Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher –– 9/22/15

(On how he thought the team looked today)
“Well, they bounced back. We had some kind of reload, recover stuff this morning and got a good start on the plan and I thought they worked really good today. They have a short memory, which is important. We got things corrected, like we said yesterday. Now we have a great challenge on our hands with this coming opponent.”

(On his concern facing the Steelers run-game, specifically RB Le’Veon Bell and RB DeAngelo Williams)
“I’m concerned. Our defense is concerned. We have respect for them. We know that it’s going to start there. Other than that they have an outstanding passing game. They have a quarterback that can throw it all over the place. They have a couple of the best receivers in ‘ball. So they’re balanced and this will be probably one of our biggest, at least this far this season, will be our biggest offensive challenge from the defensive standpoint.”

(On what makes Bell a versatile running back and what makes him difficult to defend)
“Yeah, he is. I mean the screen game. He’s good in protection. For a big back, he can bounce out. He can take the cut back. He can come out any place. In addition to that, he’s really good between the tackles. It’s just, we have to do much better in our gap fits and our run responsibilities and try to get them in third down and get off the field.”

(On if he expects to see a lot of Bell)
“Yeah, we expect that as we have to get our run-game going as well, so we’ll see. It’s early in the week, the plan looks good right now and we’ll continue to adjust things and put things in. Hopefully we can have some success.”

(On if he’s waiting to see how RB Todd Gurley performs this week to determine his game status)
“Yes.”

(On how Gurley looked at today’s practice)
“He looked great today. (He) feels really good. As I said, he had a really good workout prior to the game and he’s in good shape. He’s excited and we’ll just see what happens.”

(On WR Brian Quick’s status)
“I have not ruled him out. He’s physically able to play, so we’ll see what happens.”

(On what kind of asset Steelers Offensive Line Coach Mike Munchak is)
“He’s very, very thorough up front. You can just watch three or four plays of their offensive line and say to yourself, ‘That’s a Mike Munchak coached offensive line.’ They’re very sound. They’re very aggressive. They’re very patient. They finish. They rarely make mistakes. Mike’s really good – and what we have to adjust to is – Mike’s really good at taking special defensive players away, especially if you have rushers. I would expect they would pay a lot of attention to where (DT) Aaron (Donald) is and to where (DE) Rob (Quinn) lines up. They just don’t get their quarterback hit. Their game is about (QB) Ben (Roethlisberger) buying time, buying time and moving around and making the off-schedule play down the field.”

(On if after he left Tennessee if there was any talk about finding a role for him with the Rams)
“No.”

(On Steelers’ WR Antonio Brown)
“He has a great compliment around him. When you’ve got a run game, you’ve got a quarterback that’s experienced and can see and make the throws down the field, they work really well together. He can really run. They’re in sync. Rarely is there a throw where they’re not on the same page. They back-shoulder fade, he catches the deep ball, he catches the shallow cross, he catches the bubble screens. He’s just a really good player. You have to know where he’s at.”

(On if pressure is the key is to controlling Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger)
“Pressure is the key to stopping any quarterback. I don’t think you stop him. I think you have to tackle, you have to minimize gains and you have to make plays and hope he throws a few incompletions.”

My own feeling is, it can wait.

It’s kind of nice to know that they can be playing pretty well yet still haven’t brought out their big gun.

So when the daily Gurley updates roll in, I am kind of blasé. I figure he will get on the field sometime this year. I figure it will be good when it happens, but it’s like having your birthday on Christmas. First, the christmas presents. Later, there will be a birthday present.

So, first it’s the pony, and later in the day, you get a new car. That kind of thing.

Ram notes: Quick remains patient, supportive of teammates

Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/ram-notes-quick-remains-patient-supportive-of-teammates/article_65b73121-e238-5baa-9744-4a546dff73f2.html

It may have caught some by surprise, but Rams receiver Brian Quick knew he would not be on the active roster for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.

“We talked about it previously, before the season; I knew what was happening,” the fourth-year pro said following practice and a lengthy post-practice session with the JUGS pass-catching machine Tuesday at Rams Park. “It’s not my call. I want to be out there, but I also want to do what’s best for the team. All I can do is continue to work and make sure that I’m ready when they decide to call my number.’’

In the midst of a breakout season that saw him post career-best numbers in receptions (25), receiving yards (375) and touchdowns (three), the 6-foot-3, 218-pound Quick suffered a severe shoulder injury Oct. 26 at Kansas City and finished the 2014 season on injured reserve.

Following a long and challenging rehab process, Quick has progressed slowly but surely through training camp and the preseason. In 30 offensive plays during the preseason, he did not have a pass thrown his way.

Coach Jeff Fisher said the decision was a numbers issue.

“We had to get to 46 players,’’ said Fisher, who needed more special-teams depth with linebacker Daren Bates (knee) unavailable. “He’s just going to have to be patient. He’s coming. He’s missed a lot of time. He’s coming.’’

Practice squad changes

The Rams made a pair of practice-squad moves Tuesday, signing cornerbacks Brandon McGee and Melvin White and releasing safety Jacob Hagen and cornerback Trovon Reed.McGee, a fifth-round draft pick by the Rams in 2013, was among the final cuts this year after missing all but one day of training camp with a foot injury. He played in 15 games as a rookie, chipping in with 10 tackles and six more on special teams. In 2014, he appeared in just two games before being placed on injured reserve with a foot injury.White, 25, was signed by Carolina as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played in 30 games, making 17 starts, over the past two seasons before being cut recently. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound White recorded 83 tackles, defended 11 passes and had three interceptions in his time with the Panthers.

Ram-blings

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who finished Sunday’s overtime win over Seattle with two sacks and a career-high 13 tackles, is one of the nominees as the Castrol EDGE Clutch Performer of the Week.Fans can vote at http://www.nfl.com/castrol-edge through Friday at 2 p.m.The Redskins placed starting strong safety Duke Ihenacho on injured reserve with a dislocated left wrist. To fill the roster spot, Washington signed veteran cornerback Will Blackmon, a ninth-year pro who spent the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington also cut fullback Ray Agnew (De Smet, SIU Carbondale) from its practice squad.

In another practice squad move, former Ram Gerald Rivers was cut by the Giants. A defensive end from Ole Miss, Rivers spent most of 2013 with the Rams, playing in one game. Since then, he’s spent time with Jacksonville, Miami and Denver.

• Former Ram Austin Pettis was among a group of veteran wide receivers working out for the Cowboys on Tuesday. The team eventually made a trade with Oakland for Brice Butler.

http://www.terryfox.org/TerryFox/Terry_Fox.html

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada’s west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran close to 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada’s Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at the age 22.

The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.

Support your local Terry Fox Run.

http://www.terryfox.org/InternationalRun/
To date, over $650 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry’s name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.

St. Louis Rams
http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Monday-Wrap-Up-Donald-Brockers-Show-Out/accfdf2f-f20b-46df-b37e-99376c25b908
Monday Wrap-Up: Donald, Brockers Show Out

Posted 7 hours ago

Myles Simmons Rams Insider @MylesASimmons

It’s no secret the Rams have one of the more dominant defensive lines in the league. And that came through in the final play of St. Louis’ 34-31 overtime win over the Seahawks, when defensive tackles Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald combined to take down running back Marshawn Lynch behind the line of scrimmage.

And head coach Jeff Fisher had some effusive praise for the second-year D-tackle out of Pitt in his press conference on Monday.

“Aaron really had one of the best games I’ve seen a defensive tackle play,” Fisher said.

One of the key plays to cement the notion came just before the matchup’s end. On 3rd-and-3 from the St. Louis 44, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson dropped back to pass, but felt pressure and scrambled up the middle. Even with the quarterback’s athleticism, he gained only two yards before being stopped by Brockers and Donald.

“The 4th-and-1 stop, you saw it was a great effort by both the tackles. But we wouldn’t have had that situation had they not on the [3rd-and-3] the previous play squeezed and collapsed the pocket, re-traced, and tackled Russell to create the 4th-and-1,” Fisher said. “So both tackles on back-to-back plays made tremendous effort plays to give us a chance to win in overtime.”

In all, Donald racked up 11 tackles — two for loss — a quarterback hit, and 2.0 sacks to start off 2015. He was consistently wreaking havoc in the backfield, which the team has grown accustomed to since Donald arrived last year.

“[No.] 99 is a special player,” Robert Quinn said after the game. “He’s always in the backfield getting tackles for a loss and sacks. He’s a game changer.”

Because he does the dirty work in taking up double teams, Brockers’ strong play doesn’t always show up in the box score. And the defensive tackle said last week he’s more than OK with that.

