Rams report, 10/29

Bad omens for the Rams Sunday, and beyond...

* Jason Smith suffered an apparent concussion in practice Thursday. He was held out of practice today due to concussion-like symptoms and is officially out for the Carolina game Sunday.

Smith hasn't been Jackie Slater at right tackle, but this is a very bad development for the Rams. Smith missed a number of games last year, his rookie season, due to concussion. At this point I think it's a very legitimate fear that this is going to be a lifelong, career-shortening problem for the 2009 #2 pick overall.

Odds are that Adam Goldberg will play RT Sunday, with John Greco at RG. That line could well still hold its own; Greco's been a strong run-blocker and Carolina hasn't put together much of a pass rush this season.

On the other hand, Renardo Foster is claiming after today's practice that HE's starting at right tackle Sunday. Words cannot express what a bad idea that would be.

Remember me picking the Panthers yesterday to put the whammy on them? It isn't working.

* Danario Alexander damaged cartilage in his left knee during practice today and will have to have it operated on for the FIFTH time. This is "minor" knee surgery, however, and the first estimate is that he will be out 2 to 4 weeks. Still, a scenario where you have four healthy wide receivers and count Laurent Robinson as one of them? Not good. Not good at all.

On the other hand, Isaac Bruce will be at the stadium Sunday. Seriously, suit him up. He'd probably be the leading receiver...

* Steven Jackson did not practice yesterday but has already announced he's going to play Sunday. Most of the other players who were out of Wednesday's practice were still out as well. Limited participation for Ron Bartell (shoulder, thigh) and James Laurinaitis (knee). James Butler has improved enough for limited participation and his chances of playing Sunday have improved. David Vobora and Mardy Gilyard have been upgraded to full participation.

So, yeah, the Rams' offensive and defensive leaders are both nicked up. The bye week's coming at the perfect time, but beating Carolina Sunday's getting harder by the minute.

* There are still 4,000 left, but enough tickets have been sold satisfy the NFL's TV blackout policy. The game will be on KTVI-2 at noon.

Rams notes, 10/28

* Injuries. Sitting out practice Wednesday:
- Steven Jackson (finger), expected to play Sunday
- James Butler (sprained MCL), very likely out this week
- Justin King (hamstring)
- Fred Robbins (toe), expected to play Sunday
- Darell Scott (ankle)
- Darian Stewart (hamstring)
- a new one on me, Fendi Onobun (back)

Ron Bartell (shoulder stinger, thigh bruise) was "very limited". I'm going to assume James Laurinaitis (knee), Kevin Dockery (ribs) and Keith Toston (groin) aren't injured enough to keep on the list. Bradley Fletcher's (hamstring) practicing, so take him off the list, too. No word on Mardy Gilyard (hamstring).

* Transactions. The Rams finally transferred Cliff Ryan to the injured reserve yesterday and filled his place with another needed body in the secondary, former Whiner safety Michael Lewis. Ryan's 2010 season is now likely only to be remembered for his goal-line fumble, on a fumble return, that cost the Rams an opening day win over the Big Dead, so let's hope he makes a full recovery from his migraine problem and bounces back in '11.

- Lewis, 6'1" 222, in his 9th year out of Colorado, played for Steve Spagnuolo at Philadelphia. He pretty much lost his starting job to rookie Taylor Mays three weeks ago and essentially quit there and asked for his release.

Scouts Inc. grades Lewis as an average-quality starter. Big, powerful, punishing tackler and aggressive in run support, but best left playing close to the LOS. Not a great open-field tackler, struggles in coverage, lacks good burst to close on passes.

Lewis' draft stock fell in 2002 when it was revealed that he had a type of heart arrhythmia known as atrial fibrillation. The Eagles selected him late in the second round. He's used his visibility as an NFL player to raise awareness about heart conditions and to raise funds for the American Heart Association and hospital cardiac centers. Bleacher Report article

- Curtis Johnson, cut from the main roster in favor of Quincy Butler, was not added back to the practice squad, as I poorly guessed at the time. He's a free agent. In addition, the Rams replaced Mortty Ivy with LB David Nixon, who had been deleted from Houston's PS.

* About that sellout: Reports that the Rams had 1,000 tickets remaining to sell out Sunday's game were misleading. They should have said: remaining to lift the TV blackout. There are 5,800 left total as of this morning, 800 need to be bought up to lift the blackout. It's not my money, but it would seem silly if the Rams didn't buy the rest of those up themselves. We should be able to expect to see Sunday's game on local TV.

* Waiver wire watch: I haven't checked the wires in a while, here are recent transactions involving former Rams:
- Houston signed Damione Lewis.
- Bobby Carpenter, who had been cut in Miami, signed with the Lions.
- Keith Null has been on and off the Jagwires PS. Currently off.
- The Rams thankfully passed up on the opportunity to pick up Danny Gorrer after the Ravens dropped him from their PS.
- Buffalo cut former Rams second-round pick Joe Klopfenstein. He was on their IR anyway.

