Rams finish 7-8-1

The Rams come up just a couple of plays short, and make 5'10", 205-lb Russell Wilson out to be Ben Roethlisberger a little too often, in a 20-13 late-game, season-ending loss to Seattle.

Steven Jackson became the sixth RB in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons.

It looks like the Rams and Broncos will tie for the 2012 sack title with 52.

RamView on the way.

Adrian Peterson ran for 199 and 2 TDs, an effort MY FANTASY TEAM COULD HAVE USED LAST WEEK, but came up 9 yards short of Eric Dickerson's single-season record in a 37-34 win over the Packers that put Minnesota in the playoffs. Feel free to pop some champagne, E.D.

If Washington wins tonight, the Rams will have played 8 of their games this season against playoff teams, going 3-4-1.

(educated guess) 209 days till training camp starts!

-$-

Rams inactives

Joe Barksdale
Sammy Brown
Matt Conrath
Austin Davis
Terrance Ganaway
Cory Harkey
Steve Smith

Leroy Hill is inactive for Seattle.

-$-

2013 Hall of Fame semifinalists

Jerome Bettis, Kevin Greene and Aeneas Williams are once again semifinalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Voters will select 15 finalists to join Seniors Committee nominees Curley Culp and Dave Robinson early in January, and the 2013 class of inductees will be announced Super Bowl weekend (Feb. 2). Former Cardinals head coach and offensive innovator Don Coryell is also a repeat semifinalist.

First-time nominees Larry Allen, Morten Andersen, John Lynch, Jonathan Ogden, Warren Sapp, and Michael Strahan make this a highly-competitive HoF class, and they're joined by past finalists Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Roger Craig, Charles Haley, Bill Parcells, and Andre Reed.

Rounding out the semifinalists: Steve Atwater, Terrell Davis, Joe Jacoby, Albert Lewis (really?), Karl Mecklenburg, Will Shields, Steve Tasker, George Young. And, as Hall of Fame voters continue to do their very best to tarnish the institution they represent: Edward DeBartolo Jr., Art Modell and Paul Tagliabue.

Former Rams who did not make the cut to semifinalist:
Henry Ellard, Dick Vermeil, Chuck Knox, Ron Jaworski, Stephen Davis, Nolan Cromwell, Sean Landeta, Bud Carson, Clark Shaughnessy, Eddie Kotal. Former Cardinals Ottis Anderson and Neil Lomax and Rams OC Brian Schottenheimer's father Marty were also left out of the final 27.

The voters' insistence on keeping criminal and rule-breaking scum like DeBartolo, a civic traitor like Modell and a completely undistinguished and biased commissioner in Tagliabue alive this far into the balloting really goes beyond the pale while some of the classiest men and most important contributors in the history of the league are left behind them. Just from a quick look at the full list of candidates, Art Rooney Jr. and Gil Brandt are easily more worthy than any of those three. And the voters should be ashamed, and probably all disqualified, upon seeing that the late Steve Sabol didn't even get to this point of considerations.

More importantly, RamView is pretty insistent that this should be the year for several former Rams to be enshrined in the Hall. Bettis has been a finalist two years running and has obviously the best numbers of any RB eligible for the Hall. Greene arguably should have gone in over Chris Doleman last year and has the most sacks of any player not in the Hall. Aeneas Williams was one of the top five vote-getters not inducted last year and is head-and-shoulders the best DB of the class. But I don't expect the the HoF committee to show appropriate respect to any of the three.

My guesses for the 2013 class:
- Allen. Regarded by many to have been the greatest guard to play the game, but was versatile enough to excel at tackle as well. Having been a Cowboy won't hurt him, either. Will Shields will have to wait even though he was in more Pro Bowls.
- Strahan. #5 all-time in sacks, single-season record holder, and his on- and off-field personality and being from New York sure as hell won't hurt him. They'll continue to tick me off and vote people behind Greene on the all-time sack list into the Hall ahead of him.
- Carter. This an even better year to break the WR logjam waiting to make the Hall than last year. Five-time finalist, eight-time Pro Bowler. I believe Cris himself once said it best... C'mon, man.
- Haley. Haley will especially be a pick to tick off Rams fans because he has far fewer career sacks than Greene and would be getting a spot that could have gone to Bettis, Greene or Aeneas Williams. But he has been a finalist longer than either, has five Super Bowl rings and based on reactions to his omission last year, he'll have the media in his corner this year. The voters would have to break a recent trend to vote two players at the same position in the same class.
- Ogden. The voters proved last year they're not afraid to induct a lot of linemen. (Nor should they be. Just remember that when Orlando Pace comes up.) Ogden's 11 Pro Bowls outweighs Aeneas' 8. I know, Shields has 12, but I don't see the voters putting in two guards, and I bumped Allen ahead of him.

I was going to predict Aeneas Williams here, and he should finish ahead of a lot of folks. In last year's balloting, he finished ahead of I believe Reed, Brown and Craig, as well as Bettis and Greene. He has more Pro Bowls than Sapp. The problem with Parcells is that they want to be sure he's actually done coaching, and he almost took the Saints' interim job this year, remember? The problem with DeBartolo is that he's a f*cking criminal. Shields wasn't even a finalist last year. The only way Aeneas can get left off of the HoF's final ballots this year is for stronger first-time candidates (Allen, Ogden, Strahan) and sentimental favorites (possibly Haley). So naturally, this is a year where we could see a lot of that. And Carter's been on the waiting list longer. I'm looking for Aeneas to make it in 2014, when the only newly eligible player likely to jump ahead of him will be Marvin Harrison (another good reason to get moving on Carter).

For the record, my votes that won't count would be for Bettis, Greene, Williams, Carter and Allen.

-$-

Sunday ex-Rams notes

* Eric Dickerson respects Adrian Peterson, but he's not rooting for him Sunday. Same here.

* Doesn't sound like Thad Lewis will be able to save Pat Shurmur's job in Cleveland; the Browns are expected to fire him and their GM on Monday.

* No one's day would be complete without a Jimmy Saddler-McQueen update. He has been promoted from the Lions' practice squad.

* Brody Eldridge tried out for the Jets but was not signed.

-$-

Rams report, 12/29

* Friday's injury report: funny how the Rams playing a lot better and being a lot healthier than past seasons go together. They'll be fully loaded for the game Sunday in Seattle, with no one missing practice the past two days. Craig Dahl (knee), Cortland Finnegan (thigh), Steven Jackson (foot), James Laurinaitis (back), Austin Pettis (shoulder) and Scott Wells (knee) are all listed as probable for Sunday. No one else on the report.

Seattle is also about as healthy as a team could ask to be for the final game of the regular season. CB Walter Thurmond is out; T Breno Giacomini and LB/Ram-killer Leroy Hill are both questionable. Marshawn Lynch, Sidney Rice, Golden Tate, Earl Thomas, Red Bryant and Marcus Trufant all probable.

Kickoff Sunday at 3:25.

Photo - TripAdvisor.com

* Go tell it... reports after the Rams' last home game are that Sam Bradford and Danny Amendola are going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in the offseason. It's part of an expedition (if that's the right word) led by Springfield, Mo. philanthropist Doug Pitt (who has a rather-famous brother and sister-in-law) to raise awareness for clean water projects in Tanzania. Jeff Fisher, who ascended the mountain last year as part of his work with the Wounded Warrior Project, thinks more Rams players will join in on the trek. Sounds very cool, even if the highest climb RamView's ever made was to my original Dome seats in row WW. Without oxygen!

* Ex-Rams report: Thaddeus "Thad" Lewis will get the start at QB for Cleveland Sunday in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. Should he get the win Sunday, per ESPN.com, he'll be the only Cleveland starting QB with a winning record since the team was re-franchised. (Jake Delhomme was 2-2.) Best of luck.

