Rams report, 9/28

* The Rams lead the NFL! In dropped passes. With 8. Further statistical autopsy after the first three weeks:

The Rams are 31st in the NFL in total defense and scoring defense. (Their next opponent, the Redskins, rank 5th/16th, even with Jim Haslett as their coordinator.)
The Rams rushing defense ranks dead last in the league. Maybe that should be dead-and-buried last. THEY'RE THIRTY-EIGHT YARDS PER GAME OUT OF 31ST PLACE!!!!! (Though it is a shocker that the #31 team is Rex Ryan's Jets.)
The Rams "defense" gives up 5.4 yards per carry, 31st in the league. Thank God for the Raiders. I don't want to hear any more crap about the Michael Vick factor, either. The Giants are 15th in the league, Atlanta is 20th, and they're both giving up 3.6 yards per carry despite playing a game against Vick.

The silver lining? The Rams rank 19th against the pass, and are tied for 11th in sacks, with 8. Chris Long's 3 sacks tie him for 7th in the league.

Things aren't much brighter on offense:
The Rams are 21st in total offense, 29th in scoring. (Redskins are 15th/14th.) And, famously, they've given up as many TDs on offense as they've scored. (3)
The rushing offense ranks a respectable 11th, but the passing offense is 23rd. Sam Bradford is 29th in the league in passer rating at 73.3. For God's sake, he's behind Tarvaris Jackson (73.7). That has to be largely because Sam's completing under 50% of his passes, while Jackson is over 60%.
Only Jackson, Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan have been sacked more times than Bradford's 11, which ties him with Chad Henne and Alex Smith.

The Rams are 21st in turnover ratio at -2.
They have committed the 5th-most penalties in the league, for the 2nd-most yardage. (Thank God for the Raiders again.)

Wow.

* Roster churn: The Rams have finally signed CB Rod Hood after at least three tryouts here over the last two years. Hood was last with Tennessee; Steve Spagnuolo coached him at Philadelphia for one season. He has 14 career INTs, 3 of them pick-sixes, in eight seasons, if you count 2010, which he missed all of due to a torn ACL.

To make room for Hood on the main roster, the Rams cut Jermale Hines. To apparently make room for Hines on the practice squad, the Rams committed the mortal sin of cutting Ben Guidugli again, for which they will pay for all damnation.

Bizarrely, a team in such bad need of CBs had to cut a healthy one yesterday. That was Dionte Dinkins, who was IRed in training camp with a designated minor injury. (Ankle, I think.) That designation meant that Dinkins by rule had to be cut once he became healthy, and the Rams by rule can't re-sign him until after this season. What kind of stupid rule is that?

A move I neglected to report last week was Josh Gordy getting the call up from the practice squad to replace Tim Atchison, who went on IR.

Here's how I have the Rams' current depth chart at corner:
1. Bradley Fletcher
2. Al Harris
3. Rod Hood
4. Josh Gordy
5. convert Quintin Mikell from safety
6. Aeneas Williams. He's a local minister, he wouldn't have a long drive.
7. convert James Butler from safety
8. Chris Chamberlain. He's pretty quick and played some safety in college.
9. Todd Lyght. He's only 42, he can probably still go.
10. convert Mike Sims-Walker from wide receiver
11. Dexter McCleon
12. perennial Pro Bowler and future Hall-of-Famer Ryan McNeil
13. Justin King


* 2011 draft watch: Yet another of this year's draft picks getting cut inspires another recap of the Rams' 2011 draft picks to date:

1. Robert Quinn - active 2 games, 2 tackles, 1 sack. Has to have some pass pressures, too; he's showing he can get after it.
2. Lance Kendricks, 4 catches, 69 yards, 1 rush, minus-8 yards. No TDs. 2 official drops, 4 by my count.
3. Austin Pettis - active 1 game. 2 catches for 8 yards.
4. Greg Salas - active 2 games. 5 catches for 48 yards. 2 official drops, at least 3 by my count. Critical muffed punt in Giants game. 2 punt returns for 49 yards.
5. Jermale Hines - cut, may be heading for practice squad. Has not been active this season.
7a. Mikail Baker - perpetually-injured college player now listed on Rams' injured reserve
7b. Jabara Williams - has not been active this season
7c. Jonathan Nelson - cut.

Wow again. But I'm not going to give the Rams crap about not drafting Torrey Smith; I didn't want him, either. It's not like Justin King made him prove he could beat a jam or run routes more refined than sprinting in a straight line. Smith showed better hands than I expected, but I still think he's Darrius Heyward-Bey Jr. He was just covered last Sunday by Taje Allen Jr.


Haven't heard anything about ticket sales for Sunday yet, but I'll be stunned if the TV blackout gets lifted. That'll shorten RamView up a bit, that's for sure.

-$-