Not that much going on today, I'll just pass on a few links and short notes...
Rams play the Chiefs tonight, kickoff at 6 p.m. I'm shooting to have RamView out no later than noon Friday. Trent Green will start at QB; expect very few regulars on the field, if any. Curse Scott Linehan for not taking the Governor's Cup seriously!!!?!?!!
Bunch o' links:
- Dante Hall doesn't take the Governor's Cup seriously, either. And this will be his ninth one!!! Bill Coats
- The Rams are comfortable with Adam Goldberg at LT if Orlando Pace can't play. Coats article
- Post-Dispatch writers make their NFL predictions for 2008. No one picked New England to even go to the Super Bowl?
- stlouisrams.com previews the Governor's Cup game. More previews: Nick Wagoner Steve Korte
- Howard Balzer goes back over the cap implications of cutting Drew Bennett. Still sounds good to me.
- John Clayton: Kurt Warner proves he has a future.
- Around the league: Shawn Merriman's skipping surgery.
- Big injury news: Jeff Saturday out six weeks for the Colts.
More here if anything actually happens.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Update: Rams report, 8/27
* Update: Trent Green will start at QB tomorrow night. Marc Bulger will not play. It is highly doubtful that Steven Jackson will play, though it apparently hasn't been completely ruled out. The Rams would have to cut a player to have Jackson available for the game.
* Oh dear. From Bill Coats this morning:
"Will Witherspoon's groin injury is worse than first thought and is causing some concern in the Rams' camp." Witherspoon is out for tomorrow night's game in KC, which is no big deal, but the Rams are sunk if he can't play in the season opener.
SUNK.
* Cuts. Cut yesterday to get the team to the 75-man roster limit:
- RB Lavarus Giles, who I doubt was here long enough to learn any plays;
- PK Justin Medlock;
- WR Shaine Smith.
The Rams also placed Justin King on injured reserve. They will have to cut 23 players, not 22, to get to the 53-man roster limit on August 30, because they've got a roster exemption for Steven Jackson.
* Keep dreaming. Those of us hoping the Rams would use a surprise cut and dump Drew Bennett, whose picture is next to the dictionary entry for "underachieving", can stop holding our breath. Scott Linehan says Drew's "..holding himself accountable to a very high standard, and he will play good football for us."
In other words: Signing the guy was my idea and we're not cutting him not matter how much he sucks, which even I realize is a lot.
* Oh dear. From Bill Coats this morning:
"Will Witherspoon's groin injury is worse than first thought and is causing some concern in the Rams' camp." Witherspoon is out for tomorrow night's game in KC, which is no big deal, but the Rams are sunk if he can't play in the season opener.
SUNK.
* Cuts. Cut yesterday to get the team to the 75-man roster limit:
- RB Lavarus Giles, who I doubt was here long enough to learn any plays;
- PK Justin Medlock;
- WR Shaine Smith.
The Rams also placed Justin King on injured reserve. They will have to cut 23 players, not 22, to get to the 53-man roster limit on August 30, because they've got a roster exemption for Steven Jackson.
* Keep dreaming. Those of us hoping the Rams would use a surprise cut and dump Drew Bennett, whose picture is next to the dictionary entry for "underachieving", can stop holding our breath. Scott Linehan says Drew's "..holding himself accountable to a very high standard, and he will play good football for us."
In other words: Signing the guy was my idea and we're not cutting him not matter how much he sucks, which even I realize is a lot.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Rams report, 8/26
* Perhaps the best news of camp so far is that OJ Atogwe is finally back on the practice field. Nick Wagoner blog He'll only get two practices in before the Chiefs game Saturday, so he's unlikely to appear there. That's OK; September 7 is the important deadline now.
More good news: Orlando Pace is practicing again.
I wouldn't expect to see Steven Jackson on the field at Kansas City. The Rams got an exemption so he doesn't count against the roster unless he plays. So to see him on Thursday, they'll have to cut someone else. (I have a great idea below).
Fakhir Brown's expected back next week. Also out: Dante Hall (ankle), Drew Bennett (useless waste of money).
And - (GULP) - Will Witherspoon (groin). When did this happen? The Rams are f*cked without Witherspoon.
* Speaking of Bennett - cut him! Howard Balzer makes the case today that the Rams should cut their losses and cut Drew Bennett, who's rivalling the Road Grader for worst free-agent pickup of the St. Louis era. I'd never thought it an option just because of the man's huge contract, but Balzer points out cutting him now would only cost an extra half-million against the cap next year.
Knowing those numbers, the Rams should consider cutting Bennett today to help them get down to 75 players. Bennett has been completely useless. He has poor hands. He won't fight for catches. He doesn't use his height to win contested passes. He doesn't stretch the field, and he has not been the red zone weapon the Rams thought they were getting when they signed him. He is CONSTANTLY injured, including right now with a groin pull suffered Saturday night. And did you notice what happened once Bennett was off the field against Baltimore? The Rams' passing offense started clicking!
If you're not looking at his salary, just judging off his demonstrated "talent", -Bennett- would be the one fighting for WR6 with Derek Stanley and the others, not Dane Looker. Looker and Dante Hall aren't tall multi-millionaires, but they're better receivers than Bennett. Rookies Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery stepped up Saturday night and gave the Ram offense a jolt Bennett has never offered. Stanley's not tall, and didn't cost a lot to sign, either. But he can at least return punts.
Cut Drew Bennett.
* LeCharles Bentley in town. The former Saints, then Browns center, who never actually got to play for Cleveland due to injuries, reportedly visited Rams Park yesterday. Jim Thomas article This is an odd-looking move by the Rams, where center hasn't looked like a need area, thanks to the preseason play of Nick Leckey and the past play of Brett Romberg, who'd be the starter if not for a broken hand. And Richie Incognito can play there in an emergency. If the Rams feel there's an immediate need to upgrade at center, how is someone who's been out injured two seasons and hasn't taken a snap in the Rams' system going to help? Bentley was one of the league's top centers before injuries hit, but it's hard to see him as a quick upgrade at center for the Rams.
More good news: Orlando Pace is practicing again.
I wouldn't expect to see Steven Jackson on the field at Kansas City. The Rams got an exemption so he doesn't count against the roster unless he plays. So to see him on Thursday, they'll have to cut someone else. (I have a great idea below).
Fakhir Brown's expected back next week. Also out: Dante Hall (ankle), Drew Bennett (useless waste of money).
And - (GULP) - Will Witherspoon (groin). When did this happen? The Rams are f*cked without Witherspoon.
* Speaking of Bennett - cut him! Howard Balzer makes the case today that the Rams should cut their losses and cut Drew Bennett, who's rivalling the Road Grader for worst free-agent pickup of the St. Louis era. I'd never thought it an option just because of the man's huge contract, but Balzer points out cutting him now would only cost an extra half-million against the cap next year.
Knowing those numbers, the Rams should consider cutting Bennett today to help them get down to 75 players. Bennett has been completely useless. He has poor hands. He won't fight for catches. He doesn't use his height to win contested passes. He doesn't stretch the field, and he has not been the red zone weapon the Rams thought they were getting when they signed him. He is CONSTANTLY injured, including right now with a groin pull suffered Saturday night. And did you notice what happened once Bennett was off the field against Baltimore? The Rams' passing offense started clicking!
If you're not looking at his salary, just judging off his demonstrated "talent", -Bennett- would be the one fighting for WR6 with Derek Stanley and the others, not Dane Looker. Looker and Dante Hall aren't tall multi-millionaires, but they're better receivers than Bennett. Rookies Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery stepped up Saturday night and gave the Ram offense a jolt Bennett has never offered. Stanley's not tall, and didn't cost a lot to sign, either. But he can at least return punts.
Cut Drew Bennett.
* LeCharles Bentley in town. The former Saints, then Browns center, who never actually got to play for Cleveland due to injuries, reportedly visited Rams Park yesterday. Jim Thomas article This is an odd-looking move by the Rams, where center hasn't looked like a need area, thanks to the preseason play of Nick Leckey and the past play of Brett Romberg, who'd be the starter if not for a broken hand. And Richie Incognito can play there in an emergency. If the Rams feel there's an immediate need to upgrade at center, how is someone who's been out injured two seasons and hasn't taken a snap in the Rams' system going to help? Bentley was one of the league's top centers before injuries hit, but it's hard to see him as a quick upgrade at center for the Rams.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Rams report. 8/25
Good effort by the Rams in their 24-10 win over Baltimore Saturday night. RamView
After that disaster of a game in Tennessee, they've bounced back to where I'd say they're playing better now than they were at this time last preseason. If that means much considering the slaughterhouse of an early-season schedule they have, I don't know, but at least Scott Linehan worked the starters more than last preseason, and the results are apparent.
The Rams look as ready as they're going to be.
* Injury report. Just about all of Rams Nation sees Drew Bennett's groin injury Saturday night as a blessing in disguise. It got the young receivers on the field, and Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery shone, looking well-acquainted with Marc Bulger and the Ram offense.
The injury also gets Bennett off the field, which is another good thing in itself.
- Dante Hall sprained an ankle on a punt return, but we don't yet have an idea of the severity of the injury. Or maybe we do; Linehan said it was not as bad as his injury last year, and we all know the coach is a big fat liar about injuries.
- Mark Setterstrom made it through waivers and is on the Rams' injured reserve list.
* Stuff I missed in RamView.
- Donnie Jones' average was low because the Ravens blocked a punt in the first and it traveled forward 11 yards. I completely forgot about that blocked punt in the special teams rundown.
Oh great, another reason to worry about special teams.
Justin Medlock also sent a kickoff out of bounds, but I left that out because he barely missed sending it into the endzone, or even killing it inside the 5; and if Yamon Figurs had returned it, he would have gotten to the 40 anyway.
* Around the league. Kurt Warner has been named the Big Dead's starting QB after Matt Leinart's disastrous 3-interception performance against the Raiders.
Unfortunately, Leinart at QB gives the Rams their only chance of beating the Big Dead these days, so I'm expecting another fucking Arizona season sweep and getting ripped at home fucking AGAIN.
After that disaster of a game in Tennessee, they've bounced back to where I'd say they're playing better now than they were at this time last preseason. If that means much considering the slaughterhouse of an early-season schedule they have, I don't know, but at least Scott Linehan worked the starters more than last preseason, and the results are apparent.
The Rams look as ready as they're going to be.
* Injury report. Just about all of Rams Nation sees Drew Bennett's groin injury Saturday night as a blessing in disguise. It got the young receivers on the field, and Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery shone, looking well-acquainted with Marc Bulger and the Ram offense.
The injury also gets Bennett off the field, which is another good thing in itself.
- Dante Hall sprained an ankle on a punt return, but we don't yet have an idea of the severity of the injury. Or maybe we do; Linehan said it was not as bad as his injury last year, and we all know the coach is a big fat liar about injuries.
- Mark Setterstrom made it through waivers and is on the Rams' injured reserve list.
* Stuff I missed in RamView.
- Donnie Jones' average was low because the Ravens blocked a punt in the first and it traveled forward 11 yards. I completely forgot about that blocked punt in the special teams rundown.
Oh great, another reason to worry about special teams.
Justin Medlock also sent a kickoff out of bounds, but I left that out because he barely missed sending it into the endzone, or even killing it inside the 5; and if Yamon Figurs had returned it, he would have gotten to the 40 anyway.
* Around the league. Kurt Warner has been named the Big Dead's starting QB after Matt Leinart's disastrous 3-interception performance against the Raiders.
Unfortunately, Leinart at QB gives the Rams their only chance of beating the Big Dead these days, so I'm expecting another fucking Arizona season sweep and getting ripped at home fucking AGAIN.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Rams report, 8/22
* Pace's shoulder RE-injured. (stltoday/Bill Coats) Orlando Pace has been sitting out because he landed on it hard trying to make a tackle after one of Marc Bulger's interceptions last Saturday. The shoulder swelled up and restricted the range of motion of his arm.
Pace's status for tomorrow night's game against Baltimore is uncertain. I'd prefer he not play, myself.
Also, since Scott Linehan told the press all week that Pace just had lingering soreness from the Charger game, is there any reason to EVER believe him about a player's injury status again?
* Setterstrom waived. (stlouisrams/Nick Wagoner) Yes, waived, as in waived/injured, to make room for Steven Jackson on the 80-man roster. He has to be put on waivers because he hasn't been in the league long enough. Assuming no other team claims him, he will go on the Rams' IR. This seems like a stupid risk on the Rams' part, if they really want to keep Setterstrom in the first place. They could have held onto him a few more days and moved him to the IR during the roster cutdown phase, like they'll have to do with Justin King. With 11 wide receivers on the roster right now, it certainly seems as though one of them could have been cut to keep Setterstrom on the 80-man until cutdown day on Tuesday. How many snaps do they really think, say, Shaine Smith, is in line for Saturday night? Or Matt Caddell? Or Brandon Williams? I don't think he's even eligible for the practice squad.