-$-

Rams report, 12/28: SEA CB Sherman not suspended

* Looks like my hopes for Sam Bradford play-faking rookie CBs and Steven Jackson facing less than 8 in the box all day Sunday have been dashed a little bit. Even though the hearing was here in St. Louis, Seahawks CB Richard Sherman has won his appeal and his suspension has been lifted. (ONCE AGAIN home field officiating only applies when the Rams are the road team.) Sherman's also likely to be extra-motivated Sunday because he was snubbed for the Pro Bowl. You always hate to go against a guy with that chip on his shoulder late in the season. No telling from here if the Hawks will have Marcus Trufant; he was inactive Sunday night but wasn't listed on yesterday's injury report.

* On the good side, the Rams appear to have NO ONE on the injury list. Craig Dahl, Cortland Finnegan, Steven Jackson, James Laurinaitis, Austin Pettis and Scott Wells were all full participants in Thursday's practice. Pettis had an injured shoulder yesterday but didn't have to miss any time.

* Transactions: the Rams' practice squad is fully manned again after the re-addition of DT Mason Brodine.

- Ex-Rams: the Steelers signed FB Jamie McCoy off of San Diego's practice squad

* And from the idiotic rumors department, the always-responsible folks at NFL.com are hyping Steven Jackson retirement talk and are all but positive he won't be back with the Rams because they have Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead. Who ran for nine yards combined Sunday. I'd tell the writer of this article to jump in the lake were I not afraid he'd take that idea seriously, too.

-$-

Rams report, 12/27: No Rams in Pro Bowl

* Wednesday injury report: Cortland Finnegan (thigh), Steven Jackson, James Laurinaitis (back) and Scott Wells (knee) did not practice Wednesday. No earthshaking surprises there. Craig Dahl was limited, which is fitting, since Craig Dahl IS limited. NFL.com listed Austin Pettis as a full participant but I'm not sure why they went to the trouble.

Notable Seahawks who did not practice Wednesday:
Marshawn Lynch (back), Sidney Rice (knee), along with Red Bryant, Leroy Hill and Breno Giacomini.

* No Rams were named to this year's Pro Bowl. In fact, Nick Wagoner reports that no Rams were even named first or second alternates. That's kind of bull, considering James Laurinaitis is 3rd in the NFC in tackles or that Janoris Jenkins leads the whole fricking league in defensive TDs. Or when the 2-13 Chiefs have FIVE players heading to Hawaii.

Frank Gore was the 3rd RB behind Peterson and Lynch, not that I would have picked him. Blair Walsh was in fact picked to be the NFC's kicker.

Buffalo, Carolina, Jacksonville, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Diego and Tennessee join the Rams in having no rooting interest in this year's game. Hmm, let's make a "No Bowl" roster from just those teams...

QB - Cam Newton, Phillip Rivers, Sam Bradford. Alarmingly, Bradford's only in because Carson Palmer's hurt. Even more alarmingly - did you know Bradford has a lower passer rating this season than Tim Tebow?
RB - Chris Johnson, C.J. Spiller, Steven Jackson.
FB - Marcel Reece
WR - Steve Johnson, Steve Smith, Jeremy Maclin, Kendall Wright
TE - Brandon Myers, Greg Olson
OT  - Jordan Gross, Jared Veldheer, and Michael Roos, though Roos just apologized for his team's "crappy" 55-7 loss at Green Bay on Twitter.
OG - Andy Levitre, Evan Mathis, and I guess Mike Brisiel. Harvey Dahl had a spot if he hadn't been injured.
C  - Beats me after Eric Wood. I went with Stefen Wisniewski.

DE  - Charles Johnson, Greg Hardy, Chris Long
DT  - Kyle Williams, Jurrell Casey, Fletcher Cox. Michael Brockers and Marcel Dareus in a dogfight for first alternate. And Brockers has been playing with a high ankle sprain all season.
OLB  - Mario Williams, Thomas Davis, Jo-Lonn Dunbar. All right, I moved Mario to OLB to get Chris Long on the roster. So sue me.
ILB - James Laurinaitis, Luke Kuechly
CB  - Cortland Finnegan, Janoris Jenkins, Chris Gamble
FS  - Jairus Byrd, Eric Weddle
SS - Quintin Mikell. I'd have said George Wilson had he not dropped 2 INTs late in Buffalo's loss to the Rams.
P - Bryan Anger
PK - Sebastian Janikowski. Sorry, Legatron.
KR - Leodis McKelvin
ST - Jon Condo

Head coach - Jeff Fisher, who else? He could be the only coach from these eight teams who returns to his job next year.

-$-

RamView, 12/26

Photo - ESPN

All right, the world's worst Rams website is now up to date for the first time in two weeks. Re-live the Rams' win over Tampa here.

- Positives: Defense dominated as the Rams sacked Josh Freeman five times and picked him off four times, including Janoris Jenkins' third pick-six of the season. Great pass protection - Sam Bradford was not sacked for the first time in 30 games. Steven Jackson scored a TD and pulled within 10 yards of 1,000 for the eighth year in a row. Big-play... Lance Kendricks? Even punter Johnny Hekker had a super game.



- Negatives: Craig Dahl trying to tackle anyone, ever. 196 yards passing isn't very good against Tampa Bay. And there's only one game left in the season.

The Rams are off to Seattle to finish the season. The Seahawks are 10.5-point favorites. The last time the Rams were that big an underdog, it was +11.5 at the 49ers, and they tied.

* (Non)transactions: the Rams are apparently still a man short on the practice squad. I have seen no report of a transaction to fill the spot opened when they promoted Quinton Pointer. (He took Harvey Dahl's main roster spot when Harvey went on IR.)

* Pro Football Weekly is as surprised as everyone else that Rams' OC Brian Schottenheimer is supposed to be a candidate to be a head coach somewhere else next season. Not that Schotty has been bad here at OC. But there's still work to be done. Like I said in last week's recap, the Rams should make a playoff game or two, or Sam Bradford should make a Pro Bowl or two, before the Rams' offensive staff becomes the cradle of NFL head coaches. (Not that it stopped the Browns.)

* Pro Bowl rosters will be announced tonight. I wouldn't expect any Rams to get invited to Hawaii without someone else opting not to go. Steven Jackson should be closest, but I'd figure him behind Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, and probably Doug Martin, though Martin's tailed off like Lance Kendricks trying to run  80 yards. I wouldn't put anyone else ahead of Jackson, certainly not Frank Gore after he f*cked my fantasy championship this weekend. Alfred Morris should be in the picture, too, but that would be kind of mean, since I consider him to basically be young Steven Jackson. If you're going to invite someone, invite the original!

The other Ram I'd say has a shot at the Pro Bowl is Greg Zuerlein, not because he deserves it, but because he got a lot of his best hype around the time Pro Bowl balloting started. He wouldn't even be the right rookie kicker to send to the game; Blair Walsh deserves the honor. I guess I shouldn't count out Janoris Jenkins or Cortland Finnegan, but the Bears and Seahawks should pick up a lot of support back there, probably Patrick Peterson as well.

* The NFL released salary cap and franchise-player numbers for 2013 today. NFL.com article
The total cap will be $121 million. Danny Amendola would cost the Rams $8.7 million if they use the transition tag on him, $10.357 million if they franchise him. One of several puzzles Les Snead will have to figure out this coming offseason.

* Ex-Rams update:
- The Browns promoted Thaddeus Lewis to the main roster.
- The 49ers cut Alex Hoffman-Ellis.
- The Jets cut Mardy Gilyard.
- Brit Miller tried out with the Browns but was not signed.
- Daniel Muir tried out with the Lions but was not signed. They recently IR'ed Nick Fairley.

* Ex-Ram of the week: as you might guess if you've observed this blog for any amount of time, I'm more than a little lazy, so I'll be lazy this week and just hand the award to Josh Brown without checking all the boxscores very carefully. Josh hit the game-winning FG for the Bengals in their big 13-10 win at Pittsburgh, which means he'll be kicking for them in the playoffs. Best of luck.

-$-

Merry Christmas

Photo - ESPN

Merry Christmas from RamView. Here's a link to a holiday message from Jeff Fisher and the Rams.

Congratulations to the Rams for their convincing 28-13 win in Tampa Sunday. RamView's report for that game is only about half-done but I expect to have it up in the usual places tomorrow morning. Think I'll watch Sunday night's Seattle game (EVEN THOUGH IT FREAKING CRUSHED MY FANTASY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES) to get better scouting on next week's red-hot opponent.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday.

