Here’s something we can look forward to whether the Rams arise from the game victorious or not – a couple of Rams are on the verge of milestones this Sunday.  First, running back Steven Jackson is 124 all- purpose yards away from tying Henry Ellard for third most in team history. Second, defensive end Chris Long is just one sack shy of his career first 10-sack season.

Okay, now let’s get back to business…

All SJ39 needs is 124 yards to tie.

Let’s be realistic folks.  This Sunday’s match up is the best chance for the Rams to pull out a win.  The rest of the schedule is more than daunting: @SF, @SEA (MNF), vs. CIN, @PIT, and vs. SF.

Rams were a blocked field goal away from winning in Arizona and with home dome advantage they should be able to place another notch on the “W” column.

Yes, they’ve been ravaged by injuries many of them leading players to IR pastures.  This week alone they’ve lost CB Marquis Johnson, OT Rodger Saffold, OT Jason Smith, and WR Mark Clayton.  With such departures they’ve had to bring unfamiliar names who will have to step into the NFL spotlight sooner than the team probably wished for.  OT Kevin Hughes, WR/KR Nick Miller, OT Thomas Welch (Buffalo practice squad) and OL Bryan Mattison from the Ravens practice squad.

What the Rams need to do on offense:

Rams need to protect their QB, Sam Bradford.  Poor Sam has been sacked a league leading 31 times for 205 yards in losses. His quarterback rating is the lowest in the division at 70.9 just a hair above Redskins QB Rex Grossman (70.1) – i.e. that’s very bad.

A lot of his free fall from his rookie season has to do with the shuffling of his offensive line due to injuries as mentioned above. Offensive coordinator/guru (*cough) Josh McDaniels must find a better scheme and plan of attack this week.

The Cardinals defense has enough muscle and speed to add to the 31 sacks Sam took.  Keep your eyes peeled for DE Calais Campbell and S Adrian Wilson.  They burned the Rams more than once and will look to repeat their good fortunes at the Dome.

Hopefully we won’t be seeing any more spread offense formations with Steven Jackson spread out wide and an empty back field.  Someway somehow Bradford’s left side needs to get more padding (blocking the back field) and Sam needs to find a way to roll out of the pocket to make some throws.  Oh I don’t know maybe McDaniels could utilize Steven Jackson’s beast mode and call some play action to take the pressure off of Sam.  But what do I know.

What the Rams need to do on defense:

Basically, to sum it up in one sentence: The Rams defense must dial down WR Larry Fitzgerald and make him a non-factor.  There’s no one on the Rams secondary that can take him in man-to-man coverage so defensive coordinator Ken Flajole will have to mix up double coverages and get creative. The big guys up on the line will have to step it up this week and keep QB John Skelton off kilter.

It’ll be nice to see DE Chris Long ring up that tenth sack during this game.  Make your Papa Howie proud, Chris. The Cardinals rushing game will manifest in the form of Beanie Wells and Chester Taylor.

What the Rams need to do on special teams:

No more line drives by P Donnie Jones and definitely DO NOT kick it to CB/PR Patrick Peterson.  Got that?  Do not kick it to Peterson.  We all saw back in week 9 what he’s capable of.

Who will win the game:

I’m going to be the Rams homer again this week and pick them to beat the Cardinals 20-17.  They have to come away with a victory this week.  Like I said before this is their best chance to add to the “W” column.

Added back to the IR on 11/24/11

Just when you thought there wasn’t enough room on the Rams IR they go ahead and add yet another player:  This time it’s WR Mark Clayton.  Clayton was active for two games and started in just one game for the Rams.

We wish you the best as you try to get healthy for next year, Mr. Clayton.

In his own words

To fill Mark Clayton’s spot on the roster, Rams sign WR/KR Nick Miller to help out with the return game.

Here’s a quick look at all the Rams on IR for all those who’ve been asking about it.

Updated as of 11/22/11 from STLouisRams.com

And if you’re a glutton for punishment and not turkey on this Thanksgiving Day here’s a chronological look at all the season ending injuries the Rams have dealt with so far.  Not even my favorite garlic mashed potatoes washed down with some Chimay will help ease the pain of reading this list.  Take a seat folks, it’s long.

Date      Position/Player (Dates courtesy of StLouisRams.com)

8/30      DB   Mikail Baker – waived from IR: 10/13/11.