And an apparent clarification on Brandon Gorin: he is already listed on the Rams' website on injured reserve. He's got the seniority (7 years) to not have to clear waivers first.
* Jackson contract. (stltoday/Jim Thomas) I've already seen different descriptions of the terms of Steven Jackson's contract, so I went to Jim Thomas' article for confirmation. It is a six year deal worth up to $44 million (original report was 50). The final two years may void out based on performance, which would turn it into a 4-year, $30 million deal. $20 million is guaranteed and Jackson received an $11 million signing bonus. (Minus a $405,000 fine, I trust.)
Linehan lost more points yesterday when he told the press, when asked about Jackson's contract negotiations, "It never once felt like it wasn't going to get done and get done in time and it's all behind us now."
DONE IN TIME? So Linehan didn't notice Jackson missed 27 days of camp, two preseason games, and EVERY TRAINING CAMP practice?
DONE IN TIME?
Jeez.
* Gene Upshaw 1945-2008. The Hall-of-Famer and players' union representative passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer yesterday. NFLPA has named Richard Berthelsen as an interim successor, but, as Georgia Frontiere's passing seems to be marking a turning point for the Rams' future, Upshaw's passing may well be a turning point in the future of the relationship between players and owners. With Upshaw gone, the players' union is far more likely to dig in its heels when the owners try to make back some of the concessions they made in the last contract. That increases the possibility of hitting the 2010 season with no salary cap. And it'll all blow up from there.
One hopes the players will remember that Gene Upshaw helped make them very, very rich. One hopes the owners will remember that Gene Upshaw helped them stay very, very, rich. One hopes football players and owners are smart enough not to repeat the near-fatal mistakes of MLB and the NHL. One hopes negotiations will always be held with Upshaw's legacy in mind and that there will be long-time player/owner harmony in the NFL.
One hopes.
One assumes I'll be looking for new stuff to keep me busy in the fall of 2011. Madden Football, anyone?
Pace's status for tomorrow night's game against Baltimore is uncertain. I'd prefer he not play, myself.
Also, since Scott Linehan told the press all week that Pace just had lingering soreness from the Charger game, is there any reason to EVER believe him about a player's injury status again?
* Setterstrom waived. (stlouisrams/Nick Wagoner) Yes, waived, as in waived/injured, to make room for Steven Jackson on the 80-man roster. He has to be put on waivers because he hasn't been in the league long enough. Assuming no other team claims him, he will go on the Rams' IR. This seems like a stupid risk on the Rams' part, if they really want to keep Setterstrom in the first place. They could have held onto him a few more days and moved him to the IR during the roster cutdown phase, like they'll have to do with Justin King. With 11 wide receivers on the roster right now, it certainly seems as though one of them could have been cut to keep Setterstrom on the 80-man until cutdown day on Tuesday. How many snaps do they really think, say, Shaine Smith, is in line for Saturday night? Or Matt Caddell? Or Brandon Williams? I don't think he's even eligible for the practice squad.
And an apparent clarification on Brandon Gorin: he is already listed on the Rams' website on injured reserve. He's got the seniority (7 years) to not have to clear waivers first.
* Jackson contract. (stltoday/Jim Thomas) I've already seen different descriptions of the terms of Steven Jackson's contract, so I went to Jim Thomas' article for confirmation. It is a six year deal worth up to $44 million (original report was 50). The final two years may void out based on performance, which would turn it into a 4-year, $30 million deal. $20 million is guaranteed and Jackson received an $11 million signing bonus. (Minus a $405,000 fine, I trust.)
Linehan lost more points yesterday when he told the press, when asked about Jackson's contract negotiations, "It never once felt like it wasn't going to get done and get done in time and it's all behind us now."
DONE IN TIME? So Linehan didn't notice Jackson missed 27 days of camp, two preseason games, and EVERY TRAINING CAMP practice?
DONE IN TIME?
Jeez.
* Gene Upshaw 1945-2008. The Hall-of-Famer and players' union representative passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer yesterday. NFLPA has named Richard Berthelsen as an interim successor, but, as Georgia Frontiere's passing seems to be marking a turning point for the Rams' future, Upshaw's passing may well be a turning point in the future of the relationship between players and owners. With Upshaw gone, the players' union is far more likely to dig in its heels when the owners try to make back some of the concessions they made in the last contract. That increases the possibility of hitting the 2010 season with no salary cap. And it'll all blow up from there.
One hopes the players will remember that Gene Upshaw helped make them very, very rich. One hopes the owners will remember that Gene Upshaw helped them stay very, very, rich. One hopes football players and owners are smart enough not to repeat the near-fatal mistakes of MLB and the NHL. One hopes negotiations will always be held with Upshaw's legacy in mind and that there will be long-time player/owner harmony in the NFL.
One hopes.
One assumes I'll be looking for new stuff to keep me busy in the fall of 2011. Madden Football, anyone?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
UPDATE: Rams report, 8/21
UPDATE: STEVEN JACKSON SIGNS 6-YEAR DEAL...
(stltoday.com)
* Jackson's back. Well, Steven Jackson has finally chosen to grace us with his presence at Rams camp. He will arrive in town today for a physical and is expected to practice, though his appearance in either of the remaining preseason games is doubtful.
Great. I'm expecting multiple fumbles like the season opener against Carolina, then.
Jackson may even have a new contract shortly, in the 7-year, $50 million, $17 million guaranteed range, pretty much what he was offered BEFORE HE STARTED HIS HOLDOUT.
My analysis of the contract is that it's good for everyone concerned. I still think the Rams are getting Jackson on the cheap for just over $7 mil a year. Jackson will get his money up front, while the Rams don't figure to be on the hook for a lot of money toward the end of the contract. (I say that because all reports make it sound really front-loaded.) The Rams have done Jackson a solid with a long-term, megabucks contract; now he owes them play that lives up to the potential he showed in 2006.
How will Jackson be received by Rams fans? Well, we won't get a chance to greet him in the preseason, so my recommendation to him is to have a bulletproof game in Philadelphia Week 1 and give the Giants plenty to think about in Week 2. Fans have very short memories in the face of a couple hundred yards and 2-3 TDs.
* Injury report.
- Orlando Pace sat out for the third consecutive day. Gulp. He is questionable for Saturday night's game. Gulp.
Supposedly he would play if this were the regular season. We'll see. I am still very leery about this whole situation.
- OJ Atogwe is still out. Gulp.
- Donnie Avery, though, will play Saturday night.
* Upcoming roster moves. Mark Setterstrom and Justin King will go to IR officially on Tuesday when the first, and fairly pointless, roster cutdown is made. It seems like Brandon Gorin should go IR as well. And of course, the Rams will add Jackson back to the roster. So the way I see it, there'll be just 3 guys who have to be cut to get the roster down to 75.
* The Ravens game will be aired live on local TV. The Rams used a couple of accounting tricks to get the game to be considered a sellout. Since I want to records as many home games as possible, I encourage all the creative accounting the front office can muster throughout the regular season. Bill Coats article
(stltoday.com)
* Jackson's back. Well, Steven Jackson has finally chosen to grace us with his presence at Rams camp. He will arrive in town today for a physical and is expected to practice, though his appearance in either of the remaining preseason games is doubtful.
Great. I'm expecting multiple fumbles like the season opener against Carolina, then.
Jackson may even have a new contract shortly, in the 7-year, $50 million, $17 million guaranteed range, pretty much what he was offered BEFORE HE STARTED HIS HOLDOUT.
My analysis of the contract is that it's good for everyone concerned. I still think the Rams are getting Jackson on the cheap for just over $7 mil a year. Jackson will get his money up front, while the Rams don't figure to be on the hook for a lot of money toward the end of the contract. (I say that because all reports make it sound really front-loaded.) The Rams have done Jackson a solid with a long-term, megabucks contract; now he owes them play that lives up to the potential he showed in 2006.
How will Jackson be received by Rams fans? Well, we won't get a chance to greet him in the preseason, so my recommendation to him is to have a bulletproof game in Philadelphia Week 1 and give the Giants plenty to think about in Week 2. Fans have very short memories in the face of a couple hundred yards and 2-3 TDs.
* Injury report.
- Orlando Pace sat out for the third consecutive day. Gulp. He is questionable for Saturday night's game. Gulp.
Supposedly he would play if this were the regular season. We'll see. I am still very leery about this whole situation.
- OJ Atogwe is still out. Gulp.
- Donnie Avery, though, will play Saturday night.
* Upcoming roster moves. Mark Setterstrom and Justin King will go to IR officially on Tuesday when the first, and fairly pointless, roster cutdown is made. It seems like Brandon Gorin should go IR as well. And of course, the Rams will add Jackson back to the roster. So the way I see it, there'll be just 3 guys who have to be cut to get the roster down to 75.
* The Ravens game will be aired live on local TV. The Rams used a couple of accounting tricks to get the game to be considered a sellout. Since I want to records as many home games as possible, I encourage all the creative accounting the front office can muster throughout the regular season. Bill Coats article
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
JACKSON ENDING HOLDOUT
Bernie Miklasz is reporting that Steven Jackson will end his holdout and practice with the team tomorrow. A long-term deal is expected to be done soon; the two sides are very close.
Yeah, I think they've been close since the beginning of training camp. I guess Steven's fine finally had to pass what the President makes in a year to get him back in the fold.
Welcome back. You idiot.
Yeah, I think they've been close since the beginning of training camp. I guess Steven's fine finally had to pass what the President makes in a year to get him back in the fold.
Welcome back. You idiot.
Rams report, 8/20
* Injury worries. There aren't any new major injuries to report, but there are a couple of very high-profile injury situations that really threaten to throw the Rams into a quagmire on both sides of the ball.
Questions are being raised over Orlando Pace's physical condition. He sat out practice for the second straight day Tuesday, which observers believe is a signal that something's going on with Pace. Scott Linehan says not to worry; Pace is actually ahead of schedule. Howard Balzer blog
Pace looked a lot better play-to-play against San Diego than he did against Tennessee, but he gave up a sack, and more importantly, seems to be taking a long time to recover from one half of play. The Rams need him, but they must not rush him, either. Pace deserves all the credit in the world for giving this a go, but he and everyone involved here have to be smart enough to know if shutting Pace down for a while is for the best, and if it is, to do it. Don't end his career rushing him back. Seems like they could I.R. him and bring him back week 6. Assuming he's 100% by then, I'd rather do that and chance it with Adam Goldberg for 6 games than try to force Pace into playing.
On the defensive side, OJ Atogwe STILL isn't practicing due to a hamstring injury from the beginning of training camp. This injury is really flying under the radar around here, but Rams fans ought to be sweating it. Atogwe is a Pro Bowl-level player in the Ram secondary, and they're not going to function well without him.
The Rams are getting along fine so far in the secondary, mainly because they're not, and won't be, tested this preseason. Tennessee has no wide receivers. San Diego played its second string. Kyle Boller is still in the thick of Baltimore's QB competition - need I say more there? And though he's improving, KC's Brodie Croyle is still a major work in progress, and being as the Chiefs game will be week 4, starters on the field may be few and far between anyway. Put differently, the stakes go way, way up September 7th in Philadelphia.
With all the time he's missed - basically as much as Steven Jackson - don't we have to consider we're bordering on a lost season for one of our best defensive players? Atogwe will need time to get back into shape once he ever returns, won't he? (I say "ever" recalling Isaac Bruce's hamstrings in 1998.) Meanwhile, most camp accounts say that Todd Johnson is a major dropoff at free safety.
Atogwe's absence is as big a deal on defense as Pace's would be on offense.
If it weren't for bad injury luck, the Rams would have no injury luck at all these days.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 27. Today's a landmark day in the Jackson holdout - his total current fine now exceeds $400,000, or the annual salary of the President of the United States. Howard Balzer reports Jackson is shopping around for a new agent because he expected Parker to go to Mequon and negotiate with Jay Zygmunt, and is angry with him because he didn't.
OK, Steven, the Rams' request was for YOU to be in camp for negotiations to re-open, not your agent?
Anybody just lose a lot of confidence in how quickly Jackson will learn the new playbook when and if he ever shows up?
Oh, and in real great personal news, I'm picking 10th, as in last, in my FFL this year. Currently showing up in the 10th pick neighborhood in various FFL projections?
Steven Jackson.
* Rams add a new RB.