“I play the big man game, he plays the little man game,” Brockers said of his and Donald’s roles. “I have embraced my position and I think I can be the best nose tackle in this league.”

And Brockers showed just how far he’s progressed on Sunday, when he led the team with 13 tackles, according to the coaches’ film evaluation.

Fisher said Monday both Brockers and Donald had strong offseasons, working hard to improve. That paid dividends against Seattle.

“They prepared,” Fisher said. “They understood what to do. We had a really good plan inside with some stunts and things like that, and just pressuring their interior offensive line.”

And so while many teams would likely be happy to have just one of the pair, the Rams know having Brockers and Donald work together can be a real advantage.

“I think [Brockers] does a lot of good dirty work for all of us and Aaron is just great on his own,” Chris Long said after the game, adding Donald is “the most disruptive D-tackle in football — he is the best D-tackle in football. It doesn’t hurt to have someone like Brockers in there, who I think sometimes gets over shadowed, but is a heck of a player in his own right.”

NEWS AND NOTES

There was plenty more to come out of Fisher’s Monday press conference. Here are some of the highlights.

—On the injury front, Fisher said both Eugene Sims (knee) and Chase Reynolds (knee) should not miss many games from what they sustained on Sunday.
.
“Good news on Eugene and Chase,” Fisher said. “They may miss some time, but they’re not going to miss an extended period of time like we feared last night. So they may not be available this week.”
.
The head coach also said Trumaine Johnson (concussion) is feeling better. Johnson, of course, will have to pass the concussion protocol in order to be cleared.
.
And Fisher said running back Tre Mason was close to playing yesterday, and has a chance to be back this week.
.
“I thought he had a really good warmup in pregame,” Fisher said, “so he’ll be day-to-day this week.”

—With Johnson out, cornerback Marcus Roberson filled in admirably. Fisher said the Florida product has done well since he came in as an undrafted rookie last year.

“I thought Marcus did a nice job when he came in,” Fisher said. “Made some plays, made some tackles, knew what to do.”

“Since his arrival last year at rookie orientation, he learned our system,” Fisher added. “He understands the system. He’s got ball skills. He’ll tackle. And he had a good preseason. He pays attention and he knows he’s a snap away from going in.”

—Wide receiver Brian Quick did not play on Sunday, but it was not due to injury.

“We had to get to 46,” Fisher said of constructing the gameday roster. “We’ve got six [wide receivers] and the other guys were playing. So he’s just going to have to be patient.”

“He’s missed a lot of time,” Fisher continued. “He’s coming. It wasn’t physically related. It was just numbers related.”

—Finally, the Rams have decided to shift their practice schedule — at least for the time being. The changes are mainly on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. While Fisher’s teams have given the players Tuesday off in years past, now the players will have a lighter practice Tuesday, take Thursday off, and then do a little more on Saturday.

“We’re going to see how it works this week,” Fisher said. “Coaches are adjusting today and tomorrow, and we’re going to stay with it this week. And then we’ll go from there.”

“I think it’s going to work,” Fisher added. “We already started preparing last week for this week’s change. But I feel confident a day off on Thursday is going to bring the players back as we near kickoff.”

And Sunday’s victory doesn’t hurt for a reason to keep the change.

“It appeared to work out pretty good for us,” Fisher said.

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher –- 9/14/15

(Opening Statement)
“Well we got a chance to take a look at it in detail and there’s some really good things in the game: tremendous effort and emotion and very few mental errors. We cut back on the penalties, which was obviously a concern of ours in the preseason. The bottom line is we have to do a better job closing out games. At the end of the third quarter, we were up by 11 and we had them at a second-and-20, basically. We just had some issues, had some mistakes. Anytime you have two returns against you for touchdowns, the odds are really diminished as far as having a chance to win ball games. The point is we gave up two returns for touchdowns and we turned the ball over three times. So you combine those two and then the one play was combined, but the odds of winning games are significantly reduced. So I think it speaks volumes from a patient standpoint and a commitment standpoint. They just never panicked. They kept playing. Tremendous efforts. The fourth-and-one stop, you saw, it was a great effort by both the tackles, but we wouldn’t have had that situation had they not on the third-and-three and a half or four the previously play, squeezed and collapsed the pocket, retraced and tackled (QB) Russell (Wilson) to create the fourth-and-one. So both tackles on back-to-back plays made tremendous effort plays to give us a chance to win in overtime.

“Injury-wise, good news on (DE) Eugene (Sims) and (RB) Chase (Reynolds). They may miss some time, but they’re not going to miss an extended period of time like we feared last night. They may not be available this week. I’ll let you know later in the week, but we got good news there. And (CB) Trumaine (Johnson) is feeling much better today, so we’ll take him through the protocol. I thought (CB) Marcus (Roberson) did a nice job when he came in. Made some plays, made some tackles, knew what to do. We were a little nervous when (DB) Lamarcus (Joyner) went down because then we were down to two corners. The coaches did a nice job moving guys around and preparing them to finish the game, but Lamarcus came right back. I thought (QB) Nick (Foles) played well. Made a lot of plays and both of our young offensive linemen (G Jamon Brown and T Rob Havenstein) lined up and played pretty well. I thought from a protective standpoint we were good. They were sound. They played with a lot of effort. Neither one of them played 60 minutes up to this point, and they both finished the game really well.”

(On his relationship with and how inspired his team was by the Saturday night speaker Will Jimeno, the New York Port Authority police officer who survived 13 hours under World Trade Center rubble)
“Yeah, I met him probably back in 2003 at a function. We spoke at a function together and since have stayed in touch and become friends. We just thought because of the closeness of 9-11 to kickoff, that we reached out to him and he came in. That was pretty cool and I noticed that you noticed when we made that fourth-and-one, there was 9:11 left on the clock. So that’s pretty cool. I haven’t had a chance to tell Will that yet, but he’ll appreciate it. But, tremendous story. Tremendous man. Part of the reason was on Saturday nights it makes no sense to get guys motivated and get them ready to play at nine o’clock at night, so we do different things at times. I thought because so many of those guys might have been 6/7/8/9-years old and not really remember what happened, it was an opportunity to close the history gap for them and expose what was in essence the worst tragedy this country has ever faced. Will, in my eyes, was a hero. Those guys got an opportunity to listen to him.”

(On the status of Eugene Sims and Chase Reynolds)
“They’re knees (injuries). I’m not going to go into specifics, but (it’s) their knees. Non-ACLs.”

(On the status of RB Tre Mason)
“He was fine. I thought he had a really good warm-up in pre-game, so he’ll be day-to-day this week.”

(On WR Brian Quick’s status)
“We had to get to 46 (players). We have six (players) and the other guys are playing. He’s just going to have to be patient. He’s coming. He’s missed a lot of time. He’s coming. It wasn’t physically related. It was just number related.”

(On if he was disappointed in the size of the crowd)
“No, I wasn’t disappointed at all. They were great. They (Seattle) had to go to silent count. That was pretty good when their offense is in a silent count and a hurry-up throughout the game. No, we were excited. Both sets of fans, the Seahawk fans that were there and all of our fans that were there, saw an amazing football game. There’s a lot more to come. I know that.”

(On why there wasn’t a flag thrown on the onside kick for tackling WR Bradley Marquez after he waived for a fair catch because it seemed obvious that he signaled fair catch)
“He did. There should have been. It was incorrectly enforced. They got it half right.”

(On if at the time he was just happy to get the ball or was he thinking about the fact that there should have been a flag thrown for tackling Marquez after the signal)
“Yes, I was concerned that there was going to be a re-kick. When they ruled it an invalid fair catch signal, that implies that he signaled for a fair catch because it’s not permissible to signal fair catch if the ball is hit in the ground and bounces up in the air, like the college rule. So, when they ruled that, then there was no question in mind that they recognized the fair catch signal. I just couldn’t convince them to enforce the penalty because they just wouldn’t put the ball on the 35-yard line.”

(On if he brought up the penalty at that time)
“Yes.”

(On what the officials said when he asked about the penalty)
“They just said, ‘We’re going to give you the ball right here. We’re not going to re-kick, so let’s go.’”

(On if the officials were bargaining with him)
“No. That thing is…when have you seen that before? It just doesn’t come up. I talked to (NFL Vice President of Officiating) Dean (Blandino) last night and he explained it and we were right, and he said, ‘No, they made a mistake.’”

(On both DTs Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald coming up with double-digit tackles and what it says about the way they played)
“Well, they prepared. They both had great offseasons. They’re both talented. They’re both healthy and they prepared. They understood what to do. We had a really good plan inside with some stunts and things like that and just pressuring their interior offensive line. Aaron – and not taking away from ‘Brock’ – but Aaron really had one of the best games that I’ve seen a defensive tackle play.”