8/30      DT   Jermelle Cudjo

8/30      DB   Dionte Dinkins – waived from IR:  09/26/11.

8/31      DB   Jerome Murphy

8/31      DB   Marquis Johnson – Res/PUP, activated 10/29, IR again 11/22.

9/3        WR   Mark Clayton – Res/PUP, activated 11/9, IR again 11/24.

9/14      CB    Ron Bartell

9/21      CB    Tim Atchison – waived from IR: 9/26/11.

10/10   WR   Danny Amendola

10/10    CB    Bradley Fletcher

10/29    CB    Brian Jackson

11/8       WR   Greg Salas

11/14     TE   Mike Hoomanawanui

11/14     CB   Al Harris

11/19     LT   Rodger Saffold

And yet Roger Goodell and the NFL think it’s a great idea to have 18 games???  Just one look at the Rams IR should tell everyone that’s a BAD move.

We finally get a rematch of week 17 of the 2010 season when the NFC West division title was on the line. The Rams went into then Qwest Field (now, CenturyLink Stadium) to try and finish the season with – gasp! – a winning record. But instead the Rams had one of the worst statistically games of the season and lost 16-6. They finished the 2010 season 7-9 but with very high hopes for 2011. After all, they had won more games in 2010 than the three previous years put together.

But 10 weeks into the 2011 season, the Rams are staring at 2-7 record and welcoming an equally disappointed and banged up 3-6 Seahawks team.

Speaking of banged up, Rams sent out word that OT Rodger Saffold indeed has a torn pectoral muscle and will need season ending surgery. As I’ve been saying all season – you just can’t make this stuff up! Call it a curse or just sheer bad luck. Whatever it is, there’s definitely not a shortage of it around the Rams this season. The guys over at Turf Show Times has a really depressing recap of all the Rams’ injuries for 2011. You might wanna grab a hanky if you’re going to read that post. Truly sad.

What the Rams offense needs to do: Run, Steven, run!

RB Steven Jackson needs to extend his beast mode streak to four games (straight > 100 yards rushing).

We can’t expect a whole lot of time in the pocket for QB Sam Bradford especially with the late substitution of LT Mark Levoir for the injured Rodger Saffold.

Bradford will have to chuck it up at least a few times to keep the Seahawks defense honest and give Steven Jackson a break here and there. Hopefully, the Seahawks’ defense will see WR Brandon Lloyd as a legitimate deep pass threat.

Seahawks are sporting a couple of rookies in their secondary, LCB Richard Sherman and FS Earl Thomas. But don’t let the rookie label fool you. Thomas leads the team in tackles and is someone to keep an eye on.

If the deep passes aren’t there look for Bradford to dink and dunk again – now this time to WR Austin Pettis. I think we can also look forward to WR Mark Clayton to gain some snaps in the offense attack as well.

What the Rams defense needs to do: Stop Marshawn Lynch

Stop the Seahawks’ equivalent to Steven Jackson, RB Marshawn Lynch, will be the team’s main offensive threat. He’s been carrying the heavy load for Seattle the past two games carrying 55 times for 244 yards and 2 TD’s against the Cowboys and Ravens. If the Rams cannot contain Lynch it’s going to be a long afternoon.

This is where the Rams will win the game. Seahawks’ O-line is just as banged up as the Rams’ due to the loss of G John Moffitt and rookie starting RT James Carpenter. Look for Rams DE Chris Long to take advantage of their unfortunate situation. If the Seahawks decide to help out on the right side this would expose the other side for either DE’s James Hall or Robert Quinn to make their move.

Seahawks are vulnerable with QB Tavaris Jackson playing with a strained pectoral and two of his receivers, Sidney Rice and Doug Baldwin, coming back from concussions. Watch for their other big receiver Mike Williams to be their outside go-to-guy.

Special Teams

One week the special teams lets you down. The next week they block the potential game winning field goal. Which way the luck pendulum swing against the Seahawks? We can only hope it goes the Rams way just like it did in Cleveland. James Hall, get that forearm up there!

But seriously, they need to do a better job of giving the offense good field position. I’m calling you out again this week, Austin Pettis. Step it up, rookie.

Who will win?

I think the Rams will squeak out another close one 24-21 and go to 3-7.

