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znModeratorGood sentiments BT.
Hope everyone is holding up under the lockdown. The virus dictated house arrest.
I actually am doing okay with that, myself.
znModeratorRams fans, thanks to you we raised over $2.3m for @LAUnitedWay & @LAFoodBank during our @ABC7 telethon. The deal was you raise $2m, I would read Mean Tweets about the logo. So here you go and thanks for helping Angelenos in need when it is needed the most! pic.twitter.com/HB6OTPzuRN
— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) April 3, 2020
znModeratorLouis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
Getting off the line of scrimmage against press in today’s NFL is nothing like it used to be. Only a select few corners really PRESS. The rest just act like they are going to but don’t do anything once aligned there.==
from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2020/04/04/nfl-rams-mailbag-draft-free-agency/
I think if Havenstein is on the roster, he has to be a starter. He’s making more than $8 million per year, and the Rams aren’t going to pay him to ride the pine at that cost.
He could still be traded, which would open the door for Evans and David Edwards to compete at right tackle. I just think with his contract, it’s hard to imagine Havenstein being a backup.
znModeratorznModeratorIf books, videogames, podcasts and Netflix are not enough for you to #StayAtHome, Game Pass is free for the next months! 20 must-watch #NFL games ranked by @ChrisWesseling https://t.co/ZnXeYCaDZR
— Hanno Terbuyken (@dailybug) March 20, 2020
znModeratorRemember when the USA “back stopped” Hawaii after Pearl Harbor?
And FDR told Hawaii the planes and Destroyers are not for the states or territories, they’re “ours”?
And then the President blamed Hawaii for not being prepared and told them “we’re not an ordering clerk.”
— Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) April 3, 2020
znModeratorLouis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
Back to work…I really like some of the RB’s in this draft too. A few are going to be GREAT, yet won’t/don’t get the attention they deserve due to the position they play and the depth at other positions.znModeratorWalter Shaub@waltshaub
I do not understand the federal government collecting taxes from us, using that money to buy medical supplies from the private sector, then giving the supplies to the private sector so the private sector can rip off states that have to purchase the supplies with more tax dollars.znModeratorVivid dreaming is incredibly common during this pandemic. “This is global. I’m working in the U.S., Australia, India, China, and Japan. Story is the same everywhere. People are dreaming up a storm," one dream analyst told me. My latest, for @InStyle: https://t.co/CvowYY1dhY
— Britni de la Cretaz (@britnidlc) April 3, 2020
znModerator.@WindhorstESPN says there’s “a significant amount of pessimism” in the NBA and the NBPA’s talks about whether they’re going to cancel the season. pic.twitter.com/SAGMJlFRDO
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2020
znModeratorBaseball is considering games in empty spring training parks, with no fans and quarantined players. But the logistics of such a plan would be extremely complex, and perhaps insurmountable. Story: https://t.co/TphgvYsCrt
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 4, 2020
znModeratorhttps://t.co/umd4KdX90m pic.twitter.com/sSkrQAVNQL
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) April 3, 2020
znModeratorI played against @TonyBoselli. He was and is a stud. I always looked at him as being damn near invincible. He isn’t. Nobody is. As COVID-19 showed him. Read what he says about it, just in case you still think it can’t happen to you . https://t.co/H2yXANwsjy
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) April 3, 2020
April 3, 2020 at 3:31 am in reply to: stadium work continues (3/30), some workers worry about covid-19 #113293znModeratorKevin Demoff acknowledges pandemic could delay SoFi Stadium completion
Construction continues at SoFi Stadium, even as positive coronavirus cases have popped up at the site. And Rams COO Kevin Demoff continues to be optimistic that the stadium will be completed in time, even as he acknowledges the possibility that may not happen.
“This is not the time you want to be finishing a stadium, in this environment as you prepare,” Demoff said, via Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. “Because it’s when you need to be all hands on deck, walking through the building every day, meeting with your staff, working out the kinks and planning for it. So when you’ve been building something for a few years, you would love an optimal environment to finish it.”
The environment is anything but optimal for finishing the stadium in time for its July 25 opening, a Taylor Swift concert, followed by the 2020 preseasons and regular seasons for the Rams and Chargers.