* For entertainment purposes only. Let's see. I tried to work the fact that my Rams betting record in 2010 is horrible by picking Tampa last week, to put the whammy on them. So what happens? They beat the Rams but NOT the spread, screwing me twice. Screw you, Bucs. So now I'm 1-5-1.

But since the Rams are favored for the first time this season, (by 3, over/under 37.5) it would be irresponsible for me to use my powers of bad betting any other way than to jinx the Panthers, so Carolina's the pick. Shaky justification: they're coming off a win, Rams haven't beaten them since 2001, I won't be wearing my lucky Torry Holt jersey in favor of a throwback #80 for Isaac Bruce Day. That was an awfully lucky jersey from 1999-2001, though.

According to this source, the last time the Rams were favored to win a game was December 12, 2007, when Scott Linehan's 2-9 team was favored by 3 at home over the Falcons, who were also 2-9. The Rams won and covered, 28-16, in an epic QB battle between Gus Frerotte and Joey Harrington.

* Also for entertainment purposes only: Kurt Warner survived a subpar week on Dancing With the Stars after the much better-looking Audrina Patridge was sent packing for the hills.

Rams notes, 10/26

Updates, aftermath and other stuff I can think of in the wake of the Rams' heartbreaking loss in Tampa Sunday:

* Injury update:

- Steven Jackson broke his left ring finger Sunday and had surgery on it yesterday to have two pins inserted. He's all but certain to play Oct. 31st against Carolina.

- Ron Bartell's chances don't look very good for the Carolina game. He played against Tampa with a quad injury and suffered a shoulder stinger in the 4th quarter. The shoulder injury by itself is significant enough to downgrade him to day-to-day status. If it persists, Bartell will be heading for the magnetic resonance imager.

- James Butler sprained an MCL early in the game and is very doubtful for Carolina. No official idea yet on how long he'll be out.

- Fred Robbins injured a toe, I'm guessing early in the game. He'll need an examination to determine severity but is expected to be able to play on it for now.

- Darell Scott made a surprise return from his high ankle sprain, at least two weeks ahead of schedule, and played Sunday. He mildly re-injured the same ankle.

- James Laurinaitis has a sore knee and is day-to-day.

- NFL.com lists Chris Chamberlain (toe) as having played yesterday, I'd guess on special teams. He comes off the injury list, then. Na'il Diggs (knee) played; pretty darn well, too. Take him off also. Jackson played most of the 2nd half after a slight neck injury. Kevin Dockery played with injured ribs. Keith Toston played with a mild groin injury.

- The Rams' hamstring injury count goes down to four, from six, since David Vobora and Brit Miller were also listed as playing Sunday. Justin King, Darian Stewart and Mardy Gilyard were all inactive due to hamstring injuries, and Bradley Fletcher tweaked one late in the game. He's day-to-day.

- I feel bad about what Cliff Ryan's likely going through, but I really fail to understand why he's still tying up a roster spot. Maybe the Rams are going to throw a battery of migraine specialists at him over the bye week. Inactive again Sunday, probably should have been IR'ed last month.

* Transactions: A week after we started guessing this move around here, the Rams have re-acquired Quincy Butler, after he was waived by the Saints. Looks like he's going to have more than a decent chance to play right away against Carolina. LB Curtis Johnson was waived from the main roster to clear space for Butler and seems likely to return to the practice squad.

* Statistics:

- Despite having dealt Alex Barron away in the offseason, the Rams lead the NFL in false starts, with 15. They've had 10 the last three weeks. Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith have three apiece, followed by Jacob Bell with 2. The others: Billy Bajema, Mark Clayton, Adam Goldberg, John Greco, Mike Karney and one "everybody but the center" from Sunday.

- The formula to winning in the NFL can be deceptively easy sometimes.
The Rams are 3-0 when they score more than 17 points.
They are 0-4 when they don't.

That's a pretty paltry number to be the tipping point, isn't it? Steve Spagnuolo ought to be looking at his offense with a hard eye right about now.

* This week's harebrained idea: the Rams have one of the best defensive backs in franchise history on their staff, WRs coach Nolan Cromwell: anybody think he could help our hands-of-stone defense stop dropping interceptions like they're live porcupines?

* TV time: less than 1,000 tickets remain for Carolina, so there should be little trouble getting Sunday's game past the NFL blackout rule.

* Yes, I'm bitter: LaGarrette Blount's ridiculous success Sunday has me rooting hard for Boise State to finish ahead of Oregon in the BCS this year. Like last year.

* Pro Bowl balloting has opened on NFL.com. Steven Jackson's certainly the Rams' best bet for a Pro Bowler this year, but it'd be nice to get Long, Hall, Robbins and Laurinaitis some recognition.

* Kurt in trouble: Kurt Warner had the lowest score on Dancing With The Stars last night.