For the second week in a row the Rams game was decided by special teams.  With a swift boot by kicker Josh Brown gave the Rams - in quite the ugly fashion – their second win of the season.  Yeah, so much for that convincing win I predicted…  It sounds depressing and futile but I’ll take an ugly 13-12 win over a pretty loss any day.  Never apologize for a win in the NFL.

Game winning kick by Josh Brown

Quick observations and notes:

• The most glaring thing for me was the fact that something is just off about QB Sam Bradford.  He is still staring down receivers and not getting the ball there on time.  Lots of under thrown and missed passes down field plagued Bradford most of the game.  He did manage to connect with WR Brandon Lloyd for a few key passes but overall Bradford was shaky.
• The good news – at least in the first half – was Bradford actually had some time to throw down field.  He was getting some pocket protection.  The bad news – he was still missing his receivers.  The best WR today was Brandon Lloyd 4 rec for 48 yards resulting in 1 TD.  Lloyd was targeted 9 times and pretty much had Browns’ DB Joe Haden all over him.
• I do have to give him props for coming back in and playing despite taking some huge hits during the game. Bradford took off trying to gain a first down only to have a 300+ lbs. defender fall on his leg.  Sam was off the sideline for only one snap and then went back in.  Balls of steel… He is a tough kid.
• So much for getting newly activated WR Mark Clayton involved in the passing game today.  He was only thrown to ONCE for zero receptions.  Let’s hope this was just a tune up game.  Baby steps…
• RB Steven Jackson did his share of the workload by carrying 27 times for 128 yards.  But NO TD’s though.  He ignited the team with his yards after the catch efforts but the Rams are still suffering from red zone issues on the ground.
• The Browns came out tougher than I had expected.  Their defensive line wasn’t as porous as they had been in previous games.  Their starting RB Chris Ogbannaya ran the ball well against a poorly tacking Rams D – 19 carries for 90 yards, zero TD’s.
• I was disappointed with the lack of trick plays involving Browns’ WR/KR Josh Cribbs.  After all that talk he did have a few direct snaps but for the most part he was held in check with only 21 yards rushing and 32 yards receiving.  Browns’ head coach Pat Shurmur should have done more with his biggest healthy offensive weapon.
• Rams DE Chris Long did come up with that sack I called for.  Thanks for coming through with that, Chris.  LB’s James Laurinaitis (1 sack), David Nixon (stripped ball), and Ben Leber (fumble recovery) helped out in their own way.  Didn’t really see or hear a whole lot from the other side, DE Robert Quinn.  I’ll have to go back and take a closer look.
• OMG, what in the world did the Rams do to enrage the football gods?!  We lost RB Cadillac Williams to a calf injury, TE Mike Hoomanawanui & CB Al Harris to significiant knee injuries (both are likely lost for the rest of the season), S Darian Stewart to a neck injury, and LT Rodger Saffold to a head (concussion) injury.  CB Marquis Johnson was also shaken up during the game but came back to play.  The Rams are seriously cursed in this department.  Insane!!!

Other game notes:

- RB Steven Jackson rushed 27 times for 128 yards, his 30^th 100 yard game of his career.

- Jackson’s performance marks the fourth time in his career that he has put together three consecutive 100-yard rushing games. The last time he accomplished the feat was at Detroit (10/10/10), vs. San Diego (10/17/10), and at Tampa Bay (10/24/10).

- Jackson added three receptions for 23 yards to bring his scrimmage yards total on the day to 151.

- QB Sam Bradford threw for 155 yards, completing 15-of-26 passes, and one touchdown. He was sacked one time.

- WR Brandon Lloyd connected with Bradford in the end zone on a 7-yard pass. The touchdown is Lloyd’s second as a Ram.

- Lloyd also led the team in receptions and receiving yards, collecting four passes for 48 yards.

- The special teams unit notched a turnover when P Donnie Jones punted to Browns WR Joshua Cribbs in the fourth quarter, LB David Nixon stripped the ball from Cribbs and LB Ben Leber recovered at the Cleveland 27-yard line. The turnover resulted in a 34-yard field by K Josh Brown to gain the lead, 13-12.

- The play marks Nixon’s first forced fumble of his career and Leber’s first fumble recovery of the season, fifth career.

- DE Chris Long sacked QB Colt McCoy for a 1-yard loss in the fourth quarter. Long has eight (8) sacks on the season, 25.5 career.

