Interesting how this works out.

Here are the present-day Rams who were on the roster before 2012:

Tim Barnes
Chase Reynolds
Robert Quinn
Lance Kendricks
Jake McQuaide
Sam Bradford
Rodger Saffold
Eugene Sims
James Laurinaitis
Chris Long

Compare that to Seattle. How many players right now on their roster were there before Carroll arrived. It’s:

Jon Ryan (P)
Brandon Mebane

Now compare that to SF. How many before Harbaugh:

Michael Crabtree
Frank Gore
Vernon Davis
Anthony Davis
Alex Boone
Mike Iupati
Joe Staley
Justin Smith
Ahmad Brooks
NaVorro Bowman
Patrick Willis
Andy Lee (P)

wv wrote:

I was quite pleased with Benny’s returns this year.
I was a little surprised at his speed-ability
to do that. Nobody else was doing crap
when it came to returns, but he managed to
look competent.

I wonder why he was able to do it well,
and Givens, Tavon, Pead and the rest
looked awful. What does Benny possess
that the others dont?

w
v

==================================
Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15156/benny-cunningham-quietly-emerged-as-kick-returner

Fisher made it a point to present Cunningham and the entire kickoff return team with a game ball after putting the finishing touches on a season in which Cunningham led the NFC in kickoff return average at 27.5 yards per attempt. That total was fifth in the NFL.

“As far as our special teams are concerned, we gave the game balls Monday morning to the entire kickoff return team and Benny for leading the NFC in kickoff returns,” Fisher said. “I thought it was an outstanding effort.”

For the season, Cunningham finished with 35 returns for 963 yards with a long of 75 yards. Although he’s not the fastest or shiftiest returner you’ll find, Cunningham proved successful by being decisive and capable of shedding tackles when defenders didn’t wrap him up.
=================================

Fisher said at one point that K.O. coverage teams were being built to handle speed and elusiveness. BC had some of both, but he also had power. So as the K.O. teams became smaller and faster, he brought some physical power to it.

Chip is ego guy.

Wouldn’t it be funny if he went to SF?

Supreme Court Rules You Have No 4th Amendment Rights If Cops Don’t Know The Law

Jeez-uss H.

SunTzu_vs_Camus wrote:

that being said, during the pre-season, ALL 3 QBs threw downfield far more than ever before. It’s clear
there was a deliberate attempt from Schotty/Fisher…to push the ball farther down field.

THat, AND, in fact, they weren’t as shy about doing that before than some apparently think they were.

In 2014 they had the receivers. How do you push the ball downfield when your main WRs are Amendola and Gibson? AND YET…they did it. In 2012, according to PFF, Bradford was 7th in the league in attempts over 20 yards.

In 2014, if you combine Davis and Hill, the Rams were … drumroll… 7th.

I think this thing about Bradford being shy about throwing long is just simply myth. Really. The numbers don’t back it.

BUT I absolutely DO think that if Bradford had played this year there would have been even more of that. And certainly more completions.

Oh and good to see you Sun. !

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by zn.

wv wrote:

is there a Zack Thomas type guy
available at the ten spot?

Small thing. Do you mean Zack Martin?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/01/2015-reservefuture-signings-tracker/

reserve/future signings tracker

Reserve/future signings occur before the start of the League Year. Any player not on an NFL team’s active roster at the end of the previous season is eligible.

Damian Williams (born May 26, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the St. Louis Rams. He played college football at the University of Arkansas, and then at the University of Southern California.

Wide Receiver|St. Louis Rams|6’1″ 200 lbs.
Damian Williams
Age 26 (5/26/1988)
From Springdale, AR
College USC
Experience 5 Years
Drafted 2010 – Rd 3 (77th Overall by TEN)

2015 will be his 6th year –>

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillDa04.htm

PA Ram wrote:

Cook ties the game but it took a lot of throws and he missed on a lot of open guys.

Spartans lead–17 seconds left.

Petty with 551 yards passing and may lose the game.

I saw the 4th quarter. The best description of Cook’s play at the end is that sometimes, he is accurate.

Greg Robinson to remain at left tackle, Jake Long’s status unclear

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15125/greg-robinson-to-remain-at-left-tackle-jake-longs-status-unclear

EARTH CITY, Mo. — With veteran tackle Jake Long’s status in doubt for 2015 as he recovers from a second torn ACL in as many seasons, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher left no doubt about who his left tackle is heading into 2015: Greg Robinson.

The 2014 No. 2 overall pick moved from left guard to left tackle after Long suffered his injury in the Oct. 26 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Robinson went on to play almost every snap the rest of the way at that spot.

When the Rams drafted Robinson, they did so with the anticipation that Robinson could play inside in the short term but would be the team’s future and long-term left tackle. The future is apparently now as the Rams wait to see where Long stands moving forward.

