Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
znModeratorfrom off the net
—
Mojo Ram
with the exception of Stanton’s skewed numbers(in relief of Palmer) the Rams haven’t allowed a QB rating over 100 since the Seattle game(which we won anyway).
In the last six games….
-The Rams D has allowed only 4 TD passes.
-Rams have 7 INT’s.
-Average QB rating last six games: 84.5
-Rams have 24 sacks(4/gm avg)
..
December 4, 2014 at 11:13 pm in reply to: The fact that Rams seldom win in DC makes this a big game. #13025znModeratorWill washington be 2 in a row?
Rams let down on the road, or Colt McCoy on his back?
znModeratorRedskins vs. Rams preview
By John Keim, with Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/13533/redskins-vs-rams-preview
They’re connected by one of the biggest draft trades in history. They’re also going in opposite directions, in some ways as an indirect result of the 2012 trade in which the Washington Redskins sent three No. 1 picks and a No. 2 in exchange for the St. Louis Rams’ second overall pick.
When the teams last met in Week 2 of the 2012 season, it looked like that trade would pay dividends for the Redskins. Quarterback Robert Griffin III, then a rookie, was clearly a standout. Now? The Rams haven’t exactly reaped major rewards from their haul, but the Redskins again have questions at quarterback and Griffin is no longer playing.
ESPN.com Rams reporter Nick Wagoner and Redskins reporter John Keim look ahead to Sunday’s game:
Keim: Have you been able to figure out this team yet? They have some impressive wins and lopsided losses. Why are they on such a roller coaster?
Wagoner: Well, in some sense figuring them out is a function of understanding that there isn’t a real rhyme or reason to what happens from week to week. The strange thing about this team is that it was built to win with defense and a strong running game. But it took them about eight weeks to start doing that. Early in the season, they were trying to win by outscoring teams and throwing it all over the yard. Clearly, it didn’t work. But it’s also instructive to note that they’ve played an incredibly difficult schedule. Before last Sunday’s game against Oakland, they had played nine straight games against teams with winning records. So some of those losses have been a product of that and the impressive wins are as well. And really, aside from the Kansas City game, most of those games were close, even if the final score didn’t indicate it. It’s cliché, but the Rams epitomize the importance of winning the turnover battle. When they are on the plus side, they win; when they aren’t, they lose. When they’re even, it’s a toss-up.
Let’s stay big picture. Obviously, this season hasn’t been what the Redskins hoped. Are they as far away from being a contender as they appear? If so, what are the most pressing areas that need to be addressed?
Keim: Well, quarterback must be put on the list, given what’s transpired here the past two seasons. It’s a surprising turn of events, but Griffin has a ways to go if he wants to be a good starting quarterback in the NFL. The same is true of Kirk Cousins, and I’m not sold that Colt McCoy is anything but a good backup capable of being an excellent tutor for younger quarterbacks. Also, the secondary needs fixing at multiple spots. They need to solve a couple issues on the offensive line and they could use more young players on the defensive front. If they don’t think rookie Trent Murphy will develop into a quality pass-rusher (and they let Brian Orakpo bolt via free agency), then you can add this to the list as well. They’ll also have to address whether or not they want to make changes to the defensive staff. It always sounds more daunting when you’re in the midst of a bad season, and in the NFL, hope is always right around the corner. But the Redskins have to prove they know how to solve their issues.
Where the heck did that offensive output come from last week? And what’s the deal with running back Tre Mason — what’s stood out about him?
Wagoner: There were a few factors at play. First, it was against the Raiders. While they have been decent defensively this year, they clearly aren’t all that good. The other thing is Oakland turns the ball over at a rate that other teams simply don’t. The Rams had some pretty favorable situations because of that, and the general ineptitude of the Raiders offense also set the Rams up in nice position multiple times. Nonetheless, the Rams were able to move the ball well, even when they had a lot of field to work with. Shaun Hill did a good job getting them into better plays at the line of scrimmage and he didn’t turn the ball over. He also was solid against the blitz, getting the ball out quickly and to the right spots. As for Mason, I have to admit I was wrong on that draft choice. I didn’t dislike the choice of Mason himself, but I wondered why the Rams used a third-round pick on a running back after Zac Stacy’s success last year. It’s become obvious why they did it in recent weeks. Mason gives them an explosive element that Stacy simply doesn’t offer and that was exceedingly evident on his 89-yard touchdown run last week. He still has some work to do, both in making more consistent reads and in pass protection, but he’s a pretty solid young talent with a lot of upside. If nothing else, I think the Rams can move forward confidently knowing he’s the back of the present and the future.
I’m sure you’re probably tired of the subject at this point, but fans here are curious about what’s gone wrong with Griffin? From the outside, it would seem that without his ability to run and a scheme designed around his abilities that we might have seen the best he has to offer in his rookie year. Do you believe there’s still room for growth there, and if so, how do they get it out of him?
Keim: Well, there’s a lot of room for growth, but the question is can he get there — and how long will it take? Griffin has not shown the explosiveness that he did as a rookie, but he’s still a fast quarterback. He has a good arm, too. But I’m not sure the current coaching staff has the patience to try and develop him, knowing how long they think it might take. Griffin wasn’t playing with the confidence he showed as a rookie, some of which stems from him needing to develop more as a passer. That’s not just in the pocket, either. Even as a rookie he left a lot of plays on the field by opting to run too soon or putting his eyes down too early or not being confident in what he saw. He has to dedicate himself to becoming a pocket passer, learning how to slide and maneuver, for example. Griffin has talent, but what’s coming out now is what was whispered about before (and occasionally mentioned): He needs to focus a lot more on developing as a passer than working in the weight room. Griffin is not lazy and he is a smart kid. But his pace of development was slow. I don’t know if the coaches asked him to do things he wasn’t capable of yet or if he just will never get it. Maybe Griffin needs to see how far he has fallen before he really gets his mind to how far he has to climb.
The sacks have been down for the defense, though it looks like they’re getting more pressure lately. Why is that? Also, what’s your take on Aaron Donald and what he’s meant to the defense?
Wagoner: It’s crazy to think that not too long ago the Rams had just one sack and set a league record for futility in that area. Not only because they have too much talent up front for that, but also because they now sit in a tie for 14th in the league with 28 sacks. Some of the early struggles were a major function of their early inability to stop the run. Teams simply didn’t throw against them much because they were having so much success on the ground. When they did pass, the ball was coming out fast. They also missed end Chris Long, who just returned from ankle surgery last week. Adding to the complications, the Rams seemed uncomfortable adjusting to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ scheme and all that they were asked to do within its confines. Now he seems to have a good idea of how his guys are best used, and they seem to know what to do from down to down, as well as what they’re seeing from the offense.