“Our stadium, and I believe the Raiders’ stadium as well, will both be amazing when they are finished and when they will begin play, which will certainly happen in the near future, whether that’s in July, August, September, [or] in 2021,” Demoff said. “I don’t think you can look at either of these stadiums as short-term projects to finish but rather long-term beacons for the franchises and for the NFL.”
He’s right, but if the stadiums aren’t ready and if the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders will be playing games in 2020, they’ll need to make other arrangements. Which could be the least of the problems the NFL may be dealing with as this craziest of years continues.
znModeratorA stunning admission of deadly ignorance from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who says he only just learned that asymptomatic people can transmit #Covid19. “ndividuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn’t know that until the last 24 hours.” pic.twitter.com/T7NZWk2GDR
— Andisheh Nouraee (@andishehnouraee) April 2, 2020
znModeratorRich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Andrew Whitworth did a video interview with local media. He built a gym in his garage last month after he tracked the news and saw shutdowns probably were on the way. Still taking career year by year, in terms of retirement.Stu Jackson@StuJRams
T Andrew Whitworth on a conf. call this afternoon said it’s “amazing” to be back w/ @RamsNFL, his goal all along.“Once I decided for sure and got the OK from family and everybody else that we were going to play football again, there was no other place I wanted to be than here.”
Kurt Warner@kurt13warner
My ability to retain and process info… it is what separated meCryptic Tazzer@CrypticTazzer
What do you miss most about playing?Kurt Warner@kurt13warner
Cat & Mouse game… competing… can I out think the D in 4 seconds… Love it and miss itznModeratorHow to ensure you don't get follow-up questions on Fox, apparently. pic.twitter.com/nOUqw4ZVhO
— Ben Smith (@benyt) April 2, 2020
znModeratorAustin Blythe is comfortable at guard but ‘playing center is like riding a bike’
link https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2020/04/02/nfl-rams-free-agency-austin-blythe-center/
One of the first moves the Rams made this offseason was re-signing Austin Blythe. It wasn’t a marquee signing or one that will drastically change the Rams’ roster, but it was a move that quietly helps the offensive line.
His deal was made official this week as the terms of it came out, paying him $3.9 million for one year with $3.5 million of that guaranteed. It’s unclear what Blythe’s market was like, but he’s happy to be back with the Rams for another season.
“I had a hard time thinking about starting over,” Blythe said on a conference call, via the team’s site. “So to have an offer that was a good offer to return to play for the Rams and Coach Sean McVay, Aaron Kromer, all those guys in the organization, was a relieving feeling.”
Blythe’s best asset is his versatility. He played guard and center for the Rams last season, performing better at the latter after Brian Allen went down with a season-ending knee injury. Blythe will most likely compete at both positions again in 2020, but the Rams haven’t said where he fits best or where they see him lining up.
He’s open to playing either spot, but he seems to prefer center because of his comfortability at that position.
“It was an easy transition,” Blythe said. “(Playing the center position) was kind of going back to my bread-and-butter, I would say. I think I’ve felt really comfortable in all three positions on the interior of the o-line, but playing center is like riding a bike. I welcomed it a little bit. Unfortunately Brian did get hurt, and luckily he’s going to be back with us and we’re going to have a lot of depth and a lot of things to figure out.”
Allen will likely get a chance to reclaim his starting spot at center again next season, with the same going for Joseph Noteboom at left guard. However, Sean McVay indicated that neither player will be on the field until training camp, which puts them behind the eight ball.
It’s possible the Rams will roll out the same offensive line that they finished the 2019 season with (from left to right): Andrew Whitworth, Austin Corbett, Blythe, David Edwards and Bobby Evans. Given his $3.9 million contract, it’s likely Blythe will start somewhere. It’s just a matter of which position.
znModeratorMichael Brockers shared a story of the time Aaron Donald ripped a teammate's facemask off his helmet, which remained strapped https://t.co/GCiENUO7jg
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) April 2, 2020
—
from that:
“Were you there when he ripped the facemask off that dude?” Brockers asked Long, who wasn’t there but had heard about it.