-$-

Rams report, 12/22

* Once again playing catchup from well behind:

* Injury report for Sunday:
Questionable: Cortland Finnegan (thigh). Hasn't practiced all week.
Probable: Flu and cold season is making its annual run through the Rams' locker room. Steven Jackson was limited due to illness. He was held out of practice Wednesday and participated only in warmups on Thursday. Bradley Fletcher and Robert Quinn returned to practice Thursday after being sent home due to illness Wednesday. James Laurinaitis (back) and Scott Wells (knee) were full participants Friday. They did not practice Wednesday or Thursday.

* Transactions:
- Quinton Pointer has been called up from the practice squad to fill Harvey Dahl's spot on the roster. Harvey was placed on injured reserve after tearing a bicep late in the Minnesota game. Though nothing about tearing your bicep sounds good, it's not the most severe kind of bicep tear, meaning it wasn't torn off the bone. He was scheduled to have surgery Wednesday and is expected to be out 3-4 months, which means he shouldn't even miss minicamp this spring. Shelley Smith and Chris Williams are the candidates to start in Harvey's place. Let's assume it'll be Shelley. Have heard of no move to replace Pointer on the PS; can we assume Mason Brodine?

* RamView for the Minnesota game, eventually: Link
- Positives: Steven Jackson crossed the 10,000-yard career rushing mark. Sam Bradford threw for a career-high 377 yards.
- Negatives: Adrian Peterson's assault on Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record was not slowed by the Ram defense, which allowed him 212, including an early 82-yard backbreaker. The offense once again sputtered the whole first half. Bradford had two costly turnovers. The o-line struggled to protect him. Harvey Dahl went down for the season and Scott Wells had a poor game. Craig Dahl failed at safety again and special teams and the defensive gameplan were poor.

* Ex-Rams notes:
- Ron Bartell signed with Detroit.
- Good news for those of us with Andy Dalton and A.J. Green on our fantasy teams: the Steelers have signed Justin King.
- Saalim Hakim promoted to the Saints' main roster.
- Hall Davis promoted to Cleveland's main roster.
- Jamie McCoy added to San Diego's practice squad.

* Ex-Ram of the week goes to Steve Spagnuolo for New Orleans' 41-0 whitewashing of the Buccaneers. The Saints picked off Josh Freeman 4 times, sacked him twice and held Doug Martin to 16 yards on 9 carries. Yeah, it would be very bad for the Rams' D to get lit up by Tampa the week after Spags' D shut them out.

* One of my New Year's resolutions is to update the blog daily. Unfortunately, that was one of my resolutions last year, and we see how that's gone. I'll try to at least start putting up more links to interesting articles.

-$-

Rams report, 12/15

Photo - ESPN

Yes, I'm woefully behind. What can I say? It's the holidays. Anyway...

* Injury report for Sunday:
Probable: 
- Danny Amendola (foot) - was limited up until Friday. Worked in team drills for the first time in weeks. I think he'll play, but I thought that last week, too.
- Craig Dahl (concussion) - was cleared to practice after Wednesday's practice and was a full participant Thursday and Friday.
- Cortland Finnegan (ankle) - Cortland was held out of practice all week due to a nagging ankle injury he's played with for a few weeks now. He was a full participant Friday.
- Steven Jackson (foot) - standard rest. He's playing. Steven is 71 yards from 10,000 career yards and 164 away from his 8th straight 1,000-yard season.
- James Laurinaitis (back) - James did not practice all week until Friday, and was limited then. He was injured when he recovered Fred Jackson's first-quarter fumble in Buffalo last week. That's a bad injury considering what he has coming right at him tomorrow.
- Scott Wells (knee) - standard rest; I assume he'll go. Practiced in full Thursday.
- Also: Mario Haggan (elbow) and Mike McNeill (thigh).
Questionable: 
- Jermelle Cudjo (foot) - did not participate Friday. Jermelle has made some good run stops this season, and to my knowledge, the Rams have only two other DTs on the roster, the starters. If he misses the game, it'll be a more significant injury than you'd originally suspect.

Janoris Jenkins was out sick Friday and is also considered probable. Antoine Winfield is the only Viking listed as questionable or worse. Adrian Peterson didn't practice most of the week due to an abdominal injury, but Adrian Peterson doesn't exactly need a lot of practice, either.

A couple of jinx-y items that may be worth mentioning:
* I'm wearing my Steven Jackson jersey to tomorrow's game. It could be his last game here; I have to. However, I am notorious for getting players injured when I wear their jersey. I've been wearing Torry Holt all season because the Rams don't have a #81.
* An even bigger jinx: the Couch Potatoes went 11-3 to win the regular season in my fantasy league. I've been carried all season by... Adrian Peterson, who I was brilliant enough to draft in the 2nd round. To my credit, I make the playoffs a lot. But every year, something always happens at a Rams game I'm at that fouls up my playoff game. So there you go.
* More potential jinxes: the Rams are 2.5-point favorites, and all three hosts on NFC Playbook on NFL Network picked them to win.

* Transactions: the Rams made a practice squad move, cutting DT Mason (Jethro) Brodine and signing WR Raymond Radway. Dallas signed Radway out of Abilene Christian after the 2011 draft and he broke his leg on the final play of the final preseason game that year. They brought him back to training camp this year, but he did next to nothing in games, and was said to still be dealing with "mental fallout" from the previous year's injury. Radway has been on Dallas' and Chicago's practice squads this season. He's 6'3", 204 and supposedly runs in the 4.32 - 4.42 range. (He even claims a 4.2.) At his 2011 pro day, he did a 38" vertical leap, but all of 6 bench presses, or 6 less than 65-year-old Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Reports on him in this year's training camp were enthusiastic; he caught everything in sight and one observer likened him to Laurent Robinson, who was actually good for Dallas last year.

* RamView for the Buffalo game has been up: Link
- Positives: Sam Bradford put together another late clutch drive for the win. Brandon Gibson caught the winning TD and had several other crucial catches. D-line had Ryan Fitzpatrick under siege and Michael Brockers came up with his second straight huge game.
- Negatives: Offense looked terrible a lot of the game and took a full half to get going against a non-elite defense. Coaches continue to insist on laying DBs 10-12 yards off the line of scrimmage.

* Ex-Rams notes:
- The Raiders released Ron Bartell.
- Keith Toston re-signed by the Jagwires.
- Jimmy Saddler-McQueen added back to Detroit's practice squad.
- Former Rams preseason kickers Garrett Lindholm and Justin Medlock tried out for the Bears' kicking job that opened up after a season-ending calf injury to Robbie Gould. They both lost out to Olindo Mare. Medlock was cut by the Panthers before Thanksgiving after missing 3 straight FGs, including one in a game they eventually lost to the Bucs in overtime. I regularly check THREE different websites for NFL transactions, including the LEAGUE'S OWN WEBSITE, and never saw this transaction. Is there ANY reliable NFL transactions site out there?
- Jamie McGee had a tryout with the Bills. Ray Feinga and Quinn Ojinnaka had tryouts for Tampa Bay.
- Former Ram TE Chad Lewis was recently interviewed for a Sports Illustrated article about BYU draft prospect Ziggy Ansah. Lewis is an associate athletic director at BYU and is also the NFL's "Ambassador to Southeast Asia," promoting the league in China, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. He was inducted into BYU's Hall of Fame in 2007.

* Ex-Ram of the week: Who else? Danario Alexander, with 7 catches for 88 yards and 2 TDs in San Diego's 34-24 upset of the Steelers in Pittsburgh. DX is up to 5 TDs now in 5 games for San Diego; Brandon Gibson is the Rams' TD leader this season, also with 5.

-$-

Rams win! Rams win! Rams win!

Photo - ESPN

After a dreadful first half, Sam Bradford pulls off a Houdini act in the 2nd and leads the Rams to a TD with 48 seconds left to give the Rams a 15-12 win over Buffalo...

RamView on the way, hopefully no worse than noon Monday.

Go crazy folks, go crazy!

