tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69982159592625378382024-03-05T22:43:14.520-08:00Rams NewsGet the scoop on your St. Louis Rams!lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.comBlogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-82562711865580031542012-12-10T15:52:00.002-08:002012-12-10T15:52:46.635-08:00Gibson Sparks Offenseby Nick Wagoner<br />
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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – As the Rams offense retired to the locker room at halftime following a sluggish first half in which yards were difficult to come by, they began an immediate search for some kind of spark.</div>
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They didn’t much care where it came from but with usual spark plug <nobr>Danny Amendola</nobr> inactive again with a foot injury and the Bills taking great pains to shut down the run game and <nobr>Steven Jackson</nobr>, there was no doubt it would have to be a more unusual suspect.</div>
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Enter receiver <nobr>Brandon Gibson</nobr>. After finishing the first half with one catch for 10 yards on just two targets, Gibson took the reins.</div>
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“It was a huge jump start,” quarterback <nobr>Sam Bradford</nobr> said. “I think he went over 100 today or right at 100 today. We came in at halftime and knew we needed to make some adjustments. I thought Gibby did a great job getting open, creating after the catch too. The one third down I don’t know what he ran for after he caught it but that was huge just getting us down there on their side of the field.”</div>
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Indeed, Gibson became Bradford’s favorite target and finished with 100 yards on six catches and one gigantic, game-winning touchdown catch. In the final 30 minutes, Gibson had five catches for 90 yards and his production gave him his first career 100-yard game.</div>
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With Amendola out, the receivers and Bradford have insisted that filling the void is a group effort but that group still needs someone to lead the charge. As Gibson continued to find ways to make plays at the most important of times, his teammates followed his lead.</div>
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<nobr>Austin Pettis</nobr> made big plays, <nobr>Chris Givens</nobr> made big plays,<nobr>Lance Kendricks</nobr> made big plays and on and on.</div>
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“He didn’t get as many looks in the first half and as receivers we just know in the back of our heads that we have got to go out and make plays to help this offense move along and put points on the board,” Pettis said. “So I think it’s a testament to Gibby’s mental toughness to go out in the second half and play like a No. 1 receiver and carry us throughout the second half in the pass game.”</div>
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Givens’ role has only increased in recent weeks as the majority of Amendola’s looks have gone Givens’ way. That hasn’t left many chances for Gibson but as the longest tenured of the Rams wideouts, Gibson hasn’t let any of those things bother him in his pursuit to contribute.</div>
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“It’s not something I can worry about,” Gibson said. “All I can do is go out there and make sure I get open and week to week I try not to worry about getting the ball. I just want to be in the right spot when the right time comes.”</div>
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There was no better time than the second half Sunday after the Rams offense mustered just 71 total yards in the first half. Trailing 6-0 coming out for the third quarter, the Rams immediately put together their best drive of the day.</div>
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And no play on that drive was bigger than Gibson’s 22-yard catch and run to the Bills’ 25 on third-and-7. That helped set up Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run and got the offense into something of a rhythm.</div>
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Still, it was the big plays on the final drive that mattered most.</div>
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“We knew it was probably going to come down to the last drive,” Gibson said. “We kind of sputtered around the first half and coming up with points was big, we have to do a better job of that and winning on third down so those are our goals and we’ll just continue to get better at it.”</div>
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On the game-winning drive, Gibson narrowly missed a chance for a big play down the left sideline before bouncing back with a catch for 15 yards on third-and-10 to Buffalo’s 13.</div>
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Two plays later, Gibson squeezed the winning touchdown in the back of the end zone and helped set off a wild celebration.</div>
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“This is huge for Gibby,” Jackson said. “This season alone is huge for Gibby. When you have a guy that continues to grow each year…I think we have seen that and from when we traded for him and got him from Philadelphia, we have seen Gibby grow. This is a huge year for him and I am happy for him. He’s showing up at big times.”</div>
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RUN DOWN: The top priority for the Rams defense all week was slowing down the Bills’ fourth-ranked rushing attack led by the two-headed monster of C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson.</div>
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There was further motivational fuel thrown into the mix during the week when one of the backs appeared on a talk back and made mention of a targeted number for fantasy production against the Rams.</div>
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Defensive tackle <nobr>Michael Brockers</nobr> and Co. didn’t take too kindly to that.</div>
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“It was a motivation thing,” Brockers said. “On Friday, we watched first take or whatever it was and he said he wanted 15 fantasy points and that wasn’t for us. We wanted to meet the challenge of stopping the run and keeping him in the backfield. I think that’s where we were in motivation.”</div>
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Whatever the additional motivation, the Rams defense absolutely answered the bell in shutting down Buffalo’s vaunted rush attack. The Bills finished with 61 yards on 20 carries with nothing longer than a 14-yard burst from Jackson.</div>
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Jackson finished with 14 yards on nine carries and Spiller added 37 yards on seven totes.</div>
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Defensive tackle <nobr>Kendall Langford</nobr> said the defensive line put it on itself to slow down Spiller and Jackson.</div>
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“Just dominate up front,” Langford said. “Our front had to be better than their front. D line better than their O line and out tough them. I think we did a good job of that.”</div>
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INJURY REPORT: For the most part, the Rams made it through Sunday’s game relatively healthy but did have a couple of losses that will have to be monitored this week.</div>
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Safety <nobr>Craig Dahl</nobr> left the game with a concussion and did not return. <nobr>Darian Stewart</nobr> replaced Dahl and posted three tackles. Dahl will have to go through the normal battery of tests before he is cleared to return this week.</div>
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Left tackle <nobr>Rodger Saffold</nobr> was in and out of the game with back spasms.<nobr>Wayne Hunter</nobr> filled in for him but Saffold was able to make it through. His status will be clearer as the week goes on but coach Jeff Fisher offered a short take on the matter.</div>
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“He just had a hard day,” Fisher said, acknowledging that Saffold would be OK.</div>
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IN THE HUNT: With three games to go in the season, the Rams remain right in the hunt for a playoff spot but didn’t get much help from their NFC counterparts on Sunday.</div>
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Teams still in the mix with them such as Seattle, Washington, Dallas and Minnesota all won but the Rams do play the Vikings, Seahawks and Tampa Bay in the final three games.</div>
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While the Rams are pleased with their progress, they know they can only focus on continuing to take care of business to have a legitimate shot when the dust settles.</div>
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“It’s a big turnaround from last year from 2-14 to 6-6-1,” Brockers said. “We have beaten some really good teams this year. We are still in the hunt but it’s an every week thing for us to try to win every game. We have to win one game at a time and try to come out next week and feed off this game.”</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-16405638864043412652012-12-03T14:06:00.001-08:002012-12-03T14:07:07.390-08:0049ers vs. Rams: Janoris Jenkins' Defensive Touchdown Saves St. Louis' SeasonFrom the Bleacher Report<br />
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Heading into Week 12, the St. Louis <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/st-louis-rams" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Rams</a> hadn't won a game since Week 5 of the season, and many thought their playoff hopes were dead in the water. Enter the outlook at the end of Week 13 and things have done a complete 180.</div>
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St. Louis is now 5-6-1 and in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt. After two wins in a row, the Rams are currently eying the division rival <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/seattle-seahawks" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Seattle Seahawks</a> for the No. 6 seed. They are still two games back because of Russell Wilson's late-game heroics at Soldier Field.</div>
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However, their four remaining contests are all winnable games from a record and talent standpoint. <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/buffalo-bills" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Buffalo</a>, <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/tampa-bay-buccaneers" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Tampa Bay</a> and Seattle on the road with <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/minnesota-vikings" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Minnesota</a> at home—honestly, are any of those four teams any better than the Rams by a wide-margin?</div>
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Some would say Tampa Bay and Seattle, yet St. Louis is undefeated against the NFC West this season and Tampa Bay has had a hard time deciding whether or not they are pretenders or contenders. Moreover, it's also important the Rams don't lose focus and get ahead of themselves.</div>
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Jeff Fisher knows better than anyone that the league is truly a quarter-to-quarter league. Today's game against the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/san-francisco-49ers" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">49ers</a> is a perfect example of that analogy. Heading into halftime, Coach Fisher's club looked miserable, yet they never lost hope as they outscored San Francisco 16-6 in the second half.</div>
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The second half onslaught all started when the Rams failed to convert on offense deep into 49ers territory. On fourth-and-1 from the four-yard line, quarterback <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/sam-bradford" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Sam Bradford</a> tried to hit wide receiver Austin <span class="spellcheck" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pettis</span> in the corner of the end zone, which would have cut the game to a one-score affair.</div>
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Unfortunately for the Rams, San Francisco cornerback Tarell Brown knocked the ball right out of <span class="spellcheck" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pettis</span>' hands. A momentum swing appeared to turn in the 49ers favor, except a Colin <span class="spellcheck" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kaepernick</span> intentional grounding penalty from the end zone handed St. Louis their first two points of the game, one drive later.</div>
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Not to mention the fact momentum was back in its favor. </div>
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Fast forward to the fourth quarter when the Rams were down 10-2 with 3:04 left to play—it was third-and-3 from the 49ers own 17-yard line, and they were looking to run a pitch play to wide receiver Ted Ginn.</div>
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The play appeared as if it would have picked up the three yards needed to pick up the first down, yet a poor pitch from <span class="spellcheck" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kaepernick</span> allowed <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/janoris-jenkins" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="spellcheck" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Janoris</span> Jenkins</a> to fall on the ball and roll in the end zone from two yards out. The fourth-quarter touchdown marked his third defensive touchdown in the last two weeks.</div>
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top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;">Ian Kenyon</span><span class="nickname" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: both !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; 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word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;"></iframe></div>
<div class="entry-content" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: auto !important; direction: ltr !important; float: none !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;">
<div class="entry-title" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: auto !important; direction: ltr !important; float: none !important; font-family: Georgia, Palatino, serif !important; font-size: 16px !important; font-style: italic; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; line-height: 22px !important; list-style: none !important; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: hidden !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: 401px; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: break-word !important; z-index: auto !important;">
Janoris Jenkins has as many touchdowns as Matt Forte this year.</div>
</div>
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<a class="view-details" href="https://twitter.com/IanKenyonNFL/statuses/275338400226222080" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; color: rgb(153, 153, 153) !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; line-height: 13px !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-decoration: initial !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;"><span class="updated " style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; line-height: 16px !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;" title="2 Dec 2012, 8:39:24 PM (UTC)"><span class="value-title" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;" title="2012-12-02T20:39:24+0000"></span>2 Dec 12</span></a><br />
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<li style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: auto !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-align: left !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;"><a class="reply-action twt-intent" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=275338400226222080" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; color: rgb(153, 153, 153) !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-decoration: initial !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;" title="Reply"><i style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(http://platform.twitter.com/embed/sprite.png) !important; background-position: 0px -30px !important; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat !important; background-size: 49px 137px !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51) !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; font-style: normal !important; height: 13px !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 1px 5px 0px 8px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: hidden !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: 18px !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;"></i><b style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;">Reply</b></a></li>
<li style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: auto !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-align: left !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;"><a class=" retweet-action twt-intent" href="https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=275338400226222080" style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; color: rgb(153, 153, 153) !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-decoration: initial !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;" title="Retweet"><i style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: url(http://platform.twitter.com/embed/sprite.png) !important; background-position: 0px -48px !important; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat !important; background-size: 49px 137px !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51) !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; font-style: normal !important; height: 12px !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 1px 3px 0px 8px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: hidden !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: 22px !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;"></i><b style="-webkit-box-shadow: none !important; background-color: transparent !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; bottom: auto !important; box-shadow: none !important; clear: none !important; clip: auto !important; cursor: pointer !important; direction: ltr !important; display: block !important; float: left !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: auto !important; left: auto !important; list-style: none !important; margin: 0px !important; max-height: none !important; max-width: none !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important; opacity: 1 !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: visible !important; padding: 0px !important; page: auto !important; position: static !important; quotes: none !important; right: auto !important; size: auto !important; text-overflow: clip !important; text-shadow: none !important; top: auto !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; visibility: visible !important; width: auto !important; word-spacing: normal !important; word-wrap: normal !important; z-index: auto !important;">Retweet</b></a></li>
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</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Undoubtedly, it would be easy to say Greg Zuerlein's 54-yard field goal to win the game in overtime was the biggest play of the game, however he would have never even had the opportunity if it wasn't for Jenkins' scoop and score.</div>
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We all know Brian Schottenheimer's offense wasn't scoring a touchdown against Vic Fangio's defense without Danny <span class="spellcheck" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Amendola</span>.</div>
<br />lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-30438993785039079822012-11-26T11:56:00.002-08:002012-11-26T11:56:43.691-08:00Rookie Jenkins Sets Record<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3atb-CzOiYB6eFtfrxwZnv5ZobI7pdSwl8VUMnd1vMQBPtNHKibHsDixzZ33DLhAbzxjmRbPC4nQiBg4RL-KDBUNktpOcYSD1zsEygkbeCxCXA5EeIJITXa56SHpnXSr31ao-AXC2AwI/s1600/janoris-jenkins-rams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3atb-CzOiYB6eFtfrxwZnv5ZobI7pdSwl8VUMnd1vMQBPtNHKibHsDixzZ33DLhAbzxjmRbPC4nQiBg4RL-KDBUNktpOcYSD1zsEygkbeCxCXA5EeIJITXa56SHpnXSr31ao-AXC2AwI/s200/janoris-jenkins-rams.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">GLENDALE,
Ariz. -- </span></span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Janoris+Jenkins"><span style="color: #015fb6;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Janoris
Jenkins</u></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> has
been known to make headlines for the wrong reasons. Not this
time.<br /><br />No NFL rookie since 1960 and no Rams rookie ever
accomplished what the young St. Louis cornerback did
Sunday.<br /><br />Jenkins, who slipped to the second round of the draft
-- the 39th pick overall -- because of off-the-field issues during
his college career, returned two interceptions for touchdowns and St.
Louis dominated the second half to hand the Arizona Cardinals their
seventh loss in a row, 31-17. </span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Arizona
rookie </span></span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Ryan+Lindley"><span style="color: #015fb6;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Ryan
Lindley</u></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> was
intercepted four times in his first NFL start.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Jenkins'
returns of 36 and 39 yards emphatically ended the Rams' streak of
five straight games without an opponent turnover.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"A
big relief," he said of ending the takeaway drought. "I
felt the defense came out and we played together."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
talented defender had slipped to the second round for the Rams after
he was booted from the Florida team following a pair of
marijuana-related incidents and finished his career at North Alabama.
Then there was his acknowledgment that he fathered four children with
three women.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Just
two weeks ago, he and fellow rookie Chris Givens were inactive for
the game against San Francisco for violating team rules.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">All
that was mere history on this big day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"What
a great game by Janoris," Rams defensive end Chris Long said.
"I'm really proud of him. I'm happy for him. When you get one
turnover for a score, your chances of winning go up exponentially, so
if you get two, I don't know what the statistic is, but when you do
it two times with the same player, it's pretty awesome."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Sam
Bradford had a pair of 37-yard touchdown passes -- to Lance Kendricks
and Givens -- for the Rams (4-6-1), who snapped a five-game winless
streak and beat Arizona (4-7) for the second time this season.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Rams' </span></span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Steven+Jackson+(Running+Back)"><span style="color: #015fb6;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Steven
Jackson</u></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> rushed
for 139 yards in 24 carries.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">St.
