Well there you have it. If there was any doubt in your mind the Rams are going in a new and unknown direction heading into the 2013 season you shouldn’t any more.

Within a matter of a few days three of the biggest Rams free agents were signed to three different teams – the two wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson and running back Steven Jackson.

Amendola was snatched away by the New England Patriots, Gibson took his talents and baggage to South Beach to join the Dolphins and Jackson packed up and headed down to Hotlanta.

(There’s a Craig Dahl teaser at the end of the post. Muhahaha.)

Steven Jackson trades in his Rams horns for Dirty Bird wings.

Jackson signed a three year, $12 million contract with $4 million in guaranteed money. His salary, if he had remained at Ram, would have been $7 million for 2013. Obviously, the Rams weren’t about to pay him a “bell cow” type salary for playing in a committee of running backs. But it wasn’t about the money according to Jackson.

Atlanta Falcons RB Steven Jackson (Courtesy AtlantaFalcons.com)

For all the lean years he stuck it out in St. Louis I for one am happy for Jackson. He finally has a chance to win a post season game and possibly even to the big game, a Super Bowl.

It’s going to be über strange seeing him in something other than Rams blue and gold but I wish him nothing but success. May your new wings take to higher ground and loftier places.

Not too many people believed me when I said…

This per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Falcons have had their eyes on Jackson for quite some time. In fact, they were at exploring the possibility of trading for him near the NFL trading deadline in October, but nothing materialized. As a result, Jackson finished out his ninth season as a Ram.

My conspiracy theory about Steven Jackson seems a lot more plausible now, doesn’t it?

» Continue reading “Rams Free Agency Fast Five – Part Three”

If day one of Rams free agency was about the big splash (Jared Cook) then day two can be summed up in three words: Long. Physical. Wait.

Rams fans were losing their minds waiting for the white smoke to appear from the top of Rams Park hoping that they would know either way what had happened with Miami Dolphin free agent left tackle Jake Long. Both Long and Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas were at Rams Park getting poke and prodded to make sure their respective injury prone parts checked out.

Tight end Jared Cook officially signs with the Rams.

Rams Tight End Jared Cook signing his new contract at Rams Park (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

For all you salary cap buffs out there here are the specifics. As announced Monday morning, Cook received a 5-year, $31.5 million contract with $19 million guaranteed. His contract could go up to $38.5 million with incentives.

Now we need to get him a good nickname. I’ve seen the hashtag #TopChef from @STLouisRams. What do you think?

How many hours does it take for Jake Long to get his physical?

Apparently way too Long. (See what I did there.)

“Long Watch” was just that. It began around 7:00 a.m. St. Louis time with Rams fans hanging on each and every Jim Thomas tweet. Every once and a while we’d see an update from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network saying it’s still going. Meanwhile, all I can think of is, “Are we there yet?”

» Continue reading “Rams Free Agency Fast Five – Day Two”

With the first day of NFL free agency in the books this is what we know.

The St. Louis Rams seem to have the Miami Dolphins number (at least personnel wise.) The Dolphins keep losing ex-Titans to the Rams. First, Coach Jeff Fisher and now it appears they have missed out on tight end Jared Cook. The off field tug-o-war stands at Rams 2: Dolphins bupkis.

1) The Rams have agreed to terms with former Tennessee Titans tight end Jared Cook.

It’s a five-year deal and according to a tweet citing long time Tennessee Titan beat writer Jim Wyatt as his source Cook’s deal is worth $35.1 million. No word yet on how much of that is guaranteed though.

This is a little too rich for my blood and it definitely takes Cook out of the Nordstrom category of $5 million – $6 million range and places him up in Neiman Marcus territory of $7+ million. The Rams definitely went with the luxury signing on Tuesday.

