Former Ram roundup

It's time once again for RamView's annual effort to track down where former Rams are playing, or where they got cut, around the league. This is based entirely on team websites maintaining accurate rosters, NFL.com's transaction page, and my own recall of who's been with the Rams before, so if you use this information to settle a bar bet, make sure it's a small one...

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none. Well, we're not off to a very interesting start this year!

Most interesting cut: guard Chilo Rachal 

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: Steven Jackson, of course

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: LB Brian Banks 

Ex-Rams cut: Billy Bajema, Chris Johnson

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: RBs coach Wilbert Montgomery; senior defensive assistant Steve Spagnuolo

Most interesting cut: LB Nigel Carr, who sure made a lot of plays Thursday night 

Ex-Rams cut: Thad Lewis, Don Unamba

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: LB Bryan Scott 

Ex-Rams cut: Dominique Curry, who it sounds like they were trying to convert to tight end

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: WRs coach Rickey Proehl, OL coach John Matsko

Most interesting cut: QB Jimmy Clausen, who might have been the Rams' QB if they had drafted Ndamukong Suh in 2010

Ex-Rams cut: Brody Eldridge, Fendi Onobun

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: OT J'Marcus Webb goes from starter one year to getting cut the next

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: Andrew Hawkins is going to go onto IR or PUP due to an ankle injury

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: QBs coach Ken Zampese

Most interesting cut: LB Dontay Moch

Ex-Rams cut: Justin Cole

Ex-Rams on roster: John Greco, Chris Ogbonnaya

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: ILBs coach Ken Flajole, OLBs coach Brian Baker

Most interesting cut: RB Miguel Maysonet 

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: George Selvie

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: QB Alex Tanney

Ex-Rams cut: Lance Ball (BOO!), DeAngelo Peterson

Ex-Rams on roster: Paris Lenon

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: special teams assistant Derius Swinton

Most interesting cut: WR Tavarres King 

Ex-Rams cut: Ron Bartell, Jimmy Saddler-McQueen

Ex-Rams on roster: Justin Bannan, Rocky McIntosh

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: offensive coordinator Scott Linehan

Most interesting cut: Havard "Kickalicious" Rugland 

Ex-Rams cut: Kevin Hughes, Matthew Mulligan

Ex-Rams on roster: Ryan Pickett

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: OLBs coach Kevin Greene

Most interesting cut: RB Alex Green 

Ex-Rams cut: Daniel Muir

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: assistant head coach / DL coach Bill Kollar, special teams assistant Bob Ligashesky, defensive line assistant Jeff Zgonina

Most interesting cut: QB Stephen McGee 

Ex-Rams cut: Kellen Heard

Ex-Rams on roster: Josh Gordy

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: special teams coach Tom McMahon

Most interesting cut: OT Ben Ijalana 

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: defensive coordinator Bob Babich

Most interesting cut: Marcus Trufant

Ex-Rams cut: Rokevious Watkins, Mardy Gilyard

Ex-Rams on roster: Donnie Avery, Zac Diles

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: assistant secondary coach Al Harris

Most interesting cut: OT Matt Reynolds

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: Brandon Gibson, Richie Incognito

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: fullback Jovorskie Lane, one of last year's stars of "Hard Knocks" 

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: DL coach Brendan Daly

Most interesting cut: CB Brandon Burton

Ex-Rams cut: Daniel Fells

Ex-Rams on roster: Danny Amendola, of course, and Michael Hoomanawanui

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels

Most interesting cut: oh, OK, Tebow

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: Chris Chamberlain (torn ACL, 2nd straight season on IR)

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: assistant head coach / LBs coach Joe Vitt, defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, assistant secondary coach Andre Curtis, WRs coach Henry Ellard, assistant LBs coach Brian Young

Most interesting cut: KR Courtney Roby. Go get him right now, Rams! 

Ex-Rams cut: Bryant Browning, Jamie Childers, BEN GUIDUGLI (you bastards!)

Ex-Rams on roster: Josh Brown, Gentleman Kris Adams (IR, broken leg)

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, CBs coach Peter Giunta

Most interesting cut: they cut Marvin Austin? You're kidding!

Ex-Rams cut: Jason Smith

Ex-Rams on roster: Leger "DOOZER" Douzable

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: RB/KR Joe McKnight

Ex-Rams cut: Justin Medlock

Ex-Rams on roster: Alex Barron is still in the NFL? You're kidding!

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: special teams coach Bobby April, offensive coordinator Greg Olson, senior offensive assistant Al Saunders

Most interesting cut: WR Connor Vernon

Ex-Rams cut: Nick Miller, Greg Salas

Ex-Rams on roster: Bradley Fletcher, Donnie Jones

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur (really?), assistant DBs coach Todd Lyght

Most interesting cut: Kenny Phillips, has an injured quad, though 

Ex-Rams cut: Joe Long, Jamie McCoy

Ex-Rams on roster: Bruce Gradkoswski, Shaun Suisham

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: Jonathan Dwyer 

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: secondary coach Ron Milus

Most interesting cut: WR Robert Meachem, one of the worst free-agent signings ever

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: Craig Dahl (snicker)

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: none

Most interesting cut: WR Lavelle Hawkins

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: none

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: special teams assistant Nick "Sunshine" Sorensen

Most interesting cut: FB Michael Robinson

Ex-Rams cut: Roger Allen, Gary Gibson

Ex-Rams on roster: Danny Gorrer and Brian Leonard are still in the NFL. Good grief.

