* Injuries.
Limited participation in practice Thursday: Sam Bradford (ankle), C.J. Ah You (calf), Gary Gibson (hip), James Hall (knee), Josh Hull (hamstring), STEVEN JACKSON (foot), Bryan Kehl (ankle), Darell Dorell Scott (concussion), Eugene Sims (shoulder), Darian Stewart (ankle).
Hall is the only addition from Wednesday’s report.
The team is expecting to have enough depth to get by at DT Sunday. Gibson’s injury isn’t major, and Scott has been cleared for contact.
Bradford took about half the snaps at QB.
Not participating: Danario Alexander (hamstring), Lance Kendricks (sprained foot), Jerious Norwood (hamstring of doom), Jason Smith (concussion). Pretty good bet none of the four will play against Cleveland.
* Ex-Rams transactions. Terrail Lambert and Mortty Ivy were dropped respectively from the Saints’ and Steelers’ practice squads. The Saints had Cord Parks in for a tryout. The Redskins signed Fendi Onobun to their practice squad.
* Snubbed! OK, not really. To the shock of absolutely no one, there are no Rams on either Sports Illustrated's or Pro Football Weekly’s midseason All-Pro teams. The Rams are currently 31st in PFW’s power poll. As if they’d beat the Colts.
Thinking about it a little further, Steven Jackson and Chris Long have pretty strong cases to at least make the NFC Pro Bowl roster. Voting’s already open for the game at NFL.com, so consider supporting the rare few Rams who are playing at a high level. James Laurinaitis and Darian Stewart wouldn’t be wastes of votes, either.
-$-
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Rams report, 11/10
First of all, the Rams suck. They freaking suck. I guess that’s not a huge status update. But we can now be pretty sure the win over the Saints was a fluke the size of Haloti Ngata, and this team MIGHT finish the season with two wins if it’s lucky. I never expected to need to go into the 2011-2012 offseason with an eye on top-3 draft picks or new head coaching candidates. But we’re there. Steve Spagnuolo lost a game the Rams had won in Arizona and I am seeing no improvement out of the guy or certainly the team after 40 games. Rant over, on with the update.
* Injuries. Mark Clayton, who says he’s at 90% right now, was activated from the PUP list. The soreness he had from straining his Achilles tendon has gone away and he is slated to be the Rams’ slot receiver this Sunday in Cleveland. Not the same, sadly, for Greg Salas, whose season ended last Sunday due to a broken fibula.
Sam Bradford’s sprained ankle isn’t expected to be a problem the rest of the season. He wore a walking boot after Sunday’s game but hasn’t needed it since Monday.
About half the team is injured again. Not participating in practice Wednesday: Danario Alexander (hamstring), Josh Hull (hamstring), Bryan Kehl (sprained ankle), Lance Kendricks (sprained foot), Jerious Norwood (hamstring), Eugene Sims (shoulder) and Jason Smith (concussion). Alexander was already being considered doubtful for the Cleveland game on Monday.
Limited: C.J. Ah You (calf), Bradford, Gary Gibson (hip), STEVEN JACKSON (foot), Darell Dorell Scott (concussion), and Darian Stewart Ankle. I don’t know when Jackson even injured his foot but he isn’t expected to miss any time.
Brandon Gibson injured a quad during the Arizona game but wasn’t listed on the injury report.
And on the concussion front, Scott could be ready for contact drills soon, but Smith’s symptoms haven’t gone away enough to even permit a baseline test yet.
* Lineup changes. Word’s out that Jason Brown is going to be benched at center in favor of Tony Wragge. I don’t know why this move wasn’t made sooner. I kind of thought Brown was the only center on the roster and the Rams were stuck with him. Brown is a first-class person but unfortunately a third-class offensive lineman. He tips off his snaps. He’s good for causing the line at least one false start a game by screwing up on the snap count. He’s frequently pushed backward in the running game or making foul blocks like the one on 4th down late in the game in Arizona. He hasn’t pass-protected well, either, and blitzers have stampeded up the middle past Brown all season. I have no idea who Jim Thomas is citing when he says Brown grades out as one of the Rams’ best o-linemen this season. Brown hasn’t gotten the job done this year at all.