- Lavarus Giles, previously in camp with the Jagwires, a 6'1" 220-lb player out of Jackson State. With dumbass, er, Jackson, still holding out, and Brian Leonard hurt, Giles has a shot at getting a number of carries Saturday night. Maybe I'll even spell his first name right in RamView.
Questions are being raised over Orlando Pace's physical condition. He sat out practice for the second straight day Tuesday, which observers believe is a signal that something's going on with Pace. Scott Linehan says not to worry; Pace is actually ahead of schedule. Howard Balzer blog
Pace looked a lot better play-to-play against San Diego than he did against Tennessee, but he gave up a sack, and more importantly, seems to be taking a long time to recover from one half of play. The Rams need him, but they must not rush him, either. Pace deserves all the credit in the world for giving this a go, but he and everyone involved here have to be smart enough to know if shutting Pace down for a while is for the best, and if it is, to do it. Don't end his career rushing him back. Seems like they could I.R. him and bring him back week 6. Assuming he's 100% by then, I'd rather do that and chance it with Adam Goldberg for 6 games than try to force Pace into playing.
On the defensive side, OJ Atogwe STILL isn't practicing due to a hamstring injury from the beginning of training camp. This injury is really flying under the radar around here, but Rams fans ought to be sweating it. Atogwe is a Pro Bowl-level player in the Ram secondary, and they're not going to function well without him.
The Rams are getting along fine so far in the secondary, mainly because they're not, and won't be, tested this preseason. Tennessee has no wide receivers. San Diego played its second string. Kyle Boller is still in the thick of Baltimore's QB competition - need I say more there? And though he's improving, KC's Brodie Croyle is still a major work in progress, and being as the Chiefs game will be week 4, starters on the field may be few and far between anyway. Put differently, the stakes go way, way up September 7th in Philadelphia.
With all the time he's missed - basically as much as Steven Jackson - don't we have to consider we're bordering on a lost season for one of our best defensive players? Atogwe will need time to get back into shape once he ever returns, won't he? (I say "ever" recalling Isaac Bruce's hamstrings in 1998.) Meanwhile, most camp accounts say that Todd Johnson is a major dropoff at free safety.
Atogwe's absence is as big a deal on defense as Pace's would be on offense.
If it weren't for bad injury luck, the Rams would have no injury luck at all these days.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 27. Today's a landmark day in the Jackson holdout - his total current fine now exceeds $400,000, or the annual salary of the President of the United States. Howard Balzer reports Jackson is shopping around for a new agent because he expected Parker to go to Mequon and negotiate with Jay Zygmunt, and is angry with him because he didn't.
OK, Steven, the Rams' request was for YOU to be in camp for negotiations to re-open, not your agent?
Anybody just lose a lot of confidence in how quickly Jackson will learn the new playbook when and if he ever shows up?
Oh, and in real great personal news, I'm picking 10th, as in last, in my FFL this year. Currently showing up in the 10th pick neighborhood in various FFL projections?
Steven Jackson.
* Rams add a new RB.
- Lavarus Giles, previously in camp with the Jagwires, a 6'1" 220-lb player out of Jackson State. With dumbass, er, Jackson, still holding out, and Brian Leonard hurt, Giles has a shot at getting a number of carries Saturday night. Maybe I'll even spell his first name right in RamView.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Rams report, 8/19
* On the injury front:
- Marc Bulger didn't experience any shoulder problems in practice yesterday, so he should be OK to go.
- Orlando Pace played a half Saturday night and held up all right. He'll keep starting although reports are he won't be 100% by the start of the season. He's being limited in practice.
- Anthony Becht returned to practice. OJ Atogwe and Fakhir Brown are close to returning.
- Russ Weil, David Vobora, Brian Leonard - out.
* We demand a refund!
- The Rams are suing Claude Wroten for the pro-rated portion of his signing bonus that applies to this season, or $201,250. If the arbitrator finds in the Rams' favor, Wroten would have to pay the money out of his own pocket.
Yeah, good luck collecting that. Wroten has shown such maturity and wisdom making decisions in his life, I'm sure most of his original $805,000 signing bonus is sitting in a rainy day fund, and hasn't been used to buy like 125 pounds of marijuana.
Sure, that would be something like 57,000 joints, but don't sell Claude short.
* Jackson holdout, day 26.
- Total fine is now over $390,000, so he won't be able to help this guy buy a new violin like the one he lost on the train. As for poor Steven and his apparent feeling that $50 million over 7 years isn't good enough for his services, be assured I'm so sad for him I'm playing the world's smallest violin.
- Marc Bulger didn't experience any shoulder problems in practice yesterday, so he should be OK to go.
- Orlando Pace played a half Saturday night and held up all right. He'll keep starting although reports are he won't be 100% by the start of the season. He's being limited in practice.
- Anthony Becht returned to practice. OJ Atogwe and Fakhir Brown are close to returning.
- Russ Weil, David Vobora, Brian Leonard - out.
* We demand a refund!
- The Rams are suing Claude Wroten for the pro-rated portion of his signing bonus that applies to this season, or $201,250. If the arbitrator finds in the Rams' favor, Wroten would have to pay the money out of his own pocket.
Yeah, good luck collecting that. Wroten has shown such maturity and wisdom making decisions in his life, I'm sure most of his original $805,000 signing bonus is sitting in a rainy day fund, and hasn't been used to buy like 125 pounds of marijuana.
Sure, that would be something like 57,000 joints, but don't sell Claude short.
* Jackson holdout, day 26.
- Total fine is now over $390,000, so he won't be able to help this guy buy a new violin like the one he lost on the train. As for poor Steven and his apparent feeling that $50 million over 7 years isn't good enough for his services, be assured I'm so sad for him I'm playing the world's smallest violin.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Whither Marc Bulger?
The biggest issue facing the Rams right now is, What the heck is wrong with Marc Bulger? And it sure looks like a lot is wrong - his preseason stats so far: 10 for 23, 83 yards, THREE interceptions, ZERO touchdowns. His passer ratings so far are 3.7 and 20.8, in a system where a passer who does nothing but just spike the ball to the ground would get a 37.6. Marc overthrew Randy McMichael Saturday night to turn what should have been a wide open, big gain into an interception, and threw a lollipop for Drew Bennett that was also picked off. To all the world, he looks unconfident in the pocket, flinchy, reacting to pressure that's not quite there yet.
And then there's the mysterious nature of his shoulder injury. The Rams pulled him immediately out of the game after he got up in pain after being sacked late in the first half Saturday night. The injury may hold him out of practice today. Everybody, however, is blowing it off. Bulger called it "a five-minute thing". Scott Linehan said Bulger would have stayed in had it been a regular season game. (We'll ignore for now that Trent Green then came in cold and played FAR better than Bulger has all preseason.) Bulger's been hurt a lot, and that shoulder's been hurt before. That shoulder was a lot of the reason for Bulger's problems in 2007. Has it ever really healed up? Is he struggling now because his throwing shoulder is hurt again or still hurting?
Not if you ask Linehan. "Marc's making a lot of progress... It's a new system, got some new players and all those things. As soon as we get our timing down, he's going to continue to play winning football for us."
He's making a lot of progress?!?!? Did he start training camp trying to throw the ball with his feet?
Yeah, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
Over at ESPN.com, Evan Sando says Bulger's struggles are all timing problems, that it's going to take everyone a while to get into sync in the new system.
I'd like that answer more if the team hadn't been practicing this system for three months or more, and if this weren't a system the key players, like Bulger, weren't supposedly already familiar with from the Mike Martz days. But I like it because it'd be a something that practicing could actually correct, so here's hoping Evan Sando has Bulger's problems nailed.
And then there's the mysterious nature of his shoulder injury. The Rams pulled him immediately out of the game after he got up in pain after being sacked late in the first half Saturday night. The injury may hold him out of practice today. Everybody, however, is blowing it off. Bulger called it "a five-minute thing". Scott Linehan said Bulger would have stayed in had it been a regular season game. (We'll ignore for now that Trent Green then came in cold and played FAR better than Bulger has all preseason.) Bulger's been hurt a lot, and that shoulder's been hurt before. That shoulder was a lot of the reason for Bulger's problems in 2007. Has it ever really healed up? Is he struggling now because his throwing shoulder is hurt again or still hurting?
Not if you ask Linehan. "Marc's making a lot of progress... It's a new system, got some new players and all those things. As soon as we get our timing down, he's going to continue to play winning football for us."
He's making a lot of progress?!?!? Did he start training camp trying to throw the ball with his feet?
Yeah, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
Over at ESPN.com, Evan Sando says Bulger's struggles are all timing problems, that it's going to take everyone a while to get into sync in the new system.
I'd like that answer more if the team hadn't been practicing this system for three months or more, and if this weren't a system the key players, like Bulger, weren't supposedly already familiar with from the Mike Martz days. But I like it because it'd be a something that practicing could actually correct, so here's hoping Evan Sando has Bulger's problems nailed.
What next on o-line?
(Jim Thomas: Depth on O-line suffers blow)
Mark Setterstrom's injury Saturday night was sad, because he just went through a similar challenge that sidelined him almost all of last season. From the Rams' standpoint, though, by itself you can't call the injury a crushing one to the team. Setterstrom's their best backup guard, but his absence won't be felt unless Richie Incognito or Jacob Bell gets hurt and their substitute struggles. And there's a lot of candidates to backup at guard, including Roy Schuening, who took over for Setterstrom Saturday night; John Greco, who'd probably be the lead candidate if a starting guard went down; or Adam Goldberg or Nick Leckey could play there in a pinch. So they have plenty of options. It's a hit to depth, no question, but I think Greco would be OK there if needed.
Gorin's injury doesn't affect the o-line as much, as I see it. He was fourth tackle at best, with Adam Goldberg having stepped up into the #3 role, and looked like a long-shot to make the team. That'd mean only three true tackles on the roster, though Greco "could" play there (results so far have not been promising), or, in an emergency, they could move Bell out on the edge; he has played the position a little.
Another o-line injury, though, and we're going to be scrambling again.
Mark Setterstrom's injury Saturday night was sad, because he just went through a similar challenge that sidelined him almost all of last season. From the Rams' standpoint, though, by itself you can't call the injury a crushing one to the team. Setterstrom's their best backup guard, but his absence won't be felt unless Richie Incognito or Jacob Bell gets hurt and their substitute struggles. And there's a lot of candidates to backup at guard, including Roy Schuening, who took over for Setterstrom Saturday night; John Greco, who'd probably be the lead candidate if a starting guard went down; or Adam Goldberg or Nick Leckey could play there in a pinch. So they have plenty of options. It's a hit to depth, no question, but I think Greco would be OK there if needed.
Gorin's injury doesn't affect the o-line as much, as I see it. He was fourth tackle at best, with Adam Goldberg having stepped up into the #3 role, and looked like a long-shot to make the team. That'd mean only three true tackles on the roster, though Greco "could" play there (results so far have not been promising), or, in an emergency, they could move Bell out on the edge; he has played the position a little.
Another o-line injury, though, and we're going to be scrambling again.
Rams report, 8/18
There's a lot to catch up with that happened over the weekend, so let's get right into it:
Rams 7, Chargers 6
* Things I left out from Saturday night, or got wrong:
- The long drive after Bulger's second INT was 17 plays, 14 runs. I had 18/15.
- Jacob Bell also recovered a fumble, on the sack that took Bulger out of the game. Bell is playing well by all accounts.
- Third-down defense improved a TON. San Diego was 1-10 on 3rd down, 0-2 on 4th.
- Josh Brown's missed FG may have been caused by a bad hold by Donnie Jones.
- Donovan Raiola, not Dominic. I do that EVERY TIME!
* Injury report...
- Mark Setterstrom out for the season - broken patella.
- Brandon Gorin out for the season due to a shoulder injury actually suffered in the Tennessee game. It's similar to Orlando Pace's injury of last year.
- Brian Leonard is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained shoulder.
- David Vobora is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained ankle.
Those are the "significant" injuries I'm aware of from Saturday night - significant meaning we already know they're bad enough to cause the players to miss games.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 25.
- We're up to $375,000 in fines for Jackson now. That'd get you a pretty nice place in Bali. Jim Thomas also points out that Jackson's fine now exceeds the annual rookie minimum salary.
Scott Linehan is getting more verbal on the subject:
"It is getting critical to where time now becomes more of an issue for just the physical part of getting ready for the opener... Every day we miss now … does start to factor in as to what the workload will be from the start.
"I know he's working hard. And I know he's training. And he'll be in very good shape when he does get in."
