Senior Bowl report, 1/27

With both teams practicing in shells and going half-speed, Thursday's is usually the least eventful practice at the Senior Bowl. Today's was so uneventful, NFL Network actually started re-running parts of Wednesday's practices at one point. A short recap of the last practices before the game:

* Terrible quarterbacking was probably Thursday's lead item. I have seen nothing from Jake Locker to impress me and don't even see him as a first-round pick. He's been overthrowing receivers all week, and I mean not-even-close overthrows. Kendric Burney picked him off in the red zone drill. Locker's also blowing snaps and botching handoffs to the point that the coaches are sending him off to the side with a center to take extra reps. Ricky Stanzi was picked off twice, once by Burney and once by Casey Matthews. These kind of mistakes ought to be unforgivable in this kind of drill. Stanzi did throw a TD to Kendall Hunter, and Locker did have a pretty downfield pass dropped by Dane Sanzenbacher, but especially on the North side, there's been just a lot of bad quarterbacking this week. Colin Kaepernick is clearly the best North QB, making a sweet play Thursday to hit Lance Kendricks with a pass after getting flushed by Cameron Jordan.

* The star player Thursday was probably North Carolina CB Burney, who has stepped up his game as the week has progressed. He had two interceptions in the red zone and just missed another in 11-on-11 after making an excellent read.

* Arizona DE Brooks Reed has really come on strong at the end. In 1-on-1, he killed Derek Sherrod with a spin move and forced James Carpenter to commit a certain hands-to-the-face penalty. Reed also tore it up in 11-on-11.

* Sherrod and Carpenter both had a ton of trouble with speed Thursday. Carpenter's really starting to get overextended and reaching too much. Sherrod got whipped for a sack in 11-on-11 but plowed a huge hole for a TD run in the red zone.

* Let's hear it for some of the guys I've been riding all week. Allen Bailey smoked Sherrod for that 11-on-11 sack and had a nice run stuff in the red zone. Curtis Brown defended an end zone fade to Leonard Hankerson perfectly in the right corner, then after a commercial break, broke up another on the left side, a pass he probably should have intercepted. Courtney Smith actually hung on to a couple of passes, making a nice grab on the second. Stephen Schilling had his best day of practice, looking good blocking at the goal line.

* Of course, other players have looked strong all week. I like DT Jarvis Jenkins the more I see of him. He and Phil Taylor moved very fluidly for their size in a punch/spin move drill and they're a mean team clogging the run. Danny Watkins has been consistent at guard but Rodney Hudson's the guard there I like the best. He's been solid in 11-on-11 and he impressively flattened Jenkins in a 1-on-1 rep. Gabe Carimi and John Moffitt bounced back after off days Wednesday, and Indiana lineman James Brewer also had a strong practice. They made like snowplows to blow open a couple of draw plays, and Carimi and Brewer got Stanzi forever to throw on the TD pass to Hunter. Titus Young made a terrific goal line catch while blanketed and beat Jalil Brown on an end zone fade, kind of an odd route for a shorter receiver. He did blow a wide open catch in the back of the end zone and reportedly has had a bit of a case of the drops this week. I still think he's a very solid second-rounder, though.

* Other players... well, there's always the Combine. OL Lee Ziemba continues to be overmatched. USC center Kristofer O'Dowd has looked slow-footed and has been getting beaten in drills all week.

* "Poppers": Auburn DB Zac Etheridge broke up a goal line pass. LB Chris White would have blown up a screen pass had drills been full-contact; he's had a good week. Washington LB Mason Foster did a nice job to blow up a designed rollout pass to the TE. Sione Fua blew up an attempted end-around. Ross Homan blew up an attempted option run for Kaepernick.

Von Miller missed practice due to illness but was expected to play in the game Saturday. As for that game, we've had to start preparations for a major winter storm around here, so I think I'll save that for the possibility of getting snowed in Tuesday or Wednesday. Once again, amateur here, what can I say.

Senior Bowl report, 1/26

With the game itself being played as I write, here's RamView's likes and don't likes from Wednesday's full pads practices, starting with:

Don't like: NFL Network. Cover the event or don't cover it. We missed almost all of the North's line drills while they interviewed Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, then after that, went to a commercial break. At one point during the South practice, they put 11-on-11 in a quarter-sized screen so we could get a side-by-side look at Bills/South head coach CHAN GAILEY, which was beyond useless. There was more background graphic on my TV screen than actual practice footage. Thanks, dummies.

Like: Cameron Jordan. No new news here; the Cal DT continues to dominate. He basically toyed with John Moffitt and Stephen Schilling, beating each into the backfield with the same swim move on back-to-back plays. I'm surprised he didn't head back to the defensive huddle yawning.

Like: the South guards. North d-line vs. South o-line should be a fun matchup at the game, assuming I ever get around to covering it. Rodney Hudson (Florida State) continues to play well, and Clint Boling (Georgia) had a very strong Wednesday. Hudson put one guy on his butt and showed ability to get to the second level and to deliver pop on pull blocks. The only trouble Hudson had in 1-on-1 drills was with Phil Taylor, but Taylor may be the South's best player. Boling was strong in pass pro and also showed he could get to the second level. He looked good both at left and right guard. They would have sprung two or three big runs. Danny Watkins (Baylor) also delivered some strong run blocks. Mike Mayock called Mike Pouncey and Stefen Wisniewski the guards likeliest to be drafted in the first round, leaving the Rams several good prospects to look at with later picks.

Like: Roy Helu, Jr. Surprised the Nebraska RB isn't talked about more. He head-faked Lawrence Wilson out of his jock during receiving drills and won repeatedly in blitz pickup drills, which is rare for a RB. Ryan Kerrigan was the only guy who could beat him. Helu's fast, he can catch, and he showed here he can pick up blitzes; he could be a nice sleeper pick at RB for a team that needs to improve its backfield speed. Ahem.

Don't like: Casey Matthews. He did force Nate Solder to hold him on the Matthews family-patented spin move, but DeMarco Murray pretty well smoked him in receiving drills, and he lost again and again in blitz drills, where the defensive player's supposed to have the advantage. He was no challenge at all to Murray or Helu.

Like: Leonard Hankerson. He beat the crap out of Shareece Wright and Ahmad Black on a deep corner route and just ran away from Curtis Brown after catching a quick slant in 11-on-11. He followed that with a beautiful comeback route in 1-on-1 drills. I'm thinking Brandon Gibson, with speed.

Like: Preston Dial. The Alabama TE had a sweet one-handed catch in receiving drills and did some terrific run blocking in 11-on-11.

Don't like: Stanford FB Owen Marecic. Gonna have to blitz-protect a lot better in the pros than he did Wednesday. Everybody beat him till he handled Jeremy Beal at the end.

Like: Michigan State LB Greg Jones. Didn't see him lose in blitz drills, he appears to be around the ball a lot, and can cover sideline to sideline. Effective blitzer showed he can get there with moves and with a bull rush. He also blew up a run in 11-on-11.

Like: Here's another LB playing well, Mississippi State's Chris White. On one run, he blew up the fullback so well, he fouled up an attempted pull block, and that let him continue through to make a big tackle-for-loss. He would have blown up another run at the end of 11-on-11 with a terrific fill, the kind of fill Rams OLBs didn't make often enough last season.

Like: And another, K.J. Wright. In the role of pass-rush LB in 1-on-1, he whipped Lee Ziemba twice, simply stunning the Auburn RT with his punch the second time. He also forced DeMarcus Love to hold him twice, quite brutally the second time, though NFL-N played it up as an impressive play for Love. When he picks the guy up and tackles him?

Don't like: Allen Bailey. He's talked up as some kind of big-shot high-grade player, but Derek Sherrod and James Carpenter just toyed with him. Bailey's one of the least-impressive players I've seen, at least from TV coverage.

Don't like: the Wisconsin linemen, Wednesday, at least. Gabe Carimi destroyed a guy 15 yards downfield in an 11-on-11 screen play, but while they had his coach on to talk him up, Ian Williams beat him AND John Moffitt clean on a combo block drill, then handled Carimi 1-on-1. Moffitt had a very off day. He was beaten repeatedly off the snap in 11-on-11, run and pass plays alike.

