Zooey wrote:

I would have LOVED to see them add a Timmerman, or some vet capable of nailing down a position on this young, young line. But without a specific name of a guy, this kind of armchair GMing drives me crazy. “They should have got somebody to play X really well!”

Great. Who?

I agree with that and add this. In terms of how they worked the cap, they could either add a vet lineman or extend Foles. I doubt they could do both.

In terms of what they spent in free agency, Fairley was just a swap for Foles. They added Ayers, but he was a modest 3 M a year. More importantly, they extended Kendricks.

..

wv wrote:

Still no Chancellor

There’s talk of the Giants trying to trade for KC.

.

LB Dunbar, C Jones among Rams roster cuts

JIM THOMAS

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/lb-dunbar-c-jones-among-rams-roster-cuts/article_9225b7af-3b78-52f4-b381-fd7cb729304e.html

Last year at this time, Rams roster cutdown weekend drew national attention because of Michael Sam’s bid to become the first openly-gay player to make an NFL roster. Sam, the former University of Missouri star, was beaten out by Ethan Westbrooks as things turned out.

Things weren’t nearly as dramatic this time at Rams Park, but as always there were a couple of surprises as the team reached the regular season roster limit of 53 players.

First and foremost in terms of surprises was the release of veteran linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, a good run defender and emotional presence on defense. Another surprise was the release of center Barrett Jones, a heralded college player at Alabama who went from competing for a starting job to out of a job.

It was no surprise, however, that quarterback Austin Davis was released despite the fact that he started eight games a year ago, winning three, and posting back-to-back 300-plus yard passing games against Dallas and Philadelphia.

The Rams kept three undrafted rookies: offensive tackle Darrell Williams, wide receiver Bradley Marquez, and linebacker Cameron Lynch. Only one member of the 2015 draft class was cut, seventh-round defensive end Martin Ifedi of Memphis.
After using a 2016 fifth-round pick on Isaiah Battle in the NFL’s supplemental draft in July, the Rams cut the offensive tackle from Clemson.

The defense is filled with familiar faces. Nineteen of the team’s 23 defensive players were on the 2014 season-ending roster, including seven of eight defensive linemen, and all nine members of the secondary.

The only newcomers on defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ unit are tackle Nick Fairley, and linebackers Akeem Ayers, Bryce Hager, and Lynch. Fairley and Ayers were free-agent pickups; Hager is seventh-round pick from Baylor.

On offense, four of the five running backs, five of the six wide receivers, and all three tight ends to make the 2015 roster were on the team in 2014. The only newcomers to crack those groups were running back Todd Gurley and Marquez at wide receiver.

But none of the three quarterbacks on the 2015 squad where with the team on the season-ending roster in 2014. Starter Nick Foles was acquired in the Sam Bradford trade with Philadelphia and No. 3 Sean Mannion was drafted in the third round.
(Second-stringer Case Keenum spent part of last season on the Rams’ practice squad and active roster, but finished the season with the Houston Texans.)

The biggest makeover came on the offensive line where six of the 10 players on the 53-man roster are new. And five of those six are rookies: Rob Havenstein, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal, Cody Wichmann, and Williams. The other newcomer is free-agent pickup Garrett Reynolds.

While commonly referred to as the “final 53,” what has taken place over the weekend at Rams Park and all around the NFL is really the “first 53.” Coach Jeff Fisher indicated that there could be some additional roster tweaking before the Sept. 13 regular-season opener against Seattle.

Tight end and cornerback could be areas where the Rams are looking for help. The Rams kept only three tight ends _ Jared Cook, Lance Kendricks and Corey Harkey – and Harkey lines up more in the backfield at fullback than he does at tight end.

Two tight ends were cut over the weekend, Alex Bayer and Justice Cunningham. A year ago, Bayer made the opening-day roster after leading the Rams in preseason catches (10) and finishing second in reception yards (135).

But he was slowed by a foot injury and subsequent surgery just before the start of the OTA practice sessions in June and wasn’t as productive this preseason.
As for cornerback the Rams only have four on the roster at the moment in Janoris Jenkins, Trumaine Johnson, Lamarcus Joyner, and Marcus Roberson. Most teams carry at least five corners.

Surprisingly, Fisher held a press conference at 4 p.m., or one-hour after the NFL deadline to reach the 53-man roster limit. But he declined to announce the team’s roster cuts or comment about any roster cuts already reported upon by the media.
The Rams didn’t announce their roster cuts until nearly 7 p.m. Saturday, or nearly four hours after the league deadline to turn in those moves.

So the small group of reporters who gathered for the press conference were unable to ask about the release of 21 players over the weekend, including Davis, Jones, and Dunbar.