- The sack marks Long’s fifth, fourth quarter sack this season. Going into the game, he was tied for first in the league for fourth quarter sacks with Mark Anderson, Jason Babin and James Harrison.

- LB James Laurinaitis sacked Colt McCoy for an 8-yard loss in the fourth quarter, his second this season and 7^thcareer.

- According to press box statistics, Laurinatis also led the team in the tackles, recording 10.

- K Josh Brown converted a 29-yard and a 34-yard field goal, as well as one extra point to give him seven points on the day.

- P Donnie Jones punted five times for 236 yards, 47.2-yard average and 42.0-yard net with a long of 64 yards.

- WR Austin Pettis returned three punts for 25 yards, including a 16 yard long.— RB Quinn Porter returned three kickoffs for 52 yards, a 17.3-yard average and a 24-yard long.

James Laurinaitis (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

The football sign for a safety.  The Rams came up with two of these last Sunday in a game that they should have won.  Yet somehow they let it slip away.  The game against Dallas was one of the closer games they’ve played this season and still they find a way to lose.

Rams bench Jason Brown.

Last night news broke that the St. Louis Rams would bench starting center Jason Brown. That ends his streak of 84 consecutive games started, including every game with Rams since being signed as a free agent in 2009. Brown, like others on the team, had been struggling with “mental lapses” as pointed out by starting quarterback Sam Bradford.

Looks like Spags is trying to shake things up in Rams Park a bit and I’m all for it.  At this point what do they have to lose – other than another game.  Let’s see if Tim Wragge can do better.  At least we hope he doesn’t tip the snap to the Browns.

Here’s the real dude who broke this story – Brendan Wiese – apparently the Post-Dispatch “forgot” to mention him.  Congrats to Mr. Wiese on a job well done.

Help is coming at WR.

Jim Thomas is reporting WR Mark Clayton has been activated off the PUP and will be adding his talents to the Rams WR once again.  This comes just in time as rookie WR Greg Salas is out for the season with a broken leg.  In true Rams fashion Clayton’s return doesn’t add depth but acts as gap stop.  Frustrating…

It will be interesting to see the Brandon Lloyd and Mark Clayton combo out of the field in Cleveland.

Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy in the same boat?

Yes, McCoy is running the West Coast offense that Bradford learned as a rookie, and Bradford is running the New England offense that McCoy learned as a rookie.

Rams former offensive coordinato/new Cleveland Browns head coach, Pat Shurmur’s team is doing marginally better than the Rams.  You can’t help but notice the similar situation both teams’ young QB’s are in.

It’s Friday and I’m finally getting to check out my fantasy teams for week 7.  Sounds like I have a lot of scrambling to do and probably a couple of days late.  Waiver wires have been picked over already so I’ll just have to deal with what’s left.

I already knew about my RB LeGarrette Blount being out, and a few players being on bye this week but now I hear that I’ll have to replace my favorite kicker, OAK Sebastian Janikowski, for the next few weeks.  So I’ll be searching for a kicker and a new TE because my starting TE NYG Jake Ballard is on a bye.

For my RB replacement I’ve plugged in, Earnest Graham, Blount’s back up.  That’s why you handcuff, folks.  For a replacement kicker I dug up Falcons K, Matt Bryant, who will be going up against the Bears this Sunday in London.

This may seem like a homer pick but of the remaining TE’s Lance Kendricks is the only one that jumps out at me.  Just a hunch.  Or you can call it woman’s intuition.  Let’s see how it goes this week.

My newest fantasy football TE (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Looks like Sam Bradford sat out again on Friday.

So, the whole who’s the 3rd/emergency QB for the Rams.  It totally came to me last night that the Rams have Tom Brandstater on the practice squad!  Can’t believe I could forget a household name like that.

Bradford was sporting his walking boot as he was held out of practice for a third consecutive day.  It’s not looking like he’ll be getting the start in Dallas.  Spags says he’s listed as day-to-day which means he’s out but we’re not making it official so the Cowboys can’t plan accordingly.  For any of you who have Sam Bradford on your fantasy team (at this point in the season you really shouldn’t have him…) just take him off now.

Round table on the potential one-two punch of Lloyd-Clayton for the Rams

Just when we thought things were looking up for the Rams offense with the addition of WR Brandon Lloyd and the return of Mark Clayton (although they are not going to activate him this week) QB Sam Bradford goes down with a high ankle sprain.