As for Donald, his addition to the starting lineup coincided with the Rams’ pass rush improvement. That’s not a coincidence. His snaps went from about 25-28 a game to now in the 50-55 range. He’s their best interior pass-rusher and one of the most mature and polished rookies I’ve seen come through St. Louis in my 11 years covering the team. Donald and Robert Quinn are two outstanding building blocks on that defensive line. Long still has plenty of gas in the tank and Michael Brockers has been a bit disappointing, but is still young with upside. They have the pieces in place to be stout up front for a long time.
While we’re on the topic of defense, Jim Haslett spent some time in St. Louis as defensive coordinator and is now handling those duties in Washington. It was a bit of a surprise here when he was retained by the new staff, but he’s still hanging on. What can you say about the job he has done and his level of job security after this season?
Keim: Oh, I think there has to be concern about his security. Fans blame Haslett for anything that goes wrong defensively. This is not just going to be fixed by changing coordinators, unless you find an elite one. Before last week, when you looked at some numbers and saw what the defense has lost this season, then you could say the defensive staff overall had done better than anticipated. They were far from a dominant unit, but entering last week they were 10th in yards and 20th in points despite losing DeAngelo Hall and Orakpo and Barry Cofield (until recently). With their talent healthy, I never viewed them as anything other than a medicore unit. This defense has not been put together well and that’s an organizational failure, so if you get rid of Haslett, there’s more work that needs to be done. That said, five years is a long time if you’re not getting results. In that stretch, the Redskins are a cumulative 27th in yards per game, 29th in yards per play and 30th in points per game. Whoever’s fault it is, it hasn’t been working. The results aren’t there.
Rams at Redskins: Stats of the Week
27
How many sacks the Rams have since Week 7, after starting the season with just one in the first six weeks. That ranks second in the league to Buffalo in that span.
15
Points off turnovers scored by Washington this season, which ranks 31st in the NFL. The Redskins have caused 15 turnovers this season and are actually plus-4 in turnover margin in the past two games. But in those games, the opposition scored more points off turnovers (7) than the Redskins (6).
znModeratorwell, I am not convinced. I doubt any DC spends much time scheming to defend a hybrid back/receiver who rarely gains more than 5 yards on any play.
Well we just disagree. I mean, from what I saw, it was there. It set up at least 2 scores. Sooner or later I will even remember the plays–both broadcasts made a big deal of it each time. And to me, what I am seeing is that Tavon gets 5 yards a play a lot of the time at least in part BECAUSE defenses are conscious of him.
znModerator
Eric Garner grand jury probe shows similarities to Michael Brown caseNew York — Just a week after a Missouri grand jury declined to bring charges against former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, New York City is bracing for another long-awaited and controversial grand jury decision.
A Staten Island grand jury, which has been hearing evidence since Sept. 29, has heard from its final witnesses and could hand down a decision about whether to indict New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner as early as Wednesday, according to reports.
Like its Missouri counterpart, the Staten Island grand jury has been unusual, both in the duration of the proceedings and the amount of evidence presented. Meeting for months, the secret panel of 16 or as many as 23 jurors has been hearing a full array of evidence, including the testimony of the potential defendant, New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
Recommended: What is your social class? Take our quiz to find out!District Attorney Daniel Donovan has said little during the past two months about the secret grand jury proceedings, which must decide whether to bring charges against Officer Pantaleo, a white officer eight years on the force, who wrestled Mr. Garner to the ground with a headlock maneuver on the afternoon of July 17, even as the 6-foot, 3-inch, 350-pound father of six cried out, “I can’t breathe” numerous times.
The incident, dramatically captured on video by multiple bystanders with smartphones on the Staten Island sidewalk, provided the early backdrop to the often violent protests to the shooting of Mr. Brown in Ferguson, Mo., just a few weeks later. Both became symbols of the deep, decades-long divisions between police departments and black communities in a year marked by angry protests and civil unrest.
And just as St. Louis Prosecutor Robert McCulloch did with Officer Wilson, District Attorney Donovan brought in Officer Pantaleo to testify in his own defense, without being subject to adversarial cross examination.
In most cases, legal experts say, a prosecutor presents a grand jury only with select evidence to simply establish “probable cause” for an indictment, and the potential defendant is by definition the prosecutor’s legal adversary.“But it’s very challenging for a local prosecutor, who oftentimes wins elections with the support of local police officers, and works very closely with local police officers each and every day, to bring a case against a cop,” says Jason Leventhal, a former Staten Island assistant district attorney who now represents clients bringing civil rights cases against the NYPD.
“The internal pressures that a local prosecutor receives from their brothers in law enforcement – these are their partners working together everyday, so it creates a very challenging environment for a prosecutor to seek and indictment, let alone a conviction, of a police officer.”
Pantaleo, an officer who lives in Staten Island, told his side of the incident to the grand jury for two hours on Nov. 21.
“He was gratified to tell his story, he was relieved,” said Stuart London, Pantaleo’s attorney, to CNN on Saturday. “He was anxious and anxiety-filled prior to that,” Mr. London said. “He is cautiously optimistic, and knows that his fate is in their hands now.”
In Missouri, Mr. McCulloch was criticized for taking the unusual step of presenting the entirety of his evidence to the grand jury, including the four-hour testimony of Wilson. None of the evidence was subjected to cross examination or hostile scrutiny, however, critics say.And it is not difficult for a prosecutor to get an indictment. In 2010, federal prosecutors sought indictments in about 162,000 cases, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Grand jurors declined to return an indictment in 11 of these.
“[When] the prosecutor handled the Wilson case in a radically different manner, this signaled to the grand jurors that they were not expected to indict. And they did not,” wrote Marjorie Cohn, a criminal defense attorney and professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, in an essay in The Huffington Post last week.
Many observers in New York see a similar strategy at play in the Garner grand jury.
“The length of the grand jury proceedings has given me pause, and there’s always the possibility that the district attorney is using the grand jury process to insulate him from the public scorn and criticism that would follow if he chose not to bring a case that the public believes should be brought,” says Mr. Leventhal of the law firm Leventhal & Klein.
“Presenting evidence this way insulates the DA from the decision,” he continues. “Even if he was seeking an indictment – an indictment that would be unpopular, and he might be concerned with the fallout from fellow law enforcement partners – it also serves that purpose to be able to say, ‘It wasn’t my decision, I put all the evidence in, and it was the grand jury’s decision.’ ”
On Monday, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton met with local clergy, community leaders, and elected officials in Staten Island to discuss the possible fallout of the impending grand jury decision, including the possibility of Ferguson-like violence.
