving this a go, but he and everyone involved here have to be smart enough to know if shutting Pace down for a while is for the best, and if it is, to do it. Don't end his career rushing him back. Seems like they could I.R. him and bring him back week 6. Assuming he's 100% by then, I'd rather do that and chance it with Adam Goldberg for 6 games than try to force Pace into playing.
On the defensive side, OJ Atogwe STILL isn't practicing due to a hamstring injury from the beginning of training camp. This injury is really flying under the radar around here, but Rams fans ought to be sweating it. Atogwe is a Pro Bowl-level player in the Ram secondary, and they're not going to function well without him.
The Rams are getting along fine so far in the secondary, mainly because they're not, and won't be, tested this preseason. Tennessee has no wide receivers. San Diego played its second string. Kyle Boller is still in the thick of Baltimore's QB competition - need I say more there? And though he's improving, KC's Brodie Croyle is still a major work in progress, and being as the Chiefs game will be week 4, starters on the field may be few and far between anyway. Put differently, the stakes go way, way up September 7th in Philadelphia.
With all the time he's missed - basically as much as Steven Jackson - don't we have to consider we're bordering on a lost season for one of our best defensive players? Atogwe will need time to get back into shape once he ever returns, won't he? (I say "ever" recalling Isaac Bruce's hamstrings in 1998.) Meanwhile, most camp accounts say that Todd Johnson is a major dropoff at free safety.
Atogwe's absence is as big a deal on defense as Pace's would be on offense.
If it weren't for bad injury luck, the Rams would have no injury luck at all these days.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 27. Today's a landmark day in the Jackson holdout - his total current fine now exceeds $400,000, or the annual salary of the President of the United States. Howard Balzer reports Jackson is shopping around for a new agent because he expected Parker to go to Mequon and negotiate with Jay Zygmunt, and is angry with him because he didn't.
OK, Steven, the Rams' request was for YOU to be in camp for negotiations to re-open, not your agent?
Anybody just lose a lot of confidence in how quickly Jackson will learn the new playbook when and if he ever shows up?
Oh, and in real great personal news, I'm picking 10th, as in last, in my FFL this year. Currently showing up in the 10th pick neighborhood in various FFL projections?
Steven Jackson.
* Rams add a new RB.
- Lavarus Giles, previously in camp with the Jagwires, a 6'1" 220-lb player out of Jackson State. With dumbass, er, Jackson, still holding out, and Brian Leonard hurt, Giles has a shot at getting a number of carries Saturday night. Maybe I'll even spell his first name right in RamView.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Rams report, 8/19
* On the injury front:
- Marc Bulger didn't experience any shoulder problems in practice yesterday, so he should be OK to go.
- Orlando Pace played a half Saturday night and held up all right. He'll keep starting although reports are he won't be 100% by the start of the season. He's being limited in practice.
- Anthony Becht returned to practice. OJ Atogwe and Fakhir Brown are close to returning.
- Russ Weil, David Vobora, Brian Leonard - out.
* We demand a refund!
- The Rams are suing Claude Wroten for the pro-rated portion of his signing bonus that applies to this season, or $201,250. If the arbitrator finds in the Rams' favor, Wroten would have to pay the money out of his own pocket.
Yeah, good luck collecting that. Wroten has shown such maturity and wisdom making decisions in his life, I'm sure most of his original $805,000 signing bonus is sitting in a rainy day fund, and hasn't been used to buy like 125 pounds of marijuana.
Sure, that would be something like 57,000 joints, but don't sell Claude short.
* Jackson holdout, day 26.
- Total fine is now over $390,000, so he won't be able to help this guy buy a new violin like the one he lost on the train. As for poor Steven and his apparent feeling that $50 million over 7 years isn't good enough for his services, be assured I'm so sad for him I'm playing the world's smallest violin.
- Marc Bulger didn't experience any shoulder problems in practice yesterday, so he should be OK to go.
- Orlando Pace played a half Saturday night and held up all right. He'll keep starting although reports are he won't be 100% by the start of the season. He's being limited in practice.
- Anthony Becht returned to practice. OJ Atogwe and Fakhir Brown are close to returning.
- Russ Weil, David Vobora, Brian Leonard - out.
* We demand a refund!
- The Rams are suing Claude Wroten for the pro-rated portion of his signing bonus that applies to this season, or $201,250. If the arbitrator finds in the Rams' favor, Wroten would have to pay the money out of his own pocket.
Yeah, good luck collecting that. Wroten has shown such maturity and wisdom making decisions in his life, I'm sure most of his original $805,000 signing bonus is sitting in a rainy day fund, and hasn't been used to buy like 125 pounds of marijuana.
Sure, that would be something like 57,000 joints, but don't sell Claude short.
* Jackson holdout, day 26.
- Total fine is now over $390,000, so he won't be able to help this guy buy a new violin like the one he lost on the train. As for poor Steven and his apparent feeling that $50 million over 7 years isn't good enough for his services, be assured I'm so sad for him I'm playing the world's smallest violin.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Whither Marc Bulger?
The biggest issue facing the Rams right now is, What the heck is wrong with Marc Bulger? And it sure looks like a lot is wrong - his preseason stats so far: 10 for 23, 83 yards, THREE interceptions, ZERO touchdowns. His passer ratings so far are 3.7 and 20.8, in a system where a passer who does nothing but just spike the ball to the ground would get a 37.6. Marc overthrew Randy McMichael Saturday night to turn what should have been a wide open, big gain into an interception, and threw a lollipop for Drew Bennett that was also picked off. To all the world, he looks unconfident in the pocket, flinchy, reacting to pressure that's not quite there yet.
And then there's the mysterious nature of his shoulder injury. The Rams pulled him immediately out of the game after he got up in pain after being sacked late in the first half Saturday night. The injury may hold him out of practice today. Everybody, however, is blowing it off. Bulger called it "a five-minute thing". Scott Linehan said Bulger would have stayed in had it been a regular season game. (We'll ignore for now that Trent Green then came in cold and played FAR better than Bulger has all preseason.) Bulger's been hurt a lot, and that shoulder's been hurt before. That shoulder was a lot of the reason for Bulger's problems in 2007. Has it ever really healed up? Is he struggling now because his throwing shoulder is hurt again or still hurting?
Not if you ask Linehan. "Marc's making a lot of progress... It's a new system, got some new players and all those things. As soon as we get our timing down, he's going to continue to play winning football for us."
He's making a lot of progress?!?!? Did he start training camp trying to throw the ball with his feet?
Yeah, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
Over at ESPN.com, Evan Sando says Bulger's struggles are all timing problems, that it's going to take everyone a while to get into sync in the new system.
I'd like that answer more if the team hadn't been practicing this system for three months or more, and if this weren't a system the key players, like Bulger, weren't supposedly already familiar with from the Mike Martz days. But I like it because it'd be a something that practicing could actually correct, so here's hoping Evan Sando has Bulger's problems nailed.
And then there's the mysterious nature of his shoulder injury. The Rams pulled him immediately out of the game after he got up in pain after being sacked late in the first half Saturday night. The injury may hold him out of practice today. Everybody, however, is blowing it off. Bulger called it "a five-minute thing". Scott Linehan said Bulger would have stayed in had it been a regular season game. (We'll ignore for now that Trent Green then came in cold and played FAR better than Bulger has all preseason.) Bulger's been hurt a lot, and that shoulder's been hurt before. That shoulder was a lot of the reason for Bulger's problems in 2007. Has it ever really healed up? Is he struggling now because his throwing shoulder is hurt again or still hurting?
Not if you ask Linehan. "Marc's making a lot of progress... It's a new system, got some new players and all those things. As soon as we get our timing down, he's going to continue to play winning football for us."
He's making a lot of progress?!?!? Did he start training camp trying to throw the ball with his feet?
Yeah, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
Over at ESPN.com, Evan Sando says Bulger's struggles are all timing problems, that it's going to take everyone a while to get into sync in the new system.
I'd like that answer more if the team hadn't been practicing this system for three months or more, and if this weren't a system the key players, like Bulger, weren't supposedly already familiar with from the Mike Martz days. But I like it because it'd be a something that practicing could actually correct, so here's hoping Evan Sando has Bulger's problems nailed.
What next on o-line?
(Jim Thomas: Depth on O-line suffers blow)
Mark Setterstrom's injury Saturday night was sad, because he just went through a similar challenge that sidelined him almost all of last season. From the Rams' standpoint, though, by itself you can't call the injury a crushing one to the team. Setterstrom's their best backup guard, but his absence won't be felt unless Richie Incognito or Jacob Bell gets hurt and their substitute struggles. And there's a lot of candidates to backup at guard, including Roy Schuening, who took over for Setterstrom Saturday night; John Greco, who'd probably be the lead candidate if a starting guard went down; or Adam Goldberg or Nick Leckey could play there in a pinch. So they have plenty of options. It's a hit to depth, no question, but I think Greco would be OK there if needed.
Gorin's injury doesn't affect the o-line as much, as I see it. He was fourth tackle at best, with Adam Goldberg having stepped up into the #3 role, and looked like a long-shot to make the team. That'd mean only three true tackles on the roster, though Greco "could" play there (results so far have not been promising), or, in an emergency, they could move Bell out on the edge; he has played the position a little.
Another o-line injury, though, and we're going to be scrambling again.
Mark Setterstrom's injury Saturday night was sad, because he just went through a similar challenge that sidelined him almost all of last season. From the Rams' standpoint, though, by itself you can't call the injury a crushing one to the team. Setterstrom's their best backup guard, but his absence won't be felt unless Richie Incognito or Jacob Bell gets hurt and their substitute struggles. And there's a lot of candidates to backup at guard, including Roy Schuening, who took over for Setterstrom Saturday night; John Greco, who'd probably be the lead candidate if a starting guard went down; or Adam Goldberg or Nick Leckey could play there in a pinch. So they have plenty of options. It's a hit to depth, no question, but I think Greco would be OK there if needed.
Gorin's injury doesn't affect the o-line as much, as I see it. He was fourth tackle at best, with Adam Goldberg having stepped up into the #3 role, and looked like a long-shot to make the team. That'd mean only three true tackles on the roster, though Greco "could" play there (results so far have not been promising), or, in an emergency, they could move Bell out on the edge; he has played the position a little.
Another o-line injury, though, and we're going to be scrambling again.
Rams report, 8/18
There's a lot to catch up with that happened over the weekend, so let's get right into it:
Rams 7, Chargers 6
* Things I left out from Saturday night, or got wrong:
- The long drive after Bulger's second INT was 17 plays, 14 runs. I had 18/15.