Don't like: South DBs. Texas CB Curtis Brown was getting beaten in the half-speed drills, for crying out loud. He looked at least a step late anytime I got a look at him. Mayock can shut up about Ahmad Black any minute now. The Florida safety was Sehorn-late getting over to help Wright on an early burn from Hankerson, and he got turned inside-out later by D.J. Williams, who would whip him another time.

Don't like: Courtney Smith dropped way too many passes and is well out in front for this year's Joe Webb Award.

Don't like: DeMarcus Love. Held repeatedly during 1-on-1, getting credit for an impressive play against K.J. Wright though he essentially tackled the guy and flags would rain if he did that during an actual game. He also had a false start during 11-on-11. Alex Barron is NOT the comparison you want to draw leading up to the draft, sir.

North "poppers": Anthony Castonzo (BC) was strong in 1-on-1 and 11-on-11 drills at right guard but got beat for a would-be sack at the end of 11-on-11. Center Kevin Kowalski (Toledo) threw a nice block to spring Helu for a big gain. LB Lawrence Wilson (UConn) looked like an effective blitzer. Murray handled everyone but Wilson in blitz pickup, including Kerrigan, which was impressive.

South "poppers": West Virginia RB Noel Devine, 5'7" 160, showed excellent vision, nice burst, and ability to bounce plays outside. Hawaii WR Greg Salas made a couple of nice grabs and beat press coverage from Wright for one. DT Jarvis Williams split a double-team for a would-be sack, and he and Taylor would have had a huge run stuff on another play after Taylor flattened Jake Kirkpatrick. Brooks Reed of Arizona beat Carpenter to set up a would-be sack for K.J. Wright. Carpenter still had a pretty strong day at tackle, though, as did Sherrod. D.J. Williams proved very hard to cover Wednesday for the whole South secondary.

Don't like: that the Bengals, coaching the North team, have their security guy and their team psychologist on hand to interview players. Basically, they're getting a jump on everybody else, who I doubt are allowed to talk to any of the players until the Combine. Is this really kosher?

Worst creativity: Describing top guard prospect Mike Pouncey, Mayock noted he plays a lot like his brother Maurkice. That's not much of a revelation; aren't they identical twins?

Thursday's report is also likely to be three days late and a dollar short, but it's on the way.

Senior Bowl report, 1/25

Not as much to report on Tuesday's North and South practices. This is one of those days where, while you're glad NFL Network covers the Senior Bowl practices, unfortunately, NFL Network was covering the Senior Bowl practices. It was more important to cover 2/3 of the screen with graphics for Mike Mayock's top QBs, which he doesn't even have ranked in any order, than it was to show the North's 11-on-11. It was more important to put the camera on Casey Matthews standing around doing nothing, while they interviewed his brother Clay via telephone, than it was to show the o-line vs. d-line drills going on at the time. A big chunk of the South session looked like positional warmups; at a minimum, I don't have enough football IQ to get much use out of those. So, starting with a "did not impress" for NFL-N, today's report will be more of a thumbs up/down report.

Both teams practiced in pads.

* Impressed: Cameron Jordan. The 6'4" 287 d-lineman from Cal is blowing everybody up in drills and is having one of the most impressive weeks of anybody. He whipped James Brewer in 1-on-1 drills and would have had a sack against him in 11-on-11. He just toyed with Stephen Schilling in 1-on-1, flat embarrassing him with a swim move one rep. Jordan topped off an emphatic session by beating top tackle prospect Nate Solder. He is having a terrific week. But if Mike Mayock's right, there's little chance Jordan will be a Ram. He thinks the 3-4 teams at the end of the first round are going to be all over him.

* Impressed: Phil Taylor. Defensive tackles are dominating this all-star season. The 6'3.5" 337 Baylor DT was a man among boys in 1-on-1 drills. He overpowered Jake Kilpatrick (TCU). He beat DeMarcus Love badly with a punch on one rep and bull-rushed him into next week the next. He smoked Lee Ziemba the first time they crossed paths, and nearly ran him over with his bull rush the second time. Give Kirkpatrick credit that he could hold Taylor off once, because the man was dominant. At that size, though, my assumption is he's a 3-4 nose tackle. I know you can't just snap your fingers and switch to a 3-4, but players like these have me wishing the Rams were a 3-4 every spring.

* Did not impress: Courtney Smith. South Alabama WR had a couple of drops and is the clubhouse leader for worst hands so far. However, no one's near as bad as some of the butterfingers that were out there last year.

* Impressed: Christian Ballard. About the same size as Jordan, Ballard stood out by beating Anthony Castonzo a couple of times, which is no mean feat, and overmatched Schilling, in 1-on-1.

* Did not impress: Stephen Schilling. I'm sorry, but I just don't know what Schilling is even doing here. Everyone whips him in drills; he's completely overmatched.

* Impressed: Rodney Hudson. Rams Nation finally does have a guard or two to look at. The 6'2" 291 Seminole is a very likeable prospect and looked like a brick wall against Cedric Thornton. The All-America guard also dominated Miami d-lineman Allen Bailey. Looks impenetrable so far, like Mike Iupati did last year.

* Didn't impress: the rest of the South guards. Clint Boling (Georgia) looked fine in 1-on-1 against Bailey but looked like he was getting no push and had trouble holding his ground in 11-on-11. DeMarcus Love (Arkansas) similarly looked ineffective in 11-on-11, stronger in 1-on-1. Danny Watkins (Baylor) stuffed Chris Neild (West Virginia) handily, and Mayock called him one of the best interior linemen in the draft, but he's already 26. Lee Ziemba (Auburn) got beat just about every time, the South's Schilling, I guess.

* Didn't impress: Allen Bailey. Re-reading the last two entries, I'm not sure he ever beat anybody. Neither did Sam Acho (Texas) that I saw. James Carpenter (Alabama) stoned him once and flattened him another time.

* Impressed: Jeremy Beal. The Oklahoma DE bounced back with a good day. In 1-on-1, he burned Castonzo with an inside move and whipped Kevin Kowalski.

* Off day: Anthony Castonzo. Not sure this was such a great day for Castonzo. He had some bad moments in 1-on-1, and though he did look strong at RG in 11-on-11, when you want to play LT in the pros, doing well at RG doesn't help you out much. I wonder if all this flipping around from guard to tackle that the Bengals are having the North tackles do isn't messing them up.

* Impressed: Sione Fua. The Stanford DT had a couple of great sequences in 11-on-11 and probably would have had a couple of sacks. He knocked Roy Helu Jr. head over heels on one play, though I have to wonder how you leave a DT unblocked all the way to the tailback.

* Impressed: North CBs. The North secondary really bounced back Tuesday and look a lot more comfortable in press coverage than they did in the soft zone garbage we saw them in most of Monday. Kendric Burney blanketed people, Jalil Brown gave Vincent Brown as good as he got, and Richard Sherman and Rashad Carmichael looked much better in press coverage, though the two need to improve to better than woeful in zone.

* Didn't impress: Eric Hagg. Titus Young burned the stuffing out of the Nebraska safety on out routes, twice. Young continues to run great routes and is still the best receiver in camp.

* Cameo appearances: Steve Spagnuolo, Scott Linehan. Plus, I don't know if the Linehan Touch is what got to Jake Locker, but the Rams' QB coach under Linehan, Doug Nussmeier, has been Locker's QB coach at Washington. Also, JERRY GLANVILLE was there; I have no freaking idea why. To let us know he's still alive?

* Impressed: Gabe Carimi, who handled Pierre Allen with little trouble a couple of times. And Nate Solder, who locked up Ryan Kerrigan tighter than Fort Knox a couple of times, no mean feat.

* North "poppers": Colin Kaepernick continues to look like the best North QB and looked especially good Tuesday stepping up in the pocket. Ohio State LB Ross Homan had a nice stuff on an attempted draw play. Casey Matthews did a nice job blowing up an attempt Kaepernick QB draw.

