* Yesterday was apparently the day around the league for all of the teams to clear their injured reserve lists. So at this moment, the Rams have no players on IR. So here's one last fond look back at the Rams' 2011 injured reserve list:
- Jermelle Cudjo (back)
- Jerome Murphy (ankle)
- Ron Bartell (neck). Bartell has been cleared to go for next season.
- Bradley Fletcher (knee)
- Danny Amendola (elbow). Amendola was just in England to provide Super Bowl commentary for BBC One.
- Brian Jackson (knee)
- Greg Salas (leg)
- Michael Hoomanawanui (knee)
- Rodger Saffold (pectoral)
- Marquis Johnson (spleen)
- Jason Smith (concussion)
- Mark Clayton (both knees)
- Jacob Bell (right MCL)
- Brit Miller (knee)
- Josh Hull (ankle)
It had to be a bad injury year for a team when words like "spleen" and "both knees" appear on the injured reserve report, but the Rams didn't have it as bad as the Jagwires, who had TWENTY-FIVE players on their injured reserve. Former Rams that came off of IR yesterday included David Vobora in Seattle, Reggie Hodges in Cleveland and Bryant Browning in Carolina.
* The Rams also cut practice squad wide receiver John Chiles.
* The GM search continues. Some candidates, like Les Snead and George Paton, have gotten second interviews. But at the same time, new candidates are joining the mix. 49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble will be interviewed today, and NFL vice president of football operations Ron Hill was interviewed over the weekend in Indianapolis. Gamble will be the ninth candidate the Rams have interviewed, joining Steve Keim, Brian Gaine, Joey Clinkscales, Ryan Grigson and Lake Dawson.
Just wondering at what point Stan Kroenke orders somebody to "just pick one already!"
-$-
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Rams report, 2/6: all systems go for London
* London calling. Sorry for the utterly predictable title. Ticket sales for the Rams' proposed game against the Super Bowl loser Patriots in London's Wembley Stadium on October 28th had been suspended last week after the St. Louis CVC rose the issue of the game being a violation of the Rams' stadium lease. Since then, however, the CVC has agreed to add language to the lease agreement that would allow the Rams to play the London game each of the next three years, and general admission tickets for October's game are back on sale again.
Here's a link to the game at Ticketmaster UK. I was of the understanding that the Rams were going to have tickets and travel packages available for those of us in the States hoping to attend. At least this first year, that's the only way RamView's getting across the pond.
* The Rams have signed offensive lineman Jovan Olafioye (6'6", 325), reportedly to a two-year contract. Undrafted by the NFL out of North Carolina Central in 2009, the now 24-year-old was signed by the Detroit Lions as a rookie free agent. After getting cut there, he signed with the CFL's B.C. Lions and played there the past two seasons. He was a finalist for CFL Offensive Lineman of the Year last season and allowed no sacks for the Grey Cup champions. He had worked out for 15 NFL teams over the past six weeks. Rotoworld says there is "at least one report" that Olafioye's weight is up to 350. He played both tackle positions for B.C.
Olafioye was projected as a guard coming into the NFL. NFLDraftScout ranked him 68th in that year's guard class. At his pro day, he ran a 5.46 40, 5.00 shuttle, 7.92 cone drill, broad-jumped 8'8", vertical-jumped 21.5 inches and did 27 bench press reps. The NCCU website indicates he graduated with a degree in sports management.
Olafioye's 2009 pro day results are very close to those put up at the 2011 Combine by Lehigh guard Will Rackley, who gives up 3 inches and 10 pounds by comparison. Rackley played in the '11 Senior Bowl and Shrine Game. He was a third-round pick of the Jagwires and won a starting job at guard in training camp. He lost it in September but still ended up with 14 starts on a line that helped Maurice Jones-Drew to a league rushing title and team single-season record.
As a strong, young offensive lineman with some ability to pass-block, Olafioye should be immediately in the mix for offensive line depth in training camp. The Canadian league all-star is already at least a kilometer ahead of the likes of Kevin Hughes. Could be an interesting player to watch.
