SB Nation - Brock Berlin

Making moves at Rams Park

VanRam — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:24:07 -0000

The Rams made some roster moves today. Don't look for any of them to put the team over the top though.

Filling the roster spot vacated by moving DE C.J. Ah You to injured reserve is TE Eric Butler, who you may remember from preseason action. Don't be surprised if Butler is on the inactive list this week. This move probably has more to do with the Rams lack of receivers than anything else. I suspect at some point they'll make the move to sign Brock Berlin, as they've talked about, move Bulger to IR (once they know more about his status), and make a few more moves at the bottom of the 53-man roster.

DE Sean Convover filled Butler's spot on the practice squad.

'Tis the Season for Null

ram_rod — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:01:34 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Curry - AP

Not again...

Browse more photos »

Firstly, I must say R.I.P Marc Bulger. Your career as a Ram may be over, but I'll always remember you as the inconsistent, overpaid QB that you were over the last two and a half years. You didn't deserve to go out injured, but you obviously weren't the future, sorry to be so cold about it, but hey, you're a millionaire. Retire and live comfortably in Hawaii

Anyway, With Kyle Boller the new QB, it's becoming more and more obvious that at some point over the season, Null will see time. Should he be fed to the wolves? Will he be forced to start? With the injury bug biting the Rams yet again, we might very well see Null start a game or two, as Boller is no stranger to getting hurt.

People have been clamoring for him, but we haven't seen much in the way of news about him for a while. Is he the next Tom Brady, or is he the next Brock Berlin? It's tough to tell, but to expect anything out of a very raw prospect rookie with this team is...well...expecting too much.

So what do you think? Would you like to see him play just for the hell of it? Or do you want him to get some experience (at the expense of winning? or just about everything else?) Weigh in with the poll and with the comments.

Poll

How do you feel about Null playing?

Null needs experience to play. Wolves be damned- his experience is worth it

251 votes

Mop Up duty only please...Boller may not be amazing, but winning is always nice

97 votes

I'd rather wait until the draft

17 votes

(For VanRam) Jason Campbelll!

18 votes

383 votes | Poll has closed

Wednesday Notes: Lions Sign Matthias Askew to Practice Squad, Release Brock Berlin

Sean Yuille — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:10:51 -0000

The Lions signed defensive tackle Matthias Askew to the practice squad and released quarterback Brock Berlin. Askew played for Michigan State in college and has been on the Bengals, Redskins, and Broncos in the NFL. Berlin was likely released because Drew Stanton returned to practice today, meaning the Lions no longer need a QB on the practice squad for insurance purposes.
I haven't heard anything yet about the ticket situation for this week's game, but we should know how many tickets are left shortly. My guess is that there are more available than there were at this time last week, and although another surprise could happen, I don't have a good feeling about the game not being blacked out.
Free agent linebacker Matt Wilhelm worked out for the Lions this week.
Jim Schwartz invented a couple new words when asked about his style of coaching.

"A lot of my philosophy is Belichickian," he said. "I like to tell people that I got a Ph.D. in footballology from the University of Coach Belichick," he said.
Do you get a free hooded sweatshirt upon graduating?
Albert Haynesworth, now a Washington Redskin, has good things to say about Schwartz.
Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick will be the announcers for this week's game against the Redskins.
DIRECTV is having a contest to find the "Ultimate Displaced Fan." The way it works is you have to live over 100 miles away from your favorite team and submit a picture or video along with a short write-up about how big of a fan you are. The winner will receive a trip to the Super Bowl along with some other cool experiences, so if you are a displaced fan (I know there are a lot of you out there), enter the contest.

Tuesday Notes: Grady Jackson Case "Still Under Review"

Sean Yuille — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:47:34 -0000

Tom Kowalski is reporting that Grady Jackson has not been suspended yet. I stress the last word of that sentence, because the case is apparently still under review.
Here's a great stat from Nicholas Cotsonika: 31 players on the 53-man roster weren't part of last year's 0-16 season.
Jason Hanson is almost fully recovered and is going to spend this week shaking off the rust.
Jim Schwartz commented on why Shaun Smith was released and said that he "was a good citizen" while playing for the Lions. It sounds like he was cut simply because the coaches opted to go with younger players like Sammie Hill and Landon Cohen.
While Schwartz made sure to say that the Lions are fully behind Matthew Stafford starting, he also praised Daunte Culpepper for what he did to make this such a tight competition.