My ranking, for the record:
1. Harvey Dahl. Mediocre at best, though. Has not been the difference-maker it was hoped he’d be.
2. Jacob Bell makes enough good plays to be #1, but too many bad plays and stupid penalties hold him down.
3. Adam Goldberg’s off to a pretty good start at RT in place of Jason Smith.
4. Wragge.
5. Jason Smith. A mess in pass protection but he can run-block.
6. Brown.
7. Rodger Saffold. One of the worst meltdowns by a second-year player in memory.
8. Mark LeVoir. I’m stumped why he hasn’t been cut already after poor blocks on two of Sunday’s crucial plays.
Wragge’s here because he’s more of a mauler; the Rams are making a good move to give him a look.
* Transactions. The Rams cut QB Tom Brandstater when they assigned Clayton to the active roster. Salas was placed on injured reserve. LB David Nixon got his roster spot.
The Rams also dropped WR Gentleman Kris Adams from the practice squad and replaced him with WR David Gilreath. Chase Blackburn worked out here for the job that ended up going to Nixon.
The Colts waived Daniel Muir. I wonder what the chance is he’s back here soon, with the Rams running a little short at DT right now.
Former Rams receiving tryouts around the league this week included Fendi Onobun in Cincinnati and Hall Davis in Carolina. Dominique Byrd was cut after I believe a week with the Redskins.
* Miscellaneous. The Rams made NFL history in the third quarter Sunday. It was the first time in NFL history a team scored exactly 4 points in a quarter.
* Up next. The Cleveland Browns are three point favorites over the Rams Sunday, and there is little reason to bet on the Rams any time the rest of the season. My prediction is the Browns win 14-6. Josh Brown will put the Rams up 6-0 at halftime on the strength of two 50-yard FGs, but Josh Cribbs will return two punts for TDs because the Ram coaching staff is too fucking stupid to kick away from the league’s most dangerous returners. Cribbs, by the way, said in a locker room interview yesterday, “I can’t give nothing [sic] away, but they put something special in for me.” He may get a bigger offensive role this week.
-$-
* Injuries. Mark Clayton, who says he’s at 90% right now, was activated from the PUP list. The soreness he had from straining his Achilles tendon has gone away and he is slated to be the Rams’ slot receiver this Sunday in Cleveland. Not the same, sadly, for Greg Salas, whose season ended last Sunday due to a broken fibula.
Sam Bradford’s sprained ankle isn’t expected to be a problem the rest of the season. He wore a walking boot after Sunday’s game but hasn’t needed it since Monday.
About half the team is injured again. Not participating in practice Wednesday: Danario Alexander (hamstring), Josh Hull (hamstring), Bryan Kehl (sprained ankle), Lance Kendricks (sprained foot), Jerious Norwood (hamstring), Eugene Sims (shoulder) and Jason Smith (concussion). Alexander was already being considered doubtful for the Cleveland game on Monday.
Limited: C.J. Ah You (calf), Bradford, Gary Gibson (hip), STEVEN JACKSON (foot), Darell Dorell Scott (concussion), and Darian Stewart Ankle. I don’t know when Jackson even injured his foot but he isn’t expected to miss any time.
Brandon Gibson injured a quad during the Arizona game but wasn’t listed on the injury report.
And on the concussion front, Scott could be ready for contact drills soon, but Smith’s symptoms haven’t gone away enough to even permit a baseline test yet.
* Lineup changes. Word’s out that Jason Brown is going to be benched at center in favor of Tony Wragge. I don’t know why this move wasn’t made sooner. I kind of thought Brown was the only center on the roster and the Rams were stuck with him. Brown is a first-class person but unfortunately a third-class offensive lineman. He tips off his snaps. He’s good for causing the line at least one false start a game by screwing up on the snap count. He’s frequently pushed backward in the running game or making foul blocks like the one on 4th down late in the game in Arizona. He hasn’t pass-protected well, either, and blitzers have stampeded up the middle past Brown all season. I have no idea who Jim Thomas is citing when he says Brown grades out as one of the Rams’ best o-linemen this season. Brown hasn’t gotten the job done this year at all.
