Former Rams UDFA dies

USA Today

Sad Rams alumni news to report: former Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen was killed in a car accident this morning outside LaGrange, Georgia. CBSSports.com article  He was a passenger in a pickup truck that went out of control and crashed after missing a stop sign. The driver was also killed. One passenger is still hospitalized, and the fourth, the only one state police report was wearing a seat belt, was treated and released.

Sigh. Wear your seat belts, people. Please.

Lutzenkirchen was signed by the Rams last year as a rookie free agent and made it all the way to final cuts in training camp. He had two catches for 18 yards in the first preseason game at Cleveland and showed a lot of good receiving skills in practice. He was one of the better H-backs in college football as a sophomore and a junior and was a clutch receiver for Auburn's 2010 national champions. Condolences to Philip's family, friends and fans.

-$-

Rams report, 6/22: OTA wrapup

The Rams wrapped up OTAs this week and announced their training camp schedule. All the relevant details here. (Or, scroll down about half a page.)

STLToday

* Sam Bradford worked in back-to-back practices for the first time on Thursday. He did more than expected throughout OTAs and all signs remain encouraging for his full-time return. He's expected to be full-go for the start of training camp and Jeff Fisher says he sees no reason Bradford won't play during preseason.

* Fisher said the same thing about Jake Long, though Long is the only player who definitely will not be a full participant at the start of training camp (though reports say he has been moving well doing light work on the side). Long and Bradford will get a day off here and there in order to take it easy on their recuperating knees, but Fisher says they'll both be in games at some point of the preseason.

* Then again, this week, for the first time, the Rams had Rodger Saffold at left tackle in 11-on-11 drills, with veteran free agent pickup Davin Joseph filling in at right guard. So they DO have a disaster recovery plan at LT. They've been acting like they won't need one. Huh.

* Players out of all this week's OTAs: Mo Alexander (knee), Christian Bryant (assumed ankle), Michael Brockers (ankle), William Hayes (assumed knee), Chase Reynolds (sports hernia per Jim Thomas) and Jamaine Sherman (unknown, but rehabbing). Bryant is the only Ram besides Jake Long who may not be ready for the start of training camp, but he's expected to be very close by then. Matt Daniels got back on the field this week.

Enjoy your almost completely healthy roster while you can. It isn't going to stay that way for long.

STLToday

* OTA nonsense (and no, I don't mean the punt-catching contest):
- OC Brian Schottenheimer says the Rams' most improved player right now is... Brian Quick. Hoo boy. I'm calling divide-by-zero b.s. on that one.
- Schotty also says there will be competition for starting RB, which has the fantasy experts at Footballguys.com in a panic. Demote Zac Stacy as a second-round FFL pick! I love fantasy football expert panic. Though that might explain why my team sucked last year.
- Schotty also gave first-round pick Aaron Donald his vote for defensive rookie of the year already, and said Tavon Austin knows the offense a lot better this year and he should get that expanded role we all kind of thought he was going to have last year. I'll go with those as the most meaningful, and promising, things Schottenheimer said.

- Jim Thomas reports the most consistent receiver in OTAs was... Austin Pettis. Hoo boy.


In related news, RamView's list of the all-time greatest performers in shorts (countdown style in honor of Casey Kasem):

5. Pele (Wikipedia)

4. Muhammad Ali

3. Michael Jordan
 

2. Austin Pettis (StLouisRams.com)
(I am fully aware this may not actually be Austin Pettis)

1. Daisy Duke

Back to football:

Fox Sports

- Thomas also reports the defensive players are "buying in" to new DC Gregg Williams. I'll now complain, and I'm sure Thomas would be the first person to say, this isn't news in the least. This can only be news if the players AREN'T buying in to what the coaches are selling. They "bought in" to Jim Haslett, right? They "bought in" to Spags, right? This is not bad news, but that's about it.

- Not to forget the offensive line, where first-round pick Greg Robinson's expressed frustration that he's not making better progress at guard. Not sure how much to be concerned about that when there hasn't been anything remotely resembling hitting going on. That could be pretty bad, or it could be nothing to stress over. Schottenheimer, sort of predictably, says the latter. He's pleased with Robinson's progress so far and says he'll be focused a lot on pass pro technique in training camp. I'm going to sound yellow alert just to be safe.

* Rams alumni report:
- The Big Dead announced they will induct Kurt Warner into their "ring of fame" this season. That kind of smacks of the Big Dead doing it just so they can beat the Rams to it. Kurt probably won't join the ring of fame in the Dome until 2015; the Rams' standard up to now has been to induct players after they've entered the Hall of Fame. Though I'm already anticipating HoF screwjobs for Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt that will make them exceptions to that rule.


Also:
- We have NOT heard the last from Gentleman Kris Adams in RamView; the Giants added him to their PUP list this week;
- The Giants waived DT Eathyn Manumaleuna (Brandon's cousin);
- and Fendi Onobun was waived by the Bears after having what Rotoworld described as "a drop-filled minicamp".

I will attempt to get rookie free agent profiles going soon. Hey, I've got till the start of training camp.