-$-

Amendola out today

ESPN is already reporting that Danny Amendola will not play today in Buffalo. Chris Mortensen said the Rams think Amendola will be able to return next week against Minnesota.

-$-

Marketing, or something else?

Should I be really thrilled that NFL.com is trying to sell me this particular T-shirt?

P.S. I'm from ST. LOUIS. I became a Rams fan because they became the ST. LOUIS Rams. I don't really want to wear a shirt emblazoned with the fine city of Los Angeles without really knowing the Rams are not going to move back there, you know?

But I guess the league has got a bunch of T-shirts ready if they do. And thanks so much for that.

-$-

Rams report, 12/8

Photo - NBC Sports

* Injury report for Buffalo:
Probable: Steven Jackson (foot), Scott Wells (knee)
Questionable: Danny Amendola (foot), Mario Haggan (elbow)
Out: Mike McNeill (thigh)

Amendola reportedly will be a game-time decision, but Tony Softli reported on radio that he hasn't been in a walking boot at all this week. Expect him to be able to play.

Buffalo has *23* players on its injury report. Yes, half their team is injured. The notables:
Questionable: Leodis McKelvin (back), Aaron Williams (knee), Stevie Johnson (hamstring)
Out: Chris Hairston (ankle), Eric Wood (knee), Mark Anderson (knee), Chris Kelsay (neck)

The Bills' offensive line is about as healthy as some of Steve Spagnuolo's were. Reports have them down to their third-string right tackle, and Wood is a big loss for them at center. They're already down a starting corner, and now two pass-rushing ends. Anderson has been out for two months now and Kelsay was IR'ed Wednesday. It's a team that should be very ripe for the pickin's, though neither Miami nor Jacksonville have even come close to beating them the past two weeks.

Kickoff at noon Sunday.

* Ex-Rams report:
- The Bengals have signed Josh Brown, and he'll be kicking for them Sunday. Mike Nugent was injured in practice Wednesday.
- WR Saalim Hakim has been added to the Saints' practice squad.

* From the RamView accounting department: the Rams are not a man short on their practice squad and haven't been since adding Cameron Graham a couple of days ago. The genius who writes this mess keeps forgetting to count Jabara Williams, who joined the PS after Corey Harkey's promotion. The full practice squad: DT Mason Brodine, Graham, WR Nick Johnson, T Ty Nsekhe, DB Quinton Pointer, RB Chase Reynolds, G Brandon Washington and Williams.

-$-

RamView, 12/6

* Sunday recap. Greg Zuerlein was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after kicking a tying 53-yard FG with :02 left in regulation and a winning 54-yard FG with :30 left in overtime as the Rams beat the 49ers 16-13. Report

Other positives: Janoris Jenkins scored his third TD in two weeks on a fumble recovery. Rams held Frank Gore under 60 yards. Standout games for Chris Givens (11 catches) and Michael Brockers (11 tackles). William Hayes and Eugene Sims were excellent filling in for Robert Quinn.

Negatives: Givens was the only receiver who could get open. 49ers held Steven Jackson under 50 yards.

The Rams travel to Buffalo Sunday, where they are 3-point underdogs to Ryan Fitzpatrick's Bills.

* Transactions. The Rams did re-sign Quinton Pointer to the practice squad, so I guessed right last week. They have also signed TE Cameron Graham to the PS. According to my record-keeping, Pointer fills the spot left open when Sammy Brown was promoted, and Graham fills the spot left open when Corey Harkey was promoted. But the Rams have also cut Saalim Hakim from the PS. Any reason they would insist on staying a man short on the practice squad? I'll assume there's another PS move brewing.

RamView has only one note on Graham, from the 2011 NFL Combine: just looks like a poor athlete; I'm not even sure what he was doing there. He was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Titans in 2011 and spent all of that season on the Titans' practice squad. He doesn't have any career stats. He's 6'3", 244, out of Louisville, where he was all-Big East in 2010. One of Scouts Inc.'s notes is that he "has to learn to control emotions." Smooth athlete, good at finding holes in the zone and can make plays down the seam. Good hands but doesn't have elite burst or pull-away speed. Has a nasty disposition and maintains his blocks in the running game. Not elusive or a big-play threat.

* Ex-Rams report.
- LB Alex Hoffman-Ellis has been added to the 49ers' practice squad.
- CB Kendric Burney was added to the Panthers' practice squad.
- T Phil Trautwein tried out with the Steelers.
- PK Todd Carter tried out with the Bills. He was a camp leg here last summer.
- TE Brody Eldridge tried out with the Raiders.
- T Ray Feinga tried out with the Packers.

Ex-Ram of the Week is an obvious call this week. Donnie Avery had 5 catches for 91 yards and 2 TDs, including the game-winner with time expiring, in Indy's come-from-behind 35-33 thriller over the Lions.

-$-

Jovan Belcher, 1987-2012

I don't for a second wish to be insensitive to Jovan Belcher's family, or to his fans and teammates with the Kansas City Chiefs, but I need to get this off my chest. I've wondered how the NFL should/would handle this unmistakeable tragedy, and these are my thoughts.

By no means should the NFL cancel tomorrow's Panthers-Chiefs game in Kansas City. Furthermore, there should be not even be a moment of silence for Jovan in Kansas City or anywhere else around the league. Jovan's death was only half of yesterday's tragedy. He also killed Kasandra Perkins, the mother of his child. Neither the National Football League nor any of its teams should insist on holding a moment of silence for a murderer; it simply would not be right.

I can't think of a situation like this before in the NFL. I can think of one in another "sport". Professional wrestler Chris Benoit, along with the rest of his family, died on a Sunday night in June 2007 under unclear circumstances. WWE decided to cancel the next night's show and air a 2-hour tribute to Benoit instead. All seemed well and good, and the tribute seemed fitting, until, shortly afterward, police determined that Benoit killed his family before killing himself (robbery initially hadn't been ruled out). WWE was broadly condemned for rushing to pay tribute to someone who turned out to be a murderer. And rightly so.

We apparently have little reason to doubt that Jovan Belcher took an innocent life before taking his own. It is not wise, suitable or right that his death be publicly mourned. Regrettable as all deaths are, if there's a moment of silence at the Dome for Jovan Belcher tomorrow, I'll remain seated. So should everyone else.

-$-

Rams report, 12/1

AP Photo

* Injury report for tomorrow's game vs. San Francisco:
Probable: Steven Jackson (foot)
Questionable: Barry Richardson (knee), Robert Quinn (concussion), Scott Wells (knee). So the Rams get one game with their starters on the offensive line before it falls apart again? Sigh. Wells did not practice this week till Friday, and was limited for that one. Richardson was fine until Friday. Quinn has to pass the last round of concussion tests before he can be cleared to play. That's anyone's guess, so Questionable is a good designation there.
Doubtful: Danny Amendola (foot). 'Tis only a flesh wound!
Out: Mario Haggan (elbow).

Kickoff tomorrow at noon. All the rest of this season's games will be televised on Fox.

* Transactions: The Rams recalled Sammy Brown from the practice squad yesterday and waived Quinton Pointer, probably with an eye toward returning him to the PS. Pointer played quite well on special teams last week, but as a LB/pass rusher, Brown fills bigger needs, given the injuries to Haggan and Quinn. Brown's recall appears to leave the Rams two men short on the PS; I've never seen that they made a move to fill the slot left open after they promoted Corey Harkey.

* Stan Kroenke, dental floss tycoon. The Rams' owner has plunked down over $130 million on a 124,000-acre cattle ranch in Montana called the "Broken O." (Broken O? Is that a vote of non-confidence in Brian Schottenheimer?) The ranch has 4,300 cows and 175 bulls, (which leads one to believe bulls do not live very hard lives) and is also Montana's largest irrigated farm, producing 700,000 bushels of various crops annually. Part of Stan's ranch is a 10,000-square foot "farmhouse" with an indoor pool. From Stan's end, it's an investment both in farmland, which has appreciated rapidly in value lately, and in beef and grain markets, where prices have been on the rise.Obviously, there's also plenty of ground up there to build a new stadium. Ladies and gentlemen, your Montana Rams!