"I want to say this: Daunte Culpepper is back," Schwartz said. "There's no doubt in my mind -- I don't think there's any doubt around the league. The commitment that he made over the last six months to get back to being a starting NFL quarterback, I mean, that's obvious, that's apparent. He's gonna be back as a starting quarterback at some time in this league."

Asked if the Lions would consider trading Culpepper, who is scheduled to make more than $4 million in salary and bonus money this season, Schwartz said, "We're very happy with where we are quarterback-wise. ... I think (quarterback is going to be a strength on our team, and I don't think we're in a position of getting rid of good players."
I still don't understand why people think Culpepper will be traded. Yes, it would be nice to cut the salary loose, but the Lions need a solid backup in case Stafford gets hurt. While Drew Stanton has played well in the preseason, there's probably a reason he is third-string, and he's not even healthy right now. Simply put, as Schwartz said, the Lions aren't in a position to trade someone like Culpepper.

(More after the jump)

As mentioned in a FanShot yesterday, quarterback Brock Berlin has been signed to the practice squad. He was brought in because he is familiar with Scott Linehan and Jeff Horton, who both coached him in St. Louis.
Bill Ford Jr. promised that there will be some sellouts this season for Lions home games. I think it's safe to say that if the home opener isn't already sold out, it is close enough for a company to come in and buy the rest of the tickets. That's what the Lions did in the past, but then again, if the home opener isn't already sold out, what does that say about the ticket sales for the rest of the home games?
Aaron Brown shared an interesting story about his first encounter with Matthew Stafford.

"The first time I met him, he stuck his leg out and tripped me," the running back recalled. "It caught me off-guard because I didn’t know him at all. Then I walked away and said to myself, ‘Man, he is cool, crazy and just like everybody else.’ He’s not stuck up. He’s just a good dude."
Stafford definitely seems more like your usual player than somebody who is a No. 1 overall pick.
ESPN.com's Jeffri Chadiha wrote a nice piece on Ernie Sims.
The Lions are Norman Chad's "Team of Destiny" this season.
Ralph Wilson Jr., the owner of the Bills, still lives in Detroit.
There was some speculation that the Jets traded for Kevin O'Connell to get trade talks with the Broncos started up again. That makes the most sense out of why the Jets traded for him, though the Broncos still claim they aren't going to trade Brandon Marshall.

Rams make Null 3rd QB

VanRam — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:20:18 -0000

by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams rookie quarterback Keith Null became the team's third QB when the Rams cut QB Brock Berlin today.

View full size photo »

Keith Null became the Rams third QB today, as the team parted ways with Brock Berlin as part of their efforts to get the roster down to 53 players by the league's deadline today.

It's a little bit of surprise and not so much. Berlin played well in the preseason, but their stats were very similar when you boiled it down. Null, however, was a draft pick of the current regime; Berlin was not. Null's younger than Berlin, 28, which gives the Rams coaching staff time to bring him along and see what they have when camp rolls around next year.

Among the others cut so far today was guard Roy Schuening, a fifth rounder from last year's draft. I thought he did okay in the preseason, even getting a little time with the ones due to injuries among the starters. Setterstrom and Greco will be the primary backups in the middle. I wonder if they'll keep another guard, since Setts is the backup center? Roger Allen?

Other cuts so far include: C Tim Mattran, OT Renardo Foster and FB Jerome Johnson, no surprises there. And earlier we reported that WR Ronald Curry was cut. DT Adam Carriker has been placed on IR, giving the Rams another roster spot as they trim from 74 to 53.

Gauging the reactions to the Rams win over the Chiefs

VanRam — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:15:54 -0000

More photos » by Seth Perlman - AP

The St. Louis Rams abused the Kansas City Chiefs in a 17-9 win to conclude the preseason.

