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znModeratorThat is the cover. The real goal is to remove the flag altogether everywhere.
Real goal of whom? Believe me, as one of the people who advocates removing the white supremacist army of north virginia battle flag from government buildings I and my minions have no further plans.
I think that the slippery slope argument is itself a slippery slope.
znModeratorThis is going well. But it would be fun to hear more.
znModeratorWe’re told that ISIS is the great danger to our nation but its flag with the horrors it represents is shown on tv and in print. It is probably sold somewhere here too. So ban the stars and bars instead? Issues to distract voters by both parties in the presidential election from an economy in the toilet and wars raging:
Gay Marriage
Ban the Confederate FlagMore to be added to this list as always.
The issue is not banning it. No one proposes that.
The discussion is about whether it ought to be flown on public buildings as an official symbol of the state of south carolina.
znModeratorWarner
Life is funny in a lot of ways. Can you talk about how you were about to try out for the Bears when you got bit by something on your honeymoon. Can you imagine if you would’ve made the team and how different things could have been?
“It’s amazing how much perspective we gain after the fact. I think so much of my life…it’s hard to see sometimes why we’re fighting some of the battles we’re fighting. And then much later…you start to see how those moments…not just shape your career, but really shaped who I was and shaped the man I became. So when I finally did get my shot in St. Louis, I was ready to seize it. I believe there was a training process for me both on the field and off…that really helped me to be able to handle the situations I was placed in in my career. To be able to stay strong and say confident in this moments, there’s just so much to the journey. A lot of people don’t know how it started and some of the things I struggled with and where I was before that. I wasn’t always in a place of faith and a confidence of faith like I am now and that caused me to waiver a little bit early in the my career.”
On helping two different organizations (the Rams and Cardinals) get back to relevance:
“For me it’s the bigger picture, the blessing of having an opportunity to truly impact two different organizations. To be able to leave my mark much bigger than football. To instill in people this idea of character and work ethic and wanting to be excellent in everything you do. That to me that’s the stuff that’s exciting. To be able to prove that you can accomplish things no one thought you could. The coolest part is it happened twice. That it wasn’t just the first time in St. Louis. When everybody kind of said ‘OK, it’s over, it’s done,’ I got the chance…to show people again.”
Former St. Louis Cardinal QB Jim Hart recently said he envied your right arm the most of anybody:
“Honored to have Jim say that because I don’t think too many people would recognize my arm as being special. But what I always felt like I had that very few people had was great anticipation and great accuracy. I think that’s kind of what Jim was alluding to. The beautiful thing about what happened in St. Louis…was A: that system played to my strengths. The ability to anticipate and see things and throw to windows was so perfect for what I did. And then you couple that with the talent I had around me and guys that were so efficient. Isaac Bruce, I don’t think I’ve ever met a better route runner. And Marshall Faulk, who understand what I was seeing as a quarterback.
“All those things came together that really allowed me to play to my strenghths. I remember there would be times when (Mike Martz) would ask me why I threw a certain ball (because it was a tight window). I remember thinking, ‘Tight window? That was wide open.’ And you go back and watch the film and think, ‘Wow, that was a tighter window than I thought it was.’ You get into a zone where you see things so clearly and everything’s so defined…that things did seem a lot more open. They seemed like they were a lot easier.”
znModeratorNo, i did not see that.
Wonder what happened to ole RM.
w
vHe’s around. Never did post much, but he’s around.
March 13, 2015 at 1:03 pm
http://theramshuddle.com/topic/should-the-rams-still-draft-a-qb/znModeratorThat’s a lot, Mack. My sympathies to you. My sympathies on your daughter, and my supportive comraderie to you as a son dealing with an aging father.
znModeratorGood to see you again, RM.
I don’t know if you noticed, but that was from a year ago.
It’s the first post ever posted here.
znModeratorTalk commences of a possible one-year L.A. delay
by Mike Florio
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/28/talk-commences-of-a-possible-one-year-l-a-delay/
At a time when it’s become a foregone conclusion that the NFL will return to Los Angeles in 2016, a possible caveat has emerged
The return might come in 2017.
Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
LA scenario I’ve heard floated a lot is a little like this, with one big differenceAlbert Breer @AlbertBreer
That scenario: Rams go to LA in ’16, get head start for investing. Second Inglewood spot stays open, so Chargers/Raiders maintain leverage.
so screw STL with financing set?Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
No. If St. Louis has a solid plan in place in the fall, things get more complicated.znModeratorTalk commences of a possible one-year L.A. delay
by Mike Florio
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/28/talk-commences-of-a-possible-one-year-l-a-delay/
At a time when it’s become a foregone conclusion that the NFL will return to Los Angeles in 2016, a possible caveat has emerged
The return might come in 2017.