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: senior offensive assistant Jimmy Raye, assistant OL coach Steve Loney (still in the NFL, too? Good grief again)

Most interesting cut: safety Cody Grimm

Ex-Rams cut: Barry Richardson, DeMarco Cosby

Ex-Rams on roster: Ryan Fitzpatrick and Rob Turner, who will start at center

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, RBs coach Sylvester Croom, QBs coach Dave Ragone, senior defensive assistant Gregg Williams

Most interesting cut: LB Gary Guyton 
 

Ex-Rams cut: none

Ex-Rams on roster: The last member of the Super Bowl XXXIV champions still playing, London Fletcher, Bryan Kehl and Jerome Murphy. Adam Carriker starts the season on PUP, still recovering from surgery for a torn quadriceps suffered almost a year ago

Ex-Rams on coaching staff: defensive coordinator Jim Haslett

Most interesting cut: LB Gary Guyton

Ex-Rams who played in 2012 and are still unrestricted free agents:
o Larry Grant, who is suspended the first four weeks for a PED violation;
o Laurent Robinson, who is medically cleared for football even after suffering FIVE concussions in Jacksonville last season;
o Mike Sims-Walker is now a Winnipeg Blue Bomber;
o Randy McMichael last had a tryout in May, with the Colts

No known interest in Brit Miller, Brandon Lloyd, Ruvell Freaking Martin, Wayne Hunter or Quintin Mikell.

-$-

Rams-Baltimore recap

Backups ruled the day as the Rams won a 24-21 glorified scrimmage over the Ravens, many of whom were not even in St. Louis for the game, to finish their preseason 1-and-3. Yep, THAT was worth the sixty-seven bucks. Recap is finally up at ramview.com.

Positives: Possible breakout performance (8-76) by Benny Cunningham; Kellen Clemens looked sharper than he has all summer and won the QB2 job; Brian Quick stepped up; another breakout performance, by DE Gerald Rivers, who made the roster with a disruptive performance that included a sack and three tackles-for-loss; Chase Reynolds recovered an early fumble, scored a late TD and made the team; Matt Daniels picked off a pass, made a nice hit and also made the team; Drew Thomas saved the game late with a falling interception (but didn't make the team).

Negatives: THREE fumbles in the first five minutes by players the Rams are expected to rely on, Isaiah Pead, Brian Quick and Tavon Austin; SEVENTEEN freaking penalties for 123 yards; another lackluster rushing and returning performance from Pead; Greg Zuerlein missed a 53-yard FG attempt; ever having to pay full price for this ridiculous excuse for a National Football League game; Austin Davis failed to progress enough in his second training camp to make the final cut.

Out due to injury:
Sammy Brown, calf. Got cut after the game.
Matt Giordano, calf. Made the team despite not playing a snap in preseason. Supposedly close to returning. Nice timing.
Corey Harkey, leg fracture. Out another 2-3 weeks.
Sean Hooey, ankle. Status is currently up in the air; a waived/injured transaction is assumed.
Lance Kendricks, knee. Expected to be a go for week 1.
Chris Long, injury undisclosed, but he didn't practice all week and had his right leg wrapped.
Brandon McGee, injury undisclosed, believed to be minor leg injury.
Darian Stewart AGAIN, hamstring. Made the team anyway. Les Snead essentially called Rodney McLeod a starter during the TV broadcast of the game, so I don't think they're counting on Stewart any time soon.

Darren Woodard injured a hamstring late in the game. He has been cut, without an injury designation, and seems a good practice squad candidate if healthy. 

Jermelle Cudjo played and comes off the list.

The Rams open the regular season at home against the Big Dead next Sunday and are 4-1/2 point favorites. Wonder what the over/under for penalties will be.

-$-

Cutdown to 55

Sigh... last night's RamView recap is still nowhere close to done, I haven't had time to even put up a quickie recap of last night's scrub-fest, and the Rams are already cutting people. You're going to have to trust me on who I say I predicted would get cut. It'll all be in a RamView that probably comes out after the Rams have made all of their cuts. This still isn't the worst Rams blog on the web for nothing.







Rams' cuts so far:
Note: the cutdown is only to 55 because Isaiah Pead and Jo-Lonn Dunbar are suspended. Somebody has to get cut after week 1 and after week 4 when each is eligible again.

