Rams expect Tru Johnson to handle cornerback job

I’ve said something like this before, but Jenkins could be smoothing his game out and Johnson could be stepping up. They get Gaines back next year. There’s good buzz about Roberson, and even Claiborne too. Plus next year is a good draft for CBs.

Compare that to 2000-2011. In that span the Rams drafted these CBs: Shepherd, Butler, Fisher, Garrett, Groce, Bartell, Hill, Wade, King, Fletcher, Johnson, Murphy, and Baker.

That list not only includes some of the Rams worst CBs of all time, it also includes some of their worst 1st and 2nd round picks of all time.

Rams CB Johnson backing his talk with his play

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-cb-johnson-backing-his-talk-with-his-play/article_a69ba0f5-ffbe-5ba1-ac02-faf55560ebb5.html

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson did a lot of talking in Oxnard — OK, let’s call it trash-talking — but he said it wasn’t necessarily by design.

“I’m the type of player, I don’t talk too much until somebody starts talking to me,” Johnson said. “Tony Romo, he’s the one that really sparked it.”

That’s right, long before the brawl that ended Tuesday’s joint practices with Dallas, Johnson was engaged in quite a trash-talking dialogue with the star Cowboys quarterback as well as wide receiver Dez Bryant during a one-on-one red zone passing drill.

“Oh, Dez was there, too,” Johnson said. “Big time. Both of them were yapping at the mouth. It was a good time, though. Great competition for those two days.”

Johnson declined to say what Romo said to get things started.

“I don’t want to get into details,” Johnson said. “They’re in the past. I’m going to Tennessee.”

Which is where the Rams play Sunday night in their second game of the preseason.

Johnson, who’s having a very good camp, had a very good period in that red zone drill, breaking up several passes.

“That’s what I’m supposed to do,” he said. “That’s part of the job.”

At one point, Bryant got so worked up he lined up over Johnson ready to go against him one-on-one, bad hamstring and all.

“He was sold,” Johnson said. “He wanted to go up there. His coaches told him to stop. C’mon now. How you gonna talk trash when you’re not practicing? Seriously.”

Bryant sat out the Oxnard practices because of a hamstring injury. It should be noted that the “fun” between Johnson, Romo, and Bryant was on a field adjacent to where the brawl broke out and had nothing to do with the brawl starting.

It was merely an entertaining warmup act for a main event that would come later. With the season-ending foot injury to E.J. Gaines, the Rams need Johnson to be more than a warmup act in their secondary.

When all was said and done, Johnson may have won the job anyway over Gaines. But now there’s no choice. He’s being counted on to start at corner opposite of Janoris Jenkins this season.

Losing Gaines is a blow, but coach Jeff Fisher thinks the Rams have enough talent at the position to get by.

“To come in as a sixth-round pick and get an opportunity because of injury and keep the job, I thought it was a very impressive effort last year for him,” Fisher said of Gaines. “We were counting on him. We were going to create competition between Trumaine (Johnson) and he this year to see what happens, and it’s just unfortunate.”

But there’s no doubt Johnson appears up to the challenge thus far in camp. He was strong in last week’s preseason opener as well, saving a touchdown with an end zone interception and also breaking up a deep pass against Oakland.

“It all goes back to what he’s done this offseason,” Fisher said. “He was there every day. He’s worked, he’s taken care of his body, and he’s determined. As you get in that third and fourth year and play like he has, you should start making those plays when you have that kind of ability.”

Johnson is one of several Rams scheduled for unrestricted free agency at the end of this year. He said he’s unaware of any extension talks going on between the Rams and his agent.

“Yeah, this is my contract year but I don’t get caught up on that,” he said. “You can’t. I come out here, it’s day by day. Try to be perfect.”

Johnson came into the NFL draft with two of the other three starters in the secondary — Jenkins and free safety Rodney McLeod. Starting strong safety T.J. McDonald came in the following year (2013). So they’ve put in some time together as a unit.

“I love these guys,” Johnson said. “I built chemistry with these guys. I love Coach Fisher. He’s a player’s coach, and I love everything about the whole organization.”

Johnson appears to be playing with more confidence this season, although he says that’s not the case.

“The confidence has been there,” he said with a chuckle. “My whole mindset is coming out here and stacking good days on top of good days. Trying to stay consistent.”

Gaines’ injury not only settles matters at one corner, it also clarifies the situation at nickel back, where Gaines was slated to battle second-year man Lamarcus Joyner for that job.

Now, it’s all on Joyner to get it done at the nickel — or third cornerback position — a position that’s on the field about 60 percent of the time in the pass-happy NFL.

As part of that domino effect, Marcus Roberson moves up to the No. 4 corner spot. He began camp battling Brandon McGee for the No. 5 corner spot, but McGee has been out with a foot injury.

Fisher said Joyner is “light years ahead of where he was last year. … The game’s starting to slow down for him. When he knows exactly what to do, he does it very well. So we’re counting on him to be effective in the slot.”

Realizing that the mental aspect of the game is just as important as physical skill, Joyner said he switched his focus in the offseason. He spent a lot of time studying his playbook, focusing on his assignments and the concepts within those assignments.

A college star at Florida State, Joyner realized as a rookie last season that it takes more than talent to succeed in the NFL.

“You come to the league and you see that everybody’s just as good as you,” Joyner said. “So it’s not just I’m gonna go tie my shoes on Sunday and compete. You have to really prepare each day of camp. And I didn’t really understand that coming into this game.”

He understands it now.