According to an item from the Editorial board of U-T San Diego, “There is speculation that the owners at the August meeting [to discuss Los Angeles] may delay the entire process for a year to let everything percolate in [Oakland, San Diego, and St. Louis] to see what develops.”
The paper calls it the “best possible outcome” for San Diego, since it would give the local politicians more time to properly pursue a vote regarding the use of taxpayer funds. It also would give both the city and the team cover, if the voters decide to reject the use of public money — necessarily paving the way for the Chargers to return to the city where the team spent its first season in 1960, the inaugural year of the AFL.
It’s unclear where the speculation came from. It could be something that the Editorial board of U-T San Diego conjured (“yes, there is speculation, started by us”) as a Hail Mary pass to keep an NFL team in town for U-T San Diego to cover. If, of course, a public vote regarding the use of taxpayer money would go against the current national trend against subsidizing billionaires’ ballparks.
Tapping the brakes could have unintended consequences. For example, if one of the three teams linked to L.A. gets too antsy about the situation, it could in theory decide to go rogue, moving without NFL approval and bracing to argue that a group of independent businesses ultimately can’t tell one of those businesses where it should conduct its business without violating the antitrust laws.
It’s also possible (“yes, there is speculation, started by us”) that the owners could decide to green light a return by the Rams to L.A. for 2016, with the question of whether the team’s new stadium in Inglewood would be shared with the Chargers or Raiders unresolved.
No amount of delay will change the fact that L.A. has quickly morphed from luxury to necessity for the NFL, with three teams having unsettled stadium situations and each circling the City of Angels. But if the eventual goal is to put two teams in L.A. and to ensure that the third has a new stadium in its current market, it could be that one more year will allow one of the teams to work out a deal locally, allowing the other two to move.
Under that scenario, it’s unlikely that the Chargers would accept an outcome that puts them in a new San Diego stadium and the Rams and Raiders back up the road in L.A. Delaying the process that would allow the Chargers to grab one of the two seats in Los Angeles increases the likelihood that, when the music stops, three franchises will be clustered into territory in which the Chargers currently enjoy their status as the only NFL show in town.
For that reason alone (and the fact that they’ve been trying for 14 years to bring this situation to a head), the Chargers probably aren’t inclined to wait any longer.
znModeratorYeah Ive seen those stats and…i dunno. Im not sure they match
up with my eyeball test. There’s been plenty of games where Long
just seems to disappear, it seems to me. I do think he’s ‘good’ when healthy
but i dunno about “4th or 5th ranking’ good. Maybe.Well no matter who keeps track of the numbers, Long is always up there when you count hurries and hits along with sacks.
Sometimes you need numbers because the eyeball isn’t enough.
This is always accompanied by stats that measure how well opponents run at the Rams right defensive end. In 2012, they were 9th in that. In 2013, 8th. In 2014, with Long out part of the time and not 100% the rest, they were 19th.
…
znModeratorWell, yeah, not a Deacon or a Quinn,
but he had 13 sacks in 2011 and 11.5 in 2012 — If he
can repeat that kind of play, and Donald
and Quinn play well — could be interesting.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Long
w
vLong is also very productive, especially when you factor in hits and hurries.
I like the PFF “pass rushing production” stat, a rating which measures pressure created on a per snap basis with weighting toward sacks.
Long’s PRP ratings (and bear in mind starting in 2012, he rotated with Hayes). Looking at his best years starting in year 3:
2013: 13th
2012: 5th
2011: 4th
2010: 11thI don’t count 2014 because he was injured last year. In fact, it’s only in the off-season that he reported being 100%. He played still banged-up, recovering from the injury.
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June 28, 2015 at 3:31 pm in reply to: The Top 10 Greatest NFL Offensive Linemen of All Time #26853znModeratorIf they broke that down by position and then did a top 10 (or even top 5) list for each position you would see the names of many former Rams players. Not just Orlando Pace.
Oh yeah, no question
znModeratorznModeratorSo, maybe to many white folks the confed-flag means “honor” or Anti-big-Government”
or “chivalry” or some such thing. It may not “mean” racism to everyone.But it could only mean those things to people who do not know, or care about, the history. First, it’s not a confederate flag. It’s the battle flag of the army of north virginia. Second, it really came into prominence in the era of the pro-segregationist dixiecrat movement. To the degree it represents honor, it means honor fighting for the confederacy…yet, there would be no civil war without secession, and according to the confederates themselves, secession meant defending slavery and fighting off abolition. To the degree it represents anti-big government, that too is allied with the anti-civil rights viewpoint. Northern neo-liberals don’t identify with the so-called “confederate flag” (ie the battle flag of the army of north virginia made popular in the 20th century by anti-desegregation dixicrates.)