Louis outscored Arizona 17-0 in the second half.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Lindley,
a sixth-round draft pick out of San Diego State and the third
quarterback to start for Arizona this season, completed 31 of 52 for
312 yards and no touchdowns. The interceptions, especially the two
returned for scores, outweighed anything else Lindley did.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"I
think you just have to understand he's a young player and he's got to
understand he can't make a couple of those throws, especially the
last one that was returned for a touchdown," Cardinals coach Ken
Whisenhunt said. "That was a bad throw because he had Larry
(Fitzgerald) down the sidelines. He's just got to step up and put it
up."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Beanie
Wells, back after missing seven games with a turf toe injury, had TD
runs of 1 and 12 yards for the Cardinals.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Arizona
led 17-14 at the half on Jay Feely's 32-yard field goal as the second
quarter ended.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
third quarter, though, belonged to the Rams.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">With
St. Louis pinned at its 8-yard line, Jackson ran 46 yards, doubling
his previous longest gain of the season. Two plays later, Givens beat
rookie Justin Bethel down the left sideline for a 37-yard scoring
reception to give the Rams their first lead, 21-17, with 9:58 left in
the quarter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Rams threatened to extend the lead when Lindley threw right into the
hands of linebacker Harvey Dahl, who returned it 38 yards to the
Arizona 12. But after a holding penalty, Greg Zuerlein's 35-yard
field goal try was wide left.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Cardinals weren't so fortunate on Lindley's next bad pass. The rookie
underthrew Fitzgerald by 10 yards. Jenkins caught it and in a play
almost identical to his earlier TD, raced down the right sideline for
the score that made it 28-17.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Dahl's
interception also came when Lindley missed Fitzgerald.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Those
two where I was going to Larry, the two picks, were just real mental
mistakes," Lindley said. "It was things that, it's
unexplainable right now, but I made a bad play. Larry is doing the
right thing. I'm just off a little bit on something, rushing
something, not trusting what I'm seeing out there."</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">With
Lindley throwing short passes over the middle, the Cardinals went 91
yards in 15 plays on their first possession, using up 8:55 of the
first quarter, to go up 7-0.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But
on the first play of the second quarter, Jenkins stepped in front of
intended receiver LaRod Stephens-Howling, intercepted the pass and
ran untouched 36 yards to the end zone to tie it at 7-7.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Danny
Amendola, who played despite a foot injury that prevented him from
practicing all week, made a diving grab of Bradford's 38-yard pass to
the Arizona 19 on St. Louis' next possession and two runs by Jackson
put the ball on the Arizona 7. But Patrick Peterson picked off
Bradford's pass over the middle in the end zone to end the threat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Lindley's
25-yard pass to Rob Housler and Andre Roberts' 13-yard run set up
Wells' 12-yard scoring run that put Arizona back on top 14-7.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
Rams tied it 14-all when Bradford threw over the middle to Kendricks,
who rumbled into the end zone on a 37-yard scoring play with 1:53
left in the half.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-19950314497793180932012-11-12T12:46:00.000-08:002012-11-12T12:46:19.406-08:00Holder takes blame for delay of game penaltyby Jim Thomas<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">SAN FRANCISCO</strong> • Holder Johnny Hekker said he didn’t signal for the ball from long-snapper Jake McQuaide quickly enough in overtime, causing a delay of game that wiped out what would’ve been a game-winning 53-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
“I let the delay happen,” said Hekker, who also is the Rams’ punter. “Greg said he gave me the hand sign with 4 seconds (on the play clock). We’ve never had a snap, a nod to ‘hand flash,’ take more than 4 seconds.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
"I’m still kind of puzzled as to how that happened."</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The 'hand flash' is Hekker's signal for McQuaide to snap the ball.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The Rams had timeouts available to stop the play clock before it ran out, but coach Jeff Fisher did nothing as the clock ticked down.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Earlier in the game, Hekker kept the Rams’ offense on the field with two successful passes on fake punts, completing a 21-yarder to Rodney McLeod late in the first half, and tossing a 19-yard pass to Lance Kendricks. The pass to Kendricks kept alive a drive that set up the Rams’ final touchdown in regulation.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
But Hekker also shanked a punt that traveled 13 yards in the second quarter.</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-47968051271220087882012-10-31T13:27:00.001-07:002012-10-31T13:27:21.703-07:00'Terrible' Rams are royally beaten<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">LONDON</strong> • As Rams cornerback Cortland Finnegan so aptly put it: "Sometimes you're the bug, and sometimes you're the windshield."</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
It wasn't difficult to tell which was which Sunday night in Wembley Stadium.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
The Rams got some sightseeing in during their weeklong stay in the England. Among other things, they saw the Tower of London, and the crown jewels, and Trafalgar Square. What they didn't see was that red, white, and blue truck — complete with windshield — otherwise known as the New England Patriots.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
After a promising start, the Rams were outscored, outplayed and humiliated by the Patriots in a 45-7 loss before a sellout crowd of 84,004</div>
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It was a long way to go to play so poorly. The Rams, now losers of three in a row, fell to 3-5 and have an extra week to stew about it as they enter their bye before returning to action Nov. 11 at San Francisco.</div>
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"There's just days where you're going" to stink, defensive end Chris Long said. "And ... we were terrible. We were also playing a Hall of Famer. So it was a bad day to come out and be below average."</div>
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The Patriots, who pulled the future Hall of Famer — quarterback Tom Brady — with 8 minutes, 20 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, improved to 5-3. Adding insult to injury, they topped 350 yards of offense for the 17th consecutive game, breaking a record they had shared with the Greatest Show on Turf - more precisely, the 2001 Rams team they defeated in Super Bowl XXXVI.</div>
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"They got off to a good start" with the early touchdown, Brady said. "We countered and never looked back."</div>
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Things started promisingly enough for the Rams, who came out in the no-huddle after taking the opening kickoff. Just five plays into the game, quarterback Sam Bradford found wide receiver Chris Givens deep for a 50-yard touchdown pass. It marked the fifth consecutive game Givens had caught a pass of 50 yards or more, setting an NFL rookie record.</div>
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"First time we touch the ball, we go down and score -- exactly what we planned to do," Bradford said. "And then it just all felt apart from there."</div>
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The lead lasted as long as fish and chips do at lunchtime around here. Before you could say "Spygate," it was 28-7 Patriots at halftime.</div>
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"I don't know what happened," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "A lot of things steamrolled against us. We had plays where we just dropped coverages, missed communications. At the end of the day, we're a better defense than this - than what showed."</div>
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En route to a 473-yard day on offense, Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and the Patriots' underrated running game couldn't be stopped, or even slowed. The Patriots scored TDs on their first five possessions, including all four series in the first half.</div>
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The Rams forgot to pack their pass rush for this trip, going sackless for the first time all season. When they rushed four, Brady had plenty of time. When they blitzed, Brady carved them up like a Thanksgiving turkey, frequently throwing to the area vacated by the blitzer.</div>
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Former Ram Brandon Lloyd caught only two passes Sunday, but both went for touchdowns as he gave rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins fits.</div>
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Two more Brady TD tosses went to Gronkowski, who gave Rams safeties and anyone else in his path fits with eight catches for 146 yards. Gronkowski looked like a rugby player out there, bouncing off would-be tacklers for extra yardage with his 6-6, 265-pound frame.</div>
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"He's a good player," safety Quintin Mikell said. "I think him and Tom have a rapport together, and he creates certain matchup problems with his size and all that stuff. At the end of the day, if we're all doing what we're supposed to do, we can minimize that."</div>
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About the only thing that got minimized Sunday was the effectiveness of the Rams' offense. The Rams got some cheap rushing yards near the end of the game, after the Patriots had sent out their JV defense, but Thunder (Steven Jackson) & Lightning (Daryl Richardson) never really got going.</div>
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And after the big strike to Givens early, the Rams never did much to exploit one of the league's worst pass defenses.</div>
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"You look at their defense and I think they were 30th defending the pass, so we came into this game really expecting to move the ball," Bradford said. "We got beat in every phase of the game. Got dominated. I don't think there is any other way to put it."</div>
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After the Rams' opening score, they didn't make it into New England territory again until their fourth possession late in the first half, and that ended in a mini-disaster. On the first play following the 2-minute warning, Greg Zuerlein lined up for a 53-yard field goal but never got "The Leg" on the ball. Holder Johnny Hekker bobbled the snap and was forced to scramble for his life.</div>
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Hekker was tackled for a 9-yard loss with New England taking over at its 45, giving Brady a short a field for the Patriots' fourth TD drive of the day just before the half. It wasn't until the end of the third quarter, by which time the Rams were down by 31 points, that New England was forced to punt.</div>
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Just before the start of the second half, coach Jeff Fisher gathered the entire Rams team around him on the field and gave an animated speech trying to stir up the squad. So much for the impassioned plea: The Patriots needed only six plays to reach the end zone again after taking the second half kickoff.</div>
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At 35-7 and only 2½ minutes into the second half, it was only a matter of how big the shellacking would be. It turned out to be the Rams' worst defeat since a 47-7 setback late in 2009, Steve Spagnuolo's inaugural season in St. Louis, to Fisher's Tennessee Titans.</div>
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"What is required to beat a Patriot team that's playing that well on both sides of the ball is a near-perfect game, and obviously, we were unable to do that," Fisher said. "Tom got a hot hand, and had a good sense, and those guys made a lot of plays for him.</div>
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"So this will be a real test for our young football team going into the bye week coming off a disappointing loss like this. We'll find out a lot about ourselves."</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-49835225924904029782012-10-16T07:59:00.002-07:002012-10-16T07:59:27.308-07:00Fisher Dissects the Miami Loss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fDxD236McdR_1kn2luHCudGSeHv9cNI-TxDat8FyDkj6oa9R31ixLbRtLDLPNg3cCMWCY7Y8KXc864fBF9QX7LE5urDds5iWntvlSPGU2LxT-4z41ipJEv63CJ2V61ZTA5pAeGrVbN0/s1600/fisher+miami.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fDxD236McdR_1kn2luHCudGSeHv9cNI-TxDat8FyDkj6oa9R31ixLbRtLDLPNg3cCMWCY7Y8KXc864fBF9QX7LE5urDds5iWntvlSPGU2LxT-4z41ipJEv63CJ2V61ZTA5pAeGrVbN0/s200/fisher+miami.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
by Jim Thomas<br />
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Even after watching game film Monday, the Rams' 17-14 defeat in Miami had to be one of those deals in which the head coach scratches his head and wonders out loud: How did we lose this one?</div>
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And that kind of loss is tough to take.</div>
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"Yeah, it is," Jeff Fisher said. "The numbers — the statistics — reflect a well-played game on both sides of the ball. But you have to be very careful to walk down the hall thinking that things are OK because the statistics were so skewed in our favor."</div>
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Boy, were they skewed. The Rams' 462 yards of offense marked their highest single-game output since a 37-31 overtime victory over Washington on Christmas Eve 2006. The Rams piled up 579 yards in that contest.</div>
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The Rams' 294 yards in the first half against the Dolphins was the ninth-highest first-half total in the franchise's 75-year history.</div>
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On the defensive side of the ball, the Rams allowed only 19 yards rushing to the Dolphins, the lowest total since the move to St. Louis in 1995. Additionally, the 192 total yards allowed tied for eighth-lowest in the franchise's 18 seasons here.</div>
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On Monday, Fisher had a distinct idea of how and where things went awry in south Florida.</div>
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"When you lose a close game — by a field goal — there's little things that contribute," Fisher said. "And there were some little things. But to me there was also a big thing that contributed to this loss — and that was the second quarter.</div>
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"In the second quarter, we had seven penalties, missed two field goals and turned the ball (over) inside our opponent's territory on the 25-yard line."</div>
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Plus there was a busted coverage by rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins that resulted in Miami's first touchdown.</div>
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"At the end of the day we let things slip in the second quarter, and then we just couldn't make the plays in the second half to regain it," Fisher said. "When you're playing a close game, you don't guess on a route, and that's what happened with 'Jenks.' Sometimes he guesses right, but he thought he saw something, and the guy ran right by him."</div>
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The result was a 29-yard touchdown catch by Marlon Moore, giving Miami a 7-6 lead — a lead the Dolphins never relinquished.</div>
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"When you put together a great defensive effort you say: How could we have done better?" Fisher said. "Well, that's certainly how you do better. You don't give up a long ball like that. I'm not singling him out per se, but in close games you can't allow those things to happen."</div>
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Fisher provided another example on offense — wide receiver Brandon Gibson played one of his best games as a Ram.</div>
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"It's hard to find a better catch than that catch in that last drive, and a couple of the other catches that he made," Fisher said. "But he double-catches one and he should get his feet (in bounds), in (Miami) territory. So he's had a great game, but what if we would've made that catch? Would things be different down there?"</div>
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Gibson's bobble came inside the Miami 20 and would've given the Rams a first down on their first drive of the game. Instead, they settled for a Greg Zuerlein field goal.</div>
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"So there's your definition of how you lose close games," Fisher said. "You have a lot of little things add up."</div>
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Even with the Rams' dominance on offense and defense, the loss to Miami also illustrates the importance of special teams play.</div>
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That unit had been very consistent in the first five games but was a big liability against Miami. Besides the three missed field goals by Zuerlein, the Rams committed the day's only turnover — on a fumbled kickoff return by Brit Miller.</div>
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"You get up in the traffic, put both hands on it and go down," Fisher said. "You see it (happen) that way too often, guys that aren't used to handling balls need to get down."</div>
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Jenkins, taking over on punt returns for the injured Danny Amendola, fumbled his first return out of bounds, costing the Rams field position by pinning them back at their 8.</div>
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"We got outplayed on special teams," long snapper Jake McQuaide said. "I think that's gonna be pretty evident."</div>
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To start the second half, Marcus Thigpen got loose for a 44-yard kickoff return, giving Miami good field position on its second TD drive.</div>
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"We had a guy in the wrong position," Fisher said.</div>
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And there was one more glaring special teams problem late in the game. On a fourth-and-1 play from the Miami 40 with 3½ minutes to play, the Dolphins lined up in punt formation. But up-back Chris Clemons took the snap and ran 3 yards for a first down.</div>
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The Rams eventually got the ball back, but the successful fake allowed the Dolphins to chew up 1½ minutes of time and forced the Rams to burn their second timeout.</div>
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"That's on me," Fisher said. "I didn't think that they would do that, or I would've left the defense out there."</div>
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Instead of keeping the starting defense on the field, the Rams had their punt return unit on the field for what turned out to be the fake on a successful gamble by Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin.</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-8310541265104283332012-10-05T11:43:00.002-07:002012-10-05T11:43:32.679-07:00Rams win 17-3 slugfest over Arizonaby Jim Thomas<br />
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The Rams certainly won’t get any style points. Perhaps much of the national television audience called it a night early or flipped over to a reality show. But in this long-forsaken football outpost, there was nothing but joy Thursday night in downtown St. Louis.</div>
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Football has returned to St. Louis after a long absence. Winning football, that is. For the first time since Nov. 4, 2006 when Scott Linehan’s inaugural squad had a 4-3 record, the Rams are above .500 after beating previously unbeaten Arizona 17-3 Thursday at the Edward Jones Dome.</div>
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It was the Rams’ first home victory over the Cardinals (4-1) since 2004. At 3-2, the Rams are just a game out of the division lead in the NFL’s new black-and-blue division, the NFC West. These two teams pounded at each other all night long before a spirited, towel-waving crowd.</div>
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The Rams made pulp out of Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb, but the blitzing Big Red didn’t exactly treat Sam Bradford with kid gloves. There were so many injured players helped off the arena floor it looked like an episode of Spartacus.</div>
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"It was a great effort," coach Jeff Fisher said. "The team had a sense for what we had to do going into this game because of the respect factor for their defense. Their defense is really, really talented. So we knew it was going to be a hard day offensively, so the defense had to step up and they did."</div>
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They stepped up to the tune of nine sacks and great red zone play.</div>
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"This defense is the heart and soul of this team right now," said rookie wide receiver Chris Givens, who gave the Rams some much-needed breathing room with a 51-yard touchdown reception from Bradford early in the fourth quarter. "We feed off their energy. You guys see how they go out there every snap, and play with passion and intensity."</div>
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Arizona got inside the Rams’ 20 on three occasions and got only a field goal to show for it.</div>
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On two other red zone forays, the Big Red were stopped on downs late in the fourth quarter, once on a sure tackle of Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald by rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins on the 3 after a short completion with 5 minutes, 25 seconds to play.</div>