“We’re going to wait and see for Jake and see how he’s feeling,” Fisher said. “He’s been in the building the last couple of days. All indications are that he wants to come back. Yeah, as we stand right now Greg’s going to be our left tackle.”

That should come as no surprise as the Rams invested such a valuable pick in Robinson and maintain high hopes that he can become a cornerstone piece for their offense. He had plenty of bumps along the way in his rookie season, especially in pass protection, but Robinson also flashed some of his immense promise along the way.

Long’s situation is far more uncertain. Long wasn’t around the team much after suffering his injury and definitely wasn’t as involved or visible as quarterback Sam Bradford, who was also going through a second ACL injury in as many years. There’s been some speculation that Long might be considering retiring but Fisher did mention that “indications are he wants to come back.”

Should Long want to return, it’s probably not going to be as simple as just going through rehab to get healthy. Long is scheduled to count $10.5 million against the salary cap in 2015 and $10 million against it in 2016. But the Rams could save up to $9.25 million in 2015 if they released him with the post-June 1 designation.

Like with Bradford, it seems highly unlikely the Rams would bring Long back at his current salary. And if Robinson is set to continue at left tackle, that would also mean the Rams would have to have a place for Long to play in addition to making the financials work.

That could be an issue that solves itself depending on what happens with the pending free agency of right tackle Joe Barksdale and right guard Davin Joseph. The Rams are going to need help on the offensive line one way or another.

“Jake’s a good enough athlete that he could play — I’m not going to go out on a limb and say he could play center — but yeah, he could play guard or play right tackle, I believe,” Fisher said.

Return TDs allowed proved costly for Rams

By Jim Thomas

http://www.ramsrule.com/herd/read.php?5,543444,543444#msg-543444

The Rams gave up a league-high 10 returns for touchdowns this season. If that total was merely cut in half, they probably would’ve had another victory or two this season.

Such plays are big momentum-changers, especially when they take place in the second half as was the case for eight of those 10 return TDs.

“That’s a good point,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “It’s not only when they take place, it’s against who that they’re taking place in close games. With those things, ball security’s got to be very, very important to us.”

The Rams gave up two such scores in a six-point loss to Philadelphia, and one return score in a three-point loss to Dallas.

In their Oct. 13 Monday night game against San Francisco, the Rams were down by one score in the fourth quarter — 24-17 — when an interception return for a TD clinched the victory for the 49ers.

The Rams trailed by three in the fourth quarter Nov. 9 at Arizona — 17-14 — when two return TDs by the Cardinals off Rams turnovers made it a 31-14 final.

In a three-point loss at San Diego, the Rams gave up a sack-fumble returned for a TD. And the season finale at Seattle was a one-score game in the fourth quarter before an interception return for a TD made it a 20-6 victory for the Seahawks.

Eight of the 10 return touchdowns allowed by the Rams came on offensive turnovers — six on interception returns for TDs, and two on fumble recoveries returned for TDs following quarterback sacks.

And six of those eight TDs on offensive turnovers came with Austin Davis at quarterback (four “picks 6s” and two sack-fumble returns for TDs). That was one of the reasons Davis was replaced by Shaun Hill at quarterback over the final seven games of the season.

Hill wasn’t perfect, but he was on the field for only two such scores (one pick 6, and one sack-fumble return for a TD.)

The other two return TDs came against Rams special teams:

• A blocked punt by Philadelphia that was returned 10 yards for a touchdown.

• A 99-yard kickoff return for a score by Kansas City’s Knile Davis to open the second half.

The NFL average for return touchdowns allowed was 3.3 per team this season, so the Rams were three times above that. In fact, only two other teams in the league allowed more than five return TDs this season: Washington (seven) and Jacksonville (six).

On the other side of the coin, the Rams scored five TDs on returns: three on interception returns and two on punt returns. So in a season in which they had seven games decided by seven points or less, they were outscored 70-35 on return TDs.

WINNING EDGE

Even if turnovers don’t directly result in a touchdown, takeaway-giveaway differential remains one of the most important factors in success or failure in the NFL. The Rams came up on the short end this season with 25 takeaways and 27 giveaways, for a minus-2 differential.

As Fisher pointed out, only one of the 12 teams to make the playoffs this year finished on the minus side of takeaway-giveaway differential. That team was Indianapolis at minus-5.

GAME BALLS

At the final team meeting on Monday, Fisher presented game balls to the entire kickoff return team in recognition of Benny Cunningham leading the NFC in kickoff return average this season at 27.5 yards per return. That average was good for fifth overall in the NFL.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR

As part of the team’s wrap-up meetings Monday, Fisher said the team set goals for the offseason.

“Went through the do’s and don’ts for the offseason,” he said. “I sensed a great deal of enthusiasm and energy. The guys left on a positive note, despite the record, despite leaving 24 hours after a loss.

“They all put forth a tremendous effort this past year, and I know they’re looking forward to coming back and changing things significantly. I mentioned to them that there’s nothing better than being out on the practice field on Wednesday after the regular season is over.”