(On if this team is more resilient this year)
“Well, we had some good efforts last year and had some good games. If you look back, we let a couple slip away. But, I think this team understands now that you just keep playing. I think a lot of that has to do with the entire group’s confidence in Nick (Foles) because Nick was all about that, ‘Hey, let’s keep playing. Defense, give me the ball back. I’ll put a drive together here, we’ll go win,’ this kind of thing. That kind of attitude permeates throughout the team.”

(On how much confidence this gives the team)
“Success in this league requires you to keep wins and losses in perspective. After a tough Sunday afternoon, things don’t work out – you have to get them back. When we have a really emotional win like we did yesterday, you have to keep things in perspective. We have to correct mistakes. We have to put another good plan in and we have to go out and carry respect in for next week’s opponent. But, it certainly was a reward for them for all of the hard work through camp and some of the negativity that emerged from our preseason games because of the lack of points and lack of production and things like that. It was a great day. If you protect the football and put some drives together, the game probably goes a little bit differently. We score a couple more times, get the ball back, continue to put them in third down situations – we put them in 19 third down situations, which is pretty impressive from a defensive standpoint – but, if you say for example, you go out there and you win by 14 (points). I’m not so sure that the manner in which we won this game yesterday is better than winning by 14 points against a team that played in back-to-back World Championships. Overall, I think it was a great effort. But, again, you can’t over-emphasize the importance of getting better. We have to improve in a lot of areas.”

(On if there are things that he can do to keep the team in perspective)
“They know how to practice. It’s about preparation and going out and practicing hard. That’s what we do. We have to size it a day at a time as you go through the preparation.”

(On if yesterday’s emotional win will help the players be consistent week to week)
“Again, it’s one week at a time. We have to build on this and carry this intensity and the lack of mistakes that have hurt us in the past and into Week 2. We’ll see what happens.”

(On how important short passes were against a defense that is tough to run against)
“I think it was a great plan. We were able to stay with the run throughout. The screen game for us has worked through the preseason. It worked yesterday a little bit. Even the tight end screen, (TE Jared) Cook was really close to hitting that seam and making a big play there. We were able to carry balance into the end of this game. We took our shots, we ran the football, we had the short passing game, missed a couple of opportunities, but one of the things we did do is we made the catches. There weren’t any drops. Against that team you have to catch the football. Remember what happened up there last year? That ball bounced off of (TE) Lance’s (Kendricks) shoulder.”

(On the play to WR Kenny Britt on third down)
“It was huge. Third-and-15s are hard. That’s about (QB) Nick (Foles) just having a feel and knowing where guys are and he made the throw and Kenny made the catch and then got up and made the first down. And, oh by the way, the towel is not part of the body. If you grab the towel or touch the towel, it’s not down by contact.”

(On the success Seattle had when they switched to no huddle and if that’s something they have to work on)
“Again, our practice tempo on the field against our defense is no huddle tempo every single day. They had success because of the talent level they have on offense in (QB) Russell Wilson and their running back, who by the way is really, really good.”

(On what happened on the Seahawks’ punt return)
“We were backed up. When you’re backed up, the timing is different. He couldn’t take the footwork that he needed to put the ball on the boundary. He had to punt the ball and just get the ball off. When you get the ball off and you’re backed up and you have a tight punt, you don’t get the immediate presence of your gunners. We just got a punt that he hit a little off the mark. Had we got the ball on the boundary, we would’ve been fine because our intention was to pin him. We got into problems on first down with the loss and then second down with the loss and then we pushed it out a little, but we were snapping from the 12-yard line and his heels on the end line and you have to get rid of the ball as quick as you can. The whole thing was a function of the offensive negative plays.”

(On the miscommunication on the snap)
“We’ll get that worked out. We’re alright. They haven’t been working together very long. When they went to change the play and (C Tim Barnes) ‘Timmy’ didn’t hear it and snapped the ball and that caught him by surprise.”

(On what worked for them on their punt return for a touchdown)
“We carry over all of the stuff we do on the practice field. All of our drills, on to the field yesterday in that return and it all paid off. Some great, great down the field, individual efforts by a number of players to wall people off, go to the next level knowing that (WR) Tavon (Austin) is going to make somebody miss and they just kind of dominoed down the field. And then his athletic ability kept him in the field of play.”

(On what he liked from CB Marcus Roberson)
“Since his arrival last year at the rookie minicamp or orientation, he learned our system. You saw him play in the preseason last year, he made plays. He understands the system, he’s got ball skills, he’ll tackle and he had a good preseason. He pays attention and he knows that he’s a snap away from going in and unfortunately yesterday he had to go in. Unfortunately we had the injury, but fortunately for him he had to go in and he filled in nicely.”

(On if G Jamon Brown being out for a few plays was an equipment thing)
“Yes, facemask.”

(On the number of plays Seattle had and not giving up a lot of yards on defense)
“I think it speaks volumes of their commitment through the spring and what we were able to do this summer and keep them fresh and how we backed down a little bit last year and kept them fresh. We were on the field for a lot of plays, but we weren’t tired.”

(On what makes WR Bradley Marquez such a good special teams player)
“He’s an instinctive football player. That was not the only really good play he made. He made a couple of other really good plays. He works hard, he pays attention, he acts like he’s been around for three or four years. We can trust him and put him in some unusually difficult positions, especially as a personal protector on our punt team to make all the calls and protection and things. We trust him and he gets it right.”

(On practicing tomorrow and going to a new schedule)
“We’re going to see how it works this week. Coaches are adjusting today and tomorrow. We’re going to stay with it this week and then we’ll go from there. I think it’s going to work. I don’t want to put anybody in a difficult position from a workload standpoint. Unless you’ve gone through it a week or two, so we already started preparing last week for this week’s change. But I definitely know that I feel confident that a day off on Thursday is really going to help to bring the players back as we near kickoff.”

(On how much you get accomplished practicing on Tuesday after a game)
“We’ll have a good idea. It’s a workload thing. We’re discussing it, but I’m confident. This event that we’re having tomorrow is not a full-speed practice. It’s kind of an install, a first and second down install. Wednesday is normal, completely normal.”

(On if that will be the plan every week if it works out)
“It may be the plan, depending on how it works out this week.”

(On if he’s ever done this with one of his teams before)
“No.”

(On other teams doing more work on Saturdays)
“We did that here this past Saturday. A little bit more. A little more up-tempo. You’ve got to get them going and get the functional movement rather than just shut down completely. It appeared to work out pretty good for us.”

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-notes-davis-jones-hook-on-with-new-teams/article_3864dc89-6398-5df0-92c1-07c7a0df7b13.html%5DRams Notes: Davis, Jones Hook on with New Teams –PD
Two players cut by the Rams on Saturday have signed elsewhere. Quarterback Austin Davis was signed to Cleveland’s roster Monday. Meanwhile, center Barrett Jones was signed to Pittsburgh’s practice squad.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/ten-questions-for-rams-season-are-revisted/article_3133c2c8-29f7-5f12-bbd5-16927c0df3d7.html%5DTen Questions for Rams’ Season are Revisted –PD
As the Rams move to game-week mode for the season opener, against Seattle, we reexamine 10 questions facing the Rams as they embark on the season:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-report/former-rams-qb-davis-signs-with-cleveland/article_be91818a-dcb6-5260-9983-e56e7fa825e1.html%5DFormer Rams QB Davis Signs with Cleveland –PD
Two of the three “biggest” names cut by the Rams on Saturday now have jobs elsewhere in the NFL.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/09/07/defensive-line-could-put-rams-back-in-playoffs/71844596/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnfl-topstories&AID=10709313&PID=4003003&SID=ieanjwefsg011lvg00dth%5DDefensive Line Could Put Rams Back in Playoffs –AP
The St. Louis Rams have been stockpiling defensive linemen for so long, end Chris Long has played for three head coaches.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25293581/rams-gurley-cleared-for-contact-but-may-not-play-for-a-couple-of-weeks%5DGurley cleared for contact but may not play for ‘a couple of weeks’ –CBS Sports
The question of whether or not Todd Gurley will see lots of action for the Rams in the early part of the season is a good one. The former Georgia star was a first-round pick but he’s coming off an ACL tear, so St. Louis understandably doesn’t want to rush him into contact drills.

http://www.todayspigskin.com/nfc-today/nfc-west/st-louis-rams/7-surprising-rams-roster-decisions/%5D7 Surprising Rams Roster Decisions
The St. Louis Rams finalized their 53-man roster on Saturday after wrapping up a wholly unimpressive 0-4 preseason with a 24-17 loss to their Missouri neighbors, the Kansas City Chiefs, at the Edward Jones Dome a couple days prior.

