The second most anticipated NFL day in April has finally arrived. Today is the day where we start blocking off our fall and early winter schedules around the key games of our favorite teams. After all, isn’t that what we all do?

So without further delay here is the path to the 2013-2014 post-season for your St. Louis Rams.

2013-2014 Rams Schedule per NFL.com

1) Two. Count them two nationally televised prime time games within the division and both AT HOME at the Edward Jones Dome. Week 4 vs. the 49ers for Thursday Night Football and then in Week 8 vs. the Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

2) For the love of Peets Coffee please stop scheduling the Rams at Seahawks in Week 17. Yuck. It’s not the division tradition that most Rams fans are looking for.

3) There are three back-to-back away games. It’s not a huge deal but sometimes it comes down to those little things. Coach Fisher should serve up personalized fruit smoothies to make those stretches more bearable. (Yes, that’s a knock on Chip Kelly.)

4) The bye at Week 11 works nicely. The Rams (or any other team for that matter) could use a break by that point in the season.

5) The Rams get a very short turnaround between Week 4 at Dallas on 9/22 to their first prime time match on 9/26 when they host the 49ers for Thursday Night Football. That’s a tough week.

6) Week 2 at Atlanta will be an interesting game with Steven Jackson playing in a uniform other than the blue and gold.

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”

Bam. Bam.

In a matter of about four hours Monday afternoon the landscape of the NFC West changed for the 2013 season and beyond.

First, the disgruntled Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin was traded to Seattle (or as some of us call it Vikings Northwest: See Nate Burleson, Sidney Rice, Tavaris Jackson, and their current OC Darrelle Bevell.) for this year’s first round and seventh round picks as well as a mid- round pick in 2014.

Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports writes that Harvin’s vote of no confidence in Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder was one of the factors in requesting the trade. Sam Ponder is on line one for you, Mr. Harvin. I doubt she’d chew you out like Mrs. Brady, so you’re lucky.

Don’t get me wrong Harvin has great on-field upside. He’s only 24 and when not battling migraines and other injuries he’s a very explosive receiver and return guy. But off the field, it’s the team that suffers from headaches stemming from stories of his massive egomania. 

Good luck with that Pete Carroll.

But just as Twitter was just starting to break down and digest the Harvin news Jim Harbaugh ordered up a trade that would surely give Rams defenders a second case of heartburn.

The 49ers received wide receiver Anquan Boldin (Nicknamed simply as “Q”) from his brother John’s team, the Baltimore Ravens, in exchange for a sixth round pick.

Kevin Demoff, Les Snead, Jeff Fisher (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

But before you ask for the Pepto Bismol think about this. Other than the obvious issue of his advanced age (32 years old) and his $6 million price tag, why wouldn’t other teams make an offer? Actually, one other team did and it was the Minnesota Vikings. They were only willing to surrender a seventh round pick. I see a big red flag there.

Nonetheless, these two moves had many Rams fans in a tizzy. The Seahawks and 49ers had not only taken a run at but had secured two of the most highly talked about receiving weapons during recent weeks.

WWTRD? (What would the Rams do?)

» Continue reading “Rams Were Smart To Avoid The Free Agency Pre-Sale Frenzy”

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”

Offseason? What NFL offseason?

We had a two week down-ish window between the Super Bowl and the combine (or as NFL Network’s draft guru extraordinaire Mike Mayock calls it the “Underwear Olympics.”) But don’t be mistaken, something is always going on in the NFL and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

1) I think WR Titus Young Sr. must be quite the basket case.

Now you see him then now you don’t. The Rams were the only NFL team to put a claim on Young Sr. after the Detroit Lions said enough was enough. This wasn’t a complete head scratching move on the Rams part because the situation at wide receiver is still very much in flux in St. Louis. So why not take a low risk gamble on a very troubled yet talented player.

Yet Rams head coach Jeff Fisher and company decided Young Sr. wasn’t worth the headache after nine days.

We just felt like he was not the best option for us at that position. We went into detail. We felt like we’ve got a good young group, and we feel like perhaps Titus is better suited for another organization.

And this coming from a coach that took chances on some non-Four Pillar-esque players such as Janoris Jenkins, Chris Givens and Trumaine Johnson.

If Fisher didn’t give you a chance you might be done playing in this league, Mr. Young.

» Continue reading “Five Things I Think – St. Louis Rams Early Offseason Edition”

So much for the Frank Cusumano-Jim Ryan interview write up. I’ll just toss it out now with my newly made “The Big Rob-owski” signage.

