Projecting the cuts

The Rams made five moves yesterday to get the roster down to 75 and placed WR Brooks Foster on the IR. Now, count me among the many figuring that move was made to clear roster space for another receiver, whose name may rhyme with Jamani Shroomer, and we’ll see how the 22 cuts the Rams have to make between now and the league deadline on the 5^th shake out:

QB(keeping 3): I keep going back and forth but have finally settled on Brock Berlin (1) being cut unless he absolutely lights up the Chiefs tomorrow night. The Giants teams Steve Spagnuolo coached on went with rookies like Andre Woodson at third string, and he was a seventh rounder. Keep Keith Null on the regular roster and save a practice squad spot.

RB(keeping 5): Going back and forth again, but my best thought today is that Antonio Pittman’s (2) out unless he goes all Adrian Peterson on K.C.’s butts. If it’s between Pittman and Kenneth Darby, Darby’s the better receiver, more suited to a third-down role, and better on special teams, where he could return kickoffs in a pinch. So I imagine it’s Darby. I highly doubt they’ll keep two fullbacks, though Jerome Johnson (3) hasn’t looked bad when he’s been in there. I bet it’s a lot closer between him and Chris Ogbannaya than anybody thinks, but I have Obie making the main roster in a mild upset. I can’t see them breaking camp with only three tailbacks.

Receivers(keeping 6 WR, 3 TE): Nate Jones (4) and Shawn Walker (5) both have their positives but they just weren’t getting on the field enough to think they’re in the top 5. Tim Carter (6) never pushed Derek Stanley out of the punt return position, and was a real shot in the dark to start out with, so he’s a nothing ventured, nothing gained kind of cut. I’d pick him to stay if another receiver isn’t picked up to replace Foster. This ain’t Scott Linehan’s team, so I sure don’t see them carrying a 4^th TE, which is where Eric Butler (7) is.

Offensive line(keeping 8): Eric Young (8) never looked very good to me. Tim Mattran’s (9) the third center and I never saw him work with the twos much, if at all. They’d probably keep Renardo Foster (10) over Phil Trautwein (11) in what’s looked like an even contest, but do they really need four tackles? Especially when it’s the only position either of those two plays. Guard is a logjam that Roger Allen (12) won’t be able to crack. You’ve got Bell, Incognito and Greco, Goldberg can go over there if needed, and Setterstrom’s played well enough over there to start. Roy Schuening (13) seems the final offensive cut, since he amounts to the sixth guard. And again, that’s all he plays. Keeping just eight o-linemen looks a little risky on one hand, but on the other hand, keeping a guy who’s going to be 4^th in depth, playing only one position and not playing special teams seems a bit of a waste. Then again, special teams is where Setterstrom got injured a couple of years ago.

Specialists(keeping 3): Don’t mess with a good thing.

Linebacker(keeping 6): Seems pretty straightforward that they’ll have Grant, Vobora and Chamberlain backing up Witherspoon, Laurinaitis and Draft, leaving out K.C. Asiodu(14), Quinton Culberson (15) and Dominic Douglas (16).

Secondary(keeping 9): They have six corners even with Hill gone. Cord Parks (17) has positives but the numbers game figures to get him, especially with Quincy Butler flashing in Cincinnati. They fooled me when Mark Rubin (18) made the first cut, he’s been pretty much just a camp body. David Roach (19) has a great motor and has made some good plays but made way many more bad plays. Todd Johnson, who hasn’t played that well this preseason imo, lucks out.

Defensive line(keeping 10): I saved d-line for last because it's where the most intrigue lies. Tye Hill may not be the only former first-round pick leaving Rams Park this week.

Ian Campbell (20) is the low-hanging fruit for The Turk. If he got off third-string, I never saw it. That leaves the most difficult decisions of the cutdown process.

You’ve got 6 ends: Little, Long, Hall, Adeyanju, Moore and Ah You. That hierarchy seems not to have changed throughout the summer, but those last two played well in preseason, had “good camps”, would contribute on special teams and it would be a shame to cut either one.

You’ve got 6 tackles: Ryan, Gibson, Thomas, Scott, Carriker and Burton. And yes, I believe along with the many who think Carriker is on the bubble at best. Let’s face it. He’s been outplayed by Gibson, a third-year journeyman from Rutgers. He’s been outplayed by Thomas, who was practically retired, came to camp overweight by Lord-knows how many double cheeseburgers, and was outplaying Carriker even before he got in to shape. Burton(21) hasn’t looked half bad, though it’s been against scrub-level opponents. But he loses the numbers game, especially on a defense that’ll be playing DEs like Hall, Long and Adeyanju inside a lot.

That doesn’t mean the Rams aren’t out looking to make a Tye Hill-style trade to unload the oft-injured Carriker, but I’m going to wuss out, though, and make Ah You(22) the final cut. The caution you have to have with Ah You (or Moore) is that he’s had most of his play against scrubs. I have him going to the practice squad, along with Jones, Walker, Foster, Schuening, Allen, Parks and Roach. I’m a little o-line heavy here since I’m a little light on the main roster.

Thursday night’s game could always shake things up, especially what RBs they want to keep, and which and how many linemen to keep, so stay tuned.