The wait is finally over as we get set to watch the Rams take on their first and quite possibly the most dangerously explosive opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles are definitely scary on paper but have yet to prove themselves as a cohesive unit. They may gel as the season goes on but right now they are still finding how it all fits together.

They have a make shift O-line. This group has only played together during the preseason which is not enough time/reps to really get a feel for one another. Not only that, their starting center, Jason Kelce, and right guard, Danny Watkins are both rookies.

This should give the Rams a leg up on getting pressure on QB Michael Vick. Make the left handed Vick run to his right. Watch out if he starts rolling left.

Look for the Rams D-line lead by Chris Long and James Hall to make some big plays in the Eagles backfield. Meanwhile, Rams linebackers James Laurinaitis, Ben Leber, and Brady Poppinga will have to keep an eye on Eagles RB LeSean McCoy if he breaks through the line.

The Rams have to be weary of the scary Eagles secondary comprised of Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Asante Samuels. Eagles head coach, Andy Reid, said today Nnamdi would be covering the slot on Sunday – which is not his usual spot. I’m not sure what the spells for Danny Amendola who is the Rams resident slot receiver.

I can’t say that I have great expectations for the Rams passing game this week. It would be surprising if they launched more than maybe one or two deep passes to stretch the field. The odds are just not in their favor to throw long. But then again, that’s why they kept WR Danario Alexander, right?

With that in mind, the Rams should start out with the ground and pound lead by RB Steven Jackson. But if the running lanes are not there don’t be surprised if SJ gets a few passes thrown his way.

The most surprising thing to me? The Eagles’ new defensive coordinator, Juan Castillo, has never called a defensive game before. In fact, he was their offensive line coach! Yeah, I know. I know.

Another little tid bit about the Eagles. Both the punter, Chas Henry, and the place kicker, Alex Henery (yes, it’s spelled with the extra “e”) are also rooks.

Andy Reid is either a freakin’ genius or has a few screws loose. I can’t wait to see how these experiments work.

Did you know some of the Rams have a little bit of Eagle in them?

Former Eagles on the Rams team:

• Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo spent eight seasons as an assistant on Andy Reid’s staff with the Eagles, including stints as a defensive assistant, secondary coach and linebackers coach.

• Rams CB Al Harris spent five seasons (1998-2002) with the Eagles.

• Rams S Quintin Mikell signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and spent the first eight years of his career in Philadelphia.

• Rams WR Danny Amendola spent the 2009 offseason and training camp with the Eagles before the Rams signed him to their active roster.

• Rams QB A.J. Feeley was drafted by the Eagles in 2001 and enjoyed two stints with the club (2001-04, 2006-08).

• Rams WR Brandon Gibson was drafted by the Eagles in 2009 and spent half of his rookie season with Philadelphia before the Rams acquired him in a trade.

• Rams TE Stephen Spach spent his rookie season with the Eagles in 2005.

In fact, the Rams weekly game captains are none other than Danny Amendola, Quintin Mikell, and Brandon Gibson. Talk about an awkward greeting at mid-field to start out the game. Haha!

Of course, we cannot forget about the hometown boy, Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin. Maclin, as many of you know, is a St. Louis native. He played high school football at Kirkwood HS and played his college career at the University of Missouri. So don’t be confused when you see a crowd of fans at the game cheering for the Eagles WR. I hear he has lots of friends and family who are planning to attend.

Seems like the so-called experts are more or less split as to who will win the game. Apparently, Michael Vick is an insurmountable obstacle for the Rams. We shall see.

Vegas has the Rams as underdogs by a five-point spread. I say Vegas will be proven wrong in Week 1.

I will stick to my early prediction having the Rams being victorious over the Eagles, 27-20.

Good luck gentlemen!

I am READY for some football.

*If you’re wondering what it looks like from the other side, check out Philly Sports Muse’s Eagles-Rams game preview by the one and only Brandyn Campbell here.

Woke up Tuesday frantically trying to get everything done early morning.  I had to gear up for what was supposed to be a historic crazy day of free agency.  Dozens of players were supposed to be signed and the big names, Kevin Kolb and Nnamdi Asomugha, supposedly had their ducks all in a row just waiting for the “go” signal.

9:01 am CT comes and…. meh.  What happened to the Twitter frenzy?  What, no fail whale?  I have to say it was kind of a let down.  Quite anti-climatic for the most part as far as the signings were concerned.  The entire day has passed and both big names have yet to make any waves.

The bigger news came from teams letting players go to make salary cap room.

Bloody Tuesday…

Giants announce half their offensive line would not be brought back - Shaun O’Hara, Rich Seubert, and Shawn Andrews will have to seek employment elsewhere.  Any guesses as to whether Spags would bring in some of his old guys?

The Ravens weren’t lacking in their cutting skills either.  WR Derrick Mason, TE Todd Heap, RB Willis McGahee and DT Kelly Gregg were among today’s body count.  Although, I do hear rumblings that Mason and Heap might have their contracts restructured and brought back if possible.