New Rams TE Jared Cook (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Here’s a quick bio blast on Jared Cook Jr. Cook is a 6 ft. 5 in., 248 lb. 25 year old, 5th year player who was selected by Jeff Fisher in the 3rd round (89th pick overall) of the 2009 draft. There’s no doubt Fisher had a hand in convincing Cook to choose the Rams over the Miami Dolphins. Déjà vu anyone?

This per Jim Thomas:

Cook has freakish athletic skills, including 4.49 speed in the 40. He’s not much of a blocker, and lined up frequently in the slot for the Titans.

» Continue reading “Rams Free Agency Fast Five”

The highly anticipated free agency period, arguably the craziest week in the NFL, is finally upon us. So get ready to hunker down in front of your computer and make sure your favorite Twitter app up and functioning properly. Once Tuesday, March 12, 3:00 p.m. CDT gets here you’re not going to want to miss a single tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and your favorite NFL team beat writer. (If you’re a Rams fan then you’re just waiting for Jim Thomas’ tweets.)

I think this new “legal tampering” window that the NFL instituted at midnight Saturday is laughable at best. Under the new guidelines teams are given permission to converse with certified agents of opposing teams free agents with the league’s blessings. BUT…

It is impermissible for a club to enter into an agreement of any kind, express or implied, oral or written, or promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of intent or understandings of any kind concerning the terms or conditions of employment offered to, or to be offered to, any prospective Unrestricted Free Agent for inclusion in a Player Contract after the start of the new League Year.

I know the league isn’t so naive to think that discussions aren’t already going on behind closed doors and over the airwaves. Inquiries and dialogue, albeit informal, have been taking places for weeks. The NFL underwear Olympics (scouting combine) isn’t the only thing that takes place in Indianapolis in late February.

» Continue reading “Things I Think: St. Louis Rams Pre-Free Agency Edition”

*Note: The graphic above should read Week 16.

I’ve been illin’ (and not the good kind) most of the week so this will be a very abbreviated version of my usual game previews. Apologies… 

A random thought came into my head as I was coughing up a lobe from my right lung Friday night.

“I wonder which Rams team will show up in Tampa Bay on Sunday.”

Even while I’m under the weather I’m thinking about the Rams. Or maybe it’s due to the fact that I get sick to my stomach thinking about the three games the Rams should have won: Week 1 at Detroit (23-27), Week 6 at Miami (14-17), and Week 10 at San Francisco (24-24 tie). The Rams should be 9-5 right now fighting for a wild card.

Then you have the Rams that tied and beat the almighty (?) 10-3 49ers. Yes, St. Louis seems to have San Francisco’s number. Not to mention the Rams (with one last game remaining in Seattle) are one of five teams (Green Bay, New England, Houston, and Denver) that are undefeated in their division. The irony though is that those four teams are their respective division leaders and in the playoffs. Dagger!

Reality hits though as the Rams are set to face a slumping (four straight losses coming into this week) but still dangerous team in the Buccaneers. Quarterback Josh Freeman has had his ups and downs this season which doesn’t bode well for his big time, big size receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. I should know, V. Jackson is on my fantasy team. The other big Bucs threat, the player formerly known as The Muscle Hamster, running back Doug Martin. He’s on both my fantasy teams and he’s also had a seat on the roller coaster that’s the Tampa Bay offense.

Rams running back Steven Jackson needs 91 yards to reach the 1,000 yards rushing for the eighth consecutive season. The longest active streak in the NFL. I say he gets it done today despite the Bucs ranking number one against the run (83.3 yards per game) coming into Sunday. Jackson has seen tough rush defenses this season and has risen to the occasion, especially against the 49ers (101 and 48 yards).

The Bottom line (Nothing really new here, folks.)

The Rams need to tune out all the noise and concentrate on their game. The rest will fall into place.

Run the ball via Steven Jackson.

Protect quarterback Sam Bradford giving him time to find one of his young receivers. This might prove to be harder than expected with their staple offensive lineman Harvey Dahl being placed on IR after a biceps tear. Chris Williams is slated to take Dahl’s place and will be challenged by the Bucs defense.

