Get ready to Pick-Em
Friday, August 31st, 2007The 2007 Pick-Em contest is ready to go.
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Archive for August, 2007
Let’s not crown Rams yet
Friday, August 31st, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The Rams have a promising future. They’ve compiled impressive talent on
offense, and they’re slowly adding pieces to improve the defense. Coach Scott
Linehan is more comfortable and confident as he enters his second season. The
warring factions at Rams Park have disappeared, and the organizational harmony
is humming along. In short, it’s a good time to be a Ram.
So why am I hesitant to join around 99 percent of the fans and my media
brothers and sisters in chugging the Kool-Aid with both hands?
Understand, I’m not going negative on the Rams, or anyone else. I’m just
preaching a little caution.
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Rams cut 6th-round pick, 10 others
Friday, August 31st, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
With 22 players to cut in order to reach the 53-man roster limit, the Rams got
half of their work done Friday.
The team announced early Friday afternoon that it had cut 11 players.
The list includes only one member of the 2007 draft class: sixth-round draft
pick Ken Shackleford, an offensive tackle from the University of Georgia.
Also released Friday: wide receivers Shaine Smith and Fred Gibson; tight end
Mark Anelli; running back John David Washington; offensive tackle Drew Strojny;
defensive tackle Tim Sandidge; linebacker Jamal Brooks; cornerback Josh Lay;
and safety Andre Kirkland.
Eleven players must still be cut by Saturday afternoon.
Carriker fills a big gap
Friday, August 31st, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The Rams went into their final exhibition game Thursday night with several
fuzzy areas remaining before the final roster cutdown. But coach Scott Linehan
noted in the week leading up to the match with Kansas City that at least one
major question had been answered.
That was, how would first-round draft choice Adam Carriker’s transition from
defensive end at Nebraska to tackle with the Rams go?
“Excellent . . . probably one of the best parts of this entire preseason,”
Linehan said. “Once we put the pads on, he’s really improved and sewn up the
middle of our defense at the defensive tackle spots, particularly at nose.”
Like virtually all the regulars, Carriker didn’t play Thursday night in the
Rams’ 10-3 Governor’s Cup victory at the Edward Jones Dome.
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Rams Notes: Rice visits Rams today; Steussie breaks left foot
Friday, August 31st, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Even before the Rams make their final roster cuts today and Saturday, here’s
another name to consider. Simeon Rice, longtime defensive end with the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers, is scheduled to visit Rams Park today.
Rice, a University of Illinois product, will undergo a physical and meet with
team officials at Rams Park. With 121 sacks in 11 NFL seasons, Rice has been
one of the game’s premier pass rushers. But he missed the final eight games of
the 2006 season with a shoulder injury.
The Rams want to make sure Rice’s shoulder is OK before even considering any
contract negotiations. Rice, 33, had only two sacks last season. He was
released by Tampa Bay on the night before the start of training camp. The
Buccaneers reportedly wanted him to take a sizable pay cut.
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Battle for center job is fierce
Monday, August 20th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
By now, Scott Linehan was hoping for some separation at center. But midway
through the exhibition season, it remains a toss-up between Andy McCollum and
Brett Romberg for the starting job.
“We haven’t come to a conclusion yet,” Linehan said Sunday. “We still feel very
comfortable with both. … It’s still too close to call.”
To date, McCollum and Romberg have each started a game against a Pro Bowl
defensive tackle named Williams. On Saturday, McCollum played against San
Diego’s Jamal Williams for three series with the Rams’ first-team offense. A
week earlier, Romberg played against Minnesota’s Pat Williams for two series
with the starting unit.
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Caution keeps Jackson on bench most of game
Monday, August 20th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Those arriving even a tad late to the Edward Jones Dome on Saturday missed
seeing running back Steven Jackson on the field. That’s because his night was
finished after the first play — a 3-yard pass from Marc Bulger to Torry Holt —
of the Rams’ 30-13 loss to San Diego.
That bit part followed Jackson’s five-play “workout” at Minnesota. Halfway
through the preseason schedule, Jackson has caught two passes for 20 yards and
has yet to carry the ball.
No, Jackson isn’t hurt. And no, he isn’t in danger of losing his job, certainly
not after leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage last year and making the Pro
Bowl.
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Punt coverage reverts to old form
Monday, August 20th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
After a solid showing in the exhibition opener a week ago in Minnesota, the
Rams’ special teams reverted to their same old sorry status on coverage
Saturday night against San Diego.
Late in the second quarter at the Edward Jones Dome, Darren Sproles fielded a
53-yard Donnie Jones punt at the 19 and raced 81 yards for a touchdown.
Sproles’ score gave the Chargers a 14-0 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the
first half. As Sproles headed upfield, he found the middle wide open. He eluded
the only Ram in the vicinity — Oshiomogho “O.J.” Atogwe — and was off to the
end zone.