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21138/todd-gurley-says-no-contact-beanie-is-gone-but-must-remain-patient%5DTodd Gurley Says No-Contact Beanie is Gone But Must Remain Patient –Wagoner
St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Saturday that running back Todd Gurley won’t play in the season-opener Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. That was only the confirmation of what had been known as the Rams continue to take a cautious approach with the No. 10 overall pick.

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/20827/rams-roster-brings-continuity-everywhere-except-quarterback-and-offensive-line%5DRams’ Roster Brings Continuity Everywhere Except QB, Offensive Line –Wagoner
Here’s a player-by-player look at the St. Louis Rams’ 53-man roster

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21126/wondering-whether-rams-are-poised-for-playoff-berth%5DAre St. Louis Rams are Poised for a Playoff Berth? –Wagoner September 7, 2015
In this week’s edition of Sports Illustrated, their staff unveiled their annual NFL preview. In it, senior writer Greg Bedard released his playoff and Super Bowl selections.

http://www.rams-news.com/rams-lb-james-laurinaitis-press-conference-96-video-2/%5DRams LB James Laurinaitis Press Conference – 9/6 –Video

http://www.rams-news.com/rams-safety-t-j-mcdonald-press-conference-96-video/%5DRams Safety T.J. McDonald Press Conference – 9/6 –Video

http://www.rams-news.com/rams-rookie-lb-cameron-lynch-press-conference-96-video/%5DRams Rookie LB Cameron Lynch Press Conference – 9/6 –Video

http://www.rams-news.com/wagoner-rams-hoping-experience-makes-up-for-youth-video/%5DWagoner: Rams Hoping Experience Makes Up For Youth –Video

RamView, August 29, 2015
Preseason Game #3: Colts 24, Rams 14

The Rams played better than they have been, but no better than last year, in taking their third loss of preseason. A few strong performances could not overcome the team’s natural tendency to find ways to lose, via protection breakdowns, coverage breakdowns, continued lack of pass rush and the usual blizzard of penalties. With the regular season almost here, the Rams look readier, but still not ready, for prime time.

Position by position:
* QB: The best development from the game was the elevated play by Nick Foles, who made a lot of chicken salad out of, um, substandard ingredients in going 10-11-128 for a passer rating of 145.5. The offense got Foles into more than his fair share of trouble but he mostly got out of it, thanks to his arm, feet and head. Down 10-0, Foles escaped from trouble, usually named Trent Cole, several times to sustain a Rams drive. He scrambled left and hit Kenny Britt for 13, beat a funky Colt formation with a screen to Benny Cunningham for 14 and dropped one off to Tre Mason with Cole bearing down on him again for 17 more. The drive still ended in a sack that Foles could do little about, but all his work was not in vain. The Rams flipped field position, got him the ball back at the Colt 44, and Foles got them into the end zone in one play with his first deep ball of the preseason, a pretty one, too, to reborn deep threat Chris Givens. The Rams quickly got to midfield their next drive before Foles took his second sack, on a perfectly timed blitz that Foles never saw coming. The Rams only put up the one TD behind Foles in the first half, but we still got what we’ve been waiting for from him. He looked like the difference-maker the Rams need and made the kind of plays under pressure I don’t think Sam Bradford made often enough. What we don’t need to see is Foles having to outplay all of his teammates like he had to tonight. He’ll need help. Case Keenum and Austin Davis each got one throw apiece, and while I agree Keenum has won the QB2 job, I have to say that Davis has gotten about as unfair a chance to defend his roster spot as I have ever seen. With little experience, the guy started half the games last year, kept them in just about every one and was the best QB on the roster. This year, he’s Tim Jenkins. Sean Mannion’s (6-13-47) efficient summer took a big hit with a rookie INT in the 3rd. Going for Damian Williams a third time in a row, he stared down his receiver and Jalil Brown jumped the sideline route for a pick and return that set up the Colts’ winning TD. The Colt blitz got to him a little bit, but he hung in the pocket well to make some throws and continued to show good timing, accuracy and arm strength. Mannion was hurt by a couple of drops and a 4th-and-10 sack on his last play. Can’t exactly throw it away on 4th down. Mannion’s still had a good summer, but much more importantly for the Rams’ 2015 prospects, Foles has joined him now on the positive side of the QB ledger.

* RB: Rams RBs gained more yards as receivers (75) than as rushers (67), on a meager 2.5 yards per carry. Tre Mason (6 touches-31 yards) started in a 5-yard hole after poor blocking got him buried on his first carry, but bounced back the next drive by taking a shotgun handoff 10 yards around right end on 3rd-and-short. Benny Cunningham (7 touches-37) then beat a weird pass rush (no DEs, 3 Colts lined up over center) with a screen for 14, and Mason leaked out of the backfield for a 17-yard catch before pulling up with a tweaked hamstring. Cunningham showed cutback ability he didn’t last week on a 6-yard run in the 2nd, and beat the Colts for 16 on a well-set-up screen, followed by Isaiah Pead (7 touches-21) popping for 13 off the left side. Pead also broke a tackle and gained 8 in the 3rd, but also got stuffed about 5 times. Pead’s never been a very instinctive runner, and the knee injury understandably seems to have cost him suddenness. Trey Watts (6 rushes-18) walked in from the 3 for the Rams’ 2nd TD and hit a brilliant spin move to beat LB Matt Overton in the hole to convert a 3rd-and-short in the 4th. Watts simply has more game than Pead, now if not in September. Malcolm Brown (9 touches-35) worked hard for garbage time yards but lost a little favor with a sloppy one-handed drop of another well-set-up screen. Even before Todd Gurley takes the field, the Rams have a physical group of RBs who are effective receivers. They just need more consistent blocking.

* Receivers: The receivers, on the other hand, appear to need more consistent effort. The exception being Chris Givens (2-63), who locked up the WR5 job emphatically with a 44-yard TD bomb. Play-action sucked up a lot of the Colt secondary, and Givens burned safety Mike Adams handily to get behind all of them. It’s the “stars” of the group that could stand to show up better. Kenny Britt (2-21) was a reliable release valve but his route-running has been pretty lackadaisical (or, in Missouri, “laxadaisical”) all preseason. Jared Cook (1-5) has done little through the air, and even less on the ground, as he is useless and clearly uninterested in inline blocking. He did nothing blocking to create at least three losses for the RBs, including getting Mason buried on the opening play. The one time he was any good was on Mason’s shotgun run, but there, Cook was out front and blocking on the move. A double-TE “power” formation is just a joke with Cook involved when he doesn’t have the power to will himself to block. At this moment, if you benched Cook and started Lance Kendricks, I’m not sure I’d notice other than the running game would improve. Welcome back, Schottyball, as Tavon Austin (0-0) was uninvolved in the offense for a 2nd straight week, though things may have been much different had he not drawn a completely wrong OPI penalty on the opening drive to retract a 25-yard catch. Another sloppy drop late by Bradley Marquez probably has him redirecting his sites at the practice squad. Brian Quick got on the field, but with no targets, I have no way of knowing if he did much more. Other than Britt, the only receivers Foles could rely on when he got in trouble were the RBs. Besides Givens, all of the Ram WRs simply have to offer more than they did tonight.

* Offensive line: The work in progress is still very much that, with alarmingly poor pass pro from both tackles at times. Greg Robinson was beaten by Trent Cole on the edge repeatedly and also got smoked on the opening play to help get Mason buried. Robinson recovered and knocked down Cole from behind to give Foles an escape hatch on an early completion, but his problems with speed rushers are a definite issue. His run-blocking was even an issue tonight, with a couple of glaring losses at the point of attack the Rams just can’t afford from who’s supposed to be their leading run-mauler. What Robinson didn’t do, though, was allow a sack; both of those came from Rob Havenstein’s side. Erik Walden sped by him with ease for the first sack and about bull-rushed him over Foles, with D’Qwell Jackson also blitzing in untouched, for the second. Jackson was a failed blitz adjustment by Foles and/or Pead, but Havenstein getting run over would have been enough by itself. He can get caught really flat-footed on the edge, and it leads to very bad things. The Rams started Barrett Jones at C, moved Jamon Brown to LG with Rodger Saffold still out and started Demetrious Rhaney at RG. Rhaney, in less than a week, has probably already beaten Brandon Washington out of a job. He looked quite good at guard, especially getting out front to lead-block on screens, and delivered a key block on a Cunningham lunge on 3rd-and-short. Jones looked much more credible at center than he did in Oakland. He tied up the nose tackle well on run plays, drove a guy about to the sideline on one run, didn’t get beaten in pass pro that I saw and is probably your opening day starter. Brown came up lame after the TD bomb to Givens, but with “only” a low-grade ankle sprain. Rhaney did miss a couple of run blocks, and penalties by the starters were a problem, with both Jones and Rhaney killing a drive with facemask penalties, Rhaney’s after getting whipped inside by the feared Kendall Langford. The Rams got good run-blocking from Corey Harkey and Justice Cunningham, who’s earned TE4 with his consistent work. On the Watts TD, Garrett Reynolds surged out to the 2nd level at guard while Justice prevailed on a move block and Alex Bayer (!) stoned his man at the line. Reynolds also made a couple of good blocks on Pead’s long run. After that, though, the last unit didn’t create much push at all and the RBs were left to make their yardage on their own. As for the starters, the Rams have GOT to get better blocking from the TEs (ahem, JARED), and much more consistent play from Robinson so they can afford to give Havenstein the help he’s going to need early on. The TEs (ahem, JARED) and Robinson have to control the LOS much better than they did in this game to create the ground game the Rams need.