Why do the Rams have such rotten timing?  I can’t wait to have all the starters healthy at the same time.  I think we deserve to find out what a potent team the Rams can be at full strength.

Dallas RB Felix Jones out for Sunday.

Looks like Cowboys RB Felix Jones has been ruled out for Sunday’s game with wait for it… a high ankle sprain.  Sound familiar?  Dallas will be using the RB by committee with DeMarco Murray and Tashard Choice against the Rams.

Rams Huddle 09/01/11 (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Good morning!

I usually don’t say TGIF but it seems appropriate today.  What a weird and long week it’s been and am glad that the weekend is finally here.  That and the fact my son returns from camp this afternoon.  Maybe that’s the real reason why Friday seemed so far away in my mind.  Guess I’m not ready to let go just yet.  I’m sure he was just fine and had a blast.  It’s always harder for those who are left behind so to speak.

What is everyone planning to do this weekend other than watch the Rams take on the Ravens?

Do you know what enhances pre-game experience as well as after the last snap?  Following your favorite Rams players on Twitter.  You’d be surprised at all that goes on in the minds of the players leading up to the battle and afterwards.

It’s been a very long time since done a Rams Follow Friday so here’s an extensive list of all the current Rams players I could drum up for you guys.

Of course in no particular order:

@CraigDahl43                             @brit_miller_td                     @Austin_Pettis                    @RobertLeeQuinn

@JakeMcQuaide                         @jrLaurinaitis                        @JNellyyy                             @D_Alexander84

@JoshHull56                               @Male_Hines7                       @GregSalas1                         @CL9ONE

@sj39                                            @MarkClayton89                   @Bgibson04                         @DomCurry_15

@Hooman86                                @QMikell27                            @MikeSimsWalker             @Rodger_Saffold

Here are a few others you should definitely be following from the Rams organization:

@STLouisRams                            @kdemoff                                @stlrampage

Please let me know if I’ve missed someone in the comment box below and I’ll add him to the list.

@MarkClayton89

In an interesting turn of events, WR Mark Clayton just announced on Twitter he has re-signed with the Rams.

Wow!  I didn’t see that one coming this soon.  I imagined this may have happened during the season but not right before the big cut week just.

Howard Balzer said he’s talked to Mark Clayton.  According to Clayton he’s not quite ready to play.  He will not be joining the team in Jacksonville and will be at Rams Park when the team returns from the last preseason game.

So what does this mean?  Does he start out the year in PUP and miss the first 6 weeks?  More importantly, who is going to get cut to make room for Clayton?

Here we go again.  Who’s safe in the WR corp and how many receivers do they keep?

Slam dunks:

1) Danny Amendola: A no brainer.  Best slot guy and a special teams contributor.

2) Mike Sims-Walker: Big WR free agent signing from Jacksonville and has shown he can make plays in preseason games.

3) Brandon Gibson: Another returning Rams WR and has gotten more comfortable with Sam Bradford.

Now this is where things get murky.

4) Mardy Gilyard: Got lots of time in the return game.

5) Donnie Avery:  He has his speed and is also in the last year of his contract.

6) Danario Alexander: Size, speed but is that enough?

What about the rookies?

7) Austin Pettis: Hasn’t shown a whole lot during the preseason games but had flashes of potential during practices.  Good hands.  Hard to let go a third round pick.

.8) Greg Salas: He’s gotten more time on the field and with the first team during game and practice.  He makes mistakes but has shown he’s got a short memory and bounces back.

Did I miss anyone?  Eight is enough, right?

9) Dominique Curry: Oops, I did miss one.  One of my Twitter followers just pointed out Dom Curry is still lurking.

Turf Show Times points out only 4 WR’s are eligible for the practice squad:

Something to think about in the Rams wide receiver race: only Austin Pettis, Greg Salas, Greg Matthews and Dominique Curry are eligible for the practice squad.

I hate to be Spags and Billy Devaney right now.

Good news: They have plenty of receivers to choose from.  Bad news: They have too many to choose from.

What amounts to possibly the worst timing ever, I was unable to really join in the festivities that was Twitter last night at 5:00pm CT – right when free agency officially kicks off.  So this morning, I’m playing catch up on all that happened in the last 48 hours.  Come join me!

1) Rams sign their first big free agent acquisition former Eagles Pro Bowl safety, Quintin Mikell.