Don’t commit idiotic self-inflicted penalties. Seriously, this has to stop.

Win the field position battle. i.e. the Rams rookie punter Johnny Hekker needs to be more consistent. Kicker Greg Zuerlein will be the difference in the game.

Rams squeak out a close one winning by a field goal, 23-20 and get back to .500 with one last game to go.

7-7-1.

St. Louis Rams defense huddle. (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

The home season finale at the Edward Jones Dome didn’t go quite as planned. The score at half time ballooned to 30-7 and the Rams got lost searching for their missing offense. They’ve had a habit of starting games slowly and this time the deficit was too big to overcome.

All Day Made The Rams Pay

I fully expected the Rams to win Sunday. I knew Vikings powerhouse running back Adrian Peterson would run on the Rams. With that being said, I didn’t think I’d witness a 212-yard spanking. He did almost half of the damage on two runs in the second half: 82 yards that resulted in a TD and 52 yards that ended with a 51-yard field goal by kicker Blair Walsh. In all fairness to the Rams defense they did hold Peterson in check for a good portion of the game. It’s just that when he did break a couple of runs he really gored them.

The Usual Penalties 

The Rams offense drudged through the first quarter on their way to eight penalties. So last week’s two flags were the anomaly. Four false starts by the offensive line (seriously who gets called for false starts at home?!),  holding calls on left tackle Rodger Saffold, and my personal favorite the unsportsmanlike conduct taunting flag on wide receiver Brandon Gibson.

Just when the Rams have you believing they are headed in the right direction they take a detour the next game. This latest loss may have directed them out of the playoffs.

» Continue reading “36-22 Loss To Vikings Detours Rams Playoff Chances”

Rams RB Steven Jackson: Probably the only player that got a passing grade in Sunday’s game. (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

NFL analysts and Vegas had the Rams 3.5 point favorites coming off the almost win against the very stout San Francisco 49ers team. I should have known something was up when NFL LIVE’s Mark Schlereth and Tedy Bruschi sang the Rams’ praises. Even the NFL Network Gameday Morning crew picked the Rams to beat the lowly struggling New York Jets. Red flag alert!

For what it’s worth I had the game score at 14-30. The final score of the game was 28-13. I just had the teams wrong.

And then from my game preview.

If the Rams don’t beat themselves they’ll beat the Jets. The Rams have to eliminate the stupid penalties and they can’t allow this become the trap game that people are speculating it could be. They have to win against the teams they are expected to beat.

Key words here include:

1) Stupid penalties – How about that phantom-ish holding call safety Rodney McLeod that wiped out the 98-yard kick return TD by wide receiver Chris Givens?

Here’s what Coach Fisher said when asked what his thoughts were on the penalty.

To me, no? Did it like like that to you? No. We’re not good enough to overcome those kinds of things and the fact that it wasn’t a hold, but it’s just kind of the way it happens. You don’t know what happens with the momentum change in that game if that works.

Or the illegal motion penalty on wide receiver Danny Amendola that negated a key 17-yard reception by tight end Lance Kendricks? All in all the Rams committed less fouls this game – ONLY five penalties for 30 yards. It’s a vast improvement from last week’s 13 but those two specific flags came at very inopportune times.

» Continue reading “Rams Lose 28-13 To Jets In Flat Fashion”

Week 8 is finally here and honestly I’m not sure how I feel about it. Kind of a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, like many other local St. Louis fans, I’m upset that we’ve lost a home game and the advantages that come along with playing in the Edward Jones Dome. It also would have been nice to watch certain New England Patriots play in person. Of course I’m talking about Danny Woodhead. Who else?

On the other hand, what a great opportunity for the Rams fans in the UK and abroad. I have many tweeps in the UK that are just thrilled to be able to see their cherished team in the flesh. Some have been counting down the days and hours since the announcements were made January 2012.