* Defensive line: Slack City held the Colts to 56 rushing yards despite looking like they were going to get run over again early, with Chris Long repeating a disturbing trend of getting handled easily by the TE on the edge to give up nice gains like Daniel “Boom” Herron’s 7-yarder on the opening drive. That and the continued lack of a preseason pass rush got Andrew Luck in scoring range early, though Robert Quinn’s pass knockdown helped hold them to a FG. After the Colts recovered an onside kick, Quinn and Ethan Westbrooks got turned and rendered useless on an 11-yard Herron run, Luck hit Andre Johnson for a TD under little pressure, and the rout appeared to be on. Fortunately, after a punt backed the Colts up inside their 5, Aaron Donald said, “F that,” and put on as dominating a series as you will see, whipping into the backfield to stuff Herron on three straight plays. On the third, he brushed Todd Herremans back like nothing and nearly dropped Herron for a safety. That one-man wrecking crew show turned the tide of the game, with the Rams getting right back in it a couple of plays later with the Givens TD. The defensive tempo continued to increase, and when Long hit Luck to force an INT, it looked like good times were rolling again in -Sack- City, but a penalty took that and the Rams’ momentum away. They still got run stuffs by Ethan Westbrooks and William Hayes to slow the Colts down, but Indy failed to score a TD before halftime mainly because they’d used up their timeouts. Luck was only ever under light pressure at the most. Louis Trinca-Pasat got a decent number of snaps with the starters with Nick Fairley injured and Michael Brockers seeing limited action. He had a run stuff and BLANKET coverage of Dwayne Allen dropping back in coverage near the goal line at the end of the half to show for it. That was fun to watch. None of the other reserves stand out. Marcus Forston usually loses battles at the nose, and Martin Ifedi has shown disappointingly little. He came into camp poised to be Mike Waufle’s next star pupil. That may be Trinca-Pasat this year. I see little good in the stat that the Rams, starters and scrubs alike, have NO sacks in three games, but they did show up against the run (eventually) this week. You have to stop the run before you can pass-rush, right? We’ll have to hope Sack City finds football’s holy grail, the non-existent “switch,” by opening day against Seattle.

* Linebackers: The Rams talked a lot about getting improving their gap fills during the week, but it seems like it was just a lot of talk. Alec Ogletree got fooled by a Herron cutback on an early 7-yard run, then James Laurinaitis got sealed out of a 5-yard run. After the onside kick, Ogletree got blocked out of Herron’s 11-yard run. And Alec apparently committed the crucial holding penalty that took an INT away from Janoris Jenkins (and a probable score by the offense). That was part of Ogletree’s inconsistent coverage of Dwayne Allen; Marshall Faulk thought he was too busy talking trash and not busy enough, well, doing his job. The Colts got a first down inside the 10 before halftime when Ogletree badly blew a tackle on Herron. 10 guys did their jobs on that play. Ogletree’s got too much talent to play like this; he needs to play with better discipline. Bryce Hager got the 2nd half off to a great start by recovering a blown exchange by Josh Robinson, setting up the Rams’ 2nd TD. Jo-Lonn Dunbar had a great possession after that, blowing up a run and defending back-to-back passes in the flat on either side of the field. Hager later stuffed Tyler Varga a couple of times, but also blew a tackle on a Varga reception that allowed a 1st down out of 500-year-old Matt Hasselbeck’s garbage flip throw. Varga also ran through Marshall McFadden at the goal line for the Colts’ winning TD. Once the regular season hits, I think we’ve got to see more out of all the linebackers than we’ve seen so far.

* Secondary: The back of the defense has outplayed the front this preseason but still can’t resist giving up the big play. Janoris Jenkins broke up an early slant route and had (possibly too-) tight deep coverage on T.Y. Hilton to help hold the first Colt drive to a FG. T.J. McDonald made a couple of great pass breakups after the onside kick, but a botched coverage left Andre Johnson all alone out of the slot for a 32-yard TD. Jenkins got over in time to stop him inside the 10, but his laughable no-wrap shoulder tackle was an even more laughable whiff. Also not helping on that drive: Lamarcus Joyner and Trumaine Johnson getting dominated on decent run plays by that feared, mauling, 178-pound blocker Hilton. Come on. TruJo kept the next drive alive with a 3rd-down hold, but Jenkins appeared to end it in style with an INT and long return. No, another holding call took that back. Trovon Reed got beaten twice on deep out routes to allow Indy into FG range before halftime. Marcus Roberson had a couple of nice pass breakups, including a deflection while coming in on a blitz. Imoan Claiborne defended well but just didn’t contest the throw enough on the 2-point completion to Griff Whalen. The talent to succeed is there when these guys get their assignments right.

* Special teams: The unfortunate special teams highlight was the Colts’ recovery of an onside kick after their opening FG. To Cody Davis’ credit, he was not fooled by the play. To his detriment, like a bad infielder, he let the bouncing ball play him instead of the other way around, Zurlon Tipton beat the ball to him, and the Colts wound up with it. Johnny Hekker returned to normalcy with a couple of punts close to 50 yards, but the Rams did little on returns, with Sergeant Dan Rodriguez making the usual rookie mistake of thinking he’s going to make 20 ninja moves on people and score a TD every punt return, but is lucky to gain a yard instead. After last season, the Ram special teams looked poised to be one of the league’s best units, and I’ll stick with that forecast, though the high use of backups hasn’t allowed us to see that in preseason.

* Strategery: I was ready to fire the whole coaching staff on the spot in the 1st quarter with the team getting off to yet another poor, nonchalant start, but Donald’s goal-line eruption made this a much different section. Gregg Williams called a much more conservative game this week, and though the Rams continue to have a sackless summer, the change didn’t hurt. Some of Williams’ gamesmanship in coverage is worth discussing. Dropping the DT and rushing three actually worked a couple of times before halftime, once with Trinca-Pasat, once with Westbrooks. A couple of failed secondary rotations were killers, though. As Marshall Faulk explained on TV, Andre Johnson was supposed to be covered by a LB on his TD, but no one came over when Jenkins dropped deep and the DBs at the line shifted over. More to the point, what the hell is the benefit of that play supposed to be? Who but a simpleton would want to cover Andre Johnson, even at the age of 100, with a LB? We didn’t need help to see why Hilton was wide open for 16 during the Colts’ drive at the end of the 1st half; Joyner left him unguarded at the line to take a mad pre-snap dash all the way back to deep safety! What was the point of that? It’s been a repeat pattern since Williams got here that the only people fooled on these exotic coverages are Williams’ own players. It’s well past time to simplify things.

Frank Cignetti couldn’t get Austin involved (again) but made some likeable play calls. The double play-action, with the fake Austin end-around, made the Givens TD. Most of the Colt secondary bit. I’d seen that play in training camp, but they only ever screened to Austin out of it. Cignetti also fooled the Colts with the shotgun handoff to Mason on 3rd-and-3 early, though I didn’t like the edge run for Cunningham on a later 3rd-and-short despite it working. It didn’t have the element of surprise of the Mason handoff and was too easy to defend. The Rams counterpunched well with screens against Colt blitzes and odd formations. But personnel tipoffs be damned, the Rams have to quit calling run plays that hinge on Jared Cook making a block. Either that or sending Cook a message by making Kendricks the starter has to be on the table.

After three weeks of preseason, we’re ultimately where we didn’t really want to be, hoping Jeff Fisher’s players “find the switch” in time for the regular season. They improved this week, but there’s still a lot they’re doing wrong. (Like 10 of 12 penalties accepted, for 83 yards.) It’s been ten years, if not more, since the Rams have been talented enough to rely on “finding the switch.” If Fisher pulls this one off, he’s Indiana Jones. In that case, throw me the idol. (Yes, I know how that worked out for that character. I’ll be more careful. I’m a patient runner.)