- Jacob Bell also recovered a fumble, on the sack that took Bulger out of the game. Bell is playing well by all accounts.
- Third-down defense improved a TON. San Diego was 1-10 on 3rd down, 0-2 on 4th.
- Josh Brown's missed FG may have been caused by a bad hold by Donnie Jones.
- Donovan Raiola, not Dominic. I do that EVERY TIME!
* Injury report...
- Mark Setterstrom out for the season - broken patella.
- Brandon Gorin out for the season due to a shoulder injury actually suffered in the Tennessee game. It's similar to Orlando Pace's injury of last year.
- Brian Leonard is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained shoulder.
- David Vobora is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained ankle.
Those are the "significant" injuries I'm aware of from Saturday night - significant meaning we already know they're bad enough to cause the players to miss games.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 25.
- We're up to $375,000 in fines for Jackson now. That'd get you a pretty nice place in Bali. Jim Thomas also points out that Jackson's fine now exceeds the annual rookie minimum salary.
Scott Linehan is getting more verbal on the subject:
"It is getting critical to where time now becomes more of an issue for just the physical part of getting ready for the opener... Every day we miss now … does start to factor in as to what the workload will be from the start.
"I know he's working hard. And I know he's training. And he'll be in very good shape when he does get in."
Yeah, that's what the Rams thought about Jerome Bettis, too. If Steven Jackson doesn't have the integrity to honor a signed contract, the decency to negotiate in good faith, I have no faith that he'll be in playing shape when or if he ever does show up, and the Rams shouldn't, either.
* Quinton Culberson has been fined $7,500 by the league for a horse-collar tackle of Alge Crumpler in the 1st quarter of the Tennessee game, though, as I noted, he wasn't penalized for it at the time. Calvin Lowry of the Titans got the same treatment for his horse-collar tackle of Dane Looker.
Rams 7, Chargers 6
* Things I left out from Saturday night, or got wrong:
- The long drive after Bulger's second INT was 17 plays, 14 runs. I had 18/15.
- Jacob Bell also recovered a fumble, on the sack that took Bulger out of the game. Bell is playing well by all accounts.
- Third-down defense improved a TON. San Diego was 1-10 on 3rd down, 0-2 on 4th.
- Josh Brown's missed FG may have been caused by a bad hold by Donnie Jones.
- Donovan Raiola, not Dominic. I do that EVERY TIME!
* Injury report...
- Mark Setterstrom out for the season - broken patella.
- Brandon Gorin out for the season due to a shoulder injury actually suffered in the Tennessee game. It's similar to Orlando Pace's injury of last year.
- Brian Leonard is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained shoulder.
- David Vobora is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained ankle.
Those are the "significant" injuries I'm aware of from Saturday night - significant meaning we already know they're bad enough to cause the players to miss games.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 25.
- We're up to $375,000 in fines for Jackson now. That'd get you a pretty nice place in Bali. Jim Thomas also points out that Jackson's fine now exceeds the annual rookie minimum salary.
Scott Linehan is getting more verbal on the subject:
"It is getting critical to where time now becomes more of an issue for just the physical part of getting ready for the opener... Every day we miss now … does start to factor in as to what the workload will be from the start.
"I know he's working hard. And I know he's training. And he'll be in very good shape when he does get in."
Yeah, that's what the Rams thought about Jerome Bettis, too. If Steven Jackson doesn't have the integrity to honor a signed contract, the decency to negotiate in good faith, I have no faith that he'll be in playing shape when or if he ever does show up, and the Rams shouldn't, either.
* Quinton Culberson has been fined $7,500 by the league for a horse-collar tackle of Alge Crumpler in the 1st quarter of the Tennessee game, though, as I noted, he wasn't penalized for it at the time. Calvin Lowry of the Titans got the same treatment for his horse-collar tackle of Dane Looker.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Rams report, 8/15
The Rams host the San Diego Chargers in preseason play tomorrow night. RamView will hopefully be out Sunday morning.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 22. Sounds like, from Nick Wagoner's blog and other sources, that Scott Linehan is starting to get itchy about Jackson continuing to sit out. He has discussed talking the situation over with Jay Zygmunt.
It's impossible to know what Linehan may be saying to Jackson behind the scenes, but not knowing any better, I find myself wishing he would have stuck his nose into this at least a week ago, at least to publicly show he gives a darn about Jackson being in camp. Linehan's got a big stake in this too. He should have acted like it sooner. Maybe he has, but it hasn't been for public consumption. Still, if the team struggles again this season, it's going to be hard for him to make Jackson's holdout an excuse when he hasn't appeared to lobby for it to end until it got three-plus weeks and $330,000 old.
Howard Balzer theorizes that, in classic lawyer fashion, Zygmunt's now willing to break the impasse between the two sides because he refused to negotiate until Jackson reported for training camp, and training camp is over now. Of course, Zygmunt may now have no one to talk to; Jackson's rumored to be shopping for a new agent again, and according to John Clayton, is willing to sit out into the regular season.
$330,000, btw, appears to be the going rate for giant white truffles.