Emory Blake
Mason Brodine
Sammy Brown
Austin Davis
Cody Davis
Garrett Goebel
Rashard Hall
Josh Hull
Nick Johnson
Philip Lutzenkirchen
Andre Martin
Ty Nsekhe
Zach Potter
Eric Stevens
Drew Thomas
Justin Veltung
R.J. Washington
Darren Woodard
D.J. Young

Eric Stevens is now being reported as having been released, so I'm going to assume the last move involves Sean Hooey in some way and claim a 15-for-20 mark. Reviewing what I got wrong:

At LB, the Rams went with youth over experience, cutting veteran middle linebacker Josh Hull and keeping undrafted rookie free agent Jonathan Stewart. Stewart's one of five UDFA's to make the final 55. Amazingly, three of them are linebackers, i.e. all the depth at that position. Much rawer than I'd ever have expected the Rams to go, even if it's just for a month till Jo-Lonn Dunbar gets back.

At safety, the Rams went with experience and a month-long calf injury over youth, apparently letting Matt Giordano make the club from the tub over Cody Davis. The move is fairly baffling to me; it's not like Giordano is this proven commodity who's respected league-wide and is going to be a major difference-maker the second he hits the field. We'll see, but I think they'll be lucky to get Davis through waivers and onto the practice squad. And I doubt he'll last real long there if he gets there.

At tight end, the Rams kept Mike McNeill, more of a receiver and playmaker, over Zach Potter, more of a blocking TE. I thought Potter the better blocker, and didn't really like McNeill's work on special teams, but I saw a lot less of the two than the coaches did.

Apparently happy enough with what they have on kick and punt returns without him, the Rams let Justin Veltung go in favor of Chase Reynolds. Though he hasn't stood out this preseason, Reynolds has been a solid contributor in special teams in the past, and there's even some suggestion that he'll return kicks opening day. I actually thought Veltung could have handled that role, but it looks like that'll be Benny Cunningham's job right now.

The Austin Davis era hit a significant speed bump when he was released Friday, with the seeming intent of getting him onto the practice squad. His spot seems to have been re-allocated toward keeping an extra offensive lineman. The Rams have 10 on the roster at the moment, including Brandon Washington, who rode the practice squad all last season.

New projected practice squad: Austin Davis, Cody Davis, Justin Veltung, Emory Blake, Mason Brodine, R.J. Washington, Eric Stevens and Woodard, depending on his hamstring injury

Undrafted rookie free agents projected to make the main roster: Benny Cunningham, Gerald Rivers, Ray Ray Armstrong, Daren Bates and Jonathan Stewart, an impressive haul the Rams didn't have to expend a single draft pick on. And for the second straight year, a player RamView originally gave a 5% chance of making the team made the final roster out of camp, so maybe I should quit doing that.

For the record, I put Cunningham's odds at 55%, Rivers' at 5% with an August 1st upgrade to 35%, Armstrong at 10% with an upgrade to 75%, Bates at 20% and Stewart at 40% with a downgrade to 20%. Sigh. My best pre-camp odds were on Cody Davis at 60%.

I believe coach Fisher would call my poor performance a learning opportunity.

-$-

Rams-Ravens mini-preview

The final game of the preseason is here already! The Rams host the Super Bowl champ Baltimore Ravens in week 4 for the second straight year to close out the fake part of the 2013 schedule. Kickoff time is 7 p.m. The game will air locally on KTVI. NFL Network will replay it at noon Friday and 2 a.m. Monday morning, which will be the last replay of the preseason.

Jeff Fisher's original intent, and his usual preseason pattern, would be to get the starters in for about a half, but after the Denver game, he sounded more inclined to put the starters in bubble wrap. The Rams don't really need to expose any of their projected starters. Though it would be hell on me as a recapper, at QB, I would like to see Austin Davis and Kellen Clemens alternate possessions. Zac Stacy and Brian Quick are a couple of young players who could use a ton of extra reps. The Rams still have enough linemen in camp to play two different units without using any starters. That's true for the defense as well as the offense, and the way the d-line has half-assed through preseason anyway, what's the point of exposing them to even 1% of injury risk? And while I think the OLBs could use the extra reps, they're so thin at that position I'm not sure they should even suit up Alec Ogletree. There's more than enough DBs hanging around to rest the starters. Isaiah Pead and Bennie Cunningham can continue their kick returner "battle", and Justin Veltung can have all the punts as he draws an inside angle to a roster spot. Actually, Pead isn't returning kicks opening week anyway; maybe Cunningham should get all of those reps. I wouldn't have minded keeping Brett Baer around a week so the Rams didn't have to expose their kickers!

Injury information hasn't changed any from yesterday's report. Chris Long has been mysteriously held out of the last two days of practice. That doesn't affect tomorrow night's game but is starting to bear watching. I'm curious to see if Jermelle Cudjo will get any snaps, but I don't expect he will. And I do expect him to defy traditional logic and "make the club from the tub". The Rams will have to cut 22 players by the Saturday deadline.

Baltimore's 2-1 in preseason and coming off a 34-27 loss in Carolina. Joe Flacco, not that we'll see him, has been extremely sharp, completing 3/4 of his passes, but the Ravens running game has yet to get untracked. With QB2 Tyrod Taylor injured, expectations are we're going to see a ton of Caleb Hanie tomorrow night. Baltimore didn't play any starters in last year's game here, and they're especially not going to expose anyone when they're only seven days from kicking off their regular season in Denver. Besides the kickers, the only other opening day Raven starter we might see is at center, where there's still a position battle going on.