“Here on Staten Island, Eric Garner had a lot of friends, especially in that area, and he’s very, very well missed by a lot of people who’s anxiously waiting the decision,” said Cynthia Davis, a leader with the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, to NY1. “So I even think maybe some agitators may try to worm their way in and try to cause problems, but we’re just praying and hoping that that doesn’t happen.”
December 4, 2014 at 4:10 am in reply to: who remembers the poster Jeff? He passed away a couple of weeks ago #12963znModeratorHow about SanFram? He had his own health struggles. Anybody hear from him?
He posts at the herd. I think. I THINK he got banned under one handle and then came back with another.
znModeratorzn wrote:
My view is that until Tavon becomes a good route-runner, there’s only so much you can do with him.I have always wondered why the Rams could not, or would not, use Tavon in a similar fashion that the Patriots used to use Welker on those quick slants. I don’t know how many 3rd downs I watched over the years that were a result of Brady to Welker on a short 5 yard burst, and then a cut over the middle.
Maybe I’m oversimplifying it, but those routes never looked too complex to me.
Interestingly, they are using Baily in the slot a lot now.
I am no expert on running routes in the slot, but to me, guys like Amendola and Welker had superior short area quickness and did run routes in sophisticated ways that depended on them seeing what the defense was doing pre-snap and maneuvering well in space. I actually don’t think Tavon has that level of sophistication. I think he has the quickness, I don’t think he has the savvy yet.
znModeratorfrom off the net
—
Mackeyser
there is so much wrong with this investigation, it’s essentially a Gordian Knot.
However, to say that there are no forensics that don’t support Wilson is incorrect. His very own testimony is grossly inconsistent and creates discrepancies which SHOULD have led to an indictment on that very fact alone.
I’ve read several people post things like “the evidence exonerates Officer Wilson” and stuff like that.
Well, no, it doesn’t. While there was a LOT of evidence, much of it including Officer Wilson’s testimony was NOT subject to Cross Examination nor secondary examination AND much of it was contradictory. All the more reason it should have gone to trial, really. ust the fact that Officer Wilson’s testimony was so grossly inconsistent from his initial statements to his later statements and how the distances didn’t match should have been enough to indict considering that enough distance would have put his other testimony in question.
DA McCulloch really didn’t want Officer Wilson to be indicted. Simple as that. And, emphatically in 100pt type, it doesn’t take a conspiracy to have this happen. DA McCulloch simply didn’t present the case to the Grand Jury.
Let me state that again.
DA McCulloch did NOT present the CASE to the Grand Jury. the DA’s office didn’t present the case. The DA’s office presented the Grand Jury with a bunch of evidence, much of it conflicting, did NOT confront Officer Wilson on his various testimonies and did NOT proceed through the various counts and WHY the Grand Jury SHOULD indict.
He presented the evidence. That is NOT what’s supposed to happen. In over 160,000 Federal Grand Jury cases, only 11… thats’s 0.006875% of the cases. I highly doubt that State Grand Jury indictment rates vary too greatly. What this means is that the adage “a ham sandwich can get indicted” is basically true… IF the DA wants it to be true. And McCulloch didn’t want it to be true in this instance.
How do we KNOW this? Well, firstly, he let the Officer Wilson testify. As Justice Scalia points out the Grand Jury is NOT the venue for exculpatory evidence. As Justice Scalia said and is the standard for how Grand Juries function, the DA need only present that evidence necessary for the Grand Jury to reach an indictment. The Grand Jury is NOT the venue for exculpatory evidence and the accused has no right to testify before the Grand Jury.
Further, the very questions the DA asked were leading and added to the DEFENSE of Wilson rather than the DA doing before the Grand Jury what was supposed to be done… which is to MAKE THE CASE FOR INDICTMENT. So, we saw completely bogus questions like, “so, you feared for your life?” which is something a Defense lawyer would ask, but not a Prosecutor. Not in that venue. And there was ZERO confrontation over his testimony. Although Officer Wilson’s testimony is ridiculed with contradictions, HIS testimony was allowed to stand unchallenged whereas other eyewitness testimony was scrupulously vetted and gone over. It is very, very, very safe to say that the DA’s office acted as DE FACTO Defense attorneys for Officer Wilson before the Grand Jury.
Please note: I’m not saying that Michael Brown is innocent. I don’t know. What I’m saying is that this entire thing was a farce from the get go and for anyone with a discerning eye for how these procedures are supposed to go, it just stinks. On ice. It’s a complete and utter sham. It’s bogus. There ABSOLUTELY was enough to indict Officer Wilson. Convict? Probably not. I think his defense team would have done what McCulloch did in the Grand Jury and muddied the waters of the testimony enough that any jury would have locked or acquitted. But to not even indict? And THEN to have Officer Wilson go on national television in an interview and say that he’d do it all again the exact same way?
What in the F***? So, he’d still kill the kid knowing what you know now rather than find a non-lethal alternative? Knowing in advance he could park farther down the street and use police training to either wait to confront until backup arrived or at the very least use distance to ensure compliance, he’d still do it EXACTLY the same way? He’d still leave the body uncovered for HOURS?
No. Sorry. Yet another part of this that stinks to high heavens. Even after killing the young man, Officer Wilson STILL can’t see him as a human being. This goes to the heart of what’s wrong with not just this situation, but so many all across this country.
for those who are squarely on Team Wilson (and you know who you are), you can’t paint me into being against you. I’m not. I’m against a crap process that denied BOTH families justice.
Maybe a player should make a slapping gesture. THEN maybe fans might take domestic violence as seriously as they are taking this token raised hand gesture…
I mean how many fans or businesses or PSL owners or sponsors quit the 49ers with Ray McDonald still playing? How many quit the Panthers when the convicted Greg Hardy was still playing?
If folks are gonna quit over a gesture, but won’t quit over rape or DV convictions (not saying anyone here, just generic football fan), then something is seriously wrong. Did they support the Rams when Leonard Little was a Player? If so, why was that okay and this gesture too much?
znModeratorDriving While Black in Ferguson
http://www.newsweek.com/ferguson-profiling-police-courts-shooting-264744
“You go to all of these damn courts, and there’s no white people,” one defendant, slated to appear before a municipal court in St. Louis County, recently said.
Another complained that North St. Louis County municipalities such as Ferguson, which attracted national attention after a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African-American high school graduate, on Saturday, prompting days of protests, profile minorities when it comes to traffic tickets.