* South "poppers": DT Jarvis Jenkins (Clemson) had a couple of clean wins in 1-on-1. At wide receiver, no South DB could cover Jeremy Kerley (TCU). Keep an eye on him, another Titus Young-type. Bigger WR Leonard Hankerson (Miami) made nice sideline plays and a nice catch over his head against pretty good coverage.

* Mayock intel: Florida State QB Christian Ponder: has had injury issues and has just a WCO-strength arm. Though he played well at tackle in the East-West Shrine Game, Mayock says William Rackley has to move inside to make it in the pros. All the 3-4 teams will love Von Miller, but now his weight is a major issue; Monday, it was his height. Illini LB Martez Wilson, much to my surprise, is the top ILB coming out. Mayock called Arkansas TE D.J. Williams, very undersized for that position at 6'2" 236, a matchup nightmare due to his speed. Yeah, so was Doren Dickerson last year, and he was barely drafted.

That is probably it for Senior Bowl reports until the weekend; I'll try to at least have reports on the rest of the practices (yesterday's and today's) up by Monday. Hey, I'm an amateur, what can I say.

Senior Bowl report, 1/24

It's Senior Bowl time again! NFL Network opened coverage of this year's week-long NFL job fair with the North team's Monday practice. Though the broadcast spent a lot of time on positions (QB, OT) where the Rams don't have much need, there was still enough to give hope the Rams break out their Wisconsin and Boise State game tapes when they get back home. I know I'm lagging behind like Jason Sehorn trying to cover Steve Smith here, but here's a rundown of Monday's practice coverage:

* On, Wisconsin. No wonder the Badgers made the Rose Bowl, with linemen like 6'7" 315 tackle Gabe Carimi and 6'4" 314 guard John Moffitt. Though the Cincinnati Bengals staff kicked him inside to guard Monday, which I'd view as a unwarranted and major threat to my future earnings if I were him, Carimi is considered one of the top three tackles in the draft. He's a mauler, with good-but-not-great feet. The four-year starter looked good at guard in 11-on-11, a very solid run blocker. He also threw DE Jeremy Beal (Oklahoma) around in 1-on-1 drills. Moffitt is tough and nasty, has a tremendous punch, a great run-blocker who can also play center. He looked good in 11-on-11 as well, coming in at guard when the coaches kicked Carimi back outside. Moffitt had a pancake block that sprung a nice middle run. So, two big young studs. One can play guard and tackle, one can play guard and center. Both are sure-fire NFL starters. Hank Fraley, John Greco or even Adam Goldberg could be feeling quite badgered by the time Senior Bowl week is over.

* Trench warfare. In the pass pro 1-on-1 drills, Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue came out one of the biggest winners, smoking Nate Solder with an inside move. Solder's the consensus #1 OT. That was about his only messup, but that was the only time I saw him go against Kerrigan. Biggest loser was guard Stephen Schilling of Michigan, who got smoked twice by Cameron Jordan of Cal. Not even close. Good battles: DT Ian Williams (Notre Dame) vs. C Kevin Kowalski (Toledo); DE Christian Ballard (Iowa) vs. OT James Brewer (Indiana). Brandon Fusco, the Slippery Rock center and Division-II lineman of the year, threw down Sione Fua (Stanford). Jason Pinkston (T, Pitt) controlled Pierre Allen (DE, Nebraska). When the d-line coach told Allen he needed to get lower on the 2nd try, Allen actually got more upright. Listen better next time. Just wasn't a good day for Beal; Carimi threw him around and Anthony Costanzo flattened him right off the bat with his punch on one rep.

* Mayock and Davis on the linemen: Solder, Costanzo and Carimi are the top 3 tackles. All three should be able to play LT in the pros. The latter two were four-year starters. All have great length and feet for the position. None of them have sloppy physiques but they could all get stronger. Mayock calls Solder a potential top-15 pick, Costanzo and Carimi potential first-rounders. At Purdue, Kerrigan had 33.5 career sacks, and 14 forced fumbles. And since he's Caucasian, he naturally gets compared to Kyle Vanden Bosch and... Chris Long.

* Warm reception. Boise State WRs Titus Young and Austin Pettis were the stars of the passing drills, though I caution that the North DBs looked positively awful; I'm not even sure some of them even had their shoes on the right feet. Young drew a lot of comparisons to DeSean Jackson and Percy Harvin. He's similarly sized, runs with a lot of wiggle and takes no time to accelerate on screen passes. He smoked Da'Norris Searcy (North Carolina) on a sideline route and Joe Lefeged (Rutgers) on an improvised corner route. Lefeged couldn't cover TEs, either, having gotten burned earlier by Lance Kendricks (Wisconsin). Both Boise WRs run nice routes. A big (6'2.5" 205) receiver, Pettis turned Jalil Brown (Colorado) inside out after one catch. Quinton Carter of Oklahoma was about the only DB who looked like he could cover anybody, though he got away with downfield contact covering Pettis. Watching Niles Paul (Nebraska) scorch the heck out of the appropriately-named Kendric Burney (North Carolina), I don't know how the Tar Heels got two DBs in the Senior Bowl, or how they didn't get scorched through the air all season. The DBs did fare a lot better against shorter routes. A third receiver who stood out was Vincent Brown (San Diego State); he overcame illegal contact to make a nice grab in 1-on-1 and made a nice catch of a high bullet from Jake Locker in 11-on-11. (Searcy fell down in coverage on that play.) Lawrence Wilson (Connecticut) looked like the best cover LB; while Mark Herzlich (Boston College) got burned by not Darell, not Dorell, but Da'Rel Scott (Maryland) for a long TD. Young was the standout Monday, though. He's Mardy Gilyard, if Gilyard could play, and already much more impressive than Gilyard was at last year's Senior Bowl practices.

* Assorted Mayock, with good news for Daniel Fells: Mayock called TCU QB Andy Dalton a better prospect at this point than Kevin Kolb was. He called Texas A&M LB Von Miller the best pass rusher in the draft, though his height at 6'2.5" may be a concern. He also noted that 2011 is not a good tight end class at all, which tells me the Rams goofed last year by not taking better advantage of a very deep class.

* Factoid only I care about: the Cincinnati coaching staff is working their THIRD Senior Bowl in SEVEN years. We complained about the Rams not taking advantage of the opportunity to work last year's game, but all this exposure to the top college players doesn't seem to help out the Bengals that much.

* QB notes: Jake Locker may be a fine athlete but he was Rick Ankiel-wild Monday. He completely overthrew a wide-open Kendricks during 1-on-1 and actualy got picked off during 7-on-7 due to a terrible overthrow. Bad misses in pretty-low-difficulty situations. Locker did show a nice play-fake. Colin Kaepernick (Nevada) was the story at QB. He was likened a lot to Tim Tebow; Paul Burmeister called him the most versatile QB in NCAA history. He has mechanics issues, like Tebow did, but when they said he was a better runner than Tebow, I was dubious, but they weren't kidding. On a blown handoff play during 11-on-11, Kaepernick just took off in the other direction, and like a shot, for a big gain. I had to put my eyeballs back in their sockets after that play. There's fast; there's really fast; Kaepernick is FREAKING fast. He's a very intriguing player.

More belated Senior Bowl reports throughout the week.

East-West Shrine Game report

On Saturday in Orlando, a dominating defensive line performance propelled the East to a 25-8 win over the West. Watching the game, a handful of players stood out that I hope the Rams will give a good look, and a bunch stood out that don't look like players that would help the Rams out much next year. Amateur scouting report follows:

* DT Marvin Austin (North Carolina) looked dominant and probably should have been voted the MVP of the game, though I'm not sure how he got even got in it, when he was suspended all season for dealing with an agent. Today he was pretty much a man among boys. None of the West interior linemen could stop him from pressuring the QB. He pushed Caleb Schlauderaff (Utah) right back into the QB on one play. The last TD of the game was the game in a nutshell for both teams. Austin drove Schlauderaff and the West center back into the QB, who had no choice but to run, and two stripped fumbles by East LBs later, Austin was on top of the ball in the end zone. I don't know if this was a Freudian slip, but my notes say, "The Ease d-line dominated this way all game." The East did, with ease, led by Austin. Can the Rams get him? Tough call. Besides his off-field issue, he seems likeliest to go between the Rams' 1st- and 2nd-round picks.