-$-

Rams training camp schedule

The Rams completed OTAs Friday and are now on break until training camp opens with rookies reporting on July 21st. Veterans report the 24th and the first practice open to the public is Friday, July 26th.

The full training camp schedule:

Friday, July 25             3:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 26         3:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 27           5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 29          3:30 p.m.
Friday, August 1           3:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 2      12:30 p.m. (scrimmage at Edward Jones Dome)
Monday, August 4        3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 5        5:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 7      3:30 p.m.
Monday, August 11      3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 12      5:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 14    3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 19      3:30 p.m.
Wed., August 20          3:30 p.m.

My intention for now is to cover the 7/26 and 7/29 practices, along with the August 2 scrimmage. 8/5 and 8/12 are possible, but not as likely.

-$-

Rams report, 6/15: Draft class signed

Associated Press

* For the third time under Jeff Fisher and Les Snead, the Rams announced the signing of all of their draft picks at the same time, on Thursday. All 11 draft picks signed four-year contracts, with the team getting a fifth-year option on first-round picks Greg Robinson and Aaron Donald. Turf Show Times has all the dollar amounts. Robinson's deal is for $21.3 million with a $13.8 million signing bonus; Donald signed for $10.1 million and $5.7 million.

Once again this year, I am nominating Roger Goodell for the Nobel Prize for getting rid of the obnoxious rookie holdout.

* Falcons get the Rams off the hook. In many eyes, by drafting Michael Sam, the Rams made themselves a dead-on lock to land HBO's cameras for Hard Knocks this summer (and force me to add HBO back to my TV bill). By way of keeping HBO out of Rams camp, and also shooting down Sam's unannounced pre-draft deal with Oprah to make a reality show about his effort to make the team, Fisher made the argument that Sam needs the opportunity to focus on football over TV cameras. The argument may have actually worked, as Atlanta, whose owner Arthur Blank has not met a camera he doesn't like, has volunteered for the show this year. The Falcons weren't obliged to be considered because they made the playoffs two years ago, and HBO lost a lot of juicy trash-talk footage when Sean Weatherspoon tore one of his Achilles tendons in OTAs, but hey, who's not up for six weeks of the magnetizing charisma of Mike Smith? RamView hopes Steven Jackson will at least get a lot of screen time (though it won't be enough to make me re-subscribe to HBO).

StLouisRams.com

* OTAs: Maurice Alexander has continued to sit out all OTA sessions. Thanks to Jim Thomas' reporting, we now know the reason - he had one of his knees scoped. Also missing multiple practices this week: Michael Brockers (sprained ankle), Sammy Brown (unknown), Christian Bryant (probably ankle), Matt Daniels (probably knee), William Hayes (probably knee), Jake Long (knee), Chase Reynolds (unknown), Jamaine Sherman (unknown).

If anything there's making me go uh-oh, it's hearing that Brockers has a sprained ankle. His rookie season was stalled significantly by an ankle sprain (resulting from a cheap shot in a preseason game), and he's poised to have a breakout season this year. I hope this is a minor injury.

Sam Bradford got a lot of action in Thursday's practice and had two TD passes, but was also pick-sixed by Janoris Jenkins. All signs appear to be go for Bradford physically, though.

Four more OTAs for the Rams next week; after that, we hope not to hear much from them (especially Kenny Britt) until training camp opens, I expect with rookies reporting on July 23rd or 24th. First open practice seems likely to be the 26th. I'm planning to be there, but I'm going to Chicago the next day so my first training camp report may not be out very quick. Surprise, surprise.

CBS

* Rams alumni report:
- Trent Green will replace Dan Dierdorf as Greg Gumbel's broadcast partner for games on CBS. To my knowledge, Trent started as color commentator on Rams preseason games (2009) before making the move up to the network. (Not that long ago you would not have watched a Rams preseason game ever expecting anyone from the booth to become a network analyst.) I'm not sure who CBS considers their #2 team now that Dierdorf's retired, but Green's impressed me as a solid analyst worthy of that kind of status. Good luck to him in the booth.

This just in: Trent Green has caught strep throat from a chance encounter with Rodney Harrison and is out for the season. Gumbel has vowed to rally behind Green's replacement, Kurt Warner, and announce good football.

- I think we now know why the Rams cut Daryl Richardson. He wasn't a waived/injured release from the Rams, but D-Rich has sat out OTAs with the Jets because of the toe injury that pretty much wrecked his 2013 season. Richardson would have been hard-pressed just to make RB4 here, let alone do it while still coming off the injury.

- In what may be the final RamView Gentleman Kris Adams update, the former Rams practice squad WR was waived/injured by the Giants. Adams is trying to come back from breaking his left ankle in a preseason game against the Steelers last year.

-$-

Rams report, 6/9: OTAs and ROH

StLouisRams.com

* The big news from this week's OTAs was good news for the health of the 2014 Ram offense. Sam Bradford, who tore an ACL in Carolina last October, threw in some 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills and reportedly looked great. Because his ACL rehab gave him time to do extra upper-body work, he's reportedly throwing the best deep balls of his career. With 2014 possibly being Bradford's make-or-break season, good developments all around for him.