Yeah, that's what the Rams thought about Jerome Bettis, too. If Steven Jackson doesn't have the integrity to honor a signed contract, the decency to negotiate in good faith, I have no faith that he'll be in playing shape when or if he ever does show up, and the Rams shouldn't, either.
* Quinton Culberson has been fined $7,500 by the league for a horse-collar tackle of Alge Crumpler in the 1st quarter of the Tennessee game, though, as I noted, he wasn't penalized for it at the time. Calvin Lowry of the Titans got the same treatment for his horse-collar tackle of Dane Looker.
Rams 7, Chargers 6
* Things I left out from Saturday night, or got wrong:
- The long drive after Bulger's second INT was 17 plays, 14 runs. I had 18/15.
- Jacob Bell also recovered a fumble, on the sack that took Bulger out of the game. Bell is playing well by all accounts.
- Third-down defense improved a TON. San Diego was 1-10 on 3rd down, 0-2 on 4th.
- Josh Brown's missed FG may have been caused by a bad hold by Donnie Jones.
- Donovan Raiola, not Dominic. I do that EVERY TIME!
* Injury report...
- Mark Setterstrom out for the season - broken patella.
- Brandon Gorin out for the season due to a shoulder injury actually suffered in the Tennessee game. It's similar to Orlando Pace's injury of last year.
- Brian Leonard is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained shoulder.
- David Vobora is expected to miss the rest of preseason due to a sprained ankle.
Those are the "significant" injuries I'm aware of from Saturday night - significant meaning we already know they're bad enough to cause the players to miss games.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 25.
- We're up to $375,000 in fines for Jackson now. That'd get you a pretty nice place in Bali. Jim Thomas also points out that Jackson's fine now exceeds the annual rookie minimum salary.
Scott Linehan is getting more verbal on the subject:
"It is getting critical to where time now becomes more of an issue for just the physical part of getting ready for the opener... Every day we miss now … does start to factor in as to what the workload will be from the start.
"I know he's working hard. And I know he's training. And he'll be in very good shape when he does get in."
Yeah, that's what the Rams thought about Jerome Bettis, too. If Steven Jackson doesn't have the integrity to honor a signed contract, the decency to negotiate in good faith, I have no faith that he'll be in playing shape when or if he ever does show up, and the Rams shouldn't, either.
* Quinton Culberson has been fined $7,500 by the league for a horse-collar tackle of Alge Crumpler in the 1st quarter of the Tennessee game, though, as I noted, he wasn't penalized for it at the time. Calvin Lowry of the Titans got the same treatment for his horse-collar tackle of Dane Looker.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Rams report, 8/15
The Rams host the San Diego Chargers in preseason play tomorrow night. RamView will hopefully be out Sunday morning.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 22. Sounds like, from Nick Wagoner's blog and other sources, that Scott Linehan is starting to get itchy about Jackson continuing to sit out. He has discussed talking the situation over with Jay Zygmunt.
It's impossible to know what Linehan may be saying to Jackson behind the scenes, but not knowing any better, I find myself wishing he would have stuck his nose into this at least a week ago, at least to publicly show he gives a darn about Jackson being in camp. Linehan's got a big stake in this too. He should have acted like it sooner. Maybe he has, but it hasn't been for public consumption. Still, if the team struggles again this season, it's going to be hard for him to make Jackson's holdout an excuse when he hasn't appeared to lobby for it to end until it got three-plus weeks and $330,000 old.
Howard Balzer theorizes that, in classic lawyer fashion, Zygmunt's now willing to break the impasse between the two sides because he refused to negotiate until Jackson reported for training camp, and training camp is over now. Of course, Zygmunt may now have no one to talk to; Jackson's rumored to be shopping for a new agent again, and according to John Clayton, is willing to sit out into the regular season.
$330,000, btw, appears to be the going rate for giant white truffles.
* Playing the starters. The key question for tomorrow night's game: will the starting offense FINALLY SCORE A FREAKING TD? I daresay Linehan is under pressure to leave the starting offense in the game until he gets that result. That sounds like it might be unusual for preseason, but I know it's already been done in a couple of games. The Bengals didn't pull starters in Green Bay until they scored, ultimately against the Packers' scrubs, and the Chargers left their starters in longer than I'd expected against Dallas because they hadn't scored yet, noting that LaDainian Tomlinson, as usual, did not take the field.
Can they score a TD? Will Linehan leave them on the field? Can they get off the field early? All critical questions heading into tomorrow night's game.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 22. Sounds like, from Nick Wagoner's blog and other sources, that Scott Linehan is starting to get itchy about Jackson continuing to sit out. He has discussed talking the situation over with Jay Zygmunt.
It's impossible to know what Linehan may be saying to Jackson behind the scenes, but not knowing any better, I find myself wishing he would have stuck his nose into this at least a week ago, at least to publicly show he gives a darn about Jackson being in camp. Linehan's got a big stake in this too. He should have acted like it sooner. Maybe he has, but it hasn't been for public consumption. Still, if the team struggles again this season, it's going to be hard for him to make Jackson's holdout an excuse when he hasn't appeared to lobby for it to end until it got three-plus weeks and $330,000 old.
Howard Balzer theorizes that, in classic lawyer fashion, Zygmunt's now willing to break the impasse between the two sides because he refused to negotiate until Jackson reported for training camp, and training camp is over now. Of course, Zygmunt may now have no one to talk to; Jackson's rumored to be shopping for a new agent again, and according to John Clayton, is willing to sit out into the regular season.
$330,000, btw, appears to be the going rate for giant white truffles.
* Playing the starters. The key question for tomorrow night's game: will the starting offense FINALLY SCORE A FREAKING TD? I daresay Linehan is under pressure to leave the starting offense in the game until he gets that result. That sounds like it might be unusual for preseason, but I know it's already been done in a couple of games. The Bengals didn't pull starters in Green Bay until they scored, ultimately against the Packers' scrubs, and the Chargers left their starters in longer than I'd expected against Dallas because they hadn't scored yet, noting that LaDainian Tomlinson, as usual, did not take the field.
Can they score a TD? Will Linehan leave them on the field? Can they get off the field early? All critical questions heading into tomorrow night's game.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Rams report, 8/14
Training camp has broken. The Rams have a walk-through tomorrow to prepare for Saturday night's home game against the Chargers.
Not surprisingly, that game is not a sellout and will not be broadcast live in St. Louis. It will be broadcast on delay, starting at 10:30 pm. The game also re-airs three times through the week if NFL Network's online schedule is not lying: 2 am Sunday, 11 pm Monday and 11:30 am Wednesday. Boy, we got some primo time slots there. Viva TiVo!
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 21. Just to show what a waste this whole Jackson holdout has been,
here's what other people have recently done with the same $315,000 he's incurred in potential fines
because he's unhappy with a $50 million dollar contract:
He could have donated it, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie did, to help babies in Namibia;
He could have donated it for leukemia research;
He could have donated it to help the elderly pay their heating bills;
He could have used it to award college scholarships;
He could have used it to fund ovarian cancer research.
Well, I assume NFL player fines all end up in the league charity bucket anyway, so at least some good will come out of it.
* Cuts. Just one: DT Vernon Bryant. The Rams had to clear a roster spot to sign CB Tanard Davis.
* Injuries. OJ Atogwe is back on the sideline. He practiced Tuesday but his hamstring injury still hasn't completely healed. Same deal with Anthony Becht, who re-injured his hamstring. The Rams may have only two healthy safeties for Saturday night's game. Bill Coats blog
* Bernie Miklasz agrees it's about time the Rams started taking preseason games seriously.
Not surprisingly, that game is not a sellout and will not be broadcast live in St. Louis. It will be broadcast on delay, starting at 10:30 pm. The game also re-airs three times through the week if NFL Network's online schedule is not lying: 2 am Sunday, 11 pm Monday and 11:30 am Wednesday. Boy, we got some primo time slots there. Viva TiVo!
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 21. Just to show what a waste this whole Jackson holdout has been,
here's what other people have recently done with the same $315,000 he's incurred in potential fines
because he's unhappy with a $50 million dollar contract:
He could have donated it, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie did, to help babies in Namibia;
He could have donated it for leukemia research;
He could have donated it to help the elderly pay their heating bills;
He could have used it to award college scholarships;
He could have used it to fund ovarian cancer research.
Well, I assume NFL player fines all end up in the league charity bucket anyway, so at least some good will come out of it.
* Cuts. Just one: DT Vernon Bryant. The Rams had to clear a roster spot to sign CB Tanard Davis.
* Injuries. OJ Atogwe is back on the sideline. He practiced Tuesday but his hamstring injury still hasn't completely healed. Same deal with Anthony Becht, who re-injured his hamstring. The Rams may have only two healthy safeties for Saturday night's game. Bill Coats blog
* Bernie Miklasz agrees it's about time the Rams started taking preseason games seriously.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
So what's worse?
Is it worse that Orlando Pace got dominated by Kyle Vanden Bosch in Saturday night's game,
or that Pace has pretty much dominated Chris Long all of training camp?
At first it seemed fine that Pace was taking care of Long. Orlando's supposed to make everybody he goes up against look bad.
Then Saturday night, you see (admittedly, a Pro Bowler himself) Vanden Bosch whip Pace on just about every play and make him look like a lightweight. You see that the Pace the Rams have got right now is maybe 50 or 60 percent of the Pace you were expecting (and are still hoping to get back).
What does that say about Long? He gets stonewalled by a 50% Orlando Pace all day long?
Not good. Not freaking good at all. It's starting to look like a completely wrong move to have taken the 3-4 Long and try converting him to 4-3. It's starting to look like he needs to be a stand-up pass rusher if he's ever going to see a NFL backfield. I'm seeing a run/pass platoon with him and James Hall in his immediate future. I'm not sure there's more than platooning in his long-term future, if it's in a 4-3.
It's really starting to look like I should have taken Long's 4-3 inexperience much more into account when I opined he was the perfect player for the Rams in April.
or that Pace has pretty much dominated Chris Long all of training camp?
At first it seemed fine that Pace was taking care of Long. Orlando's supposed to make everybody he goes up against look bad.
Then Saturday night, you see (admittedly, a Pro Bowler himself) Vanden Bosch whip Pace on just about every play and make him look like a lightweight. You see that the Pace the Rams have got right now is maybe 50 or 60 percent of the Pace you were expecting (and are still hoping to get back).
What does that say about Long? He gets stonewalled by a 50% Orlando Pace all day long?
Not good. Not freaking good at all. It's starting to look like a completely wrong move to have taken the 3-4 Long and try converting him to 4-3. It's starting to look like he needs to be a stand-up pass rusher if he's ever going to see a NFL backfield. I'm seeing a run/pass platoon with him and James Hall in his immediate future. I'm not sure there's more than platooning in his long-term future, if it's in a 4-3.
It's really starting to look like I should have taken Long's 4-3 inexperience much more into account when I opined he was the perfect player for the Rams in April.
Training camp headlines, 8/13
The Rams are expected to break training camp after today's 3:50-5:30 practice, so this is the last day of training camp headlines. Tomorrow's the first day of Rams headlines.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 20. "Jim Thomas" reports the two sides are starting to talk, and that the Rams' latest offer is 7 years, $50 million, $16-17 million guaranteed. Brian Westbrook just signed a 3-year, $21 million, $13 million guaranteed deal with the Eggles. "Jim Thomas" also reports that Jackson's holdout is the longest Rams player holdout of the St. Louis era.
If you're "Jim Thomas", you would say it's the longest holdout in "St. Louis" Rams history. It drives me nuts that "Jim Thomas" does that all the time. It's the printed equivalent of finger quotes. It marginalizes the city. It's a less-serious, less-respectful way of referring to the city. It's like "Jim Thomas" is making fun of St. Louis when he does that. So until "Jim Thomas" quits putting quotes around St. Louis, he's "Jim Thomas" around here.
I'd again argue Jackson's getting lowballed, although supposedly the two sides have never been that far apart. "Jim Thomas"'s article puts four-year statistics for Jackson and LaDainian Tomlinson side by side, to make the case that Jackson isn't worth LT's $8 million a year.
Except the salary cap has changed a LOT since LT got that contract. I've done the math before; pro-rated, it's worth $11 million a year today. If the Rams don't think Jackson is even 2/3 the player Tomlinson is, maybe they -should- have drafted Darren McFadden, instead of offering Jackson a lengthy contract. "Jim Thomas" points out the increased risk of injury of players who hold out, citing Dick Vermeil on the subject. Great - Jackson's already far from the NFL's most durable player, and now, if he signs a seven-year deal, what does he care if he's out of shape or injured this season as a result of holding out? Jackson would have had much more urgency to show up if we were talking about a 3-year deal like Westbrook's. The Rams would prefer to have Jackson signed throughout his prime years. Then again, a short deal means we're all going through this all over again when Jackson's 28 and his earning peak.