* Playing the starters. The key question for tomorrow night's game: will the starting offense FINALLY SCORE A FREAKING TD? I daresay Linehan is under pressure to leave the starting offense in the game until he gets that result. That sounds like it might be unusual for preseason, but I know it's already been done in a couple of games. The Bengals didn't pull starters in Green Bay until they scored, ultimately against the Packers' scrubs, and the Chargers left their starters in longer than I'd expected against Dallas because they hadn't scored yet, noting that LaDainian Tomlinson, as usual, did not take the field.
Can they score a TD? Will Linehan leave them on the field? Can they get off the field early? All critical questions heading into tomorrow night's game.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 22. Sounds like, from Nick Wagoner's blog and other sources, that Scott Linehan is starting to get itchy about Jackson continuing to sit out. He has discussed talking the situation over with Jay Zygmunt.
It's impossible to know what Linehan may be saying to Jackson behind the scenes, but not knowing any better, I find myself wishing he would have stuck his nose into this at least a week ago, at least to publicly show he gives a darn about Jackson being in camp. Linehan's got a big stake in this too. He should have acted like it sooner. Maybe he has, but it hasn't been for public consumption. Still, if the team struggles again this season, it's going to be hard for him to make Jackson's holdout an excuse when he hasn't appeared to lobby for it to end until it got three-plus weeks and $330,000 old.
Howard Balzer theorizes that, in classic lawyer fashion, Zygmunt's now willing to break the impasse between the two sides because he refused to negotiate until Jackson reported for training camp, and training camp is over now. Of course, Zygmunt may now have no one to talk to; Jackson's rumored to be shopping for a new agent again, and according to John Clayton, is willing to sit out into the regular season.
$330,000, btw, appears to be the going rate for giant white truffles.
* Playing the starters. The key question for tomorrow night's game: will the starting offense FINALLY SCORE A FREAKING TD? I daresay Linehan is under pressure to leave the starting offense in the game until he gets that result. That sounds like it might be unusual for preseason, but I know it's already been done in a couple of games. The Bengals didn't pull starters in Green Bay until they scored, ultimately against the Packers' scrubs, and the Chargers left their starters in longer than I'd expected against Dallas because they hadn't scored yet, noting that LaDainian Tomlinson, as usual, did not take the field.
Can they score a TD? Will Linehan leave them on the field? Can they get off the field early? All critical questions heading into tomorrow night's game.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Rams report, 8/14
Training camp has broken. The Rams have a walk-through tomorrow to prepare for Saturday night's home game against the Chargers.
Not surprisingly, that game is not a sellout and will not be broadcast live in St. Louis. It will be broadcast on delay, starting at 10:30 pm. The game also re-airs three times through the week if NFL Network's online schedule is not lying: 2 am Sunday, 11 pm Monday and 11:30 am Wednesday. Boy, we got some primo time slots there. Viva TiVo!
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 21. Just to show what a waste this whole Jackson holdout has been,
here's what other people have recently done with the same $315,000 he's incurred in potential fines
because he's unhappy with a $50 million dollar contract:
He could have donated it, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie did, to help babies in Namibia;
He could have donated it for leukemia research;
He could have donated it to help the elderly pay their heating bills;
He could have used it to award college scholarships;
He could have used it to fund ovarian cancer research.
Well, I assume NFL player fines all end up in the league charity bucket anyway, so at least some good will come out of it.
* Cuts. Just one: DT Vernon Bryant. The Rams had to clear a roster spot to sign CB Tanard Davis.
* Injuries. OJ Atogwe is back on the sideline. He practiced Tuesday but his hamstring injury still hasn't completely healed. Same deal with Anthony Becht, who re-injured his hamstring. The Rams may have only two healthy safeties for Saturday night's game. Bill Coats blog
* Bernie Miklasz agrees it's about time the Rams started taking preseason games seriously.
Not surprisingly, that game is not a sellout and will not be broadcast live in St. Louis. It will be broadcast on delay, starting at 10:30 pm. The game also re-airs three times through the week if NFL Network's online schedule is not lying: 2 am Sunday, 11 pm Monday and 11:30 am Wednesday. Boy, we got some primo time slots there. Viva TiVo!
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 21. Just to show what a waste this whole Jackson holdout has been,
here's what other people have recently done with the same $315,000 he's incurred in potential fines
because he's unhappy with a $50 million dollar contract:
He could have donated it, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie did, to help babies in Namibia;
He could have donated it for leukemia research;
He could have donated it to help the elderly pay their heating bills;
He could have used it to award college scholarships;
He could have used it to fund ovarian cancer research.
Well, I assume NFL player fines all end up in the league charity bucket anyway, so at least some good will come out of it.
* Cuts. Just one: DT Vernon Bryant. The Rams had to clear a roster spot to sign CB Tanard Davis.
* Injuries. OJ Atogwe is back on the sideline. He practiced Tuesday but his hamstring injury still hasn't completely healed. Same deal with Anthony Becht, who re-injured his hamstring. The Rams may have only two healthy safeties for Saturday night's game. Bill Coats blog
* Bernie Miklasz agrees it's about time the Rams started taking preseason games seriously.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
So what's worse?
Is it worse that Orlando Pace got dominated by Kyle Vanden Bosch in Saturday night's game,
or that Pace has pretty much dominated Chris Long all of training camp?
At first it seemed fine that Pace was taking care of Long. Orlando's supposed to make everybody he goes up against look bad.