And it should go without saying what absolute shit it is to make season ticket holders pay full freight for this game. This game is going to be crap even as exhibition games go. In the soccer friendlies played here in St. Louis this summer, we at least got to see star players like Cristiano Ronaldo for the first half or more.

Yes, I just went there. I just said soccer is better at football at something. They put on more entertaining meaningless games.

RamView doesn't expect to have the recap up until Friday night, especially considering I just realized I have to write an Arizona preview for the end.

Enjoy the game as much as possible and everybody stay healthy.

-$-

Monday injury/roster report

Out:
- Cory Harkey (fractured leg), will be out 3-4 weeks. Took a low hit from a Denver DB in Saturday night's game.
- Darian Stewart AGAIN (hamstring). All indications are he is still the starter, assuming he ever gets back on the field and manages to stay there.

Unreported: Sammy Brown (calf), Matt Giordano (calf)

Returned: Joseph Barksdale
Jermelle Cudjo and Lance Kendricks "took part in practice" Monday. I assume that means limited participation. The Post-Dispatch's report is not very specific.

I wouldn't expect to see either of those two, or anybody who really matters, on the field for the Rams Thursday night against the Ravens. It sounds like Jeff Fisher will play it safer with the starters than he originally intended to. Given injuries like the one Harkey got (or Michael Brockers' in last preseason's fourth game), that doesn't sound like too bad an idea.

Ryan Lee and Jabara Williams were the Rams' final two cuts for this round, leaving RamView an amazingly-mediocre 7-and-6 in its projections.

-$-

Cutdown to 75 (updated)

Cuts by the Rams to get to the 75-man roster limit have been completed:

Brett Baer
Demetrius Fields
Andrew Helmick
Jorgen Hus
Tim Jenkins
Ryan Lee
Al Lapuaho
Joseph LeBeau
Graham Pocic
Colby Prince
Raymond Radway
Robert Steeples
Jabara Williams

I guess the mild upset is that they've cut Helmick and Radway at wide receiver and kept Emory Blake, who I never saw as ahead of either one of them. And I think he's had more drops in games than catches. On the other hand, he has a lot of solid possession-receiver qualities.

RamView was a decidedly-underwhelming 7-for-13 projecting the first round of cuts.

Rams-Denver recap

Hey, RamView took less than two days to get a game recap up on the website for a change! Um, don't count on that for Thursday night.

The Rams' starters used a couple of big plays to take a surprising 20-10 halftime lead in Denver, but the subs coughed it up in the 2nd half and just failed to win the game when Brian Quick couldn't quite bring down a 2-point conversion. The 27-26 loss drops the Rams to 0-3 for the preseason.

* Positives: The big plays: Tavon Austin returned a punt 81 yards to set up a TD and Alec Ogletree stripped a fumble and returned it 16 yards for a TD. Ogletree also picked off Peyton Manning during a spectacular second quarter. Jared Cook scored the opening TD and was a big part of the offense. Pass protection was textbook most of the first half. Kicking game was excellent, with Legatron bombing in a 58-yard FG and Johnny Hekker had a 53-yard net average. Tackling and tight end coverage improved by leaps and bounds over last week.

* Negatives: Running game got nowhere behind weak blocking. Pass rush was worse than weak. It barely even looked like the starting front four was on the field. Denver held the ball for 20 minutes in the first half, 30 PLAYS IN THE FIRST QUARTER, and Peyton Manning had 234 yards passing. AT HALFTIME. Rams continue to commit way too many penalties (11).

* Out due to injury:
Joe Barksdale, infection
Jermelle Cudjo, foot
Sammy Brown, calf
Matt Giordano, calf
Lance Kendricks, knee
Darian Stewart AGAIN, hamstring
Jabara Williams, hamstring

Cudjo should return for Thursday night's final preseason game against the Ravens. Kendricks is probably questionable at best but bears watching.

Corey Harkey and Ryan Lee were shaken up during the game. Their status is TBD.

* Road to 53:
RamView predicted these cuts for the cutdown to 75, with the deadline on Tuesday:

Tim Jenkins
Eric Stevens
Demetrius Fields
Emory Blake
Colby Prince
Sean Hooey (IR)
Graham Pocic
Garrett Goebel
Joseph LeBeau
Andre Martin
Drew Thomas
Brett Baer
Jorgen Hus

Sammy Brown and Jabara Williams figure to be on the bubble as well; they've been hurt all of camp and haven't really distinguished themselves as Rams. Thomas was the toughest one for me to pick. A lot of DBs have made plays, including him, but there's an awful lot of them on the roster. Robert Steeples could be just as vulnerable. I'd hate to cut a guy like R.J. Washington after his strong outing last night. Raymond Radway hasn't done much in two weeks, but I'm keeping him. I dropped Goebel rather than Al Lapuaho and his stupid taunting penalty because I thought I saw Lapuaho getting shifts with the twos last night. To me, that means he's ahead. I kept D.J. Young just to keep the other tackles from having to work a lot against Baltimore.