* If Austin wasn't the MVP, then it had to be DE Justin Trattou (Florida), who dominated very overmatched right tackles throughout the game. He whipped Laupepa Latuli (Hawaii) almost every play. I think he blew up every screen pass the West tried. Nobody apparently cared enough to do a decent box score for this game, but Trattou had at least two sacks. Mike Mayock calls the 6'4" 255 Trattou a 3-4 OLB prospect, not big enough to be a 4-3 DE, though he sure looked great at it today. This time last year, Mayock was insisting Rodger Saffold had to move to guard in the NFL despite a fine EWSG performance at tackle. A zone-blitzing team like the Rams has to love a guy like Trattou, who showed both quickness getting after the passer and to drop off the line and break up short passes.

* Austin had good company at DT from Martin Parker (Richmond), who also gave Schlauderaff fits. He had a couple of sacks and forced a fumble. Thought he was quite reminiscent of D'Marco Farr, and he should be the kind of quick, upfield-penetrating DT the Rams (yeah, and everybody else, too) like.

* The West got into the DT act with Brandon Bair (Oregon), David Carter (UCLA) and Karl Klug (Iowa). Bair beat Randall Hunt (Illinois) almost every play early. Carter pushed a double-team backward for a tackle-for-loss on a running play. Klug is a classic Iowa lineman, undersized but strong as hell. He ain't playing NFL DT at 272, though. Olong Ogbu (Penn State) had a couple of sacks.

* DE Kenny Rowe (Oregon) had a couple of sacks, and forced a fumble near the goal line that the East had to fall on for a safety. Ryan Winterswyk (Boise State) showed nice quickness to pressure the pocket.

* I watched the game focusing on the guards at every snap, and got an eyeful of terrible play. Almost all the o-linemen in this game looked awful. Schlauderaff had one pancake block I saw but struggled all game in pass pro, and Parker pretty much made a blocking sled out of him. Zachary Williams (Washington State) looked terrible. Ogbu (Penn State) whipped him for a sack and he blew up another play by stepping on his QB's foot. Williams was getting smoked badly repeatedly by the end of the game. Not sure I'd give you $20 for Andrew Jackson (Fresno State). Ogbu also whipped him for a sack, Austin blew him up to set up Trattou's last sack, and he made the mistake of trying to run with a fumbled ball and fumbled again to create the East's last TD. He also had a holding penalty on a running play. He settled down later in the game, but at the start, Latuli looked like the worst player ever invited to an all-star game. There were plays where Trattou and others would be around him or Matthew O'Donnell (Queens, Ontario) before they could even get out of their stance. (And that takes a long time for O'Donnell; he's 6'10".) Rowe whipped O'Donnell at will. It looked like East center Ryan Bartholomew (Syracuse) got knocked backwards every play. I wouldn't give most of these guys as much as a second look.

* It wasn't all awful on the o-line. T William Rackley (Lehigh) looked like a good blocker. Center J.C. Brignone (Mississippi State) was up-and-down. He had the key block on a 13-yard middle run and threw a pretty cut block on the West's TD pass. He looked pretty solid in pass pro other than getting beaten badly on a near-interception at the end of the first half. G Bryant Browning (Ohio State) was getting beaten repeatedly at the outset but settled down. The best guard combo of the day was he and G David Arkin (Missouri State), who was one of my favorite players today, certainly the best guard, possibly the best o-lineman, in the game. I don't know where Arkin was in the first half, but from the start of the second, he was mauling guys. He had a couple of pancake blocks, had good blocks that sprung 8- and 9-yard runs, and did some nice pull blocking, despite Mayock's declaration that he was "best in a phone booth". The 6'5" 300 Arkin is the kind of physical run-blocking guard the Rams need, though a better look at his pass-blocking skills would be in order.

* SS Shiloh Keo (Idaho) stood out as an all-over-the-place kind of player. He made quite a few plays at SS and on special teams, where he played both ways, returning kickoffs and blocking an extra point. At a minimum he seems to have a bright future as a teams specialist.

* Looking for players at the skill positions? Lotsa luck. Dominant defensive line play and poor quarterbacking led to passing games that only Pat Shurmur could love. The WRs were non-descript; the Rams aren't getting any help from this game at that position. Delone Carter (Syracuse) was the main decent-looking RB, scoring the opening TD and showing decent outside speed in doing it. He also caught a pass and received the actual MVP honor for the game. RB Alex Green (Hawaii), on the other hand, fumbled twice. QB Jerrod Johnson (Texas A&M) had the strongest arm there but had a laughable attempt at a throwaway intercepted in the 2nd half. Ball could have been fair-caught. A couple of tight ends "popped": Greg Smith (Texas) had several catches, including a 35-yarder up the seam, and was essentially the standout receiver of the game. Converted basketball player Julius Thomas (Portland State) caught a TD and a 2-point conversion, but SS Jermale Hines (Ohio State) spooked him into dropping a perfect seam pass from Johnson later. Not much to see here.

* Not much to see in the defensive "back seven," either, not with the lines dominating and QBs barely able to get the ball downfield. Hines had that cool play I just mentioned. Chris Walker (DE or LB, Tennessee) and Eric Gordon (SS or LB, Michigan State) forced fumbles, on the same play, the East's last TD. CB Mario Butler (Georgia Tech) looked pretty sucky, giving up a bad DPI and brutally dropping an INT thrown right to him. The Rams have enough players like Butler, hell, named Butler, already. Nicholas Bellore (LB, Central Michigan) was beaten badly on Carter's TD run; the Rams also already have plenty of LB's who can't get to the edge quickly enough, sorry.

So, no, the East-West Shrine Game probably didn't help the Rams out a lot at all. I'd mostly look at the defensive linemen, possibly Delone Carter and Greg Smith, and make sure to get a good look at Arkin and Keo. Anywhere else on the field, though, especially on offense, the Rams might as well wait and get a good look at the Senior Bowl.

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Picks for Sunday

Packers 21, Bears 13. Green Bay defense continues its impressive postseason run. I think they'll own the line of scrimmage and take it from there. A hassled Cutler will be serving 'em up to the Packer secondary. I don't see Chicago's secondary matching up near as well, so even when the Bears get Rodgers in trouble, he'll be a lot better at slipping out of it than Cutler.

Steelers 27, Jets 24. The Jets have burned me twice already so I'm definitely feeling edgy on this one. Especially because, if both defenses play their top games, I think it would be the Jets who move the ball better. Imagine what happens if the Jets shut down the Steeler running game and Revis takes a side of the field away from Big Ben. They'll be booing the home team in Heinz Field, that's what'll happen. And the Steelers have very exploitable holes on their offensive line. The team that wins this game may simply be the team that loses the coin toss and starts steam-rolling momentum on D. And the Steelers haven't been unbeatable at home in the playoffs in recent years. And I'm probably an idiot for sticking with them, but I will, on the theory that Sanchez will make one more big mistake than Big Ben will and that the Jets are overdue to just run out of gas.

Also, congratulations to Al Saunders for landing the offensive coordinator position in Oakland yesterday. Enjoy your fifteen smoke routes a game, Black Hole.

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Cactus Bowl report

You may know the East-West Shrine Game will be played tomorrow, and that practices at the Senior Bowl start Monday, but the most important postseason college game to the Rams the last couple years has already been played, and I missed it.

Of course, I'm talking about the Cactus Bowl, the NCAA D-II all-star game, held in Kingsville, Texas. Don't laugh. (OK, you can laugh at Cactus Bowl mascot Spike.) The Rams love to use late draft picks on players who appear in this game, or sign them as rookie free agents.