$130 million would pay for a lot of stadium renovations in St. Louis, by the way, Farmer Stan. Good luck convincing taxpayers to spend a dime of their money on Dome upgrades after you just spent $130 mil on a bunch of cows.

Which reminds me, here's a link to Sports Illustrated's recent feature article on Stan.

* Ex-Rams update:
- a Joe Germaine update here by Bernie Miklasz. (toward the end of the column). Germaine's quickly becoming a standout coach at the high school level, not just by leading a state champ, but by leading players with real character.
- Kellen Heard signed with the Colts last week. Leave it to RamView to let a 340-pounder slip by me.

* Condolences to Chiefs Nation on today's tragedy.

-$-

Rams report, 11/29

Photo - USA Today

* Wednesday injury report: Danny Amendola (foot) has returned to wearing a walking boot and did not practice Wednesday. Steven Jackson (foot) and Scott Wells (knee) were held out of practice. Mario Haggan (elbow) and Robert Quinn (concussion) also did not participate.

* Sunday recap. Janoris Jenkins was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for returning two interceptions for TDs in the Rams' 31-17 win over the Big Dead. I haven't had time to update ramview.com, but this link should take you to the recap.

- Positives: Terrific games for Jenkins, Steven Jackson and Chris Givens; offensive line looked strong playing with its five intended starters for the first time. Sam Bradford recovered from a very shaky start.
- Negatives: Defense amazingly soft in first half; terrible miss by Greg Zuerlein from 35; Givens the only receiver with more than one catch.

* Sunday preview. The Rams are 7-point underdogs to the 49ers at home Sunday. Colin Kaepernick will get the start at QB for the 49ers. Let's hope the Rams' coaching staff is much more aware of Kaepernick's running ability than they seemed to be a couple of weeks ago. Season-ending injuries to Kendall Hunter and Kyle Williams make it likely that the 49ers will dust off rookies LaMichael James and A.J. Jenkins for Sunday's game.

* Ex-Rams report:
- Dallas has signed Brady Poppinga. They have lost a couple of LBs with season-ending injuries.
- Cadillac Williams had a tryout with the Giants but could not beat out Ryan Torain or Kregg Lumpkin.
- Mardy Gilyard, cut by the Eagles last week, has been picked back up by the Jets.
- Pittsburgh added Joe Long to its practice squad.
- NFL.com never showed a transaction where the Chiefs cut him, but Bryan Kehl is back on Washington's roster now.

Not a very heated race for Ex-Ram of the Week this week, which goes to Donnie Jones. He averaged an impressive 47.7 per punt and pinned the Lions inside the 20 three times in Houston's Thanksgiving Day victory.

-$-

Rams report, 11/24

* Injury report for Sunday's game in Arizona:
Out: Mario Haggan (elbow)
Doubtful: Danny Amendola (foot)
Questionable: Lance Kendricks (knee), Rodney McLeod (calf)
Probable: Steven Jackson (foot)

Amendola is expected to miss the game. The Rams may catch a break in that Calais Campbell (calf) is not expected to play, although he is only listed as questionable.

Kickoff is at 3:25.

* Ex-Rams news:
- Lucky Greg Salas has gone from the Patriots to the Eagles. NFL.com says the Eagles waived him yesterday; I think they mean the Patriots did; then, the Eagles claimed him on waivers. To add Salas to their roster, Philadelphia cut another former Ram, Mardy Gilyard.
- Kevin Hughes has re-joined San Diego's practice squad.
- Jamie McCoy has been dropped from Pittsburgh's practice squad yet again.

-$-

Injury report, 11/23

Rams
Did not practice Thursday: Danny Amendola (foot), Mario Haggan (elbow), Rodney McLeod (calf)
Limited: Steven Jackson (foot), Lance Kendricks (knee)

Arizona
Limited: Calais Campbell (calf), William Gay (groin), Kerry Rhodes (back), LaRod Stephens-Howling (ribs).

-$-

Rams report, 11/21

* Injury list:
Not practicing Wednesday: Danny Amendola (foot), Mario Haggan (elbow), Steven Jackson (foot), Lance Kendricks (knee). Jackson and Kendricks are just being rested. Amendola's situation looks a little more serious; he is in a walking boot.


* Transactions: The Rams have re-acquired LB Jabara Williams, the seventh-round pick most fans would argue the team cut short-sightedly last season. He takes the open space left on the practice squad by Corey Harkey's promotion.

* With Scott Wells returning at center, Robert Turner is now starting at left guard.

* Big Dead report:
Ken Whisenhunt says he's sticking with rookie Ryan Lindley at QB Sunday. Arizona has also activated RB Beanie Wells from injured reserve. He practiced in full Wednesday, but the Cardinals had quite a few players who were limited, including Kevin Kolb, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Daryn Colledge, Calais Campbell, Kerry Rhodes and Justin Bethel. Kolb's still working his way back into shape from injured ribs and it doesn't sound like there's much chance of him playing against the Rams.

* Ex-Rams report:
- Jerome Murphy has signed with the Redskins.
- Detroit has dropped Jimmy Saddler-McQueen from its practice squad.

* Happy Thanksgiving to all.

-$-

Brit Miller released

Photo - STLToday

Scott Wells was added back to the Rams' 53-man roster today from injured reserve, as expected. A little less expected: fullback Brit Miller was released to make room for Wells. Miller was not active for Sunday's loss to the Jets. Lance Kendricks is expected to take Miller's lead-blocking role, which is a good call. Lance has seriously improved as a blocker this season, and RamView never has thought that highly of Miller's play at fullback. Brit is a pretty good special teams player, so the risk is that the Rams will miss his blocking there. And sadly, Rampage is going to have to find a new roommate.

Corey Harkey could also get some opportunities in the fullback/blocking tight end role. It sounds like he will stick on the main roster. The Rams still have a practice squad opening.

The Rams roster currently has nine offensive linemen, four tight ends and only three defensive tackles. If Wells is immediately stepping in at center against the Big Dead this week, I'm expecting Robert Turner to slide over to LG, being much less of a pass-protection liability than Shelley Smith.

-$-

RamView, 11/20

Photo - ESPN

* RamView for easily the most bitterly disappointing game of the Jeff Fisher era, Sunday's 27-13 loss to the 3-6 Jets, is up now. Link

- Positives: Steven Jackson. Brandon Gibson caught 2 TDs. Janoris Jenkins played pretty well.
- Negatives: everyone else. Bradford was poor and had 2 turnovers. Daryl Richardson had a costly turnover. Receivers could not get open. D-line didn't do anything after first quarter. Trumaine Johnson burned badly for a TD and another big play. Kick returns were poor, especially thanks to referees calling a TD return back. Coaching staff at present cannot motivate players, cannot put together a coherent game plan, or apparently even do third-grade math.

* Injury report: Mario Haggan was knocked out of the game early due to an elbow injury that sounds long-term. I'm expecting he'll be moved to injured reserve.

Danny Amendola injured a heel in the first half but got it taped up and returned to the game. So it's not a ruptured Achilles, but it doesn't sound like the best injury for a wide receiver to have, either. Let's call Danny questionable pending an exam of that injury.

Eugene Sims and Austin Pettis played against the Jets. Darian Stewart's knee injury kept him on the inactive list.

Scott Wells is expected to return to the 53-man roster this week, so look for a move to clear a roster spot for him. Tim Barnes or Cory Harkey could return to the practice squad, which has been a man short since Harkey's promotion last week.

* The Rams next travel to Arizona for a 3:25 game Sunday. The Rams won the first meeting 17-3 in October behind a 9-sack attack of Kevin Kolb. The Cardinals appear to have switched to rookie Ryan Lindley at QB now, and haven't won since taking their first loss of the season here.

How disappointing were the Rams Sunday? Against an Arizona team that's 4-6 and had 70 yards passing last week, they're 3-point underdogs.

* Ex-Rams news:
- Greg Salas has been promoted to the Patriots' main roster, replacing Deion Branch.
- Joe Gibbs has been added to Green Bay's practice squad.

* Ex-Ram of the week is once again Danario Alexander, who had 7 catches, 96 yards and 2 TDs in San Diego's 30-23 loss at Denver. Brandon Gibson's the only Rams player who scored more TDs this year than DX has in two games.