Here's a link to the game at Ticketmaster UK. I was of the understanding that the Rams were going to have tickets and travel packages available for those of us in the States hoping to attend. At least this first year, that's the only way RamView's getting across the pond.
* The Rams have signed offensive lineman Jovan Olafioye (6'6", 325), reportedly to a two-year contract. Undrafted by the NFL out of North Carolina Central in 2009, the now 24-year-old was signed by the Detroit Lions as a rookie free agent. After getting cut there, he signed with the CFL's B.C. Lions and played there the past two seasons. He was a finalist for CFL Offensive Lineman of the Year last season and allowed no sacks for the Grey Cup champions. He had worked out for 15 NFL teams over the past six weeks. Rotoworld says there is "at least one report" that Olafioye's weight is up to 350. He played both tackle positions for B.C.
Olafioye was projected as a guard coming into the NFL. NFLDraftScout ranked him 68th in that year's guard class. At his pro day, he ran a 5.46 40, 5.00 shuttle, 7.92 cone drill, broad-jumped 8'8", vertical-jumped 21.5 inches and did 27 bench press reps. The NCCU website indicates he graduated with a degree in sports management.
Olafioye's 2009 pro day results are very close to those put up at the 2011 Combine by Lehigh guard Will Rackley, who gives up 3 inches and 10 pounds by comparison. Rackley played in the '11 Senior Bowl and Shrine Game. He was a third-round pick of the Jagwires and won a starting job at guard in training camp. He lost it in September but still ended up with 14 starts on a line that helped Maurice Jones-Drew to a league rushing title and team single-season record.
As a strong, young offensive lineman with some ability to pass-block, Olafioye should be immediately in the mix for offensive line depth in training camp. The Canadian league all-star is already at least a kilometer ahead of the likes of Kevin Hughes. Could be an interesting player to watch.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Giants beat Patriots in Super Bowl AGAIN
Congratulations to the world champion Giants, and to Eli Manning for his second Super Bowl MVP award. He gets my vote, too, for his late-game heroics, completing 75% of his passes and throwing for nearly 300 yards. Justin Tuck would have been worthy, too, for two big sacks and forcing Brady's first-play mistake, intentional grounding from his end zone, for a Giants safety.
Also, this was a superbly-officiated game by John Parry and crew. One of the best I've seen in years. As it should be, since these are supposed to be the best officials the league has to offer. Not surprisingly, Parry was not assigned to work a Rams regular-season game at all this season. We did get the great Clete Blakeman twice, though.
As far as next year's needs, you'd think the Patriots would address their secondary so they don't have to rely on backup wide receivers back there. Then again, if they didn't, how would we tell if Bill Belichick is a genius? The Giants lost two tight ends tonight, and Beckum's torn ACL would make him likely to start 2012 on the PUP list, so that seems like a logical area for them to address.
According to USA Today's AdMeter, the "Here, Weego" Bud Light ad was tonight's commercial winner. I enjoyed the Chevy truck apocalypse ad, especially when the last guy broke out the box of Twinkies. But for once and for all, it is time for America to take our piss break back and quit obsessing about the commercials during the Super Bowl, very few of which were very entertaining at all, a trend that's been happening for at least three years.
Hey, just three weeks till the Combine!
-$-
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Hall of Fame 2012 class announced
* Dermontti Dawson. 7-time Pro Bowl center for the Steelers, for whom he played from 1988-2000. A 6-time first-team All-Pro and three-time Hall-of-Fame finalist. One of the best centers in the history of the league.
* Chris Doleman. 8-time Pro Bowl defensive end for the Vikings, Falcons and 49ers. 150.5 career sacks, ranking him FOURTH all-time. 2-time first-team All-Pro. This was his first year as a Hall-of-Fame finalist.
* Cortez Kennedy. 8-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, playing for the Seahawks from 1990-2000. 3-time first-team All-Pro and 1992 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Also his third time as a finalist for the Hall.
* Curtis Martin. Fourth-leading rusher of all time. 14,101 yards in 11 years with the Jets and Patriots. 5-time Pro Bowler. Second man to start his career with 10 1,000-yard seasons. Second time as a finalist.