From the 2010 game, they drafted Eugene Sims (6b), and signed Jermelle Cudjo and Dominique Curry. Not only that, current practice squad player Jimmy Saddler-McQueen was also in the 2010 game, so guess how he got on Rams Park's radar. (Current Bears starting tackle J'Marcus Webb also played in that game.)

From 2009, the Rams drafted Keith Null (6) and signed Jarrett Byers and K.C. Asiodu. Other names I recognize from the 2009 game: TE Zack Miller (not the Oakland one) and Greg Toler. Oh, there's recognizable names: there was a George Washington (RB, Mars Hill) and a Steven Jackson (CB, Fort Valley State). Plus, I'm bummed nobody drafted the awesomely-named Les Hammers (DE, Truman State), but I digress.



That's two draft picks, seven players total, signed in two years from a fairly obscure postseason game. What talent may the Rams hope to mine from this year's game? Like I said, I missed it. Back on January 7, the "Red Storm" defeated the "Blue Devils" 28-6 on the strength of 2 TD passes by Offensive Player of the Game and Harlan Hill Trophy winner Eric Czerniewski of Central Missouri. With apologies to Eric, I'm pretty sure the Rams won't be looking very hard for a QB this offseason. What players might they go after? Let's wing after a few...

Marc Schiechl, Colorado School of Mines. Schiechl was the Defensive Player of the Game, with 8 tackles and 2 sacks. He's a defensive lineman listed as 6'3" 260 by the Cactus Bowl, but NFLDraftScout lists him at 248, Scouts, Inc at 242. He's a Division II All-American and the all-time career sacks leader at that level, with 46. He lost out on the award for Division II lineman of the year to the center at Slippery Rock. NFLDraftScout currently ranks him as the #54 DE. He thrived on outside-leverage pass rushing; he's easily faster than most of the D-II o-linemen he went up against. Most of his success appears to come from his exceptional quickness. That's by far his loudest note, but he's not one-note. He's got good change of direction, plays the run well enough and doesn't get lost if he gets re-directed inside. You'd figure if he gets locked onto by an NFL o-lineman, he's done. But he is impressively strong, and was a high school wrestler, so you'd also figure he's good at getting leverage. If he's a lot closer to his listed Cactus Bowl weight at Pro Day time, Schiechl's the style of defensive end and the kind of D-II prospect the Rams front office likes.

L.J. Castile, Delta State. The 6'3" 218 WR was the breakaway threat of the game, catching passes of 36, 42 and 44 yards with a TD. NFLDraftScout currently ranks him #49 at WR. War Room's analysis: "Castille (sic) shows the ability to adjust to passes low and high, but he dropped a few catchable balls during practice for the Cactus Bowl. He shows nice quickness to separate from cornerbacks and run after the catch. He also has shown inconsistent route-running skills." That's still an enticing description for a 7th-round or free-agent type player. His estimated 40's a shade over 4.5. The Rams have gone after big receivers from the Cactus Bowl each of the last couple of years, and Castile definitely fits the profile. Castile left Houston last year to concentrate on his studies, so he may get a knock from some about his level of commitment to the game.

Jessie Poku, Eastern New Mexico. He had 86 catches at ENMU this season and is the school's all-time record-holder for receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs. He had 4 catches in the Cactus Bowl for 34 yards. Like Castile, War Room likes Poku's ability to gain separation, but not his hands. Also not his catching technique. At 6'1" 207, though, he definitely fits the Rams' Cactus Bowl size profile, and unlike the first two prospects, Jessie plays in the LONE STAR CONFERENCE, which is where most of the Rams' previous Cactus Bowl prospects played. He's NFLDraftScout's #193-rated WR.

Anthony Stewart, Central Missouri. Stewart was one of the offensive stars of the game, with 45 yards rushing on 8 carries and a 43-yard reception. His game matched his performance at Cactus Bowl practices, where War Room praised his quickness on outside runs and ability to get up to speed after catching screen passes. Would the Rams like him at 5'9", 190? is the biggest question. The #133 RB prospect right now is listed at 5'7" 176 by some sources. The UCM website, granted, not unbiased, calls him explosive, with great moves and quickness. Attributes the Rams backfield clearly needs, if Stewart has them at a pro level. For now let's call him a very poor man's Darren Sproles.

Tae Evans, West Texas A&M. The 6'0", 205 corner led the "Red Storm" with 5 tackles, 4 solo. He's NFLDraftScout's #147-ranked CB. War Room says he plays much faster than his timed speed (4.68!?!?), makes sharp breaks, breaks up passes on all kinds of routes and moves smoothly in the hips. I mainly listed him because he sounds like a corner who's willing to support against the run, and because I think he's the best player the Rams can pull this year from their dreaded WTAMU PIPELINE, which has provided them a 6th-round pick the last two seasons.

I don't know how much the Cactus Bowl will help the Rams' searches for OLBs, guards or DTs, though since it's the Cactus Bowl, I'm sure they'll find a way. The on-line game rosters didn't provide a lot of help scouting offensive linemen. They didn't list any guards on the blue team and the ones on the red team are undersized. The defensive tackles who aren't undersized seem exceptionally tall for the position. A couple of the OLBs rang up nice tackle totals but top out at 6'0".

Don't miss out on the future of your Rams; check the game and practice reports out for yourself at:

War Room's Cactus Bowl Dish

Cactus Bowl website, where you can watch the actual game online if you dare

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Rams report, 1/20

* Josh McDaniels was introduced as the Rams' new offensive coordinator yesterday. Some catchup on the hiring:

- At the time talks briefly broke down earlier this week, the sides were reported to be $200,000 apart. McDaniels got a 2-year contract, which would expire at the same time as Steve Spagnuolo's current contract.

- Spagnuolo called the illegal taping controversy while McDaniels was Broncos head coach "a non-issue". McDaniels was fined $50,000 by the league last year for failing to notify that a Broncos assistant had taped part of a 49ers practice, against league rules, in the week prior to their game against the 49ers in London. The Broncos were also fined $50K, and the assistant was fired.

- ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck thinks McDaniels and a new system "very different" from the Rams' current offense will mean "a big step back" for Sam Bradford. Yeah, there's a touch of validity to that point, but didn't Bradford learn a new system this past season? And only had one of the best seasons ever by a rookie QB? I think Sam will manage.

Spagnuolo's conversation with Bradford prior to the McDaniels hiring:

I said, 'Is there any concern on your part about if it changes a little bit?' And he said, 'You know what, coach? I came in there out of college and didn't know anything and learned an offense and didn't do too bad.' So he doesn't seem to think it's...he wasn't fazed at all. Sam can play in any offense, that's just how we feel. He's a quarterback. He's a quality quarterback."

- Current Rams QB coach Dick Curl will retire "in the near future," says Spagnuolo. Here's a huge coinkydink - Josh McDaniels' brother was QB coach in Denver last year! Reportedly, though, his name was not brought up during the Rams' interviews with Josh. Josh could also assume QB coaching duties as part of a double role, which he did while in New England.

* Former Rams news:
- Kevin Curtis, who you may have seen play wild card weekend, signed with the Chiefs. He was there less than a week and they were already using him as their #2 WR. Curtis had been cut by Miami before the last game of the regular season.
- Brian Leonard was IR'ed prior to Cincinnati's last game due to an ankle problem. He was carted off the field during their December 19 win over the Browns. That cost him that last two-plus games; he missed opening week due to a mid-foot sprain and was inactive a couple of other weeks. He was used mainly as a receiver in Cincy this year; 20 catches for 137 yards vs. just 9 carries for 61 (one of which was a 42-yard gain on a fake punt). He did convert four 4th-downs for the Bengals, certainly more than he ever did here in St. Louis.
- Cardia Jackson was added to the Packers' practice squad.
- The Broncos signed Louis Leonard to their main roster before the last game of the regular season.
- Reserve/future contract signings: Roger Allen (Saints); Brooks Foster (Dolphins); Phil Trautwein (Browns); Roy Schuening (Saints); Mitch King (Saints); Dominic Douglas (Broncos); Chris Ogbonnaya (Texans); Cord Parks (Vikings); Danny Gorrer (Ravens).