“We’re in training camp, AD’s hot. I don’t know, he’s mad all the time – on the field. Just always mad. I mean, he’s cool, but he has a switch that gets flipped super easy,” Brockers said. “So I’m guessing the young guy grabbed him or was holding him or something – like pushed him in the back or something. AD reached and grabbed the dude’s facemask and when he pulled back, I was like, ‘Damn, he ripped the dude’s head off.’ And then I realized it’s his facemask. Then he was trying hit the dude with the facemask and the dude looked so stupid. The helmet was still strapped, bro. He looked so stupid.”
znModeratorJust found out my beloved niece, who has a newborn, just came down with a lot of the symptoms. She has to isolate in her own house.
Turns out to be okay. In her own words:
Lauren
Our results came back NEGATIVE. We feel really grateful for the ability to be tested, otherwise we would have been quarantining and wearing masks in our homes for 14 days fearful of getting our girls very sick given our positive screens.
April 2, 2020 at 8:19 am in reply to: what’s happening to protective gear in national stockpile? #113278znModeratorTrump administration sent protective medical gear to China while he minimized the virus threat to US
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/29/opinions/coronavirus-personal-protective-equipment-obeidallah/
Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Follow him @DeanObeidallah. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN.
(CNN)Our doctors and nurses are in desperate need of masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from contracting the coronavirus while treating those who are ill. Some of them are trying to find it on eBay while others are pleading for help on social media.
The situation is so dire one New Jersey doctor described it as “sending medical professionals like lambs to the slaughterhouse.”
Concerns about a dwindling supply of PPE are not new. Back on February 7, the World Health Organization sounded alarm bells about “the limited stock of PPE,” noting demand was 100 times higher than normal for this equipment.
Yet the same day as the WHO warning, the Trump administration announced that it was transporting to China nearly 17.8 tons (more than 35,000 pounds) of “masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials.” As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted in the press release announcing this shipment, “These donations are a testament to the generosity of the American people.”
Americans indeed are a generous people. We want to help those in need. And at the time these medical supplies were shipped, more than 28,000 people in China were infected with nearly 600 deaths attributed to the virus. But how could Trump allow tons of vital medical equipment Americans to be transported to another country in February if, as he has claimed since January, he fully understood the risk the United States was facing from the virus.As a reminder, the first known case of coronavirus case on US soil was confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on January 21, 2020.
The next day, Trump was asked about the virus while attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos. CNBC anchor Joe Kernen asked the President: “The CDC has identified a case of coronavirus in Washington state … have you been briefed by the CDC?” to which Trump responded, “I have.” Kernen continued, “Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?” Trump declared: “No. Not at all. And — we’re — we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s — going to be just fine.”
Trump again on January 30 assured Americans he understood the threat posed by the virus and was prepared, stating, “We have it very well under control,” adding, “We’re working very closely with China and other countries, and we think it’s going to have a very good ending for us … that I can assure you.”
On February 5, US lawmakers were pressing the Trump administration on its preparedness for a possible widespread coronavirus outbreak in the US, with some slamming the administration’s failure to communicate with the states about how the White House would be addressing it.By February 6, the United States had 12 known confirmed cases in Wisconsin, California, Washington, Arizona, Massachusetts and Illinois — and with mass testing not yet begun the number of infected was likely far higher.
It was in this climate that the Trump administration announced its aid transport to China. Pompeo bragged on Twitter that the administration had “coordinated with U.S. organizations to transport” goods to China including, “Personal protective equipment.”
Now compare that to March 18, when Trump defiantly told governors pressing him to help their states obtain similar equipment: “The federal governments not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping,” adding, “We’re not a shipping clerk.”
Just three days after these goods arrived in China, Trump again bragged that the United States was in “great shape” when it came to the virus. He then added to assure an increasingly concerned America about Covid-19, “You know, a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat — as the heat comes in,” reiterating, “Typically, that will go away in April.”I won’t be so glib as to ask what happened to Trump’s “America First” policy. That’s too easy. But the fact Trump claimed to comprehend the risk posed by the coronavirus and then shipped nearly 18 tons of equipment that includes much of what our medical staff are now pleading for means either he was lying or is dangerously incompetent. You can pick which one you believe. But the results are the same for our valiant health care workers who are working tirelessly to save lives from Covid-19.
znModeratorOzRam
from NFL.com 2017 Redo of draft Rnd 1: (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001108100/article/2017-nfl-draft-doover-mahomes-to-browns-bears-skip-qb)
Just for fun. It shows just how well we draft that year in the 3rd round! In their redo, Kupp and Johnson are 1st round suggestions.