Then Saturday night, you see (admittedly, a Pro Bowler himself) Vanden Bosch whip Pace on just about every play and make him look like a lightweight. You see that the Pace the Rams have got right now is maybe 50 or 60 percent of the Pace you were expecting (and are still hoping to get back).
What does that say about Long? He gets stonewalled by a 50% Orlando Pace all day long?
Not good. Not freaking good at all. It's starting to look like a completely wrong move to have taken the 3-4 Long and try converting him to 4-3. It's starting to look like he needs to be a stand-up pass rusher if he's ever going to see a NFL backfield. I'm seeing a run/pass platoon with him and James Hall in his immediate future. I'm not sure there's more than platooning in his long-term future, if it's in a 4-3.
It's really starting to look like I should have taken Long's 4-3 inexperience much more into account when I opined he was the perfect player for the Rams in April.
or that Pace has pretty much dominated Chris Long all of training camp?
At first it seemed fine that Pace was taking care of Long. Orlando's supposed to make everybody he goes up against look bad.
Then Saturday night, you see (admittedly, a Pro Bowler himself) Vanden Bosch whip Pace on just about every play and make him look like a lightweight. You see that the Pace the Rams have got right now is maybe 50 or 60 percent of the Pace you were expecting (and are still hoping to get back).
What does that say about Long? He gets stonewalled by a 50% Orlando Pace all day long?
Not good. Not freaking good at all. It's starting to look like a completely wrong move to have taken the 3-4 Long and try converting him to 4-3. It's starting to look like he needs to be a stand-up pass rusher if he's ever going to see a NFL backfield. I'm seeing a run/pass platoon with him and James Hall in his immediate future. I'm not sure there's more than platooning in his long-term future, if it's in a 4-3.
It's really starting to look like I should have taken Long's 4-3 inexperience much more into account when I opined he was the perfect player for the Rams in April.
Training camp headlines, 8/13
The Rams are expected to break training camp after today's 3:50-5:30 practice, so this is the last day of training camp headlines. Tomorrow's the first day of Rams headlines.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 20. "Jim Thomas" reports the two sides are starting to talk, and that the Rams' latest offer is 7 years, $50 million, $16-17 million guaranteed. Brian Westbrook just signed a 3-year, $21 million, $13 million guaranteed deal with the Eggles. "Jim Thomas" also reports that Jackson's holdout is the longest Rams player holdout of the St. Louis era.
If you're "Jim Thomas", you would say it's the longest holdout in "St. Louis" Rams history. It drives me nuts that "Jim Thomas" does that all the time. It's the printed equivalent of finger quotes. It marginalizes the city. It's a less-serious, less-respectful way of referring to the city. It's like "Jim Thomas" is making fun of St. Louis when he does that. So until "Jim Thomas" quits putting quotes around St. Louis, he's "Jim Thomas" around here.
I'd again argue Jackson's getting lowballed, although supposedly the two sides have never been that far apart. "Jim Thomas"'s article puts four-year statistics for Jackson and LaDainian Tomlinson side by side, to make the case that Jackson isn't worth LT's $8 million a year.
Except the salary cap has changed a LOT since LT got that contract. I've done the math before; pro-rated, it's worth $11 million a year today. If the Rams don't think Jackson is even 2/3 the player Tomlinson is, maybe they -should- have drafted Darren McFadden, instead of offering Jackson a lengthy contract. "Jim Thomas" points out the increased risk of injury of players who hold out, citing Dick Vermeil on the subject. Great - Jackson's already far from the NFL's most durable player, and now, if he signs a seven-year deal, what does he care if he's out of shape or injured this season as a result of holding out? Jackson would have had much more urgency to show up if we were talking about a 3-year deal like Westbrook's. The Rams would prefer to have Jackson signed throughout his prime years. Then again, a short deal means we're all going through this all over again when Jackson's 28 and his earning peak.
So despite my previous calculations, the Rams' offer to Jackson right now is more than fair, considering the goodwill he's screwed away and the likelihood this season will be tainted injury- or fitness-wise because he didn't honor his existing contract and therefore has not bargained in good faith. The Rams shouldn't put themselves on the hook for a season that Jackson himself has tainted. If he protested his contract situation by actually shooting himself in the foot, would you be offering him a big, lengthy deal?
Me either. I'd be offering something like 4 years, $30 million, give him his $20 million guaranteed, take this or leave it.
And I'd be drafting a RB high in 2012.
Also, Jackson's fine cracks the $300,000 mark today. You can buy some pretty sweet threads for that.
* The Rams signed another smurf, 5'9" 184-lb CB Tanard Davis. Well, they had to do something - they're so thin at CB right now, they're practicing with Derek Stanley at corner. He's no Troy Brown.
More as new news or observations surface.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 20. "Jim Thomas" reports the two sides are starting to talk, and that the Rams' latest offer is 7 years, $50 million, $16-17 million guaranteed. Brian Westbrook just signed a 3-year, $21 million, $13 million guaranteed deal with the Eggles. "Jim Thomas" also reports that Jackson's holdout is the longest Rams player holdout of the St. Louis era.
If you're "Jim Thomas", you would say it's the longest holdout in "St. Louis" Rams history. It drives me nuts that "Jim Thomas" does that all the time. It's the printed equivalent of finger quotes. It marginalizes the city. It's a less-serious, less-respectful way of referring to the city. It's like "Jim Thomas" is making fun of St. Louis when he does that. So until "Jim Thomas" quits putting quotes around St. Louis, he's "Jim Thomas" around here.
