Sunday, March 24, 2013

Robert Turner to Titans

Associated Press
The Rams lost another valuable roster piece over the weekend as offensive lineman Robert Turner signed with the Titans for just a one-year, $1.5 million deal. He's the second valuable run-blocker to leave the team this weekend. The Rams also lose 16 o-line starts from last season in the deal. Turner had 9 starts at LG and 7 starts at center for injury-snakebitten Scott Wells.

Turner is valuable for his versatility and run-blocking ability but also had some flaws last season. He had some trouble with linebacker blitzes and struggled against more athletic defensive tackles like Brandon Mebane and Sammie Lee Hill. He also had trouble with false starts (at least 4). But then again, 2012 was the first time Turner had ever been a starter, and he had to switch from guard to center during the season opener. He's one of the reasons an offensive line that had to shuffle constantly held up as well as it did.

The Rams apparently weren't offering Turner much, since he didn't leave for much, and it's a calculated risk. Losing Turner's versatility won't be as critical if the Rams can get a full season out of Wells, who was a much more durable player in Green Bay than he was in 2012. The heir apparent at LG seems to be Rokevious Watkins, who was taking reps away from Turner in training camp last year before having his season ended after one game due to an ankle injury. He's an unproven commodity, though, and the Rams are really tempting fate if Wells gets hurt again; the backup center at the moment is Tim Barnes, who's had just a handful of snaps in the pros.

A guard who can play center is a valuable commodity. It's a shame the Rams let a solid one like Turner get away. They're rolling the dice (again) without a solid backup option for Wells.

-$-

Rams cut Mulligan

KMOX.com
The Rams released tight end Matthew Mulligan Saturday in what appears to have been a cap move. The move gains the Rams $725,000 against the salary cap.

Mulligan had just eight catches for the Rams last season, but blocked a punt and caught a TD pass to help beat the Redskins in the '12 home opener. He was a positive factor as a run-blocker and wasn't the bad penalty waiting to happen he had been with the Jets.

Mulligan's release is a little surprising on the merits - he was probably the Rams' best run-blocking TE since Ernie Conwell - but the Jared Cook signing gave the Rams a major TE surplus, and it's not a stretch to expect Cory Harkey or Mike McNeill to step up into Mulligan's blocking-TE role.

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Trumaine Johnson arrested for DUI

Not looking for a taxi
Ah, the wonderful things you get to catch up on after going on vacation. Like a Rams player whose off-the-field track record before he was drafted raised concerns he'd be a knucklehead proving in fact to be a knucklehead. Knuckleback, er, nickelback Trumaine Johnson was arrested Friday night in Missoula, Montana, where he attended college, for misdemeanor DUI, refusing to take a breath test and a traffic violation. He was initially pulled over for driving at 2 a.m. without his headlights on, then refused the breath test and got the other two charges.

Johnson was released on $700 bond, but that will be far from the most expensive ramification of his actions. He is likely to receive a 2-game fine from the league that will top out at $50,000. Strike one!

Missoula has a cab company, btw. Call me next time you go out, Trumaine; I could have saved you $49,950.

-$-

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Jake Long a Ram

Word late Sunday night is that tackle Jake Long has signed a four-year deal with the Rams. Pro Football Talk reports the deal is in the $34-$36 million range, depending on what incentives Long reaches. Long and the Rams had negotiated for three days here in St. Louis, after which Long returned to Miami, briefly putting everything up in the air, but it sounds like the Rams won out.

ESPN and Scouts Inc.'s Free Agent Tracker ranked Jake Long the #1 player available in free agency at any position, so this is a major win for the Rams, who, honestly, could use one here this offseason. Their scouting report on Long:

Long has been a consistent performer but missed the latter part of 2011 with a biceps injury and was put on IR again with a triceps injury in 2012. He has excellent size and strength with above-average athleticism for the left tackle position. He wins at the point of attack with great technique, power and tenacity. He is a better run-blocker than pass protector but is efficient at both most of the time. He's been the anchor of the Dolphins' offensive line, providing leadership and attitude.

The Rams gave Long a physical the first day he was in St. Louis and, as GM Les Snead put it, "Health is not a problem." So I'll trust the Rams' findings that Long doesn't have some kind of chronic arm issues.

A healthy Long should give the Rams an instant jolt on the offensive line. At his peak, Long's a tackle who'll only yield 3 or 4 sacks all season. In fact, a healthy Long is a Pro Bowler, which he was his first four seasons in the league before the arm problems of the last couple of years.

I seriously doubt the Rams have cap room for Long at the moment, so we should be hearing of some contract re-structuring shortly. James Laurinaitis is supposed to be the likeliest candidate.

Long, who gives the Rams the first two picks of the 2008 draft (#2, Chris Long), will take over the left tackle position and move Rodger Saffold to right tackle. That's bad timing for Rodger, who's a free agent after 2013, since left tackles get paid a lot better than right tackles. There has been some noise from the Saffold camp, almost positively his agent, that Rodger's going to want a trade instead of moving to RT, but Jeff Fisher has already said that he's talked to Rodger and Rodger's on board.

If that line jells, which Paul Boudreaux should facilitate, and everyone stays healthy (fingers crossed), we're talking a Pro Bowl LT, a Pro Bowl center, a right guard who's Pro Bowl quality, a RT who's a better fit there than at LT and who has a pretty good chance to be the best Rams RT since the Greatest Show on Earth, and possibly one of the top two guards in this year's draft to line up next to Long. With a line that good, the Rams may not need running backs.

Combine all that with what the Rams have returning on the defensive line, and then put it in the football text on how to build a team from the lines out. If everything works out, the Rams can still improve in 2013 even with their other significant player losses, because they're going to win the line of scrimmage more weeks than they're going to lose it.

-$-

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Steven Jackson era ends in St. Louis

Sports Illustrated
The leading rusher in Rams history will oppose his old team next season as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.