Here is a long time Rams UK tweep @PFF_RossMiles. See the joy on his face. Almost makes it worth losing that home game. Almost…

St. Louis Rams great Torry Holt and Ross Miles (Ross’ personal photo.)

Ultimately, this weekend is about the match up between your beloved Rams and the New England Patriots. If my research is correct, quarterback Tom Brady is the only remaining Patriot from that Super Bowl XXXVI squad. But I digress.

Five Things I’ll be watching for in Week 8

1) Can Rams quarterback Sam Bradford live up to the pre-grame hype?

With everyone and their third cousin’s uncle poo-pooing the Patriots secondary the pressure is on Bradford to put up some big time numbers on Sunday.

New England is giving up an average of 23.3 points per game (19th in the league) and their passing defense is giving up on average 290 yards per game (29th) to opposing teams.

» Continue reading “New England Patriots At St. Louis Rams Week 8 Preview”

Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Was this a winnable game against a formidable elite NFL team? Yes. But as with just about any the Rams losses they were still in it in the fourth quarter. This a welcomed change from years past but it doesn’t make the defeat any easier to swallow. Especially when we don’t see improvement from week to week in certain areas.

Same song, different verse.

Rams dropped critical passes: Yes, I’m looking at you Brit Miller and Brandon Gibson to extend drives.

Rams failed to wrap it up: Bad tackling. I distinctly remember a missed tackle by Jo-Lonn Dunbar that lead to a crucial third down conversion for the Packers in the fourth quarter that lead to the last Packer touchdown.

Rams didn’t finish drives with touchdowns: i.e. continued red zone woes. I’m not counting the last minute garbage time touchdown from Sam Bradford to Austin Pettis. The game was more than over by then.

I counted three defensive false starts/neutral zone infractions, two on defensive end Chris Long and the other on Kendall Langford. Not to mention the offensive false starts, delay of game, and a very questionable unnecessary roughness call on cornerback Cortland Finnegan.

The Rams defense was able to pester Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with three sacks by Michael Brockers, William Hayes, and Robert Quinn but failed to create those all important turnovers.

I liked that new offensive linemen Joe Barksdale and Shelley Smith came in and did a pretty good job today. They weren’t perfect – they let Clay Matthews III through for a sack on Bradford – but overall Matthews III had a relatively quiet night.

As expected Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein shook off last week and came back to easily make a 50-yard and 43-yard field goals. I never lost faith.

The Packers weren’t playing with a full deck (no WR Greg Jennings, DT B.J. Raji, CB Sam Shields, and LB Nick Perry) yet seemed to find a way to make plays when it mattered the most.

» Continue reading “Rams No Longer Perfect At Home, Lose To Packers 30-20″

Rams K Greg Zuerlein (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

I went into this game with high hopes. Maybe it was the lingering euphoria from the Thursday night‘s win from ten days ago or maybe it was the adrenaline from running a personal best in my 10K race. Either way I knew the Rams were going to get their first road win. I wrote about it, so therefore it will happen.

In what should have been their first win on the road…

The usually outstanding special teams decided to have an off day.

Rams rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein continued his perfect streak by hitting a 48-yard and 32-yard field goal. He was 15 for 15 until… he started hooking his kicks wide left. He went ahead to miss from 52, 37, and at the very end of the game a 66-yard attempt that would have tied up the game.

Fans say the winds at Sun Life Stadium swirled that 37-yard kick off course. Right or wrong those were three points the Rams would like to have back. I won’t give Zuerlein grief for missing at 52-yard attempt and that 66 yarder.

It wasn’t all on Zuerlein though. Someone please tell me why the full back Brit Miller is handling the ball on a kick off? Special teams captain or not he didn’t have any business trying to run with the ball. He subsequently fumbles the return and the Dolphins convert that to three points.

» Continue reading “Rams Beat Themselves In 14-17 Loss To Dolphins”