Rams report, 9/4

AP

Let's get this season started already!

* Not starting, however: Greg Robinson. The Rams will start Rodger Saffold at LG, Davin Joseph at RG, Jake Long and his 50 shades of rust at LT (and he was limited in practice today, so, no, still rusty), and leave the #2 pick overall on the bench. Robinson isn't deemed ready to go yet, too much of a liability in pass protection. Unlike Long, I guess, who only cost the Rams their starting quarterback in his only attempt to play this preseason.

Now, I'm as reactionary as anybody, but I'm not going to join the critics who are already declaring Robinson a bust before he's played a down in the NFL. (Aaron Donald's not starting, either; is he also a bust?) I will agree it's very disappointing the #2 pick in the draft isn't starting. When you draft an offensive lineman #2 overall, he ought to be able to start over Joe Barksdale, or a guard (Joseph) anybody could have picked up off the waiver wire this year, or a gimpy tackle probably being rushed onto the field so Cleveland could hand him his hat in a preseason game. And hey, there's Jake Matthews, the guy RamView wanted to draft, starting for the Falcons at LT. None of this is helping Robinson look good.

But I think the Rams themselves are the biggest reason Robinson isn't looking good. It's as if they drafted him without really having a plan for him. You're a tackle, but you're going to start out here as a guard, but we're going to flop you back and forth between guard and tackle all of training camp and during preseason games. They drafted Robinson thinking he was the best player available, not because they had a plan that made the best use of him.

Joseph's re-emergence at RG isn't unwelcome, and I feel like we saw enough good out of Robinson in preseason to think he's still on track as the "tackle of the future". It's too bad the future isn't now, though, that the Rams haven't put Robinson in the best spot to succeed right off the bat.

* Wednesday's injury report:
Out: Trumaine Johnson (MCL, 4-6 weeks), Barrett Jones (back, time frame of return closely-guarded state secret)
Limited: Jake Long (rust), Jo-Lonn Dunbar (shoulder), William Hayes (chest) (Chest?), Eugene Sims (knee).

* Transactions: Justice Cunningham was cut to make room for Case Keenum on the main roster. Cunningham has an ankle injury, so if the Rams are looking to bring him back to the practice squad, it won't be for a few weeks.

The Rams also made a practice squad move, cutting Matt Daniels and replacing him with Brad Smelley.

An interesting transaction in New Orleans: after cutting both their kickers to get to the 53-man limit, they have picked Shayne Graham back up and cut QB Ryan Griffin. Will the Rams now make a play for Griffin? After Sam Bradford's knee blowout last season, the Saints were worried enough about the Rams taking Griffin off their practice squad that they called him up to their main roster.

* Alumni report:
- Michael Sam has joined Dallas' practice squad. Please tell me they're doing this for reasons other than trying to get inside info because they're playing the Rams in two weeks.
- Buffalo signed D.J. Morrell to their practice squad.


* The Rams are 3.5-point favorites Sunday, which I find hard to explain with Adrian Peterson on the other side of the line of scrimmage and Sam Bradford on the other side of the surgeon's scalpel again. I would have expected a pick 'em line. You don't want gambling advice from me, anyway, so I'll leave it at that.

-$-