* More good news: As definitively as we've heard to date, Jeff Fisher told reporters that left tackle Jake Long will be ready for the start of the regular season. Right now he's expected to be good to go a couple of weeks into training camp. The Rams seem so confident Long will be back on time that they've had Rodger Saffold and Greg Robinson exclusively at their guard positions during OTAs, with the likes of SEAN HOOEY and MIKE PERSON manning left tackle.

StLouisRams.com

* In Kenny Britt news, the bad news is that he's already starting fights in practice, in this case with Trumaine Johnson. The good news is that the fights are caused by all the trash talking he's been doing because nobody in camp's been able to cover him. He's burned both TruJo and Janoris Jenkins for long TDs. That probably should be disheartening news that the Rams' starting DBs can't even cover Kenny Freaking Britt, but his performance represents the high end of the gamble the Rams took signing him. Good on Britt that he's showed up to play. He has a lot to prove.

* Sitting out OTAs: rookies Christian Bryant (ankle) and Mo Alexander (wrist), Matt Daniels (knee), Jake Long (knee), William Hayes (knee) and Chase Reynolds. The actual injuries are mainly speculation on my part, and Nick Wagoner's on Hayes. I don't remember Reynolds being hurt at the end of last season, so no clue what's going on there. And since teams aren't required to make injury reports during OTAs, it's not like we'll ever hear anything from the Rams.

And if I may overreact just a second here, the real bummer here is Alexander not getting to do anything in OTAs, since those are supposed to be pretty important for the rookies. Extra reason to question the Rams' 4th-round draft pick, who I felt was overdrafted over other and more important needs, if they took him when he wouldn't even be ready physically for OTAs.

OTAs continue on Tuesday and Thursday.

* Rams alumni report:
- Cleveland cut LB Larry Grant. They had the veteran in camp about a week.
- Performing as "Moose", former Rams o-lineman Quinn Ojinnaka got the pin in (to my knowledge) his first televised match on Ring of Honor wrestling. His signature move as a Ram may have been getting whipped by a DE's edge speed, but Moose won this match for his six-man tag team with a surprisingly-good dropkick, and, a typical move for wrestlers with football backgrounds, a spear. I don't intend to report on many of Quinn's matches - he wasn't even a Ram all that long - but a number of current WWE stars have their roots in Ring of Honor, so it might be worth it to track if this becomes the start of something big for Quinn. Er, Moose.

-$-

Rams report, 6/1: Rams sign Davin Joseph

Buccaneers.com

* The Rams continued to beef up their offensive line depth this week with the signing of veteran guard Davin Joseph. Joseph, 6'3" 313 and 30 years old, was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2006 and played all eight years of his career to date there, making the Pro Bowl in 2008 and 2011. He got a big contract before the 2011 season, which became a white elephant when he tore a patellar tendon in 2012, wiping out that season and likely leading to a poor 2013 season in which he graded out as one of the league's worst guards. The Bucs cut him after the season rather than pay the $6 million he would have been due for 2014.


Even in his Pro Bowl seasons, Pro Football Focus didn't think that much of Joseph's work. They've consistently given him negative ratings throughout his career, saying he "loses far too many battles at the point of attack" and is "mostly a subpar run blocker." Part of Joseph's arguable decline after the big contract could also be tied to Tampa's switch to a zone-blocking scheme. Better health and better scheme fit here could be reasons to believe the Rams have made a good low-ball signing, but he'll have to prove the negative scouting reports wrong to make it pay off.

Joseph's signing should definitively end any chance of Harvey Dahl returning to the Rams; if you're going to gamble on a veteran lineman coming off an injury, you're going to pick the cheaper guy, and the guy who's had more time to recuperate. Joseph's 2-for-2 there.

Another question is whether Joseph will be considered offensive line depth or if the Rams see him as a starter. I'm less and less convinced that Jake Long is actually going to start the season at left tackle, which would mean the Rams are going to need another starting guard when they bump Rodger Saffold (or possibly Greg Robinson) out there.

Less than eight weeks now before we start getting some of these questions answered.

New York Daily News

* The Rams have also signed rookie free agent WR/KR Diontae Spencer, bringing their roster to the full 90-man limit. Spencer is about the size of your average high school freshman at 5'9" 162. He did, however, run a 4.34 40 at McNeese State's pro day and recorded a 40" vertical. The Rams signed him after the Bears cut him earlier this week. Spencer had two kick return TDs and a punt return TD all in the same game last November against Stephen F. Austin. (I'm imagining SFA cheerleaders sometime during that game yelling, "If you think our special teams stink, give me a hell yeah!") He also scored a TD against Dick Vermeil's National team in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January. With Spencer and Tre Mason, the Rams at least have a couple of accomplished kickoff returners on the roster, which is two more than they've had most recent seasons.


* Rams alumni report:
- Tampa Bay signed former Rams defensive back / special teams player Quinton Pointer;
- Pittsburgh signed rookie free agent tackle Emmanuel McCray, who was a Ram for three days earlier this month.

-$-