* Upon further review: As a rookie head official, John Hussey is a referee the Rams are likely to see twice this season, and don’t expect either of those games to be well-officiated. The Rams’ opening drive died on a completely bogus OPI call on Austin, who’s the strongest man in the NFL if that was a pushoff, when he barely touched the DB. Most of the other 11 penalty calls on the Rams were legit; I just wish Hussey’d had the courtesy to identify the player on all of them, especially the critical hold that took away the Jenkins INT. No-calls were a bigger problem. Indy converted on 3rd-and-8 and got inside the 10 before halftime after an obvious false start by Allen was missed. They got a long punt return in the 2nd half while the refs ignored Watts getting blatantly shoved in the back in front of the returner and Marquez getting obviously held for about 15 yards. Thanks for missing those but calling everything the Rams did, eagle eyes. Grade: D-plus

* Broadcast news: From TV, it looked like attendance couldn’t have been more than 15,000, and I think we know who to thank for that. Regrettably, I can no longer say “we” when talking about the home crowd, but the brave, hearty few got loud on several first-half 3rd downs and might even have flustered the Colts into one of their timeouts. Marshall Faulk and Torry Holt continue to put on a clinic as Rams analysts. Faulk’s breakdown of the Johnson TD was especially educational. One thing you can say about them is they’re never afraid to criticize the Rams or the referees. If anything, they could take it easier on the Rams. Faulk blamed Damian Williams for Mannion’s TD even though Mannion really stared him down. He blamed Pead for the second sack, but did Foles recognize it? It was very well-disguised. Holt blamed Britt for not converting a hot read into a 1st down, saying he didn’t “net the sticks”, but surely the ball had to come out too fast for Britt to run an 8-yard route. What’s that? Stop calling you Shirley? Anyway, those are quibbles; you rarely come away from a play without Holt or Faulk giving an excellent account of why it worked or didn’t work. We need these guys on regular-season games.

* Waiver bait: With E.J. Gaines headed to injured reserve, by my count, 13 Rams will hear the dreaded words “Coach Fisher wants to see you,” but no sooner than Monday per Les Snead. RamView’s guesses: T Steven Baker, WR Emory Blake, QB Austin Davis, DB Jay Hughes, RB Zach Laskey, LB Keshaun Malone, LS Tyler Ott, K/P Michael Palardy, CB Montell Garner, WR Tyler Slavin, TE Brad Smelley, OL David Wang and T Darrell Williams. Davis, who I stubbornly believe could still start for a half-dozen teams, deserves an early release to try to latch on somewhere. And Sergeant Dan HAS to make it to at least the final cut, doesn’t he?

* Who’s next?: Thursday night could see the final chapter of the most time-honored tradition in sports, and OF COURSE I’m talking about the Missouri Governor’s Cup. There’s a chance the city that wins the trophy will get to keep it forever, though we shouldn’t expect either team to treat the game like forever’s on the line. Nor should we expect the Rams to treat the game like an 0-4 preseason is on the line, not with Fisher recently saying 49 of the final 53 roster spots are already locked up. The main players to watch will probably be backup offensive linemen, backup DBs and Pead/Watts/Brown for the last RB job. I wouldn’t mind the starting o-line getting a lot of work and proving they can protect the QB, though. The Chiefs have vexed the Rams in the regular season for 20 years; whether they know it or not, or care, Fisher and the team owe the hometown fans one here. Maybe, just maybe, the Rams will rally behind Case Keenum and play good football, and St. Louis football fans will always have that glorious grail as a tangible link to the olden days.

— Mike
Game stats from espn.com

Rams still in no rush to choose starting center

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/20753/rams-still-in-no-rush-to-choose-starting-center

EARTH CITY, Mo. — More than halfway through training camp and the preseason, the St. Louis Rams are still in no rush to choose a starting center.

According to coach Jeff Fisher, it’s an ongoing process that might not get clarity until the last possible minute.

“It’s going to be a really good race,” Fisher said. “We probably won’t make a decision until the opener or until kickoff.”

One would think the Rams will probably make a decision before they kick off Sept. 13 against the Seattle Seahawks, but in the three-way competition among Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones and Demetrius Rhaney, none have separated from the pack just yet.

Barnes started the preseason opener against Oakland, and Rhaney started the second against Tennessee. Most likely, Jones will get his chance to run with the first team Saturday night against the Indianapolis Colts.

At that point, all three will have had their chance to work with the starting group and the first round of cuts will be made. But it doesn’t mean the Rams will stop the rotation they have going in the middle.

“The thing is, that’s why we wanted to get guys working with [quarterback Nick Foles] every day,” offensive line coach Paul Boudreau said. “We rotate the centers so one period Timmy is working with him, the next period Barrett is working with him and we have been doing it day to day.

“So it really doesn’t matter who the center is now.”

But while it might not matter much now, it certainly will when the season starts. The Rams have been patient with letting the competition play out. Some would argue that approach isn’t ideal to build chemistry on the line, especially since the center is the guy primarily responsible for making the protection calls at the line of scrimmage.

So while there seems to be a lack of urgency to make a decision and settle in with Barnes, Jones or Rhaney, the counterargument to that is rushing into a decision could lead to choosing the wrong player, and then having to start all over again.

Given the relative lack of playing experience among Barnes, Rhaney and Jones, it’s easier to understand why the Rams don’t want to rush into a choice. Barnes is the only one of the three to start a game (he has got four), Jones has only played in spot duty and Rhaney has never appeared in a regular-season game.

Which is why Boudreau is preaching patience while putting a premium on deciphering which of the three candidates is best equipped to step in and handle all of the mental aspects that go with playing the position. Which is why Jones is probably a slight favorite with a chance to bolster his case by playing well against the Colts.

“I have confidence that whoever wins this job is going to be because of earning it,” Boudreau said. “It’s not because of longevity or we drafted a guy. I don’t give a [darn] about that. It’s one of those deals where you get into the game and you want the best five up there. So who is going to keep it all calm, who is going to make the right call and who is going to make us get in the right protections as far as getting in the game and knowing what to do.”

Until the Rams are sure they have the player who can do all of those things, they’re content to keep watching and waiting to make a decision.

Rams mailbag: Estimating Todd Gurley’s impact

Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/20592/rams-mailbag-estimating-todd-gurleys-impact

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Slowly but surely, we are inching closer to the start of the NFL regular season and the St. Louis Rams’ Sept. 13 opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

After Sunday’s second preseason game, the Rams will be halfway through their exhibition schedule. There’s plenty of time for things to get sorted out until then, but there’s also plenty of questions on your mind so let’s not waste any more time.

As always, you can find me on Twitter @nwagoner. Please use hashtag #RamsMail to submit questions.

RanGotBeatz @Ran_215beatz
Do you really think TG will have the type of impact he’s supposed to have?

@nwagoner: I suppose the answer to that question starts with what your perspective is on what type of impact you believe Todd Gurley is supposed to have. For me, I don’t think we can expect him to come in and instantly become the game-breaker that he was drafted to be. Some of that is a function of his rehab from the knee injury and some of it is from the likelihood that his offensive line is going to take some time to develop.

I expect Gurley to have a very limited role or potentially even sit the first game or two before he slowly starts working his way into the mix. He probably won’t take on a full workload until a bit later in the season. If he comes in at that pace, then I suppose the answer for this year is no. We all know he brings a lot of talent to the table but as with any rookie — let alone ones coming off major knee injuries — there’s always the possibility he won’t pan out and play to his draft status. Gurley is no exception.

Alex Ramatowski @DJRamification
Hypothetical but do you see a scenario where Rams win Super Bowl and still move to LA?

@nwagoner: No, I don’t. And by no, I mean I don’t see a scenario in which the Rams win the Super Bowl. Yes, crazier things have happened and the Rams even won their title in 1999-2000 as a major surprise,so we know you can never say never, but this is just too far-fetched to me. But to get to the heart of your question, the Rams’ record will have very little to do with whether they stay in St. Louis or go elsewhere. If they win and attendance is high, it won’t hurt St. Louis’ case to keep the team. If they lose and nobody shows up, it won’t help St. Louis’ cause. But neither will be much of a deciding factor. This decision will be made by 32 owners that first and foremost want to make the decision that increases their own bottom lines and offers the best long-term option to keep that bottom line improving.

Seger Mounce @ciggyyy
With EJ Gaines going down, do you think the Rams will keep Brandon McGee or Imoan Claiborne?