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And once on a sack by Cortland Finnegan on a corner blitz on fourth-and-1 from the St. Louis 13 with 2:09 to play.</div>
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But the Rams had to make one more defensive stand after getting the ball back from Arizona with 1:41 left. This time, defensive end Robert Quinn ended any suspense. His third sack of the game resulted in a fumble by Kolb with defensive lineman William Hayes falling on the football. After that, it was time for the victory formation kneel-downs after the Rams’ third home victory in as many tries.</div>
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"It’s nice to end the game on our first caused fumble and recovered fumble of the year," Fisher said. "God, I hope they keep coming."</div>
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The Rams’ defense entered the game second in the league with eight interceptions but did not even force a fumble — much less recover one — in their first four games.</div>
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Facing the league’s third-stingiest defense in terms of points allowed, the Rams knew they would have their work cut out for them scoring points. The Rams didn’t score an offensive touchdown four days before against a Seattle team ranked second in total defense. But it took them less than 2∏ minutes to do so against an Arizona defense that had yielded only four TDs this season entering Thursday’s contest.</div>
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The big play on the drive was a 44-yard pass from quarterback Bradford to Danny Amendola. Amendola did a great job of tracking the ball in the air while being interfered with by Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson on the play.</div>
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St. Louis declined the pass interference penalty, taking the play and a first down at the Arizona 11. On third-and-6 from the 7, Bradford fired a strike to tight end Lance Kendricks in the end zone. Greg Zuerlein’s extra point gave St. Louis a 7-0 with 12:39 left in the first quarter after what was Kendricks’ first NFL touchdown. Keep in mind, Arizona entered the game second in the league in red zone defense, allowing only three TDs in the red zone in its first four games.</div>
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After an Arizona field goal, the Rams and Cardinals played the field position game. But a 14-yard punt return by Amendola to the 50 followed by two runs for 15 yards by Steven Jackson advanced the ball to the Arizona 35. And that’s all the room the Rams needed for a 53-yard field goal by "The Leg." Zuerlein’s 13th consecutive field goal gave the Rams a 10-3 lead with 10:45 to go in the first half.</div>
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Midway through the second quarter, the Rams suffered a couple of costly injuries. On a play in which he almost made a spectacular 22-yard catch on a fade pattern from Bradford, Amendola suffered a shoulder injury landing on the turf. The play originally was ruled a catch, but Arizona was successful on an instant replay challenge on third-and-5 at the St. Louis 9. Amendola did not return.</div>
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After a 19-yard return by Peterson following a Johnny Hekker punt, Arizona took over at midfield. And on the first play of that Big Red drive, Rams strong safety Quintin Mikell suffered a head injury making a tackle. Mikell had been playing some of his best football since joining the Rams in 2011. He was replaced by Darian Stewart and did not return.</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-63394145013272068272012-10-01T13:44:00.000-07:002012-10-01T13:44:39.892-07:00Extra Points about the Rams' 19-13 win over the Seahawks:by Bernie M.<br />
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Four games into the new season, the Rams aren’t going to be admired for their good looks. Their performances aren’t smooth, refined, or handsome. It’s a team of dirty faces. A team with bruises, abrasions, and blood stains. The Rams will win ugly, if that’s what’s necessary. The Rams often get themselves into trouble, but also can find their way out of the jam. They are laborers. They make plays.</div>
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That’s the best way to explain their 2-2 record and competitiveness in all four games. Even in their two losses, the Rams had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. They twice took the lead late at Detroit, but the defense couldn’t make a stop at the end. At Chicago, the Rams were within one score of tying it up with less than 10 minutes remaining, but the offense couldn’t block the Bears’ front four and the situation deteriorated.</div>
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The Rams have been outscored 24-9 in the first quarter. They have been outscored 31-20 in the fourth quarter. They have the same number of points (13) as their opponents in the third quarter. The Rams have “won” only one quarter, the second, outscoring foes 36-24. So despite trailing early and fairly often, the Rams are 2-2, and probably should be 3-1.</div>
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The Rams hang tough and stay close for several reasons, and we’ll mention a few:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1.</strong> <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">This one isn’t quantifiable, but they’re just a lot tougher under Jeff Fisher.</strong> Which was the expectation. That’s his rep. He builds tough teams. The Rams have that. It isn’t just a matter of physical play. The Rams are mentally tough. That’s why they’re able to come back from so many deficits.</div>
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They were down 7-3 to Detroit, and took the lead twice when trailing the Lions in the fourth quarter. The Rams defeated Washington despite being down 14-3 and 21-6. They fell behind 10-0 at Chicago, and got it to 10-6 before slipping late. Seattle took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards for a 7-0 lead; the Rams didn’t blink. In Seattle, they’re wondering how the Seahawks managed to lose this one 19-13 despite rushing for 179 yards and not allowing a touchdown.</div>
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(Well, look at the coach. Fisher won the matchup against <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pete Carroll</strong>.) But more than anything, opponents have to realize that they’re up against a different kind of animal now when they tangle with St. Louis. The Rams are not the same, old, sorry-sack team that’s been kicked around for years. Not with Fisher coaching them. This is new. We’re not used to seeing such resilience.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2. The Rams defense makes stops:</strong> they’re giving up around 349 net yards per game. That’s nothing special; it ranks 14th among 32 teams. The Rams are vulnerable against the run. They rank 26th in yielding 135 yards per game, and 26th in allowing 4.7 yards per rushing attempt. They’ve been barreled over for six rushing TDs. Quarterbacks have completed 64.7 percent of the passes against the Rams defense.</div>
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This group limits the damage. It cuts its losses. It makes plays. It puts up resistance. The Rams are 7th in the NFL in stopping opponents on 3rd down, allowing a conversion rate of 31.1 percent.</div>
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The Rams lead the NFL with eight interceptions. They’ve been dinged by only two TD passes, which is tied for first. The Rams TD/INT ratio of 0.25 is the best in the league. They’re limiting quarterbacks to a passer rating of 64.2; that’s No. 2 in the league.</div>
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And that Rams defense that isn’t so rigid against the run? Yesterday Seattle ran the ball four times on third down and short (0-2 yards). The Rams held them to six yards on the four rushes, and twice prevented a first down.</div>
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Fisher always tells his players: don’t look at the scoreboard. Keep playing. Make enough plays, and the scoreboard will change.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3. Sam Bradford makes plays:</strong> Really, I’m not trying to cause the Sammy haters to go into convulsions. Bradford’s overall stats are ordinary. The offense is limited. The Rams average 19.8 points per game, 26th in the NFL. They have five TDs from scrimmage, tied for last. They average 311 yards, which is 27th.</div>
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So why do I say that Bradford makes plays? Well, because he does. Bradford has been one of the best quarterbacks in third-down situations. He’s been good on third down and longer distances. He’s been effective in the fourth quarter when his team is up by seven or fewer points, or down by seven or fewer points.</div>
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Let’s take a look:</div>
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• On third down, Bradford has completed 22 of 33 (66.7 percent) with a TD and no interceptions. That completion percentage ranks 7th among starting quarterbacks. His third-down passer rating of 102.2 is also No. 7 among QBs. His percentage of picking up third downs on passing attempts is 51.5, which ranks 4th in the league. Bradford’s yards per passing attempt of 8.27 on third down ranks 6th.</div>
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• Against Seattle, Bradford converted a 3rd and 14, and two 3rd and 13s. When Bradford faced a third and 11+ yards through the first four games, he’s completed all three passing attempts and secured a first down each time. His passer rating in that situation is 118.8. Quarterbacks don’t have great success on 3rd down needing between 8 and 10 yards. In those instances Bradford has completed 8 of 10, and his first-down conversion rate of 50 percent ranks No. 8 among</div>
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• In the 4th quarter and the Rams are leading by 7 points or fewer or trailing by 7 points or fewer, Bradford has completed 17 of 27 with two TDs and an interception. In this category, his passer rating of 97.6 ranks 10th in the league. And he’s converted third downs at a rate of 55.6 percent; that’s No. 2 among passers.</div>
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Yes, we’d all like to see more touchdowns, fewer field goals. We’d like to see more big plays, and fewer catches for short yardage. We’d like to see better red zone success. Absolutely. But until the Rams develop more playmakers, it’s positive to have your quarterback making plays that move the chains and set up the rookie kicker for field goals.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">4. Greg the Leg:</strong> Zuerlein is 12 for 12 in his field goal attempts, but we aren’t talking about a lot of putts or chip shots. Of the 12 FGs, seven have been for 46 yards or longer. The rookie already has kicked field goals of 56, 58 and 60 yards. The Rams’ single-season franchise record for most field goals of 50+ yards is six, held by three players. (Tony Zendejas, Jeff Wilkins, Josh Brown.) So Zuerlein only needs four more FGs of 50+ to set a record.</div>
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Needless to say, young "GeeZy" has become an extraordinary weapon for Fisher and the Rams. As we’ve discussed, the Rams are not a touchdown machine. Getting into the end zone will be a challenge. But you still need to score as many points as possible, and now the Rams have a kicker with remarkable range, which sets up more FG chances. Now when the Rams move past the 50-yard line, they’ve entered Zuerlein’s range. What used to be a fourth-down punt may become a FG attempt instead. Not many kickers are game-changers, but Zuerlein seems to be one. I don’t think the Rams win yesterday with four blasts from Kid Dynamite.</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-4156158751590340662012-09-25T11:38:00.000-07:002012-09-25T11:38:28.815-07:00Rising & Falling in St. Louis<h3>
<b>Rising in Stock - Rams D</b></h3>
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The Rams are putting together a terrific defensive unit.</div>
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Janoris Jenkins and Cortland Finnegan are quickly emerging as one of the best cornerback duos in the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/nfl" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NFL</a>. Chris Long and Robert Quinn are both sacking the opposing QB with regularity from their defensive end spots. James Laurinaitis is one of the best middle linebackers in the business.</div>
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When Michael Brockers (No. 14 overall pick in the 2012 draft) returns from a high ankle sprain to team up with fellow defensive tackle Kendall Langford, the Rams defense should be even better.</div>
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That's a scary thought for opponents.</div>
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The Rams' D kept this game close. They held the Bears to 274 total yards for the game. A deeper look reveals the Bears only gained 80 yards in the second half - and only <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">four yards </em>in the third quarter - against the Rams' stingy defense.</div>
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Stock Going Down - Rams O-Line</h3>
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<a href="http://bleacherreport.com/sam-bradford" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sam Bradford</a> got sacked six times. The Rams' rushing attack was so impotent that they only attempted 15 runs by the running backs.</div>
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The Rams' offensive line got<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">dominated.</em></div>
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If you don't think the Rams are drafting a left tackle this April, you're crazy.</div>
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Stock Going Down - Sam Bradford</h3>
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Sam Bradford has been sacked 11 times through the first three games of the season. That means he is on pace to get sacked 59 times this season, assuming he stays healthy all 16 games.</div>
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Same old offensive line, same old Rams.</div>
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Sam Bradford is a good player. He proved that last week. The difference between last week and this week was the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/washington-redskins" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Redskins</a> lost two starting defensive pass rushers—Adam Cariker and Bryan Orakpo.</div>
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So, the Rams' O Line didn't have to face an elite pass-rusher and they did okay.</div>
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This week, against an elite pass rush (the Bears' D is clearly one of the best in the NFL), the Rams' offensive line showed that the game plan has to be adjusted. The Rams simply can't afford to leave their tackles one on one against edge pass rushers.</div>
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So I'm putting Bradford in my "stock down" section simply because he is on pace to get sacked so many times this season, and that would be the third season in a row he took that kind of beating.</div>
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This is a recipe for how you ruin a good young QB.</div>
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Stock Going Down - Brian Shottenheimer</h3>
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If I were running the St. Louis Rams—and let me be clear, I'm not—this would have been my sit down talk with Rams' offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer before the season started:</div>
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"Brian, you know we were 2-14 last year, right? We're coming off of the worst 5-year stretch in the history of the NFL, so we're basically starting at ground zero here. What I'm trying to tell you is, nobody expects you to lead this team to the Super Bowl this season, okay.</div>
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Now Brian, we spent the No. 1 overall pick on Sam Bradford back in 2010. We think Bradford is going to be special. We think he's going to be so good that we traded 'the RG3 pick' to the Redskins last year. The thing is, Bradford has taken a beating since we drafted him, mainly because we drafted Jason Smith—who was supposed to be our franchise left tackle—the year before we drafted Sam.</div>
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So Brian, what I'm basically saying is, our O Line is awful. They're just flat out terrible. We signed Scott Wells as a free agent and Harvey Dahl is pretty good, but other than that, we have a bunch of question marks up and down this offensive line. Even if we stay 100 percent healthy—which is <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not </em>going to happen—you're going to have to keep extra blockers in there to help protect Sam.</div>
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So Brian, here are my goals for our 'non Super Bowl winning offense' in 2012:</div>
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1) Protect Sam Bradford</div>
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2) Protect Sam Bradford</div>
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3) Protect Sam Bradford</div>
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Brian, I don't care how you do it, just protect Sam Bradford. Keep a fullback in to block. Keep an extra tight end in to block. Play six offensive lineman at the same time. Ask the cheerleaders to help block. Get the vendors to try to trip somebody. Run the ball on every single play—literally—if that is what it takes to keep Sam Bradford healthy.</div>
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Because we're <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not </em>going to win the Super Bowl this year, but with all these extra picks coming, we're going to be really, really good in a couple of years, assuming Bradford isn't afraid of his own shadow by that point. So keep him healthy.</div>
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One more thing...try to play that Quick kid we drafted No. 33 overall out of Appalachian State. Because, you know, Sam needs all the help he can get. "</div>
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lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-73095509817836589552012-09-17T08:08:00.002-07:002012-09-17T08:08:34.996-07:00Rams Won't Be Denied in Comeback Winby Nick Wagoner<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Time and again in Sunday’s home opener against the Redskins, the Rams found themselves facing some kind of hardship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Be it a game-opening fumble that became a Washington touchdown, an apparent back-breaking interception in the end zone, an injury to a key player or debilitating penalty after debilitating penalty, you could name a malady and the Rams faced it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the past, any sign of trouble, let alone the large pile mounting on the Rams’ sideline Sunday would have been enough to break their will. But the past is the past and the Rams are no longer interested in worrying about something that happened 12 seconds ago, let alone 12 months.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The result was a scintillating come-from-behind 31-28 win over the Redskins at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams evened their record at 1-1 while Washington fell to the same mark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“It’s a completely different swagger,” running back <nobr>Steven Jackson </nobr>said. “It’s just amazing. I know it’s only week 2 and we’re 1-1 but it’s just a whole different atmosphere. I can’t thank Coach Jeff Fisher enough for what he’s done and what he’s doing with us.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What Fisher and his coaching staff have done in a short time in St. Louis is instill an attitude in the league’s youngest team that won’t allow them to back down from any challenge. The familiar refrain of next play has taken on new meaning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Witness what happened at the end of Sunday’s victory. After coming up a play short of snatching a stunning win in Detroit last weekend, the Rams bemoaned the fact that they just didn’t get the job done when the chance presented itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In one week, the lessons learned from that game were evident on the field. With the ball at Washington’s 41 and the clock running down, back<nobr>Daryl Richardson</nobr>, who replaced an injured Jackson in the first half, coughed up a fumble that the Redskins recovered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead of the ball and a chance to run out the clock and win the game, suddenly Washington had new life. An opponent with the ball and a chance to drive for a winning touchdown in the final moments, sound familiar?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Redskins quickly moved into Rams territory. On third-and-8, Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III fired to receiver Josh Morgan in the right flat. Morgan was tackled for a gain of 7, a yard short of the first down by cornerback<nobr>Cortland Finnegan</nobr>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Finnegan, long known for his ability to agitate opponents, apparently pushed Morgan past his breaking point as the two became entangled after the play. Morgan took exception to Finnegan’s antics and fired the ball at the corner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Out came a flag and a 15-yard penalty that forced Washington’s Billy Cundiff to try a 62-yard field goal to tie it. He wasn’t close and the Rams had sealed a win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“It’s one of those things I guess he was just fired up and he didn’t make the right decision,” Finnegan said. “It was a chippy game all game. It’s a physical game on both sides and both defenses didn’t want to break. We were bending at times. Credit us for making a play at the end.