You get to do that only when you qualify for the playoffs.

“That’s our focus and that’s our goal.” Fisher said.

The formal start of the Rams’ offseason program is April 20.

Rams Have Work Cut Out to Close Gap with Seahawks

By Anthony Stalter

http://www.101sports.com/2014/12/31/rams-work-cut-close-gap-seahawks/

While conducting his post-game interview on Sunday with Steve Savard and D’Marco Farr, Jeff Fisher made a rather stirring comment in wake of his team’s loss to Seattle.

Despite the fact that Pete Carroll’s team successfully wrapped up homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and his squad just concluded a 6-10 season, Fisher said that the Rams are “closing the gap” between themselves and the Seahawks. These, of course, are the same Seahawks that are coming off a dominating Super Bowl performance back in February.

Now would be the time to be flippant and take sarcastic, less-than-witty shots at how Fisher is delusional about the state of his franchise. But I’m not going to crush him for believing the Rams are closer to catching the Seahawks than they were a year ago. There is some truth to what Fisher is saying, mainly due to how Aaron Donald is now on the same defensive line as fellow first-rounders Robert Quinn, Chris Long and Michael Brockers. T.J. McDonald also made significant strides in his development from last year to this season, and E.J. Gaines turned out to be a steal in the sixth round.

But while the Rams are built to compete with the Seahawks from a defensive standpoint, offensively they might as well be light years away.

Let’s start at quarterback, because that’s the easiest distinction between the two teams. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Russell Wilson rushed for 849 yards in the regular season, which was 210 more than any other quarterback. As Terry Blount of NFL Nation recently wrote, “Based on the down distance and situation, Wilson’s runs added more than twice as many points to his team’s net scoring margin than any other quarterback.”

When squaring off against the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning, defenses mix up coverages in hopes that they can somehow stay a step ahead during a given game. But at least when opponents face pocket passers, they don’t have to account for the quarterback on running plays and thus, from a mathematical standpoint, they still have the edge.

But with Wilson running the read option, defenses are forced to bring additional defenders to stop the run. That methodical advantage that they had on running plays is now gone because at least one defender has to account for the quarterback, who can do things like this.

I’m not breaking any news when I note that the Rams don’t have that type of weapon at quarterback. In fact, they don’t have a reliable option at quarterback period, let alone a dynamic one like Wilson. Finding a quarterback this offseason won’t be a simple task, either.

The other advantage the Seahawks currently have is that they have an established identity. When they traded Percy Harvin to the Jets earlier this season they lost a playmaker at the skill position but the move hardly left them without a personality. Opponents knew they still had to stop Marshawn Lynch and account for Wilson’s mobility both on passing and rushing plays. Losing Harvin didn’t change who the Seahawks were.

On top of somehow finding a quarterback that won’t make them limited in the passing game, the Rams also have to establish a clear identity, one that they can use to impose their will on opponents as opposed to merely hoping will show up on a game-by-game basis. They ostensibly want to be a power-based offense but you’re not going to win enough games to compete for a playoff berth when you’re only gaining 4.1 yards per attempt on the season.

If the Rams are content with bringing back Sam Bradford at a reduced cost and keeping Brian Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator, then they better build up the O-line like Dallas did. They need an upgrade at center, guard and probably right tackle, which is tough to accomplish in one offseason. But if you can’t find an impact signal-caller, the next best thing is to build up the running game as much as possible and rely on a quarterback that won’t turn the ball over. The Chiefs reached the playoffs a year ago with this philosophy and nearly did so again in 2014 despite not one of their receivers catching a touchdown pass.
tre mason-2

Without a solid QB option, the Rams will likely lean on the ground attack with running back Tre Mason.

But the Chiefs also rushed for 6.3 yards per attempt in a win over the Seahawks earlier this year and finished with an average of 4.6 YPA for the season. For comparison, the Rams rushed for 3.8 and 2.2 yards per attempt, respectively, in their two games against the Seahawks. So when talking about finding a true identity, I’m talking about the Rams being able to play to their strength not only against the Oaklands and Washingtons of the league, but against the stiffest competition as well.

The Rams have proven over the past two years that they can be competitive in the division and Gregg Williams’ defense can complete with any opponent in the league (or at least the ones that don’t have Odell Beckham).

That’s probably why Fisher suggested, even following a 20-6 loss, that the Rams are closing the gap with a team like Seattle.

But the Seahawks are consistent and unrelenting. They have their quarterback, their identity and a transcendent defense. For all intents and purposes the Rams might be closer to the Seahawks than they were a year ago, but the fact remains that there’s still a sizable gap.

And with that, they certainly have their work cut out this offseason if they truly want to narrow the distance between themselves and who they’re looking up at in the division.

TackleDummy wrote:

My guess there would be two or three who would give him an incentive ladened offer. I also think that the Rams will be one of those teams.

I think that’s probably right.