2) Rams also pick up former Packer/Dolphin CB, Al Harris.

3) Official press release from the Rams about all the recent signings.  No numbers though.

RAMS SIGN SEVEN DRAFT PICKS, FOUR RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS, TWO EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Rams have signed seven of the team’s eight draft picks as well as four of their restricted free agents and two of their exclusive rights free agents.

TE Lance Kendricks (2^nd round), WR Austin Pettis (3^rd round), WR Greg Salas (4^th round), S Jermale Hines (5^th round), and CB Mikail Baker, LB Jabara Williams and S Jonathan Nelson (7^th round) have all signed their rookie contracts. First-round pick DE Robert Quinn is the only member of the team’s 2011 draft class who is not under contract.

In addition to the rookies, four of the team’s restricted free agents have signed their tenders. That group includes LB David Vobora, G Jon Greco, T Renardo Foster and LB Chris Chamberlain. Exclusive rights free agents WR Danny Amendola and DE C.J. Ah You signed their tenders as well.

Each of the players who signed Friday will be on the field Saturday when the Rams hold their first practice of 2011 training camp. Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo’s team takes the field for the first time at 1:50 p.m. The practice is open to the public.

Travon Bellamy CB Illinois

Bryant Browning OG Ohio State

John Dempsey S Villanova

Dionte Dinkins CB Fort Valley State

Tyler Donahue OT Bowling Green

Pete Fleps LB SMU

Randall Hunt OT Illinois

Karri Kuuttila OL Lock Haven

Jake McQuaide LS Ohio State

Schuylar Oordt TE Northern Iowa

Taylor Potts QB Texas Tech

Chris Smith CB Northern Illinois

Arthur Thomas DT Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Beau Warren C Virginia Tech

Teryl White DT N. Carolina Central

Eddie Wide RB Utah

5) The Rams pick up former Jacksonville Jaguars WR Mike Sims-Walker.  Nice write up from @Ramsherd on the matter.

Like Ramsherd said I couldn’t really see MSW as a great target in JAX with the emergence of Mike Thomas and more importantly TE Mercedes Lewis.  But with a QB like Sam Bradford, an OC like McDaniels, and no clear cut WR1 on the Rams, MSW’s ceiling just got raised.

The biggest question surrounding MSW is, can he stay healthy.

6) Remember the speculations on who Sam Bradford’s playbook tutor was?  Well a SI story broke yesterday that it wasn’t Ben McDaniels as many had thought – me included.

Did anyone see Charlie Weis coming?  I certainly didn’t.  That’s almost like getting coached by Bill Belichick.  Okay, not really…

7) Here’s recap of Friday’s happenings at Rams Park from Fox2.

8) And this great summary of the Rams transactions from Turf Show Times including signings of OG Harvey Dahl and OLB Zach Diles.  Also, the release of OG Jacob Bell.

9) And this JUST IN: former Rams LB Larry Grant is going to the 49ers.

LB Larry Grant

Larry Grant's Farewell Tweet

10) NO word on WR Mark Clayton yet.  Still waiting for news.

11) Rams first open practice is set to start today at 1:50pm at the Russell Athletic Training Center.  Hope to see some of you there!

The Russell Training Center is located at One Rams Way, Earth City, MO 63045. Here’s how to get there:

From Interstate 44:

Take I-44 to HWY I-270 North. Merge onto I-70 West. Exit Earth City Expressway North exit- 231B. Make a right on to Rider Trail. The facility is on your left. Park in the designated parking area.

From Interstate 55:

Take I-55 to I-44 West. Take I-44 to HWY I-270 North. Merge onto I-70 West. Exit Earth City Expressway North exit- 231B. Make a right on to Rider Trail. The facility is on your left. Park in the designated parking area.

From Interstate 270

Merge onto I-70 West. Exit Earth City Expressway North exit- 231B. Make a right on to Rider Trail. The facility is on your left. Park in the designated parking area.

From Illinois

Take I-70 West, Exit Earth City Expressway North exit- 231B. Make a right on to Rider Trail. The facility is on your left. Park in the designated parking area.

From I-64 (HWY 40):

Take I-64 to HWY I-270 North. Merge onto I-70 West. Exit Earth City Expressway North exit- 231B. Make a right on to Rider Trail. The facility is on your left. Park in the designated parking area.