The question is, should that flag fly as an official symbol of the state government of south carolina?
In that sense, “who’s to say” is the state of south carolina, by means of a vote.
I doubt the african-american population (and much of the white population)of south carolina sees it in that capacity, as an official symbol of the state, as representing honor. They see it as both representing the old world of confederate slavery AND forgetting about the meaning of slavery. Who else can tell them it means different?
So this is one of those things that gets settled by a vote.
znModeratorBack in 1976 watching the game where the Rams battled the Vikings to 10-10 tie
Okay, why did that game transform you into a Rams fan? And not, say, a Vikings fan?
znModeratorThere’s always going to be new things you’re going to learn,” Foles said. “Each play based on front and coverage — it can change.
Here;s a question answered. Do they still rely heavily on sight adjustments? Yes. Or so it would seem.
znModeratorMichael Sam is back in Montreal, expected to practice next week
Michael David Smith
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co…k-in-montreal-expected-to-practice-next-week/
There’s still been no explanation for why Michael Sam abruptly left his Canadian Football League team two weeks ago. But now he’s back.
Sam was in Montreal last night as his team, the Montreal Alouettes, opened the season with a loss to the Ottawa Redblacks. Sam still has a locker in the team’s locker room and is expected at team meetings on Sunday and at practice the following day, the Montreal Gazette reports.
When Sam left the team, there was some talk that he simply wasn’t good enough. But Alouettes General Manager Jim Popp has said Sam will be welcomed back, suggesting that the team thinks he can help them win.
Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted in the NFL when the Rams took him in the seventh round last year. Although he played well in the preseason, he did not make the Rams’ regular-season roster. If he plays for the Alouettes, he’ll become the first openly gay player in a CFL game.
znModeratorMichael Sam reportedly left the Alouettes after getting the sense that he wouldn’t make the team.
Michael Sam’s disappearing act in Montreal was due, in part, to his diminishing chances of making the Alouettes’ roster.
Sam, who signed a two-year deal with the CFL team last month, requested a leave of absence on Friday and hasn’t been back. The team suspended Sam on Monday, a calculated move that allows the Alouettes to retain his rights while he’s away from the team.
While Sam hasn’t explained his absence — the team says he’s away for personal reasons — the Montreal Gazette reports that sources think Sam fled Montreal once he got a sense that he would not make the team.
The newspaper reported that the “theory … in the Als dressing room” is that Sam wanted to spare himself and the team the awkward situation of trying to explain Sam being cut.
The team released six players on Monday, trimming its roster down to 65 players. CFL teams carry 46 players; NFL teams carry 53-man rosters.
znModeratorI want to keep bumping and pushing this thread. I think of it as an heirloom we’re creating for our grandchildren, for the time when the Rams have moved to the New London Base on Mars.
.
znModeratorFoles Feeling at Home with Rams
By Myles Simmons
Though he’s been a member of the Rams for only a short time, quarterback Nick Foles has already made enough of a positive impact to trigger talk of a contract extension.
“We’ve had some discussions,” head coach Jeff Fisher said last week. “I think what Nick has done early in his career — he’s proven he can get the job done on the field.
“He’s carried things on here and so we’re going to continue to talk and see if we can get something that’s good for both sides,” Fisher added.
While there are no guarantees a deal will be worked out, all indications are that Foles has been a great fit for St. Louis. That’s come not only from Fisher, but also offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, players like Jared Cook, and the quarterback himself.
“I felt like this was home from when I got here, and got to meet the guys, and talk to the coaches,” Foles said at OTAs last week. “That’s nothing against Philly. I had a great time in Philly and I built strong relationships. But, just how the team was when they brought me in here and how they treated me, and how my teammates have helped me grow, and the relationships that I’ve built — I want to be here.”
Foles has talked plenty about being comfortable with the team, but last week he also said that he’s feeling the same way about playing in Cignetti’s offense. Given that the Rams have completed only the offseason program, Foles said he knows more to install will come in training camp and the regular season.
“There’s always going to be new things you’re going to learn,” Foles said. “Each play based on front and coverage — it can change. So it’s just continuing to learn and continuing to grow to where it’s just second nature — where I feel extremely comfortable just seeing everything. But it’s getting there.”
With Foles coming from the Eagles, one criticism has been levied that perhaps the quarterback’s stellar 2013 season — in which he threw 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions — was a product of the offensive system. But that’s not an issue Foles has given any attention.