So despite my previous calculations, the Rams' offer to Jackson right now is more than fair, considering the goodwill he's screwed away and the likelihood this season will be tainted injury- or fitness-wise because he didn't honor his existing contract and therefore has not bargained in good faith. The Rams shouldn't put themselves on the hook for a season that Jackson himself has tainted. If he protested his contract situation by actually shooting himself in the foot, would you be offering him a big, lengthy deal?
Me either. I'd be offering something like 4 years, $30 million, give him his $20 million guaranteed, take this or leave it.
And I'd be drafting a RB high in 2012.
Also, Jackson's fine cracks the $300,000 mark today. You can buy some pretty sweet threads for that.
* The Rams signed another smurf, 5'9" 184-lb CB Tanard Davis. Well, they had to do something - they're so thin at CB right now, they're practicing with Derek Stanley at corner. He's no Troy Brown.
More as new news or observations surface.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 20. "Jim Thomas" reports the two sides are starting to talk, and that the Rams' latest offer is 7 years, $50 million, $16-17 million guaranteed. Brian Westbrook just signed a 3-year, $21 million, $13 million guaranteed deal with the Eggles. "Jim Thomas" also reports that Jackson's holdout is the longest Rams player holdout of the St. Louis era.
If you're "Jim Thomas", you would say it's the longest holdout in "St. Louis" Rams history. It drives me nuts that "Jim Thomas" does that all the time. It's the printed equivalent of finger quotes. It marginalizes the city. It's a less-serious, less-respectful way of referring to the city. It's like "Jim Thomas" is making fun of St. Louis when he does that. So until "Jim Thomas" quits putting quotes around St. Louis, he's "Jim Thomas" around here.
I'd again argue Jackson's getting lowballed, although supposedly the two sides have never been that far apart. "Jim Thomas"'s article puts four-year statistics for Jackson and LaDainian Tomlinson side by side, to make the case that Jackson isn't worth LT's $8 million a year.
Except the salary cap has changed a LOT since LT got that contract. I've done the math before; pro-rated, it's worth $11 million a year today. If the Rams don't think Jackson is even 2/3 the player Tomlinson is, maybe they -should- have drafted Darren McFadden, instead of offering Jackson a lengthy contract. "Jim Thomas" points out the increased risk of injury of players who hold out, citing Dick Vermeil on the subject. Great - Jackson's already far from the NFL's most durable player, and now, if he signs a seven-year deal, what does he care if he's out of shape or injured this season as a result of holding out? Jackson would have had much more urgency to show up if we were talking about a 3-year deal like Westbrook's. The Rams would prefer to have Jackson signed throughout his prime years. Then again, a short deal means we're all going through this all over again when Jackson's 28 and his earning peak.
So despite my previous calculations, the Rams' offer to Jackson right now is more than fair, considering the goodwill he's screwed away and the likelihood this season will be tainted injury- or fitness-wise because he didn't honor his existing contract and therefore has not bargained in good faith. The Rams shouldn't put themselves on the hook for a season that Jackson himself has tainted. If he protested his contract situation by actually shooting himself in the foot, would you be offering him a big, lengthy deal?
Me either. I'd be offering something like 4 years, $30 million, give him his $20 million guaranteed, take this or leave it.
And I'd be drafting a RB high in 2012.
Also, Jackson's fine cracks the $300,000 mark today. You can buy some pretty sweet threads for that.
* The Rams signed another smurf, 5'9" 184-lb CB Tanard Davis. Well, they had to do something - they're so thin at CB right now, they're practicing with Derek Stanley at corner. He's no Troy Brown.
More as new news or observations surface.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Training camp headlines, 8/12
Today is the final day of two-a-days up in Mequon, with practices scheduled for 8:45 and 4:00. The final practice of training camp is tomorrow at 3:50.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 19. Brian Burwell tries to find a way to broker peace between Jackson and Jay Zygmunt. Meanwhile, Jackson's $285,000 fine is going to make it hard for him to buy these Shoeless Joe Jackson baseball cards for Christmas.
* The writers are getting restless. In an interview on "Team 1380" yesterday, Jim Thomas awesomely said he would make the first-team offense stay on the field Saturday night until they get into the endzone. Asked about the starting offense's failure to score a TD in two-plus preseasons under Linehan, Thomas said, "Preseason or not, it's pretty damn embarrassing."
Pretty harsh words from your team's beat writer, who as usual, is right again. Bill Coats repeats and endorses the idea in his blog, adding that Chris Long and Adam Carriker, who had no tackles between them against Tennessee (or, as Howard Balzer's pointed out, two less than the French guy, Sebastian Sejean), ought to be left in the game until they start to make some plays.
I love it. At least -somebody's- getting sick of this team's poor level of play.
* Injury report. Victor Adeyanju and Donnie Avery returned to practice yesterday on schedule.
* Former Ram update. Adam Archuleta has been signed by the Raiders to a one-year contract. Oakland made the move trying to improve their safety depth, but may also try Archuleta out at strong side linebacker. Ironically, Oakland's the team Rams fans were afraid would snatch Archuleta away if the Rams didn't nab him at #20 in the first round of the 2001 draft.
More here as news dictates.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 19. Brian Burwell tries to find a way to broker peace between Jackson and Jay Zygmunt. Meanwhile, Jackson's $285,000 fine is going to make it hard for him to buy these Shoeless Joe Jackson baseball cards for Christmas.
* The writers are getting restless. In an interview on "Team 1380" yesterday, Jim Thomas awesomely said he would make the first-team offense stay on the field Saturday night until they get into the endzone. Asked about the starting offense's failure to score a TD in two-plus preseasons under Linehan, Thomas said, "Preseason or not, it's pretty damn embarrassing."
Pretty harsh words from your team's beat writer, who as usual, is right again. Bill Coats repeats and endorses the idea in his blog, adding that Chris Long and Adam Carriker, who had no tackles between them against Tennessee (or, as Howard Balzer's pointed out, two less than the French guy, Sebastian Sejean), ought to be left in the game until they start to make some plays.
I love it. At least -somebody's- getting sick of this team's poor level of play.
* Injury report. Victor Adeyanju and Donnie Avery returned to practice yesterday on schedule.
* Former Ram update. Adam Archuleta has been signed by the Raiders to a one-year contract. Oakland made the move trying to improve their safety depth, but may also try Archuleta out at strong side linebacker. Ironically, Oakland's the team Rams fans were afraid would snatch Archuleta away if the Rams didn't nab him at #20 in the first round of the 2001 draft.
More here as news dictates.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Training camp headlines, 8/11
The Rams have one practice on the schedule for today, at 3:50. If you got to see Saturday night's fiasco, though, you're probably thinking along with me that the Rams need to switch to eight-a-days.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 18. Did Saturday night's starting offense debacle add to Jackson's negotiating position? I have my doubts, though I'm willing to bet Randy McMichael will welcome him back home (if he ever comes back) with the most enthusiasm, because he may not get to even run any pass routes this season otherwise. I think he was targeted once Saturday night, and Ram TEs had no catches.
Meanwhile, here's a motorcycle Jackson could have bought with his $270,000 instead of being an idiot, violating his contract and needlessly ringing up 18 days' worth of fines.
* Reporting for the Department of the Obvious, Jim Thomas says the Ram defense has work to do against the run. Yeah, just a little. One correction to RamView shows the Ram defense wasn't as bad as I thought Saturday: they gave up just 340 rushing yards, not 343. My total was before Tennessee's two kneeldowns to end the game.
* COME BACK DICKIE! Dick Vermeil was a surprise visitor to training camp. The job is all yours any time you want it back, Coach. Bill Coats blog
* As for Linehan, he thought Orlando Pace "looked fine" against the Titans. Yes, compared to Dwayne "the Road Grader" White, OP looked juuuust fine. Linehan also says the starters will work "considerably more" next Saturday against the Chargers. What they did Saturday night counted as "work"? Nick Wagoner blog
* Injury report. The worst injury of the season, because he was really coming on, was Justin King's ligament injury Saturday night to his left big toe, because it requires surgery and will finish his 2008 season before it ever starts. Other injuries: Brandon Gorin will miss up to two weeks due to a slight right rotator cuff tear, and the usually-injured Jerome Carter will be day-to-day due to a strained groin. Brett Romberg was MRI'ed and they found a broken bone in his right hand but he's playing through it. Both Donnie Avery and OJ Atogwe are expected to return to practice this week.
* Steven Jackson holdout day 18. Did Saturday night's starting offense debacle add to Jackson's negotiating position? I have my doubts, though I'm willing to bet Randy McMichael will welcome him back home (if he ever comes back) with the most enthusiasm, because he may not get to even run any pass routes this season otherwise. I think he was targeted once Saturday night, and Ram TEs had no catches.
Meanwhile, here's a motorcycle Jackson could have bought with his $270,000 instead of being an idiot, violating his contract and needlessly ringing up 18 days' worth of fines.
* Reporting for the Department of the Obvious, Jim Thomas says the Ram defense has work to do against the run. Yeah, just a little. One correction to RamView shows the Ram defense wasn't as bad as I thought Saturday: they gave up just 340 rushing yards, not 343. My total was before Tennessee's two kneeldowns to end the game.
* COME BACK DICKIE! Dick Vermeil was a surprise visitor to training camp. The job is all yours any time you want it back, Coach. Bill Coats blog
* As for Linehan, he thought Orlando Pace "looked fine" against the Titans. Yes, compared to Dwayne "the Road Grader" White, OP looked juuuust fine. Linehan also says the starters will work "considerably more" next Saturday against the Chargers. What they did Saturday night counted as "work"? Nick Wagoner blog
* Injury report. The worst injury of the season, because he was really coming on, was Justin King's ligament injury Saturday night to his left big toe, because it requires surgery and will finish his 2008 season before it ever starts. Other injuries: Brandon Gorin will miss up to two weeks due to a slight right rotator cuff tear, and the usually-injured Jerome Carter will be day-to-day due to a strained groin. Brett Romberg was MRI'ed and they found a broken bone in his right hand but he's playing through it. Both Donnie Avery and OJ Atogwe are expected to return to practice this week.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Training camp headlines, 8/9
Some quick notes before I return headlong into the Preseason Challenge - and Google better fucking not eat this post again...
Rams vs. Titans tonight, 7:00 from LP Field in Nashville.
I'm shooting to have RamView for the game out tomorrow morning.
* Another day of the Steven Jackson holdout. It's day 16, and his potential total fine is upwards of $240,000 now, which, if you're Barack and Michelle Obama, is a year's worth of charitable donations; or, if you're Britney Spears, it's a year's worth of child support payments to K-Fed.
* Today's game:
Scott Linehan plans to play the starters for a quarter. He really wants to, and needs to, set the tone early. Things to watch: Nick Wagoner
Orlando Pace will play, most likely a series or two. Adam Goldberg backs him up, so he's really second-string, to correct myself from an old post.
Donnie Avery won't play but we can probably expect to see him in St. Louis next week. Anthony Becht is also out, along with OJ Atogwe, Fakhir Brown and Victor Adeyanju. Brett Romberg will start at center. Will Witherspoon may not play due to a shoulder injury from earlier in the week, but that injury is not considered serious. Antonio Pittman may be limited due to a thigh injury, so expect plenty of Travis Minor and Lance Ball.
Trent Green may not play in favor of giving Brock Berlin and Bruce Gradkowski plenty of reps.
Tonight's a big night for Ron Bartell, who Wagoner reports is "still searching for consistency". The time is now for Bartell to, in the immortal words of Dick Vermeil, poop or get off the pot.
* Pete Prisco is enthused about the Ram defense and picks them to win the NFC West. After watching them last night, I'm sticking with Seattle for the time being.
* Around the league: I need a new crystal ball; Chad Pennington was signed by the Dolphins. Charlie Batch broke his right collarbone taking on a tackler at the end of a run last night and will be out at least four weeks.
Rams vs. Titans tonight, 7:00 from LP Field in Nashville.
I'm shooting to have RamView for the game out tomorrow morning.
* Another day of the Steven Jackson holdout. It's day 16, and his potential total fine is upwards of $240,000 now, which, if you're Barack and Michelle Obama, is a year's worth of charitable donations; or, if you're Britney Spears, it's a year's worth of child support payments to K-Fed.
* Today's game:
Scott Linehan plans to play the starters for a quarter. He really wants to, and needs to, set the tone early. Things to watch: Nick Wagoner
Orlando Pace will play, most likely a series or two. Adam Goldberg backs him up, so he's really second-string, to correct myself from an old post.