* Willie Roaf. 11-time Pro Bowl tackle from 1993-2005 for the Saints and Chiefs. 3-time first-team All-Pro.
* Jack Butler. The only veterans committee induction. 4-time Pro Bowler, 3-time first-team All-Pro defensive back for the Steelers. 52 career interceptions and was one of the dominant defensive backs of the 1950s.
It's hard to complain about any of these players getting in on their own merits. But you know RamView, it's impossible for me not to complain about anything, and there are some glaring omissions this year.
Of course, all three former Rams nominated this year are not going to be inducted, so let's start there. Notice how I put FOURTH in caps in Chris Doleman's paragraph? That's because Kevin Greene is THIRD all-time, with ten more sacks, in the same number of seasons. Greene led the league in sacks twice; Doleman did it once. Compare them head-to-head. Six years, Greene had more sacks; six years, Doleman had more sacks, three years they tied. Looks dead even to me. Why Doleman and not Greene? Doleman was in eight Pro Bowls to Greene's five; is that the difference? Then why didn't Aeneas Williams get in? He was in eight Pro Bowls. At least Williams made the cut to the final ten modern-day entries; Greene didn't even get that far. Even with career statistics as good or better than Doleman, who made the final five. Jerome Bettis was also double-snubbed by the voting committee. Like Greene, he wasn't even voted into the top ten, despite 13,000+ yards (barely 500 yards behind Martin) and six Pro Bowls (more than Martin) in 13 seasons. The voting committee seems to be setting a one man per position per year policy, so for Bettis' sake, let's hope next year's finally his year.
Next year doesn't get any easier for any of the ex-Rams candidates, with eventual HoF locks Bill Parcells and Will Shields getting their second attempts and with first-time nominees such as Michael Strahan, Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen and Warren Sapp.
And, for whatever reason, the voting committee continues to shit all over the position of wide receiver, rejecting Cris Carter, Andre Reed and Tim Brown again this year. The longer these guys take to put completely deserving wide receivers such as these, especially Carter, into the Hall, the worse the chances are going to be for Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, two more deserving of Hall of Fame status, to get in when they come up. That's going to be a real logjam, with Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens and Randy Moss becoming eligible in following years.
And who does Dan Fouts complain about getting left out during the live broadcast? Convicted felon and serial NFL rule-breaker Edward DeBartolo Jr. Kudos to the committee for at least having the common decency to leave that stain on the game out of the Hall of Fame. Do us all a favor and quit advancing the mobster this high up the chain in future years.
Congratulations to this year's Hall of Fame inductees.
-$-
Friday, February 3, 2012
Rams report, 2/3: Goodell on St. Louis' side?
In an interview with Bob Costas last night, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said "we want to keep our teams where they are" and that he's "more inclined" to add an expansion team to get a team back in the Los Angeles market. He also said he prefers having 34 teams to having 33, which likely means Los Angeles landing two expansion teams, as it's about the only city competing for an NFL franchise at the moment. With Stan Kroenke doing little beyond convincing St. Louisans he wants to move the Rams, it's good to have a prominent voice somewhat in our corner.
---
St. Louis also got a surprising endorsement earlier this week from former Ram Jerome Bettis, who actually said (in an interview with Bernie Miklasz) that he'd be upset if the Rams left:
"The fan support and the excitement level was unbelievable. That city embraced us and gave us a great home. I'll never forget the way we were treated by the fans. And it would be disappointing if they moved, because that city really galvanized around that team. When the Rams got to St. Louis there was a lot of fanfare, and the fans and the players really enjoyed it. They won a championship there. There's a lot of loyalty that's been built up through the years and to take that team away would be disappointing. St. Louis did a lot to get that team to come there."
A surprising endorsement, because Bettis' only year here, though he scored the first TD in the now Edward Jones Dome, generally stunk. He held out, he didn't report in shape, he got hurt, I don't think he broke a tackle the whole season and he spent most of the year running up his blockers' backs. Then he gets traded to Pittsburgh and promptly re-launches what should be affirmed as a Hall-of-Fame career this weekend. (Or next year - there is some thought that the Hall of Fame won't induct two RBs the same year and will leave Bettis out this year in favor of Curtis Martin.)