And when Steven Jackson said it wasn't all about the money, he wasn't stretching the truth much. He got a 3-year, $12 million deal the Rams surely could have offered or matched. But, for this season at least, he won't face a reduced workload in Atlanta that the Rams told him up front he'd be facing here.

Credit to Steven and the Rams for operating openly and honestly, but as a Rams fan, even though you knew it was coming, this is still a sucky day.

The Rams' free agency focus remains on Dolphins LT Jake Long, and given that the Rams probably now have the least accomplished RB corps in the NFL, you bet they'd better get some blocking in front of them.

-$-

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Ex-Rams free agency scorecard

It's all I can do just to keep up with the millions of signings flying around the league, so the plan is to keep this post up-to-date on the comings and goings of ex-Rams since free agency opened.

Player names will be highlighted in most recent entries.

Danny Amendola - of course, signed with the Patriots for 5 years, $26 million (potentially $31M), which I would have gladly paid instead of paying an unproven tight end 25% more. The Rams reportedly offered Amendola $4 million a year, so Jared Cook is going to need to be twice as good, right? Good luck to Danny, who's got the blessing of returning to his hometown area to play, but the curse of having to replace the very-popular Wes Welker (Denver) a trade-off that Patriots Nation doesn't sound very thrilled with right now.

Donnie Avery - signed with Kansas City

Alex Barron - signed with Oakland

Josh Brown - signed with Giants

Craig Dahl - signed with 49ers, 3 years, $4.85 million, potentially $6.3 million. I think the fact Dahl signed anywhere is remarkable, let alone for $1.6 million a year with a division rival. Do the 49ers not watch game footage?

Ryan Fitzpatrick - released by Bills, signed with Titans

Bradley Fletcher - signed with Eagles, 2 years, $5.25 million. Can earn an additional $375,000.

Brandon Gibson - signed with Dolphins, 3 years, $9.78 million.

Andrew Hawkins - tendered as RFA by the Bengals

Steven Jackson - signed with Atlanta, 3 years, $12 million. Potentially $13.5M.

Chris Johnson - re-signed with the rebuilding Super Bowl champion Ravens

Donnie Jones - signed with Eagles

Bryan Kehl - re-signed with Redskins

Brian Leonard - signed 1-year deal with Tampa Bay. HC Greg Schiano was his college coach.

Bryan Mattison - guard re-signed by Kansas City.

Randy McMichael - released by Chargers

Chris Ogbonnaya - tendered as RFA by the Browns.

Laurent Robinson - cut by Jagwires after missing most of last season with concussion problems.

George Selvie - signed with Tampa Bay

Steve Smith - signed with Tampa Bay. I can't believe he found a taker anywhere in the NFL.

Rob Turner - signed with Titans, 1 year, $1.5 million.


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Rams indeed sign Jared Cook

A false report this afternoon from a fake Twitter account has turned out to be at least partially true, as the Rams have signed tight end Jared Cook from the Titans. Actually, I kind of wish the fake Twitter report had been right. Cook got even more expensive after that report; he's rumored to be getting $8 million a year for the next five years.

So, the Rams won't pay Danny Amendola - so long for sure, btw - $6 million a year because of his injury history, but are fine paying $8 mil a year to a receiver who's never cracked 50 receptions in a season. Amendola did that in 2012 despite missing five games. So no, RamView isn't really thrilled with this signing; I didn't like it when I thought it was for $7 mil a year. The theory appears to be that Cook is going to be a big-play field-stretching TE, a home-run hitter to replace the Rams' singles-hitters. Wish I saw that from his 2012 stats. 44 catches, 4 TDs, less than 12 yards a catch on a team that didn't really have a lot at WR. Hmm. I get some more time to think this one over; I would have loved signing Cook for $4 million a year, six I could have lived with, eight is simply too much. He does have youth on his side (25), and Sam Bradford should be happy to have a TE to throw to who (we think) knows what he's doing out there. Still, $8 million?

Having spent $11 or $12 million in cap room (just a guess) keeping the Jeff Fisher Titan Pipeline in operating order today, I'm not sure where the rest of the Rams' free agency funds are coming from, but Jake Long was still due to visit Rams Park tomorrow at last word, and the Rams are also pursuing Lions safety Louis Delmas. (Delmas visited Rams Park Tuesday night.)

Updates as I get caught up.

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Rams negotiating with Jake Long

The Rams are attempting to corner the 2008 draft. Back then, they drafted Chris Long #2 overall; now, they're apparently getting the first crack at signing that year's #1 pick, Dolphins offensive tackle Jake Long. Jake's considered one of the best tackles in the league when healthy but he was off last year while playing with shoulder and back problems.

Jake Long is scheduled to talk with the Rams in St. Louis tomorrow night. Several other teams, naturally, are interested, including the Eagles and Dolphins.

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Rams re-sign Hayes

Jim Thomas reports that the Rams have re-signed defensive end William Hayes. Additional reports say that it's a 3-year, $10.5 million deal. Hayes had seven sacks last season and came up big in the clutch repeatedly. He's 27, in his prime, and gives the Rams an excellent 3-deep rotation at defensive end.

I think I argued at least once that Hayes was more important to the Rams' future success than even Danny Amendola, so kudos to the front office for keeping a key player in the mix. We'll assume right now they've still got around $10 million to "play" with.

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Free agent breakdown: QB

Thought I'd get at least one of these previews done before free agency starts. Naturally, it's one of the most useless previews for Rams fans, the free agent QBs. Actually, this group is about useless for any team. If I get any more breakdowns posted, they will reflect players available at the time I finally got them written up.