* Rams ties to teams in Sunday's conference championships:
- Chicago: head coach Lovie Smith, offensive coordinator Mike Martz, LB Pisa Tinoisamoa, TE Brandon Manumaleuna, assistant secondary coach Gill Byrd (volunteer assistant, 2003-4).
- Green Bay: nose tackle Ryan Pickett, outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene, LB Brandon Chillar (injured reserve), LB Cardia Jackson (practice squad).
- Pittsburgh: kicker Shaun Suisham, who played here this preseason while Josh Brown recovered from a minor injury.
- N.Y. Jets: wide receivers coach Henry Ellard.

That NFC game looks like it'll be a big old reunion of the 2003 division champion Rams. Hopefully these teams get a lot better safety play. Certainly they won't have Steve Smith to deal with.

Good luck to all!

photos: KMOX.com, Sky News

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Rams get their man

Scratch that last post... the Rams have signed Josh McDaniels to be their new offensive coordinator. Fears that ownership would cheap out were misplaced. Excellent job by the organization all the way around. They didn't settle; they went after the top guy out there and got him.

McDaniels by himself doesn't give the Rams an explosive offense - they still need receivers. But he's still an exciting hire for Rams Nation. I think he really increases the offense's, and especially Sam Bradford's, potential.

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Kroenke era not off to a flying start?

News from ESPN-land today says that talks between the Rams and offensive coordinator candidate Josh McDaniels have broken down. The two parties have been unable to reach a deal despite more than two days of discussion. One of Chris Mortensen's inside sources says this "surprising result" may have been caused by "the team's conservative fiscal approach."

The Rams have now cast a wider net for their OC search. Apparently they're going to get interviews with current Vikings OC Darrell Bevell and Falcons QB coach Bill Musgrave. The Jagwires turned down the Rams' request to interview their OC, Dirk Koetter. (No idea what is happening with Brad Childress).

The Rams have done well here in selecting candidates. Koetter's Boise State roots and their apparent seriousness in going after McDaniels shows they're not just committed to going with Blandy McBland at OC. Steve Spagnuolo's open to an open offense.

That said, if they were serious enough about hiring McDaniels that they negotiated with him for two days, and the deal is falling apart because of money, then I have to wonder what the hell use Stan Kroenke really is. Far be it from me to tell other people how to spend their wife's money, but coaching staff is the easiest part of a football team for an owner to throw around his financial weight. You went hard after the best guy out there, now pay the man, unless he's done something totally goofy like asking for more salary than Spagnuolo.

You want to show Rams Nation you're serious about moving this team forward, Stan Kroenke? Write the damn check.

photo: Sports Illustrated

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Hall of Fame update

Earlier this week, former Rams Marshall Faulk and Jerome Bettis advanced to the final 17 candidates under consideration for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. They are joined by linebacker Les Richter, who makes the final list as one of the recommendations of the senior committee.

Aeneas Williams, Kevin Greene and Don Coryell did not make it to the final round, but, thankfully, neither did Paul Tagliabue, Edward DeBartolo or Art Modell.

The rest of the finalists: Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Dermontti Dawson, Richard Dent, Chris Doleman, Charles Haley, Chris Hanburger (senior committee nominee), Cortez Kennedy, Curtis Martin, Andre Reed, Willie Roaf, NFL Films founder Ed Sabol, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe.

My votes would go to Faulk, Sabol, Martin, Dent, Carter, Sanders and Bettis.

Oh, that lucky dawg pound...

...Pat Shurmur announced at the press conference introducing him as Cleveland's new head coach that HE'd be in charge of calling the offensive plays for the Browns. Well, such a potent playbook shouldn't be trusted in the hands of just ANYBODY, I guess.

Think Shurmur will continue to script his offense's first 15 plays? Here's how I expect the Browns to start next season.

1. Hillis, middle run. 1 yard.
2. Hillis, middle run. 1 yard.
3. 3-yard out to Cribbs. Punt.
4. Bubble screen to Robiskie. 1 yard.
5. Hillis, middle run. No gain.
6. Rollout right, 5-yard pass to Watson. Punt.
7. Hillis, middle run. -1.
8. Quick slant to Massaquoi. 2-yard pass incomplete.
9. Hillis, draw. -4. Punt.
10. 2-yard out to Cribbs.
11. Hillis, draw. -6.
12. Bubble screen to Cribbs. 3 yards. Punt.
13. Hillis, middle run. 12 yards.
14-16. Three incomplete short passes, because once you are running successfully, you NEVER want to go back to it.
17. Mike Humgrum replaces Shurmur with himself since it's what he wanted to do all along anyway.

Meanwhile, failed Broncos HC but wildly successful Patriots OC Josh McDaniels is interviewing for Shurmur's spot this weekend, and fliers are going up in the Rams Park neighborhood that failed Vikings HC but successful Eggles OC Brad Childress will interview here early next week.

* This week's picks: Repeating the everything-is-upside-down theme, this weekend's best game comes right away, and the NFL's saving the worst one for last. Thought Goodell had a better sense of theater than that.
- Polamalu's playing, and so is Big Ben, so I'll go with the Steelers over Baltimore, 27-17.
- Packers-Falcons looks extremely even, just like the regular-season meeting. I mainly like the Falcons because they're rested and at home. 24-21.
- Not betting against Tom Brady at home. I know the Ravens got them in last year's playoff, but the Jets just don't bring anything like that to the table. 35-14 Pats.
- Bears 35-10 over Seattle. I don't know what the blue hell happened to Gregg Williams and the Saints D last week, but it won't happen again in Chicago. Bears will also bring a much better run game than New Orleans with their #5 RB, and Seattle still can't stop the run.

Since I went 1-3 last week, my apologies in advance to the home teams this weekend.

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Everything is upside down

Weeks like this make me wonder why I don't just give up trying to figure football out.

Exhibit A: 7-8 Seattle knocks the defending champion Saints out of the playoffs. Kids, this is why you should NEVER gamble on any sporting event EVER.

Exhibit B: Sam Bradford sets about every rookie QB record known to man and loses the Sporting News Rookie of the Year, voted on by the players, to a defensive tackle from a team with a worse record.

Exhibit C: Neither A nor B are the biggest shock of the week. In perhaps the most rapid and most emphatic application ever of the Peter Principle, the Cleveland Browns have in fact hired Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur as their new head coach. He was apparently a shoo-in from the very beginning! Pat Shurmur! Apparently, the upshot ever since Shurmur's offense laid that six-point rancid egg in Seattle a couple of weeks ago is what a brilliant coordinator he is!

Really! Pat Shurmur. I trust Browns fans will be more excited at the idea of slamming Peyton Hillis straight up the middle 25 times a game than we were here with Steven Jackson then? (Except the most important game of the season, against a weak run defense, when it makes the most sense to use him. THEN you pass all day to set up the run, and never run.)

Many would say the Rams need to concentrate next on finding Shurmur's replacement, but they could be missing a golden opportunity. Because if Browns GM Mike Holmgren is really this god damn stupid, the Rams should be floating some deals his way equally as attractive as having Pat Shurmur as his next head coach. I'm thinking we could get Josh Cribbs for Mardy Gilyard, or maybe a couple of first- and second-round picks out of James Butler or Mike Karney.

It would have been interesting to see how the Shurmur offense developed next season, since I'm assuming the Rams are going to make some off-season upgrades. They made a very nice leap from 2009 to 2010. I think Shurmur would have been poised to reap further benefits had he stayed. Can the Rams' progress continue without him? Unless Steve Spagnuolo hires an OC who's amazingly wet behind the ears, I don't see why not.

Then again, I picked the Saints.

Rams free agents review

As the Rams begin to sort through their options in free agency for next season, they'll have to decide which of their own free agents to keep or let go. Here's how RamView hopes that process will go:


Unrestricted Free Agents:

WR Mark Clayton - priority: high. Clayton and Bradford really clicked the few games he was in there this year and he represents a (rare) downfield threat. It sounds like he wants to stay here, and it shouldn't take a lot of money. The only excuse for the Rams not to re-sign Clayton is that they don't want him, which seems very unlikely.