“In Dellwood, Ferguson, basically, in North County, if you’re black, they’re going to stop you,” the resident said according to a new report on policing in the area.
For residents of Ferguson, Missouri, and surrounding municipalities in St. Louis County, it’s not surprising that racial tensions have boiled over. In a town of 21,000, two-thirds of the residents are African-American, and many reports have highlighted a fraught relationship between Ferguson’s residents and its mostly white police force. Only three people in the 53-member police department are black, according to the Washington Post, and the Ferguson Police Department disproportionately stops and arrests black drivers.
“Everybody in this city has been a victim of DWB, [driving while black],” Anthony Ross, 26, explained to the Post.
A paper published Thursday by the ArchCity Defenders, a legal aid organization representing indigent defendants in the St. Louis metropolitan area, offers another insight into why residents’ resentment of law enforcement officials run so deep: They don’t just feel that they are getting stopped because of the color of their skin. Rather, they feel like they are getting stopped because of the color of their skin so that the city of Ferguson can profit off of them—for traffic tickets.
ArchCity Defenders, which has tracked ticketing of St. Louis area residents for five years and focused primarily on vehicle violations, started a court-watching program because so many of its clients complained of traffic prosecution wreaking havoc on their lives. Defendants routinely alleged that a racially-motivated traffic stop led to their being jailed due to inability to pay traffic fines, which in turn prompted people to “los[e] jobs and housing as a result of the incarceration.” In other words, defendants alleged that racial profiling, for traffic tickets, propelled them deeper and deeper into the cycle of poverty. The ArchCity report does not allege racial profiling; however, it is clear that many of the people stopped for traffic violations feel that they were targeted for their race.
Of the 60 courts St. Louis County municipal courts observed by ArchCity, 30 were accused of engaging in illegal or harmful practices. “Three courts, Bel-Ridge, Florissant, and Ferguson, were chronic offenders and serve as prime examples of how these practices violate fundamental rights of the poor, undermine public confidence in the judicial system, and create inefficiencies,” according to the report.
The paper points out that in Ferguson, 86 percent of vehicle stops “involved a black motorist, although blacks make up just 67 percent of the population.” In addition, blacks stopped in Ferguson “are almost twice as likely as whites to be searched (12.1 percent versus 6.9 percent) and twice as likely to be arrested (10.4 percent versus 5.2 percent)”. Searches of blacks only results in discovery of contraband 21.7 percent of the time, whereas contraband is recovered from their less frequently stopped white counterparts 34.0 percent of the time.
Municipalities’ seeming willigness to profit off of minorities has undoubtedly fueled the flames ignited by Brown’s shooting. One resident quoted in the study said, “It’s ridiculous how these small municipalities make their lifeline off the blood of the people who drive through the area.”
Twenty-two percent of Ferguson residents live below the poverty line, and 21.7 percent receive food stamps. The unemployment rate in the town is 14.3 percent, or more than double that of St. Louis County and Missouri as a whole.
“Despite Ferguson’s relative poverty, fines and court fees comprise the second largest source of revenue for the city, a total of 2,635,400,” according to the ArchCity Defenders report. And in 2013, the Ferguson Municipal Court issued 24,532 arrest warrants and 12,018 cases, “or about 3 warrants and 1.5 cases per household.”
Exacerbating the problem, the report says, are “a number of operational procedures that make it even more difficult for defendants to navigate the courts.” A Ferguson court employee reported, for example, that “the bench routinely starts hearing cases 30 minutes before the appointed time and then locks the doors to the building as early as five minutes after the official hour, a practice that could easily lead a defendant arriving even slightly late to receive an additional charge for failure to appear.”
Thomas Harvey, co-founder and executive director of ArchCity Defenders and one of the paper’s authors, says that residents’ perception that the system is unfairly stacked against them gives important context for the depth of the present outrage.
“There are 90 municipalities in St. Louis County that range from 12 people to 50,000 people. Eighty-six of them have their own courts. They have their own police forces,” he explains. “What ends up being the product of all that is just a low-level sense of harassment on a daily basis. The clients that we represent feel that. It’s palpable for them.”
“They resent it because it’s not about public safety,” he adds. “These aren’t violent criminals. These are poor people.”
znModeratorWas Michael Brown surrendering or advancing to attack Officer Darren Wilson?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2014/11/29/b99ef7a8-75d3-11e4-a755-e32227229e7b_story.html
Most of the roughly two dozen witnesses who saw the fatal gunfire Aug. 9 told the grand jury they observed something that was both upsetting and bewildering to them — a wounded black man, his hands raised somehow, walking toward the white police officer who was shooting at him.
Wilson, who the Associated Press said resigned from the Ferguson Police Department on Saturday, testified that he shot Brown after the 18-year-old had spun around in preparation for attack, ignoring an order to surrender and instead rushing forward. Blood had already been shed moments earlier during an altercation at Wilson’s SUV when the officer had fired his gun twice. Now, Wilson told the grand jury, he feared for his safety and fired again.
Descriptions of Brown’s movements ranged from an aggressive charge toward the officer to a move to surrender. View GraphicAccording to transcripts of the grand jury investigation into the deadly encounter in Ferguson, three of the witnesses to the shooting described Brown’s movements as a “charge.” Another couple said Brown may have been charging but were not sure. Most of the rest saw forward motion but described it as “steps” or “walking” or “stumbling,” with about a half dozen of these witnesses interpreting Brown’s actions as an attempt to surrender.
“He just kept walking, he just kept going, he just didn’t stop. Even today, I don’t know why, I don’t understand that,” testified one female witness, who had been visiting the Canfield Green apartment complex and who concluded that Brown was trying to surrender. “I asked my husband: ‘Why won’t that child just stop?’ ”
The question of whether Brown charged at Wilson was a key piece of the puzzle for the St. Louis County grand jury, which decided last week that it would not indict the officer in connection with the killing. But that same question still looms large for the American public, especially for those who see in Brown’s story a miscarriage of justice emblematic of a system stacked against African Americans.
In the weeks after his death, one image became the focus of widespread rage: Brown gunned down with his hands up in surrender. People in Ferguson and across the country took the streets, chanting, “Hands up. Don’t shoot.” Wilson’s supporters, however, have said that the image is a fiction.
In the account Wilson gave to the grand jury, he chased Brown after the teen accosted him through the window of the police SUV. Brown, injured by at least one gunshot during that initial confrontation, abruptly stopped running and turned around, ready to attack, Wilson said.
“When he looked at me, he made like a grunting, like aggravated sound and he starts, he turns and he’s coming back towards me,” Wilson testified. “His first step is coming towards me, he kind of does like a stutter step to start running. When he does that, his left hand goes in a fist and goes to his side, his right one goes under his shirt in his waistband and he starts running at me.”