@nwagoner: As of right now, I don’t really see how one could make the case to keep McGee. He’s barely played or practiced in nearly a year. Claiborne has flashed some ability in the preseason and camp, and as I wrote back when they signed him, he’s one of the undrafted rookies with the best chances to make the roster. That doesn’t guarantee anything though. He still needs to perform and win the job, and it would help him if he can prove capable on special teams. And the Rams could always surprise and keep just four corners. That’s not many but they’ve done it in the past and they could go heavy at safety. With the many nickel permutations they have available on the roster, that’s not out of the question.

Nicholas Zuckerman @NZuckerman79
Is Isaiah Battle going to see much playing time or start this year? I don’t think he played at Oakland

@nwagoner: He played and had his ups and downs. As you’d expect, he’s a serious work in progress in pass protection, but he shows signs of being a very good run-blocker. He’s not going to start this year, barring some major injury issues, and playing time is probably a similar situation. First things first, he needs to make the roster. I expect that to happen, but the Rams are going to have some tough decisions to make come cut-down days.

Jerseyram1 @Rdvez1
Is this a make or break season for Fisher/Snead, especially with all of the RGIII resources they have had to rebuild?

@nwagoner: As I’ve said and written in this space many times, I don’t believe that’s the case. I understand and even agree with those who believe they should be under a lot of scrutiny going into this year, but the sense I get from Rams Park is that isn’t the case. Of course, things are always subject to change and a really awful season might change some thinking, but with another year left on their deals and the potential for relocation on the table, it seems the Rams are committed to the patient approach.

Baltimore and the Four Pillars of Football Success

How does a team remain good for the long term? The Ravens have undergone a massive makeover since their Super Bowl win in February 2013 but have stayed solid where it matters most—with an owner, GM, coach and QB all committed to the same goal and on the same page

by Peter King

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/05/nfl-baltimore-ravens-formula-success

OWINGS MILLS, Md.—Late on a recent practice morning at the Ravens’ training camp, newness was on display. It’s not a one-season makeover here, but a continuing cycling-through the roster while remaining competitive. Rookie wideout Breshad Perriman, with a twisting catching of a Joe Flacco throw deep downfield. Maxx Williams and Crockett Gilmore alternating with the ones at tight end. Timmy Jernigan and Carl Davis starring in the defensive-line rotation. Kyle Arrington, the New England import, starting as the slot corner.

Watching on the sidelines, I began to wonder, Two-and-a-half years since the Ravens won the Super Bowl, and this team looks so different. How different is it?

A little research, with an assist from PR aide Patrick Gleason, revealed that 17 of the 22 Baltimore starters from the Super Bowl 47 victory over San Francisco are not here. Ninety players in camp. Only five current Ravens were on that Super Bowl team: guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele, quarterback Joe Flacco, and linebackers Terrell Suggs and Courtney Upshaw.

The secondary, mostly wiped clean. The defensive line, gone. Virtually every skill player—Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones and Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce—gone.

“Well, San Francisco’s had a lot of change from that game too,” GM Ozzie Newsome said.

True. But not as much—the Niners have seven of 22 starters from the Super Bowl in training camp this summer. And there’s one other big difference: The Ravens are in position to contend for the Super Bowl. The Niners will be hard-pressed to make the Super Bowl this year. San Francisco is a great example of a very good team hitting a bump in the road and struggling to keep the car out of the shop.

Not Baltimore. This is year eight of a run that just might have five or six prime seasons left. That’s what’s so special about what this franchise has built. The Ravens are not afraid to say goodbye to solid contributors via free-agency or trade—Haloti Ngata, Arthur Jones, Pernell McPhee, Torrey Smith, Corey Graham, Dannell Ellerbe—because of the draft picks that come Baltimore’s way either through trade or from the compensatory-pick system. And there are four other reasons:

Steve Bisciotti.
Ozzie Newsome.
John Harbaugh.
Joe Flacco.

What do consistently good teams have in common? An owner who empowers his staff and gives the personnel side and coaches the resources to win. A general manager who can take the slings and arrows of change, who can keep his front-office staff together and who can work well with a strong-minded head coach.

A coach who doesn’t have to buy the groceries, but who wants to at least push the cart down the aisle at the store, and who can keep good assistants together and command a room, year after year. And a quarterback in mid-prime. Flacco is 30, has started every Ravens game since 2008 and looks to be immune to injury. Plus, he laughs at distractions.

“The most important thing I’ve learned about this level of football is to always be open-minded,” Flacco said. “Things change. Coaches change, your receivers change. Have a good attitude about it. Be open to change. I actually don’t mind it. Last year we had [offensive coordinator] Gary Kubiak, and he was great to work with. Now Marc Trestman comes in, and there’s stuff I’ve learned from him that has made me better. So change is really not a bad thing.”

Arrington, the former Patriot, sees the common elements of long-term successful teams now that he’s been a Raven for the preseason. “It starts at the top,” he said, “from the owners and front office and coaches, good leadership and a consistent quarterback. If you have that, and everyone has the same attitude, then you can plug different guys in and still win. It’s proven.”

But there’s something else. It’s something important, and it has torn asunder relationships on teams that looked to have the four important men at the top.

It’s about staying in your lane. One major factor on teams that have a strong coach and quarterback and have remained good for a long time is that people take care of what’s asked of them and don’t worry about other people’s responsibilities. Interesting little anecdote: At a hotel in New England during last year’s playoffs, I saw a sticker on the front door of a hotel with the Flying Elvis logo and the oft-repeated words of Patriots coach Bill Belichick: “Just do your job.” In New England, “Just do your job” has become a pop-culture mantra, and Belichick is the yogi.

Last week at Steelers camp in Latrobe, Pa., I asked coach Mike Tomlin about the Steelers’ perennial success, and about the franchise’s unparalleled coaching stability—if Tomlin finishes his current deal in 2018, it will mean three men will have coached the team over 50 years. Tomlin was clear about why that’s happened. “With the Steelers, we have very few questions organizationally about the division of labor,” Tomlin said. “They just don’t exist. There is total clarity there. And when you have total clarity there, you can focus on the things that matter. We waste very little time creating challenges because of our comfort, our continuity, our clarity.”

I got plenty of hate from western Pennsylvania last winter when I suggested thatJohn Harbaugh reminded me of Chuck Noll. The venom was spewed because Noll won four Super Bowls and coached the Steelers for 23 years. Harbaugh has won one NFL title and coached the Ravens for eight years.

The era is different. Noll fit Pittsburgh perfectly, and there was no question that he would stay with the Steelers for the long haul. He passed endorsement deals off to his players. He had zero interest in fame. There is no reason to think, in this age of egos and multimillion-dollar career advancement, that Harbaugh would be a lifelong Ravens coach. He may well leave at some point, or get fired because teams are more impatient these days.

I cannot say that Harbaugh will be in Baltimore for 23 years. But I can say that he stays in his lane. I have seen him doing so—and I have seen others in Baltimore stay in their lanes when Harbaugh gets bull-headed about something that he feels is important. And ultimately, they all get along well—and seem to genuinely like each other.

Harbaugh is a good coach for this era because of his mindset entering camp each year, which he relays to his players. “Every year it’s the same,” he said after this early-camp practice. “Basically, ‘This is a football.’ That’s how we start camp, how we start every season. That’s the Vince Lombardi way. Don’t assume anyone knows anything. With so many new people every year, that’s the way it has to be.

Harbaugh brought up the famous Bill Parcells quote about coaching—“If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.” He respects that opinion but doesn’t agree. “To me it’s not the best way to do it,” he says. “Ozzie and I, we’re shopping together. We’re buying the groceries together. Two heads are better than one.

The thing I’ve learned is neither guy is going to throw a trump card on the table. The times Ozzie and I have disagreed vehemently on things, I walk in the next day and I say to him he’s probably right, and he says to me that he sees things my way a little bit. You have to have that in this job to succeed.”

Words to live by—and win by—today in the NFL.

Rams notebook: Barron is working his way back slowly

Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-notebook-barron-is-working-his-way-back-slowly/article_8ec0f020-579f-54d8-a9bb-e83ec336978f.html

Rams safety Mark Barron is not ready to push it just yet.

“I’m fine. I’m just trying to be careful, to make sure I don’t back-track,’’ he said following a recent practice at Rams Park. “I had surgery on the same knee a couple of years ago and I’m just trying to be patient. It’s tough not being out there because I love playing this game.

“Training camp is definitely important, but the main thing is making sure you’re ready for the start of the season.’’

Barron, a fourth-year pro out of Alabama, did not take part in organized team activities early this summer and spent the early days of training camp working on the side with team trainers. He has upped his workload in recent days but does not know if he will see action Friday when the Rams open their preseason schedule against the Raiders in Oakland.