Hey, if I go 7 for 13 on these I'm having a good year. I just hope not to cut a player here who actually makes the 53-man roster.

This may be the Billy Devaney in me talking, but there's a couple of spots on the roster I feel the Rams are going to have to add a veteran. If Darian Stewart and Matt Giordano are going to stay sidelined at safety, I really think they're going to need another veteran back there. Quintin Mikell knows this system; I'd be giving him a call. I think they need another veteran to back up Witherspoon at OLB. He wouldn't cost the Rams a roster spot the first four weeks since he'd in effect be using Jo-Lonn Dunbar's. It's a move the Rams really should have made by now. We'll have to see what veterans get cut by other teams who would fit here. I also can't believe the Rams are going to go into the season with Isaiah Pead returning kickoffs. He may be the worst kick returner of the St. Louis era. There should be plenty else, and plenty better, available; for instance, Josh Cribbs, who's being cut by Oakland. Yeah, I know, Dante Hall 2.0, but Joe Cribbs would be a better return option than Pead, and he's 55.

The Rams host probably Baltimore's backups Thursday night at 7 p.m.

-$-

Barksdale out for Saturday night

Joseph Barksdale did not travel with the Rams to Denver for Saturday night's game. He has an infection in a cut on his hand. There was some concern that it could be MRSA, an especially nasty type of infection that went through the Rams' locker room a few years ago. That seems to have been ruled out, and Barksdale isn't expected to be out long. It sounds like he's being kept out as a precaution against spreading anything to other players.


Seriously, Rams Park needs to be boiled or something. Swine flu went through there during the Spagnuolo era. What's next, bubonic plague?

Barksdale's injury also has to affect the Rams' game plan for the Broncos. Unless they're planning to rush Rodger Saffold back, which I doubt is wise, do we really want Ty Nsekhe protecting Sam Bradford, probably against "Hey, I'm about to get suspended for six weeks and have nothing to lose" Von Miller? With Barksdale staying behind in St. Louis, I'd have thought about leaving Bradford behind, too. Let's hope a lot of tight end help on the right side will be enough.

Photo: Howstuffworks.com

-$-

Rams at Denver mini-preview

The Rams' third preseason game of 2013 will kick off in Denver tomorrow night at 7:00 Central. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS. Dan Dierdorf will be the color commentator, which I assume makes Greg Gumbel the play-by-play man. NFL Network will replay the game at 2 a.m. Monday morning and at noon Wednesday.

Starters should play at least the first half and possibly the first series of the second half. That was Jeff Fisher's intent going into last year's third preseason game, but Sam Bradford got battered in the first half behind a makeshift offensive line and he was pulled at halftime instead. Austin Davis should be the first QB off the bench with Kellen Clemens in the mop-up role again. Chris Williams should get the start at left guard, and Joseph Barksdale should start again at right tackle barring a big surprise from Rodger Saffold. Rodney McLeod should get a start at safety in place of the injured AGAIN Darian Stewart. The running back rotation is anybody's guess. Fisher sensibly named Daryl Richardson the starter earlier in the week but it remains to be seen how much he'll be used against the Broncos.

One running back who won't be in the rotation is Terrance Ganaway. He left the team earlier in the week to pursue his graduate degree at Baylor. Best of luck to Terrance in his future endeavors. The Rams will have to cut 13 more players to get down to the 75-man roster limit by Tuesday.

Updated injury information:
The Post-Dispatch only reported three players sitting out practice Thursday:
Sammy Brown out, calf
Matt Giordano out, calf
Darian Stewart out AGAIN, hamstring

Updating the rest of the last injury report:
Jermelle Cudjo (foot) is now a full participant in practice but is not expected to play tomorrow night.
Sean Hooey (ankle), latest status not reported
Lance Kendricks (knee) won't play, either; limited participant.
Rodger Saffold (shoulder) was at least a limited participant at last word but is not expected for tomorrow night.
Jabara Williams (hamstring), latest status not reported

Eugene Sims and Tavon Austin have returned from funeral leave absences. Ty Nsekhe returned after sitting Wednesday out due to the flu. Zac Stacy is full-go by all indications. With a chance of taking the RB2 job, I'd like to see him on the field tomorrow night.

Like Rams fans, Broncos fans are counting heavily on preseason performance so far not being indicative of regular season results. Though they did win the opener in San Francisco, they've scored a meager 20 points in two games and just got rolled 40-10 in Seattle. They'll be at home this preseason for the first time, though. Rams receivers won't get to go up against future Hall-of-Famer Champ Bailey (foot) and I would imagine Wes Welker (sprained ankle) is doubtful. The Broncos are still sorting out their RB situation themselves. Ronnie Hillman's had ball security issues. St. Louisan Montee Ball has to improve in pass protection. That's where Knowshown Moreno has excelled, but he hasn't been much of a big-play threat. Von Miller, who is suspended for the first six regular-season games, will play.