CB Kevin Dockery - priority: low. He's a nickel at best; if Fletcher or Bartell go down, you can't line him up on the outside (see: game #9 at San Francisco). He may have been their best nickel by the end of the season, but Justin King can probably play it just as well, and Dockery was injured almost as often as the ceramic King.


TE Daniel Fells - priority: low-medium. He's a gamer without question, but he misses blocks and isn't really a playmaker. Remember, the Rams nearly let him go to New England before this season. The Rams very much need to add explosive players, but Fells will never be one.

DT Gary Gibson - priority: medium. He's their second-best DT, though by default. Gibson's another gamer, but would ideally be farther back in the rotation, with the Rams upgrading at DT through free agency or the draft.

G Adam Goldberg - priority: low-medium. Spagnuolo seems to love Goldberg, so he'll probably actually be a high priority. And I respect his ability to play just about anywhere on the line. But John Greco is easily a better run-blocker, and Renardo Foster was the #3 tackle all season. I'm going to assume Goldberg actually stays because they believe him to be the better pass-blocker, and Greco will be gone.

DT Chris Hovan - priority: low to none. He'll be 33, and his website leaves the impression that he'd just as soon have stayed with the Bucs. Fair enough.


TE Darcy Johnson - priority: none. Simply a bad tight end, with poor hands. Can block a little; maybe he's depth if things break right for him.


S Michael Lewis - priority: none. Lost game #9 at San Francisco; that's reason enough for me. His chances improve a lot, though, if the Rams choose not to keep Oshiomogho Atogwe (due an $8 million bonus next month).


WR Laurent Robinson - priority: none. Hard worker but that's about it. Became a good blocker by the end of the season. No speed, though; can't get open; not a deep threat; unreliable pass-catcher. We'll always wonder how it would have been had Robinson not broken his leg early last season, when he was really tearing it up.

DT Cliff Ryan - priority: low. The Rams should be able to sign him on the cheap if they want to keep him. I don't see the rest of the league clamoring to sign a DT who just squeaked onto the roster in August and then missed almost the whole season with migraine headaches. If he's on, he's their 2nd best DT. That's why I'd consider keeping him. On the other hand, word is that Ryan is pretty much already writing off his chance of returning here next season.


TE Derek Schouman - priority: none. Only around because of late-season injuries at TE.


G Mark Setterstrom - priority: low to none. Setterstrom's unmistakably a gamer, and could potentially provide depth in the middle of the line. He's been good enough to start there in the past. His injury history is terrible, however.



Restricted free agents:

CB Quincy Butler - priority: none. Good athlete but makes too many mistakes in coverage and on special teams. Jerome Murphy won't be any worse.

LB Chris Chamberlain - priority: mid-level tender. I don't see a team willing to give up a seventh-rounder to take him away. (Yes, I know the free agency rules could be completely different in 2011.) Meanwhile, Chamberlain's emerging as a force on special teams and has improved at LB to the point of being solid depth. He's a keeper.


RB Kenneth Darby - priority: none. I don't see a big line forming up to sign him. As we've been saying for at least two years, one of the Rams' biggest needs is a quick back who can get outside. If the Rams ever get that guy, Darby's expendable.

OT Renardo Foster - priority: low-level tender. Foster's a player the Rams need to be very careful to keep, imho. As an undrafted free agent, I don't believe there's any point putting a mid-level tender on him, but the low-level tender will at least give the Rams the right to match.

G John Greco - priority: low-level tender. I have a feeling the Rams are going to make Greco expendable, but I'd be working to keep him if I were GM. Not sure I can justify putting more than a low-level tender on a guy who's never started, though, and spent most of the season on the inactive list. Just make sure you maintain your matching rights.


LB Curtis Johnson - none. Mostly practice squad. Hasn't sounded like a threat to crack the lineup. Is probably behind even David Nixon on the depth chart.


CB Justin King - priority: low-level tender. No one's ever going to give up a 4th-rounder for him, so mid-level tender is an option. I'd want the Rams to maintain their matching rights because there's a 20% chance King's the starting nickel next season. Of course, there's a 20% chance Jerome Murphy beats him out. And a 60% chance King tweaks a buttock in training camp and spends another season in the trainers' room.


LB David Vobora - none. I don't see that he's getting the job done in run defense or on special teams. The Rams are almost certain to add linebacking help in free agency and the draft, and I believe Chamberlain has developed into a better overall player.

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This weekend's picks

Saints 35, Seahawks 10. Somehow I don't think we'll be hearing a lot of nonsense about "the moment being too big" for New Orleans up in Dopily-Spelled Telecom Field. Additional bad news for Seattle: they'll face a team with actual wide receivers this week; a lot of them. Colston and Graham's injuries bear watching, but on the other hand, I don't think the Saints get enough credit for how their defense wins games. I don't expect they'll have any trouble shutting the anemic Seattle offense down. I'd put even money the Saint defense outscores the Seahawk offense.

Colts 24, Jets 23. A Jet win would not surprise me at all but I'm too chicken to pick against Indy at home. The Jets nearly won there last year and the Colts needed clutch performances by Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon to survive after Darrelle Revis made Reggie Wayne disappear. Now Collie's out for the season and Garcon's been pretty lousy. I think some unfamiliar strengths pop up for the Colts. They've gotten their running game going lately and their defense is playing well. Look for them to pressure the Sanchise into a game-winning amount of mistakes.

Ravens 27, Chiefs 24. The Chiefs are always a good team to bet against in the playoffs for some reason. However, their running game can give the Ravens fits and Joe Flacco's been a deer in the headlights in past postseason appearances. Bet the over in this one - both teams are going to run well. KC's run D was awful against the Raiders last week and Ray Rice ought to run wild. Deciding factor: Baltimore's play-action ought to work better than KC's, since the Ravens have several legitimate targets and the Chiefs have mainly Dwayne Bowe.

Eggles 30, Packers 27. Doubt the old axiom of having to run to win in the postseason will be proven in this game. Michael Vick may be the leading rusher. Philly will give the Packer defense much more to worry about than the Bears did last week. I can see Green Bay getting into a situation where they have the lead but can't protect it because they can't run a lick.

Technology permitting, I'll try to do live blogs of all the games this weekend.

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Rams fire equipment manager, assistant strength coach

Head coach Steve Spagnuolo has notified the Rams' assistant strength coach Chuck Faucette and team equipment manager Todd Hewitt that they will not be retained next season. Hewitt and his father Don had a combined 42 years of service with the team. That's a tradition I hate to see end.

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2010 team awards

This year's Rams team post-season awards, as voted on by the players:

Daniel F. Reeves Memorial Award (MVP): Steven Jackson.

Carrol Rosenbloom Memorial Award (Rookie of the Year): Sam Bradford.

Carl Ekern Spirit of the Game Award (leadership award): Oshiomogho Atogwe.

Ed Block Courage Award: Bradley Fletcher.

Jackson won the MVP last year, too, yet I wouldn't call him the reason the Rams went from one win to seven this year. Unless there's a rule against giving the award to rookies, I would have voted Bradford team MVP. Veterans only, then definitely Jackson.

Bradford's an easy pick for ROTY, as he should be for the whole league when that vote is taken. The Ekern award always seems to go to a defensive player, otherwise, I don't know why Jackson shouldn't win it, same argument I made last year. Fletcher's comeback from knee surgery makes him a good recipient for the Block award.

Congratulations to the award winners.

-$-

All-time team updates

I won't get around to changing the all-time team pages on ramview.com for a while, but now that the season's over, it's time to reflect what "roster changes" to make.