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Indeed, it was a chippy game that seemed to have very little in the way of control from the officials. In all, 18 flags were thrown and of those 18, six were of the 15-yard variety for unsportsmanlike conduct or unnecessary roughness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Linebacker <nobr>Jo-Lonn Dunbar</nobr>, himself a player who specializes in feisty, said it was important for the Rams to stay under control.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“I learned from a coach one time ‘Get to the edge and never hurt the team,’” Dunbar said. “You can get to the edge, look over the edge but never hurt the time. You can get to the line, just don’t cross it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That the Rams were even in position to pull off the late win seemed amazing enough considering what the way things started. On the first play from scrimmage, receiver <nobr>Danny Amendola</nobr> lost a fumble that cornerback Josh Wilson returned 30 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Washington lead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Quarterback <nobr>Sam Bradford</nobr> didn’t hesitate to go back to Amendola, who responded with a career day, 15 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“That was not easy to do,” Fisher said. “But Danny, he was determined to right that wrong.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Bradford himself faced a tough moment when he threw an end zone interception to linebacker London Fletcher with the Rams driving for a potential leading score.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">All the Rams did in response was get a blocked punt from tight end<nobr>Matthew Mulligan</nobr> on a play that was designed to be a return to get it right back for the offense at Washington’s 24.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“He got it on his own, because we had a return (on),” Fisher said. “We didn’t even have a rush. He sensed something. It’s good you get an experienced player like that who can sense the protection issue and take advantage of it. So, yes ‘Mully” is ‘Mully.’ Mully’s always going to put himself in the right place at the right time to make a play.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Four plays later, Bradford rewarded Mulligan with a 1-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams the lead for good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> “To be honest, he got out of there too fast,” Mulligan said. “My thing is they put me in there to hold guys up and he didn’t block me long enough, so I just kept going and he kicked it right through me. So I was happy to get there and be in the right spot.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Despite losing Jackson (groin) and left tackle <nobr>Rodger Saffold</nobr> (knee) to injuries early in the game, Bradford and the offense never missed a beat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That group rolled up 452 yards of total offense, 23 first downs and was seven-of-12 on third down conversion attempts as they overcame a 21-6 second quarter deficit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Bradford, in particular, was on top of his game as he finished 26-of-35 for 310 yards with three touchdowns and that one pick for a rating of 117.6. He threw touchdowns to Amendola, Mulligan and wideout <nobr>Brandon Gibson</nobr>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“He was dialed in all week and certainly dialed in today,” Fisher said. “He and (offensive coordinator Brian) Schotty were on the same page. This was a difficult defense…Sam had some answers. He knew where to go with the football for the most part.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The defense, meanwhile, was doing its part to keep Griffin in check. He was able to shake loose for two touchdown runs and a 68-yard touchdown pass to receiver Leonard Hankerson but the defense made big plays when it had to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Finnegan came up with his second interception in as many weeks and Washington finished with 373 yards and was just four-of-13 on third down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Most important, that group did everything necessary to get a stop when it absolutely had to have one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“That’s one thing we talked about going into this week and one thing we talked about going into the last drive,” Dunbar said. “We didn’t want to have that feeling we had last week when we didn’t close the game. We wanted to close it, to finish it and that’s just what we did.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After settling into victory formation and kneeling twice, the Rams had wrapped the first win of the Fisher era. The joyous players soaked in the victory, even going so far as to shake hands and give out gloves to fans in the south end zone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“There were so many lessons to be learned tonight, starting with the first offensive play and that’s kind of how the game went,” Fisher said. “We would have a difficult situation arise on the field and they’d bounce right back.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Again and again.</span></div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-24435002272596613812012-09-10T09:25:00.003-07:002012-09-10T09:25:49.413-07:00Rams Were One Play Away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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by Jim Thomas<br />
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">DETROIT</strong> • The Lions were out of timeouts, and just 15 ticks of the clock separated the Rams from a 23-20 victory — a statement victory — in Jeff Fisher's first game as head coach.
As Detroit broke the huddle on second-and-goal from the St. Louis 5, star Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson lined his 6-5 frame wide right. Two words came to mind: Fade pattern.
The Rams must have thought the same, because they sent two defensive backs his way in double-coverage. But the player known as Megatron didn't get the ball. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford looked and looked, and just before defensive end Chris Long could get to him, he dumped the ball into the right flat to running back Kevin Smith.
Smith leaked out of the backfield undetected and could've strolled into the end zone he was so wide open.<br />
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The touchdown with 10 seconds left put a dagger in the Rams, who dropped their season opener 27-23.
Johnson, the Lions would later say, was indeed the first option on the play. Smith? He was much farther down in the pecking order.<br />
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"Kevin's the last option on that play, probably behind throwing it away," said Detroit coach Jim Schwartz, who was once Fisher's defensive coordinator in Tennessee.
In fact, Schwartz said he was yelling "throw it away" in his headset, knowing full well that Stafford couldn't hear him.
So the Rams scratched, they clawed, they were resilient. In short, everything you'd expect from a Fisher-coached football team. Except they didn't win.
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"It's disturbing," linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. "It's one of those things where you had the cat in the bag and you let him out. As a defense, we've got to learn how to finish and keep playing till the end."<br />
<br />
It looked as if the Rams had the cat — or make that the Lion — in the bag when Greg "The Leg" Zuerlein's third field goal of the day snapped a 20-20 tie with 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining at Ford Field.
Zuerlein then dumped his kickoff 7 yards deep into the end zone for a touchback, meaning the Lions had 80 yards to go and only one timeout if they wanted to win the game in regulation. They did just that.<br />
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"It's tough," running back Steven Jackson said. "You definitely want to open up the season hopefully with a victory, especially on the road. We knew they were going to be a tough opponent coming off a playoff season last year. For us to have the lead the majority of the game and lose it at the end, it hurts."<br />
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For much of the game, a Rams defense designed to keep Stafford off-balance and keep the play in front of them had done just that. The big-play, high-powered Detroit offense had only three pass plays go for more than 20 yards when they took over with 1:55 to play.
But they got down the field quickly on that last drive, using their final timeout along the way, with Stafford completing passes of 20, 20 and 18 yards. Were these coverage breakdowns by the Rams, or just good throws by Stafford?<br />
<br />
"I'd have to look at it," Fisher said. "But no, we weren't intentionally trying to give up 20 yards a chunk, not when you're up by 3. Once they got it into field goal range, then the mind-set was, 'OK, let's keep 'em out of the end zone.' "
But Smith, out of the league last year at this time, had other ideas. So did Stafford.<br />
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"I know in that formation, Calvin is going to get all of the attention in the freaking arena," Stafford said. "I just watched 58, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, drop right back in the end zone, and knew that there were about three or four (defenders) on Calvin, and just had to wait for it for a second."<br />
<br />
That is, wait for Smith to complete his play fake and work his way past the line of scrimmage.
"If we made the tackle on the back in the flat, they may not have gotten their snap off," Fisher said. "We were that close (to a victory)."
Trouble was, no Rams defender was in the same area code when it came to being close to Smith.
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<br />
So on a day when the Rams' defense bailed out the offense most of the afternoon, they couldn't do it at the end when it mattered most.
The Rams were outgained 429 yards to 251, but three first-half interceptions gave the Rams a 13-10 lead. Dunbar, Janoris Jenkins and Cortland Finnegan — all new to the roster in 2012 — came up with the interceptions. Finnegan made his a "pick 6," returning it 31 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.<br />
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"The coaches put us in a great position all week to make plays," said Finnegan, who had three interception returns for touchdowns as a Titan. "It was just a chance for me to make a play on Calvin (Johnson). I knew they were going to work the outside part of the field with him. They'd been doing it early and often, so the coaches told me where to go and I just made the play."<br />
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The interceptions by Jenkins and Dunbar stopped Detroit drives in the red zone and led to Rams field goals. Overall, the Rams didn't blitz much and played a lot of "off" coverage, with Rams cornerbacks several yards off the line of scrimmage.
"We had a bunch of variety in our game plan," Dunbar said. "We mixed coverages. Man, zone. Some (Cover) 3, some 4, some 2. We played a little bit of everything. So we wanted to give him different looks, get after him a little bit, and also be able to drop in coverage and make some plays."<br />
<br />
The strategy worked like a charm — until that final drive, that is.
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-33518278849058130242012-09-01T12:36:00.000-07:002012-09-01T12:36:23.413-07:00Brockers Suffers High Ankle Sprain & Rams Reach 53 Man Limitby Jim Thomas<br />
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Defensive tackle Michael Brockers has a high-ankle sprain, which means he could be sidelined for the first month of his rookie season.</div>
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Brockers was the No. 14 overall pick in last April's draft out of Louisiana State, and the Rams were pleased with what they had seen from him in training camp and the preseason.</div>
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Brockers had his right ankle encased in a cast almost up to the knee on Friday.</div>
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He suffered the injury in the first quarter of Thursday night's 31-17 victory over Baltimore. Brockers was cut block below the knees by a Raven while in pursuit of Baltimore running back Bernard Pierce down the line of scrimmage. Brockers did not return.</div>
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With Trevor Laws already on injured reserve because of knee problems, and Darnell Scott on the mend from knee surgery, the Rams are on the thin side at the position. The top backups are Jermelle Cudjo and Matt Conrath, and Conrath left Thursday’s game with an injury that Fisher declined to disclose.</div>
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Rams reach 53-man limit; Clemens, Mughelli gone</h1>
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The Rams reached the 53-man roster limit Friday evening, trimming their roster by 22 players. The biggest surprise saw the team release veteran quarterback Kellen Clemens and keep rookie Austin Davis as the only backup behind Sam Bradford. But the roster churning is expected to continue as the front office works the phones and checks the waiver wires in the coming days.</div>
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Besides the cuts, wide receiver Austin Pettis won't count on the roster for the first two weeks of the regular season as he serves out the final two weeks of a four-game suspension for violating league policy on performance-enhancing substances.</div>
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Here are Friday's cuts, by position:</div>
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Quarterback: Tom Brandstater, Kellen Clemens</div>
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Running back/fullback: Ben Guidugli, Ovie Mughelli, Chase Reynolds</div>
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Wide receiver: Nick Johnson</div>
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Tight end: Corey Harkey, Deangelo Peterson</div>
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Offensive line: Tim Barnes, T-Bob Hebert, Joe Long, Bryan Mattison, Jose Valdez</div>
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Defensive line: Cornell Banks, Mason Brodine, Vernon Gholston, Jamaar Jarrett, Scott Smith</div>
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Linebacker: Aaron Brown, Sammy Brown</div>
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Secondary: Kendric Burney</div>
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Right now the Rams have 11 defensive backs on the team, 5 safeties and 6 corners. That number includes both Matthew Daniels and Rodney McLeod at safety, as well as cornerback Quinton Pointer, who has come on late in the preseason.</div>
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There have been indications also that the team could be shopping cornerback Bradley Fletcher in a trade. It looks like rookie Trumaine Johnson has earned the nickel back _ or third cornerback _ job. And if Fletcher is at best the fourth corner on the roster, they may not be willing to pay his $1.2 million base salary in what is the final year of his contract.</div>
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lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-45537837151679563742012-08-26T05:42:00.001-07:002012-08-26T05:42:25.042-07:00Rams Rally Comes Up Short<br />
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ARLINGTON, Tex. – The Rams and coach Jeff Fisher’s approach to the preseason has been constant in that the result on the scoreboard isn’t as important as the opportunity to evaluate players and continue to improve from week to week.</div>
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After a step forward from the preseason opener last week against Kansas City, the Rams first units on both sides of the ball were stuck in neutral on</div>
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Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium.</div>
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The result was a 20-19 win for Dallas, dropping the Rams to 1-2 in the preseason.</div>
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“We didn’t move the ball like we would like to and like we did last week against Kansas City,” running back <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/steven-jackson/7c5a060e-8e33-4337-8af5-01f85ecda04b/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=7c5a060e-8e33-4337-8af5-01f85ecda04b" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Steven Jackson">Steven Jackson</a> </nobr>said. “But this is what training camp provides. It puts stuff on film so we can correct it, make sure we are running the scheme right, communicating right up front. But all the mistakes we made as far as the offense, are all things that are correctable.”</div>
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After a blistering start last week against the Chiefs in which the Rams held a 14-0 lead within the opening five minutes, the Rams had the tables turned on them a bit in the first half of Saturday’s game.</div>
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Some of the areas Fisher has been hoping to see improvement were again an issue as the first team defense struggled to get off the field on third down and the first team offense labored to stay on it.</div>
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Entering the game, Fisher had said he didn’t expect to play the starters much longer than they played against the Chiefs, perhaps just an additional series or two on both sides of the ball.</div>
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But the starting offense wasn’t able to piece together a drive of any substantial length until the second quarter and even then needed the help of some special teams trickery to extend the series.</div>
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First and foremost, though, the first team defense had major issues finding stops. Dallas played starting quarterback Tony Romo with the first team offense for just one quarter despite a pre-game plan to play him into the second half.</div>
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That’s because Romo had such success early in the game that Dallas opted not to risk potential injury. In the opening 15 minutes, Romo went nine-of-13 for 198 yards with two touchdowns, both to wideout Dwayne Harris covering distances of 61 and 38 yards.</div>
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Harris’ touchdowns gave Dallas a 17-3 lead at the end of the quarter, a lead the Cowboys never relinquished.</div>
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The long scores were a result of missed tackles and coverage miscues.</div>
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“We had a communication problem on the long touchdown pass,” Fisher said. “We can do some things better. We gave up way too much through the air. A number of those situations would have been called back because of holding because it looked like we were getting tackled pretty often back there.</div>
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“We have to tackle better on defense. We tackled pretty well the first two weeks and we didn’t tackle well tonight.”</div>
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The offense, meanwhile, couldn’t gain traction picking up just two first downs in the first quarter. Despite the plan to play the starters about the same as last week, the group wasn’t on the field long enough to call it a night at the end of the first quarter.</div>
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Things picked up a bit in the second quarter as the Rams picked up four first downs, including one on a fake punt that saw safety Matt Daniels take a direct snap and race 30 yards for a first down on fourth down.</div>
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That drive was the highlight for the first offense as rookie running back <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/daryl-richardson/03885caa-293e-4c26-b786-e43522c51bcf/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=03885caa-293e-4c26-b786-e43522c51bcf" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Daryl Richardson">Daryl Richardson</a></nobr> got his first look with that group. Richardson had a catch for 9 yards and six carries for 27 yards.</div>
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Still, the Rams couldn’t punch one in the end zone and finished the first half with just 6 points, all coming off the powerful right leg of rookie kicker <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/greg-zuerlein/747d38cb-c5d6-4c29-9008-e8bad5ae7d15/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=747d38cb-c5d6-4c29-9008-e8bad5ae7d15" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Greg Zuerlein">Greg Zuerlein</a></nobr>, who converted 55 and 52 yard field goals.</div>
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All told, the numbers weren’t pretty on either side of the ball in the first half.</div>
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Offensively, the Rams had six first downs and were only one-of-seven on third down conversions. They finished with 114 yards of net offense and quarterback <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/sam-bradford/33a79047-0e0d-445e-b937-3ae24311053c/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=33a79047-0e0d-445e-b937-3ae24311053c" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Sam Bradford">Sam Bradford</a></nobr> was six-of-17 for 64 yards for a rating of 47.2.</div>
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Bradford came under fire quite a bit as well, as he was sacked twice and hit a handful of other times. Running back Steven Jackson started but did not get any carries and only played a few snaps. Rookies <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/isaiah-pead/5b0913f6-196b-4def-867a-2a6f80e0feae/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=5b0913f6-196b-4def-867a-2a6f80e0feae" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Isaiah Pead">Isaiah Pead</a> </nobr>and Daryl Richardson took the bulk of the work with the first team at running back.</div>
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“We have two games in less than a week,” Jackson said. “And coach mentioned that we are going to play quite a bit on Thursday. And we would give Isaiah and Daryl more this game.”</div>
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As for the defense, that unit allowed Dallas to rack up 17 first downs, convert three-of-five third downs and post 342 total yards in the first 30 minutes. That added up to a 20-6 halftime deficit.</div>