Other notable cuts from Jerry’s World include WR Roy Williams, RB Marion Barber, and OL Mark Colombo.

Of course, these cuts and waives don’t become official until Thursday.

So, who are the Rams’ newest additions and salary cap casualties on day one post-lockout?

Making A Big Splash

O.J. Atogwe, who?  In a somewhat surprising move by Billy Devaney, the Rams have agreed on a four-year, $28M contract with former Eagles 8-year veteran safety, Quintin Mikell.

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo knows Mikell from his days as Philadephia’s DB/LB coach.

Mikell was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Eagles back in 2003 and has played his entire career with in Philadelphia.  He made his only Pro Bowl appearance in 2009.  Mikell finished last season only missing one game and accumulating 88 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 3 INT’s.

Gregg Rosenthal report sums up Quintin Mikell’s contract the best.

Auf Wiedersehen

As I posted earlier today, LB Larry Grant tweeted the following:

He had a sense that his time was up in St. Louis and knew he was about to move on.  Larry Grant was picked up late in the 2008 season.

Undrafted Free Agents

One area where things moved fast and furious was last night when teams were able to talk to and agree in principle with undrafted free agents.  The Rams weren’t out at the start of the gun but made pretty good progress at the night went on.

Here are the eleven UDFA’s they picked up:

1. Taylor Potts – QB Texas Tech
2. Dionte Dinkins – CB Fort Valley State
3. Arthur Thomas – DT Arkansas-Pine Bluff
4. Bryant Browning – OG Ohio State University
5. Schuylar Oordt – TE Northern Iowa
6. Randell Hunt – OG Illinois
7. Travon Bellamy – CB Illinois
8. Beau Warren – C Virginia Tech
9. Karri Kuutila – OT Lock Haven
10. Pete Fleps – LB Southern Methodist
11. Eddie Wide – RB Utah

I don’t know much about Eddie Wide but his signing doesn’t strike me as an answer to the “Who’s Steven Jackson’s backup” question.  Hopefully, the next few days will produce a better, more proven answer.  I hear Reggie Bush is available.

That was day one in a nutshell.  So much to cover and so little time.  Let’s see what’s in store for today!

Recently, Funny or Die posted a hilarious 3 minute spoof of the movie “Field of Dreams” with an NFL lockout twist.  An Iowa corn farmer (Taylor Lautner) builds a football field and the ghosts of lockout players appear.

“If you build it, they will come…”

Field of Dreams 2: NFL Lockout with Taylor Lautner

Just as Ray Kinsella built his baseball diamond, Taylor Lautner’s character followed the voice and built the make shift football field.  He didn’t know why he was doing it and what would happen once it was finished – he just built it.  He built it and the players came.

The owners and players sides have been in marathon negotiating sessions over the past couple of weeks.  It seems the fire was finally lit under their arses, doesn’t it?  Apparently fans’ ranting and raving for the last four months wasn’t enough to fuel their sense of urgency.  But as we can see, nothing speaks louder than the possibility of forfeiting hundreds of millions of dollars.  That’s what finally spoke to them – the sound of (losing) money.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith after a long day of meetings.

We’re not privy to the exact details of their talks but we get calculated leaks from an “a person with knowledge of the situation” despite a gag order.  There’s certainly a part of me that wishes we could know all the details but at this point, and I’m sure I speak for many, we just want the deal to get done.

Up until now I’ve expressed anger, despair, frustration, denial, ambivalence, and a slew of other emotions not fit to elaborate here.  Maybe it’s time I showed some faith and optimism.  It’s finally time for me to write about it in a positive light.  Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy?  Maybe once I do, this lockout will finally come to an end and we’ll have football again.

Okay, here I go.  Happy thoughts… Positive thoughts…

I am certain this deal will get done in time to save the entire preseason and all 16 games of the regular season.  Both sides will realize the error of their ways, make nice, and try and do what’s best for the other side.

I envision Roger and DeMaurice will not only have a cordial lunch together at their local NYC hangout but they’ll share a tender moment sipping bubble tea during a $30 mani-pedi special in Chinatown.  After that they’ll be shopping at Barney’s for matching boxer briefs and fedoras.  And to top off the BFF makeover day, they’ll head on over to a photo shoot as they will be co-winners of Time Magazine Man of the Year award for saving the 2011 NFL season.

Across town, I’m confident you’ll find the Big Three sitting at a table enjoying their own lunch – Drew, Tom, and Peyton.  Drew will be on the phone profusely apologizing to Carl and Franco.  While Tom is trying to show Peyton some moves he learned at Carnivale.  But wait, I see Peyton in a neck brace.  He shoos Tom away telling him he can’t draw any attention to himself.

“Gotta lay low, Tommy.  And I can’t talk about the lockout.  It’s bad for the Manning brand and for my new show, ‘Football Cops.’  By the way, Tommy.  You should really consider getting a hair cut.  The Geico caveman is so four seasons ago.  Here’s my hair stylist’s business card.  Just ask him for the PeyPey – short cut that shows off your forehead.”