The most important goal for the Rams in Denver is a clean game. Make your tackles and make your blocks.

I'll try to get some of these foggy injury reports cleared up between now and game time.

Enjoy the game and everybody stay healthy.

-$-

RamView, 8/21: first cut of camp

* The first cut of training camp is tight end Cameron Graham. Not sure what precipitated the move now when the cutdown to 75 deadline isn't until next Tuesday, but the Rams get a head start. 14 to go. Torry Holt will be pleased to know his jersey number is available again.

* Injury report from Tuesday's practice:

- Tavon Austin out, personal

- Sammy Brown out, calf

- Jermelle Cudjo out, foot

- Matt Giordano out, calf

- Sean Hooey out, ankle

- Lance Kendricks limited, knee. Working out with trainers.

- Tim McDonald limited, knee

- Rodger Saffold limited, shoulder. Rodger is said to be likely for the preseason finale against Baltimore.

- Eugene Sims out, personal

- Darian Stewart out AGAIN, hamstring

- Jabara Williams out, hamstring

Zac Stacy appears to have returned to practice.

* Damn, it would be nice to have some healthy safeties. There are enough questions at that position already. Rodney McLeod is now a starter with Stewart down AGAIN.

* Wednesday is the final day practice is open to the public. It starts at 3:30.

-$-

Rams-Green Bay recap

RamView tried not to sweat some of the Rams' sloppy play last week, but things just seemed to get worse Saturday night as they went down to the Packers, 19-7. Full recap is up at ramview.com now.

Negatives: Sam Bradford killed a drive by fumbling a snap at the goal line. Isaiah Pead didn't fumble but pretty much got nowhere. Kellen Clemens had a passer rating of zero. Blocking by the backup offensive lines was dreadful. Tavon Austin and Alec Ogletree looked like rank rookies. The defense's tackling was terrible and the line only pressured the QB a little better than last week. Greg Zuerlein missed from 50. Rams had three turnovers and nine penalties. They were 0-for-3 on 4th down and 1-for-14 on third down.

Positives: Well... no one got hurt, and the game doesn't count. Chris Givens and Jared Cook made big plays. Punt coverage improved significantly from last week. Robert Quinn played well and Ray Ray Armstrong had a team-making kind of game.

Injuries:
- Sammy Brown out, calf injury.
- Jermelle Cudjo out, foot. Supposedly getting closer to returning.
- Matt Giordano out, calf.
- Sean Hooey out, ankle.
- Lance Hendricks out, knee. Also supposedly getting closer to returning.
- Rodger Saffold out, shoulder. Sounds like he may return this week. I doubt he plays against Denver.
- Eugene Sims out, family.
- Zac Stacy out, soreness. Soreness? Rub some dirt on it!
- Jabara Williams out, hamstring.

Daren Bates was helped off the field but apparently had only cramped up so I won't add him to the list. Coming off the list:
- Terrance Ganaway played Saturday night. Didn't look half bad, at least in pass protection.
- Andrew Helmick also played and had a 30-yard catch-and-run.

If any injury updates come out Monday I'll make another quick post.

The Rams play at Denver LIVE on CBS Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Photo: ESPN.com

-$-

Rookie free agent profile: Rashard Hall, S, Clemson

Rashard Hall 6'2" 210
S, Clemson 

Twitter handle: @ChristTraining

Rankings: NFLDraftScout: 17th-ranked free safety, #352 player overall, free-agent grade.

Scouts Inc: 32nd-ranked safety, rated as a free agent. Grade: 30, borderline draft prospect.

NFLDraftCountdown: 35th-ranked safety, late-round to free-agent grade.







Biography/honors:
2012: Three-time academic all-ACC. Second team all-ACC. Team captain. Started all 13 games. 85 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions, 4 pass breakups, a QB pressure (5 for career) and a forced fumble. Ranks third in school history with 17 takeaways.
2011: Played in 13 games, starting 12. 89 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, one sack, 2 interceptions, 1 pass breakup, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble that led to a defensive TD.
2010: Played in 13 games, starting 12. 65 tackles, one tackle for loss, 2 interceptions, one returned 52 yards for TD, 3 pass breakups.
2009: Freshman all-American, freshman all-ACC and honorable mention all-ACC. Played in 14 games, starting 7 at nickelback. 63 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 2 pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
2008: Redshirted.

Major: marketing. Has received more academic honors than I can count.

Injuries:
2012: Had knee surgery in January and did not participate in spring practice. Did not miss any games in 2012.
2011: Missed one-plus games due to a knee injury and played most of the season with it despite knowing it would require surgery.

Pro day results: (2013 NFL Combine safety averages in parentheses)
4.68 40 (4.61)
1.68 10-yard split
36” vertical jump (36.25”)
10'2" broad jump (10'3.5")
6.87 3-cone drill (6.87)
4.21 20-yard shuttle (4.19)
19 bench press (17) 

Positives: Tough player with good size and no worse than average athleticism for the position. Has decent range and size and speed to match up with tight ends. Very instinctive, recognizes routes and reads quarterbacks well and can get a good break on the ball. Tracks the ball well. Aggressive run defender who can slip blocks and will take on much bigger blockers. Productive tackler, always around the ball. Solid hitter, reads the run well and hits the correct gaps. Quality special-teams player. Shows excellent hustle and will play through injuries. At Clemson, won the team hustle award, most improved player award, and multiple defensive player of the week awards. Smart, instinctive in-the-box safety, should be very coachable.