All-time St. Louis Rams roster
QB: Kurt Warner, Marc Bulger, Sam Bradford. I was going to wait a year but I think Bradford's already surpassed Trent Green.
RB: Marshall Faulk, Steven Jackson, Amp Lee, James Hodgins at fullback. No change.
WR: Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Rickey Proehl, Az Hakim, Kevin Curtis(?). Curtis' roster spot may get stolen one of these days.
TE: Ernie Conwell, Roland Williams, Jeff Robinson. No change.
OT: Orlando Pace, Fred Miller, Ryan Tucker. I was going to put Rodger Saffold on the "practice squad", but he may already qualify for the main roster.
C: Andy McCollum, Mike Gruttadauria. No change.
OG: Adam Timmerman, Tom Nutten. No change.
DE: Leonard Little, Grant Wistrom, Kevin Carter. I respect what James Hall accomplished this season but doubt he's ever cracking this lineup. Would like to see Chris Long start moving this direction, though.
DT: D'Marco Farr, Ryan Pickett, Jeff Zgonina. Fred Robbins is quickly becoming a favorite of mine and has a shot to crack the lineup.
OLB: Mike Jones, Roman Phifer, Pisa Tinoisamoa. Like Curtis, Pisa's roster spot may be in jeopardy soon.
MLB: London Fletcher, Will Witherspoon, James Laurinaitis. Laurinaitis will be "promoted" from the "practice squad". Haven't decided whether to keep Witherspoon.
CB: Aeneas Williams, Todd Lyght, Dre Bly, Dexter McCleon. No change.
S: Keith Lyle, Toby Wright, Oshiomogho Atogwe, Billy Jenkins. No change.
K: Jeff Wilkins, likely forever.
P: Donnie Jones.
KR: Tony Horne.
PR: Hakim.
Specialist: Robert Holcombe.
"Practice squad": Tyoka Jackson, Chris Massey, Justin Watson, Todd Kinchen, Mark Rypien, Nate Hobgood-Chittick. Green will probably bump Rypien. Laurinaitis' open spot will very likely go to Danny Amendola.
Coaching staff: Dick Vermeil, Mike Martz, Lovie Smith, Frank Gansz.

I don't think the all-worst team is going to get any updates this year. The hottest debate: Jerry Rhome vs. Pat Shurmur at OC. Here it is for now, though:
QB: Chris Chandler, Steve Walsh, Scott Covington
RB: Lawrence Phillips, Craig Heyward, Jerald Moore, Trung Canidate, June Henley, Richard Owens at fullback
WR: Drew Bennett, Terrence Wilkins, Eddie Kennison, Troy Edwards.
TE: Joe Klopfenstein, Randy McMichael.
OT: Wayne Gandy, Grant Williams, Alex Barron.
OC: Steve Everitt.
OG: Dwayne White, Jesse James, Claude Terrell, Richie Incognito.
DE: Anthony Hargrove, James Harris.
DT: Jimmy Kennedy, Jimmie Jones, Damione Lewis.
LB: Jamie Duncan, Robert Jones, Robert Thomas, Eric Hill, Chris Claiborne.
CB: Taje Allen, Jacoby Shepherd, Travis Fisher, perennial Pro Bowler and future Hall-of-Famer Ryan McNeil.
S: Rich Coady, Jason Sehorn, Michael Hawthorne, Mike Furrey, Kim Herring.
K: Steve McLaughlin.
P: John Baker.
Returner: Chris Johnson.
"Practice Squad": Joe Germaine, Andy King, Jon Kirksey, Chuck Osborne, Keith Loneker, Jason Shivers, John David Washington.
Coaching staff: Scott Linehan, Larry Marmie, Bobby April, and Jerry Rhome for now.

The all-worst lineup won't change much. I'm thinking about demoting Barron and Fisher to starters, and Jacob Bell's starting to creep onto the radar. Mardy Gilyard's a threat to bump Shivers off the PS.

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2011 draft order, so far

By failing to win in Seattle Sunday night, the Rams will get the 14th pick in the 2011 draft instead of the 21st (or worse). Had Seattle lost, they would have been picking 8th.

Adam Schefter's already saying Carolina's taking Stanford QB Andrew Luck and that it would take a minimum of THREE first round picks to budge them out of the top slot.

1. Carolina (2-14)
2. Denver (4-12)
3. Buffalo (4-12)
4. Cincinnati (4-12)
5. Arizona (5-11)
6. Cleveland (5-11)
7. San Francisco (6-10)
8. Tennessee (6-10)
9. Dallas (6-10)
10. Washington (6-10)
11. Houston (6-10)
12. Minnesota (6-10)
13. Detroit (6-10)
14. ST. LOUIS (7-9)
15. Miami (7-9)
16. Jacksonville (8-8)
17. New England (from Oakland 8-8)
18. San Diego (9-7)
19. New York Giants (10-6)
20. Tampa Bay (10-6)

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Rams 2011 opponents

Home:
Arizona (5-11 in 2010)
San Francisco (6-10)
Seattle (7-9)
Philadelphia (10-6)
Washington (6-10)
New Orleans (11-5)
Baltimore (12-4)
Cincinnati (4-12)

Away:
Arizona (5-11)
San Francisco (6-10)
Seattle (7-9)
Dallas (6-10)
N.Y. Giants (10-6)
Green Bay (10-6)
Cleveland (5-11)
Pittsburgh (12-4)

A LOT of tough-looking games on that schedule, but thanks to their membership in the NFC West, the Rams' schedule only ranks 26th in difficulty. The Big Dead have the easiest schedule heading into next season, while the NFL's worst team this year, Carolina, gets stuck with the most difficult schedule.

If the league would be kind enough to time it right for me, I'd really like to do a road trip for the Dallas game. I've only taken one road trip as a Rams fan, Tennessee in 1999. I'm way overdue.

I also wonder which, if any, of these games would have prime-time appeal. There's a lot of marquee teams here, but the Rams didn't show they could hang with any marquee teams this year. Crazy guesses: Rams at 49ers on ESPN, with NFL Network maybe grabbing the Steelers or Packers game. A prime-time shutout wouldn't shock me, though.

One last bit of mixed news: the Bengals are the closest team on the Rams' schedule geographically, so there shouldn't be a game in 2011 where the Dome is overrun with the other team's fans. That might make sellouts harder to accomplish, though.

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Rams sign nine

The Rams have re-signed the players on their end-of-season practice squad to future contracts:
- QB Thaddeus Lewis
- WR Greg Mathews
- OT Ryan McKee
- OL Drew Miller
- DT Jimmy (Hyphen Jr.) Saddler-McQueen
- LB Maurice Simpkins
- RB Chauncey Washington
- WR Joe West

They have similarly re-signed Marquis Johnson, their first pick in the 7th round of the 2010 draft. He started the season on the practice squad, was called up for a couple of games in September and was IR'ed in October to get knee AND shoulder surgery.

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It boggles the mind

After that performance against a lousy defense Sunday night, Pat Shurmur is the FAVORITE (per Adam Schefter on Twitter) to become the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns? Then again, ESPN Sunday morning was calling Marty Mornhinweg, whose head coaching stint in Detroit may have been one of the worst ever in sports, a leading candidate, so obviously, the competition can't be that tough.

That's got to excite the Cleveland fan base, doesn't it? Bill Cowher's out there, everybody's after Stanford HC Jim Harbaugh, Jeff Fisher might be available, but WE'RE hot on the trail of the offensive coordinator whose team scored SIX points against Seattle in a winner-take-all for the playoffs this weekend.

The bad news for Rams fans: you really hate to start changing offensive coordinators on Sam Bradford when he's only been in the league a year. The OC merry-go-round didn't exactly help Jason Campbell's career.

The good news: the Rams play Cleveland next year, so we're already starting 2011 with a win. I'm pretty sure we can watch out for Peyton Hillis on the A-gap slam.

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Injury report, 1/1

Michael Hoomanawanui practiced on a limited basis Friday. He'll be listed officially as questionable on the injury report. Sounds like he has a pretty good chance of playing, though.

I don't think any other Rams player is even going to be listed. Jerome Murphy's expected to be good to go.

Matt Hasselbeck practiced for the Seahawks Friday and opinion increasingly says he's going to be the QB for Seattle.

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