Rams notes, 10/21

* Injury status: Cliff Ryan (migraines), Justin King (hamstring), Darian Stewart (hamstring) all sat out of practice yesterday, as I assume did DarellDorell Scott (ankle). Ron Bartell (thigh) also sat out and may bear watching.

Chris Chamberlain (toe), Na'il Diggs (knee), Mardy Gilyard (hamstring), Jerome Murphy (hamstring) and David Vobora (yes, hamstring) were limited participants in practice. No word on Brit Miller, also reported with a hamstring problem after the Chargers game.

Danario Alexander has returned to full-go status and comes off the injury list.

* Chargers LB Kevin Burnett will not even be fined for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Sam Bradford Sunday. Not even a token "Hey, be more careful" fine? I figured the league would get him for $10-$15K, at least.

Way to protect your future stars, jackasses!

* Still kicking: Kurt Warner has outlasted Florence Henderson, who was kicked off Dancing With the Stars this week. Kurt has yet to pull a hamstring at last word.

Illustration from thestretchinghandbook.com, which maybe somebody at Rams Park might want to check out

Congratulations Chris Long

Good luck finding the official announcement, but the NFL has named Chris Long the NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Long had two sacks and about a million pressures in the Rams' 20-17 win Sunday over San Diego.

Transaction update, 10/20

Chauncey Washington has replaced Hyphen Jr., Jimmy Saddler-McQueen, on the practice squad. Washington was waived from the main roster earlier in the week, and there is still an opening there. I'm still thinking Quincy Butler.

Never mind, Quincy Butler has signed with the Saints. The Rams have ended up bringing back awful DB Antoine Thompson to the practice squad and promoted LB Curtis Johnson from the squad.

Methinks someone at Rams Park goofed. Why not just leave Washington on the roster?

Rams notes, 10/19

* That was an award-worthy performance by the Rams over San Diego Sunday. Proof? Steven Jackson is up for FedEx Ground Player of the Week, and Danario Alexander is up for Pepsi Rookie of the Week.

As they say in Chicago, vote early and vote often.

* Did somebody say the player(s) who had to step up for the San Diego game were Chris Long and the defensive line? Just checking.

* As I guessed during RamView, the official's interpretation on the helmet-to-helmet hit by Kevin Burnett on Sam Bradford was that Bradford had become a runner and was fair game. Bull. Shit. Why does the league make it legal for the QB to slide for safety and also make it legal to clock him in the head? Needless to say, the league's doing a lot of answering this week for letting all of these downfield blows to the head go unpenalized. One thing TMQ got right this week was to include the hit on Bradford on the list of this weekend's notorious blows to the head, the only national outlet or column I've seen or heard do so.

* Wacky 2010 statistic #1: 33-year-old James Hall is in the top 5 in the NFL in sacks with 6. He's on a pace for 16. His high sack season for the Rams was 6.5 in 2008.

* Wacky 2010 statistic #2: the Rams have won as many games this season as they did the last two seasons combined. (Randy Karraker, 101 ESPN)

* Wacky 2010 statistic #3: the Rams are out of first place in the NFC by one game. Note I didn't say NFC West. Nobody in the whole conference is above 4-2. Home field advantage for the playoffs!

* Jackson is 32 yards from passing Eric Dickerson to become the leading rusher in team history.

* Injury update: Bartender! A round of hamstrings for everyone. Minor hamstring injuries for Mardy Gilyard, Brit Miller and Jerome Murphy. Significant hamstring injuries for Darian Stewart and Justin King, who are expected to miss Sunday's game in Tampa because of them.

Anybody on this freaking team ever heard of stretching?

Ron Bartell has an injured left wrist and a bruised thigh but should be able to go against the Bucs, and Chris Chamberlain returns to practice this week. Jacob Bell is fine and played Sunday. Same for Jason Smith. Na'il Diggs is day-to-day due to a sprained knee. David Vobora (ANOTHER hamstring) was on the active roster Sunday but didn't play. Cliff Ryan was inactive again and is out indefinitely, or infinitely, even, due to migraines. DarellDorell Scott was also inactive due to a high ankle sprain and should be out another 2 to 4 weeks.

Danario Alexander's got some soreness in his knee but it was expected. He'll probably be practiced lightly this week.

* Transactions: Reports are that the Rams have waived Chauncey Washington from the active roster, but no corresponding transaction has been announced. Mortty Ivy is listed on the active roster on the Rams' website right now, but with Washington still on it, too, that's a 54-man roster, not quite legal. They do list only 7 on the practice squad. I'm surprised they'd cut Washington - our depth at RB hasn't gotten any better, you know - and more surprised that they'd replace him with an LB, if they are, given all the injuries at DB right now.

Calling Quincy Butler!

* Buc the odds: Tampa opened in Vegas as a 3-point favorite, which is already being bet down. Over/under is 38. I think there's plenty of reason to bet the Rams, but let's try to keep the jinx on my 1-3-1 Rams betting record and pick pewter power.