“People are going to say what they’re going to say. They always have throughout my entire career,” Foles said. “Each and every player deals with it. The way I do is [say], I’m just going to play. I know who I am. I know what kind of player I am and my job is to help my team win games.”
And winning is exactly what the quarterback helped the Eagles do, as he held a 14-4 QB record over the past two seasons with the club. As general manager Les Snead said at the time of the March trade, the signal-caller’s victories in a tough division was one of the factors that made him an attractive addition. Foles said last week that success sometimes gets lost when critics find fault solely based on stats.
“I think people look at numbers so much that you forget that we were at the top of the NFC East at the time,” Foles said. “We were able to come back. And I think four of those games we were down by double digits, and the team was able to rally back and win those games. I look at that as, although those stats weren’t as good, it’s about the team. It’s about rallying through.
“I’ve never been a stat guy,” Foles continued. “I care about the wins and it doesn’t matter how you do it. Of course, you don’t want to throw interceptions or do that, but if you throw a couple and you get the ‘W,’ I’d take that over throwing five touchdowns and losing.”
There’s still a lot of time to wait until Foles and the Rams start putting crooked numbers in the left-hand column. But during the summer break, aside from spending some good time with family, the quarterback said he’ll keep his nose in the playbook in order to continue growing familiar with the offense.
“We’re going to be going against our defense a little bit during camp, so [I’ll be] studying them, studying a little bit of Seattle, and getting ready for preseason,” Foles said. “Then, of course, workout and do the fundamentals, drops, throwing and all of that.”
And as for that chatter about Foles sticking with the Rams for the long haul, the quarterback headed off for the summer break with positive vibes.
“This is where I want to play,” Foles said. “As a player, you want to be somewhere and you want to play there the rest of your career. This is where I want to be, but that’s why we have agents. My most important thing right now is just to continue to work with my teammates and continue to be the best player and person I can be, so we’ll see what happens. I want to be here. I love Coach Fisher and the staff and everybody in this building, so I’m very fortunate to be here.”
znModeratorReport: Seahawks’ Russell Wilson wants to be highest-paid player in NFL
Quarterback Russell Wilson and agent Mark Rodgers have presented the Seattle Seahawks with contract demands that would make him the highest-paid player in the NFL – at least briefly, according to one report.
Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reported Thursday that Wilson and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers seek a bigger deal than the five-year, $110 million contract signed by Rodgers in 2013. But, Cole said, that’s partially because the Super Bowl-winning signal caller and his agent expect future contracts for quarterbacks – like the Indianapolis Colts’ Andrew Luck and the New York Giants’ Eli Manning – to surpass any deal Wilson negotiates with Seattle.
Talks are seemingly stalled between the three-year veteran and the team that selected him No. 75 overall in 2012. Wilson has maintained he is prepared to play through the 2015 season with the $1.5 million salary he’s scheduled to make in the fourth year of his rookie deal.
June 26, 2015 at 9:07 pm in reply to: the 2015 D: articles & vids on McCleod, Ogletree, Ayers, Gaines, Hayes, Fairley #26797znModeratorSiriusXM NFL Radio
Nick Fairley says the Rams D-Line is going to be fun to watch. Fairley, St. Louis Rams DT, joined The End Zone and talked about the talent on the Rams Defensive Line, what his playing weight is right now, and why he signed in St. Louis.
June 26, 2015 at 8:57 pm in reply to: Wagoner & others: Is Nick Foles the answer at QB for Rams? #26796znModeratorGregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, The Turn on Deflategate and Foles’ uphill battle with the Rams
RamBill: Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com talks about and Nick Foles’ uphill battle with the Rams. He considers it that because of a first time OC and a group of WR’s who haven’t had a 1000 yard WR since Torry Holt left STL. They talk about re-signing Foles with the questions being when and how much? Rosenthal thinks whatever contract they do with him should lean toward a pay-as-you-go type of deal.
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Can Nick Foles help the Rams win? ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano thinks that it is a bad sign that Chip Kelly was willing to trade Nick Foles to St. Louis. According to Graziano, Foles isn’t the kind of QB who can elevate the performance of the rest of the team. He can’t raise a team to contender level by himself.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:12999540
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June 26, 2015 at 6:52 pm in reply to: Wagoner & others: Is Nick Foles the answer at QB for Rams? #26792znModeratorThe SF game, Philly and Foles looked like crap.
I will say that was his worst game last year.
znModeratorUm…a racing picture, a racecar, a horse….and…a snake eating something.