Donnie Avery won't play but we can probably expect to see him in St. Louis next week. Anthony Becht is also out, along with OJ Atogwe, Fakhir Brown and Victor Adeyanju. Brett Romberg will start at center. Will Witherspoon may not play due to a shoulder injury from earlier in the week, but that injury is not considered serious. Antonio Pittman may be limited due to a thigh injury, so expect plenty of Travis Minor and Lance Ball.
Trent Green may not play in favor of giving Brock Berlin and Bruce Gradkowski plenty of reps.
Tonight's a big night for Ron Bartell, who Wagoner reports is "still searching for consistency". The time is now for Bartell to, in the immortal words of Dick Vermeil, poop or get off the pot.
* Pete Prisco is enthused about the Ram defense and picks them to win the NFC West. After watching them last night, I'm sticking with Seattle for the time being.
* Around the league: I need a new crystal ball; Chad Pennington was signed by the Dolphins. Charlie Batch broke his right collarbone taking on a tackler at the end of a run last night and will be out at least four weeks.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/8
The Rams have a closed practice at LP Field in Nashville this afternoon. They play their first preseason game against the Titans there tomorrow night at 7:00.
* Jackson holdout day 15. Howard Balzer reports on insidestl.com this morning that Steven Jackson may be looking for a new agent AGAIN. If Jackson fires Eugene Parker, he has to wait five days, or $75,000, before hiring a new agent. The article also suggests that the catalyst behind Jackson's holdout may be... HIS SISTER, Rhonda.
Last week I would have suggested Jackson was worth $9 million a year. Well, I wouldn't ever suggest the Rams spend that kind of money on a guy with a 9-cent brain.
Steven needs to get his ass in camp now, and be happy the Rams have offered him any kind of competitive offer. As for Rhonda, I'd request she keep the hell out of negotiations. Her brother has rung up $225,000 in fines taking her advice, the retirement medical bill for the typical couple retiring this year.
No doubt she'll have advice for Steven when that comes, too.
* Marc Bulger to play two series tomorrow night. That's all he played the first week of preseason last year, going 6-7-42 with a pick. Linehan's not exactly keeping his promise to play Bulger more this preseason, but let's see if he gets more reps weeks 2-4. Drew Brees only played one series last night, and Matt Leinart played a couple, so two series for Bulger is probably standard for week 1 of preseason. Myself, I'd use Bulger more. No rust September 7.
* Trending up: Adam Goldberg, who seems really charged up by the fighting with Kyle Vanden Bosch on Wednesday.
* Trending down: Drew Bennett, who dropped two passes and blew a TD pass he should have caught. So, he's back to regular-season form, then.
* Around the league: Prediction: Chad Pennington, displaced by the Jets as a result of the BFF trade, will end up in - New England. Rationale: Belichick has no confidence in Matt Cassell backing up Brady, and he could basically get the Jet playbook from Pennington without having to resort to any camera trickery. And the move would reunite Pennington with college teammate Randy Moss...
* Jackson holdout day 15. Howard Balzer reports on insidestl.com this morning that Steven Jackson may be looking for a new agent AGAIN. If Jackson fires Eugene Parker, he has to wait five days, or $75,000, before hiring a new agent. The article also suggests that the catalyst behind Jackson's holdout may be... HIS SISTER, Rhonda.
Last week I would have suggested Jackson was worth $9 million a year. Well, I wouldn't ever suggest the Rams spend that kind of money on a guy with a 9-cent brain.
Steven needs to get his ass in camp now, and be happy the Rams have offered him any kind of competitive offer. As for Rhonda, I'd request she keep the hell out of negotiations. Her brother has rung up $225,000 in fines taking her advice, the retirement medical bill for the typical couple retiring this year.
No doubt she'll have advice for Steven when that comes, too.
* Marc Bulger to play two series tomorrow night. That's all he played the first week of preseason last year, going 6-7-42 with a pick. Linehan's not exactly keeping his promise to play Bulger more this preseason, but let's see if he gets more reps weeks 2-4. Drew Brees only played one series last night, and Matt Leinart played a couple, so two series for Bulger is probably standard for week 1 of preseason. Myself, I'd use Bulger more. No rust September 7.
* Trending up: Adam Goldberg, who seems really charged up by the fighting with Kyle Vanden Bosch on Wednesday.
* Trending down: Drew Bennett, who dropped two passes and blew a TD pass he should have caught. So, he's back to regular-season form, then.
* Around the league: Prediction: Chad Pennington, displaced by the Jets as a result of the BFF trade, will end up in - New England. Rationale: Belichick has no confidence in Matt Cassell backing up Brady, and he could basically get the Jet playbook from Pennington without having to resort to any camera trickery. And the move would reunite Pennington with college teammate Randy Moss...
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/7
The Rams and Titans appear to have two joint practices scheduled again today. The 8:30 session will be for special teams, 3:30 will be a regular practice. No practices tomorrow.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 14. Jackson's total potential fine cracks the $200,000 mark with his absence today. So whenever he does show up, don't expect a happy hour anything like this.
There's a report out there which I haven't seen substantiated that Jackson and agent Eugene Parker are demanding he get the league's highest RB salary, and that he's willing to hold out into the regular season and beyond.
If that report is true, Jackson and Parker are bigger douchebags than I ever thought.
* We were having a football scrimmage when a hockey game broke out!
Speaking of d-bags, hearty congratulations from RamView to Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, easy winner of yesterday's Cheap-Shotting Piece of Crap Award. Let's see, reports say he drove Travis Minor to the ground late, slugged Roy Schuening in the back of the head, cheap-shotted Dane Looker and scrapped with Adam Goldberg, setting the tone for cheap-shots from the rest of the Titan defense, including a Titan DT clotheslining a Ram WR from behind, Keith Bulluck ripping off Reche Caldwell's helmet during a fight and Torry Holt getting blasted over the middle and getting his headgear knocked off... scrimmage ends right there if I'm head coach. I'm not risking a Hall-of-Fame wide receiver because Jeff Fisher is a neanderthal fuck who can't/won't control his players. Doesn't sound like a damn thing has changed in Fisher's brain since 2000. There's intensity, and there's cheap-shotting, and the Titans didn't cross that line yesterday; they were already on the other side of the line before practice started. Albert Haynesworth even complained that the Titans were focusing too much on winning fights and not enough on actually playing.
To their credit, the Rams didn't back down, or complain about the Titans' cheap-shot antics anywhere near as much as I am here. Reche Caldwell answered the Titans with an apparent cheap-shot of his own, which started his fight. Goldberg got in the fight with Vanden Bosch standing up for Schuening. Go Goldberg. Even Mark LeVoir was getting into it. And by Nick Wagoner's account,
the Rams looked quite good in the scrimmage on offense and defense, and everybody had settled way down by the afternoon sessions.
There's no such thing as winning a scrimmage, but I'd score it that way for the Rams anyway.
* The fall of Berlin.
Brock Berlin, on the other hand, got picked off twice yesterday, and apparently looked so bad that at least two of the St. Louis writers covering practice, including Berlin Fan Club President Wagoner, thought Bruce Gradkowski would replace him for the afternoon practice. No report of what happened there, though.
* Preseason Challenge.
Technology willing, the 2008 Preseason Challenge will ramp it up tonight with, yes, a double-header: Saints at Big Dead on ESPN and Chiefs at Bears on NFL Network.
A Thursday night preseason doubleheader? Hey, there's no other way to do this but to be hard-core.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 14. Jackson's total potential fine cracks the $200,000 mark with his absence today. So whenever he does show up, don't expect a happy hour anything like this.
There's a report out there which I haven't seen substantiated that Jackson and agent Eugene Parker are demanding he get the league's highest RB salary, and that he's willing to hold out into the regular season and beyond.
If that report is true, Jackson and Parker are bigger douchebags than I ever thought.
* We were having a football scrimmage when a hockey game broke out!
Speaking of d-bags, hearty congratulations from RamView to Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, easy winner of yesterday's Cheap-Shotting Piece of Crap Award. Let's see, reports say he drove Travis Minor to the ground late, slugged Roy Schuening in the back of the head, cheap-shotted Dane Looker and scrapped with Adam Goldberg, setting the tone for cheap-shots from the rest of the Titan defense, including a Titan DT clotheslining a Ram WR from behind, Keith Bulluck ripping off Reche Caldwell's helmet during a fight and Torry Holt getting blasted over the middle and getting his headgear knocked off... scrimmage ends right there if I'm head coach. I'm not risking a Hall-of-Fame wide receiver because Jeff Fisher is a neanderthal fuck who can't/won't control his players. Doesn't sound like a damn thing has changed in Fisher's brain since 2000. There's intensity, and there's cheap-shotting, and the Titans didn't cross that line yesterday; they were already on the other side of the line before practice started. Albert Haynesworth even complained that the Titans were focusing too much on winning fights and not enough on actually playing.
To their credit, the Rams didn't back down, or complain about the Titans' cheap-shot antics anywhere near as much as I am here. Reche Caldwell answered the Titans with an apparent cheap-shot of his own, which started his fight. Goldberg got in the fight with Vanden Bosch standing up for Schuening. Go Goldberg. Even Mark LeVoir was getting into it. And by Nick Wagoner's account,
the Rams looked quite good in the scrimmage on offense and defense, and everybody had settled way down by the afternoon sessions.
There's no such thing as winning a scrimmage, but I'd score it that way for the Rams anyway.
* The fall of Berlin.
Brock Berlin, on the other hand, got picked off twice yesterday, and apparently looked so bad that at least two of the St. Louis writers covering practice, including Berlin Fan Club President Wagoner, thought Bruce Gradkowski would replace him for the afternoon practice. No report of what happened there, though.
* Preseason Challenge.
Technology willing, the 2008 Preseason Challenge will ramp it up tonight with, yes, a double-header: Saints at Big Dead on ESPN and Chiefs at Bears on NFL Network.
A Thursday night preseason doubleheader? Hey, there's no other way to do this but to be hard-core.
Between the lines 8/7
Bill Coats reports very good practices Wednesday for Alex Barron, Jacob Bell and Nick Leckey. Nick Wagoner also had glowing reviews for Leckey. Leckey worked with the first string with Brett Romberg still limited by a hand injury. This left Richie Incognito at RG, with Mark Setterstrom limited to individual drills.
Thinking about Fred Miller's experience in Nashville in 1999, I'm expecting Alex Barron to false-start about a dozen times Saturday night. But he's by all accounts having a solid camp, and if he's for real, improved play from Barron would be a huge boost for the Rams' offense.
Chris Long excelled in one-on-one drills, so there's more fuel for the fire of us hoping he'll boost the Rams' defense as well.
One thing worrying me as a fan hoping the Rams will have a better and more physical running game this season, other than Steven Jackson's holdout, is the injuries going on with his blockers. Anthony Becht has been down with a hamstring injury. Though Russ Weil's giving Dan Kreider a very good run for the potential fullback job, I've been banking on Kreider, but he's been missing time with a knee injury.
The Ram running game needs these guys.
And Jackson.
Thinking about Fred Miller's experience in Nashville in 1999, I'm expecting Alex Barron to false-start about a dozen times Saturday night. But he's by all accounts having a solid camp, and if he's for real, improved play from Barron would be a huge boost for the Rams' offense.
Chris Long excelled in one-on-one drills, so there's more fuel for the fire of us hoping he'll boost the Rams' defense as well.
One thing worrying me as a fan hoping the Rams will have a better and more physical running game this season, other than Steven Jackson's holdout, is the injuries going on with his blockers. Anthony Becht has been down with a hamstring injury. Though Russ Weil's giving Dan Kreider a very good run for the potential fullback job, I've been banking on Kreider, but he's been missing time with a knee injury.
The Ram running game needs these guys.
And Jackson.
Injury report 8/7
Sitting out Wednesday's practices:
- Victor Adeyanju (broken finger, will miss preseason)
- OJ Atogwe (hamstring, "day-to-day" though he hasn't practiced most of training camp)
- Donnie Avery (cracked pelvis, supposed to be out another week or so)
- Anthony Becht (hamstring)
- Fakhir Brown (slight rotator cuff tear - but I think he's supposed to return to action before the season starts)
- Steven Jackson (ass).
I wouldn't expect to see any of these players in action Saturday night. The statuses of Brett Romberg and Mark Setterstrom are confusing; they didn't scrimmage but apparently did practice.
- Victor Adeyanju (broken finger, will miss preseason)
- OJ Atogwe (hamstring, "day-to-day" though he hasn't practiced most of training camp)
- Donnie Avery (cracked pelvis, supposed to be out another week or so)
- Anthony Becht (hamstring)
- Fakhir Brown (slight rotator cuff tear - but I think he's supposed to return to action before the season starts)
- Steven Jackson (ass).