My ranking, for the record:
1. Harvey Dahl. Mediocre at best, though. Has not been the difference-maker it was hoped he’d be.
2. Jacob Bell makes enough good plays to be #1, but too many bad plays and stupid penalties hold him down.
3. Adam Goldberg’s off to a pretty good start at RT in place of Jason Smith.
4. Wragge.
5. Jason Smith. A mess in pass protection but he can run-block.
6. Brown.
7. Rodger Saffold. One of the worst meltdowns by a second-year player in memory.
8. Mark LeVoir. I’m stumped why he hasn’t been cut already after poor blocks on two of Sunday’s crucial plays.
Wragge’s here because he’s more of a mauler; the Rams are making a good move to give him a look.
* Transactions. The Rams cut QB Tom Brandstater when they assigned Clayton to the active roster. Salas was placed on injured reserve. LB David Nixon got his roster spot.
The Rams also dropped WR Gentleman Kris Adams from the practice squad and replaced him with WR David Gilreath. Chase Blackburn worked out here for the job that ended up going to Nixon.
The Colts waived Daniel Muir. I wonder what the chance is he’s back here soon, with the Rams running a little short at DT right now.
Former Rams receiving tryouts around the league this week included Fendi Onobun in Cincinnati and Hall Davis in Carolina. Dominique Byrd was cut after I believe a week with the Redskins.
* Miscellaneous. The Rams made NFL history in the third quarter Sunday. It was the first time in NFL history a team scored exactly 4 points in a quarter.
* Up next. The Cleveland Browns are three point favorites over the Rams Sunday, and there is little reason to bet on the Rams any time the rest of the season. My prediction is the Browns win 14-6. Josh Brown will put the Rams up 6-0 at halftime on the strength of two 50-yard FGs, but Josh Cribbs will return two punts for TDs because the Ram coaching staff is too fucking stupid to kick away from the league’s most dangerous returners. Cribbs, by the way, said in a locker room interview yesterday, “I can’t give nothing [sic] away, but they put something special in for me.” He may get a bigger offensive role this week.
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Saturday, November 5, 2011
Rams report, 11/5
Injuries
Questionable: Sam Bradford. Bradford split reps in practice with A.J. Feeley yesterday, his biggest workload since getting injured against Green Bay. Reports say he is throwing well and moving well. The Rams' primary concern is Bradford's ability to make hard plants on his injured ankle in situations where he has to run. He will be a gametime decision.
Brady Poppinga is also listed as questionable, but insists he's at full strength. Bryan Kehl is also listed as questionable after suffering a "mild" high ankle sprain in practice Thursday. There's such a thing as a "mild" high ankle sprain? Plus, he was in a walking boot yesterday. No way he's playing.
OUT for Sunday:
Danario Alexander (hamstring)
Jerious Norwood (hamstring)
Darell Dorell Scott (concussion)
Jason Smith (concussion)
Mark Clayton will NOT be activated from the PUP list this weekend. His Achilles tendon continues to be a problem. Thanks for the poor reporting on Clayton all week, local media. The information we had was that he was a full participant earlier in the week, then there was no information on him at all, much like what would happen with a player considered recovered from an injury. The Rams will have to either put Clayton on the main roster early next week or shut him down for the season. I'd suggest the latter, but then again, I only know what the local media tells me, which means I know little.
Probable: Tony Wragge.
Justin King is considered 100%. Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen.
For the Big Dead, Kevin Kolb is listed as doubtful and John Skelton is highly likely to be their QB Sunday. Kerry Rhodes and Joey Porter are out. Beanie Wells and Todd Heap are questionable.
Ex-Rams transactions
Kevin Payne had a tryout with the Lions; Eric Young bounced back onto the Chargers' roster from the PS.
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Friday, November 4, 2011
Rams report, 11/4
Injuries
Out Thursday:
Danario Alexander and Jerious Norwood re-aggravated hamstring injuries.
Jason Smith and Darell Dorell Scott remain out with concussion symptoms.