New York Post
Top 10 UFA QBs:
1 Ryan Fitzpatrick - hasn't won anywhere, hasn't been durable, throws way too many interceptions, but being basically a five-year starter is more than enough to top this list. Ideal backup. Voting here for perceived mental toughness vs. physical tools. (signed with Titans)
2 Drew Stanton – only 28, strong-armed, can scramble, can run a no-huddle offense. (signed with Big Dead 3/14)
3 Jason Campbell – has never been a winning QB and probably never will be. Still pretty young at 31, lots of game experience, positive turnover ratio, can run a little. (signed with Browns, 3/26)
4 Kevin Kolb - never lived up to his draft-day hype in Philly, and all it got him was a beating in Arizona last year that likely makes him at best a backup the rest of his career. (signed with Bills, 3/30)
5 Chase Daniel – I like Chase; he flashes a good arm and has shown he can run an up-tempo offense. His best fit, though, is backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans. I suppose he could run the new offense in Philly. Surprised Saints haven't locked him up already. (Too late! Signed with Chiefs 3/13.)
6 Luke McCown – I've liked Luke McCown for a while, though he seems to be a guy who peaks in preseason. He's very mobile, strong-armed and throws some of the prettiest deep balls you'll ever see. Has several years' experience in the system the Falcons run. (Signed with Saints, 4/1)
7 David Garrard – 35, fumbles a lot and has a reputation for poor decision-making. Has had more TDs than INTs every year he's been a starter, though. (Signed with Jets)
8 Seneca Wallace – more dangerous with his feet than with his inaccurate arm. I'm guessing he washed out of Cleveland because Pat Shurmur wanted to avoid any kind of offensive excitement.
9 Josh Johnson – only 26, has a strong arm and can run like the wind. If you're looking to add some read-option, you have to look his way. Then again, after the 49ers cut him last summer, nobody looked his way till the very end of the season. Must be a reason.(Signed with Bengals, 3/22)
10 Bruce Gradkowski – career backup who once lost a training camp battle to Brock Berlin. Very inconsistent thrower, but moves well in the pocket and can make teams pay if they don't keep him hemmed in. (signed with Steelers, 3/13)
11 Caleb Hanie - even though he has had one good game in his career - the 2010 NFC Championship.

Sleepers: this atrocious group of QBs isn't good enough for a sleeper, so this is more of a coma pick than a sleeper pick. But would you raise an eyebrow if you heard a 6'5”, 225, 27-year old QB once drafted by the genius Bill Belichick could be pulled off the scrap heap super-cheap? I give you Kevin O'Connell, picked by the Patriots in the 3rd round in 2008. He collapsed in the 2009 preseason, though, got cut, and has been nothing but a camp arm since. Maybe not quite a Hy-Vee grocery stock boy, but it's the best I've got.

Wild cards: The mobile guys, like Vince Young, Tyler Thigpen or Troy Smith. Yes, Young peaked in 2009 and probably has collection agents chasing him. But he outplayed Thigpen last preseason, and Tyler peaked in 2008. Yes, Troy Smith still probably doesn't know where any of his passes are going when he lets go of them. But what all of these guys (probably) can do is run. With the right team, any of them may still have a chance to latch onto the early read-option wave.

Tag you're it: none

Out of the running: Joe Flacco (re-signed by Ravens: 6 years, $120.6M); Matt Moore (re-signed with Dolphins); Tarvaris Jackson (re-signed with Bills); Matt Cassel (cut by Chiefs, briefly #2 on this list, signed by Vikings; Matt Hasselbeck (cut by Titans, signed by Colts); Josh McCown (re-signed with Bears); David Carr (re-signed with Giants); Pat White (signed with Redskins); John Skelton (cut by Big Dead, signed with Bengals)

Voting present: John Beck's a Captain Checkdown with no pocket presence but was almost one of the best ten QBs left. Kellen Clemens can come off the bench and run a WCO for you, but I don't suspect he's ever going to win you any games. Questionable pocket presence and gets too inaccurate beyond the short stuff. Looked really bad at times last preseason. (SPOILER ALERT) Hasn't shown he brings anything to the field the Rams have to have. I assume Charlie Batch is on the way to retirement now that the Steelers have signed Gradkowski.

The doctor will see you now:seems like a very healthy group, with the possible exception of self-esteem issues.

Gawd no: Byron Leftwich is done, isn't he? 33, struggled with injuries for at least two years, one of the slowest releases in the league and won't help you much with his feet. Rex Grossman is, well, Rex Grossman (re-signed by Redskins, 4/4). Jordan Palmer's only 28, but may be the worst preseason QB I've ever seen. He'd be much better off being Carson Palmer. Brady Quinn's coming off a season with a passer rating of 60. Matt Leinart is Matt Leinart. Derek Anderson (re-signed with Panthers, 3/14) is a shell of Rex Grossman. Chris Redman and A.J. Feeley are both 35 and neither played in the league last year. Sage Rosenfels hasn't attempted a pass since 2008. And J.P. Losman couldn't beat him out two years ago in Miami. Hilariously, Rotoworld still has Donovan McNabb on its list of UFA QBs. Has he learned how to talk yet? I'll support anything that gets him off NFL Playbook. Rotoworld doesn't list Jamarcus Russell, who is probably still topping 300 pounds at this point, but is at least working with the likes of Marshall Faulk, Jeff Garcia and Larry Fitzgerald trying to get back into the league.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
RamView’s moves: With the likely departure of Steven Jackson in free agency, there's less question than ever before that the Rams are Sam Bradford's team. That sounds like a good thing with Sam bouncing back from an injury-shortened 2011 season to set career marks for yards, TDs and passer rating in 2012. And though he likely will have to do so with fewer weapons than the Costa Rican army (or the Swiss navy), 2013 is the year Sam Bradford has to step up. It's year four, he's in the same offensive system for the second straight year for the first time... time to complete the journey to elite QB (I'll take near-elite) if he's going to get there. Sam's deep ball is getting better. He's successfully rallied the team from behind late in the game quite a few times. He hangs tougher in the pocket and finds more options downfield instead of settling for checkdowns (which he still does plenty of). I love that he has some of his best games against the 49ers. But you realize his passer rating last year, while a career high, was still worse than Kevin Kolb's, Carson Palmer's, Colt McCoy's, Ryan Fitzpatrick's and TIM TEBOW's, right? Bradford has to cut out the slow starts, has to improve in the red zone, has to start hitting the end zone fade route, has to quit getting so many passes batted down at the line, has to run more when it's there, has to find and exploit pre-snap mismatches more often, has to quit missing as many makeable throws as he does, needs to complete more than 40% of his passes against the Freaking Big Dead, needs to never again get outplayed by the likes of Mark Freaking Sanchez... but other than that, he's right there, hee. 2013 could be the turning point of the Sam Bradford era. When healthy, he has steadily gotten better, and that path should lead him to a status as a very successful NFL QB. If he doesn't stay healthy and improve in 2013, though, all bets are off.