Negatives: Wasn't considered draftable due to poor speed and really deficient coverage skills. Poor top-end speed, poor closing speed, poor recovery speed. Can't succeed as a centerfield-type safety in the NFL with that lack of speed, especially when he plays undisciplined, gambles too much and can't make up for his failed gambles. Stiff-hipped, lacks burst to stay with slot receivers. Will be exposed in man coverage. Average-at-best ball skills. Struggles to catch anything outside his frame. Makes too much contact when reaching around receiver to break up passes. Bites hard on pump fakes and double moves. Doesn't tackle well one-on-one. Made a lot of tackles despite poor tackling form. Will slip off of stronger ball-carriers. Dives at runners' feet too much. Takes bad angles. Has poor body control and is prone to whiffing open-field tackles. Not a reliable last line of defense. Will be limited to playing in the box.

Compares to: Craig Dahl.

Fun Facts: If I figured right, Hall actually graduated from Clemson two years ago. He's the second football player in Clemson history to take just three years to graduate.

RamView: So far this preseason, Hall has continued to show his college knack for making plays. He's been around the ball a lot and has looked good in run support. His dropped interception in Cleveland, though, was a reminder of his limitations. Productive players with great heart, intelligence and size like Hall don't just fall off of trees, and if he can keep making plays in camp, he can give Cody Davis a good run for a roster spot. Davis' superior athleticism gives him an edge that will be hard to overcome, though.

Chance of making roster: 35%.

Sources: NFLDraftScout, NFLDraftCountdown, ESPN.com, Clemson University athletics, Hogs Haven blog, Orange and White blog

Photo: St. Augustine (Fla.) Record

Rams-Green Bay mini-preview

The Rams host the Packers in the preseason home opener tomorrow night at 7:00. The game will again air locally on KTVI. The times for NFL Network replays: 3 p.m. Sunday and 3 p.m. next Wednesday. (All times Central.)

Starters will probably not see much more time than they did in Cleveland. Sam Bradford played just over a quarter in last year's second preseason game. Kellen Clemens will QB the second string and Austin Davis will lead the scrubs. Shelley Smith will get the start at LG.

Updated injury information:
Sammy Brown out, calf
Jermelle Cudjo out, foot
Matt Giordano out, calf
Sean Hooey out, ankle
Lance Kendricks out, knee
Rodger Saffold out, shoulder
Eugene Sims out, family
Jabara Williams out, hamstring - Williams has been out since August 1st. I accidentally left him off of recent reports. (Not the web's worst Rams blog for nothing.)

Cudjo and Kendricks were taken off the PUP list earlier this week but still won't play Saturday night. Sims appears to be the only person on the list with any chance of playing against the Packers, but he was out of town at last word.

Zac Stacy and Terrance Ganaway were both limited in practice Thursday, an upgrade for Ganaway, but seemingly a downgrade for Stacy. I would call both questionable for Saturday's game.

The Packers, who are looking for their first score this preseason, will be without, among others, starting RB DeJuan Harris, WR Jordy Nelson and CB Tramon Williams. Randall Cobb has a bicep injury and is also unlikely to play, so maybe no 90-yard return TDs this week, huh? They appear to be leaning on 4th-round pick David Bakhtiari as their starting left tackle. Anything to say about that, Robert Quinn? Eddie Lacy is expected to get his first NFL action. Mike McCarthy expects to rotate in all four of his QBs, including Vince Young. This sounds like a critical outing for Graham Harrell, who was terrible last week and has been terrible every time I've seen him in preseason. Reporters covering the Packers have made note that Clay Matthews is hardly ever beating anyone in practice, but say that's ok, he's just practicing technique.

All things considered, I'm expecting the home team to have a pretty good night. It sounds like the Rams are even ahead of the Packers at this point in camp, for what that's worth. Look for the RamView recap Sunday afternoon, and as we get better information about the Rams' injuries, I'll update right here.

-$-

Dunbar suspended four weeks

Yahoo Sports

The Ram defense took a hit for the first month of the season when the league announced linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar will be suspended for four weeks for a violation of the policy against performance-enhancing substances. The Rams will have to play Arizona, Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco in September without one of their better defensive playmakers now. For his part, in making a public apology, Dunbar took full blame for his screw-up, saying he slipped up and took a non-PED that triggers a positive result in PED tests.