Three years ago, Dunbar finished second on the squad with a career-high 157 tackles, and also established career highs in sacks (4 ½) and interceptions (two).
But he was released prior to the 2013 season after being suspended four games by the NFL for violating league policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He was re-signed Oct. 1, and played in the final 12 games of the season, starting 10 times. He played in 15 games last year, once again starting 10 games.

Dunbar lost his starting job to Ayers this year, nonetheless his release was puzzling considering the team’s lack of depth and experience behind the starters. In addition, Dunbar had a modest cap number of $1.345 million this year, and the Rams already were about $4.5 million under the cap.

At quarterback, Davis became expendable in the Rams’ eyes once they traded a seventh-round pick for Keenum in March. He was given very little opportunity to show anything in the preseason, appearing in only one series in each of the four games. Thursday against Kansas City, all he did was hand off the football to running backs – eight times.

Meanwhile at center, Jones came to the Rams as a fourth-round draft pick in 2013 but was slowed by injury in each of his first two NFL seasons, appearing in only 10 games total. In the three-way battle for center this year, he was beaten out by Tim Barnes and Demetrius Rhaney.

BTW, how much 2015 cap space do they have after cutting Davis and Dunbar? That’s another couple M, right?

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet

A team that claims #Rams supp pick OT Isaiah Battle has to pay $80k in bonus guarantees. STL split up SB into multiple bonuses after cutdown.

Rams cuts to get to the 53-man roster are announced

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-report/rams-cuts-to-get-to-the–man-roster-are/article_4e49b7d6-1790-56ac-b740-ff5193c2e1e4.html

The Rams finals cuts to get to the 53-man roster have been announced

New additions include quarterback Austin Davis, tackle Isaiah Battle, tight end Justice Cunningham, defensive tackle Marcus Forston, linebacker Marshall McFadden, cornerback Brandon McGee, safety Christian Bryant, wide receiver Daniel Rodriguez and defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat.

The team also terminated the contract of linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, an eighth-year pro who joined the Rams in 2012 and made 36 starts over the last three seasons. In addition, running back Trey Watts was placed on the reserved/suspended list and does not count against the 53-man roster; he’s sitting out the first four games of the regular season for violating the league’s policy on substance abuse.

Davis, who lost out to rookie and third-round draft pick Sean Mannion, started eight games and led the Rams to a pair of wins a year ago.

The team selected Battle, a 6-foot-7, 290-pounder from Clemson in the supplemental draft, surrendering a fifth-round pick in 2016.

Cunningham spent most of the last two seasons on the Rams’ practice squad. He saw action in one game in 2014.

Forston, a Miami native who played for the U., was signed during training camp. He had been out of football for nearly a year.

McFadden, who’d previously played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders, played in five games with the Rams a year ago.

McGee, a fifth-round pick in 2013, played in 15 games as a rookie but was limited to two last year before spending the rest of the season on injured reserve with a foot injury. That lingering foot injury limited him to just one practice in training camp.

Bryant, from Ohio State, spent last year on the practice squad after being selected by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2014 draft.

Signed after a tryout, Rodriguez walked on at Clemson after serving in the Army and earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his heroism the Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan in October 2009. He served mainly as a kick returning in the preseason.

Trinca-Pasat, signed as a rookie free against out of Iowa, played well in the preseason, tying for the team lead in tackles, but was unable to find a spot on the team’s strongest positional unit.

Also cut Saturday were TE Alex Bayer, WR Emory Blake, RB Malcolm Brown, CB Montell Garner, S Jacob Hagen, DE Martin Ifedi, C Barrett Jones, FB Zach Laskey, DE Matt Longacre, CB Trovon Reed and G Brandon Washington.

After a stellar career at Alabama, Jones was the Rams fourth-round draft choice in 2013. He joined the team with a seriously injured foot and never was able to capture the on-field success he enjoyed with the Crimson Tide. In two seasons here, he played in just 10 games and came up short in a three-man battle Mizzou product Tim Barnes and second-year pro Demetrius Rhaney for the center spot in training camp this year.

Ifedi, from the University of Memphis, was a seventh-round draft choice in May.

Bayer was signed as an undrafted free agent a year ago and played six games on special teams a year ago. The son of longtime NFL QB Jeff Blake, Emory Blake spent most of the last two seasons on the Rams’ practice squad.

Brown, Garner, Laskey, Hagen, Laskey and Longacre (Northwest Missouri) were signed as free agents shortly after the draft in May. Reed, an Auburn product, joined the team during camp while Washington, played in just one game since joining the Rams in 2012.

— EARLIER STORY —

The Rams submitted their 53-man roster to the NFL offices by the 3 p.m. deadline on Saturday. But in a press conference an hour later at Rams Park, head coach Jeff Fisher said the final cuts would not be released publicly until this evening, citing “competitive reasons.”

