Hopefully, the pointless drama of the last couple weeks has now subsided and we can focus on the next big offseason event for the Rams: the NFL Draft. I'm looking forward to seeing the next Pro Bowler(s) the Rams select this year!
Twitter Talk
"Multiple sources" suggest Howard Balzer can't make up his mind as to whether he's a Rams fan or not. He sure as hell created a big enough stink last week with his accusations regarding Michael Sam, the Rams, Hard Knocks and the NFL (as an unbiased reporter of course). Watch the interview Balzer did in January, then check out his contradictory comments to me on Twitter:
@HBalzer721 I suspect you won't be cheering for the Rams anymore, right Howard?
— Frank Dubs Dobozy (@Bozy1313) March 25, 2016
@HBalzer721 You sure sounded like a Rams fan when speaking with Rich Gould on KPLR in January, just after the move was announced.
— Frank Dubs Dobozy (@Bozy1313) March 26, 2016
He sure is...
Trumaine Johnson is the real deal... (h/t @RamNationUnited) pic.twitter.com/DvWwF8OblV
— TurfShowTimes (@TurfShowTimes) March 26, 2016
As a follow up to my article published last week:
On 5th-year options for Ogletree/T. Austin, Fisher said Rams want to keep both for "long time." Said all but certain to use option on AO.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) March 23, 2016
Now when you step off a plane in Los Angeles, the Rams are front and center:
Look who is back at LAX #Rams #NFL pic.twitter.com/J1OomCp6C1
— Vincent Bonsignore (@DailyNewsVinny) March 25, 2016
Very classy words from Rodger Saffold:
Had my last workout at Rams Park today.... definitely left with a heavy heart
— Rodger Saffold (@Rodger_Saffold) March 23, 2016
Rams prepare for LA reality: Los Angeles Daily News
Moving, traffic, multiple facilities are all part of the relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles. But as Coach Jeff Fisher surmises:
"Our approach is that the rest of the league doesn’t care what we’re doing. There’s 31 other teams getting ready for the offseason program and training camp and the regular season. We’ve got to do the same thing. The sooner we get set up and ready to go, the better off we’ll be. I’m not looking at this as a distraction or an excuse."
2016 NFL Mock Draft: Walter Football
Walter updates his five round mock. The Rams select WR Laquon Treadwell in the first round, TE Hunter Henry and LB/S Su'a Cravens in the second round, QB Christian Hackenberg in the third round and CB Kevin Seymour in the fourth round. The first three picks are the highlights of this Rams mock draft.
Ten most underrated defensive prospects in 2016 NFL Draft: NFL.com
The three players I'm particularly high on from Gil Brandt's list: DT Vernon Butler, S Keanu Neal and LB Deion Jones. I believe all three will be prominently featured on the Rams' draft board.
Are Rams in position to move up for a top quarterback: ESPN NFL Nation
As Nick Wagoner notes (and I agree):
"In reality, moving from 15 to 1 is probably too steep of a cost for the Rams, especially for a quarterback that doesn't come with the pedigree of other recent No. 1 overall picks at the position. The move to six would seem more plausible, especially if both Goff and Wentz are on the board at that spot."
Draft Prospect Highlight Reel: WR - Sterling Shepard - Oklahoma
Free Agency grades for NFC West teams: Pro Football Focus
PFF doesn't like the Rams' moves this offseason, giving them a mediocre "C+" for their efforts thus far. My grade? A solid "B".
The reason why Keenum is uninspiring: ESPN Radio Los Angeles 710
Rodgers and Markazi share their thoughts on all things Rams-related.
How the Rams might be setting up to actually land a decent quarterback: CBS Sports
Is the Rams' offseason stance regarding the quarterback position just a smokescreen leading up to the draft?
"Fisher and Snead are pretty good at their jobs and nice human beings. But let’s not pretend they’re not willing to lie to the media about the idea of where they sit on the quarterback. Any half-decent GM or coach should be willing to spin up some half-truths, and the Rams front office is no different."