Browse more photos »

Here's a look at what's being said about the St. Louis Rams victory over the Chiefs to conclude the preseason.

What does a winning preseason mean? Nothing really, but the PD reminds us what happened the last two times the Rams had a winning preseason since coming to St. Louis:

That may or may not be a good thing, because in two of the three previous winning preseasons, the Rams coach was fired at the end of the year. The Rams finished 3-1 in 1996, with Rich Brooks fired after a 6-10 regular season. The Rams also went 3-1 during the 2005 preseason, with Mike Martz fired after another 6-10 regular season.

Funny how things change. A 6-10 season would be a huge improvement for the Rams and give Steve Spagnuolo some job security.

Though a decision has yet to be officially made, Brock Berlin made a strong closing argument to retain his grasp on the 3rd QB job. Spagnuolo liked what he saw from Berlin:

He showed me a little grit getting in there. He would have had the first down but he said ‘Na, I’m not going to take the first down, I’m going to get the six points.’ So that was good to see.

From the PD, here's Bill Coats' take on Berlin's scoring drive:

The 15-play, 85-yard, 7 1/2-minute drive in the second quarter, engineered by QB Brock Berlin, was masterful

Masterful indeed. Brian Burwell came away from the game more than pleased with the development of the Rams first round pick, OT Jason Smith. Burwell even proclaimed that the kid should be starting.

The best thing you could say about what Smith did in his final preseason game was this: He made progress. He looked better against the Chiefs than he did against the Jets three weeks ago. He looked better than he did two weeks ago against Atlanta, and he looked better than he did last week against the Bengals.

Next week the real fun begins, and Spagnuolo acknowledges that the Rams are taking nothing for granted in this mix metaphor he offered last night:

We know the mountain is going to get a lot tougher when we tee it up next week. Everybody has step it up a notch, that's what the NFL is all about.

A telling stat from last night's game at Arrowhead Pride:

Third down conversions: Chiefs were 3/16 (18%) and the Rams were 9/20 (45%).

You can take all the total yards you want, it's when the big plays happen and what happens after them that matter.

More from Arrowhead Pride. The Chiefs got 184 yards on just four of t heir total 62 offensive plays. Here's AP's take on those four plays:

Savage's run was more the result of poor tackling by the Rams than anything else. Sean Ryan's 40-yard pass did help set up a Ryan Succop field goal. Larry Johnson's efforts were soured near the goal line after his run. The Chiefs committed offensive holding and then a delay of game penalty pushed them back from the Rams 6-yard line to the 21-yard line. Thigpen's pass to Lelie was just slop.

He's absolutely right about Savage's run in the second quarter. Watch it on the highlight reel posted below at about the 0:53 second mark. I can't tell which Rams players were in there, but clearly it should not have happened. I think this team, partly because of age an inexperience, is going to give up some big plays this season. The key is how they respond to them, and, right now, it looks like they'll bounce back well.

Here's another Chiefs take on the game and the Rams:

A major stinker was Thursday night’s game between the Rams and Chiefs at the Edward Jones Dome. St. Louis grabbed the 17-9 victory to finish the pre-season with a 3-1 record. That may be more games than the Rams win during the regular season. First-year head coach Steve Spagnuolo has a struggling team with few offensive weapons, a banged up quarterback and a defense that’s working hard.

You know how the national media looooves the Rams, here's the only mention of last night's game in SI.com's write up of the evening from Don Banks:

Speaking of recently fired offensive coordinators, it would seem with or without Chan Gailey, the Chiefs still have some work to do on that side of the ball. In its 17-9 loss at St. Louis on Thursday, Kansas City rolled up 406 yards of offense but only converted that production into three field goals.

Of course, given that Michael Vick played last night, we should be thankful to get a mention at all. Imagine if Favre had been playing too...

Hey, it's a win, preseason or not, those have been rare enough around these parts that we'll take it. Now, let's get ready to storm the Seahawks.

Rams 17, Chiefs 9: St. Louis takes the Governor's Cup...and the Rams finish preseason play 3-1

VanRam — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:29:59 -0000

by Tom Gannam - AP

St. Louis Rams cornerback Quincy Butler, left, is congratulated by Justin King after intercepting a pass by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Tyler Thigpen and running it back 28 yards for a touchdown. Both corners finished with an INT to make a good case for their spot on the roster.