“Well it’s been a challenging couple of days,” Fisher said. “We’re getting closer to the final roster. Really not going to confirm anything at this point for competitive reasons with respect to the practice squad. We’re close. There’s some pending moves out there, but we’ll get the information to you as far as the final cut downs are concerned as soon as we release it to the league and it gets out.”

Fisher stressed that this would be the first 53-man roster but maybe not the final one.

“As we speak right now, we’ve gone to 53 (players) with the potential for a move here and there,” he said. “We’re probably more concerned about our 46 (players) going into the game and then getting our practice squad players back because we have a good group. We potentially have an excellent group of practice squad players.”

He continued: “I think there are potentially, competitively, maybe a difference in three or four hours as far as…from a competitive standpoint where clubs have a chance to go out and look at your players that you released. So that’s kind of where we’re at. You’ll get the information, but we want to buy as much time as we possibly can.”

Fisher also said that rookie running back Todd Gurley, the 10th overall pick in the draft, would not play in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 13 and that he would announce his starting center after Wednesday’s practice at Rams Park.

The Post-Dispatch has reported the following cuts Friday and Saturday: RBs Malcolm Brown and Zach Laskey, WR Emory Blake, TE Alex Bayer; C Barrett Jones; OG Brandon Washington; DEs Martin Ifedi and Matt Longacre; LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar; CBs Montell Garner and Trovon Reed; and S Jacob Hagen.

In addition, RB Trey Watts begins his four-game suspension and does not count on the 53-man roster.

St. Louis Rams cut 21 players, including Barrett Jones

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra…s-rams-cut-21-players-including-barrett-jones

Most significant move: For most of the offseason and preseason, Barrett Jones looked poised to finally take the reins and become the St. Louis Rams’ starting center. He was given the opportunity to compete with Tim Barnes and Demetrius Rhaney, rotating with them throughout. Now, Jones is out of a job. The irony in it all is that one of the primary reasons Jones wasn’t kept was because of a lack of positional versatility, which was one of his hallmarks coming out of Alabama. But it never really translated in St. Louis as Jones struggled to move defenders in the run game and doesn’t possess Rhaney’s athleticism to get to the second level in the team’s zone blocking schemes. The Rams have been slow to let go of draft picks in the past but Jones had two injury-plagued seasons and a full offseason to get up to speed to make the starting job his own. Because he didn’t he’s now in need of a new one.

Final Roster Cuts

A surprise at linebacker: After signing veteran linebacker Akeem Ayers in March, the Rams looked like they finally had positioned themselves to have some veteran depth at linebacker. Jo-Lonn Dunbar, who had been a starter on the strong side figured to at worst become the primary backup at all three linebacker spots. Instead, Dunbar is gone and the Rams are light on depth once again at the position. Instead, the Rams opted to keep special teams leader Daren Bates, undrafted rookie Cameron Lynch and seventh-round pick Bryce Hager behind James Laurinaitis, Ayers and Alec Ogletree. The Rams do have safety Mark Barron, who can play a hybrid role as a linebacker but there’s not much depth here once again.

Loading up on O-linemen but with a twist: It was expected that the Rams would keep 10 offensive linemen and they did. But it’s not the ones many thought. Aside from Jones and Dunbar, the other name on the team’s list of cuts that might qualify as a surprise is rookie tackle Isaiah Battle. From the moment the team used a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft to add Battle in the supplemental draft this year, the Rams said that he would be a work in progress. It was clear from the preseason that Battle has a long way to go before he can contribute. That the Rams opted to keep undrafted rookie Darrell Williams instead of Battle is a testament to just how far off Battle is from being able to play. Now, the Rams will roll the dice that they can get him through to the practice squad. If they lose him, it will be the second pick they’ve surrendered in next year’s draft, along with the seventh-round choice they sent to Houston for quarterback Case Keenum.

What’s next: The Rams will have a walk-through Sunday and will have Monday off before beginning their practice week with a light workout Tuesday. They open the season at home against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 13.

Rams cuts: QB Austin Davis, TE Alex Bayer, OT Isaiah Battle, TE Justice Cunningham, WR Emory Blake, WR Daniel Rodriguez, RB Malcolm Brown, S Christian Bryant, DT Marcus Forston, CB Montell Garner, S Jacob Hagen, DE Martin Ifedi, RB Zach Laskey, DE Matt Longacre, OL Barrett Jones, LB Marshall McFadden, CB Brandon McGee, CB Trovon Reed, DT Louis Trinca-Pasat, G Brandon Washington. RB Trey Watts was placed on the reserve/suspended list. LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar’s contract was terminated.

PA Ram wrote:

That sucks for Trinca-Pasat but there’s just no room. Not sure why they kept 6 wide receivers. They must really like all of them.