I’m sure Uptown all the lawyers are breaking out the Cristal and congratulating themselves about how they were able to fool both sides into dragging out this lockout as long as they did.

“Great job, Jeff.”  ”No, you were great, Jeff.”  ”Cha-ching!” says Jeff.  ”What do you mean, cha-ching?  I only made $1!” says Jeff.  ”Oops.  Sorry, I forgot about that, Jeff.”

Most definitely, over in Synderville, Dan, Robert, and Jerry are tickled giddy over how they stuck it again to Mike and Ralph.  But unlike Jerryworld, they’ll actually have seats to sit in that have passed safety inspections.

Then Dan decides he wants to give Donovan and Albert another chance on top of signing Nnamdi and the triplets, Randy, Terrell, and Chad.

And the scribes…  I can’t forget about how tirelessly they covered every passing moment for us football fans:  When both parties came and went.  What they were wearing and even what food was being delivered for supper.  Some went beyond the call of duty.

I’m positive Albert Breer will not want to stake out another dirty city sidewalk or sit in a green fluorescent camping chair if he can help it.

There, do you think that was enough sunshine and good vibes to tip the scale to getting this CBA done?  I sure hope so because that’s about all I’ve got.  I’ve written it.  Now they have to get it done.

I leave you with this final thought.

“Retired” Brett: Is this heaven?
Me: No, it’s a signed CBA.

Here’s the last part of our Aerys chat:

Patty (Rams): All right. Going to open the floodgates now.

Patty (Rams): Q3) What free agent do you/your team lust after?

Kristine (Jets): I just wrote about this yesterday but if we could get Nnamdi Asomugha, that would be the sickest CB duo in the NFL.

Emily (Steelers): The Steelers don’t usually go after big free agents. I think we’ll be lucky if we re-sign Ike Taylor.

Patty (Rams): That would seriously be scary, Kristine. Teams would just have to run all the time or dink/dunk short passes.

Melissa (Lions): Well, let’s see. Considering the Lions decided to ignore all their needs in the draft, I’m hoping they pick up a CB. I’m looking at you, Nnamdi Asomugha.

Kristen (Patriots): I want Nnamdi, only because I know the damn Jets are going to get him because Rex Ryan is insane like that. And then I’ll have to hurt someone.

Brenda (Broncos): Thanks to Denver’s blatant disregard for a DT, the Broncos need at a defensive tackle. The Broncos released Justin Bannan before the CBA expired, and could bring him back.

Melissa (Lions): No, Kristine, you can’t have him!
Melissa (Lions): He’s mine!

Lauren (Packers): I definitely don’t want Asomugha. He’s not a good fit with the Pack.

Kristine (Jets): HAHA Kristen
Kristine (Jets): No! We get him!

Melissa (Lions): There’s about to be a girl fight!

Patty (Rams): I see the fighting is not just over Megatron.

Kristen (Patriots): You have REVIS! You don’t need Nnamdi. I have Bodden. You already win the CB battle.

Lauren (Packers): Ted Thompson is big on signing his current free agents. I expect that to happen first before looking elsewhere. Amanda?

Kristine (Jets): But Revis and Nnamdi…that would be AWESOME.

Melissa (Lions): I know, we’ve already established Megatron is mine.

Brenda (Broncos): Maybe Denver goes with Bannan: The Sequel, someone else via free agency, then pick up a running back. DeAngelo Williams, I’m talking to you.

Colleen (Bears): The ones I really wanted have gotten the franchise tag.

Kristen (Patriots): Conversely, I’d also like Steve Smith or Tamba Hali.

Amanda (Packers): I heard talk of Packers dropping Grant. IF they do I think they’ll sign him back. I don’t think they’d want to lose him.

Colleen (Bears): I guess right now I’d want to grab Willie Colon.
Colleen (Bears): Though I’d go for Sidney Rice, too.

Kristine (Jets): Will definitely be interesting to see where Nnamdi, Steve Smith (Carolina), & DeAngelo (Williams) go.

Brenda (Broncos): If I had to choose at DT on the market, I’d take Cullen Jenkins. Sorry, Lauren.

Lauren (Packers): They have another year on Grant, right? See Starks stepping up. I’m hoping Ted re-signs Peprah and Kuhn before worrying about RB. We are too pass-heavy.

Colleen (Bears): But I doubt we’re going to be looking at any WR this year, which I think is a mistake.

Patty (Rams): The Rams are almost set on offense. A back up RB would be nice though. I like DeAngelo Williams as well.

Patty (Rams): We need to build more on defense: LB, S, and the list goes on. But it wouldn’t hurt to have a shut down corner.

Patty (Rams): I agree with Colleen. There’s still no clear-cut #1 WR for the Bears.

Colleen (Bears): The Bears really aren’t set on anything.

Colleen (Bears): Except, QB – which I know a lot of people disagree with.

» Continue reading “Aerys Huddle 3.3 – Free Agency”