I'd again argue Jackson's getting lowballed, although supposedly the two sides have never been that far apart. "Jim Thomas"'s article puts four-year statistics for Jackson and LaDainian Tomlinson side by side, to make the case that Jackson isn't worth LT's $8 million a year.
Except the salary cap has changed a LOT since LT got that contract. I've done the math before; pro-rated, it's worth $11 million a year today. If the Rams don't think Jackson is even 2/3 the player Tomlinson is, maybe they -should- have drafted Darren McFadden, instead of offering Jackson a lengthy contract. "Jim Thomas" points out the increased risk of injury of players who hold out, citing Dick Vermeil on the subject. Great - Jackson's already far from the NFL's most durable player, and now, if he signs a seven-year deal, what does he care if he's out of shape or injured this season as a result of holding out? Jackson would have had much more urgency to show up if we were talking about a 3-year deal like Westbrook's. The Rams would prefer to have Jackson signed throughout his prime years. Then again, a short deal means we're all going through this all over again when Jackson's 28 and his earning peak.
So despite my previous calculations, the Rams' offer to Jackson right now is more than fair, considering the goodwill he's screwed away and the likelihood this season will be tainted injury- or fitness-wise because he didn't honor his existing contract and therefore has not bargained in good faith. The Rams shouldn't put themselves on the hook for a season that Jackson himself has tainted. If he protested his contract situation by actually shooting himself in the foot, would you be offering him a big, lengthy deal?
Me either. I'd be offering something like 4 years, $30 million, give him his $20 million guaranteed, take this or leave it.
And I'd be drafting a RB high in 2012.
Also, Jackson's fine cracks the $300,000 mark today. You can buy some pretty sweet threads for that.
* The Rams signed another smurf, 5'9" 184-lb CB Tanard Davis. Well, they had to do something - they're so thin at CB right now, they're practicing with Derek Stanley at corner. He's no Troy Brown.
More as new news or observations surface.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Training camp headlines, 8/12
Today is the final day of two-a-days up in Mequon, with practices scheduled for 8:45 and 4:00. The final practice of training camp is tomorrow at 3:50.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 19. Brian Burwell tries to find a way to broker peace between Jackson and Jay Zygmunt. Meanwhile, Jackson's $285,000 fine is going to make it hard for him to buy these Shoeless Joe Jackson baseball cards for Christmas.
* The writers are getting restless. In an interview on "Team 1380" yesterday, Jim Thomas awesomely said he would make the first-team offense stay on the field Saturday night until they get into the endzone. Asked about the starting offense's failure to score a TD in two-plus preseasons under Linehan, Thomas said, "Preseason or not, it's pretty damn embarrassing."
Pretty harsh words from your team's beat writer, who as usual, is right again. Bill Coats repeats and endorses the idea in his blog, adding that Chris Long and Adam Carriker, who had no tackles between them against Tennessee (or, as Howard Balzer's pointed out, two less than the French guy, Sebastian Sejean), ought to be left in the game until they start to make some plays.
I love it. At least -somebody's- getting sick of this team's poor level of play.
* Injury report. Victor Adeyanju and Donnie Avery returned to practice yesterday on schedule.
* Former Ram update. Adam Archuleta has been signed by the Raiders to a one-year contract. Oakland made the move trying to improve their safety depth, but may also try Archuleta out at strong side linebacker. Ironically, Oakland's the team Rams fans were afraid would snatch Archuleta away if the Rams didn't nab him at #20 in the first round of the 2001 draft.
More here as news dictates.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 19. Brian Burwell tries to find a way to broker peace between Jackson and Jay Zygmunt. Meanwhile, Jackson's $285,000 fine is going to make it hard for him to buy these Shoeless Joe Jackson baseball cards for Christmas.
* The writers are getting restless. In an interview on "Team 1380" yesterday, Jim Thomas awesomely said he would make the first-team offense stay on the field Saturday night until they get into the endzone. Asked about the starting offense's failure to score a TD in two-plus preseasons under Linehan, Thomas said, "Preseason or not, it's pretty damn embarrassing."
Pretty harsh words from your team's beat writer, who as usual, is right again. Bill Coats repeats and endorses the idea in his blog, adding that Chris Long and Adam Carriker, who had no tackles between them against Tennessee (or, as Howard Balzer's pointed out, two less than the French guy, Sebastian Sejean), ought to be left in the game until they start to make some plays.
I love it. At least -somebody's- getting sick of this team's poor level of play.
* Injury report. Victor Adeyanju and Donnie Avery returned to practice yesterday on schedule.
* Former Ram update. Adam Archuleta has been signed by the Raiders to a one-year contract. Oakland made the move trying to improve their safety depth, but may also try Archuleta out at strong side linebacker. Ironically, Oakland's the team Rams fans were afraid would snatch Archuleta away if the Rams didn't nab him at #20 in the first round of the 2001 draft.
More here as news dictates.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Training camp headlines, 8/11
The Rams have one practice on the schedule for today, at 3:50. If you got to see Saturday night's fiasco, though, you're probably thinking along with me that the Rams need to switch to eight-a-days.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 18. Did Saturday night's starting offense debacle add to Jackson's negotiating position? I have my doubts, though I'm willing to bet Randy McMichael will welcome him back home (if he ever comes back) with the most enthusiasm, because he may not get to even run any pass routes this season otherwise. I think he was targeted once Saturday night, and Ram TEs had no catches.
Meanwhile, here's a motorcycle Jackson could have bought with his $270,000 instead of being an idiot, violating his contract and needlessly ringing up 18 days' worth of fines.
* Reporting for the Department of the Obvious, Jim Thomas says the Ram defense has work to do against the run. Yeah, just a little. One correction to RamView shows the Ram defense wasn't as bad as I thought Saturday: they gave up just 340 rushing yards, not 343. My total was before Tennessee's two kneeldowns to end the game.
* COME BACK DICKIE! Dick Vermeil was a surprise visitor to training camp. The job is all yours any time you want it back, Coach. Bill Coats blog
* As for Linehan, he thought Orlando Pace "looked fine" against the Titans. Yes, compared to Dwayne "the Road Grader" White, OP looked juuuust fine. Linehan also says the starters will work "considerably more" next Saturday against the Chargers. What they did Saturday night counted as "work"? Nick Wagoner blog
* Injury report. The worst injury of the season, because he was really coming on, was Justin King's ligament injury Saturday night to his left big toe, because it requires surgery and will finish his 2008 season before it ever starts. Other injuries: Brandon Gorin will miss up to two weeks due to a slight right rotator cuff tear, and the usually-injured Jerome Carter will be day-to-day due to a strained groin. Brett Romberg was MRI'ed and they found a broken bone in his right hand but he's playing through it. Both Donnie Avery and OJ Atogwe are expected to return to practice this week.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 18. Did Saturday night's starting offense debacle add to Jackson's negotiating position? I have my doubts, though I'm willing to bet Randy McMichael will welcome him back home (if he ever comes back) with the most enthusiasm, because he may not get to even run any pass routes this season otherwise. I think he was targeted once Saturday night, and Ram TEs had no catches.
Meanwhile, here's a motorcycle Jackson could have bought with his $270,000 instead of being an idiot, violating his contract and needlessly ringing up 18 days' worth of fines.
* Reporting for the Department of the Obvious, Jim Thomas says the Ram defense has work to do against the run. Yeah, just a little. One correction to RamView shows the Ram defense wasn't as bad as I thought Saturday: they gave up just 340 rushing yards, not 343. My total was before Tennessee's two kneeldowns to end the game.
* COME BACK DICKIE! Dick Vermeil was a surprise visitor to training camp. The job is all yours any time you want it back, Coach. Bill Coats blog
* As for Linehan, he thought Orlando Pace "looked fine" against the Titans. Yes, compared to Dwayne "the Road Grader" White, OP looked juuuust fine. Linehan also says the starters will work "considerably more" next Saturday against the Chargers. What they did Saturday night counted as "work"? Nick Wagoner blog
* Injury report. The worst injury of the season, because he was really coming on, was Justin King's ligament injury Saturday night to his left big toe, because it requires surgery and will finish his 2008 season before it ever starts. Other injuries: Brandon Gorin will miss up to two weeks due to a slight right rotator cuff tear, and the usually-injured Jerome Carter will be day-to-day due to a strained groin. Brett Romberg was MRI'ed and they found a broken bone in his right hand but he's playing through it. Both Donnie Avery and OJ Atogwe are expected to return to practice this week.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Training camp headlines, 8/9
Some quick notes before I return headlong into the Preseason Challenge - and Google better fucking not eat this post again...
Rams vs. Titans tonight, 7:00 from LP Field in Nashville.
I'm shooting to have RamView for the game out tomorrow morning.
* Another day of the Steven Jackson holdout. It's day 16, and his potential total fine is upwards of $240,000 now, which, if you're Barack and Michelle Obama, is a year's worth of charitable donations; or, if you're Britney Spears, it's a year's worth of child support payments to K-Fed.
* Today's game:
Scott Linehan plans to play the starters for a quarter. He really wants to, and needs to, set the tone early. Things to watch: Nick Wagoner
Orlando Pace will play, most likely a series or two. Adam Goldberg backs him up, so he's really second-string, to correct myself from an old post.
Donnie Avery won't play but we can probably expect to see him in St. Louis next week. Anthony Becht is also out, along with OJ Atogwe, Fakhir Brown and Victor Adeyanju. Brett Romberg will start at center. Will Witherspoon may not play due to a shoulder injury from earlier in the week, but that injury is not considered serious. Antonio Pittman may be limited due to a thigh injury, so expect plenty of Travis Minor and Lance Ball.
Trent Green may not play in favor of giving Brock Berlin and Bruce Gradkowski plenty of reps.
Tonight's a big night for Ron Bartell, who Wagoner reports is "still searching for consistency". The time is now for Bartell to, in the immortal words of Dick Vermeil, poop or get off the pot.
* Pete Prisco is enthused about the Ram defense and picks them to win the NFC West. After watching them last night, I'm sticking with Seattle for the time being.
* Around the league: I need a new crystal ball; Chad Pennington was signed by the Dolphins. Charlie Batch broke his right collarbone taking on a tackler at the end of a run last night and will be out at least four weeks.
Rams vs. Titans tonight, 7:00 from LP Field in Nashville.