-$-

Rams report, 11/17

* Injury report for tomorrow's contest against the New York Jets:
Questionable: Mario Haggan (thigh), Austin Pettis (toe), Eugene Sims (knee), Darian Stewart (knee).

Key names for the Jets:
Probable: Stephen Hill (out sick), LaRon Landry (foot), Nick Mangold (ankle), Calvin Pace (shoulder), Matt Slauson (knee), Mark Sanchez (back), Tim Tebow (ribs)
Questionable: Jeremy Kerley (foot), Joe McKnight (ankle), Sione Pouha (back), Bart Scott (toe)

That's probably about half their list, which reminds me of some of the Spagnuolo-era injury lists in its length. Most of the Jets on the report, though, are listed as probable. The eyebrow-raiser is Kerley - if he's slowed down, it takes a nice-sized chunk out of what little offense the Jets do have.

Then again, if the Rams do not STOP THE RUN tomorrow, they'll make Sanchez look good.

* Roster moves: Tight end Cory Harkey was promoted from the practice squad to take Kellen Heard's place on the main roster. No move to replace him on the practice squad has been announced.

* Pro Football Weekly has been a lot busier covering the Rams the past couple of weeks than they've had to be the past few seasons. Some highlights:

- According to team insiders, Danny Amendola's injury history makes any decision on franchising him very difficult;
- Look for a total makeover at safety next offseason like the one the Rams did at corner this season (see previous link);
- Janoris Jenkins is still a work in progress, but even with his recent slump and curfew violation, "his pluses have outnumbered his minuses";
- Chris Long becomes the latest player PFW describes as a "rolling ball of butcher knives". Dibs on that for the name of my future metal band.

* Tomorrow's game will air on KMOV at noon. That's CBS, not Fox, because it's an AFC road game. The Rams are 3.5-point favorites; Bernie Miklasz notes that it's the first time the Rams have been favored to win a game since Boxing Day 2010 vs. the Niners. The Rams won that game, but I am in total dread of being favored in this one.

This game has also sold more tickets than any game so far this year, an encouraging sign that interest in the team has picked back up. (Unless Jets fans travel very, very well.) Please don't blow this one, fellas.

* Get well soon, Mike Ditka.

-$-

Rams report, 11/16

Photo - STLToday

Some quick notes for Friday:

* The Rams' injury report increased just a little:
- Did not practice: Austin Pettis (toe)
- Limited: Mario Haggan (thigh), Eugene Sims (knee), Darian Stewart (knee).

Injuries for key Jets players:
- Did not practice: LaRon Landry (foot)
- Limited: Sione Pouha (back)

* Since I guess it's never too early to start worrying about next year, Pro Football Talk has already started ramping up free agency talk. Notably, Danny Amendola will be eligible for unrestricted free agency. PFT's Mike Florio says it seems inevitable that Amendola will get the franchise tag from the Rams.

I'm a little embarrassed not to be able to remember the last player the Rams had who was even good enough to be franchised. For his part, Amendola says he wouldn't complain about getting the tag. Well, of course not; it would guarantee him a $9-10 million salary in 2013; he makes just short of $2 million this year.

Oh, yeah... Wikipedia says the last player the Rams franchised was Oshiomogho Atogwe, in 2009.

Sports Illustrated

* I doubt he'd sell many issues as the subject of the cover article, but the subject of Sports Illustrated's feature article this week is... Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Writer L. Jon Wertheim calls Kroenke the most powerful man in sports and manages to get several pages out of Kroenke's low-key personality and investing success. The article focuses mainly on Arsenal, and the Rams and the stadium situation get just a couple of paragraphs. Several friends said they'd doubt Kroenke would move the Rams, especially if he didn't already own the stadium in the target city.

Trivia you already knew about Stan (E. Stanley) Kroenke: He was named after Cardinals baseball legends Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial.

Trivia you probably knew about Stan Kroenke: He's the world largest investor in sports, owning at least $3.5 billion worth of sports properties, including the Rams, Arsenal, Avalanche, Nuggets and Denver's Pepsi Center. When in Denver, he stays in a penthouse that's attached to the Pepsi Center.

Trivia you probably didn't know about Stan Kroenke: he can bench 225 pounds 12 times, which I guarantee will come up again in future RamView NFL Combine coverage.

I'll get a link up to the Kroenke article online when it goes into the "SI Vault". Speaking of which, here's the link to the FG record article (which mentions Greg Zuerlein) I promised a few weeks ago.

* Ex-Rams updates:
- Demarco Cosby added to the Chiefs practice squad.
- Jamie McCoy back on the Steelers practice squad.

-$-

RamView, 11/15

* The recap of the Rams' 24-24 tie in San Francisco is up now at ramview.com. Link

Positives: Danny Amendola returned and made plays all over the place. Strong game by Sam Bradford. Very strong game by Steven Jackson. Good game from offensive line. D-line did some early damage. Hekker nails on TWO fake punts. Brian Quick and Daryl Richardson make the most of limited action.

Negatives: Rams lost a game-winning OT FG, a long punt return and a likely game-clinching OT bomb due to idiotic penalties. Jeff Fisher didn't make the best use of his timeouts. Defense went to sleep after Rams extended lead to 10 in 3rd quarter. D-line let Colin Kaepernick run wild. Critical kickoff return fumble by Isaiah Pead.

* Injury report: For possibly the first time in recorded history, the Rams have NO official injuries to report. At Wednesday's practice, only three players were limited: Austin Pettis (toe), Eugene Sims (knee), Darian Stewart (knee). The roster spot left open when Jeff Fisher cut Kellen Heard Sunday is still open, but could be filled by Scott Wells. He's increasing his practice load and there could be a decision on his status later this week.

Janoris Jenkins and Chris Givens both practiced Wednesday. Still in Fisher's doghouse for breaking curfew Friday night, they'll both play against the Jets but may not start. The awesome part of this whole story is Fisher making them run the stadium steps in Candlestick before the game.

* The Rams prepare next for the New York Jets at noon Sunday. The Rams are early 3-point favorites. I fear the St. Louis media are not taking the Jets seriously enough. Yes, they're reeling; yes, Mark Sanchez is awful, but that is a lot better team when they've got their middle running game going, and what have you all seen from the Rams lately to think they're going to shut down Shonn Greene?

* Ex-Rams news:
- Chris Johnson, cut by the Raiders back in March, has joined the Ravens.
- Kevin Hughes had a tryout with the Colts.
- Brody Eldridge was waived by the Bears, who needed to add another QB because of Jay Cutler's concussion.
- Ron Bartell's season is NOT over in Oakland. He had the return designation when he went on IR and returned to the active roster before Sunday's game.

RamView doesn't have a regular ex-Ram of the Week award, but this week's would definitely go to Danario Alexander, who put the Chargers on top early with an 80-yard TD reception and finished the 34-24 loss in Tampa with 5 catches for 134 yards.

-$-

Surprise pre-game moves...

...and they aren't pleasant surprises, either. Jeff Fisher has put Janoris Jenkins and Chris Givens on today's INACTIVE list for the dreaded "violation of team rules" that we'll never learn what actually was. Kellen Heard has been flatout CUT, and since that was done with no apparent plan or opportunity to re-fill his roster spot for the game, I'll assume it was also disciplinary.

The timing of the announcement has me wondering if these guys missed the bus to the stadium or something. If they violated any curfew they might have had last night, seems like something would have come down sooner.

(Chris Myers' pregame report on Fox makes it sound sound like they may have missed or were late for yesterday's walkthrough)

Hardly encouraging at all to see Jenkins barely make a half-season without getting in off-field hot water with the team, btw. Coming off the two poorest games of his NFL career, he has now reached a tipping point. And Givens' absence dooms Sam Bradford to throwing nothing but 2-yard passes all day today.

Looks like I'll be glad to be bailing in the 4th for that concert I'm going to.