And hey, guess what - Jeff Fisher once again knew for some time that this suspension was coming. Just makes you wonder how many other shoes are going to drop at Rams Park we haven't heard about yet, doesn't it? Apparently the appeals process delayed Dunbar's punishment until now. Yet, compared to his unusual, vigorous defense earlier this summer of the since-cut-for-being-fat Rokevious Watkins, Fisher has pretty much ripped Dunbar, calling him "selfish" and going so far as not to guarantee he has a starting job when he returns. (32-year-old Will Witherspoon is expected to step into that role, and get Dunbar's starting reps in training camp, though few see Will as a starting LB at this point of his NFL career.) Here are some of Fisher's quotes:

We’ve known about it for some time and, obviously, we’ve been dealing with it... First and foremost, we’re very, very disappointed in his choices and his decisions. It’s selfish, it hurts the team, but we also see it as an opportunity to learn from a mistake. We discussed it with the entire squad last night and I think everybody understands the responsibility that each and every player has as far as taking care of himself and what you can do and what you can’t do. It’s behind us now.

It would make total sense for us right now to move Will Witherspoon up. We’re glad he’s here; he’s started a lot of games. Then, we’ll make a decision when Jo-Lonn comes back as to who’s going to take that position.

Fisher's attitude toward Dunbar here just doesn't compute. Isaiah Pead wasn't called selfish for getting arrested for weed. Neither Pead nor Watkins were demoted or given less chance of making first string because of their suspensions. He didn't accuse either one of them of hurting the team. But somehow Dunbar has become a pariah that compels Fisher to give public scoldings and hold special team meetings to do damage control.

By the way, why does it first make sense now to give Witherspoon starting reps, if Fisher has known of Dunbar's impending suspension all this time? Shouldn't Will have been starting the whole time he's been in camp? Again, just doesn't compute, Coach. Not so "obvious" you've been dealing with it to me.

Bottom line, though - combine this suspension, Fisher's disillusionment, Dunbar being a 29-year-old unrestricted free agent after this season and looking at an 8-game suspension if he gets another PED strike... keep a good eye on this year's college linebackers, Rams Nation. Les Snead will be using another high pick on one.

-$-

Rookie free agent profile: Joseph LeBeau, OLB, Jackson State

Joseph LeBeau 6'0" 245
OLB, Jackson State

Rankings: NFLDraftScout: 38th-ranked SS, #909 player overall, free agent grade.
Scouts Inc: 73rd-ranked OLB, rated as a free agent. Grade: 30, borderline draft prospect.

Biography/honors:
2012: NCAA Division 1-AA all-America and first-team all-SWAC. Played in all 12 games (starts not listed). 72 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 6 QB hurries and a forced fumble.
2011: Transferred to Jackson State. NCAA Division 1-AA all-America and first-team all-SWAC. Played in all 11 games (starts not listed). 75 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 7 QB hurries, 3 forced fumbles.
2010: Arkansas Baptist (JC): Complete statistics not available online.
2009: Arkansas Baptist (JC): Played in 7 games with 16 tackles and one sack.

Major: not listed.

Injuries:
2012: Minor ankle injury. Did not appear to miss significant game time.

Pro day results: (2013 NFL Combine LB averages in parentheses)
4.53 40 (would have tied for 2nd-fastest LB at Combine. Average was 4.75)
1.63 10-yard split
35.5” vertical jump (33.5”)
10'7" broad jump (9'10.5")
7.34 3-cone drill (7.14)
4.40 20-yard shuttle (4.34)
26 bench press (22) 

Positives: Has speed and elite burst off the edge. Offensive linemen at his level of competition simply could not keep up. Wins with his first move. Has quickness and good hands to disengage from blocks. Can cover a lot of ground. Very good closing speed. Effective spin move in pass rush and should be an effective blitzer. Diagnoses runs and closes on the ball-carrier quickly. Good tackling form. Very athletic and energetic.

Negatives: Played at 220 or less in college. Will have to show he can maintain suddenness while adding bulk, and he already has only average to below-average agility and change of direction. Will essentially be learning the linebacker position. Will have to adjust to dropping back into coverage. Only has speed and spin move as a pass rusher, needs to develop additional moves. Runs himself out of plays. Shows no sign of having any kind of inside move. Mostly got owned at Casino del Sol All-Star game. He weighed in at 218 for that game, making it pretty amazing that the Rams currently list him at 245.

Compares to: Ray Ray Armstrong.

Fun Facts: Jackson State University has produced three NFL Hall of Famers: Jackie Slater, Walter Payton and Lem Barney. Ram receiving great Harold Jackson, 7-time Pro Bowl linebacker Robert Brazile and 5-time Pro Bowl receiver Jimmy Smith are also alumni.

RamView: A tweener even among tweeners, LeBeau was a rush end for Jackson State, worked out at defensive back at his pro day, and will try out for the Rams at OLB. He fits in nicely with the Rams' efforts to add speed to the roster, and he had respectable productivity at his level of competition. He'll never be an NFL DE at his size, though, which leaves him learning a new position, and we haven't heard a lot from him in camp thus far.

Chance of making team: 5%.

Sources: NFLDraftScout, Wikipedia, Jackson State University athletics, Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger, TSPN Sports, Fox Sports, SBNation, National Junior College Athletic Association, Pro Football Reference

Photo:Jackson Clarion-Ledger