Now is it just me, or does that list have something
that doesn’t quite belong?w
vSnakes are quick. He is talking about a snake striking prey. Not a snake sitting back with some wine and candles complimenting the rice.
znModeratorRams defenders aren’t shy about voicing their potential in 2015
elisabeth Meinecke
ST. LOUIS — Scary.
That’s how William Hayes is predicting the Rams’ defense will look in its second season under coordinator Gregg Williams.
“Last year, we were going into the season still trying to really get familiar with the scheme,” the defensive end explains. “Guys came in this year with a different mentality. We didn’t come in this year trying to figure things out. We’ve already got everything figured out. We know what’s expected of us. And we know the schemes like the back of our hand. It’s going to be scary this year.”
The unit’s final numbers last year didn’t do its talent justice, thanks to a slow start to the season. Despite two shutouts, the Rams finished 17th in the league in yards allowed last year, though slightly better than average at getting to the opponent’s quarterback (40 sacks, tied for 13th). But the stat that likely hurt most was a 6-10 record, kicked off by a 1-4 start.
The Rams’ defense, however, isn’t shy about its potential this September.
“It’s about time for us to push into that top five defense in almost every statistical category, and I think that’s what we’re aiming to do, and I think that’s what we’re going to accomplish,” says linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar. “I think we can go head-to-head with any offense in this league, and I think we can stand toe-to-toe with any defense.”
Or, as defensive end Eugene Sims says: “I wouldn’t say we’ll have to go toe-to-toe with any defense. Any defense will have to go toe-to-toe with us.”
These aren’t idle words, uttered carelessly or naively in the relaxed atmosphere of the offseason. Rams defenders have a healthy confidence in what they can become, and there are several reasons to think they may prove right come fall. For starters, there’s the team’s familiarity with Williams — as Hayes points out, it’s the first time in four years with the Rams that he’ll have had the same coordinator in back-to-back seasons. And Williams has been using that familiarity to harp on the concept of starting fast, so much so that Sims edited one of the alarms on his phone to “fast start.”
“Once we get in meetings (during OTAs) every day, we have a different type of picture — we have a racing picture, we have a racecar, a horse, a snake eating something, that says, ‘Fast start,'” Sims says. “He overemphasizes it every day, so we wake up to it pretty much.”
The theme runs through the entire team.
“We’re preaching start fast. That’s something we haven’t done since I’ve been here,” says Dunbar, who joined the Rams in 2012. “We usually get out of the block 2-2, 1-3, something like that. So I think if we start fast, I think that will give us the momentum to carry on throughout the season.”
One way to help accomplish that, Dunbar says, is by ensuring every practice has a sense of urgency.
“Make sure practice has a sense of urgency. Everything you do as an individual, and as a core, just a sense of urgency. And I think it’s something that if you preach, it’s basically the law of attraction,” he says. “I feel like defense is playing a little faster (in OTAs), a little quicker. I think we’re anticipating a little better.”
But there’s something else, besides the familiarity, that justifies the Rams’ confidence for the upcoming season: an even deeper roster. This offseason, the Rams acquired former first-rounder Nick Fairley, a defensive tackle, from Detroit and linebacker Akeem Ayers, who won a Super Bowl with the Patriots last season. Add those names to a unit that already includes the likes of James Laurinaitis, Chris Long, Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, E.J. Gaines and Alec Ogletree, and you start to picture the nightmare Hayes was describing for opposing offenses. Entering his eighth NFL season, Hayes has been around long enough to know.
“It’s probably the best group of talented guys I’ve ever played with,” he says. “And I’ve played on some pretty good defenses, especially in Tennessee.”
Williams, meanwhile, appears committed to getting the most out of his roster depth and spoke at the end of OTAs about the variety of packages for his linebacker group, which also includes Dunbar, who is entering his eighth NFL season and won a Super Bowl with the Saints. The coach struck a similar tone when speaking of Fairley’s addition to the defensive front.
“The thing that has been really fun for me to watch is the big eyes that he had when he came in and saw the talent in that room,” Williams said. “We just don’t play four guys or three guys on defense. We try to have as much of a 50-50 split or 45-55 split of a ballgame keeping those guys fresh.”
For someone like Hayes, there’s a personal goal of ensuring his level of play stays consistent with his teammates.
“I don’t want there to be a huge difference from when Chris Long is in the game and when I’m in the game. I don’t want people to say, ‘Well, gosh, if Chris was in the game, that wouldn’t have happened,'” Hayes says. “My goal is never to be the drop-off. When I come in, I want to be the spark. I want excitement when I come in the game. That’s what I thrive on — just trying to be the best football player I can be.”
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