-$-

Rams report, 11/10

* Injury report for Sunday's game in San Francisco:
- Probable: Barry Richardson (concussion), Justin Cole, Kendall Langford. Cole had missed some practice time while out sick; Langford had an excused absence.
- Questionable: Danny Amendola (collarbone), Mario Haggan (thigh), Kellen Heard (both feet?), Wayne Hunter (back), Rodger Saffold (knee).
It looks like Saffold and Richardson will be the starting tackles tomorrow. I think Hunter's outplayed Richardson, but Hunter is going to be the swing tackle.
- Doubtful: Eugene Sims (knee), Darian Stewart (knee)

The 49ers, who are currently favored by 11.5, don't appear to have any significant injuries.

Photo - USA Today

* The Sporting News - that's still around? - conducted its annual poll of the NFL's dirtiest players, and for the second straight year, the winner is Ndamukong Suh. In second place, another case of an ex-Ram lifting his game to its highest level after leaving the team, Richie Incognito. Cortland Finnegan took third, where he also placed last year. So there's some motivation for him Sunday, then.

-$-

Rams report, 11/7

Photo - Dallas News

A few notes as the Rams prep for the 49ers Sunday:

* Transactions:
- Quinton Pointer was called from the practice squad to take Matt Daniels' (IR, torn ACL) place on the main roster.
- Pointer's place on the practice squad was filled by wide receiver Saalim Hakim, Az's brother. Reportedly runs a 4.2 40. And the Raiders didn't draft him? He was in Dallas' training camp, though.

The Rams returned to practice today. The injury report:
* Did not participate: Eugene Sims (knee); Justin Cole (out sick); Darian Stewart (chillin'). What a wasted season for Stewart. I had the guy on his way to the 2014 Pro Bowl in July. In November, I have him getting beaten out of a job in 2013 training camp by one of two safeties the Rams take in the draft. NFL = Not For Long, buddy.
* Limited: Mario Haggan, Wayne Hunter, Danny Amendola, Rodger Saffold. Amendola's playing Sunday; Saffold sounds questionable at worst; Hunter is probably doubtful.
* Full participant: Barry Richardson. Believe he suffered a concussion against New England.
* Scott Wells is alive! He also practiced on Wednesday, though in more of a trial run. The Rams have three weeks to activate him or put him back on season-ending I.R.

* Ex-Rams on the move:
- Pittsburgh cut Jamie McCoy from their practice squad.
- Buffalo signed Thomas Welch.
- Keith Toston waived again by Jacksonville.

* The San Francisco game kicks off at 3:25 Sunday. Naturally, I have to leave at 6:00 for a concert. Nothing like having to leave a football game in the 4th quarter. Don't expect a very early RamView on Monday.

-$-

RamView, 11/3

Photo - USA Today

Yes, I know, every week looks like a bye week here at the world's worst Rams blog, but here are some updates from the Rams bye week anyway. Players will wrap up a 4-day break and return to Rams Park on Monday.

* Injuries:
- Rookie safety Matt Daniels tore an ACL against the Patriots and has been placed on season-ending injured reserve. The Rams have not yet made a move to replace him on the roster but early next week seems likely. And Quinton Pointer seems likely for a call-up from the practice squad, since he played well on special teams this summer.
- Danny Amendola is all but certain to return for the San Francisco game November 11. He'll wear a flak jacket to protect against re-injuring his collarbone.
- The Rams could get both starting tackles back for the 49ers game. Remember who they are? Rodger Saffold and Wayne Hunter "have a chance" to return according to Jim Thomas. Saffold practiced with the team in London, so he's probably a little closer.
- Scott Wells, though, and Eugene Sims, both out with knee injuries, are still said to be "a few weeks" away. If that's the case, I don't know why the heck the Rams don't just I.R. Sims and get Sammy Brown some playing time.

* Another honor for Legatron: Greg Zuerlein was named to Sports Illustrated's midseason All-Pro team. Peter King calls him "the best long kicker since Sebastian Janikowski."

* Here's the link to the RamView report on the London debacle. Report
Positives: St. Louisans didn't have to pay for tickets to watch a lousy performance that flashed back to 2011. Oh, and another big play for Chris Givens.
Negatives: Just about everything else. Every player on defense especially sucked.

* Ex-Rams news:
- The Jagwires cut Keith Toston on the 30th but decided they needed more RB depth and re-signed him on the 1st. He returned two kicks for them last week and averaged 24.5 yards.
- Hall "The Undertaker" Davis has been signed to Cleveland's practice squad.
- Seattle waived Danny Gorrer on the 30th, but Tampa claimed him on waivers the next day. Maybe Aqib Talib will clean up his act knowing the Bucs felt like they could replace him adequately with Danny Gorrer.
- Also in Tampa, Roger Allen was promoted from the practice squad to take the roster squad vacated when they had to put Carl Nicks on season-ending injured reserve. No offense to Roger, but that's a downgrade.
- Jabara Williams tried out with the Packers a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't been in the league since the Bears cut him in the final August roster cutdown.

-$-

RamView, 10/27

* London injury report:
Out: Wayne Hunter (back); Rodger Saffold (knee); Eugene Sims (knee).
Looks like it will be the legendary combo of Joe Barksdale and not-ESPN's Shelley Smith on the
left side of the Rams' offensive line again this week.
Questionable: Matt Conrath (knee); Mario Haggan (thigh); Mike McNeill (knee).
Probable: Brandon Gibson, who missed a practice earlier this week due to illness.

And then there's Danny Amendola, who practiced with the team all week on a limited basis and is also listed as questionable for Sunday. He's not expected to play the Patriots but is targeting the San Francisco game on the 11th, meaning he would only miss three games.

Danny tried to return too early from an injury last year and wrecked his season; I hope he's not falling into the same trap here.

You know by now, but I'll repeat here, that Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez didn't even fly to England with the Patriots, so one less weapon for the Rams to worry about there.

* Legatron is big, and he's nationwide. This week's Sports Illustrated has an article in which all four of the kickers who share the NFL record for longest field goal are interviewed, and Greg Zuerlein is mentioned prominently as the kicker who may break that record. Writer Tim Layden even had to worry that Zuerlein would ruin his article by breaking the record this year before he could put the story together. Whenever SI deigns to allow us to look at the article online, I'll post a link.

* Ex-Rams news:
- Zac Diles' season is over in Tennessee. He broke his leg in their win over Buffalo last Sunday and has been placed on injured reserve.
- Keith Toston re-signed by the Jagwires, who need another RB for a while with MJD down. Anyone surprised Jones-Drew went down with an injury after holding out all summer? Me either.
- I don't remember Rams training camp fullback Todd Anderson being suspended, so the news his suspension was lifted on Tuesday came as a surprise. He was released August 27 when the Rams cut down to 75 players. The commissioner suspended him for four weeks Sept. 26 for "undisclosed reasons". Four weeks is consistent with a first-time violation of league drug policy. Anderson's now an eligible free agent.

Pro Football Focus recently published its ranking of the league's offensive lines. The 49ers came in best. The Rams were only 29th, but with the acknowledgment they've played well for having had a ton of injuries. The other team to catch my eye was Cleveland at #10. Cleveland? Top ten? Yes, in part because of ex-Ram John Greco's play since becoming a starter there. Not only am I pretty sure anybody could have signed Greco this summer, I'm pretty sure somebody around here recommended the Rams do it. You're welcome. And no, I don't link back to all my awful free-agency and draft misses, though I am feeling a lot better these days about panning Cam Newton prior to last year's draft.

-$-

RamView, 10/22

RamView for Sunday's 30-20 Rams loss to the Packers should be up at ramview.com in the next couple of hours. Link

Positives from Sunday: more explosive play from Chris Givens; patchwork offensive line held together pretty well; Jackson and Richardson continue to run well; Greg Zuerlein got his mojo back with 2 FGs.

Negatives: horrific game in the secondary, sliced and diced by Aaron Rogers for 340-plus; Rams have little receiving threat besides Givens; special teams fooled by onside kick; Chris Long appearing locally on milk cartons.

* Injuries: Eugene Sims suffered a knee injury, that, while unspecified, gives the impression of being a long-term injury. First question for next week is if Wayne Hunter will be ready to return, though Joe Barksdale held his own in Hunter's place.