Nothing wrong with having The Bus in your corner, though.
-$-
---
St. Louis also got a surprising endorsement earlier this week from former Ram Jerome Bettis, who actually said (in an interview with Bernie Miklasz) that he'd be upset if the Rams left:
"The fan support and the excitement level was unbelievable. That city embraced us and gave us a great home. I'll never forget the way we were treated by the fans. And it would be disappointing if they moved, because that city really galvanized around that team. When the Rams got to St. Louis there was a lot of fanfare, and the fans and the players really enjoyed it. They won a championship there. There's a lot of loyalty that's been built up through the years and to take that team away would be disappointing. St. Louis did a lot to get that team to come there."
A surprising endorsement, because Bettis' only year here, though he scored the first TD in the now Edward Jones Dome, generally stunk. He held out, he didn't report in shape, he got hurt, I don't think he broke a tackle the whole season and he spent most of the year running up his blockers' backs. Then he gets traded to Pittsburgh and promptly re-launches what should be affirmed as a Hall-of-Fame career this weekend. (Or next year - there is some thought that the Hall of Fame won't induct two RBs the same year and will leave Bettis out this year in favor of Curtis Martin.)
Nothing wrong with having The Bus in your corner, though.
-$-
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
CVC opens with a good offer
The details are out now of the CVC's proposal to upgrade the Edward Jones Dome to "first-tier" status per the terms of the current lease with the St. Louis Rams. The highlights:
* A 96' by 26' scoreboard suspended over midfield. I assume it would be high-definition, but that is not specified. The goal is to give fans "clear views of replays, scores and statistics without interfering with game play." Hopefully also without interfering with the view of the actual game.
* A three-story structure across the street from the Ed that would be connected to it by a bridge over Broadway. It would have a rooftop beer garden, a large lobby and a new entrance for club and luxury suite owners. Doubt I'd ever use it.
* Large windows that would bring in more natural light.
* Replace 1,800 existing seats and four suites with 1,500 new club seats. Um, we're leaving my seats alone, right?
* Retractable - no, not the roof - barricades to block traffic on Broadway to make the area safer for pedestrians and a less-inviting terrorist target. Apparently crowds gathering outside the Ed have been an ongoing concern of NFL Homeland Security or something. More importantly, I hope they mean the cool kind of barricades that come up from under the street, like in Washington, D.C.
* "Aesthetic improvements" to entrances, stairwells and corridors.
* Update the cheerleaders' and officials' locker rooms. Well, one of those I would have to see for myself. But I do not support a new cheerleaders' locker room until they resume their professional duty to wear Halloween costumes for the home game nearest October 31st, and I DO NOT mean London.
* Replace the current smoking area with a plaza more like a tailgating area, but without cars. Mmm-kay.
Projected cost of improvements is $124 million. The city is expecting the Rams, i.e., Stan Kroenke, to pay 52% of that, because that's the average contribution teams have made to recent stadium construction and renovations. But since politicians are involved, the CVC's pretty shady about where its share, just under $60 million, is going to come from. St. Louis city and county both say they would put any new funding up for public vote. I do not see a vote going well in the city, where plenty of people are still mad that the Cardinals have never come through with promised developments downtown that were supposed to accompany the raising of Busch Stadium III in 2006. To simplify it: the more you hear the phrase "Ballpark Village", the more friction the Dome proposal will get, even though it's only promising a ballpark beer garden.
I give the CVC credit for what it has proposed. The "top-tier" clause suggests the Ed has to compete with the new billion-dollar palaces in Dallas and New Jersey, but that just isn't realistic. Ticking off what I think are the top-tier NFL facilities, half of them have retractable roofs. The Dome was never designed for that and can't have one due to lack of drainage. St. Louis should realistically be expected to keep pace with the other indoor-only stadiums: the Superdome, the Georgia Dome and the Metrodome. To me, that's more than a full-faith effort to keep the Rams in an up-to-date facility, for what the Ed is.
The Ed's got the Metrodome whipped. Its roof has never collapsed and it's not a dump its host team has been trying to get out of for years and years.