“The preseason means different things for different players,’’ the 25-year-old Barron said. “It’s important to get out there because you want to play and try to get better. But you also want to be smart about it, especially if you’re not ready physically.’’

Barron, who was drafted seventh overall by Tampa Bay in 2012, was acquired by the Rams in October in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round draft picks. He made two starts and played in nine games with the Rams last season, finishing with 23 tackles (16 solo), three sacks and a pass defended.

“It was an adjustment, most definitely, but the guys here helped make the transition pretty easy,’’ said Barron, who started all 37 games he played with the Bucs. “Of course, I’m even more comfortable now, but even last year, coming in at midseason, I felt comfortable from the start with these guys.’’

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams took advantage of Barron’s size (6 feet 2, 213 pounds), strength and versatility to add some interesting wrinkles down the stretch last season and has even more plans for 2015.

“We didn’t ask him to do some of the things last year that we’re asking him to do this year,” Williams said. “We’re trying to learn more about him and, you know, he’s also going from the bottom floor all the way to the top floor, learning the entire defense now. He did a great job in what we asked him to do last year. Now can we do more?”

Barron added: “In some ways I know what to expect, but Coach Williams, he always seems to have something different up his sleeve. Being in my first camp here has been a learning experience, but it’s going good, it’s moving forward.

“It’s a great defensive unit with talent from top to bottom and I think we’re all looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish this year.’’

PRESEASON TV CREW set

Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk and Rams Pro Bowler Torry Holt will again join veteran play-by-play man Andrew Siciliano on the broadcast team for Rams’ exhibition games.Siciliano and Faulk are teaming up for the fifth consecutive year, with Holt as part of the team for the third straight season. The sideline reporters are St. Louis sportscaster Martin Kilcoyne and new StLouisRams.com reporter Dani Klupenger.For the seventh consecutive year, KTVI-FOX 2 will serve as the flagship station for the Rams in the preseason, airing games Friday against the Raiders in Oakland as well as home contests against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 29 and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 3. Fox Sports will nationally broadcast the team’s preseason game Aug. 23 against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.

With the exception of the Tennessee game, the Rams’ preseason games will be re-aired by KPLR 11 at 5 p.m. on the following Sunday.

MINORITY COACHES visit

The Rams had four visiting coaches in Earth City to take part in the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, which provides opportunities for minority coaches to observe, participate and gain coaching experience. The group included Regi Trotter, a secondary coach from Missouri Western, and Southern University wide receivers coach Chris Coleman, who were with the Rams for OTAs.Kenny Holmes, who played for Jeff Fisher at Tennessee from 1997-2000, was here for the start of camp but has returned to the University of Idaho, where he coaches the defensive line. The only coach still in camp is Kade Rannings, an offensive line coach from the University of Montana.RAM-BLINGSEarly-afternoon thunderstorms may have been a factor as the Rams drew 876 for their next-to-last training camp workout in Earth City. Camp will wrap up Tuesday with a practice to start at 5:30 p.m.Another sizable group of players sat out Monday’s practice: DE Chris Long, DT Doug Worthington, CBs Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines and Brandon McGee, RB Isaiah Pead, TE Brad Smelley, LB Kory Toomer and OL Cody Wichmann.

Running back Tre Mason and safety Maurice Alexander dressed out after missing the last couple of workouts because of injury but did not do much.

Marcus Roberson, a second-year cornerback, is getting a lot of work with the starters.

There is no news on Gaines, who left practice after being stepped on late last week; Fisher said that the second-year cornerback from Mizzou is seeing a foot/ankle specialist.

• Visitors at Rams Park on Monday included NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and USA Today’s Lindsay Jones as well as scouts from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/the-real-miracle-of-acupuncture-that-anyone-still-believes-in-it

The Real Miracle of Acupuncture: That Anyone Still Believes In It

by SIMON OXENHAM

Unlike plenty of other mystic beliefs, the practical nature of acupuncture has the benefit of making it readily falsifiable through the form of a sham study. In a sham study we can compare genuine acupuncture, in which real acupuncturists provide treatment, to sham acupuncture in which researchers go through the motions, randomly poking or randomly pretending to poke their patients with needles. More research has been done into acupuncture than practically any other kind of alternative medicine, yet the evidence from thousands of studies points conclusively to the fact that acupuncture, at worst, is completely ineffective and, at best, is no more effective than a placebo. Astoundingly, the benefit of acupuncture is so poor that in plenty of studies, even compared to no treatment, the benefits of acupuncture are practically impossible to notice.

In 2013 David Colquhoun wrote a fascinating and damning review of the evidence against acupuncture in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia. It is often alleged that acupuncture is an ancient medical practice that has been refined and revered for thousands of years. In reality acupuncture is indeed an ancient medical practice, but it has in fact been in decline for thousands of years. In 1822 it was actually banned from the Imperial Medical Academy by Emperor Dao Guang. It wasn’t until 1966 that it was revived by Chairman Mao Zedong, but even he didn’t actually believe in it. Mao stated: “Even though I believe we should promote Chinese medicine, I personally do not believe in it.” Yet despite all these obstacles, acupuncture has resurrected itself in the 21st Century, in a Western world that has (arguably rightly) become fearful and suspicious of mainstream medicine.

“There is now unanimity between acupuncturists and nonacupuncturists that any benefits that may exist are too small to provide any noticeable benefit to patients. That being the case, it is hard to see why acupuncture is still used. Certainly, such an accumulation of negative results would result in the withdrawal of any conventional treatment.” — David Colquhoun

At this point in the conversation, plenty of otherwise perfectly rational people will often say something along the lines of: “Yes, it is clear that any effect is completely due to the placebo effect … but so what? Surely, the benefits of the placebo effect are better than doing nothing at all.” Indeed, as we are only now beginning to understand, the placebo effect is so powerful that it still works even when you are fully aware that an intervention is only a placebo.

Here’s a tip for arguing with people that aren’t entirely rational: If they use the word “surely,” you can be pretty damn sure that whatever they say next is likely to present you with a massive hole in their argument. The simple answer is that all medicines involve a placebo effect. Acupuncture and other alternative medicines are not somehow unique providers of the placebo effect’s wondrous power. This is why for a genuine medicine to be approved, it must not just be better than nothing; it must be shown in a placebo-controlled trial to be more effective than a placebo. This principle is the very foundation of modern medicine. Indeed, any randomized, controlled trial worth its salt will not just test against a placebo, it will test against the next best alternative treatment (but that’s a subject for another post).

Despite the wealth of evidence debunking acupuncture, we continue to see poorly conducted trial after poorly conducted trial popping up, with credulous claims from journalists in otherwise sane publications.

“Almost all trials of alternative medicines seem to end up with the conclusion that more research is needed. After more than 3,000 trials, that is dubious. … Since it has proved impossible to find consistent evidence after more than 3,000 trials, it is time to give up.” — David Colquhoun

Recently, plenty of newspapers fell hook, line, and sinker for an extraordinarily laughable acupuncture study on, wait for it… rats. After I’d finished chortling at the idiocy of trying to test acupuncture’s effect on pain on anything other than a human, I downloaded the paper, which The Guardian breathlessly described as: “the strongest evidence yet that the ancient Chinese therapy has more than a placebo effect when used to treat chronic stress,” almost as if more evidence than no evidence is somehow a claim that deserves some kind of medal.

Before we launch into a full-frontal takedown of this paper (don’t worry, it won’t take long), let’s first consider the fact that any surrogate outcome study designed to support particular claims made by acupuncturists is pretty much entirely pointless before acupuncture can be shown to be effective, i.e., actually reduce symptoms. The fact that the study was conducted on rats takes the study out of the realms of the foolish and into the realms of the downright ludicrous.

The study consisted of bathing rats in ice baths for an hour per day for 14 days and running current through the rats’ with electrified needles, as if this bears any relation to what happens in your high street acupuncture clinic. Surgeon and author of the outstanding Respectful Insolence blog, David Gorski, examined the study in admirable detail before suggesting an alternate explanation for the results:

“Having a needle stuck in the leg and having current run through it hurts less than having a needle stuck in the back and having current run through it. There’s no way of knowing because we can’t ask the rat.”

I don’t have much time for critics of animal trials for life-saving treatments, but this is a trial that animal rights activists might want to take a serious look at. It is inconceivable that bathing rats in ice baths and jabbing them with electrified needles for the purposes of justifying a Chinese medical practice debunked hundreds of years ago could have any possible productive outcome. It certainly doesn’t tell us anything useful about acupuncture, except maybe that certain acupuncture scientists have even less of a clue what they are doing than we ever gave them credit for.