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“We’ve got to get better as a whole,” Laurinaitis said. “We’ll continue to grow, but we’ve got to watch and learn from it and get better.”</div>
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The Rams did get a drive going at the end of the third quarter as backup quarterback <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/kellen-clemens/4d443b77-e8c9-4dd2-8c34-172f8270fb87/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=4d443b77-e8c9-4dd2-8c34-172f8270fb87" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Kellen Clemens">Kellen Clemens</a> </nobr>hit rookie wideout <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/brian-quick/4a7206a5-3b05-4356-ab8c-64159aa7356e/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=4a7206a5-3b05-4356-ab8c-64159aa7356e" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Brian Quick">Brian Quick</a> </nobr>in stride for a gain of 39 down the left sideline.</div>
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That drive got the Rams deep into Dallas territory and ended with Isaiah Pead finding some running room as he picked up 17 yards on four plays. The</div>
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Rams punched it in on a 2-yard pass from Clemens to <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/austin-pettis/60d48b04-aa88-4f3c-b6e2-29405cea3f70/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=60d48b04-aa88-4f3c-b6e2-29405cea3f70" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Austin Pettis">Austin Pettis</a>.</nobr></div>
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Kicker <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/garrett-lindholm/c8f1185d-3689-47a4-abfe-eea9325c7d80/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=c8f1185d-3689-47a4-abfe-eea9325c7d80" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Garrett Lindholm">Garrett Lindholm</a></nobr> missed the extra point to make it 20-12 Dallas with 12:50 to go. The Rams continued their comeback as third string quarterback</div>
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<nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/austin-davis/6b0b2f2c-2a9d-47aa-8c13-fe21f9b61208/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=6b0b2f2c-2a9d-47aa-8c13-fe21f9b61208" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Austin Davis">Austin Davis</a></nobr> led an excellent drive capped by a 4-yard touchdown run from<nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/chase-reynolds/123d5627-e3c8-4a2d-a2e6-d4beded43606/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=123d5627-e3c8-4a2d-a2e6-d4beded43606" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Chase Reynolds">Chase Reynolds</a>.</nobr></div>
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The extra point made for the final margin as the Rams couldn’t get it back and Dallas ran out the clock.</div>
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Now, it’s back to the drawing board for the final preseason game coming Thursday against Baltimore at the Edward Jones Dome.</div>
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Just like after the loss to Indianapolis in the preseason opener, the Rams will look to bounce back with a strong performance at home that they can carry into the regular season.</div>
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“I think that’s the challenge,” Bradford said. “I think coach Fisher challenged us with that tonight. With it being a short week, it means we have got to come in there tomorrow with the right mindset, look at the tape, learn from our mistakes and the two or three opportunities we have to make sure every rep is done well and get the most out of all of them.”</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-3592006576971117602012-08-19T08:17:00.001-07:002012-08-19T08:17:27.722-07:00Governor's Challenge Progressing Well<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sIGWMNs9Ja7B2gylbqfqMqwMoa4JsfmWXzuelp5RIrkmAzpC9kYNWIOUgdUtvEb-ks_p4T-7wN21yl2jpPPmncFYE83EbFLj1ojmP5Jq3V_CXOnbneZea2rWVZNoCFY0D50pESozO5Y/s1600/fans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sIGWMNs9Ja7B2gylbqfqMqwMoa4JsfmWXzuelp5RIrkmAzpC9kYNWIOUgdUtvEb-ks_p4T-7wN21yl2jpPPmncFYE83EbFLj1ojmP5Jq3V_CXOnbneZea2rWVZNoCFY0D50pESozO5Y/s320/fans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When the Rams traveled to Joplin on June 22, they were returning to help rebuild a place that only a year earlier they had traveled the same five hours to help clean up in the wake of one of the most devastating tornados in history.</div>
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Saturday night’s preseason game between the Rams and Chiefs at the Edward Jones Dome provided a prime opportunity to again reflect on how far the Joplin rebuilding project has come but also serve as a reminder that the development has a long way to go.</div>
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Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced on Feb. 4 that he was “challenging” seven major sports entities in the state to come together to help build 35 homes in Joplin. The Rams quickly responded to his call.</div>
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Gov. Nixon attended Saturday night’s game in part to award the Governor’s Cup Trophy to the Rams as the winner of the annual preseason contest between the teams but also provided an update on how the Governor’s Challenge is going.</div>
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“First of all, all the teams jumped forward quickly, both the organizations and the players,” Gov. Nixon said. “It’s excited the folks in Joplin to add strength to the housing down there. I know the Rams are committed to it. I talked to a lot of folks who were down there afterwards and there were many more volunteers for Habitat.”</div>
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In June, the Rams returned to Joplin with 35 able-bodied rookies in tow and a staff of nearly 100 to help work on three of the five houses for the Rams “neighborhood” in the Joplin challenge.</div>
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Upon arrival at the Boys and Girls Club of Joplin, the rookies were dropped off to take part in a Play 60 activity with local children. The staff dispersed to paint trim and everybody converged at the three homes the Rams were working on to raise walls and nail them down.</div>
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The Governor’s Challenge made no pretense of being a short term project but the impetus for the project was to help continue to shine light on the fact that the Habitat for Humanity of Joplin and the city are in continuing need of volunteers.</div>
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“When you look at a situation which in 18 minutes, 14,000 people were made homeless, there were 7,800 houses wiped out, it’s a long term plan,” Gov. Nixon said. “That’s why this summer has been especially important. But we have got a long way to go still to rebuild those houses and to build that community back.”</div>
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Even since the Rams and other organizations such as the Chiefs, the Cardinals, Mizzou, the Blues, the Royals and the Kansas Speedway (NASCAR), have paid visits to Joplin to construct five homes, the response has been strong enough in the community to draw more volunteers.<br />The platform provided by the sports teams have been integral in ensuring that people never neglect or forget the wreckage left behind and the ongoing efforts to rebuild in its wake.</div>
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“The bottom line is in difficult situations, organizations like the St. Louis Rams have really helped us rebuild Joplin,” Gov. Nixon said. “But I’m here to say that with the Rams help, with the Chiefs help, the Cardinals, Mizzou and the other organizations, it has been a real shot in the arm to rebuilding Joplin.”</div>
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INJURY UPDATE: The Rams top two picks from April’s NFL Draft departed Saturday’s game early with injuries.</div>
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Defensive tackle <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/michael-brockers/6fc3db36-7eb2-40d4-95ae-7503c10c984a/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=6fc3db36-7eb2-40d4-95ae-7503c10c984a" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Michael Brockers">Michael Brockers<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr> was poked in the eye early in the game and did not return but was OK after the game.</div>
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Receiver <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/brian-quick/4a7206a5-3b05-4356-ab8c-64159aa7356e/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=4a7206a5-3b05-4356-ab8c-64159aa7356e" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Brian Quick">Brian Quick<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr> left in the third quarter with an apparent back injury. He went in for X rays but Fisher referred to Quick’s injury as back spasms after the contest. For the second week in a row, it didn’t appear that the Rams came out with any significant injuries.</div>
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“We’ll check him out,” Fisher said. We had some bumps and bruises but so far, so good.”</div>
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ROOKIES PROVIDE POINTS: After the first-team offense finished doing its work for the night, the Rams turned to a trio of rookies to handle the rest of the scoring for the evening.</div>
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Backup running back <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/isaiah-pead/5b0913f6-196b-4def-867a-2a6f80e0feae/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=5b0913f6-196b-4def-867a-2a6f80e0feae" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Isaiah Pead">Isaiah Pead<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr> had the strangest stat line of the night as he finished with six carries for negative-5 yards with a touchdown. He leaped over the Chiefs for a 1-yard score in the third quarter.</div>
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“That type of situation you can’t come away with anything less than a touchdown,” Pead said. “We practice that every day at practice and it paid off today.”</div>
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Pead was followed by fellow rookie back <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/daryl-richardson/03885caa-293e-4c26-b786-e43522c51bcf/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=03885caa-293e-4c26-b786-e43522c51bcf" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Daryl Richardson">Daryl Richardson<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr>, who had a strong outing in his attempts. Richardson finished with 27 yards on six carries and punched in a score from 4 yards out in the fourth quarter.</div>
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“It was good to get Daryl in there,” Fisher said. “You can see how explosive Daryl Richardson is when he gets the ball.”</div>
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And, of course, rookie kicker <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/greg-zuerlein/747d38cb-c5d6-4c29-9008-e8bad5ae7d15/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=747d38cb-c5d6-4c29-9008-e8bad5ae7d15" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Greg Zuerlein">Greg Zuerlein<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr> did what he does, knocking in three extra points and booming a 52-yard field goal right down the middle with room to spare near the end of the first half.</div>
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SITTING IT OUT: The Rams had a lengthy list of players sitting out Saturday night’s contest because of various injuries and a trio of guys missing the game because they were signed in the past couple of days.</div>
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Receivers <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/brandon-gibson/ed378941-8f17-493d-9576-7ce516093a6b/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=ed378941-8f17-493d-9576-7ce516093a6b" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Brandon Gibson">Brandon Gibson<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr> and <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/danario-alexander/8b9a8bad-1b5a-4036-a673-9839bdb36881/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=8b9a8bad-1b5a-4036-a673-9839bdb36881" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Danario Alexander">Danario Alexander<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr>, cornerback<nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/bradley-fletcher/4cc5be04-bff7-4ff2-9bd3-b8b060ccec4d/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=4cc5be04-bff7-4ff2-9bd3-b8b060ccec4d" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Bradley Fletcher">Bradley Fletcher<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr>, safety <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/darian-stewart/fd0369d7-d01e-4f98-af4b-7dccdc19b2c6/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=fd0369d7-d01e-4f98-af4b-7dccdc19b2c6" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Darian Stewart">Darian Stewart<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr>, center <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/scott-wells/a15e145b-a6a6-475d-b0c9-491059a47ce1/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=a15e145b-a6a6-475d-b0c9-491059a47ce1" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Scott Wells">Scott Wells<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr>, end<nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/jamaar-jarrett/ccbae829-2ea2-4b19-8392-4c6a15275a67/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=ccbae829-2ea2-4b19-8392-4c6a15275a67" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Jamaar Jarrett">Jamaar Jarrett<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr> and defensive tackle <nobr><a class="player-card-tooltip" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/team/roster/trevor-laws/e32744e0-33b6-4fe4-b988-061fc036b5ea/" rel="/cda-web/person-card-module.htm?mode=data&id=e32744e0-33b6-4fe4-b988-061fc036b5ea" rev="player" style="color: #00295b; font-weight: bold; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Trevor Laws">Trevor Laws<img src="http://www.stlouisrams.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif" style="background-color: #00295b; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px;" /></a></nobr> stayed on the sidelines because of various injury issues.</div>
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On the bright side, Fisher said the Rams expected to get some of those players back this week, including Wells, who has yet to participate in a practice in this camp.</div>
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Defensive tackle John Gill and receivers Charles Gilbert and Brandyn Harvey did not play because they were signed recently and hadn’t practiced much or at all with the team.</div>
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Among the players not playing for Kansas City were top cornerback Brandon Flowers and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who just signed his one-year franchise tender offer.<br /><br />RAMS HONOR FANS: Before Saturday's game, the Rams rewarded 90 of their most loyal fans.<br /><br />A group of 90 original Personal Seat License Holders were afforded the opportunity to form a fan tunnel in the pregame introductions of the offense and each person was given a brand new Nike jersey with the No. 12 for the year on it.</div>
lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-59475840354227734022012-07-27T16:07:00.002-07:002012-07-27T16:07:37.283-07:00A History Lesson from 1998 and Hope for 2012<span style="font-size: large;">1998</span><br />
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Tony Banks. Remember that guy? He was the Rams' starting QB in 1998. Banks completed a respectable 59.1 percent of his passes but threw 14 interceptions to only seven touchdowns. To be fair to Banks, he didn't have much to work with.</div>
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His leading receiver was Amp Lee, a running back, who caught 64 passes. The team's best receiver, Issac Bruce, only played in five games. Bruce managed only 32 catches in '98 and caught only one touchdown. Ricky Proehl caught 60 passes and looked like a decent third or fourth receiver. Unfortunately for the Rams, Proehl was the top wideout on the team.</div>
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The Rams went through five starting running backs, ranging from Robert Holcombe to the immortal Amp Lee. Incredibly, the Rams' leading rusher that season, June Henley, ran for only 313 yards. The Rams were still reeling from the boneheaded decision to draft Lawrence Phillips in in 1996, and we all remember <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3624420" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">how that turned out</a>.</div>
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Yes, the Rams were bad in 1998. They were pitiful, pathetic, a laughingstock. At 4-12, they had the 24th ranked offense in the league (17.8 ppg) and the 24th ranked defense (23.6 ppg). This was a team going nowhere.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1999</span></div>
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So after the debacle that was the 1998 Rams, the team overhauled everything in 1999. They traded for Marshall Faulk, drafted Torry Holt and brought in Trent Green as a free agent. So the Rams filled holes as QB, RB and WR.</div>
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The Rams looked good in the preseason, but then Green went down with a season-ending knee injury. Luckily for Rams' fans, the team had a future Hall of Famer and former grocery bagger on the bench in <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/kurt-warner" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kurt Warner</a>. Once Warner teamed up with Faulk, Holt and Bruce, "The Greatest Show on Turf" was born.</div>
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Orlando Pace, entering his third season and just his second as a full-time starter, emerged as a dominant left tackle. Role players like Proehl and Az-Zahir Hakeem became just that—role players. So instead of being overmatched as starters, they were terrific complementary players.</div>
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A team that looked so awful in 1998 took the NFL by storm. The Rams had the No. 1 ranked offense and the No. 4 ranked defense in the NFL. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, they also won the Super Bowl.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2011</span></div>
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The Rams were <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">terrible </em>in 2011. They had the 32nd ranked offense (12.1 points per game) and the 26th ranked defense (25.4 points per game). The Rams finished the season at 2-14, marking the fourth time in five years the team won three or less games.</div>
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However, if you look past the numbers, you'll see that this is a team that had a little bit of talent. The problem was, they didn't have any depth. So when the tsunami of injuries hit the Rams, and they lost their front-line talent, they were left exposed.</div>
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The Rams lost both starting offensive tackles last season. They lost their top three corners <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">before halftime of Week 1. </em>They also lost their best receiver for the season in the first half of Week 1. To make matters worse, the team was going through all of this while trying to learn a brand new offense when they didn't have a true offseason to learn it.</div>
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It was just a mess.</div>
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With no protection, and nobody to throw the ball to, starting QB <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/sam-bradford" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sam Bradford</a> was beat to a pulp. He ended up missing six games because of injuries, and he never looked like the same player who was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year just a season ago.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2012</span></div>
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So what does all this have to do with the Rams now? Well, just like in 1998, the Rams are coming off of a terrible season, and just like in 1998, the Rams have several new pieces. I'm not saying the Rams will go 13-3 or win the Super Bowl, but they will be a lot better than they were a year ago.</div>
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Chris Givens, Brian Quick and Steve Smith were all brought in to upgrade the receivers. Danny Amendola, the most consistent receiver the Rams have, also returns from injury. <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/steven-jackson" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Steven Jackson</a> is still a beast, and the Rams also brought in Isaiah Pead, a talented rookie, to give Jackson some help.</div>
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There is no doubt the Rams are more explosive on offense.</div>
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There are still questions on offense. One, just <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">how good </em>is Sam Bradford?</div>
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Also, will we ever find out how good Bradford is if the o-line keeps getting him killed? I think Bradford could be really, really good, but this o-line has to play a lot better. With both starting tackles coming back from injuries, and an All Pro center brought in via free agency, the line should be much, much better in 2012.</div>
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The defense has a pair of studs at defensive end and two new starting defensive tackles. James Laurinaitis is one of the best MLBs in the NFL. Two talented corners return from injury, but they'll likely be backups to Cortland Finnegan (free agent), Janoris Jenkins (draft), and Trumaine Johnson (draft).</div>
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Darian Stewart was a bright spot at safety last year, and he is paired up with veteran Quintin Mickell, who is also a good player.</div>