NFL's brain trust drops the ball: Sports On Earth
As respected writer Mike Lupica so perfectly opines:
"Clearly Roger Goodell now pays, in a lot of ways, for the institutional ignorance about head injuries that existed for generations in his sport, ignorance that later became willful neglect. You don't think it was willful neglect? Of course it was, or the league wouldn't have written a $765 million check to settle concussion-related lawsuits brought by nearly 5,000 former players, some of that money from the settlement funding medical exams, concussion-related compensation and medical research."
NFL's flawed concussion research and ties to tobacco industry: New York Times
The NFL was put on the defensive because of this article last week, rushing to deliver a statement on the piece, a statement contradicting much of what was written by the Times. Yet again, another bad PR week for the NFL.
Stat Facts Of The Week: Turnover Differential
Team Turnover Differential Statistics
Team
Takeaways
Giveaways
Turnover Differential
1
Carolina Panthers
39
19
20
2
Kansas City Chiefs
29
15
14
3
Cincinnati Bengals
28
17
11
4
Arizona Cardinals
33
24
9
5
New England Patriots
21
14
7
6
New York Giants
28
21
7
7
Seattle Seahawks
23
16
7
8
New York Jets
30
24
6
9
Buffalo Bills
25
19
6
10
Washington Redskins
27
22
5
11
Minnesota Vikings
22
17
5
12
Green Bay Packers
22
17
5
13
St. Louis Rams
26
21
5
14
Houston Texans
25
20
5
15
Pittsburgh Steelers
30
28
2
16
New Orleans Saints
22
20
2
17
Oakland Raiders
25
24
1
18
Miami Dolphins
16
19
-3
19
Chicago Bears
17
21
-4
20
San Diego Chargers
20
24
-4
21
Denver Broncos
27
31
-4
22
Philadelphia Eagles
26
31
-5
23
Indianapolis Colts
25
30
-5
24
San Francisco 49ers
12
17
-5
25
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
23
28
-5
26
Detroit Lions
18
24
-6
27
Atlanta Falcons
23
30
-7
28
Cleveland Browns
21
30
-9
29
Jacksonville Jaguars
18
28
-10
30
Baltimore Ravens
14
28
-14
31
Tennessee Titans
19
33
-14
32
Dallas Cowboys
11
33
-22
It's a widely held belief that winning the turnover battle is important to a teams success on the field. For the 2015 season, the Rams ranked tied for 10th in the league in Turnover Differential (+5). The Rams were 4-3 in games with a positive Turnover Differential and 3-6 in games with an even or negative Turnover Differential.
Rams GM Les Snead is interviewed by Rich Eisen, on The Rich Eisen Show, Thursday, March 24:
Keenum will be starting QB to begin OTA's: Los Angeles Rams Official Website
Yes, THAT's OTA's, not the first game of the regular season, as was mistakenly reported by just about everyone. All because of one incorrect, ill-advised tweet from a reporter who didn't listen correctly to Les Snead's words in this interview.
Rams head out of St. Louis, prepared for Los Angeles beginnings: ESPN NFL Nation
My sincere hope is that all fans of the Rams from the St. Louis area will continue to follow and cheer on the team that was theirs for 20 years.
Are we all wrong? Maybe Case Keenum is the Rams' guy: Cover 32 Rams
I'm going to wait until the NFL draft is over before evaluating the Rams' QB situation. For now, I'll stick with my December prediction of the Rams rolling with the three-headed monster (Keenum, Foles, Mannion) into the 2016 regular season. Any of the three could end up as the starter.
Chase Reynolds hopes to follow Rams to LA: Montana Missoulian
Reynolds is one of three Rams Free Agents (Wes Welker and Greg Zuerlein are the other two) still looking for work this coming season. I expect the Rams to re-sign Reynolds at some point. He's been a core special teams contributor for the last three seasons.
Rams exit could come with $19 million parting gift: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Rams have the right to buy their former practice facility at Rams Park (valued at $19M) for $1 in 2024. The Jones Dome Authority believes otherwise and is suing the Rams to eliminate the purchase option.