14 Philadelphia Kupp
One of my favorite receivers headed into the 2017 NFL Draft was Cooper Kupp, a standout at Eastern Washington who proved he could play in the Senior Bowl. But then his 40-yard-dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine wasn’t that great, and folks panicked. Which was kind of stupid. Because I would always lean toward the guys who actually played well on the field over someone who looked good running around in his underwear in Indianapolis. Kupp would have no doubt flourished with Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz in Philly.18 Titans Johnson
The Titans would probably be in a good spot to move down, because cornerback would have been their biggest priority at this point. But the team also had a need at safety — and I would favor Johnson over Eddie Jackson, because Jackson is a better free safety, a position that is already occupied on Tennessee’s roster by the great Kevin Byard. Johnson would be able to play his more natural strong safety position, where he really did well for two years before an abbreviated 2019.znModeratorSocial distancing baptism pic.twitter.com/S1CJiNPcOC
— Stephen (@GeronimoFrost) April 1, 2020
znModeratorIn order to be on track for an estimated ~100,000 deaths from coronavirus in the United States, and a peak of ~2,500 deaths per day, the University of Washington model cited by the White House would expect 899 deaths today.
The latest @CNN number is 946 deaths reported today.
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) April 2, 2020
==
“Roughly 280 million masks in warehouses around the U.S. were purchased by foreign buyers on Monday alone, according to Forbes. A FEMA spokesperson said the agency ‘has not actively encouraged or discouraged U.S. companies from exporting overseas’.” https://t.co/e4Xob5bhHC
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) April 1, 2020
znModeratorfrom Execs unfiltered on every NFL team’s free agency moves and trades
Mike Sando
Apr 1, 2020…
It’s time to check in with coaches and execs around the league for thoughts on the major moves and all 32 teams’ approaches to free agency.
…
Los Angeles Rams
Perceptions of the Rams hold that the team is tapped out after trading away draft choices and investing heavily in players ranging from Jared Goff to Brandin Cooks. Those perceptions have merit, but in looking at key players the team lost — Dante Fowler, Cory Littleton and even Nickell Robey-Coleman — it’s questionable whether the Rams would have paid premium prices for them even if resources had been more readily available to them.
The Rams have been in the short-term pass-rusher market for a while. Fowler was part of that until the Falcons signed him to a three-year, $45 million deal. Los Angeles turned to another rental in Leonard Floyd, who spent two seasons with new Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley as his position coach in Chicago.
Floyd was among several pass-rushers to reach the market this offseason after entering the NFL as top-15 overall choices. That group included Fowler, Robert Quinn, Jadeveon Clowney, Floyd, Bruce Irvin and Vic Beasley. Quinn and Fowler, both former Rams, landed meatier deals spanning multiple seasons. Floyd and Beasley were had on one-year deals in the $10 million range.
“I like Leonard Floyd,” an exec said. “Lacks power, but very talented and he plays really hard. He will help them. They do not have anybody opposite him, but he will help. The problem is, they have had so many issues cap-wise and contract-wise. They do have Jalen Ramsey, but they are limited.”
The Rams re-signed 38-year-old left tackle Andrew Whitworth, added defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson from the Lions and brought back defensive end Michael Brockers unexpectedly after Brockers reached an agreement with Baltimore on a deal that fell through. And they finally cut Todd Gurley.
“What would I have done differently?” an exec asked. “I would not have traded for Jalen Ramsey last year. That is pretty simple. Even if they lost Marcus Peters, they would still have their two ones and they would have about $11 million they would be able to go out and get a player with.”
Execs said the 26-year-old Cooks, who has already been traded for a first-round pick twice in his career, could be a trade candidate in the future, but from a salary-cap standpoint, that deal would be easier for the Rams to escape after the 2020 season.