View full size photo »

The battle for the St. Louis Rams #3 QB spot has been resolved, and the results are not unlike last year's as Brock Berlin emerged after being written off early. More importantly, the Rams are 3-1 in the preseason, topping the number of wins they had last season and tying the number of wins from the season before.

The First team

The first team offense featured mostly second teamers. They started the night giving everyone a heart attack, with a sack that resulted from bad pass protection behind the line. As must now be mandated by the league, the Rams called a wildcat and picked up a cool five yards. A sack on third down ended the second drive a few plays later, and then it was bedtime for most of the starters. Picking it up from there, Berlin looked comfortable in the west coast, though I'm shocked he can see over the defenders.

On defense, it seemed like mostly the second team with a few exceptions in the early going. They came out strong, forcing KC into a three-and-out (which the Rams offense promptly followed with their own). When the second team came out in force on the Chiefs' third drive of the game, right away, they struggled right off the bat, giving Larry Johnson a 41-yard run. The Chiefs had a TD, but it got called back on a holding penalty, which was immediately followed by a delay of game penalty. From there the Rams defenders that almost got burned tightened up, thanks in no small part to some inspired play by Bradley Fletcher, and kept the Chiefs out of the end zone and forced them to settle for 3.

Gado continued to make his case, doing some nice work catching the ball. He took a shot to the ribs in the second quarter and did not return. Keep an eye on this one, because none of the other Rams running backs behind Gado look ready to be a backup.
Victor Adeyanju had a sack and generally thwarted the Chiefs draw plays.
Tim Carter...buttafingers. Adios.
Daniel Fells, getting some action with the first team, made everyone forget the name Klopfenstein.
Quincy Butler has better hands than Tim Carter.
Justin King ties for the third CB spot.
The Rams have a nice staple of young corners, but I still wonder if they might not have a close eye on the waiver wire Saturday.
David Roach seems like a viable backup safety.

Much more tomorrow.

Rams vs Chiefs Fight Card

VanRam — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:17:22 -0000

by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Hollis Thomas will present his case to stay on the Rams final 53-man roster tonight against the Chiefs in the final preseason game.

View full size photo »

The last game of the preseason is upon us. The St. Louis Rams host their cross-state counterparts from the AFC Worst (not to be confused with the NFC Worst) with a giant silver cup owned by the state of Missouri and given to the team whose second and third stringers out perform the other team's second and third stringers to claim the title of best preseason football team in the Show Me State.

3k has a game preview, so be sure to check it out. I'm here with the cliff notes version of what to watch tonight.

On the radar

Now, before you get too excited about preseason football, just remember the Lions, yes, the 0-16 Lions, won all four of their preseason games last season. I seem to recall more than one pundit writing throwaway copy like "the Lions could surprise this season." Yeah, they surprised alright. Getting a third preseason win doesn't mean much on paper for the Rams in terms of what to expect in the regular season, but they really need to win this game. A win here, with the hometown baseball team having wrapped up their game this afternoon, would help generate a little momentum heading into the regular season, put the Rams back on the St. Louis sports radar. That matters because this is a franchise trying to rebuild itself, and the more asses in the seats it has, the more support from the people signing checks to build a winning team year-in and year-out.

Donnie Avery Returns

After a broken foot, Donnie Avery returns and is expected to play tonight against the Chiefs. The starters are not expected to play much this evening, and that probably holds true for Avery as well. After all, there's no point getting him injured in a game to determine roster spots. He's been running well in practice by accounts. Tonight, keep an eye on how the fast one fares with live opponents trying to make their case to stay on an NFL roster.

Who's Number Three?

We've spilled plenty of ink on this one already. Brock Berlin and Keith Null will get the majority of snaps at QB tonight. Who earns the coveted third spot?

Thomas or Gibson?

3k and I spent some time on this question last night on TSR, concluding that Gibson probably gets the fourth and final defensive tackle spot. How can he not? Thomas has size, but have you seen much of anything else from the guy?