The Rams official Twitter account tweeted this:

@STLouisRams Rob Ryan Tweet

And now we know why the Rams hadn’t made an official announcement regarding the hire over the weekend despite Rob Ryan being seen at the Scott Trade Center trying to blend in.

ESPN’s Chris Mortenson said on 101 ESPN that “Jeff (Fisher) has always been a very deliberate guy. … He’s always been deliberate when it comes to staff hires.” I guess we will have to wait just a bit longer to see who they install to run the defense. They’ve waited over a year so what’s a few more weeks.

As for Rob Ryan, his five minutes of unemployment has just been recorded as the longest 300 seconds in history.

» Continue reading “Rams And Rob Ryan Call The Whole Thing Off”

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Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher with then Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. 8/25/12 (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

With all the talk about the Harbaugh brothers, John and Jim, coaching next week in Super Bowl XLVII and the first family of the NFL in the Mannings, most fans often lose sight of the yet another family strong with the NFL force.

The Ryan Family.

The patriarch of the Clan Ryan is none other than Buddy Ryan of the famed 1985 Chicago Bears 46 defense. We know the younger Ryans well. Rex Ryan is the current head coach of the New York Jets and Rob Ryan was just recently let go from his defensive coordinator position with the Dallas Cowboys. But less known to most is Buddy Ryan’s oldest son, Jim Ryan.

KSDK’s Frank Cusumano sat down in an exclusive interview with the eldest brother who also happens to be a St. Louis area resident.

Here are some notes from that interview.

» Continue reading “The Big Rob-owski, A Fantastic Fit For The Rams”

I’m going to try something new (Thanks to our Broncos  writer, Brenda.) by jotting down observations, big plays, and anything else that stands out during each quarter.

First Quarter

Rams offense’s stop and go is giving me motion sickness. Third down conversions compounded by a false start penalty (Robert Turner) is not helping the Rams’ cause. Dramamine anyone?

Continued chants of “Craig Dahl sucks” overflow my Twitter timeline as he whiffs on two open field tackles. What are Rams fans going to do when Dahl isn’t around next year as their punching bag?

Seattle’s Russell Wilson continues to show flashes of why Pete Carroll sat Matt Flynn in favor of the rookie quarterback. Wilson evades Rams defensive end Kendall Langford and gets a key first down.

Seahawks have a TD called back on a pushing penalty.

But the other Rams have been getting to Wilson. Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Chris Long, and William Hayes have all said hello to the rook in the Seahawks backfield.

Rookie punter Johnny Hekker is not having a good day. He’s not helping the field position game at all. You need to get it together kid. The team needs you.

First quarter ends scoreless. Rams have been so the last six first quarters.

Second Quarter

Sack number four on Wilson. This time Robert Quinn gets to him for a loss of two yards.

Steven Hauschka‘s 43-yard field goal gives the Seahawks the first points of the day.

» Continue reading “St. Louis Rams At Seattle Seahawks Quarter Quick Hits”

The bad news: The Rams didn’t make the playoffs this year. The good news: In all honesty I didn’t see them winning more than 6 games. So for them to be sitting at 7-7-1 is a pleasant surprise.

Can you believe how the past 16 weeks have just flown by? Fifteen games so far leaving Rams fans with some head scratching losses (Detroit, Miami, and New York Jets) and heart attack inducing close games (San Francisco). Say what you will but it’s been an exciting year of Rams football.

Obviously the Rams have areas that need to be addressed this off season (offensive line being the biggest in my book.) But overall the future of the franchise is bright as Jeff Fisher finishes up a full season as the head stache around Rams Park.

The Rams still have one final game on the docket though – a very challenging game against the Seahawks.

St. Louis played the Seattle back in week 4, beating them 13-19 in the Edward Jones Dome. But the two teams facing off at Century Link Field on Sunday are not the same teams. Both young teams have come a long way since that September 30 game. Both quarterbacks have matured and the Rams receiving group have made big strides since their first meeting.

1) Contain the athletic gear brand name QB.

The biggest change coming from perhaps the lesser talked about rookie quarterback in the NFL, Seattle’s Russell Wilson. Yeah, so he’s short for a NFL quarterback (He’s listed at 5′ 11″) but what he lacks in height he makes up with his football smarts and his feet.

What Rams assistant head coach Dave McGinnis thinks of Wilson: