Rams offseason recap: June

Well, the offseason will look especially busy when the world's laziest Rams blogger waits three months to do any updates, but here is the transaction run-down in the Rams family (the Rams, ex-Rams and sons of former Rams) since the Rams traded Sam Bradford back in March...

June
6/27: Michael Sam update: Sam returned to the Montreal Alouettes Friday and is expected to practice with the team Monday. Montreal's next game is July 3rd vs. Calgary. Sam could still get it done if he can get his focus properly on football, bonne chance.

Getty Images (also appearing: Keith Null!)

6/19: Chris Ogbonnaya announced his retirement after 6 seasons. He had been signed by the Giants March 11 and waived May 11. He was one of three former Rams to participate in the NFL's annual journalism boot camp in May, along with Na'il Diggs and Bobby Carpenter. Carpenter currently co-hosts a radio show in Columbus, Ohio.
6/18: Buffalo signed Matthew Mulligan.
6/12: The Rams signed their 2015 draft class.
6/11: The Jets released Sean Hooey. That's the team that signed him in January, not the Rams, as erroneously reported by NFL.com.
6/11: Detroit signed Garrett Gilbert, one day after he'd been cut by New England. Gilbert was fallout of the Tom Brady InflateGate suspension. They wanted to have a veteran to fall back on in September in case Jimmy Garoppolo struggles, and replaced Gilbert with Matt Flynn.
6/4: The Rams released 6th-round draft pick Bud Sasser due to a heart condition.
6/2: The Rams hired Jeff Garcia as an offensive assistant. I believe he is helping coach WRs. Garcia lost out to Chris Weinke for the QB coach position here, but Jeff Fisher was so impressed with him he still wanted to have him somewhere on the staff. Garcia QBed the 49ers the first 5 of his 11 pro seasons and made four Pro Bowls.

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Rams offseason recap: April and May

May
5/29: RB Trey Watts got a 4-game suspension for violating league policy against substance abuse. I assume that was for performance-enhancing substances since it was 4 games for a first offense.

St. Louis Rams

5/19: Joseph Barksdale signed with San Diego, I guess so he can get destroyed by Justin Houston twice in one season instead of just once like last year. Proving YMMV, Rotoworld said Barksdale had a "strong age-26 campaign in St. Louis"; RamView's postseason grade for that campaign? D+.
5/13: The Rams cut Mason Brodine and signed offensive lineman David Wang. Wang, who I'll have to add to the rookie free agent page, is a 6'1" 303 center-guard out of Virginia Tech. He was redshirted for shoulder surgery and seems to have a history of foot injuries, one of which cost him another season with the Hokies. David's brother Ed was a backup at tackle for the Bills and two other teams. Their parents were both on China's Olympic track team, and David has not one, but two master's degrees. Typical of Rams rookie o-linemen this season, he's not lauded for his athleticism but gets good reviews from scouts for his intelligence, versatility and quickness. He was cited for strong play in Tech's upset of Ohio State early last season.
5/13: Greg Salas is still in the league? Good for him. He was signed by the Lions. Salas had 8 catches for 167 yards for the Jets in 2014.
5/11: Jamie Childers is still in the league? Apparently. The former Ram RFA was signed by Carolina. He's still trying to get into his first NFL game.
5/11: Kevin Hughes is still in the league? Well, what do you know. Another former Ram RFA, he was signed by New England. He appeared in 3 games for the Rams in 2011.
5/5: Jorgen Hus, who's now with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was cut by the Chiefs.
5/5: The 49ers signed rookie free agent Dres Anderson, son of Flipper Anderson.
5/4: Alex Carrington made a triumphant return to Buffalo after playing in St. Louis for a year and doing absolutely nothing.
5/4: Washington waived Ty Nsekhe.
5/2: The Packers signed Malcolm Agnew, son of Ray Agnew. Malcolm's a RB who had some crazy-good numbers at his SIU-C pro day.

USA Today

April
4/22: The Rams re-signed exclusive rights free agent Brandon Washington.
4/20: The Rams re-signed Austin Davis and Corey Harkey to 1-year, $1.542 million contracts, and Rodney McLeod to a 1-year, $2.356 million contract. (Like I've said, they like McLeod a whole lot more than I do.) All three were restricted free agents.
4/15: As you'll see, Steve Spagnuolo's done a little bit of getting the band back together now that he's Giants DC again. They signed CB Josh Gordy.
4/8: Leger (DOOZER) Douzable re-signed with the Jets.
4/1: The Rams re-signed Tim Barnes.