St. Louis County prosecutors also have said the evidence shows that Brown pivoted during the chase but have not characterized his intentions. “Michael Brown moved toward Officer Wilson, several more shots were fired by the officer, and Michael Brown was fatally wounded,” prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch said last week at a news conference.
Virtually all the witnesses saw Brown’s hands raised in some fashion, according to the transcripts, but there was wide disagreement over what this meant. One witness who thought Brown was charging said she saw his hands balled up into fists. Others thought the raised hands were a gesture of surrender, though some of these witnesses said they were not lifted in the traditional way, with the hands high and palms facing forward. Others thought Brown had touched a wound on his body and raised his hands in shock.
All the witnesses recalled Brown turning around to face Wilson, with some reporting that Brown was met with a wave of bullets.
Some said they saw Brown move forward despite the gunfire. A least one witness believed the teen was continuing to charge while at least one other believed Brown’s movement was the forward stagger of a severely injured man.
A blood spatter at the scene suggests that Brown moved about 21 feet back toward Wilson after turning around. The pattern of shell casings on the street suggest Wilson was moving backward as he fired at Brown.
One of the witnesses, an employee of a maintenance company who was working at the apartment complex, testified that he heard a loud bang and saw Brown run by. The witness said he then heard another gunshot and saw Brown stumble to a halt and spin around toward Wilson.
“Michael Brown was kind of moving at him like, ‘I’m giving up, hands up,’ ” the witness said. He said he heard Brown shout, “OK, OK, OK.” (Another maintenance worker testified hearing Brown say “OK.” Although some other witnesses also testified that they heard Brown say something, their accounts differed as to what he said. )
Immediately afterward, the maintenance worker said, he wrote down what he saw in case he had to recount it to police. “On Saturday, August 9th, at approximately 12:15, I witnessed one white male police officer gun down and kill one black male,” he wrote.
Another witness, a woman walking past on her way home from the library, said she saw the entire scene. She said she saw Brown “reaching into the car” during the struggle at Wilson’s SUV and heard a gunshot, which she said drew many people in the nearby apartment building to their windows. Then she saw Brown back up a bit and sprint east.
She said Brown didn’t get far before he “turned around.” He then moved forward but it was the motion of a man falling face forward. “To me it looked like murder,” she said.
But the pair of witnesses who testified that Brown charged at Wilson were adamant that the story unfolded differently.
One man who had been working on the property of the apartment complex reported seeing “some sort of confrontation” between Brown and Wilson at the window of the police vehicle.
This witness said he heard a gunshot, Brown fled, and Wilson gave chase with his weapon drawn. At one point, the witness told the grand jury, Brown turned around and “did some sort of body gesture” before coming “forward in the charging motion.”
“When he charged once more, the officer returned fire with, I would say, give an estimate of three to four shots. And that’s when Mike Brown finally collapsed right about even with this driveway,” he said.
A young woman riding through the area with her family in a van said she saw much of the events from the window and also believed unequivocally that Brown was charging, although she said he seemed at some point to have thought about raising his hands.
“When he first started running, ma’am, he was not staggering,” she told the prosecutor. “He was charging this officer and that’s how I feel it was, like he was running towards him. If he had got close enough, I feel like he would have tackled him up against the car,” she said.
To others, Brown’s movements were much harder to interpret.
The woman who had been visiting Canfield Green said they were ambiguous. This witness, who had come to show someone an outfit she had bought for a class reunion, said it appeared that Brown was not charging but rather was stunned and perhaps uneducated about how to respond to the police.
“I don’t honestly think he has been taught,” she said.
The transcripts show that the grand jury evaluated the witnesses for credibility, finding some to be more believable than others. The jurors took pains to figure out whether witnesses might have had any anti-police or anti-black bias that could affect their interpretation of events.
The jurors also tried to determine whether Brown’s movements might have been viewed as a threat, regardless of his intent.
In grand jury testimony, one detective relayed what he had been told by a witness about how Brown had been holding his hands. “I’ll describe it palms up with his hands and fingers roughly at shoulder height, elbows not touching his rib cage, but elbows at a natural fall,” the detective said. The witness had described this gesture as non-threatening.
A juror asked the detective whether he considered such a gesture as threatening. The detective demurred repeatedly, saying it would depend on the circumstances.
But the juror continued to press the detective, asking, if a suspect were “holding [their] hands like this, yet still moving toward somebody, would you consider that a surrender?”
The detective replied: “No.”
znModeratorfrom off the net
—
aeneas1
Mike Person
this guy has played some good football at lg, both in pass pro and run blocking, when he filled in against the chiefs and raiders. i say bench joseph, move rodger to rg and start person at lg, i think it would make for a better oline in the remaining 4 four games.
December 4, 2014 at 1:10 am in reply to: controversy: a few fans dropping the Rams because of the WRs's Ferguson gesture #12952znModeratorCook says ‘Hands Up’ not meant to disrespect police
By Jim Thomas
Tight end Jared Cook tried to make it as clear as possible Wednesday that the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture by he and four other Rams players was not meant as a slight or slam of police officers.
“Why would we come at the police in a disrespectful way when we work with the police in the community all the time?” Cook said following the team’s afternoon practice at Rams Park. “The police are up here every day. There were four police cars here this morning when I pulled into work.
“The police have a picnic in the summer in our parking lot where they bring their kids and their children to meet-and-greet and have fun with us. So why would I disrespect a group of men that we have complete respect for in the community? That help us every day?”
Obviously many police officers in the St. Louis area and perhaps elsewhere did not take the gesture that way _ a gesture made when the five Rams players came out of the tunnel for pre-game introductions prior to Sunday’s 52-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
It prompted an angry statement by the St. Louis Police Officers Association, which represents city police, and also drew criticism from the St. Louis County Police Association, and the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police.
Angry fans said they would no longer attend games, and a bar owner in south St. Louis said his establishment would now have its happy hours during Kansas City Chiefs games instead of Rams contests.
Cook himself said he has received numerous threats via social media, including his Facebook page.
“That’s how people chose to operate their lives,” Cook said. “I feel like as men, just like me and you are in communication right now . . . we should be able to sit down and talk about our problems.
“There’s no reason to send threats to hype up the situation that’s already intensified. We can sit down and talk about our problems. If we can’t, then let’s just agree to disagree. There’s no wrong in that. People have different opinions. People have different views. We’re grown.”
Cook said he wasn’t sure if the threats he received were serious, or sarcastic, or just people blowing off steam.