I wouldn't expect to see any of these players in action Saturday night. The statuses of Brett Romberg and Mark Setterstrom are confusing; they didn't scrimmage but apparently did practice.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/6
The Rams practice twice today at Baptist Sports Park just outside downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Practice times appear to be 8:30 and 3:30.
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 13. Jim Thomas and Bill Coats can't decide exactly how much Jackson can be fined per day now - Thomas said $15,166 yesterday, Coats says $15,116 today; hey, what's $50 among friends? - so RamView will stick with the round $15,000 number and estimate Jackson's total potential fine at $195,000, assuming he doesn't show up today. (Damn, he could have bought a Cold Stone Creamery with that money!)
No one would love to see Jackson report to Mequon today more than RamView, especially because the Rams are actually in Nashville holding joint practices with the Tennessee Titans.
Claude Wroten's probably kicking himself for missing a joint practice, no?
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 13. Jim Thomas and Bill Coats can't decide exactly how much Jackson can be fined per day now - Thomas said $15,166 yesterday, Coats says $15,116 today; hey, what's $50 among friends? - so RamView will stick with the round $15,000 number and estimate Jackson's total potential fine at $195,000, assuming he doesn't show up today. (Damn, he could have bought a Cold Stone Creamery with that money!)
No one would love to see Jackson report to Mequon today more than RamView, especially because the Rams are actually in Nashville holding joint practices with the Tennessee Titans.
Claude Wroten's probably kicking himself for missing a joint practice, no?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/5
The Rams practice at 9:40 this morning, then travel to Tennessee. They start practicing with the Titans tomorrow, leading up to the preseason game between the two teams Saturday night.
* Jackson holdout day 12. Jim Thomas reports that Jackson isn't expected to show up today and is knowingly potentially losing a year of credit toward unrestricted free agency. If the owners void the existing CBA, he'll have to be in the league six seasons before becoming eligible for UFA instead of five. That could make him only a RFA in 2010. Jackson's gamble is that the owners won't void the CBA. Thomas believes it's unlikely. I believe it's completely likely because, well, it's professional sports owners. They're stupid enough to let it get this close; don't bank on them not to pull the trigger. Jackson would seem to be risking millions of dollars down the line in holding out for a deal now, which has me questioning his intelligence now as well as his integrity.
I guess inflation kicked in, because Thomas also reports Jackson's maximum daily fine is $15,166. So if he's an idiot and sacrifices a year of eligibility by not showing up today, his total fine could be as much as $181,992. Well, there goes his ability to buy the world's most expensive bottle of whiskey. C'mon, it's not like you can find that kind of money in between the cushions of your couch or in the walls of your house or anything!
Today for me is the day that Jackson's holdout will have gone on beyond reason. Do I think the Rams are lowballing him? Yes. But if he's willing to let his holdout go to idiotic, self-destructive lengths - all you have to do is show up, bud - he's making it impossible to side with him.
* Yesterday had the first legit fight of training camp, between Leonard Little and Richard Owens. Little objected to a chop-block-like move from Owens. Doesn't that figure, Owens couldn't block anybody last year, now this year, he's trying to take out HIS OWN TEAMMATES. How does this guy manage to stay on the roster?
As for training camp fights, you hear many say they're a good sign, the team is fired up, ready to compete, etc. Well, the Rams had that huge fight at last year's scrimmage between Jackson and OJ Atogwe, with Incognito adding some late Turleyage - how'd that team do? Jackson and Adam Archuleta had a mini-brawl in '05 - how did that team do?
Funny how all these fights involve Jackson, btw.
* Nick Wagoner continues to gush about Brock Berlin. Marc Bulger continues to excel - as a receiver?
* Thomas reported on 1380 yesterday that the offense was actually practicing the "victory formation". Lord knows they didn't get much work at it last year.
* Jackson holdout day 12. Jim Thomas reports that Jackson isn't expected to show up today and is knowingly potentially losing a year of credit toward unrestricted free agency. If the owners void the existing CBA, he'll have to be in the league six seasons before becoming eligible for UFA instead of five. That could make him only a RFA in 2010. Jackson's gamble is that the owners won't void the CBA. Thomas believes it's unlikely. I believe it's completely likely because, well, it's professional sports owners. They're stupid enough to let it get this close; don't bank on them not to pull the trigger. Jackson would seem to be risking millions of dollars down the line in holding out for a deal now, which has me questioning his intelligence now as well as his integrity.
I guess inflation kicked in, because Thomas also reports Jackson's maximum daily fine is $15,166. So if he's an idiot and sacrifices a year of eligibility by not showing up today, his total fine could be as much as $181,992. Well, there goes his ability to buy the world's most expensive bottle of whiskey. C'mon, it's not like you can find that kind of money in between the cushions of your couch or in the walls of your house or anything!
Today for me is the day that Jackson's holdout will have gone on beyond reason. Do I think the Rams are lowballing him? Yes. But if he's willing to let his holdout go to idiotic, self-destructive lengths - all you have to do is show up, bud - he's making it impossible to side with him.
* Yesterday had the first legit fight of training camp, between Leonard Little and Richard Owens. Little objected to a chop-block-like move from Owens. Doesn't that figure, Owens couldn't block anybody last year, now this year, he's trying to take out HIS OWN TEAMMATES. How does this guy manage to stay on the roster?
As for training camp fights, you hear many say they're a good sign, the team is fired up, ready to compete, etc. Well, the Rams had that huge fight at last year's scrimmage between Jackson and OJ Atogwe, with Incognito adding some late Turleyage - how'd that team do? Jackson and Adam Archuleta had a mini-brawl in '05 - how did that team do?
Funny how all these fights involve Jackson, btw.
* Nick Wagoner continues to gush about Brock Berlin. Marc Bulger continues to excel - as a receiver?
* Thomas reported on 1380 yesterday that the offense was actually practicing the "victory formation". Lord knows they didn't get much work at it last year.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Training camp headines 8/4
The Rams will practice at 8:45 and 4:00 today.
* Jackson holdout. It'll be Steven Jackson's 11th missed day of practice if he continues his holdout. The total potential fine of $165,000 could crimp any plans Jackson may have had of buying a vineyard in Argentina.
* Quick notes. Quinton Culberson tweaked an ankle during Saturday's scrimmage but shouldn't miss any time. Richie Incognito is back at starting RG right now with Mark Setterstrom still out due to a leg muscle strain.
* Preseason challenge. The 2008 Preseason Challenge got off to less than a rousing start last night. Computer problems delayed me from blogging the game for a couple of hours, but I was able to get it in thanks to TiVo. Next game: Saints at Big Dead Thursday night.
* Around the league. Panthers suspend Steve Smith for the first two games of the regular season for beating the crap out of teammate Ken Lucas. So both the NFL's Steve Smiths are now notorious for beating up teammates, which Steve Smith of the Giants did to Dominique Byrd at USC.
* Jackson holdout. It'll be Steven Jackson's 11th missed day of practice if he continues his holdout. The total potential fine of $165,000 could crimp any plans Jackson may have had of buying a vineyard in Argentina.
* Quick notes. Quinton Culberson tweaked an ankle during Saturday's scrimmage but shouldn't miss any time. Richie Incognito is back at starting RG right now with Mark Setterstrom still out due to a leg muscle strain.
* Preseason challenge. The 2008 Preseason Challenge got off to less than a rousing start last night. Computer problems delayed me from blogging the game for a couple of hours, but I was able to get it in thanks to TiVo. Next game: Saints at Big Dead Thursday night.
* Around the league. Panthers suspend Steve Smith for the first two games of the regular season for beating the crap out of teammate Ken Lucas. So both the NFL's Steve Smiths are now notorious for beating up teammates, which Steve Smith of the Giants did to Dominique Byrd at USC.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/3
Nothing going on at Rams training camp today, though it will still count as Steven Jackson's 10th day of unexcused absence if he doesn't show up. My guess is he shows up tomorrow or Tuesday, but meanwhile, he has now rung up $150,000 in potential fines for violating his contract. So that Porsche chronograph may have to wait another day.
Yesterday's scrimmage appears to have run smoothly. The best account of it I saw was espn.com's. Thumbs up and down from the scrimmage:
* Up: Marc Bulger's throwing better and getting a better feel for the new offense by the day. Bulger's success is obviously crucial to the Rams having any kind of chance this season. It's very good to see that the Ram offense is finally clicking in training camp after a rough start.
* Down, as in way, way down: Dante Hall muffed a punt return for a turnover. Hall has never gotten out of my shithouse for losing the Whiner game in St. Louis with a crucial turnover, and he ought to be deep in Scott Linehan's, too. When you're not Devin Hester, Josh Cribbs, Az Hakim or the old Dante Hall, the chance of you making a big play isn't worth the risk if you're going to fail to field EVERY punt cleanly. Dante Hall made a couple of exciting plays last year, but he also cost the Rams a game. At this stage of his career, he damn sure should field punts without being a turnover risk. And though he appeared to be a good investment last year, he still didn't make enough big plays, and wasn't durable enough, to justify the risk. The coaching staff had better put Hall on notice. If he's not going to hold on to the ball, he has no use on this team.
* Up: UFA RB Lance Ball, who's getting a lot more carries thanks to the absence of a certain Pro Bowl running back. He had one of the TDs of the scrimmage and has impressed at practice. Good to see another candidate for best underdog story of camp.
* Down: It doesn't sound like there was a whole lot of offense at the scrimmage, just two TDs, the other by Keenan Burton. Then again, starters played just 18 snaps at most.
* Down: "a number" of pre-snap penalties. INTOLERABLE.
* Up: UFA LB Mark Magro. It doesn't sound like Magro had stood out a lot in practice, but in the live environment of scrimmage, he stood out with a pass break-up and what would have counted as a sack in a real game. Gotta like the guys who play best when it counts.
* Down: Julius Wilson, dominated at OT by the likes of Magro and Eric Moore. Would have given up two sacks. I suppose he deserves some slack since he hasn't been in camp long, but yeah, I don't know how much we were supposed to expect out of that great Dolphins offensive lineman factory.
* Up: Brock Berlin, at least if you're Nick Wagoner. Wagoner reports that Berlin is quite improved over last year, though he undermines his credibility in saying Berlin "handled himself fairly well" in last year's loss to the eminently beatable Bengals, a game the Rams could have won had Gus Frerotte been even 50% healthy. Berlin was about as ready for that game as Admiral Stockdale was for the 1992 Vice-Presidential debate. He was so shaky Scott Linehan was afraid to call any pass route that went more than five yards downfield. The fiasco at QB was the reason the Rams lost that game. Good for Berlin if he's actually improved; goodness knows he couldn't be any worse. As for Wagoner, I'll hope he's being more of a benefit-of-the-doubt reporter here than any kind of a company shill.
* Down: Nepotism. LB Vince Hall has been waived/injured, and replaced by - I'm SURE the best player they could find out there - WR coach Henry Ellard's cousin, Marcus Riley of Fresno State. I'm disappointed Hall couldn't translate his college success to the NFL, and let's just say I'm curious that the Rams decided the next best person to get would come off the old family tree. Good luck to Riley. Maybe he's not even supposed to be a factor; maybe Chamberlain and Vobora and Magro aren't going to give him a real chance anyway. But you always want to have the best competition available at every position, and I'm not convinced the Rams went that extra mile with this acquisition.
Yesterday's scrimmage appears to have run smoothly. The best account of it I saw was espn.com's. Thumbs up and down from the scrimmage:
* Up: Marc Bulger's throwing better and getting a better feel for the new offense by the day. Bulger's success is obviously crucial to the Rams having any kind of chance this season. It's very good to see that the Ram offense is finally clicking in training camp after a rough start.
* Down, as in way, way down: Dante Hall muffed a punt return for a turnover. Hall has never gotten out of my shithouse for losing the Whiner game in St. Louis with a crucial turnover, and he ought to be deep in Scott Linehan's, too. When you're not Devin Hester, Josh Cribbs, Az Hakim or the old Dante Hall, the chance of you making a big play isn't worth the risk if you're going to fail to field EVERY punt cleanly. Dante Hall made a couple of exciting plays last year, but he also cost the Rams a game. At this stage of his career, he damn sure should field punts without being a turnover risk. And though he appeared to be a good investment last year, he still didn't make enough big plays, and wasn't durable enough, to justify the risk. The coaching staff had better put Hall on notice. If he's not going to hold on to the ball, he has no use on this team.