Sam Bradford (ankle) did some individual work and threw in 7-on-7 drills. Nick Wagner reported he looked sharp and threw well, and still has a chance of starting against Arizona.
Limited:
Bryan Kehl (ankle), Brady Poppinga (calf), Tony Wragge (knee)
There was some confusion yesterday on Mark Clayton. One local report listed him as a full participant, another said he was limited. He was not on the Thursday injury report at all, however. Either he’s good to go now or there’s a significant piece of information I’m missing.
Big Dead:
Kevin Kolb (toe) was still in a walking boot yesterday. Looking more and more like John Skelton will start for them. Rob Housler and Kerry Rhodes have also sat out the last two days. Beanie Wells was upgraded to limited. Also limited yesterday: Todd Heap, Joey Porter, LaRod Stephens-Howling.
Transactions
Naturally, the minute I start relying on ProFootballWeekly.com for transactions, they become completely unreliable like every other source I’ve tried. Or else there were no transactions anywhere in the league the last two days.
Actually, I know a couple that affected ex-Rams:
- The Raiders put Chris Johnson on season-ending IR for a hamstring pull.
- And it’s been a season to forget for Mike Sims-Walker. After getting cut after an ineffective 11-catch stint here in St. Louis, he was even worse with the Jagwires. He had just 1 catch for 11 yards in 2 games before being IR’ed for an unspecified knee injury. He’s having surgery next week. He also recently had to have a tooth pulled. I know getting MSW lined up correctly before the snap here was like pulling teeth, but that’s ridiculous.
-$-
Out Thursday:
Danario Alexander and Jerious Norwood re-aggravated hamstring injuries.
Jason Smith and Darell Dorell Scott remain out with concussion symptoms.
Sam Bradford (ankle) did some individual work and threw in 7-on-7 drills. Nick Wagner reported he looked sharp and threw well, and still has a chance of starting against Arizona.
Limited:
Bryan Kehl (ankle), Brady Poppinga (calf), Tony Wragge (knee)
There was some confusion yesterday on Mark Clayton. One local report listed him as a full participant, another said he was limited. He was not on the Thursday injury report at all, however. Either he’s good to go now or there’s a significant piece of information I’m missing.
Big Dead:
Kevin Kolb (toe) was still in a walking boot yesterday. Looking more and more like John Skelton will start for them. Rob Housler and Kerry Rhodes have also sat out the last two days. Beanie Wells was upgraded to limited. Also limited yesterday: Todd Heap, Joey Porter, LaRod Stephens-Howling.
Transactions
Naturally, the minute I start relying on ProFootballWeekly.com for transactions, they become completely unreliable like every other source I’ve tried. Or else there were no transactions anywhere in the league the last two days.
Actually, I know a couple that affected ex-Rams:
- The Raiders put Chris Johnson on season-ending IR for a hamstring pull.
- And it’s been a season to forget for Mike Sims-Walker. After getting cut after an ineffective 11-catch stint here in St. Louis, he was even worse with the Jagwires. He had just 1 catch for 11 yards in 2 games before being IR’ed for an unspecified knee injury. He’s having surgery next week. He also recently had to have a tooth pulled. I know getting MSW lined up correctly before the snap here was like pulling teeth, but that’s ridiculous.
-$-
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Rams report, 11/3
Injuries
Limited practice participants: Danario Alexander, Mark Clayton, Brady Poppinga, Tony Wragge.
Full practice participants: Jerious Norwood, Justin King.
King says he's 100 percent sure he's playing this week. Really? Because I'd keep starting Josh Gordy if it were my choice. Almost any other Rams DB of the last 5 years would have kept his back to the play and let Devery Henderson catch that ball late in the first half Sunday. Gordy GOT HIS HEAD TURNED and picked it off. The Rams should keep their best playmakers on the field.
Out: Jason Smith and Darell Dorell Scott with concussions. Both are still experiencing post-concussion symptoms so they're not even to where they would be tested to be cleared for action.
Sam Bradford was on the practice field with the rest of the team Wednesday, but only walked through some plays. He is making progress with the ankle injury and is now wearing a small brace. Seems pretty doubtful he'll be ready for Arizona, though.