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The Rams' D looks very good on paper. The lone question mark is at OLB, where the Rams are relying on retreads and rookies.</div>
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The Rams' offense will be much improved as long as the O Line plays better in 2012. With new head coach Jeff Fisher and new o-line coach Paul Boudreau, these guys are going to play hard-nosed football, or they'll be looking for a new job next year.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, the Prediction?</span></div>
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The Rams have added Brian Quick, Isaiah Pead, Chris Givens, Scott Wells, Rokevius Watkins and Steve Smith on offense. Danny Amendola, Greg Salas, Jason Smith, and Rodger Saffold are all returning from injury.</div>
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On defense, the Rams brought in Cortland Finnegan, Kendall Langford, Jo Lonn Dunbar, Trevor Laws, Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Trumaine Johnson and Matt Daniels. They have Bradley Fletcher, and Jerome Murphy coming back from injury.</div>
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The Rams, needing one starter and a lot of depth at OLB, have brought in Aaron Brown, Sammy Brown, Justin Cole, Mario Haggan, Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Josh Hull, Noah Keller and Rocky McIntosh to battle it out in camp. If one or two of these players emerge as reliable players, the Rams will have filled a major team need.</div>
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Add it all up, and the Rams have 20-22 "new players" if you consider guys like Amendola and Fletcher didn't even get to play last year. That is a <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">major infusion </em>of talent to this roster, assuming the players we drafted are actually good NFL football players.</div>
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So what does it all mean? What's the point?</div>
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I believe we are headed for a major improvement over what we saw a year ago. I think the Rams will win as many as nine games, maybe even 10 if everything goes absolutely perfect. Or maybe they'll suffer key injuries, the o-line will struggle again and Bradford will get beat up. Maybe they'll only win four games.</div>
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Either way, this is a much better football team than it was in 2011. </div>
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<br />lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-63565630333829832792012-06-30T05:48:00.004-07:002012-06-30T05:48:45.154-07:00Kendricks Looks for Breakout Second Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiOFnGFhzOYaYyXCxEBj_X34Mv0aA2k8xrDj1AEYRFvWYhVTB-HwReltDPFHflw5RKHVGg0ABRixQD3hZV07KccD0pCtE8l6lYRf_19WYsvpBthK09gLLzqxz23A112RfIM45QawPqA0/s1600/Kendricks_Feature_Camp_420_310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiOFnGFhzOYaYyXCxEBj_X34Mv0aA2k8xrDj1AEYRFvWYhVTB-HwReltDPFHflw5RKHVGg0ABRixQD3hZV07KccD0pCtE8l6lYRf_19WYsvpBthK09gLLzqxz23A112RfIM45QawPqA0/s320/Kendricks_Feature_Camp_420_310.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
by Nick Wagoner<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As Brian Schottenheimer and his staff prepared for the 2011 NFL Draft, one player that continued to catch their eye was a young tight end out of Wisconsin named <nobr>Lance Kendricks</nobr>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before Schottenheimer and the New York Jets had a crack at selecting Kendricks in the second round of that year’s draft, the Rams scooped him up with the intent to make him one of the focal points of a revamped offense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fast forward a year and Schottenheimer is now the offensive coordinator of the Rams and is getting the chance to work with Kendricks, the one tight end on the Rams roster who seems to have some sense of job security at a position that will have a lot of competition in training camp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I know one thing, I think starting with Lance, we really liked Lance back in New York when we looked at him,” Schottenheimer said. “I think he’s got a chance to be a terrific all around player. Then we are complementing him with guys that can do some stuff in the running game, also some matchup (stuff).”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kendricks returns to the mix after an up and down rookie season in which he looked like a potential breakout star in the preseason but through some nagging injuries and missed opportunities, he didn’t quite live up to his preseason performance when the lights came on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Soon after the season ended, Kendricks went to work on figuring out what went wrong and why he was unable to carry over a preseason performance in which he had 11 catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns in just part of the four exhibition contests.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kendricks appeared poised for a big rookie season but a key drop in the opener against Philadelphia set him back and he never fully recovered on his way to 28 catches for 352 yards and no scores in 15 games.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In looking back at the film from those games, it didn’t take Kendricks long to recognize what slowed him down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The main thing I saw was a lot of times when I was tired was when I made my most mistakes,” Kendricks said. “Just being able to stay focused and fight through that and compete and go out there and just perform when I am tired was my main thing I wanted to do better. When you get tired, you can forget things and I would have a mental error here or there so I think most of it just came from fatigue.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To that end, Kendricks took what he learned from watching the film into the weight room and his workouts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kendricks played most of his rookie season at around 243-245 pounds. But he wanted to put on some muscle while also adding more cardiovascular fitness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A strict regiment of cardio workouts combined with a lot of weight lifting, stretching and the incorporation of more protein into his diets has helped Kendricks add about 5 pounds of muscle, up to 250.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I was just trying to be more mentally into it that way so when I do get tired I can keep focused,” Kendricks said. “Just from watching film and being able to play the game those weeks I played, I think I have learned a lot and caught up to the speed of the game. For me, I think that was what was most important, just being able to catch on to the speed of the game.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Of course, Kendricks being a little bit behind in 2011 certainly was understandable considering the circumstances he came into after he was drafted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The lockout kept the Rams and Kendricks from going through a full offseason, denying all rookies the chance to get acclimated to the advanced speed of the NFL and the opportunity to begin learning more advanced NFL systems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kendricks just completed his first NFL offseason program, again tasked with the responsibility of learning a new offensive scheme. He said those additional workouts were certainly a benefit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I think being able to go through the playbook with the coaches and run through some plays before training camp starts helps us get a jumpstart on everything,” Kendricks said. “Just having this offseason and being able to workout with the team, I was able to focus on getting my body right and getting healthy and taking my protein and doing the things they feel is right which will help me out in the long run.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Early indications from the team’s Organized Team Activities and minicamps are that Kendricks figures prominently in Schottenheimer’s offense. The Rams are carrying nine tight ends (if you include <nobr>Ben Guidugli</nobr>, who has worked at fullback and tight end) on the roster right now, a clear indication of the position’s importance within the scheme.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not only are there many tight ends competing for what will likely be four spots on the roster, there is a lot of information for those tight ends to process. Aside from quarterback, no position in Schottenheimer’s offense demands more in a mental capacity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“That comes with the versatility of this offense; you have to be able to know a lot of things and know what to do at all times,” Kendricks said. “I think I am accepting the role as it is. We are all intelligent guys and learning from each other and trying to help this offense. That tells us we are just as valuable as anyone else. We are taking it one step at a time but at the same time, we are really trying to make strides because we really want to be the best group. We like having a lot on our shoulders.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tight end figures to be one of the most heated battles for roster spots in this year’s training camp but Kendricks figures to be the team’s starter come opening day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During the offseason program, Kendricks did a little bit of everything; lining up as a de facto fullback in the backfield, playing some on the line and detaching and splitting out wide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The amount of work was a challenge that Kendricks took head on, drawing praise from Schottenheimer for his work throughout.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although Kendricks suffered a slight ankle injury during the team’s final minicamp going up for a pass down the field (he missed just one practice), he will be at full strength and ready to go when training camp opens at the end of July.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By his own admission, Kendricks has something to prove in his second year in the league and he’s looking forward to the opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I’m very excited,” Kendricks said. “From watching the film, we watched a lot of things from last year to see where we could improve and it’s almost like night and day. We love the coaches, they are awesome. I think that makes all the difference. Nothing against the (old coaches) but just being taught the right way and being in better shape and having a better mindset, I hope to be able to go out there and perform.”</span></div>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-1625550365431311242012-06-12T14:48:00.002-07:002012-06-12T14:49:11.868-07:00Rams are getting the knack of their new defense<br />
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Rams practices are meticulously taped, with no moment going unrecorded for review and inspection by the coaching staff. Coach Jeff Fisher's assessment of how well his defensive unit is picking up its new schemes isn't based on anything he's seen, whether live or later. It's based on what he hears.</div>
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"When you stand out and watch practice and everyone on defense is talking," he said Wednesday, "then everyone understands the defense."</div>
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There's a fair amount to learn for the Rams, who were 22nd in total defense last season — allowing an average of 358.4 yards per game — and 31st against the run, allowing 152.1 yards per game. That added up to them allowing the seventh-most points per game, 25.4, which was ample reason for a 2-14 season.</div>
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One of the main points of emphasis for Fisher in these organized team activities, or OTAs, was to install his offensive and defensive plans. On the defensive side, the effort seems to have gone smoothly and the players like a system built on thinking less, reacting more.</div>
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"We're going to be very aggressive," middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "There's a lot less thinking. There's still freedom to do things, but for the most part, it's simplified so you can play fast.</div>
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"There are multiple looks. You can do a lot of different things within those looks. You're repeating a lot of the fundamental ideas, but you're doing it with different looks so they don't know what you're doing. It allows you to just go."</div>
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"We're going to try to be disruptive and that's exciting," defensive end Chris Long said. "You get to let loose a little bit. It's a new thing, but in a way it's less thinking. The mind-set is more dictating the tempo of what we're doing."</div>
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The Rams are coming to the new defensive schemes from plenty of different places. The first unit on Wednesday had six players who weren't on the team last year, including top draft pick Michael Brockers, and who were going to get a new plan regardless of where they were. Then there are veterans such as Laurinaitis and Long, who have gone through enough coaching changes that learning a new defense is old hat.</div>
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"It's hard, though not necessarily as hard for a guy like me who's been through a couple systems," Long said. "But to scrap everything you know through repetition and start over can be tough. We're excited about it; it's a great system."</div>
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Laurinaitis, as the quarterback of the defense, has to know the specifics more than anyone. ("You don't want to be the guy making the mental error," he said.) While he still gets the playbook out to look at things, the OTAs have been a big help in letting him see those things at work. Meanwhile, he's doing mental translations in his head, knowing that what used to be X is now A.</div>
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The progress he has seen in the team's workouts has been in speed — not necessarily in how quick his teammates have picked it up but in how quickly they're playing on the field.</div>
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"The important thing when you put in a new defense is to make sure guys are still going fast and not thinking too much," he said. "Guys are still playing fast, which is good. The key now is just getting the final details down."</div>
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Those details will be sorted out in the practices ahead, in the upcoming minicamp and then in preseason camp.</div>
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"The veterans have done a real good job (picking it up)," Fisher said. "They're excited."</div>
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"We're still learning it," Long said. "It's a lot of volume, but as complex as it is, we've gotten a good start on it, and our guys are excited about it. When you're excited about it, it's easier to learn it. We're certainly working very hard to do so."</div>
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Rams notes</div>
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Second-round draft pick Isaiah Pead made his debut at Rams Park on Wednesday. Under NFL rules, Pead couldn't take part until final exams had ended at his school, Cincinnati, which runs later than most other schools.</div>
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• This is the last week of OTAs, with a three-day minicamp starting Tuesday. The team's veterans were given last week off while the rookies just lifted weights, and Fisher said that really helped as the youngsters closed the gap on the more experienced players. While the team can have four days of workouts this week, Fisher said he thinks four straight days is too much at this time of year, so the players have today off and will return Friday for a final session.</div>
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• Missing from workouts were tackle Jason Smith and free agent center Scott Wells. Fisher said they had the day off. Wells has also been absent from previous sessions.</div>
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</span>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-52869431118392550522012-05-23T09:37:00.002-07:002012-05-23T09:39:35.587-07:00Will the Rams Still Be in St. Louis after 2015?from the Bleacher Report<br />
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Will the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/st-louis-rams" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rams</a> still be in St. Louis past 2015?</div>
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It's a sports subject that couldn't interest me more yet is something I couldn't be any more tired of discussing. However, whether it be messages from Rams fans or message-board chatter, it continues to be the dominating subject.</div>
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St. Louisans have a difficult time investing in a team or focusing on football until they have reassurance their continued dedication will pay off. We want to talk football, but the thought (no matter how small it is) of losing football again consumes most of us.</div>
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But fret not. There are rays of hope shining down on St. Louis Rams Nation brighter than the ones that will shine through the future glass roof panels in the Edward Jones Dome.</div>
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The most reassuring sign of the Rams remaining in St. Louis continues to be team president Kevin Demoff, who has spoken openly on more than one occasion about the desire to stay.</div>
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<a href="http://live.stltoday.com/Event/Rams_chat_with_Jim_Thomas?Page=2" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">In a chat</a> on the <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">St. Louis Post-Dispatch</em> website, Demoff said:</div>
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Stan has been emphatic on more than one occasion that he was part of the charge to bring a team to St. Louis, and that he did not do that to lead the charge out of St. Louis.</div>
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Public relations talk? Maybe.</div>
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However, it reaffirms the multiple interviews the Rams' president has done on local radio stations in recent months, stating the ultimate goal in recent business decisions and hires is to build a long-term winner in the city of St. Louis.</div>
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And that further reaffirms what owner Stan Kroenke said when coach Jeff Fisher was hired, that he has put a lot of "jack" into the city, and hopefully people realize what he has done here.</div>
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Will the Rams stay in St. Louis?</h4>
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Yes</h4>
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65.3%</div>
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No</h4>
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34.7%</div>
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<label id="total_votes" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 10px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Total votes: 519</label></div>
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The Rams' owner doesn't give away his plans much, but he told fans to judge him on what he has already done for the area as this negotiating process plays out.</div>
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And don't rattle on about Demoff making these statements because he doesn't want to hurt attendance in St. Louis. If Los Angeles is really the cash cow that those wanting a return out west claim it to be, then two seasons of poor attendance in St. Louis mean squat.</div>
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The Rams are speaking publicly about their desire to stay in St. Louis when they could simply decline comment, and that's a good thing.</div>
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Also, the arbitrator between the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) and Rams will likely drop his or her ruling significantly below the Rams' $700 million proposal in my opinion, but it could go either way. It is not unreasonable to assume the Rams shot high <a href="http://www.missourinet.com/2012/02/02/st-louis-cvc-sends-dome-proposal-to-the-rams/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">in their proposal</a> as is typical in negotiations.</div>
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Demoff has also hinted recently in radio interviews that the Rams would be willing to pay for a portion of the upgrades. So if you have Kroenke paying a chunk of the improvements, coupled with the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/nfl" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NFL</a> contributing through its G4 financing—the public's absorption of the improvements through taxes becomes much more manageable.</div>
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And that's not counting creative ways to finance the deal, including municipal bonds and a taxes on hotels and rental cars being redirected.</div>
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It is also reassuring that the arbitrator's ruling becomes binding for the Rams if the CVC accepts it. Kroenke may have the leverage, but having the final decision in St. Louis' hands is valuable.</div>
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And let's not forget, LA developers wanting to draw an NFL team don't have everything figured out yet. The NFL <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-cole_downtown_los_angeles_nfl_stadium_goodell_aeg_032912" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">is not happy</a> that AEG wants to purchase a large chunk of ownership from whatever team plays in its stadium at a discounted price.</div>
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It's tough to see how AEG alters their plans in a dramatic way because they have to recoup their funds in a manner in which maybe they would be better suited for a franchise team.</div>