The Rams' front office seems confident Sam can complete the trip. GM Les Snead has already felt free to call Austin Davis the QB2, which emphasizes that Bradford doesn't need veteran baby-sitting from the likes of Kellen Clemens. Assuming he's even invited to camp, I doubt Clemens makes the final roster. The Rams nearly went with just 2 QBs last year and are even more likely to do it in '13. Clemens didn't have the league beating down his door when the Rams released him briefly last summer, so it's possible the Rams could in effect have him on call in the event they do have a QB injury. Bradford's experienced enough, and Davis has the athletic ability and mental makeup, to make the 2-QB plan a safe gamble. I would expect the Rams to keep a third QB on the practice squad. Maybe even Tom Brandstater, who I think still has eligibility there.

Shoot the moon: The most unexpected-but-somehow logical move I can think of for the Rams at QB? How about extending Bradford? It would represent both a vote of confidence from management, and an apology for the level of talent they appear willing to surround him with for 2013.

Prediction: How Bradford fares in 2013 is almost anybody's guess at the moment. Without Jackson and possibly without Danny Amendola, he's going to be hard-pressed to continue on an upward trajectory. Then again, he could be running a more free-wheeling, pass-first offense. Then again again, the Rams may lack the pieces to do anything in that style. Rosterwise, though, look for the Rams to go with just Bradford and Davis behind center.

-$-


Monday, March 11, 2013

Rams re-sign Cudjo, will tender Stewart

AP
The Rams aren't going to let ALL of their 2013 free agents go away after all. On Monday, they signed defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo to a two-year contract. Cudjo's a good player to have around. In fact, he was all the DT depth the Rams had much of last season, as they tended to go with only 3 true DTs. Cudjo's steady, not flashy, and a little undersized, but he's not often taken out of plays and is a solid run-stopper who can get into the backfield. He even replaced Robert Quinn at RDE in one game where Quinn was struggling even more than usual in run defense.

It's also being reported that the Rams are going to make a qualifying offer to restricted free agent safety Darian Stewart, which should succeed in keeping him here next season. That's a good thing, since the Rams really have no starting safeties right now.

These moves pale just a little bit to the Seahawks acquiring Percy Harvin, and the 49ers Anquan Boldin, though. The 2013 offseason train is leaving the Rams in a cloud of dust at the moment.

Speaking of being left behind in the dust, RamView has obviously dropped the ball in 2013 as far as the NFL Combine and free agency are concerned. My apologies that I have not remotely been able to match last year's efforts on those. I can barely keep up with simple headlines right now, and I'm not even going to be in town most of next week, so catching up's almost out of the question. Football's my passion, but not my profession. This is a game better played by those who have the time to do it right.

-$-

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Free agency kicking Rams' asses: Mikell, Amendola, Hayes on way out

This will actually be official tomorrow, but the Rams are going to release veteran safety Quintin Mikell in another salary cap move. They will gain $3 million in cap room with the move, which by my reckoning now puts them $14 million under the cap.

Mikell had a fine season for the Rams in 2012, with 3 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and officially 93 tackles. The Rams' salary cap situation, though, did not favor paying a premium salary ($6 million) to a 33-year-old in-the-box safety, especially with this draft's safety class being a strong one. There's also the factor I've already mentioned that he's a Spagvaney guy, not a Fisher guy. I'd gladly welcome Quintin back for cheap, but expect he's headed elsewhere, so good luck. (Green Bay comes to mind.) One assumes Darian Stewart is at least going to get tendered as an RFA now, or Rodney McLeod's going to be the ONLY safety on the roster. The Mikell move leaves the I-thought-they-would-be-reloading-not-rebuilding Rams without both of last year's starting safeties, unless they re-sign Craig Dahl and send every St. Louis football fan screaming into the streets.

Speaking of which, the latest news is that Danny Amendola wants a deal similar to what Brian Hartline just got from the Dolphins, paying just over $6 million a year, which the Rams are reportedly unwilling to pay. You know, because Sam Bradford doesn't need any receivers to throw to or anything. That's another position where two of last year's starters will be gone, since the Rams aren't going to make any effort to bring back Brandon Gibson (not like he's that hard to catch). There's been a lot of noise about the Eagles wanting to get Danny back, and Miami's reportedly going to go after Gibson.

While discussing the wide receiver situation, Jim Thomas also reasons that William Hayes is going to get a lot more money than the Rams are going to be willing to pay for a #3 DE.

And there's little reason to expect Steven Jackson back, of course. Looks like the Rams' reward for going 7-8-1 last season is going to be a free agency near-apocalypse.

Les Snead better make like a magician with that $14 mil, or the Rams are going to suck ass in 2013. Unlike last year's free agency losses, most of which were addition by subtraction, there's a lot of guys getting away this year who still have game.

-$-

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Senior Bowl 2013

Finally, here it is, the last word on the 2013 Senior Bowl. No, literally the last word. It took me like a month to write this thing.

One of the things proved by last month’s Senior Bowl is that there really are players who play a lot better than they practice. Hailed throughout the NCAA season as the next Jason Pierre-Paul, BYU DE Ziggy Ansah looked more like Mrs. Paul in NFL Network’s coverage of Senior Bowl week. He played way too high in every drill, showed no ability to get off a block, no elite get-off to really pressure tackles much with his speed, no counter moves, got stood up repeatedly… watching the practice footage, you see a guy sliding from day one of April’s upcoming draft to day three.