Big Dead report
Kevin Kolb and Beanie Wells both sat out Wednesday's practice.
Transactions
all ex-Rams related:
Jonathan Wade signed by Miami.
Fendi Onobun, Derek Schouman and Travon Bellamy all tried out with Washington.
Jonathan Nelson tried out with New Orleans.
David Nixon tried out with Houston.
Miscellaneous
Robert Quinn's blocked punt against the Saints was enough to get him named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Steven Jackson and Chris Long were runners-up for offensive and defensive player of the week honors.
-$-
Limited practice participants: Danario Alexander, Mark Clayton, Brady Poppinga, Tony Wragge.
Full practice participants: Jerious Norwood, Justin King.
King says he's 100 percent sure he's playing this week. Really? Because I'd keep starting Josh Gordy if it were my choice. Almost any other Rams DB of the last 5 years would have kept his back to the play and let Devery Henderson catch that ball late in the first half Sunday. Gordy GOT HIS HEAD TURNED and picked it off. The Rams should keep their best playmakers on the field.
Out: Jason Smith and Darell Dorell Scott with concussions. Both are still experiencing post-concussion symptoms so they're not even to where they would be tested to be cleared for action.
Sam Bradford was on the practice field with the rest of the team Wednesday, but only walked through some plays. He is making progress with the ankle injury and is now wearing a small brace. Seems pretty doubtful he'll be ready for Arizona, though.
Big Dead report
Kevin Kolb and Beanie Wells both sat out Wednesday's practice.
Transactions
all ex-Rams related:
Jonathan Wade signed by Miami.
Fendi Onobun, Derek Schouman and Travon Bellamy all tried out with Washington.
Jonathan Nelson tried out with New Orleans.
David Nixon tried out with Houston.
Miscellaneous
Robert Quinn's blocked punt against the Saints was enough to get him named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Steven Jackson and Chris Long were runners-up for offensive and defensive player of the week honors.
-$-
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Rams rankings, 11/1
Where the Rams stand in the NFL after seven games…
Offense
Scoring (per game): 31st. Jagwires now in last. I’m also pleased to announce there is now no player in the NFL outscoring the Rams by himself.
Total yards: 28th
Passing
Yards: 26th
Team passer rating: 29th
Sacks: 31st with 27, tied with Miami. Seattle in last with 28.
Interceptions: Alone in 2nd place (3).
TDs: Still DEAD LAST (4).
Yards per attempt: 30th.
Rushing
Yards: 20th
Per carry: 9th (4.5)
TDs: Steven Jackson’s 2 TDs against the Saints leaped the Rams into 19th place from dead last.
Passing offense treaded water or lost ground this week, but the rushing game leaped up the charts.
Individual offense
Steven Jackson: leaped all the way up to 16th in the league from 28th, with 449 yards. He ranks 14th in yards per game. He’s unofficially 5th in yards per carry among running backs with a significant amount of carries.
Receiving: The NFL officially lists Greg Salas, with 20 receptions, as the Rams’ leading receiver. That’s 95th in the league (tied with Randy McMichael). But c’mon, man. Brandon Lloyd has 31 catches, good enough for 28th. Project him out at his Rams pace of 6 catches per game, though, and that 42 would be good for 7th in the league. Danario Alexander still has the most receiving yards as a Ram this year with 296, only good now for 76th in the league. But Lloyd’s combined 410 would make him 32nd, 22nd if you project out his Rams yardage per game.
Defense
Scoring (per game): 30th, passing up Denver this week.
Total yards: also 30th
Rushing: still DEAD LAST. They have closed to within 25.6 yards/game of 31st. The Rams put the Saints at the bottom of the league in yards per rush, and are now tied with the – Lions? And – Bears? For 31st. The Lions give up 5.2 a carry? Ndamukong Who?
Passing:
Yards: 15th
Per attempt: 16th
Completion %: 9th
Passer rating: 25th. Moved up from last week despite facing Drew Brees.
Sacks: Sunday’s performance leaped the Rams all the way up to 16th from 26th, with 17 sacks. Yes, they are now ahead of Jared Allen.