* Transactions: not-ESPN's Shelley Smith had such a good game at LG Sunday that the Rams have gone ahead and cut previous starter Quinn Ojinnaka for the second time this season. He's replaced on the roster by former Bears draft bust Chris Williams, drafted out of Vanderbilt to be a tackle but likeliest to be in the mix at guard here. Theoretically he can play either. He's really a finesse lineman who might help the Rams in pass protection but wasn't good at it in Chicago at all. He should be something of an upgrade over Ojinnaka, but I doubt by much.

* The Rams are flying to London tonight for their game Sunday against the Patriots. New England is a touchdown favorite. I assume the game will be on CBS, with the Patriots having the "road" team role. Noon kickoff CST.

A question: if the game had not sold out in London, would it have been blacked out here in St. Louis? Hey, the NFL's done weirder things.

* Ex-Rams news:
I think Fox reported during yesterday's game that 27 players who played for the Rams in 2011 are not only no longer with the team, they're no longer in the league. Well, make that 26, and congratulations to Danario Alexander, who has been picked up by the Chargers. Let's see now if he can make it to the end of the season in one piece. Hell, let's see if he can make it to the end of October in one piece.

The Rams continued their fairly ridiculous game of practice squad three-card monte over the weekend. They cut Mason Brodine and signed Chase Beeler on Saturday, then turned right back around today and re-signed Brodine and cut Beeler. This is the second straight week they've done this. The hell?

Bryant Browning wasn't without a team long, joining the Browns' practice squad Monday.

Joe Vitt's league suspension has ended. He should be in charge of the Saints Sunday night when they play in Denver.

-$-

Rams update, 10/19

Photo: NBC Sports

* Friday's injury report: while no new injuries were reported immediately after the Rams' 17-14 loss to Miami, the big injury situation in camp all week has been left tackle Wayne Hunter's back. He is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Green Bay, but he hasn't practiced all week. The Rams haven't chosen a backup plan yet. Either Raider waiver wire pick up Joseph Barksdale will step into Hunter's spot, or Quinn Ojinnaka will slide out there and Texans waiver wire pick up Shelley Smith will step in at LG.



If the Rams are thinking about sliding a guard outside, RamView's pretty sure they're thinking of the wrong one. Ojinnaka's a poor enough pass-blocker at guard, and we saw in preseason how terrible he could be at tackle. Repeating that is just insanity. A better move would be to slide Harvey Dahl out to RT. He excelled there late last season in a spot role. Barry Richardson's the best option the Rams have at LT as well. Yikes, but true. But that combination is a far sight better than putting Ojinnaka out there to whiff on Clay Matthews all game.

Or, here's another idea: Slide Dahl to tackle, Robert Turner to guard and put Tim Barnes in at center. That's probably your best five. Without Raji lining up over him, Barnes wouldn't be as bad a weak link as Ojinnaka trying to do anything in space.

The rest of the injury report:
Out: Danny Amendola (clavicle); Mario Haggan (thigh); Rodger Saffold (knee).
Probable: Janoris Jenkins (back). He missed Tuesday's practice but has been full-go the past two.

Some good news coming the Rams' way is that Saffold and Scott Wells (IR, foot) are on track to return to practice. Saffold is possibly just a week or two away and Wells is out of his walking boot.

* The Packers, who are six-point favorites, are projected to be without Greg Jennings and four defensive starters Sunday: B.J. Raji, Nick Perry, Sam Shields and D.J. Smith, who's out for the season after tearing an ACL Sunday night. The game to my knowledge is sold out and will be on KTVI at noon Sunday, though I must have missed the official announcement.

* Adding to Greg Zuerlein's downer of a week, he didn't set the NFL record for consecutive FGs to start a career as previously reported. Garrett Hartley of the Saints owns the record with 16. He went 13-for-13 as a rookie and hit his first 3 his 2nd season before missing a 58-yarder. Scoff, that's a chip shot for Legatron.

* The Dolphins recap isn't quite up at ramview.com yet but will be soon. Link
Positives: Bradford over 300 yards, running game effective, defense holds Miami under 20 yards rushing.
Negatives: Too many penalties, too much settling for FGs, too much missing FGs.

* Former Rams news:
- Jamie McCoy cut from Pittsburgh's practice squad.
- Bryant Browning cut from Carolina's practice squad.
- Brody Eldridge signed by Chicago. Not that I care, but I never saw a transaction where the Rams officially cut him.
- Cleveland got away with what they wouldn't let the Rams get away with last summer, adding Thaddeus Lewis back to their practice squad after cutting him.

Now out of the league, former Ram draft bust Jimmy Kennedy released a statement calling NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a liar and vehemently denied that he had any role as a whistleblower in the Saints' bounty scandal. The denial is likely his best effort as a pro. The league says he told investigators that former teammate and fellow Rams failure Anthony Hargrove told him the Saints had a bounty on Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship. Kennedy denies that conversation with Hargrove ever happened and that he only told investigators that he didn't know anything.

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Rams update, 10/12

Photo - Stlouisrams.com

* Thursday's injury report:
Out: Danny Amendola (collarbone); Mario Haggan (thigh); William Hayes (back); Rodger Saffold (knee). Amendola's and Haggan's injuries are from the Arizona game. Hayes injured his back in practice Wednesday.

Matt Conrath, Matt Daniels, Brit Miller and Eugene Sims were all full participants in Thursday's practice. Quintin Mikell didn't miss any practice time this week despite getting concussed in the Arizona game. He will start against Miami.



Going back to Arizona for a second, Ryan Williams' season was ended Thursday night by that devastating hit from Darian Stewart. Tore up his shoulder.

Here's a belated link to the wrapup for that Arizona game: Report
Positives: domination by the defense with nine sacks.
Negatives: Amendola injured and offense sputtered most of the night.

The Rams are 3 1/2-point underdogs to the Dolphins. Reggie Bush has been limited in practice due to a knee injury from about 3 weeks ago.

* Johnny Hekker became the second straight Ram to win the NFL's Special Teams Player of the Week award. He averaged a team-record 56.9 yards per punt against the Big Dead. Patrick Peterson's going to win this award the next time the teams meet if they don't do a more thorough job kicking away from him, though.

* Transactions: a little musical chairs on the practice squad: Chase Beeler was re-signed, replacing Mason Brodine, but by the end of the day Thursday, Brodine was back, replacing Beeler. The Rams also tried out former Oklahoma DE Jimmy Wilkerson, a long-time RamView favorite who can get after the passer but has knees roughly as healthy as Joe Namath's.

Also, and this happened very quietly, Brody Eldridge's suspension has ended. It would seem that a move to either keep or cut him has to happen pretty quickly. Nothing yet, though.

In transactions involving ex-Rams, Thaddeus Lewis is available again. He has been cut by the Browns, who filched him off waivers last summer as the Rams were attempting to move him to their practice squad.
Also:
- The Colts cut Justin King and added Gentleman Kris Adams back to their practice squad.
- Daniel Muir signed with the Jets.
- Anthony Hargrove's suspension by the league was reduced to two games.
- Bryan Mattison was cut and then re-signed by the Chiefs.

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Amendola out 4-8 weeks

Photo - Sports Illustrated

Danny Amendola suffered a separated right collarbone after diving for a pass in Thursday night's 17-3 win over the Big Dead. It's a joint separation that caused his collarbone to separate from his sternum. Sounds nasty, but it was a clean injury with no other bone fractures or ligament damage, and he does not need surgery, so he can be back sometime in the next 4-8 weeks, as long as he doesn't try to rush back like he did with his elbow injury last season.

I have Ryan Mathews on one of my fantasy teams, and know he was out 4-5 weeks after a collarbone injury in preseason. Though that was a different injury, I can see Amendola back in 4-6 weeks, and one of those is the Rams' bye after the stupid London game.

Other injuries from Thursday night:
* Quintin Mikell suffered a concussion after (iirc) striking his head on a teammate's knee. I doubt he'll play next week against Miami but it's obviously too early to know anything officially.

* Minor unspecified injuries for Bradley Fletcher, Mario Haggan, Brit Miller and Quinn Ojinnaka, but no indication that any of them will miss time.

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