April 1, 2020 at 2:28 pm in reply to: stadium work continues (3/30), some workers worry about covid-19 #113261znModeratorlindseythiry@LindseyThiry
Construction is ongoing at SoFi Stadium amid the coronavirus pandemic, but I am told there is a growing number of subcontractors who are increasingly concerned about their employees continuing work at the site, not to mention the concern of the workers themselves.Further, I’m told by a worker that they’ve been instructed by safety officers on site to wear N95 masks if they are within 6 feet of another worker, however, workers have expressed that those N95 masks should be going to hospitals for medical workers.
jimmy jams@ramthemdems
Then they can request to be let out of their contracts , pay back any advances on work to be done and go home. If they don’t want to risk it the Rams should let them out of their contracts, assuming they pay back any monies fronted. And they don’t receive any compensation.Jeff Fisher’s Mustache@Gr8stShowOnSurf
Safety first! Send the workers home!! The rams can always play in the coliseum if the date gets pushed back.Mike jones@Mikejones2266
Been working at the stadium since last July. I took my tools home Monday couldn’t risk my 7 month baby or wife’s health. Turner aecom/ hunt doesn’t care about the workers. We’re just bodies.Ax@DraftMANIAX
It’s just a matter of time before it’s shutdown. Same for Las Vegas.znModeratorMichael Brockers on the Ravens and Aaron Donald
0:23 – Open and Michael Brockers on Baltimore and LA. 7:14 – Michael Brockers on Aaron Donald. 17:45 – Michael Brockers on the Rams. 27:00 – Quick Hitters.
znModeratorThe MMQB@theMMQB
The NFL is a business, and the league’s message yesterday was to business partners. But @AlbertBreer says the league should be mindful of how its overly optimistic tone comes across==
The NFL Needs to Tone Down its Optimism About the 2020 Season
On Tuesday the NFL gave maybe the most optimistic picture of the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve seen in weeks.ALBERT BREER
I understand the reasoning.
The NFL is a business. One that generates 11-figure revenue numbers annually. It didn’t get there without prioritizing the bottom line, nor did its owners accumulate the wealth to buy teams by failing to find opportunity to profit around every corner.
So free agency went on as planned. So the draft will too. So on Tuesday, NFL EVP and general counsel Jeff Pash painted perhaps the most optimistic picture of the COVID-19 pandemic that any of us have seen anywhere in weeks.
“We’re pretty confident we’ll be able to start on schedule,” Pash said.
And that was only doubling down on what he’d asserted earlier in the conference call.
“On the season itself, our planning, our expectation is fully directed at playing a full season, starting on schedule and having a full regular season and a full set of playoffs, just as we did in 2019,” he said. “We take our guidance from the medical people, from [NFL chief medical officer] Dr. [Allen] Sills from [NFLPA chief medical officer] Dr. [Thomas] Mayer, from the outside consultants in infectious diseases, and from the CDC.”
Again, I understand why. The NFL has partners, sponsors and advertisers to worry about. Just as it’s a scary time for you and me, it’s a scary time for big business. Spending isn’t going to be what it was. Institutions with long-standing relationships in the pro football community are going to have to pick their spots for the foreseeable future.
Pash is speaking to them: We got you. We’re going to be America’s escape. We’re planning on it. And we want you to be a part of it. There’s nowhere your money will be safer. Because there will be football, and America will be eating it up when it gets here.
The idea matches up perfectly with the decision to go forward with the new league year, which was, at the very least, an opportunistic move to pull in a captive audience, and the forceful nature with which they’re pushing ahead with the draft, which is, well, the same. It’s who they are, and how they got where they are, and so it’s not that hard to figure out what they’re doing here.
But someone, anyone, at some point, should’ve raised their hand and asked the same question that could’ve saved the NFL a lot of trouble over the last decade, in countless scandals that made pro football look like a ruthless circus: Are we doing the right thing?
Given the circumstances we’re all facing, I personally don’t think it’s right to threaten coaches or executives not to speak out about the problems, both human and football-wise, with keeping the draft scheduled for the end of April, as the NFL did last week. I’m also not sure it’s right to tell a society that needs to be taking every precaution possible—and needs to be treating this international crisis as something that will get a lot worse if we don’t—that everything’s going to be just fine in a few months.
And maybe the NFL didn’t mean for it to come off that way. But it did.
Which is a problem, and one that was completely avoidable, if someone in the office had just asked that very simple question of right and wrong.
znModeratorLMU93
the Rams OL went from 31st in the league the first 9 games to 25th over the final 7, 16th the final 4-5 games, etc.
As the OL went, so went Goff.
He had a 91.4 QBR, sacked just 6 times and 1 fumble those final 7 games vs. 82.7 QBR, 16 sacks, and 9 fumbles in the first 9. His QBR was 98.2 the final 5 games.
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