Interceptions: 21st
Chris Long leaps all the way back into the top ten in the league in sacks, 8th place with 6.
Miscellaneous
Penalties: 23rd
False starts: 2nd most in league, 18 (Chicago 1st with 20)
Turnover ratio: 17th (-1)
-$-
Rams update, 11/1
Let’s start with a significant helping of crow. The Rams did not lose 45-7 this week as I basically predicted; instead, they pulled off the upset of the season over the Saints, 31-21. (RamView) Congratulations to the whole team for ending that awful slump.
Another helping, please. Dominique Curry was possibly the Rams’ special teams player of the week. He was in on two tackles on kickoffs that kept Darren Sproles behind the 20. Sproles was not a factor at all on returns.
And Stephen Spach was even active Sunday! Second time all season. He’ll be passing Jerious Norwood soon at this rate.
Rams-Cardinals betting line for this Sunday is currently off the board due not just to Bradford’s status, but also Kevin Kolb’s. He’s got a badly-bruised toe and isn’t a sure thing to start for Arizona.
Injury report
* Sam Bradford (high left ankle sprain) is out of the walking boot, still considered day-to-day by head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Right now it sounds like he’s at least 50-50 to start against Arizona.
* Lots of boots made for walking around Rams Park. Mark Clayton (sore Achilles tendon) was in one over the weekend. He’s out of it now, but sounds doubtful for practice Wednesday.
* Darell Dorell Scott and Jason Smith (concussions) will continue to sit out Wednesday.
* Danario Alexander (hamstring) is expected to be back on a limited basis. Also limited: Jerious Norwood (hamstring) and Brady Poppinga (calf).
* Tony Wragge hyperextended a knee during the Saints game. I didn’t even know he was in the game! Not expected to miss time.
* Greg Salas got a minor ankle injury Sunday. Just sore.
* Justin King was very close to being active Sunday but the decision was to play it safe with his groin injury. He's full-go for Wednesday.
Transaction report
When Marquis Johnson was activated for the Saints game, the Rams put DB Brian Jackson on injured reserve. He’s the EIGHTH defensive back to be on the Rams’ IR or PUP list this year. Unless I lost count.
Ex-Ram watch: Continuing their bouncy practice squad careers, Mortty Ivy moved up to Pittsburgh’s main roster, while Eric Young was cut again by San Diego.
-$-
Another helping, please. Dominique Curry was possibly the Rams’ special teams player of the week. He was in on two tackles on kickoffs that kept Darren Sproles behind the 20. Sproles was not a factor at all on returns.
And Stephen Spach was even active Sunday! Second time all season. He’ll be passing Jerious Norwood soon at this rate.
Rams-Cardinals betting line for this Sunday is currently off the board due not just to Bradford’s status, but also Kevin Kolb’s. He’s got a badly-bruised toe and isn’t a sure thing to start for Arizona.
Injury report
* Sam Bradford (high left ankle sprain) is out of the walking boot, still considered day-to-day by head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Right now it sounds like he’s at least 50-50 to start against Arizona.
* Lots of boots made for walking around Rams Park. Mark Clayton (sore Achilles tendon) was in one over the weekend. He’s out of it now, but sounds doubtful for practice Wednesday.
* Darell Dorell Scott and Jason Smith (concussions) will continue to sit out Wednesday.
* Danario Alexander (hamstring) is expected to be back on a limited basis. Also limited: Jerious Norwood (hamstring) and Brady Poppinga (calf).
* Tony Wragge hyperextended a knee during the Saints game. I didn’t even know he was in the game! Not expected to miss time.
* Greg Salas got a minor ankle injury Sunday. Just sore.
* Justin King was very close to being active Sunday but the decision was to play it safe with his groin injury. He's full-go for Wednesday.
Transaction report
When Marquis Johnson was activated for the Saints game, the Rams put DB Brian Jackson on injured reserve. He’s the EIGHTH defensive back to be on the Rams’ IR or PUP list this year. Unless I lost count.
Ex-Ram watch: Continuing their bouncy practice squad careers, Mortty Ivy moved up to Pittsburgh’s main roster, while Eric Young was cut again by San Diego.
-$-
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