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Rams offseason recap: March

March
3/20: Spags, band back together, etc: Giants sign George Selvie.
3/19: Ray Agnew has two sons in the NFL: son Ray Jr. signed with Dallas.
3/19: Spags influencing the Giant offense, too? They re-signed Daniel Fells. Actually, he's considered one of the league's better blocking TEs now and will be their #2.
3/18: New England signed Bradley Fletcher, who's coming off a terrible 2014 in Philadelphia.
3/16: Carolina waived Mike McNeill.
3/13: Denver signed Darian Stewart to a 2-year deal and Shelley Smith to a 2-year, $5.65 million deal. Smith only started 3 games in Miami last season and was considered a major liability.
3/13: The Rams signed LB Akeem Ayers. They also signed DT Nick Fairley to a 1-year, $5 million deal. The Rams also signed Kenny Britt to a 2-year, $14 million deal, $4.3 million guaranteed.

Wikipedia

Nick Fairley scouting report: drafted by the Lions right in front of Robert Quinn in 2011. Was said to be having his most consistent and productive season so far in 2014, even though he had only one sack, before being lost for the season in week 8 due to a knee injury. He had gotten much more serious about his conditioning, which was an issue for him at Auburn and throughout his Lions career. It wasn't worth the cost to Detroit to keep him when they had such a hard time keeping him motivated, even demoting him to second-string this past preseason. However, he actually reported to Rams OTAs too light, so you have to like his dedication. I think his rookie year was a wash due to injury. He had 6 sacks in 2012, 5.5 in 2013. He has nice pass-rush moves, very good feet for his size and is the kind of player who has a lot of motivation to come here and do very well on a 1-year prove-it deal. Early returns are that he is showing that motivation, and Nick Fairley could be one of the major sleeper acquisitions of this whole offseason. He'll probably rotate in for Michael Brockers in passing situations and could come up big if he stays fit and healthy.

Getty Images

Akeem Ayers scouting report: drafted by Tennessee in 2011 (Jeff Fisher already gone). 6'3" 255. 50 tackles in 2011, 66 in 2012. He became the Titans' starting SLB as a rookie. He had 6 sacks in 2012 and seemed poised for a breakout year as an edge pass rusher in 2013. The Titans had big plans to make him their version of Von Miller. Ayers has the athleticism and versatility; he played both Sam and Mike and was an edge pass rusher when the Titans mixed in 3-4 looks. He was quietly one of the league's best pass rushers the back half of 2012. But he suffered a high ankle sprain in preseason '13 and had only one sack all year. While the Titans switched to a 3-4 before last season, Ayers had surgery on both patellar tendons, and he couldn't get back on the field there. They traded him to New England for just a 6th-round pick. With the Patriots, he became an effective edge rusher again, with 4 sacks in 11 games. Scouts loved his athleticism and versatility coming out of UCLA, where he had 10 sacks, 24.5 tackles for loss and 2 pick-sixes his last two seasons, but his stock fell for bad 40 times at the Combine.

Ayers has been sadly lacking a role as an NFL player. He's flipping around too much and IMO needs one role he can concentrate on. I'd say that's 4-3 pass-rushing specialist. The speculation is that the Rams are going to try to make him their Von Miller. Do we trust Gregg Williams to deploy a gadget player on defense well after putting his stamp on a perfectly good pass rush last season by screwing it up for more than half the season? We'll see. I'm keeping my expectations for Ayers low, because of Williams, because of his injury history, and because of the amount of nickel defense and Mark Barron the Rams use.


3/12: "Thad" Lewis re-signed with Cleveland three days after they released him.
3/12: New England re-signed Danny Amendola to a 3-year, $12.75 million deal.
3/11: The Rams traded their 2016 7th-round pick to Houston for Case Keenum. Houston also traded Ryan Fitzpatrick to the Jets. With Ryan Pickett and Steven Jackson currently unsigned, Fitzpatrick is now the longest-tenured former Ram in the NFL.
3/11: The Rams re-signed Lance Kendricks, cut Scott Wells and cut Jake Long.
3/11: Minnesota signed Shaun Hill, thank God.
3/11: Cortland Finnegan retired after 9 seasons. It was all downhill for him after his first season here. As others have said, though, still a quite nice career for a 7th-round pick.
3/10: Atlanta signed Mike Person.
3/10: The Colts, who have aged more rapidly than Dorian Gray this offseason, signed 29-year-old Kendall Langford to a 4-year, $17.2 million deal. He's supposed to have a good chance of starting there even though he appeared to be wearing down here last season.
3/10: New England signed Brandon Gibson to a 1-year deal. Gibson, Danny Amendola, Illini Mike... Belichick basically has Spags' WR corps. Well, plus Gronk.