"I think it would be bad form and in bad character," said Dave Peacock, co-chairman of the effort to build the riverfront football stadium, along with attorney Bob Blitz. "Just because you have the right to do something doesn’t make it right."
On This Day In Sports History
1899 - August Anheuser Busch Jr. (brewing magnate and sports executive) is born on this day. Mr. Busch passed away in 1989 at the age of 90.
1963 - The AFL's New York Titans become the New York Jets.
Turning up the heat on NFL coaches: Sports On Earth
What would it take for Jeff Fisher to get fired? Kenneth Arthur believes a 5-11 record (without an extension) would pretty much seal Fisher's fate.
Q&A with Rams coach Jeff Fisher: Los Angeles Daily News
Vincent Bonsignore talks with Rams head coach Jeff Fisher on a range of topics: Case Keenum, the move, Free Agency and the challenges ahead for the Rams' offense.
3 trades the Rams could make in the NFL Draft: Chat Sports
I don't support any of the three trades suggested by the author. If the Rams do trade up, it should be to #6 (Baltimore Ravens). If they trade down, Houston at #22 and Minnesota at #24 are more likely trading partners.
Rams should avoid drafting Laquon Treadwell: Ramblin' Fan
This is very well-reasoned article and a strong counterpoint in the "draft Treadwell if there at 15" argument.
Los Angeles Rams Mock Draft: Rounds 1-2: isportsweb
In this mock, the Rams select WR Josh Doctson in the first round, followed by QB Connor Cook and S Justin Simmons in the second round.
ESPN's Nick Wagoner shares his thoughts on Rams happenings of the past week:
Stedman Bailey was shot twice in the head last year but could make a miraculous return to the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams. Mike Florio says Bailey is a guy we should all be rooting for:
Los Angeles Rams Weekly Salary "Re-Cap"
The Rams have close to $4.9 million in available salary cap space remaining to spend (with all additional 2016 financial obligations taken into consideration) as of 11:00 pm, Sunday March 27. I'll be publishing a complete salary cap update later in the week.
Los Angeles Rams Current Roster & Depth Chart
C
Tim Barnes
Demetrius Rhaney
Eric Kush
RG
Jamon Brown
Cody Wichmann
Brian Folkerts
LG
Rodger Saffold
Garrett Reynolds
David Arkin
RT
Rob Havenstein
Andrew Donnal
LT
Greg Robinson
Darrell Williams
Isaiah Battle
TE
Lance Kendricks
Cory Harkey
Justice Cunningham
WR
Tavon Austin
Stedman Bailey
Kain Colter
WR
Kenny Britt
Nick Toon
Isiah Ferguson
WR
Brian Quick
Bradley Marquez
Deon Long
RB
Tre Mason
Trey Watts
Malcolm Brown
RB
Todd Gurley
Benny Cunningham
Zach Laskey
QB
Case Keenum
Nick Foles
Sean Mannion
PK
P
John Hekker
LS
Jake McQuaide
DT
Aaron Donald
Doug Worthington
Louis Trinca-Pasat
DT
Michael Brockers
Ethan Westbrooks
DE
William Hayes
Eugene Sims
DE
Robert Quinn
Quinton Coples
Matt Longacre
MLB
Alec Ogletree
Bryce Hager
OLB
Mark Barron
Zack Hodges
Matthew Wells
OLB
Akeem Ayers
Cameron Lynch
CB
E.J. Gaines
Coty Sensabaugh
Marcus Roberson
CB
Trumaine Johnson
Lamarcus Joyner
Eric Patterson
Troy Hill
SS
Tim McDonald Jr.
Maurice Alexander
FS
Cody Davis
Christian Bryant
65 Players Total
Blast From The Past: Classic Rock Monday: Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe
Please have a great Monday and a Ramtastic week!!
Poll
How many wins for the Rams this coming season?
10 or more
9
8
7
6 or fewer
0 votes | Results