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Does anyone think Kroenke, the cold hard business man, would sell at least 30 percent of the Rams, nonetheless at a discounted price? It's <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/article_aeb90795-e0ed-561a-acb1-8c6aa0076183.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">been Kroenke's goal</a> to be the majority owner of a team.</div>
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Or does anyone really think Kroenke would spend $450 million just years ago to buy the remaining 60 percent of the team, just so he could in return get rid of it—probably at a lesser price?</div>
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Come on.</div>
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Still, there is a long way to go. This process has about 10 minutes left in the second quarter. We are hardly approaching the two-minute warning.</div>
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Patience needs to be exercised, and cooler heads will prevail.</div>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-3678437350325407472012-04-30T10:37:00.004-07:002012-04-30T10:37:57.843-07:00St. Louis Rams: Initial Thoughts on the 2012 NFL Draftby the Bleacher Report<br />
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The St. Louis <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/st-louis-rams" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rams</a> came into the 2012 NFL draft with a combined 15-65 record over the past five seasons and without a playoff appearance since 2004. New head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead didn't create the woes of brutal football in St. Louis, but they sure did inherit it from the likes of Steve Spagnuolo, Billy Devaney, Scott Linehan and Jay Zygmunt.</div>
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Levelheaded fans and pundits knew it would take Fisher and Snead some time to rebuild the Rams franchise back into a winner. This was not a overnight fix. This wasn't a one-draft solution. Calling it a challenge would be an understatement.</div>
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However, the process has potential to be sped up much quicker than could of been expected.</div>
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In one draft, the Rams just may have gone from a joke of the NFL, a team with a 2-14 record last season, to a borderline playoff contender. Fisher and Snead were able to trade down and accumulate much-needed extra picks while still nabbing guys they claimed to have their eyes on.</div>
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<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">14. Michael Brockers, DT, LSU</strong></div>
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My first thought when the St. Louis Rams drafted LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers at No. 14? Poor <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/sam-bradford" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sam Bradford</a>. My rethought after seeing how the second and third rounds played out? Wow, the Rams have an amazing defense now.</div>
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St. Louis selecting Brockers sets him up to join a young defensive line with Chris Long, Robert Quinn and Kendall Langford. That's a pretty nasty line after the Rams ranked 31st in run defense, allowing 152.1 rushing yards per game in 2011.</div>
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The addition of Brockers makes the Rams young and talented on the defensive line. Brockers and Langford are run-stuffers that will allow Long and Quinn to attack the opposing quarterback, and Brockers specifically ran open the interior to allow linebacker James Lauranitis to more effectively engage the ball carrier.</div>
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When you have the defensive line the Rams now possess, coupled with the talented playmakers in the secondary on the team, good things happen.</div>
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<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">33. Brian Quick, WR, Appalachian State</strong></div>
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Personally, I really like the Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick. But not at No. 33. If the Rams want a guy and reach a little to go up and get that player, there should be no problem with it. However, this was a big reach. Quick probably would have been there when the Rams picked at No. 39 or No. 50.</div>
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He's a raw, young receiver that may not translate to a big-time NFL impact player right away, but he could develop into one. If the Rams played their hand correctly, Quick will develop as a deep threat for Sam Bradford sooner rather than later. Yahoo! Sports'<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--rams-land-next-t-o--in-brian-quick-following-secret-trip-to-north-carolina-.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Michael Silver compared Quick</a> to NFL great <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/terrell-owens" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Terrell Owens</a>.</div>
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The development of Quick is of great importance to the development of Bradford and the Rams organization. He has tremendous upside with a high ceiling.</div>
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<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">39. Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama</strong></div>
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This is probably my favorite pick of the draft for the Rams. Draft ratings are essentially useless at this stage of the game, but if I was forced to give this pick one it would be a solid "A."</div>
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Jenkins would have been in the debate with Morris Claiborne of which cornerback should go first in the draft, if not for his off-the-field issues. The Rams need to hit on their draft picks, but a player with his skill set is simply too tough to pass up in the second round when a team has three early picks. He will also be an effective punt returner, allowing Danny Amendola to focus on just being a receiver.</div>
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The North Alabama corner has been compared to troubled NFL star Adam "Pacman" Jones and has even been questioned about the comparisons in interviews. Fisher failed in keeping Jones out of trouble, but Jenkins is not Jones. Pacman was a violent offender. Jenkins likes marijuana.</div>
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Fisher and Snead have stated they have a plan to keep Jenkins out of trouble. If they succeed, this could be the steal of the draft.</div>
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<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">50. Isaiah Pead, RB, <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/cincinnati-bengals" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cincinnati</a></strong></div>
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One of the major goals of the 2012 offseason and draft for the Rams was upgrading the lowly offensive play we've come to expect. Getting a change-of-pace running back, who could be the heir apparent to Steven Jackson, does just that.</div>
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The change-of-pace running back is important to any dynamic offense and is something the Rams haven't had for quite some time. However, running back isn't an essential need with Jackson still on the team and so many other needs still needing to to addressed here.</div>
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Getting a quality outside linebacker should have been the priority late in the second round. Zach Brown and Lavonte David were still on the board and would have been better picks given that the Rams only had four linebackers (one quality) at that time.</div>
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If the Rams were set on running back here, though, why not LaMichael James or Lamar Miller?</div>
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The Rams already had some talented cornerbacks at this pick in Cortland Finnegan, Jerome Murphy, Darian Stewart and Jenkins. Yet Johnson proved too difficult to pass up.
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Johnson was another first-round talent player who the Rams snagged later in the draft. He has great size and is a very physical player—the kind of DB Fisher likes. He will stay at corner, according to the head coach, but his skill set may force the Rams to switch him to safety to get him more playing time in an already talented group.</div>
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<strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Final Thoughts</strong></div>
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The Rams had a great draft. In addition to the picks above, St. Louis found a talented, quick receiver in Chris Givens later in the draft than he was projected to go and a kicker to replace Josh Brown's large salary.</div>
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Am I saying the Rams had a perfect draft? No.</div>
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Did it play out how I wanted it or expected it too? Absolutely not.</div>
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Are the Rams ready to battle it out all season with the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1159336-san-francisco-49ers-2012-nfl-draft-picks-grades-results-and-analysis" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">San Francisco 49ers</a> for first place in the NFC West? Probably not.</div>
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Yet, the Rams are closer to being a serious threat in the NFL than they have been in quite some time. Not a 2010 fluke that battled for a playoff spot till the end with a 7-9 record, but a consistent contender to make the playoffs year after year.</div>
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With offseason moves and the 2012 NFL draft, Jeff Fisher is already heading towards what he promised when he joined the Rams.</div>
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"The Rams won't be picking at No. 2 again next year."</div>
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<br />lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-28971369044564289062012-04-17T11:42:00.000-07:002012-04-17T11:42:47.227-07:00Jackson Wants a WR Drafted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLFGd-VI8e5mfAvgOU1WkFwskYUrApFCX4kzsd36UbY46h5gkKeIyBSH_NhXKooI9GGSFDOjrLBxbo3ixU40o1VuYvPvY57HbzQXMAiVZ5RV7DJiUZSwA1wgdoWnJkT0hkH6Y1A72cqI/s1600/104341774_crop_650x440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLFGd-VI8e5mfAvgOU1WkFwskYUrApFCX4kzsd36UbY46h5gkKeIyBSH_NhXKooI9GGSFDOjrLBxbo3ixU40o1VuYvPvY57HbzQXMAiVZ5RV7DJiUZSwA1wgdoWnJkT0hkH6Y1A72cqI/s1600/104341774_crop_650x440.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0em; text-align: left;">In a Friday appearance on ESPN’s <em>NFL Live</em>, veteran Rams running back <a class="nameLink" href="http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/1663/steven-jackson" style="color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none !important;">Steven Jackson</a>made clear his preferences for the team on draft day, if he were in the team’s war room.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0em; text-align: left;">“I’m standing on the table for a receiver,” Jackson said. “Arguably it might be [Justin] Blackmon out of Oklahoma State. Big target, a guy that has a lot of good body control, he can make the big play happen. We have a good receiver in the slot in <a class="nameLink" href="http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/4991/danny-amendola" style="color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none !important;">Danny Amendola</a>, so we just need a complement to Danny, give Sam [Bradford] some options as well, and open some room for me in the running game.”</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0em; text-align: left;">It’s no surprise that Jackson wouldn’t lobby for his replacement, even though coach Jeff Fisher has been singing the praises of <a class="nameLink" href="http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/7462/trent-richardson" style="color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none !important;">Trent Richardson</a>. Coincidentally, the Rams used a first-round pick on Jackson while the Rams still had Marshall Faulk, and it wasn’t long before Faulk was gone.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.2em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0em; text-align: left;">We’ll find out in 13 days whether Jackson gets his wish for the team to take a receiver with the sixth overall pick in round one, instead of Jackson’s eventual successor.</div>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-88316709085116052092012-03-21T16:22:00.000-07:002012-03-21T16:22:24.224-07:00St Louis Rams 2012 NFL Draft Fan Poll: Who Does Rams Nation Want at Number 6?<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 29px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The St. Louis <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/st-louis-rams" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rams</a> possess the No. 6 overall pick in the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/2012-nfl-draft" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2012 NFL Draft</a>after trading the No. 2 selection and the eventual rights to Heisman winning quarterback Robert Griffin III to the<a href="http://bleacherreport.com/washington-redskins" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Washington Redskins</a> in an <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1098456-rams-and-redskins-reportedly-make-trade-for-no-2-pick-in-2012-nfl-draft-and-rg3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">historic deal</a> that saw St. Louis land a total of three first rounders and a second round selection.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Of course, many of you have read Matt Miller's <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1110068-2012-nfl-mock-draft-peyton-manning-to-denver-broncos-edition" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"</a><a href="http://bleacherreport.com/peyton-manning" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Peyton Manning</a> to <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/denver-broncos" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Denver Broncos</a>" mock draft here on Bleacher Report. Miller has the Rams taking wide receiver Justin <span class="spellcheck" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Blackmon</span> of Oklahoma State at No. 6. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="spellcheck" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">CBSsports</span>.com has <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/mock" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a collection</a> of mock drafts from their team of draft evaluators. One of those, Rob Rang, has the Rams going with former LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne at the aforementioned spot. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Walter Football</em> has a <a href="http://walterfootball.com/draft2012.php" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">brand new mock</a> up today, and it too has the Rams grabbing<span class="spellcheck" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Blackmon</span> at No. 6. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Other consensus options at No. 6 include left tackle Matt Kalil of USC and former Alabama running back <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/trent-richardson" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Trent Richardson</a>. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Many of you have already read <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1110139-st-louis-rams-nfl-draft-2012-what-should-the-rams-do-with-the-no-6-pick" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">my breakdown</a> of the Rams' options at No. 6, including the ranking of the four above-mentioned players, the biggest need in St. Louis, safest pro future and the highest-valued position.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As for the fantastic four, each could offer some potentially great things for St. Louis if they are indeed available when the Rams are on the clock.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="spellcheck" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Blackmon</span> could potentially become a No. 1 receiver for St. Louis, and a go-to target that <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/sam-bradford" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sam Bradford</a> could build and grow with for the next decade.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="article-image " style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; display: inline; float: right; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 340px;"><img alt="Kalil_crop_340x234" src="http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/000/371/343/kalil_crop_340x234.jpg?1332346096" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;">Matt Kalil</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After averaging 12 points per game in 2011, the annually sub-par wide receiving corps of the Rams could benefit from pairing the former Oklahoma State Cowboy with the Sooners' product, Bradford. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A second option would be Kalil. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The impressive left tackle could lock down the left side of the offensive line for a decade-plus like former Rams great Orlando Pace did for <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/kurt-warner" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kurt Warner</a> and other Rams QBs. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Adding Kalil would allow Rodger <span class="spellcheck" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Saffold</span> to slide to right tackle and give St. Louis the nucleus of a stellar offensive line (Kalil, <span class="spellcheck" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Saffold</span>, Scott Wells and Harvey <span class="spellcheck" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dahl</span>) going forward. Bradford would likely have great blindside protection for the foreseeable future with Kalil in the fold. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Choosing Claiborne is another alternative.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In today's pass-happy NFL it is almost impossible to have too many strong defensive backs. As the Rams found out last year, having depth at DB is essential after losing 10 corners to the injured reserve.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Claiborne would likely pair with new addition Cortland Finnegan as a starter at cornerback. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At 6'0, he has the size to go with his impressive tool chest to develop into one of the league's better corners. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="article-image " style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; display: inline; float: right; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 340px;"><img alt="Trent-richardsonjpg-133ce6ece5e50b1b_large_original_original_crop_340x234" src="http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/000/371/348/trent-richardsonjpg-133ce6ece5e50b1b_large_original_original_crop_340x234.jpg?1332346315" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;">Trent Richardson</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, the Rams could grab Richardson at No. 6 and set St. Louis up to unleash an extremely powerful running game and one-two punch with incumbent Steven Jackson sharing the load. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Richardson would become the heir-apparent to Jackson who will turn 29 later this year. He would also provide exemplary injury insurance in the case that Jackson go down with a long-term injury (as he did last season when missing four games.) </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So, Rams Nation, who do you like at No. 6?</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Here is the criteria to keep in mind when voting in the poll on the right:</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span>-All four players are available at No. 6 in this theoretical case</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span>-This assumes the Rams are not trading down</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span>-This is strictly who <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">you </em>would pick, <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not </em>who you think the Rams will select </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That established, please make you vote in the poll to the right and ask every one of your friends in Rams Nation to do the same.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="module poll poll_module" id="poll-182095" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #222222; float: right; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 262px;"><div class="poll_results" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h4 class="poll-question" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Francois One', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px !important; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who Would You Pick at No. 6?</h4><li class="option" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;">A: Justin Blackmon</h4><div class="full-bar" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #333333; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="percent-number" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: white; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; text-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 2px; top: -1px; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 1;">55.1%</div><div class="fill" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ff4000; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px -19px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 132px;"></div></div></li><br />