Will RamView have a Nick Foles scouting report? Sorry, not at this time. (Not the worst Rams blog on the Internet for nothin'.) I'd like to watch some of his "tape" from last season, if I have any, and work up my own report. So, yeah, 10% chance I get there.

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The rest of the 2014 grades

Going over the worst Rams blog on the Internet, I noticed among the million-and-six things I've left unfinished was the player grades for 2014. To save us some time, I've condensed them down to tweet-length for each player:

Hey, Blogger lets me add pictures again! (ESPN)

Cornerbacks
E.J. Gaines - B+. Most pleasant surprise on the roster, still-underrated 6th-rounder salvaged the season for the whole secondary.
Janoris Jenkins - D-. When he's defending someone, it's going to be a big play either way. In 2014, too often for the offensive team.
Trumaine Johnson - D-. Gave up maddening number of 1st downs in soft coverage. Game against NYG one of worst ever by a Rams DB.
Lamarcus Joyner - C-. Lost season due to injuries and repeat blown assignments but shows promise as blitzer and has nice closing speed.
Marcus Roberson - C-. Injuries forced RFA onto field late in season, but he didn't look completely lost. Has potential to stick in lineup.
Brandon McGee - I. Injured all season.

Looking ahead: I wanted to add a veteran. Gaines should bench TruJo. Rams coaches will depend on much more consistent pass rush.

AP

Safeties
T.J. McDonald - B. On verge of elite status. Blankets the best TEs, underrated run defender. Needs to play with better discipline.
Mark Barron - C+. Effective in the box, terrible in pass coverage. Rams paid too much for him.
Rodney McLeod - D+. Coaches are bigger fans than I am. Good in the slot, major liability on deep routes. Special teams plus-player.
Cody Davis - D. Only upside I see is on special teams.

Looking ahead: If pass rush is there, McLeod doesn't have to be great, but he does have to be better. Solid-enough group.

Oregon State University / Getty Images

Special teams
Johnny Hekker: A-. Rams' most clutch QB last season. Also punts, and was a Pro Bowl-worthy weapon there. Worth every penny of contract.
Greg Zuerlein: C-. Too inconsistent on long FG attempts and kickoffs. Fingers crossed he's over the '14 midseason meltdown.
Jake McQuaide: A-. Wasn't perfect, but he played hurt and didn't cause any missed kicks.
Daren Bates: A. Fisher cutting Ray Ray helped make Bates one of the NFL's best special teams specialists. Should be long-term fixture.
Tavon Austin: B-. Top ten in returns, Pro Bowl alternate but still too haphazard with decision-making and ball security.
Benny Cunningham: B-. Among NFC leaders. Showed some big-play ability but also had costly fumble against Giants.
Stedman Bailey: B. Not as many tackles as '14 but 90-yard fakeout TD against Seattle was the special teams play of the year.
Chase Reynolds: A. Field leader on special teams, leader in tackles and reliable playmaker.
Trey Watts: B. Surprisingly physical for size. Did excellent work at gunner.
Will Herring: C+. Steady veteran, big contrast to Ray Ray. Blocked well on returns.
Maurice Alexander: C. Made things happen in kick coverage, WHY WAS HE INACTIVE FOR NINE WEEKS?
Korey Toomer: D. No offense, JAG AFAIK.

Looking ahead: Rams should have one of the best special teams units in the NFL in '15. Solid young core, great coach.

USA Today

Coaching staff
Jeff Fisher: D-. Cannot have another poor start. Rams looked too unprepared too often. Too many penalties. Team finds too many ways to lose.
Brian Schottenheimer: D. Never surpassed mediocre at OC. Didn't/couldn't use players to do what they do best. Good luck at UGa.
Gregg Williams: F. 100+ blitzes before first sack. Soft coverages as bad as Tim Walton's. Took team's strength and made it weakness. F.
John Fassel: B. Downgraded for blocked kicks, but his unit was the most prepared and in the top half of most stats. Best coach on staff.
Frank Cignetti: B-. I was happy with Austin Davis' development, and he got as much as possible out of Hill. Decent choice for new OC.
Ben Sirmans: B. Rams continued to get a lot out of young RBs, who made big strides vs. blitz, grew as receivers and held on to ball well.
Ray Sherman: B+. Quick showed much growth, Bailey flashed and drops went way down. Britt became a team leader. Need more from Austin.
Rob Boras: D. Blocking TEs declined, no TE grew as a receiver. Will Cunningham or Bayer emerge next season?
Paul Boudreau: D-. Rams blew assignments, pass-pro was poor, rarely owned LOS in run game. Robinson s/h had one position.
Mike Waufle: C. Pass rush too inconsistent. No adjustments to free up Quinn. Still great at developing young players.
Frank Bush: C-. All he really had to do was coach Ogletree up. And why do Rams LBs bite so hard on every play fake?
Chuck Cecil: D-. Terrible schemes, Jenkins declines annually, TruJo basket case, McLeod always out of position, Gaines saved an F.

Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer

Officiating
A's for Brad Allen and, shock, Bill Vinovich. F's for Boger, Triplette, and Clete Blakeman, for farce vs. Dallas.

Ownership
Gee. Guess. F-minus-minus-to-infinity. A-plus-plus if goal is to become biggest bastard in STL history. Mission accomplished!

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Rams training camp schedule

As guessed correctly (for once) here at RamView, the Rams will open 2015 training camp at Rams Park on Friday, July 31. Rookies report to camp on the 27th, veterans on the 29th.

The St. Louis dates open to the public:
Fri July 31 - 3:30
Sat Aug 1 - 3:30
Sun Aug 2 - 5:30
Tue Aug 4 - 3:30
Thu Aug 6 - 5:30
Fri Aug 7 - 5:00 scrimmage at Lindenwood University
Sun Aug 9 - 3:30
Mon Aug 10 - 3:30
Tue Aug 11 - 5:30

Yes, that's a much-shorter list of dates than past years because of the Rams' infamous decision to hold several joint practices with the Cowboys just outside of LOS ANGELES after the first preseason game in Oakland. Jeff Fisher doesn't lie very convincingly that the scrimmage has nothing to do with jackass E.S. Kroenke's intent to move the team. I don't recall the Rams scrimmaging anyone since Fisher's Titans turned one into a cheap-shot fest in 2000. Hey, feel free to take out Dallas' first-round pick with a cheap shot like you did Trung Canidate back then. 

But quit insulting our intelligence. There's 30 other teams the Rams could have scrimmaged against the past four years, but somehow, we're supposed to believe Fisher had to wait until now to revive an old training camp practice. And the only team they could magically happen to find to scrimmage this year is the one that trains in Los Angeles. And, the Rams are practicing by themselves the third day out in California, but magically, like the joint practices with the Cowboys, that session's open to the public. Gee, why would that be? Why isn't that practice closed to the public like half the practices here in St. Louis are?

I'm uncertain at the moment what training camp visits I'll make this year. I was scheduled to be out of town the first weekend, and that Lindenwood scrimmage is sure at an awkward time for people with jobs. More great catering to the St. Louis fan base there.

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So, what have you been doing with your offseason? (updated)

Judging from the state of this sorry-ass blog, RamView hasn't been doing a whole heck of a lot this offseason, but some former Rams are having more interesting offseasons than others:

* Michael Sam toured the celebrity circuit a bit after the 2014 season, finishing 10th on Dancing With the Stars, behind 68-year-old Suzanne Somers and 70-year-old Patti Labelle. Further killing stereotypes as to what sort of person can really dance, Kurt Warner is still the Rams' dancing champion, with a fifth-place finish back in his season.

Sam participated in an NFL veteran combine this spring, which helped him land a two-year CFL contract with the Montreal Alouettes, but he left camp there this week for what has only been generally stated as personal reasons. Montreal's first preseason game is tonight. Montreal says the door is still open for Sam's return. I think the CFL is the right place for him and it offers him a chance back into the NFL, so hopefully everything will work out for Michael there.

Update: Doesn't look like that will happen. Some sources within the Alouettes organization do not expect Sam to return. He has been put on the team's suspended list. (Montreal Gazette) Team GM Jim Popp:

“There’s nothing to tell you. He wanted to go home, and that’s what he did. I don’t know why. When a guy wants to go home, they go home. He had some personal things to take care of... I wouldn’t be surprised if he returns. I’m surprised he left. I was very surprised. If he doesn’t come back, I would think football’s over for him. He’s the one that has to face that. But I don’t think he doesn’t want to play football. That’s why he came here.”

The Montreal Gazette article speculates Sam has worn down mentally from the spotlight always being on him. He also may not have prepared well for the differences in Canadian football, was struggling in camp and may have been hearing about it from teammates, from whom he kept his distance.