“It’s all on the computer,” he said. “How can you really tell if somebody’s typing (threats on) keys?”
Cook was designated as kind of the unofficial spokesman for the five players, a group that also included wide receivers Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Kenny Britt, and Chris Givens.
Cook said he was surprised by the negative reaction to the “Hands Up” gesture
“I was surprised because it was hard for me to understand how men of the community and men of such stature in your city (can) come together and try to make something harmful and negative for each others.
“The Rams, the NFL, the NFL players have never condoned violence. They’ve never condoned anything negative in the community. So why start now? Why do we want to bring that back into something that’s so good and so beautiful, and that could have been used to help young men and help young women learn how to talk about their problems and become bigger than the problem?”
Fisher met with the five players as a group Wednesday morning and Cook said the meeting was “eye-opening” with respect to the insight Fisher provided on “people’s reaction around the state. And Rams fans. And things like that.”
Cook said the players have not been told or asked to refrain from using the “Hands Up” gesture again. So will they?
“Um, I think we kind of got our point across,” Cook replied. “Especially now, I think the world kind of understands a little bit more why we did it.”
The “Hands Up” gesture got national, and in some cases, international attention, including media outlets or programs that don’t normally deal with the world of sports. For example, on the Daily Show television program host Jon Stewart did a segment on the “Hands Up” gesture, poking fun at some of the police reaction to the gesture in St. Louis as well as the “apology/non-apology” involving St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar and Rams executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff.
Stewart even made a joke at the expense of coach Jeff Fisher, saying, “I didn’t know (actor) Nick Nolte was coaching the Rams,” after showing a shot of Fisher from Monday’s press conference.
(Fisher said he was unaware of the Nolte reference, but said he was a fan of some of Nolte’s earlier work.)
Cook said his purpose Wednesday was to “clean up” misperceptions about the message the players were trying to get across with the “Hands Up” gesture. He said it was meant as a message of support for the people in Ferguson _ and around the country and the world _ that may be dealing with similar issues.
And it was also meant as a message of support for peaceful protesters and those trying to clean up and rebuild Ferguson. He said Rams players are already working on some projects, including a coat drive for youth and adults in the Ferguson area, and the Motion for Kids program Dec. 20 at the Edward Jones Dome. The Motion for Kids program, championed in the past by former Rams running back Steven Jackson, provides Christmas gifts for needy children.
Despite the flood of negative responses, Cook said he was aware of positive reaction from many corners. He was unaware, however, of the statement of support for the five Rams players from the Ethical Society of Police, an association of African-American police officers in St. Louis.
The statement, put out by Gloria McCollum, general counsel for the Ethical Society, read in part:
“We think that their actions were commendable, and that they should not be ridiculed, disciplined, or punished for taking a stand on this very important issue which is of great concern around the world and especially in the community where these players work.”
And in a jab at the statement put out earlier in the week by business manager Jeff Roorda of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, McCollum added:
“The statement of the St. Louis Police Officers Association does not reflect the opinions of the majority of African-American police officers in the department because there are no African-American officers on their governing board and they have a minimal amount of African-American members.”
When told of the support from the Ethical Society police officers, Cook’s eyes welled up and he fought back tears.
“That’s pretty amazing,” Cook said. “That shows a lot of character. That shows a lot of maturity. . . for guys like that to come out and issue a statement. Those are people that you can work with, and those are people that you can make your community better with. It’s not about fighting each other. It’s not about wrong and right. It’s about treating people with respect. You can operate and respect without having to come at somebody in a negative way.”
And for any Rams fans who say they no longer will support the team and come to games, Cook said:
“They have to understand that we’re ambassadors for them as well as other parts of St. Louis. As Rams, and as the NFL, we represent everybody. We bring people together for a common goal and that’s to represent their team. And maybe other people around the world that fly in from other places to represent their team. It’s a common place for people to get together and have fun.
“It’s the Edward Jones Dome baby! The Greatest Show on Turf baby! How would you not want to have fun and enjoy that?
And he indicated that it’s still too early to give up on the 2014 season.
“So for the Rams fans out there that want to give up their PSLs,” Cook said. “I wouldn’t do that just yet,” he said.
December 3, 2014 at 10:06 pm in reply to: controversy: a few fans dropping the Rams because of the WRs's Ferguson gesture #12949znModeratorJared Cook talks to the media following Wednesday’s practice.
znModeratorWell, I ‘think’ one of those was
a play where Tavon went on a medium pass route
and drew some secondary attention.
Yes? No?w
Yes that was one of them.
znModeratorzn wrote:
If he breaks one or two, fine.But he doesn’t have to, as long as the defense is just worried about it.
They stop him because they focus on doing it. That gives the Rams offense all sorts of subtle advantages whenever they line him up.
But see this is what I don’t believe. I see no evidence that defenses are making adjustments to stop Tavon that lead to other opportunities. I just don’t think that’s happening.
He seems to me to be pretty easy to stop.
I forget which games? But in 2 recent games the analysts showed how a TD was set up by the defense paying attention to Tavon and therefore being susceptible to something else. So that’s twice now in the 2nd half of the season where the tv announcers have made a point of that, with replays and talk and Madden-markers drawing lines on the picture to show how it happened etc.
Someone else might even remember the games and the plays.
znModeratorHere’s a preliminary list of significant Rams UDFAs across the years.
It’s only good as my memory, which means, add more…the ones I forgot.
BTW Warner does not count as a UDFA. UDFAs are rookies. Warner was a UDFA with the Packers in 94, so he’s in a different category.
Here we go:
* Doug Smith
* Preston Dennard
* D’Marco Farr
* Mike Gruttadauria
* London Fletcher
* Billy Jenkins
* Tony Horne
* Cory Harkey
* Johnny Hekker
* Benny Cunningham (as a KR if nothing else)
=
I am hesitant to count Rodney McLeod yet..
znModeratorMy view is that until Tavon becomes a good route-runner, there’s only so much you can do with him.
So to me what Schott does with him is simply to establish that they WILL do things with him.
If he breaks one or two, fine.
But he doesn’t have to, as long as the defense is just worried about it.
They stop him because they focus on doing it. That gives the Rams offense all sorts of subtle advantages whenever they line him up.
.
December 3, 2014 at 4:32 pm in reply to: Rams qb sack percentage… Rams defensive sack percentage #12932znModeratorYou show the Rams going sack less against the Cardinals but they recorded three sacks that game. I think all of them were on Palmer. Remember it was
Barron’s sack that ended Palmer’s season.You just had to go and cause trouble.
Okay, very well, I changed the numbers via edit.
Happy now?