From Lambert St. Louis International Airport

Take I-70 West, Exit Earth City Expressway North exit- 231B. Make a right on to Rider Trail. The facility is on your left. Park in the designated parking area.

We continue Sam Bradford’s first post-lockout presser talking about his receivers and the cancellation of the Hall of Fame game.

Professor Bradford

As Spags mentioned in his NFL Network interview yesterday morning, he was quite impressed with the leadership that Sam Bradford had shown during the lockout.

Sam took it upon himself to get familiar with McDaniels’ scheme, organized where and when to meet, and ran the actual workouts. He even conducted classroom sessions to get the rest of the offense up to speed on the new playbook – which we’d have to think was extremely beneficial to the rookie receivers.

I dubbed him “Professor Bradford” at one point. At times it’s easy to forget that Sam himself is only entering his second year in the league.

When asked roughly how many practices he and parts of the team were able to get together he replied, “Ah, it’s tough. I think we got together in four different places for three and four days at a time so, 12 to 16 workouts, so a fair amount.” That’s probably more than most teams were able to muster up throughout the summer.

What does he think about the new recruits and what were some of the things he noticed?

I think those guys from my interaction with them; they all seem very bright and I think they’re very quick learners. I don’t think that they will be behind at all. If anything, for the rookies, it’s probably good for them, the fact that they are not coming into a system that guys have been here for five or six years and know exactly what they will be asked to do.

Everyone is on the same page, so I expect those guys to come out and work extremely hard and try to learn as quickly as they can.

What an interesting take he’s putting on a difficult situation – basically everyone’s a rookie in this offense. I would not have thought “everybody starting on the same blank page” option was a good thing but if that’s how he wants to spin things…  They’ll all be broken into the new McDaniels’ offense truly as a team. We fans hope they are able to absorb the new terminology as easily and quickly as he seem to have.

Sam Bradford’s new BFF (?) and his return to St. Louis

Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler has a BFF in his TE Greg Olsen. (Wait, actually I’m hearing that Greg Olsen is being traded to the Carolina Panthers…)

Who did Sam spend the most time with this off-season? Is there a Rams BFF for our QB? It’s not a name you might think.

If there’s anyone or two, it’s probably (TE) Billy Bajema. You know just because he lives in Oklahoma City and he was great about coming down to Norman and we probably threw two or three days a week for the past three or four months now. So, he’s definitely the person I spent the most time with this offseason.

If anything you’d have to think this helps Bajema in his quest to make the team. With the addition of rookie Lance Kendricks during the draft as well as the other TE’s already on the roster this extra time he spent working with Sam will put him at a great advantage over the in-house competition.

I can’t wait to watch the open practices with this little tidbit in mind. Bajema should have a good flow with Sam.

You could tell in his voice that Sam was eager to return. So much so he arrived in St. Louis with hopes of an early end to the lockout. But alas, the CBA had yet to be hammered out. While he waited, as we all were, he did manage to get in some extra workouts with a couple of familiar names.

I came back to St. Louis last week with the hopes that we would get into the facility and that didn’t happen but (WR) Mark Clayton and (WR) Danny Amendola were here and we got some work in last week. He looks good, looks ready to go.

No HOF game for you!

When the lockout forced the hands of the powers that be in the NFL, they chose it was in the best interest of the Rams and Bears to cancel the Hall of Fame game scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 6.

It’s unfortunate. I think the fact, especially for us, would have been an extra preseason game, it would have been an extra opportunity for us as a offense to get out there and learn more of what this offense is going like in game situation.

But at the same time, with that game you would have to think that we would have lost a day of practice before the game. Probably, would have lost a day of practice after the game. So with that being said, I think there are three more days of practice that we’re going to get now because we are not playing in that game which is something that you have to look at and just take positives from.

You can find the good and bad in any single situation. Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full? Technically, the glass is completely full. Half is full of water and the other half is full of air!

Yes, it was very unfortunate the HOF game was cancelled. I for one would have made the pilgrimage to Canton, Ohio to cheer on my two favorite teams help honor their respective HOF inductees, Richard Dent of the Chicago Bears and Marshall Faulk and Les Richter from the Rams.

I hope the NFL will somehow make it up to the two franchises are they were basically robbed of that week in Canton. I think a memo should be sent on behalf of the two clubs and the fans, what do you think?

Here’s the link to part 1 of Sam Bradford’s presser.