Then, they put everybody in Mobile, AL in full pads and helmets, rolled a football out there, played the actual game… and Ziggy Ansah was an animal, and probably the real MVP of the game. He had at least two sacks, forced a fumble, had a ridiculous number of pressures, blew up screen passes, blew up end arounds, stopped the run... Granted, I didn’t see him attempt to breach the human wall known as Central Michigan OT Eric Fisher, but Ansah abused everyone else he went up against, players who will be drafted in respectable positions. Welcome back to the first round, Ziggy. 

The practice thing works the other way, too, unfortunately. You didn’t see a whole lot of flaws in Rutgers LB Khaseem Greene during practice week, but in the game, eesh. The game itself was won by the South 21-16, but the game wasn't really that close, and certainly wasn't offensively compelling. These college postseason games really need to unleash the hounds. Let the defenses blitz and press-cover. If the games are supposed to be showcases for the pros, then play the game the pros play. NFL teams need to know how well QBs read blitzes, how well RBs pick blitzers up, how well offensive lines adjust. They need to know what DBs can press cover, which ones can blitz, which WRs can beat a jam. If that seems like a lot for players to absorb in a week, well, send successful coaching staffs to these games instead of rewarding teams that sucked that season. Plus, it’s important to find out how quickly the rookies can catch on, right? Is this a job interview or a football camp? Opening up the defenses will also make the game more interesting to fans. There’s obviously the chance for big defensive plays, but what about the well-called, well-executed screen pass or draw play that beats a blitz? Those would open some eyes, as opposed to putting everybody but scouts trying to evaluate players in not-quite game conditions to sleep. 

RamView’s breakdown of the 2013 Senior Bowl’s top prospects, and suspects:

USA Today
* QB: E.J. Manuel scrambled for an early TD and threw for another to claim the game MVP award. He threw two pretty passes to TE Michael Williams, one down the seam for 19 and a perfect play-action 20-yard TD to him in the corner of the end zone. Manuel threw that with Margus Hunt bearing down on him. He ran well, made the best decisions and had the best pocket presence of the QBs there, but his inaccuracy with short throws was bothersome. Mike Glennon needed some time to get warmed up. He didn’t look good at much besides quick screens initially, but he came out firing after halftime. A bootleg and a dive to convert a 3rd down seemed to spark him; he followed that with a strong bootleg pass to Markus Wheaton for another first down. Glennon threw a couple more pretty passes later in the 3rd and also showed he could buy time in the pocket. Zac Dysert ran the hurry-up offense well at the end of the game, though mostly with dumpoffs to Kenyon Barner. Tyler Wilson showed better velocity on his throws than Manuel but should have had an underthrown bomb picked off in the 2nd. Ryan Nassib threw a poor INT in the 2nd after getting his timing thrown off by a poor shotgun snap, and he did not look very sharp in subsequent drives. He probably got the least help from his teammates of any of the QBs. The Senior Bowl was a disaster, though, for Landry Jones, easily the worst QB of the game. He came out throwing ugly and got progressively worse. He was scared in the pocket and bailed on all his throws, few of which were accurate. Any pressure on him at all got him one-hopping or throwing wide of perfectly open receivers. Poor accuracy, poor pocket presence, poor awareness, poor everything. As recent Big 12 spread QBs go, there’s much more Blaine Gabbert in this guy than Sam Bradford. IMO he needed a big Combine just to get back into the first two days of the draft.

* RB: The running games didn’t really get going till the 2nd half. Johnathan Franklin ran outside twice for 30 yards to get the North its first TD in the 3rd, showing excellent patience, use of blocks and cutting ability. He also ran through Robert Lester for the TD. Stepfan Taylor took advantage of bad overpursuit by Hunt with 20- and 15-yard runs in the 4th, and also showed he can move the pile and grind out tough yards. Those two were 1-2 for the game’s best RB honor. Mike Gillislee showed good burst on a couple of early runs, taking a draw for 13 and popping a read option off LT for 8. Mike James did some nice, patient middle running, and converted a 3rd down in the 1st by diving for the marker after making a tough catch on a screen pass. He also scored the South’s 3rd TD late in the game from the 5. Robbie Rouse’s small stature definitely makes him hard to find, and he did some good open-field running. When he got off the line of scrimmage, that is; he also got stuffed several times. Kenyon Barner was used almost exclusively as a dumpoff receiver, with a whopping 6 catches just on the North’s final drive, including a short swing pass for the TD. Earlier in the game, though, he had a drop, and created an INT by lollygagging out in the flat when Dysert was expecting him to continue his route downfield. Some capable prospects here, but no one very electrifying.

* WR/TE: My favorite receivers all week, Aaron Dobson and Tavarres King, barely even registered in this game, in what was mostly a dink- and dunk-fest. The best-regarded WR, Terrance Williams, didn’t do a whole lot, either. He had a catch with Robert Alford draped on him but never flashed elite speed. Both teams took some “shots” but no receiver stood out as much of a deep threat. Bama’s Williams looked good setting up the South’s 2nd TD with a catch down the seam, and then making a nice catch for the TD with T.J. McDonald right on him. Other TEs, though, like Nick Kasa and Vance McDonald, stood out mainly for their inability to block. The lack of decent blocking TEs in this year’s draft should earn Lance Kendricks some appreciation in 2013. Jack Doyle got open a couple of times and did block well. Marquise Goodwin looked like the North’s go-to guy. He showed he can get open on the quick hitches, slants and comebacks expected of a slot receiver and showed some deep speed. Connor Vernon worked the sidelines well in a similar role; he was the South’s guy for quick outs. Chris Harper continues to do his best Brandon Gibson impression. He’ll make the tough catch in close quarters or pull in a pretty sideline pass, but he won’t be open often. There were some viable slot receivers here, to add to the other three the Rams already have (or two, if they let their best receiver Danny Amendola go). But there’s no legit field-stretcher or big #1 type the Rams could really use. To take one very early would be as big a reach as they made last year with Brian Quick.