I tend to agree that the spotlight has been harsh, not to Sam personally, but to his football career. He was never the most athletic prospect in the world and had a big hill to climb to get in the NFL in the first place. Then his coming out brought a media onslaught - mainly positive, but still an onslaught. That alone was hard enough to manage, and then Sam added distractions to it like the Oprah Channel special and Dancing With the Stars. Football demands a lot of focus and dedication. Sam's unique situation made that very hard by definition, and then he compounded it. Hey, he's young and probably thought he could handle it all.

But his football suffered. Jeff Fisher helped keep a lot of distraction away from Sam, and he looked like a legitimate pro prospect in 2014 training camp. But without that shield from the spotlight, Sam has struggled. His 2014 Senior Bowl and Combine were pretty poor. This CFL detour hasn't looked well-planned. He signed late with the Alouettes - the week before training camp, right? - maybe not realizing he'd have to make adjustments for the CFL style of play. (Hey, I had little idea myself. The d-line has to line up a yard off the ball, and Sam was going to have to play a lot, if not all of the time, out of a two-point stance, which wouldn't be a strength for him.)

Michael Sam set a high bar for himself. He's man enough to clear it but he mismanaged the runup, if only a little, and he won't prove to be athlete enough to get over the top. I salute his effort all the same. He's made that bar easier to clear and the media circus less chaotic for the next player who follows his path. You have to be a hell of an athlete to try to break the kind of social ground Sam did while also trying to compete at the highest level of your profession. That's what made Jackie Robinson so uniquely special.

* Some other ex-Rams (mostly former camp players) whose names I could recognize on current CFL rosters:
B.C. Lions: Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Cord Parks
Calgary Stampeders: Keith Toston, Joe West
Saskatchewan Roughriders: Phillip Steward, Jorgen Hus
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Sammy Brown, Justin Veltung (according to the CFL website, Veltung wears #73!?!) and Deantre Harlan of Bacone fame
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Justin Medlock
Toronto Argonauts: Diontae Spencer
Montreal Alouettes: Mardy Gilyard is on their injured list. I also could not help but notice that Chad Johnson (yes, THAT one) is on their suspended list. He had 7 catches for 151 yards last season. Injuries and personal matters limited him to 5 games.

* If you get HBO, you can see former Ram John David Washington on The Rock's new series, Ballers. In the half-hour comedy, Rock, um, Dwayne Johnson plays a retired NFL player who becomes a financial adviser and mentor to current players. One of those is Washington's character, a veteran WR (a 5'9", 208-lb WR? Mmm-kay) who got cut by the Packers for off-the-field misbehavior but gets a second chance with the Dolphins. Ballers comes from the same producers who created Entourage, so there are pretty high hopes for the show, along with controversy whether the show can or will continue to use real NFL team names and logos.

Washington was signed by the Rams as a rookie free agent RB in 2006 and spent a season on the practice squad. He was cut at the end of the 2007 training camp. Ballers is his first significant on-screen role. And, yes, you've heard of his father.

* And as you might guess, an altogether completely different offseason for Lawrence Phillips, who has been accused of killing his cellmate at Kern Valley State Prison (California) in April. There may be more going on here than meets the eye, though (Bleacher Report). Phillips may have been acting in self-defense. He had repeatedly asked for solitary confinement for his own safety but had recently been paired up with Damion Soward, a gang-banger cousin of former NFL WR R. Jay Soward. Damion was found strangled in his and Phillips' cell April 11. Then again, do you really strangle a person in self-defense? Phillips, 39, is currently serving a 32-year sentence for domestic assault against a girlfriend and assault with a deadly weapon (he tried to run over some youths he accused of stealing $100 from him during a pickup football game).

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Rams sign draft class

The Rams signed their 2015 draft class Friday: RB Todd Gurley, OL Rob Havenstein, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann, QB Sean Mannion, LB Bryce Hager and DE Martin Ifedi. 
Training camp dates have not yet been released. Based on past years, the Rams seem likely to open camp on July 31st, with rookies reporting on the 29th.

Sixth-round pick Bud Sasser was cut before the start of OTAs. I assume it wasn't discovered until his team physical that he has a heart condition, unspecified, that will not allow him to play football. I can't imagine he would have been drafted otherwise. Sasser "sought multiple medical opinions" according to Pro Football Talk but got no green lights. The Rams waived him with a non-football illness designation but still signed him to his rookie contract, and he will keep a signing bonus of over $113,000.

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