Being a better run blocker

Can Jason Smith build on the progress he showed against the Bengals? Watch to see if he does a better job staying low and driving on his blocks. The Chiefs run a 3-4 defense and are allowing opponents an average of 3.3 yards per rushing attempt in the preseason.

Special teams looking special

The Rams special teams have not impressed in the preseason. For a lot of the guys trying to get on the roster, their play on special teams will have lots to do with the final verdict.

Corner pocket

The Rams probably won't carry more than nine defensive backs on their roster, which would mean 4 safeties and 5 corners. Since they traded Tye Hill, there are only six corners on the roster, and Cord Parks is going to have to do something really special (or Quincy Butler is going to have to play really bad) to miss out. I think we might get a better sense tonight as to whether or not the Rams will look outside for depth at cornerback.

Backup, backup running back

Gado has the #2 RB spot nailed down. Tonight, Antonio Pittman, Kenneth Darby and Chris Ogbonnaya will make their case for the third spot. Another roster spot where we might get a sense of whether or not Billy Devaney will look elsewhere to find a solid runner to round out this group.

There are a million stories in the naked city and around 75 of them in tonight's game.

Who will be the Rams #3 QB?

VanRam — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:53:04 -0000

by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams rookie sixth-round draft pick quarterback Keith Null will make his case for the Rams third QB job against the Kansas City Chiefs tonight in the final game of the preseason.

View full size photo »

Can you feel the excitement of a quarterback battle? A third string QB battle? Tonight it high noon for Brock Berlin and Keith Null, both of whom are vying for the coveted third spot on the St. Louis Rams QB depth chart. Against the Chiefs tonight, they both get plenty of playing time with Bulger out and Kyle Boller expected to play just a couple of offensive series.

First, the stats (preseason stats):

Brock Berlin
13/21, 61.9% completion rate, 5.7 yards per attempt, 119 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 93.2 QB rating

Keith Null
9/15, 60% completion rate, 6.4 YPA, 96 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 0 sacks, 73.2 QB rating

It's tough to get a read on those numbers since they represent such a small amount of work, especially work in the preseason against backups. Their completion rates are very similar.

Berlin is older, 28, and has NFL experience. Null is a fresh faced newbie, straight outta West Texas A&M, who made a good impression in his preseason work. Null has the size; Berlin has more mobility. I won't totally recap the QB fight card, since we covered it pretty well after the Jets game.

I will say this: All joking aside, don't take the race for third QB too lightly. Bulger and Boller both have a pretty extensive injury history. The odds for a third QB to see playing time with the Rams might not be as long as you think. We talked about this a little on Turf Show Radio last night, and 3k made a good point. Berlin has some experience, and all things being a push, Null could be stashed on the practice squad.

Poll

Who will the Rams keep as their third QB?

Brock Berlin

64 votes

Keith Null

222 votes

286 votes | Poll has closed

Interview: School is in Session, VanRam tells us about the St. Louis Rams

Kirkendall — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:03:39 -0000

VanRam runs a great blog that covers the St. Louis Rams. He's also our SB Nation partner and opponent this Thursday. Kind enough to take time out of his busy day, VanRam sits down with us and gives us an impression and rundown of what to expect Thursday. Head over to Turf Show Times to see my and Jake's answers.

The Rams and Bengals have an interesting parallel in their respective drafts, picking an offensive tackle in the first round and a linebacker in the second. Cincinnati had Jason Smith near the top, if not the top, of their draft boards. How’s he looked so far?

VanRam: Smith has had a rough welcome to the NFL. In practice, he’s done well run blocking, but squaring off with Leonard Little has given him fits. Playing with the starting unit in last week’s game against the Falcons, he botched blocks on a run and pass play for back to back gains by Atlanta. He might not start when the season begins on September 13. Still, he has shown enough potential that it’s just a matter of time before he’s up to speed for the NFL.

For the Ohio State University fans out there, how’s linebacker James Laurinaitis looking?