I'm shooting to have RamView for the game out tomorrow morning.
* Another day of the Steven Jackson holdout. It's day 16, and his potential total fine is upwards of $240,000 now, which, if you're Barack and Michelle Obama, is a year's worth of charitable donations; or, if you're Britney Spears, it's a year's worth of child support payments to K-Fed.
* Today's game:
Scott Linehan plans to play the starters for a quarter. He really wants to, and needs to, set the tone early. Things to watch: Nick Wagoner
Orlando Pace will play, most likely a series or two. Adam Goldberg backs him up, so he's really second-string, to correct myself from an old post.
Donnie Avery won't play but we can probably expect to see him in St. Louis next week. Anthony Becht is also out, along with OJ Atogwe, Fakhir Brown and Victor Adeyanju. Brett Romberg will start at center. Will Witherspoon may not play due to a shoulder injury from earlier in the week, but that injury is not considered serious. Antonio Pittman may be limited due to a thigh injury, so expect plenty of Travis Minor and Lance Ball.
Trent Green may not play in favor of giving Brock Berlin and Bruce Gradkowski plenty of reps.
Tonight's a big night for Ron Bartell, who Wagoner reports is "still searching for consistency". The time is now for Bartell to, in the immortal words of Dick Vermeil, poop or get off the pot.
* Pete Prisco is enthused about the Ram defense and picks them to win the NFC West. After watching them last night, I'm sticking with Seattle for the time being.
* Around the league: I need a new crystal ball; Chad Pennington was signed by the Dolphins. Charlie Batch broke his right collarbone taking on a tackler at the end of a run last night and will be out at least four weeks.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/8
The Rams have a closed practice at LP Field in Nashville this afternoon. They play their first preseason game against the Titans there tomorrow night at 7:00.
* Jackson holdout day 15. Howard Balzer reports on insidestl.com this morning that Steven Jackson may be looking for a new agent AGAIN. If Jackson fires Eugene Parker, he has to wait five days, or $75,000, before hiring a new agent. The article also suggests that the catalyst behind Jackson's holdout may be... HIS SISTER, Rhonda.
Last week I would have suggested Jackson was worth $9 million a year. Well, I wouldn't ever suggest the Rams spend that kind of money on a guy with a 9-cent brain.
Steven needs to get his ass in camp now, and be happy the Rams have offered him any kind of competitive offer. As for Rhonda, I'd request she keep the hell out of negotiations. Her brother has rung up $225,000 in fines taking her advice, the retirement medical bill for the typical couple retiring this year.
No doubt she'll have advice for Steven when that comes, too.
* Marc Bulger to play two series tomorrow night. That's all he played the first week of preseason last year, going 6-7-42 with a pick. Linehan's not exactly keeping his promise to play Bulger more this preseason, but let's see if he gets more reps weeks 2-4. Drew Brees only played one series last night, and Matt Leinart played a couple, so two series for Bulger is probably standard for week 1 of preseason. Myself, I'd use Bulger more. No rust September 7.
* Trending up: Adam Goldberg, who seems really charged up by the fighting with Kyle Vanden Bosch on Wednesday.
* Trending down: Drew Bennett, who dropped two passes and blew a TD pass he should have caught. So, he's back to regular-season form, then.
* Around the league: Prediction: Chad Pennington, displaced by the Jets as a result of the BFF trade, will end up in - New England. Rationale: Belichick has no confidence in Matt Cassell backing up Brady, and he could basically get the Jet playbook from Pennington without having to resort to any camera trickery. And the move would reunite Pennington with college teammate Randy Moss...
* Jackson holdout day 15. Howard Balzer reports on insidestl.com this morning that Steven Jackson may be looking for a new agent AGAIN. If Jackson fires Eugene Parker, he has to wait five days, or $75,000, before hiring a new agent. The article also suggests that the catalyst behind Jackson's holdout may be... HIS SISTER, Rhonda.
Last week I would have suggested Jackson was worth $9 million a year. Well, I wouldn't ever suggest the Rams spend that kind of money on a guy with a 9-cent brain.
Steven needs to get his ass in camp now, and be happy the Rams have offered him any kind of competitive offer. As for Rhonda, I'd request she keep the hell out of negotiations. Her brother has rung up $225,000 in fines taking her advice, the retirement medical bill for the typical couple retiring this year.
No doubt she'll have advice for Steven when that comes, too.
* Marc Bulger to play two series tomorrow night. That's all he played the first week of preseason last year, going 6-7-42 with a pick. Linehan's not exactly keeping his promise to play Bulger more this preseason, but let's see if he gets more reps weeks 2-4. Drew Brees only played one series last night, and Matt Leinart played a couple, so two series for Bulger is probably standard for week 1 of preseason. Myself, I'd use Bulger more. No rust September 7.
* Trending up: Adam Goldberg, who seems really charged up by the fighting with Kyle Vanden Bosch on Wednesday.
* Trending down: Drew Bennett, who dropped two passes and blew a TD pass he should have caught. So, he's back to regular-season form, then.
* Around the league: Prediction: Chad Pennington, displaced by the Jets as a result of the BFF trade, will end up in - New England. Rationale: Belichick has no confidence in Matt Cassell backing up Brady, and he could basically get the Jet playbook from Pennington without having to resort to any camera trickery. And the move would reunite Pennington with college teammate Randy Moss...
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