Ready to live with the consequences?
..
znModeratorRam Bytes: The Gregg Williams defense is rolling
Bernie Miklasz
Good afternoon.
Here are some notes on my Rams’ flip card:
1. Over their last five games, the Rams defense has played at the level we envisioned when coach Jeff Fisher hired Gregg Williams to as the defensive coordinator. It took the players a while to adjust to the Williams system, but it looks like the fellows have gotten comfortable.
Here’s a list of where the Rams rank among NFL defenses in some key categories since Nov. 2 (five games):
– No. 1 in most takeaways, 13.
– No. 2 in sacks, 22.
– Tied for No. 2 in fewest touchdowns allowed from scrimmage, with six.
– No. 2 in rushing defense, 65 yards per game.
– No. 3 in allowing opponents a third-down conversion rate of 30.4 pct.
– No. 5 in average yards per rushing attempt, 3.39.
The Rams defense still has some problems in pass coverage. The most glaring example of that was San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, who made it look easy in picking apart the Rams soft coverage from late in the second quarter through the rest of the game.
Because of Rivers’ easy carving, I was disappointed by the play of the defense in that 27-24 loss to the Chargers. (And the Chargers also averaged 5.8 yards per rush in that one.) But looking at it in retrospect, the Rams limited the San Diego to two touchdowns from scrimmage. And the Rams’ defense scored a TD on the pick-six INT by Janoris Jenkins. So the actual damage wasn’t as bad as the numbers on the stat sheet.
Moreover, the Rams’ average yield of 6.98 yards per passing attempt ranks 14th in the NFL since Nov. 2. So we’re still talking about a slightly above-average rate there. Moreover, the Rams’ harassment of quarterbacks — exemplified by those 22 sacks — is a factor in their total of seven interceptions over the last five games. Only four teams have more INTs over that time.
Here’s the bottom line: the Rams have allowed an average of only 10.8 points from scrimmage over the past five games. And while it’s always possible to improve, you can’t ask for much more than that.
After a 1-4 start the Rams have gone 4-3, and the defensive turnaround is a prime factor in the better results.
After a slow start to the season, the Rams’ defense is aggressive, disruptive and a pain in the neck, back and arse to face. And that’s exactly what we anticipated with Williams in charge.
2. The reemergence of defensive end Robert Quinn has been a significant development for the defense. I don’t pay attention to the pass-rush stats that come from the Rams’ offices; I believe they’re inflated. So I turn to Pro Football Focus for a more objective measure. And according to PFF, Quinn has nine sacks, five QB hits, and 17 QB hurries over his last seven games. That’s 31 total pressures for Quinn in those seven contests.
3. We’ve talked about rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald a lot in this corner, and excuse me while I do it again. Donald is now 12 games into his first NFL seasons, and right now Pro Football Focus has him rated No. 1 among all NFL defensive tackles. Donald is ranked No. 2 in run stops, has six sacks and 28 QB pressures, and grades out better overall than Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy or any DT that you’d care to mention. And this young tiger is still learning the league … imagine how Donald will play after he gains more experience. GM Les Snead and Coach Fisher hit it big when choosing Donald 13th overall in May’s draft.
4. It’s time to talk about (again) another of our favorite players on the 2014 Rams. That would be rookie cornerback E.J. Gaines, from Mizzou. And yes, we’d like Gaines, anyway — just because of the Mizzou connection. But his performance has gone way beyond the scope of the obligatory local rooting interest. Gaines is getting better … and better … and better. According to Pro Football Focus, when opposing teams have targeted Gaines this season they have a passer rating of 77.6. And the quarterbacks have averaged 6.7 yards per passing attempt when going after Gaines. He’s been beaten for one TD pass, and has two INTs. Based on the PFF rankings of pass coverage, Gaines is No. 20 among NFL cornerbacks. And check this out: PFF rates Gaines at No. 8 among NFL corners in run stops.
5. Look, I’m not suggesting that E.J. Gaines is the next Roger Wehrli, a great CB at Mizzou who was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a fabulous career with the NFL team in St. Louis. But what Gaines is doing here is awfully impressive. And we’d say that if Gaines was the 18th overall pick in the draft. But he was the 188th overall selection, chosen in the 6th round. And that only adds to the admiration we have for Gaines — the player and the person.
6. The Rams apparently have found their slot receiver in Stedman Bailey. This is a small sample from PFF, but when Bailey runs a route from the slot, he’s been targeted 10 times, and he’s caught all 10 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. That means the Rams’ QB has a passer rating of 148.7 when they go to Bailey as a slot receiver. Overall, Bailey has been targeted 28 times this season and has 20 receptions. That 71.4 percent catch rate is very good.
7. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the breakaway capability of rookie Rams running back Tre Mason. And after Mason’s big game in the 52-0 win over Oakland, I can update update a statistic from Pro Football Focus. Mason has 569 yards rushing so far, and 257 of the 569 have come on runs that have gained 15+ yards. Among NFL backs that have played at least 25 percent of the snaps this season, Mason’s breakaway percentage of 45.2 percent is the best in the league.
(Explanation: 45.2 percent of Mason’s total yards have been accumulated on 15+ runs. That 89-yarder against Oakland certainly inflated Mason’s percentage … but even before that Mason had one of the top breakaway percentages in the NFL.)
8. I guess it’s fair to say that the Rams won the RG III trade. We may write more on this later in the week; obviously the Rams have benefited from the draft-pick bonanza they received in exchange for the rights to select QB Robert Griffin III. Injuries have badly diminished the benched Griffin, who is 4-14 as a starter since the start of the 2013 season. But one aspect of the trade I didn’t expect: neither Washington or St. Louis has an established franchise quarterback in place.
znModeratorfrom off the net
—
Vance
The problem is none of that was proven and due process didn’t occur
1. No fingerprinting the weapon
2. 16 of 19 witnesses asked if hands were up while getting shot said yes
3. Officer failed numerous policies (Leaving scene, bagging own weapon into evidence, telling Chief one thing in regards to knowledge of robbery, telling courts something different)As far as the Grand Jury process….
1. Prosecutor (who was more of Wilson’s defense attorney) told jury that they should ignore police policy and procedures when deciding to indict. That’s horrific
2. Prosecutor provided a law that states you can shoot a fleeing suspect. That law was deemed unconstitutional by Supreme Court in 1985. The prosecutor then said “we’re not here to make this a law class” when asked if Federal Law over take state…. Which it does.