* Offensive line: I’m ready to declare Eric Fisher the best player in the draft regardless of position. If not him, it’s going to be an o-lineman. Fisher toyed with South DEs like a cat with a downed bird. He pancaked one and usually wouldn't even let them get off the line. Late in the 1st, Fisher cut off a rusher and completely punked him out, driving him into the pile in the middle of the line. Fisher has excellent size, elite footwork, is strong, nasty, finishes his blocks… I’m not sure what the guy doesn’t have. Unfortunately, I can see him going to the Big Dead in a lot of mock drafts. Lane Johnson wasn’t too far off the tone Fisher set. He was close to flawless in pass pro and showed mauling ability as a run blocker when he drove Michael Buchanan four yards off the line to open up a nice run for Gillislee. Brian Schwenke is a star-caliber center, witnessed when he decleated Sylvester Williams on Manuel’s TD run. At guard, he showed the athleticism to be an effective pull-blocker but really struggled in pass pro, lacking in lateral quickness and quickness off the ball. Schwenke and guard Larry Warford are mauling run-blockers; either should be able to help an NFL team quickly. Schwenke was just throwing people around late in the game as the South pounded out their last TD drive. He and Garrett Gilkey had big blocks on James’ TD run. Oday Aboushi improved all week and also had a solid game in pass pro against everyone but Ansah. Oddly, he got into more trouble after moving inside in the 2nd half, with Kawann Short whipping him with a spin move to pressure Wilson and kill a drive on 3rd down. Didn’t get to see a lot of Kyle Long, but he threw a beautiful cut block, in space, to spring a Rouse run in the 2nd. Ricky Wagner was paired with Fisher at RT but was nowhere near Fisher’s quality, getting abused by Ansah all game, struggling both with quickness and with bull rush. Wagner couldn’t stop Cornelius Washington, either, even when brutally holding him. Hugh Thornton delivered one of the best blocks of the game while pulling on Franklin’s TD run. Jordan Mills spelled Wagner at RT and was only a little better. Brandon Williams, a big guy, beat him with a speed move for a tackle-for-loss, while Datone Jones, a smaller guy, beat him at the end of the first half for a sack with a bull rush. Dan Quessenberry lined up at RT and RG but wasn’t the consistent force he had been in practice. Both he and Justin Pugh were beaten badly when Washington got a sack/fumble on Dysert in the 2nd, and Ansah went right through him in the 3rd for another sack/fumble. Pugh flashed elite pass pro skills at times but really struggled with Washington for the game. Gilkey did some solid run-blocking but had his troubles in pass pro. Joe Madsen had the bad shotgun snap that contributed to Nassib’s INT and struggled to block big John Jenkins on runs. The o-lines dominated practice all week, so it was surprising to see many of them struggle in the game. Fisher and Johnson look like the surest things. Schwenke and Warford should go off the board pretty early in day 2 to teams that need to improve their running games. Aboushi or Pugh could work out in an interior lineman/emergency tackle role, possibly also Quessenberry.

Sports Illustrated
* Defensive line: Ziggy Ansah probably should have won the game’s MVP award, or at least shared it with Cornelius Washington, who quietly had an outstanding game. The two DEs dominated the line of scrimmage for the South. Again, I’m not sure after seeing the game that there’s anything Ansah can’t do. He split the guard and tackle to blow up a screen in the 1st. He whipped the TE and had a couple of pressures just on his first series. He stuffed a Franklin run inside, and later got outside and stuffed speedy Denard Robinson on an end-around, and he got off of a good block by Doyle to do it. A lot of Ansah’s success was against the overwhelmed Wagner, but he also beat Quessenberry and Aboushi multiple times. I only wish they would have lined him up on Fisher. I missed it if they did. One thing to ding Ansah on is that he got away with a ridiculous amount of hands to the face; he should have been flagged for it three straight plays in the 2nd. Ansah sealed the game MVP award in my eyes in the 4th when he went through Quessenberry, and a chip blocker, to sack Nassib and strip him for the turnover. That wasn’t even his last sack; he beat Pugh to get Dysert late in the game. An epic performance for an all-star game. Washington was a consistent pass pressure force; in the 2nd, he blew up a screen despite being blatantly held by Wagner, and he whipped Pugh and walloped Dysert for a sack/fumble. The North had some good defensive performers but lacked that kind of impact. I’m not sure Alex Okafor even played. Datone Jones, though, was good in run pursuit and also bullrushed Mills for a sack at the end of the first half. DT Jordan Hill might have gotten part of that, too, thanks to a breathtaking rip move to beat Schwenke. Short was a good pass rush presence in the middle and was impressive beating Warford to stuff a draw in the 3rd. Excellent quickness and has a dangerous spin move. Brandon Williams also showed nice quickness in blowing up a couple of plays. Sylvester Williams didn’t flash to me as much as he apparently did to the experts, I think thanks to Warford and Schwenke. But he came on strong late. He can give you pass rush up the middle, clog the middle to stuff the run, and he also gets up and down the line well. Margus Hunt was terrible with overpursuit and single-handedly gave up a couple of big runs to Taylor late in the game. You have to play pass AND run defense in the pros, buddy. Michael Buchanan blocked a FG attempt, but otherwise had little success going up against Lane Johnson. Second-day pickup at best. As has been obvious from my recounting, Ansah was the big star here, and must have played his way into the top half of the first round.

* LB: Zaviar Gooden impressed all week at LB. In the game, he had an INT and showed he could both cover tight ends and cover backs out of the backfield. Sio Moore jumped in late in practice week and contributed right away in the game, stuffing a run in the first half and beating a double-team to sack Jones in the 4th. Moore just makes plays. Jeff Fisher is bound to like Florida State LB Vince Williams, who is the lumber-bringer in this year’s LB class. He showed it with a huge block on a long punt return in the 4th and a run stuff of Barner in the 3rd. Travis Johnson played here and in the Shrine Game, I believe, and was a solid open-field tackler in both games. Khaseem Greene impressed in Mobile up until opening kickoff. He was out of his lane on Alford’s long kick return. And though he does a good job not to be fooled on misdirection plays, Greene’s reaction was terrible on Manuel’s TD scramble, and the next drive, he broke the wrong way and left Gilleslee the whole middle of the field for a big gain on a draw. After he got stuffed cold by South fullback Tommy Bohanon late in the 1st, I never saw him again. For his sake, I hope that’s a trend that doesn’t last.