<li class="option" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;">B: Morris Claiborne</h4><div class="full-bar" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #333333; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="percent-number" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: white; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; text-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 2px; top: -1px; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 1;">5.7%</div><div class="fill" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ff4000; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px -19px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 13px;"></div></div></li><br />
<li class="option" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;">C: Matt Kalil</h4><div class="full-bar" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #333333; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="percent-number" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: white; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; text-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 2px; top: -1px; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 1;">27.2%</div><div class="fill" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ff4000; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px -19px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 65px;"></div></div></li><br />
<li class="option" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h4 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;">D: Trent Richardson</h4><div class="full-bar" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #333333; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="percent-number" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: white; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; text-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 2px; top: -1px; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 1;">12.0%</div><div class="fill" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ff4000; background-image: url(http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/polls/background.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px -19px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: 1px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 28px;"></div></div></li><br />
<label id="total_votes" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Total votes: 1,038</label></div></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It will be very interesting to see the results, particularly if the voting pool ends up totaling 5,000 or more. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I will be revealing the Rams Nation results in an upcoming article. Please justify your vote by sharing your reasoning for it in the comments section below. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The best comments (one for each player) will be chosen and quoted in the previously mentioned, future column. </div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I am very anxious to see who Rams Nation wants with the No. 6 pick. </div>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-40682772111140393202012-02-20T13:02:00.000-08:002012-02-20T13:09:38.313-08:00Rams prepare for NFL combine, draft<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">BY JIM THOMAS </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">For coach Jeff Fisher, general manager Les Snead and everyone involved in player evaluation at Rams Park, Monday was like the first day of school.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"The scouts came in Sunday night with the express purpose of going through and talking about the players that are going to be at the (NFL scouting) combine with the coaching staff," Fisher said. "But before we started, we introduced the general manager to them."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">No one wore name tags, but even Fisher had not met all of the scouts until that Monday meeting.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The group will be spending a lot of time together over the next two months or so, through the start of free agency March 13 and leading up to the draft April 26-28. So with most of Fisher's coaching staff in place, the focus at Rams Park has shifted to personnel, personnel and ... personnel.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"The coaches that are here are looking at the (current) roster, looking at their position groups," Fisher said. "Now that we've got Les on board we can sit down with the coaches and discuss our evaluations and our opinions. And what spins out of that are the needs."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The needs are many for a franchise that has lost 65 of its last 80 games and hasn't had a winning season since 2003. They must now be tailored not only to Fisher's coaching style and philosophy, but also to offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and even special teams coordinator John Fassel.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">With the combine starting Wednesday in Indianapolis, time is of the essence. Snead doesn't have the time to implement his system of scouting, or some of the finer details of how he wants things done in the personnel department.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"When you get bogged down this time of year, when there's only so much time left, trying to implement your system or your process — now is not the right time," Snead said. "Because there's so much to the change, the language, data bases, how you do things, how information's spit out."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So the entire group must come to a quick consensus on the kind of players Fisher and his coaches are looking for, identify and prioritize the team needs, and just go. The time squeeze also means Fisher and Snead must adjust to the scouts, and not vice versa.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"There's a lot of them, and there's two of us — Jeff and myself," Snead said. "So it's easier for us to adapt, and (the scouts) have a system that's in place. What we know we have to do is adapt the system we have, be creative with it ... there's a lot of ways to skin a cat."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">But in terms of basic player evaluations, Snead and Fisher have no other choice for this draft and, to a degree, free agency. They must trust their scouts.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"Absolutely," Fisher said. "Those guys are rolling their sleeves up and getting the information. You can't do it without them. And so you listen to the reports, and to the summaries, and to all those things. Let's face it, I haven't had a chance right now to do any college evaluations."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It's an interesting dynamic, because Snead was told during the GM interview process that no one in the scouting department is untouchable. But since scouting department contracts usually don't expire until after the draft, nearly everyone in the department is trying to prove himself.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">After the first couple of days of meetings, Fisher said, "You can tell they've done a great job. This is the culmination of all their hard work. Their information is being presented to us."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The scouts aren't the only ones with something to prove. This will be Snead's first draft as the guy in charge. During his 17 seasons in the NFL most of his experience has been on the pro scouting side, not college scouting.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">When first promoted out of the scouting role, Snead was named director of pro personnel. He didn't become director of player personnel — which puts a lot of emphasis on the college side — until three years ago. (Snead said he performed many of the duties of the player personnel director four years ago, just without the title.)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">He also pointed out: "Even when you're in pro, you'll dabble in the college. That's a big part of it, so you're not just doing pro personnel. And the last four years have been very extensive college."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">In those past four years, Snead was near the top of the pyramid in terms of draft decision-making, but at the end of the day Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith made the pick. So how much input did Snead have on the Falcons' picks?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"I would say definitely, significantly," Snead said.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Before Dimitroff and Smith made their decision, Snead said he was frequently the last person to give his input. Much, but not all, of Snead's draft philosophy has been culled from watching and working with Dimitroff.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"You better be well-prepared to make that decision," Snead said. "And that's a little bit Tom Coughlin. When you play a Tom Coughlin team you know that they're going to be prepared."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Snead spent his first three years in scouting, 1995 to 1997, as a scout for Coughlin in Jacksonville.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"And there's ways you prepare," Snead said. "It's not just late hours or manual labor. But I think you need to be well prepared. And take all things considered into that pick."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"All things considered" is one of Snead's pet phrases when it comes to adding talent.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"It's not just how good the player is," Snead said. "It's what kind of teammate he will be. How coachable he will be. It may be a lot of intangibles."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">How valued is the player's position in the scheme? Is there a player at the position lower in the draft who's not much different in talent, who would thus be a better value? For Snead, it's not just a player's ceiling, it's whether the team can live with his floor if he doesn't live up to expectations.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Those are just some of the factors Snead takes into account in drafting a player.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">"If you're well prepared — all things considered — you should get it right the majority of the time," he said.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Which would be something new at Rams Park.</span> </div>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-87834263578399633592012-02-07T05:48:00.000-08:002012-02-07T05:48:02.133-08:00Offensive lineman leaves Leos for RamsThere appeared to be a competition at times over the last two months for Jovan Olafioye, whether the amount of guaranteed salary he would earn with the NFL's St. Louis Rams would equal the number of frequent-flyer miles he gained to secure the next step in his burgeoning career.<br />
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It would seem as if the 24-year-old offensive lineman with the B.C. Lions did reasonably well when it came to upgrading on two fronts. <br />
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Olafioye agreed to terms on a minimum two year contract with the Rams on Friday, shortly before the Lions allowed defensive line coach Randy Melvin to take a surprise three-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<br />
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It wasn't a completely down weekend for the Lions though. An agreement to keep 31-yearold receiver Paris Jackson with the CFL team for his 10th season has been concluded and is expected to be announced at the start of the week.<br />
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Olafioye's mileage and bank accounts grew as a result of the thorough nature of his agent, Dan Vertlieb, who not only got him to 14 NFL workouts since leaving Vancouver Nov. 30, but creatively worked with the Rams on a deal which will pay him roughly $90,000 in guaranteed salary even if he does not make the roster. The strapping tackle was limited in collecting an NFL signing bonus, owing to new rules governing undrafted free agents in the league's new collective bargaining agreement.<br />
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The result was additional airplane pretzels and middle seats.<br />
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"We felt there was no reason not to go," Vertlieb said Saturday. "Jovan truly enjoyed the experience and it helped him understand the respective organizations."<br />
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It didn't curb his wanderlust. Olafioye was en route from his Detroit home to Ohio Saturday and couldn't be reached.<br />
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The loss of Olafioye maintains the Lions' distinction of losing more players to the NFL in the past four seasons than any CFL club (see chart) and will be more difficult to replace than Solomon Elimimian, who left Jan. 25 to sign with the Minnesota Vikings.<br />
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Coach Mike Benevides will start with tackle Nick Hennessey, who spent the majority of last season on the practice roster, but will look at other import prospects and won't likely invest heavily in free agency when the open market signing period opens Feb. 15.<br />
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"I don't see us changing the ratio," Benevides said.<br />
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First up will be to replace Melvin, who agreed to return for a second season and was flown in for a news conference last week only to be unexpectedly offered a three-year NFL deal.<br />
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Melvin twice previously has worked at Rutgers University with Greg Schiano, who was hired by the Bucs as head coach only nine days ago, and though the Lions had recently committed to making his position a full-time spot, the team didn't think it could stand in front of a more lucrative offer.<br />
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Olafioye, on the other hand, was destined to leave not long after the Lions made him a starter in his rookie season. He'll try to make a 2-14 NFL team that didn't have a coach when he worked out in St. Louis on Jan. 5, and still doesn't have a general manager.<br />
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But the Lions harbour no illusions as to their chances of getting him back soon.<br />
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"He's 24, and he's played two years already. It's a helluva find for [St. Louis]," Benevides said.<br />
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Just don't ask Olafioye to name the last 14 airports he visited to get there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theprovince.com/sports/6104400.bin" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.theprovince.com/sports/6104400.bin" width="148" /></a></div>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-80924494091590366432012-01-16T13:52:00.000-08:002012-01-16T13:52:48.526-08:00Fisher says agent was 'completely objective' in job decisionNFL.com<br />
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St. Louis Rams got their guy Friday when Jeff Fisher agreed to choosing the NFC West cellar-dwellers over South Beach and the Miami Dolphins.<br />
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A footnote throughout the courtship of Fisher has been the fact that Rams executive vice president of football operations and COO Kevin Demoff is the son of the coach's agent, Marvin Demoff.<br />
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Sports Illustrated reported Monday that some in the league believe there could have been possible collusion on the part of Fisher and the Demoffs. Fisher denied the claims, saying his agent had no influence on his decision to go to St. Louis.<br />
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"Under no circumstances at any time," Fisher said. "I have 100 percent conviction on that. This was my decision, and Marvin assisted me. I was the one who decided. No one pushed me anywhere."<br />
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Fisher was the top head-coaching candidate of both the Rams and Dolphins, and NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora that numerous league sources expected the former Tennessee Titans coach to choose St. Louis. Fisher explained the process of how he settled on the Rams.<br />
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"From (Day 1), when I began this process after the season, I felt Miami and St. Louis were my best options," Fisher said. "I did my research. I looked at every team that had an opening. I looked at the personnel on each team, I looked at the owners, I looked at the cap situations, and I narrowed it to two. Not Marvin. Me. Marvin didn't push me. I am convinced he was completely objective."lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998215959262537838.post-65676577618689222102012-01-02T08:44:00.000-08:002012-01-02T08:44:23.268-08:00Rams lose; future for Spags, Devaney up in the air<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrv0K0TTHQQYu_uAPE5xME_6cFoL3qwf3-R4-WlssGVdYDMa0ene9R_C2efG81QIyJKvv3gt_XUAR0WgrV4NKMREMSV4dbkIWS9xjFUMt3k2RLQYGQMelYwpdYJmSHkyQ3nrwjUtsINw/s1600/sacked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrv0K0TTHQQYu_uAPE5xME_6cFoL3qwf3-R4-WlssGVdYDMa0ene9R_C2efG81QIyJKvv3gt_XUAR0WgrV4NKMREMSV4dbkIWS9xjFUMt3k2RLQYGQMelYwpdYJmSHkyQ3nrwjUtsINw/s320/sacked.jpg" width="295" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's over for the Rams in 2011. Is it now over for coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney following Sunday's 34-27 loss to San Francisco? Initial indications were that a decision would be made quickly, probably on Monday, according to league sources.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Team sources tell the Post-Dispatch that the Rams have made no decision at this time on whether to fire Spagnuolo and Devaney. ESPN reported that they've been fired.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Rams made things interesting, with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to narrow their deficit from 34-13 to 34-27. But that's as close as they got as San Francisco ran out the clock in the final 2½ minutes to play in the Edward Jones Dome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Rams finish their season at 2-14, tied for the second-worst since the move to St. Louis in 1995. By virtue of Jacksonville's 19-13 victory over Indianapolis, the Rams will pick No. 2 overall with the Colts having the first pick. Indy also finished 2-14, but because the Colts played a weaker schedule than St. Louis, they get the No. 1 pick on the tie-breaker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, San Francisco marches into the offseason with a 13-3 record and a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the NFC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things started out promisingly enough, with quarterback Kellen Clemens doing his Cam Newton impression on an 18-yard scramble for a touchdown. Clemens was starting his third consecutive game with both Sam Bradford (ankle) and A.J. Feeley (thumb) sidelined again with injuries.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On third-and-7, Clemens scrambled to his right and dove past 49ers safety Donte Whitner for the final couple of yards into the end zone. The 62-yard drive followed a rare miss by San Francisco's field goal machine, kicker David Akers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It marked only the second time all season the Rams had scored a TD on their opening drive of a game. The only other time it happened? Steven Jackson on the Rams' first offensive play of the season _ a 47-yard TD run against Philadelphia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it was all 49ers in the first half after what was the third rushing TD of Clemens' six-year NFL career. The 49ers picked up lots of field position on special teams, due mainly to the work of their Pro Bowl punter, Andy Lee. On the possession following the Clemens TD, a 66-yard punt by Lee bounced out of bounds at the St. Louis 8. The Rams went three-and-out, and when a 38-yard punt by the Rams' Donnie Jones was returned 10 yards by Reggie Smith, the 49ers took over on the St. Louis 33 late in the third quarter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Five plays later, on third-and-goal from the Rams 8, San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith matched his Rams counterpart by scrambling to his right for a game-tying touchdown with 37 seconds left in the opening quarter. Defensive end Chris Long missed a potential sack at the start of the play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the Rams' next possession, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels reached into his bag of tricks, but this one backfired like an exploding cigar. On third-and-3 from the St. Louis 39, running back Jerious Norwood took a direct snap and started to his right before stopping to lob a pass back across the grain for quarterback Clemens.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the ball seemed to float forever, and 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown swooped in for an interception and return to the St. Louis 34. Alex Smith then tried two quick throws, or "smokes," to wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The first, to Smith's left, was relatively well defended and went for six yards. On the second, to Smith's right, cornerback Josh Gordy missed a tackle near the line of scrimmage and Crabtree raced down the sideline for a 28-yard TD and a 14-7 San Francisco lead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 49ers, who outgained the Rams 113 yards to 34 in the second quarter, tacked on a couple of Akers field goals for a 20-7 halftime lead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Rams added a Josh Brown field goal in the third quarter to cut the San Francisco lead to 20-10. But 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh went one better later in the quarter on a fake field goal. Akers took the snap and threw to a wide open Crabtree for a 14-yard TD and 27-10 lead with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crabtree faked as if leaving the field, but never did; he lined up just inside the out-of-bounds line on the sideline with no Rams player following him over. It was just the latest meltdown by special teams coordinator Tom McMahon's unit over the second half of the season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Rams added a second Brown field goal early in the fourth quarter, but the 49ers kept answering the field goals with touchdowns. Anthony Dixon scored from one yard out with 6:30 to play to stretch the San Francisco lead to 34-13.</span>lovemyramshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09589040261113018056noreply@blogger.com0