The Georgia Dome finished a renovation in 2009 which brought in new high-def scoreboards, a new sound system and new seats. They also updated their premium suites and re-painted the outside of the stadium.
The Superdome finished a five-year renovation this past summer. New windows were installed to improve lighting, the building was re-sided, the suites and point-of-sale systems were upgraded, new turf was installed, and the lower bowl was renovated to add 3,500 seats as well as more concession stands and new club lounges.
The CVC's proposal tracks the Georgia Dome's and Superdome's recent improvements pretty well, as far as the scoreboard and the new windows and "aesthetic improvements". The big scoreboard also would bring the Ed closer to par with the Dallas, New York and New England stadiums. The windows would bring it also bring it closer to par with Arizona, Detroit and Indianapolis. There's a definite and honest effort here to match the features of the league's top-tier facilities, as long as we can look past the political issues with financing for the time being.
What extra might the Rams ask for?
* I don't know if the new scoreboard would include a new sound system, which the Ed has needed since, well, since it went up. That sound system has always sucked ass.
* It would hardly be a shock if the Rams requested upgrades to the luxury boxes.
* The Rams should ask for new seats that reflect the team colors. Atlanta seemed to do this fairly cheaply. Hell, replacing the seats would probably fund itself if you sold the old seats back to rubes like me who would be dumb enough to buy our old ones as collector's items. The convention center people need to get off their multi-use high horse and replace the stupid red seats with blue and gold ones.
Stan Kroenke no doubt is going to sit tight on the CVC proposal until March 1st, then reject it, then sit tight again until making his counteroffer on May 1st. We're going to have to wait until then to see or hear any indication of how serious the Rams are about trying to make things work in St. Louis, so until then, let's get back to concentrating on free agency and the draft, which are also good ways to improve events in the Ed.
-$-
* A 96' by 26' scoreboard suspended over midfield. I assume it would be high-definition, but that is not specified. The goal is to give fans "clear views of replays, scores and statistics without interfering with game play." Hopefully also without interfering with the view of the actual game.
* A three-story structure across the street from the Ed that would be connected to it by a bridge over Broadway. It would have a rooftop beer garden, a large lobby and a new entrance for club and luxury suite owners. Doubt I'd ever use it.
* Large windows that would bring in more natural light.
* Replace 1,800 existing seats and four suites with 1,500 new club seats. Um, we're leaving my seats alone, right?
* Retractable - no, not the roof - barricades to block traffic on Broadway to make the area safer for pedestrians and a less-inviting terrorist target. Apparently crowds gathering outside the Ed have been an ongoing concern of NFL Homeland Security or something. More importantly, I hope they mean the cool kind of barricades that come up from under the street, like in Washington, D.C.
* "Aesthetic improvements" to entrances, stairwells and corridors.
* Update the cheerleaders' and officials' locker rooms. Well, one of those I would have to see for myself. But I do not support a new cheerleaders' locker room until they resume their professional duty to wear Halloween costumes for the home game nearest October 31st, and I DO NOT mean London.
* Replace the current smoking area with a plaza more like a tailgating area, but without cars. Mmm-kay.
Projected cost of improvements is $124 million. The city is expecting the Rams, i.e., Stan Kroenke, to pay 52% of that, because that's the average contribution teams have made to recent stadium construction and renovations. But since politicians are involved, the CVC's pretty shady about where its share, just under $60 million, is going to come from. St. Louis city and county both say they would put any new funding up for public vote. I do not see a vote going well in the city, where plenty of people are still mad that the Cardinals have never come through with promised developments downtown that were supposed to accompany the raising of Busch Stadium III in 2006. To simplify it: the more you hear the phrase "Ballpark Village", the more friction the Dome proposal will get, even though it's only promising a ballpark beer garden.
I give the CVC credit for what it has proposed. The "top-tier" clause suggests the Ed has to compete with the new billion-dollar palaces in Dallas and New Jersey, but that just isn't realistic. Ticking off what I think are the top-tier NFL facilities, half of them have retractable roofs. The Dome was never designed for that and can't have one due to lack of drainage. St. Louis should realistically be expected to keep pace with the other indoor-only stadiums: the Superdome, the Georgia Dome and the Metrodome. To me, that's more than a full-faith effort to keep the Rams in an up-to-date facility, for what the Ed is.