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Some good, plenty of bad in an ugly preseason loss
Monday, August 20th, 2007By
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
Not a lot of St. Louisans saw the Rams lose to the Chargers 30-13 Saturday
night. The CBS telecast was blacked out locally -– due to the lack of a sellout
-– and about half of the ticket-holders spent the night elsewhere.
Coach Scott Linehan’s initial game assessment was that fans didn’t miss much.
He saw some more positives after reviewing game tapes with his coaches, but
overall, not much progress was made during this preseason exercise.
Here were some things that stood out to your cyber-correspondent:
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Corey Chavous mentors, cooks for his young teammates
Thursday, August 16th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
When he talks, teammates listen. And when he cooks, most everybody heads to his
place.
When the Rams signed Corey Chavous to a free-agent contract in March 2006, it
was as much for the impact he would have on those around him as for his play on
the field.
The Rams haven’t been cheated on either score. Chavous was his usual solid self
at strong safety last season, finishing second on the team in tackles (116),
with a sack, an interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
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Rams Notes: Twice-daily practices end
Thursday, August 16th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Any NFL player will quickly attest that the best day of training camp is the
last day. And that the second best is the final two-practice day.
That milestone was reached Wednesday at Rams Park, when coach Scott Linehan put
his crew through its eighth — and last — double-workout session. Camp
officially breaks Sunday, and a single-practice schedule begins Monday.
“Camp is long … very long,” cornerback Ron Bartell said. “I’m just looking
forward to getting it over with and getting into the regular season.”
The Rams have practiced 23 times since camp opened July 27, translating into
almost 80 hours on the field. Many of the hours lately have come with
temperatures in triple figures.
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The hotter, the better in Linehan’s world
Thursday, August 16th, 2007By
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
It was 100 degrees in the Earth City industrial park when the Rams took the
practice field Tuesday afternoon.
The searing summer sun beat down on the players. The thick August air made if
difficult to catch their breath.
Working conditions were extremely unpleasant for these large, sweaty men.
After a little more than an hour of drills outside, where the temperature
peaked at 103, the Rams moved inside their practice facility . . . and
discovered even more suffocating heat. Their giant shed was sweltering.
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Day 1 draft picks shine in exhibition
Sunday, August 12th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
On the first night of the Rams’ exhibition season, the “first day” of the
team’s 2007 draft shone brightly.
First-round pick Adam Carriker, second-rounder Brian Leonard and third-rounder
Jonathan Wade all were selected on Day 1 of the two-day NFL draft, and all had
their moments in Friday’s 13-10 preseason victory over Minnesota.
“The top three (picks) really were highlights for me personally in evaluating
our team,” coach Scott Linehan said Saturday.
Carriker started at defensive tackle and held his own in the first quarter
against Matt Birk, the Vikings’ Pro Bowl center. “He actually graded out higher
as a nose than he did as a ‘3-technique’,” Linehan said. “You would think maybe
differently. But I thought he did a great job.”
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Thompson has injury setback
Sunday, August 12th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The timing could hardly be worse for the Rams’ Dominique Thompson. Impressive
during training camp and embroiled in a tight race for the final wide receiver
spot on the roster, Thompson now will sit for at least a couple of weeks.
Thompson suffered two displaced ribs in Friday’s 13-10 exhibition victory at
Minnesota. He was injured in the third quarter when safety Mike Doss drilled
him on his lower right side after a 9-yard gain on an end-around.
Before the extent of the injury was known, Thompson returned to the game. “That
was a tribute to his ability to handle that,” coach Scott Linehan said. “It had
to be extremely painful.”
Thompson, Marques Hagans and rookie Derek Stanley are the main contenders for a
job on the 53-man roster, but newcomer Fred Gibson will get a look, too.
Thompson can’t further his cause on the sideline, but Linehan assured that he
won’t be forgotten.
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Rams win on field goal on last play
Sunday, August 12th, 2007By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
MINNEAPOLIS — At 5 feet 9, 155 pounds, Kevin Lovell looks more like NFL ballboy
than NFL place-kicker. And in St. Louis, the undrafted rookie from the
University of Cincinnati isn’t going to beat out Jeff Wilkins — one of the
game’s top kickers for the past decade.
But if he keeps this up, other teams looking for kicking help might take
notice. Lovell kicked two field goals Friday night, including the game winner
as time expired, giving the Rams a 13-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in
their exhibition opener.
Nicknamed “Sparky” by his teammates, Lovell actually had to kick the game
winner twice. His 35-yarder was negated by a false-start penalty on Rams
offensive lineman Jeremy Parquet. So Lovell and the Rams had to line up again
for a 40-yarder.
“Those are always tough,” Lovell said. “It’s tough to do it back to back right
in a row.”
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