He and Battle are clearly PS guys. If others don’t pick them up first.

from off the net

===

alyoshamucci]

Coming into this I was really confused with what the boys were going to do, and while I feel good about what I would do, I don;t know how they feel about what THEY are going to do.

NOTE: I AM DOING THIS BEFORE CUTS. I know they’re going on right now, but I’m not looking.

I was pretty happy with a few things … not so happy about others.

1) I think Barrett Jones claimed the job. I think I can see what his big issue is now, because I was not sure given the previous sample size. I think his issue is getting himself set after the snap. He got bulldozed again this game … but while before I thought it was strength, it doesn’t seem to be that now. I think if he’s late off the snap or the DT is early he gets beat. He can learn how to recover there IMO. When Wells got beat like that he wouldn’t even be out of his stance. Also, BJ’s screen game is the best of the OCs.

2) Tavon seems to be seeing the field better. With a guy with his speed, any hesitation is what costs you the big play. Even if they know it’s coming they have a hard time with it.

3) G Rob is much better in Pass Protection … his weak link actually seems to be in the running game.

4) Battle showed a LOT of improvement in 4 games.

5) Pead ran hard. Givens played fast. Both could be traded IMO .. or kept … just glad they are playing like professionals.

6) Trinca Pasat played a LOT of snaps at full speed. Excited to see him with his role limited.

7) Westbrooks finally made some noise inside. I knew he could do it, but watching him throw an OG was satisfying.

8) Mo was playing faster, and Roberson had a couple good breakups.

Side note: Chris Conley is a superior athlete.

9) Regardless of what else happens on the line, Harkey can really block.

10) The LBs were moving faster as a unit.

11) That late WR kid, #15? He can play. Hope he makes the PS.

12) Still like Wichmann.

The Bad

13) Guys who are trying to make a team that don’t wrap up. What?

14) Forston ran out of moves. PS?

15) Ifedi underwhelmed all PS.

16) Mannion … dude you gotta pull the trigger faster or your WRs are gonna get killed. And Sean, that’s a really ugly deep ball. If it wasn’t for his draft status this game might have gotten him cut.

17) Cookie you cannot tip that ball up in the air.

18) Roberson, calm yourself when there’s tipped ball, it’s a gimme dude.

The Ugly

19) Brandon Washington hurts to watch. Every play he was involved in was like having a loose angry bull on the field .. slow, then randomly running into people and on the ground. Honestly … he could be blind.

Rams get backfield in order with roster cuts

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-report/rams-get-backfield-in-order-with-roster-cuts/article_4e49b7d6-1790-56ac-b740-ff5193c2e1e4.html

With the release of running backs Malcolm Brown of Texas, and Zach Laskey of Georgia Tech, it looks like the Rams backfield is settled. At least as settled as it can be with Todd Gurley still completing rehab from a knee injury and Tre Mason nursing a hamstring injury.

Brown and Laskey joined the team as undrafted rookies in the spring, and Brown had some good moments in the preseason, rushing for 69 yards on 17 carries, for a 4.1 average, and catching nine passes for 127 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown catch and run against Tennessee. The nine catches tied for the team lead during exhibition play. Laskey, who the Rams listed as a fullback, did not carry from scrimmage during the preseason and had one catch for nine yards.

In addition, running back Trey Watts now begins his four-game suspension for violating NFL policy on substance abuse. Watts led the Rams in rushing this preseason, with 98 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. He also caught eight passes for 58 yards.

With those moves, which don’t become official until later this afternoon, the Rams are left with Gurley, Mason, Benny Cunningham, Isaiah Pead, and Chase Reynolds.

Other Rams roster cuts, according to various league sources: TE Alex Bayer; CBs Montell Garner and Trovon Reed; S Jacob Hagen; WR Emory Blake; OG Brandon Washington; and DEs Matt Longacre and Martin Ifedi.

PA Ram wrote:

Jim Thomas ‏@jthom1
Rams release WR Emory Blake. Have been told that WR Bradley Marquez has made 53-man roster. Nothing’s official till 3 p.m., so we’ll see.

If they kept Marquez I can only assume they’re keeping 6 receivers.

Jim Thomas ‏@jthom1
Former Rams RB Daryl Richardson released by NY Jets.

Jim Thomas ‏@jthom1
More roster cuts for Rams, per league sources: S Jacob Hagen, CB Montell Garner, RBs Malcolm Brown and Zach Laskey.

Jim Thomas ‏@jthom1
Eagles have only 2 QBs w/release of Tim Tebow. Would they trade for Rams Austin Davis, who threw for 375 yards, 3 TDs against them in ’14?

from off the net

===

The Professor

Rotoworld says Brown, Garner, Laskey, Hagen cut (nm)

Agamemnon wrote:

zn jinxed him.

Yeah? Well watch what you say or I will have to jinx YOU.

Wait. Dammit.

I think I just jinxed my ability to do that.