Justice was not done because a police officer accused of excessive force received treatment that a citizen would never have the liberty to receive. For that reason his entire story and the process is rightfully questioned
znModeratorRelive It: Rams Dominate Raiders
Relive the Rams 52-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
December 3, 2014 at 9:13 am in reply to: controversy: a few fans dropping the Rams because of the WRs's Ferguson gesture #12907znModeratorThe Ludicrousness Of St. Louis Rams Vs. St. Louis Cops, By Jon Stewart
http://deadspin.com/the-ludicrousness-of-st-louis-rams-vs-st-louis-cops-1666036860
===
Colbert Lampoons Reaction To The Rams’ “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” Intro
December 3, 2014 at 8:31 am in reply to: hey kids what time is it? IT'S GAME GIF TIME (!!!!) … expanded #12904znModeratoraeneas1
i do them using photoshop and a screen capture program… if there’s ever a play you want gif’d, just let me know!
–
a nicely designed blitz, long and brockers crash inside shoulders causing the tackle and guard to block down, inside, while dunbar stunts left to a wide open gap, forcing carr to get rid of the ball quickly, resulting in a 3-and-out:
hill, under a lot of pressure, and stedman hook up for great back shoulder throw and catch that results in a 16 yard gainer:
very next play, great play-action resulting in a ton of time and clean pocket, incredible grab by stedman, 34 yard gainer:
another view:
hill’s td run, looked like the rams were counting on kendricks to sneak through and be wide open but mack wasn’t fooled, no prob, instead hill high-tailed it in, meanwhile grob manhandled sims:
3rd & 3, gaines making it look easy, forces a punt, what a friggin’ steal this guy has been, through week 13 he’s played 97% of the defensive snaps:
stedman showing off his speed, just runs by everyone, seems that someone claimed that he was an average wr with average speed not too long ago, can’t agree with that. also, and i’m a big tavon fan, but i would like to see tavon do more of this when he gets the quick screen call, one move and off to the races like stedman, as opposed to the little jitterbug moves he seems to like to do before getting it into gear, nflers are fast, you can’t d#$ck around when you get the ball!
this was a big play, rams 3rd possession, 3rd & 8, the throw and catch was 3 yards short of the first down marker, but a nifty move by stedman (and bad tackling by woodson) resulted in 10+ yards after the catch and a first down, which led to the rams third consecutive td in as many drives:
znModeratorthehammer
quick comment on the rams “do not shoot” protest…no big deal ..reminded of the John Carlos/Jimmy Smith raised fist during their awards ceremony at the 1968 Olympics…do hope they( and posters) read the transcripts and evidence report 1st(available online) before forming an opinion and the rams players talked to team leaders, both black and white, before they acted…
want to see something scary watch the cop in the background as Tru Johnson was celebrating his int…in serious need of a timeout.. Bothered me enough I called McCulloughs office.
back to football….
fun game to watch BUT Oakland gave zero effort…they still looked hungover from their 1st win. Their effort spoke volumes about their lack of veteran leadership. Still for a young team like the rams wins like this go a long way in developing confidence.
read a pro football focus blog on the of best single season of qb’s passing under pressure..Found the expected guys, Peyton Manning, Rivers, Brady, Warner ect…what I also found was Shaun Hills name in 2010 at Detroit… quick look at this years stats shows the same thing..very little difference in passer rating under pressure vs zero pressure Being able to handle pressure is in a qb’s DNA..either they have it or they don’t
Cooks snaps are vanishing since Hill became qb…playing 57.6, 56.1 and 53.6% of time after avg close to 75% under Davis…also more passes outside the hashmarks..Fisher talked about how Hill is comfortable changing plays at the line of scrimmage… just wish he was 5 years younger
rewatched the game to key on Robinson -18 as a LT..brutal run blocking. Not sure he actually hit anyone. Something to watch going forward.
also we were playing Barron at slb even on some running downs. Dunbars snaps the last 3 weeks 1, 4 and 14. Watching it looked like McDonald got some snaps at fs in the game…McCleod had 2 more missed tackles vs the Raiders. think the clock is ticking on McCleod and Dunbar.
Bailey has a great 71.4 % catch rate and is +1.8,+3.7 and +2.4 in his last 3 games…funny Hill and Bailey worked all camp together with the 2’s…think it helped?
notice Pettis hasn’t been picked up yet? Sure good enough to play for Oakland. Wonder what teams know that we don’t… I called it a purge when we cut Armstrong and Pettis…team has played better since.
anyone care to explain why we are carrying 5 te’s?
a win on the road next week will be a big step forward for the team
znModeratorWhere would the Rams be with “consistent QB play?” Nick Wagoner and Kevin Wheeler ponder
znModeratorNot the best ever. But worth remembering.
znModeratorznModeratorI’ve seen more actual skills from Stedman than i have
from Quick. And i trust Stedman’s hands more.w
vStill, I prefer Donald over Evans. I doubt Evans would have gotten half the sacks Donald has.
December 2, 2014 at 9:26 am in reply to: controversy: a few fans dropping the Rams because of the WRs's Ferguson gesture #12847znModeratorRedskins secondary puts hands up in pregame introductions, referencing protests in Ferguson, Mo.
By Isabelle Khurshudyan August 19
The starting lineup bounded onto the field for Monday’s preseason game against the Browns, each starter individually announced. The secondary was last, and it came out as one unit, starters and backups alike. They walked with arms folded up, palms open.
The sign of surrender, a gesture not to shoot, has become synonymous with protests in Ferguson, Mo., in the wake of the fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a police officer. Though the secondary’s stance wasn’t televised on ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast, several fans at FedEx Field took notice and tweeted about it.
“Anytime you get an opportunity to do something like that, it’s something that needs to be discussed, something that you truly need to believe,” veteran safety Ryan Clark said. “That could have been any one of us. That could have been any one of our brothers, our cousins, just anyone.
“We have voices, even though sometimes we don’t like to see it that way, we do have voices. We got the opportunity to do something.”
Second-year safety Phillip Thomas said he was “just going with the program.” Clark said strong safety Brandon Meriweather and cornerback DeAngelo Hall both made the decision to do it, and then asked Clark if he would be interested in participating.
“I was like, ‘Absolutely,’” Clark said. “Everybody was in it. Everybody was together. It was a really good opportunity to make a statement and be more than football players.”
znModeratorThe 6-5, 231-pounder has caught 49 balls for 841 yards and eight touchdowns by using his large frame, physical style and ability to adjust to the quarterback’s pass.
Yeah, well, that kind of show-offy, garish “me me” stuff doesn’t impress. Not in comparison to the thoughtful, quiet, careful Brian Quick, who took time to fully grasp the game before going off on the so-called “production” routine.
-
AuthorPosts