* Secondary: Robert Alford was the DB who got the best reviews during practice week, and he didn’t hurt his stock at all by returning the opening kickoff 95 yards. He’s also the rare back there who could disrupt timing routes. He showed great reaction time to break up quick slants and jump all over quick hitches. Alford locked up the game’s best DB award in the 4th with a sweet breakup of a sideline out and picking off a 2-point attempt. Jordan Poyer showed similar ability, and good range, and created a pick of Manuel in the 3rd, but should have been flagged for DPI. Marc Anthony had blanket coverage on an early bomb for Goodwin. B.J. Scott had good deep coverage on Goodwin in the 4th. Blidi Wreh-Wilson had at least three passes defended, and when he doesn’t get deked at the line, he can stick to receivers downfield. He was also good in run support. Teammate Dwayne Gratz is big and can close fast, but reaction time is the question. He wasn’t bad in run support, but did miss a tackle. At safety, where the Rams should be taking some good, hard looks in this draft class, the awesomely-named Bacarri Rambo had a pick, but had probably the worst missed tackle of the game, letting Goodwin get away on a screen late in the 3rd. T.J. McDonald showed some run-stuffing ability but also got beat by Williams for the 2nd South TD. Johnathan Cyprien made an excellent play in the 2nd to stuff a pass in the flat to TE Mychal Rivera, but cost North teammate Poyer an INT on a deep ball a little later, breaking up Poyer’s catch by clumsily attempting to make a play on the ball himself. So I don’t know what to say about his field awareness. There were safeties in this game who can definitely help the Rams, and Alford played like a first-round pick.

Takeaway: Huge week for Eric Fisher, who is the first offensive lineman I would pick out of an excellent draft class at the position. Ansah stormed into at least the mid-first round, with a bullet. Lane Johnson similarly proved himself a bona fide first-rounder, and could be in range when the Rams pick. Unfortunately, we have yet to see anybody stick out at the Rams’ other need positions. No one flashed at WR, RB or TE to merit a first-round pick. There were good safeties and LBs; a first-rounder? I’m not very sure. The best news for the Rams regarding this game is that they’re already set at QB. Teams needing help there aren’t going to get it from this game.

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Jackson done in St. Louis

KMOX.com
Steven Jackson has had close to a Hall of Fame career for the St. Louis Rams. Of all the great RBs who have worn the horns, it's Jackson who's the leading rusher in team history. He's run for over 10,000 yards. He's one of a very few in NFL history who has run for 1,000 yards for eight straight years. He had one of the finest seasons ever by a RB in 2006, leading the league in total yards with 2,334. He's been a valuable team leader. He does all the little things. He plays hurt. He rarely turns the ball over. He's a good receiver and one of the best backs in the league at picking up the blitz. He was certainly the only RB on the Rams' roster last year who had any clue at doing that. He spent much of his career here carrying anemic offenses, against defenses constantly stacking 8 in the box because the Rams didn't have a decent receiver to stretch the field, running behind offensive lines lacking the toughness to run-block well, let alone match the intensity of the big RB they didn't clear holes for.

Jackson's days in St. Louis, though, appear to be over. He said as much on Sirius XM Radio this week. He learned in discussions with the Rams that the plan for 2013 was to go to even more of a RB-by-committee approach than this past season (which saw him pick up carries at the end of the season after the Rams' two rookie RBs dropped off the face of the earth). As we'll see from some of his quotes below, it's not about the money for Jackson at this point, it's about the chance to be a feature back for a team with a shot at going to the Super Bowl. He wasn't going to be the "bell cow" in St. Louis giving up more and more carries to Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead, so the odds have become very, very good that Steven is not going to finish his career in a Rams uniform.

Some of Steven's quotes on where his career's been, and where it's going:

I’ve been able to have a successful career, especially dealing with some hard times as an individual...But it’s more at this point of my career [I] want to be a part of something, chasing a Lombardi Trophy.  I want to be a part of something special.  And at this point where I’m at, and where the Rams are right now, we had a very open discussion, very heart-to-heart, about what my role would be going forward from now...  It would be more of a running back by committee kind of agreement [with the Rams] going forward... And that’s where the disagreement comes in. It wasn’t about salary.

I embrace the fact that I took in Daryl [Richardson] and Isaiah Pead and taught them a lot and hopefully they’ll go on to not only excel, but be very good athletes and good professionals in this league.  But for where I’m at going into year 10, I’m not ready to step back and just become a primary backup or reduced role guy, to be a part of a running back by committee.  I still have a lot left in my tank.  I still have a lot to offer a team.  We’re not talking about someone that is in year 12 or 13.  But I understand.  I understand the business side of it.  I still have a great relationship with the organization and one day I’ll be going back there.

I’ve opted out of my position of being with the team and being comfortable because I want to continue to still be the bell cow. So that’s how I want teams to look at me.  That’s how I’m going to shop myself and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there if that’s not the feedback that we’re receiving.

Sentimental fool that I am, I can't escape the feeling that the Rams and their fans are going to be nothing but big losers as Steven departs. He had a classy career here and is leaving with class. He could help Atlanta get over the hump and into the Super Bowl, or he could join Peyton Manning in Denver and form what I think would be the smartest backfield in NFL history. Maybe he'll finally get the success and recognition he deserves after 9 years of playing Sisyphus in St. Louis. I'll almost certainly be rooting for him every step of the way, even as I'd much rather be rooting for him in a Rams uniform.