VanRam: He played his way into the starting lineup early, which is no small task considering he’s being asked to call plays for the defense in his rookie season. As you might expect from a rookie, he hasn’t been flawless, but his strong play has far outweighed whatever normal rookie learning curve he faces. This is a big upgrade for the Rams at MLB.

Marc Bulger has a broken finger and it’s unlikely that he’ll play Thursday. Is there a backup quarterback competition between Kyle Boller and Brock Berlin and who do you expect to win the job?

VanRam: Boller has the job, barring unforeseen circumstances between now and the start of the season. Criticisms of his accuracy and decision making rang true in his start against the Falcons last week. We’re hoping for something better this week. Sixth round pick Keith Null and Brock Berlin are jockeying for the third QB role. Both had a nice game last week. Null looks the part, with nice poise and seems unflappable in the pocket. Berlin has some moves. It won’t be an easy decision, but the favorite is Null.

Steven Jackson led the league with 2,334 yards from scrimmage in 2006. Since then, he’s missed time in each of the past two seasons, struggling with injury to regain the form that earned him his lone Pro Bowl. Is there concern about Jackson’s durability?

VanRam: Of course, that concern has been echoed all spring and summer, eliciting numerous howls when the Rams didn’t do more to get a backup running back. Jackson’s injuries the last two seasons have much to do with the offensive line, which was so bad it forced more of the burden directly onto Jackson’s legs. The coaches are being extremely cautious with him. He hasn’t played more than two drives in the preseason.

Carson Palmer is the heart and soul of the Bengals offense. If he goes down to injury, the Bengals chances of winning dramatically increases. We figure that Jackson is critical to the Rams offense. Would it be fair to say that the offense depends heavily on Jackson and will he make or break the season?

VanRam: Absolutely. Without Jackson the Rams offense will suffer greatly. With so many needs to fill this offseason, the Rams didn't pick up a backup runner capable of stepping in should Jackson not be available to play. It seemed like, maybe, there were some options on the roster already with Kenneth Darby, Antonio Pittman and Samkon Gado. Nobody from that group has done anything with enough consistency through camp and preseason play to distinguish themselves. Of course, I could be wrong. If Bulger rebounds well, he could still do some damage with this offense. That's unlikely considering the Rams would lack enough of a serious threat on the ground to create the kind of balance an offense needs to keep defenses honest.

Bengals and Rams fans have one thing in common. Both are seeking to regain their high-scoring offenses. Are the Rams close to regaining that magic, or is the team taking on a totally different philosophy?

VanRam: The days of the Rams putting up 30 points (and spotting opponents 20) ended when the cast and crew from the Greatest Show on Turf got old, especially the linemen. With a better line and a healthy Steven Jackson they’ll move the ball. The passing game has looked much better than people expected, especially considering the inexperience we have at receiver. This is a grind it out offense now.

Since Mike Martz left early in the 2005 season, the Rams have seen several changes as the team’s head coach. Now that Steve Spagnuolo is the team’s fourth head coach since Martz, do you believe he’ll bring stability to the team and improve from a combined five wins in the past two seasons?

VanRam: The change in coaches and a front-office overhaul already seem to be doing wonders for the team. The losing culture is being slowly but surely extracted from the locker room. Players seem to be buying into it, and there’s a new sense of excitement in the building, especially as the team has gotten younger since the last year. Nobody expects a double digit win season, but improvement should be easy.

Now that Torry Holt has left St. Louis for Jacksonville, what’s the general feel with the Rams wide receivers?

VanRam: There was, still is, concern about the relative lack of experience at WR. However, the young guys, particularly third year pro Laurent Robinson, have looked sharp in early returns. Losing Donnie Avery hurts, but he is close to returning. Once he does, the should surprise more than a few prognosticators with a top three combo of Avery, Robinson and Keenan Burton.

I believe that predicting wins and losses for an entire season is a bit pointless. However, how do you see the Rams matching up in your division and do they have a shot at the playoffs?

VanRam: The NFC West is such a wacky division. The Cardinals certainly have the best team, but any single factor could knock them off the top...like, say, an injury to the elderly Kurt Warner. The Rams HAVE to win games against the 49ers and the Seahawks this year, and that's very possible. I think this is a six win team.