The Ed's got the Metrodome whipped. Its roof has never collapsed and it's not a dump its host team has been trying to get out of for years and years.
The Georgia Dome finished a renovation in 2009 which brought in new high-def scoreboards, a new sound system and new seats. They also updated their premium suites and re-painted the outside of the stadium.
The Superdome finished a five-year renovation this past summer. New windows were installed to improve lighting, the building was re-sided, the suites and point-of-sale systems were upgraded, new turf was installed, and the lower bowl was renovated to add 3,500 seats as well as more concession stands and new club lounges.
The CVC's proposal tracks the Georgia Dome's and Superdome's recent improvements pretty well, as far as the scoreboard and the new windows and "aesthetic improvements". The big scoreboard also would bring the Ed closer to par with the Dallas, New York and New England stadiums. The windows would bring it also bring it closer to par with Arizona, Detroit and Indianapolis. There's a definite and honest effort here to match the features of the league's top-tier facilities, as long as we can look past the political issues with financing for the time being.
What extra might the Rams ask for?
* I don't know if the new scoreboard would include a new sound system, which the Ed has needed since, well, since it went up. That sound system has always sucked ass.
* It would hardly be a shock if the Rams requested upgrades to the luxury boxes.
* The Rams should ask for new seats that reflect the team colors. Atlanta seemed to do this fairly cheaply. Hell, replacing the seats would probably fund itself if you sold the old seats back to rubes like me who would be dumb enough to buy our old ones as collector's items. The convention center people need to get off their multi-use high horse and replace the stupid red seats with blue and gold ones.
Stan Kroenke no doubt is going to sit tight on the CVC proposal until March 1st, then reject it, then sit tight again until making his counteroffer on May 1st. We're going to have to wait until then to see or hear any indication of how serious the Rams are about trying to make things work in St. Louis, so until then, let's get back to concentrating on free agency and the draft, which are also good ways to improve events in the Ed.
-$-
Rams report, 2/1: CVC deadline day
* The Rams held interviews yesterday with Big Dead director of player personnel Steve Keim and Dolphins DPP Brian Gaine for the team's GM position. There's no indication what's next, but they may be done interviewing candidates. Jim Thomas speculated in an on-line chat Tuesday that the GM could be named by the end of the week.
* The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Committee's deadline to present a plan to the Rams to bring the Edward Jones Dome into "first-tier" status is today. More on that as details emerge.
* Rams links to Super Bowl XLVI:
New England:
- special teams player/wide receiver Matthew Slater is the son of Rams Hall-of-Famer Jackie Slater.
- "offensive assistant"/cameraman Josh McDaniels served on Steve Spagnuolo's staff this season and is the worst offensive coordinator in Rams history.
N.Y. Giants:
- defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was the Rams' secondary coach from 2003-04.
- secondary coach Peter Giunta was Rams' secondary coach in 1997 and defensive coordinator from 1998-2000. So this is his third Super Bowl.
- defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy was the Rams' first-round draft pick (12th overall) in 2003 and was a major bust here from 2003-06.
Prediction from out of nowhere: Giants 27, Patriots 24.
-$-
* The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Committee's deadline to present a plan to the Rams to bring the Edward Jones Dome into "first-tier" status is today. More on that as details emerge.
* Rams links to Super Bowl XLVI:
New England:
- special teams player/wide receiver Matthew Slater is the son of Rams Hall-of-Famer Jackie Slater.
- "offensive assistant"/cameraman Josh McDaniels served on Steve Spagnuolo's staff this season and is the worst offensive coordinator in Rams history.
N.Y. Giants:
- defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was the Rams' secondary coach from 2003-04.
- secondary coach Peter Giunta was Rams' secondary coach in 1997 and defensive coordinator from 1998-2000. So this is his third Super Bowl.
- defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy was the Rams' first-round draft pick (12th overall) in 2003 and was a major bust here from 2003-06.
Prediction from out of nowhere: Giants 27, Patriots 24.
-$-
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