Sports Illustrated
Yeah, I get it, Steven's 30. Best to let somebody else roll the dice on whether he's got many more miles left on his engine. It makes sense. I just expected the Rams to have a better succession plan than two greenhorns who can't pick up a blitz to save their lives. After Thanksgiving weekend, Richardson ran for 24 yards in 5 games. Pead gained 54 yards all season. The Rams running game is about as ready for prime time as Jay Leno was a couple of years ago. I also was hoping this year's draft would be a reloading draft instead of one where the Rams would have to rebuild at positions like RB and slot receiver that appeared to be set at the end of last season. The Rams are going cold turkey at running back in 2013, hopefully with the emphasis not on turkey.

Meanwhile, RamView wishes Steven Jackson nothing but the best of luck the rest of the way. Thank you for your blood and sweat, your heart and guts, and for being a true leader and one of the hardest-working men in football.

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Justin Cole not tendered

When the Rams released Wayne Hunter, they also announced they would not tender restricted free agent linebacker Justin Cole, making him an unrestricted free agent. The lack of interest in the 25-year-old Cole comes as a bit of a surprise, as he looked like one of the Rams' more valuable special teams players by the end of last season, an ace on kickoff coverage.

The Rams' other RFA is Darian Stewart, also a valuable special teams player, and a possible starting safety this coming opening day. No word yet on retaining him, or any of the Rams' exclusive rights FAs - OL Tim Barnes, LB Sammy Brown, DT Jermelle Cudjo and TE Mike McNeill. Cudjo showed a little juice as a run defender last year and is probably the most valuable player of the four.

Update: tender offers were made to Barnes and McNeill as of March 9th.

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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Kroenicles of Stan, 3/6

St. Louis Examiner
The estimated current population of the Earth is 7.07 billion people, and Forbes announced this past week that Rams owner Stan Kroenke is one of the planet's 250 richest. Stan's not just one of the 1%, he's one of the .000003%. He's one of the 3% of the 1% of the 1%. Forbes estimates his worth at $5 billion ($1.8 billion more than Donald Trump) and ranks him #248 in the world. That amount doesn't even include Stan's wife Ann Walton, who's not too far behind Stan with $4.5 billion to her name.

Researching the list, Kroenke appears to be the second-wealthiest NFL owner, though a good $10 billion back of Seahawks owner Paul Allen. Former aspiring Rams owner Shahid Khan, now the Jagwires owner, is 490th on the list at $2.8 billion. Vikings owner Ziggy Wilf's fortune is said to be $1.3 billion, but he isn't on Forbes' list.

These other owners, and Kroenke's wealth, are all valid factors as the discussion of funding a future stadium for the Rams progresses. On one hand, Wilf, with one-fourth of Kroenke's wealth, put up half the funding for Minnesota's new stadium. On the other hand, CenturyLink Soccer Park got about one-third of its funding from Allen, and that stadium cost about half of what any new stadium is going to cost now.

Tomorrow night at 7:00!

Another valid factor is the money that Stan's been willing to spend lately. I've already mentioned he bought a ranch in Montana in November for $132.5 million. That's already as much as Allen spent on Seattle's stadium. Then word came out earlier this week that Stan has put in a $227 million bid on the Outdoor Channel. Obviously, he's the businessman, and I'm the schlub, but why the hell would you pay that much money for what must be about the 116th most-watched channel on TV? That's a lot of money for a bunch of hunting, fishing and shooting shows. Myself, I'd just buy the DVD of "Sons of Guns" or "Duck Dynasty".


Just saying, the NFL's 2nd-richest owner, one of the world's 250 richest men, married to one of the world's richest women, who's proven willing in the last three months to spend nearly $360 million on cows and shootin' shows, is going to have an uphill battle claiming to need any significant amount of public money to build a stadium for his football team.

Stan also appeared to get bad news on the competition front this week when Yahoo Sports reported that AEG's plan for a downtown stadium in Los Angeles appears to be economically infeasible and is now considered "essentially dead" by the NFL. That certainly devalues a major negotiation chip for Kroenke and other owners seeking stadium improvements.

Football is a game of leverage both on and off the field, and it appears that St. Louis got a little bit back this week. We're still waiting for the Rams' stadium upgrade to be officially rejected, though, before we can find out how much it's all going to matter.

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Rams release Wayne Hunter

Showing they're a lot more prepared for the start of free agency on Tuesday than yours truly, the Rams have released backup tackle Wayne Hunter. They acquired Hunter last year from the Jets in exchange for 2009 draft bust Jason Smith, who was also cut just a couple of weeks ago.

Hunter's release gains the Rams $4 million against the salary cap, and as far as I'm aware, they were right on or slightly over the cap up until now, so let's say they're $4 million under the cap for now. That will become $11 million on the 12th when Steven Jackson voids his contract.

That's probably it for Hunter's time as a Ram. He was bad enough to get beaten out for a starting job by Barry Richardson, and never take it back, but he played well off the bench when called upon. I wouldn't mind having him back at a lower salary, but he'll get a better offer than that elsewhere, and the Rams have viable younger options, whether Joe Barksdale or a player from a very deep 2013 draft for offensive linemen. Best of luck to Wayne wherever he ends up.

The Rams don't have a lot of slack to get further under the cap, at least not without making things even worse down the line, which is decidedly not GM Kevin Demoff's m.o. Cutting Quintin Mikell would gain them another $3 million. I can see that happening, with a strong safety class in this year's draft, and Mikell, who did have a very good year in 2012, was a big Spagvaney signing, so Snead/Fisher may want their own guy. Cutting Harvey Dahl would get another quick $4 million but would be a terrible move. The most tempting pot of money would involve restructuring James Laurinaitis' contract; reportedly, $9.4 million of cap space could be freed up there without a lot of problem. Which, of course, I don't understand at all, because they just signed Laurinaitis last year; why wasn't that deal cap-friendly in the first place?

I can already say that the majority of RamView position previews for free agency are not going to be ready for Tuesday. Like most years, I'll write the majority of them up while pretending I was writing them on time. Nothing but the highest journalistic standards here at RamView.

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