* Up: UFA RB Lance Ball, who's getting a lot more carries thanks to the absence of a certain Pro Bowl running back. He had one of the TDs of the scrimmage and has impressed at practice. Good to see another candidate for best underdog story of camp.
* Down: It doesn't sound like there was a whole lot of offense at the scrimmage, just two TDs, the other by Keenan Burton. Then again, starters played just 18 snaps at most.
* Down: "a number" of pre-snap penalties. INTOLERABLE.
* Up: UFA LB Mark Magro. It doesn't sound like Magro had stood out a lot in practice, but in the live environment of scrimmage, he stood out with a pass break-up and what would have counted as a sack in a real game. Gotta like the guys who play best when it counts.
* Down: Julius Wilson, dominated at OT by the likes of Magro and Eric Moore. Would have given up two sacks. I suppose he deserves some slack since he hasn't been in camp long, but yeah, I don't know how much we were supposed to expect out of that great Dolphins offensive lineman factory.
* Up: Brock Berlin, at least if you're Nick Wagoner. Wagoner reports that Berlin is quite improved over last year, though he undermines his credibility in saying Berlin "handled himself fairly well" in last year's loss to the eminently beatable Bengals, a game the Rams could have won had Gus Frerotte been even 50% healthy. Berlin was about as ready for that game as Admiral Stockdale was for the 1992 Vice-Presidential debate. He was so shaky Scott Linehan was afraid to call any pass route that went more than five yards downfield. The fiasco at QB was the reason the Rams lost that game. Good for Berlin if he's actually improved; goodness knows he couldn't be any worse. As for Wagoner, I'll hope he's being more of a benefit-of-the-doubt reporter here than any kind of a company shill.
* Down: Nepotism. LB Vince Hall has been waived/injured, and replaced by - I'm SURE the best player they could find out there - WR coach Henry Ellard's cousin, Marcus Riley of Fresno State. I'm disappointed Hall couldn't translate his college success to the NFL, and let's just say I'm curious that the Rams decided the next best person to get would come off the old family tree. Good luck to Riley. Maybe he's not even supposed to be a factor; maybe Chamberlain and Vobora and Magro aren't going to give him a real chance anyway. But you always want to have the best competition available at every position, and I'm not convinced the Rams went that extra mile with this acquisition.
For St. Louis fans, training camp may be a microcosm of their NFL future
The Rams estimated attendance at yesterday's team scrimmage at Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, six hours from downtown St. Louis, at 2,000. Attendance at last year's scrimmage, held at the "Russell Training Center" or whatever in Earth City, Mo., about half an hour from downtown St. Louis, was estimated at 1,500. (And no, the Cardinals weren't in town that weekend last year.)
The Rams website has an article up in which the team's most visible individuals, QB Marc Bulger, WR Torry Holt and head coach Scott Linehan, are all practically gushing at the way Wisconsin locals have shown up to watch the team practice. Linehan makes a remark in the article about hoping more Rams fans will come up in the future. I can't tell if he is encouraging Rams fans or cajoling us.
The evidence is, more people in Wisconsin are showing up in August to watch practices of a team that isn't even theirs than show up in St. Louis to see their hometown team.
Does this trend hold true throughout the week? No, not from what I've seen reported so far. Was St. Louis 12-15 degrees hotter this time last year than Wisconsin is now? I suspect yes. And of course Scott Linehan wants to make the decision to move training camp look good - it was his!
But there's no shaking that attendance figure, assuming we can trust its veracity, and there's no shaking that the Rams are immediately using it to embarrass St. Louis fans from their very own website. The Rams' whole PR campaign this summer has been more about embarrassing fans into showing up than anything else. Oh, and highlighting the opponents like the Giants, Cowboys and Bears who'll likely be better draws because of their large national followings.
If St. Louisans doesn't think this franchise isn't already building its case to move again, they're not paying attention. And the fact that Rams' training camps are better attended when they're moved six hours away is pretty damning evidence.
The Rams website has an article up in which the team's most visible individuals, QB Marc Bulger, WR Torry Holt and head coach Scott Linehan, are all practically gushing at the way Wisconsin locals have shown up to watch the team practice. Linehan makes a remark in the article about hoping more Rams fans will come up in the future. I can't tell if he is encouraging Rams fans or cajoling us.
The evidence is, more people in Wisconsin are showing up in August to watch practices of a team that isn't even theirs than show up in St. Louis to see their hometown team.
Does this trend hold true throughout the week? No, not from what I've seen reported so far. Was St. Louis 12-15 degrees hotter this time last year than Wisconsin is now? I suspect yes. And of course Scott Linehan wants to make the decision to move training camp look good - it was his!
But there's no shaking that attendance figure, assuming we can trust its veracity, and there's no shaking that the Rams are immediately using it to embarrass St. Louis fans from their very own website. The Rams' whole PR campaign this summer has been more about embarrassing fans into showing up than anything else. Oh, and highlighting the opponents like the Giants, Cowboys and Bears who'll likely be better draws because of their large national followings.
If St. Louisans doesn't think this franchise isn't already building its case to move again, they're not paying attention. And the fact that Rams' training camps are better attended when they're moved six hours away is pretty damning evidence.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/2
The Rams began scrimmage at 9:50 this morning. Hope everybody up there got word about the schedule change...
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 9. Jackson's potential fine at the end of today will be $135,000. That's just short of what it would take him to buy a new Winnebago Adventurer and drive around Mequon in style...
There's also some confusion now on what date Jackson could lose a year of free agency. August 8, 30 days prior to the Rams' season opener, has previously been reported as that date, but the NFL season starts September 4 in the Meadowlands, so the date may actually be August 5. Either way, odds are we'll finally hear from Jackson sometime next week...
* Best news of training camp so far. Bill Coats blogs that Chris Long has "improved noticeably" since arriving in camp. Huh, I thought all these two-a-days were supposed to be useless wastes of time that only get guys injured. Anyway, this sure stokes the fires of those of us hoping Long will contribute right away, which is looking like a good probability...
* Injuries easing some. Tye Hill, Drew Bennett, Brett Romberg and others were back in action yesterday after missing some time with minor injuries. Then again, Dan Kreider is out now due to a knee problem, and Justin King is missing some time due to tight hamstrings...
* Why NFL refereeing still sucks. Never mind that the league itself appears to think Jeff Triplette's crew is one of the league's best. Members of that very crew were in camp yesterday to go over this year's "points of emphasis", which includes everybody having their chin strap fastened every play.
Yes, in a league where there's still too many dirty hits, too many quarterbacks getting roughed, too much offensive and defensive holding, and where half the crews have little or no idea what pass interference should be, this year, the NFL is going to crack down on unfastened chin straps.
The specter of a long and/or game-winning play getting called back because somebody not even in the play didn't have his chin strap fastened looms...
* Bulger goes deep? The highlight play of Friday's practice, according to Nick Wagoner's blog, was a deep pass down the sideline, not from, but to, Marc Bulger, thrown by fullback Russ Weil. Hey, that's what the article/entry said. So this may be the one trick play the Rams run next season. Hopefully it does better than last year's version, a flea-flicker play for Jackson seen in practice that only went for one yard when it was attempted in the regular season...
* Steven Jackson holdout, day 9. Jackson's potential fine at the end of today will be $135,000. That's just short of what it would take him to buy a new Winnebago Adventurer and drive around Mequon in style...
There's also some confusion now on what date Jackson could lose a year of free agency. August 8, 30 days prior to the Rams' season opener, has previously been reported as that date, but the NFL season starts September 4 in the Meadowlands, so the date may actually be August 5. Either way, odds are we'll finally hear from Jackson sometime next week...
* Best news of training camp so far. Bill Coats blogs that Chris Long has "improved noticeably" since arriving in camp. Huh, I thought all these two-a-days were supposed to be useless wastes of time that only get guys injured. Anyway, this sure stokes the fires of those of us hoping Long will contribute right away, which is looking like a good probability...
* Injuries easing some. Tye Hill, Drew Bennett, Brett Romberg and others were back in action yesterday after missing some time with minor injuries. Then again, Dan Kreider is out now due to a knee problem, and Justin King is missing some time due to tight hamstrings...
* Why NFL refereeing still sucks. Never mind that the league itself appears to think Jeff Triplette's crew is one of the league's best. Members of that very crew were in camp yesterday to go over this year's "points of emphasis", which includes everybody having their chin strap fastened every play.
Yes, in a league where there's still too many dirty hits, too many quarterbacks getting roughed, too much offensive and defensive holding, and where half the crews have little or no idea what pass interference should be, this year, the NFL is going to crack down on unfastened chin straps.
The specter of a long and/or game-winning play getting called back because somebody not even in the play didn't have his chin strap fastened looms...
* Bulger goes deep? The highlight play of Friday's practice, according to Nick Wagoner's blog, was a deep pass down the sideline, not from, but to, Marc Bulger, thrown by fullback Russ Weil. Hey, that's what the article/entry said. So this may be the one trick play the Rams run next season. Hopefully it does better than last year's version, a flea-flicker play for Jackson seen in practice that only went for one yard when it was attempted in the regular season...
Friday, August 1, 2008
Training camp headlines 8/1
Practices scheduled today for 8:45 and 4:00.
Team scrimmages tomorrow at 10:45. Sunday is an off day.
Training camp seems to have hit a quiet spell...
Single-game tickets go on sale at 10:00 today. C'mon and buy, buy, buy, people; I want to be able to record some home games!
* Jackson holdout, day 8. Still no news here, other than the daily accumulation of Jackson's potential fine, which could be as much as $120,000 now if he doesn't report today. And to think, he could have kept that money and used it to rent out Radio City Music Hall...
* 15 of 80 players missed practice yesterday, per Jim Thomas. Great to hear the team is over last year's injury bug, eh? And once again, viva Field Turf! The positive side of this is that none of the current injuries, save Victor Adeyanju's broken finger, are the type that would cause players to miss games had this been the regular season. At least that's how they're reporting it; I guess Josh Thompson's injury doesn't count any more...
* QB news. Thomas reports Brock Berlin is definitely ahead of Bruce Gradkowski in the third-string QB competition, saying Gradkowski has "no accuracy". So, the Rams' front office can't find a QB out there better than Brock Berlin? That's not exactly bolstering my confidence in them. Boy, you'd have thought Gradkowski would be better than Berlin, simply because it can't be that hard to do, but...
In better QB news, Marc Bulger appears to have knocked off any off-season rust now and has looked very sharp the last couple of practices. Let's just hope Bulger stays healthy. Trent Green figures to last about one hit backing Bulger up, and after them, apparently it's going to be Berlin. Yikes.
* Justin King outplaying Jonathan Wade. On its face, this isn't really a huge surprise. King is a real cornerback; Wade is a converted college wide receiver. Wade's play, though, is by all accounts improving over last year, so what we could get here is one of the better competitions of camp, between two up-and-coming young DBs. Early on, King's looking like one of the better bargains of the '08 draft.
Team scrimmages tomorrow at 10:45. Sunday is an off day.
Training camp seems to have hit a quiet spell...
Single-game tickets go on sale at 10:00 today. C'mon and buy, buy, buy, people; I want to be able to record some home games!
* Jackson holdout, day 8. Still no news here, other than the daily accumulation of Jackson's potential fine, which could be as much as $120,000 now if he doesn't report today. And to think, he could have kept that money and used it to rent out Radio City Music Hall...
* 15 of 80 players missed practice yesterday, per Jim Thomas. Great to hear the team is over last year's injury bug, eh? And once again, viva Field Turf! The positive side of this is that none of the current injuries, save Victor Adeyanju's broken finger, are the type that would cause players to miss games had this been the regular season. At least that's how they're reporting it; I guess Josh Thompson's injury doesn't count any more...
* QB news. Thomas reports Brock Berlin is definitely ahead of Bruce Gradkowski in the third-string QB competition, saying Gradkowski has "no accuracy". So, the Rams' front office can't find a QB out there better than Brock Berlin? That's not exactly bolstering my confidence in them. Boy, you'd have thought Gradkowski would be better than Berlin, simply because it can't be that hard to do, but...
In better QB news, Marc Bulger appears to have knocked off any off-season rust now and has looked very sharp the last couple of practices. Let's just hope Bulger stays healthy. Trent Green figures to last about one hit backing Bulger up, and after them, apparently it's going to be Berlin. Yikes.
* Justin King outplaying Jonathan Wade. On its face, this isn't really a huge surprise. King is a real cornerback; Wade is a converted college wide receiver. Wade's play, though, is by all accounts improving over last year, so what we could get here is one of the better competitions of camp, between two up-and-coming young DBs. Early on, King's looking like one of the better bargains of the '08 draft.
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