I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some quality time with my DVR this week and took a closer look at the Rams players in their week 1 loss to the Eagles.  I watched the game live so I knew it was an ugly overall effort, but I still wanted to see who stood out "on tape" as individuals, and why.

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Pictures from my seats last Sunday in Oakland. You can see so much by being there in person. Body language, leadership, attitude...all of these things give a feeling for the ebb and flow that you just don't get on TV. Of course, your living room is probably a lot more comfortable too.

If you click the pic, you will get the full size. Warning: they're awesomely BIG. You might want to right click and open in a new tab.

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 So I was there, and it was great to see the guys up close and in person.  I went with the idea of texting periodically as things happened and posting a few pics too.  It didn't quite work out that way, though.

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You know by now the Rams broke out their new Offense against the Patriots, and if you saw the game you're probably still pretty euphoric over it.  There were a lot of things in this game to see: Bradford starts, Bradford tears the Patriots apart, Donnie Avery emerges with 2 big catches, Donnie Avery tears his knee apart, and the Tight End that I wanted so badly in the draft showed us he actually was drafted in one Mike Hoomanawanui. Uh oh, indeed.

Those are the obvious things that the ball-following camera showed you, but there are other things away from the ball that maybe you didn't see. I took a good look at the "tape" and I'll cover a few of the players for you: just find a name you're interested in and check his game. 

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There are three preseason games tonight, each having a Rams opponent. Preseason football can be fairly anticlimactic since the starters either don’t play or are only in for a series or two, and the final results often don’t have much correlation to the regular season. Still, there are a couple of good reasons for Rams fans to pay attention to these games.

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Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo recently called Andy Reid's development of Donovan McNabb "genius."  I know some guys were wondering just exactly what happened to make Spags think it was so great, especially since Spags has his own shiny new QB in first overall pick Sam Bradford.  

From the sound of the interview Spagnuolo has an open mind about how a QB can be brought up to speed, and he specifically made a point to say he needed to see Bradford work with the veterans before he'll "know what we have."   Still, it might be worthwhile to take a look at what Andy Reid did with Donovan McNabb so we have some sense of what Spags might be considering with Bradford.

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Attention hungry Rams fans -- head coach Steve Spagnuolo spoke with Jim Rome today, covering a variety of topics from his thoughts on how to bring along a rookie QB, the Alex Barron trade, and what they thought about Mardy Gilyard's reaction to losing his scholarship.  I know the off-season is a tough time to get news on your team so I'll recap a few of his thoughts for the faithful at Turf Show Times.

Usually the coach is fairly guarded and doesn't give up much information, but there are some interesting insights here to their thinking.  You can see some reasoning behind picking Bradford in particular over, say, Jimmy Clausen.  

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Credit to MathB who brought this to our attention:

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=6729

The Bears on Wednesday traded Safety Kevin Payne to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for an undisclosed 2011 draft pick.  Not sure what this means about the Atogwe situation, but Atogwe is a Free Safety and James Butler is the Strong Safety.  Two different jobs.

Payne was a 2007 5th round draft pick who started for the Bears in his second year.  He lead the team in interceptions that year.

Payne became expendable when the Bears reacquired veteran safety Chris Harris Tuesday in a trade with the Carolina Panthers. Ironically, Payne was switched from running back to safety at Louisiana-Monroe in 2005 to replace Harris, who had been drafted by the Bears

(Note from 3k: Kevin Payne made sure Bears fans heard the news...by posting it in a FanShot over at Windy City Gridiron, SBN's community for the Bears.  Here's to hoping he stops by TST to holler at us!)

[Note by VanRam, 04/28/10 9:46 PM EDT ] This is a great move. Payne is a young up and comer who nabbed 4 INTs in 2008. Like I said earlier today, Spags has a solid track record with defensive backs. According the people at Windy City Gridiron, Payne's strength is at strong safety, but he does have experience at the free safety position. I thought James Butler was steady, but Payne looks like he could be an upgrade is he can edge Butler with his coverage skills, i.e. the Rams problem with tight ends last year. Payne enters 2010 as the favorite for the third safety spot. 

Great move the Rams are adding some real talent to their backfield, putting together a solid unit. 

Word is that the Rams still want to get a deal done with FS Oshiomogho Atogwe, and that they may just give him the $7 million for one season as a RFA.

More on the Rams secondary recently:

• A look at the system Spagnuolo uses in the backfield.
• More on the impact of an improved secondary.

A Mardy Gilyard Moment

The second basketball player in the Rams 2010 draft is a pure project as a recieving Tight End.

Not a lot of scouting information is available on Mr. Onobun for the simple fact that he didn't play a lot of football. After 4 years at Arizona's relatively big-time D1 basketball program, he "walked on" at his hometown University of Houston and recorded just 2 catches.

As a project, what he brings in the way of athleticism is very impressive. Make no mistake about it -- anyone 6'6" and 250 who can run a 40-yard dash in 4.49 is a unmitigated freak.

Some of you may wonder just what the fascination is with basketball players and how that sport translates to football, especially Tight Ends. Coaches and scouts have warmed up to basketball players like Fendi for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, basketball players know how to catch a ball in such a way that the defender can't tip it away. They develop the habit of using their body to shield defenders off the ball, something easy to see in passes to Forwards on the low post and easy to see in the play for former hoopsters Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez.

Have you seen the NFL channel's ad where Tony Gonzalez is talking about how Chief's Carl Peterson and Marty Schottenheimer were in the audience of one of his Cal basketball games? Now you know what they were looking for.  Back when Tony Gonzalez was drafted, it was considered very unconventional to look at a basketball player's skills as they fit for a Tight End, but obviously they were ahead of their time and now Fendi Onobun is the beneficiary of that thinking.

A half court in basketball is nearly equal in area to 10 yards yards of a football field, and although getting open is much more challenging in football, basketball players often times understand how to work a defender in crowded, confined spaces. Still, running routes, blocking, the play book and its terminology...all of these things pose a significant challenge, even for a guy with his impressive raw athletic ability.

Will Onobun be tough enough to play NFL football?  Will he be durable enough to take the beating? That's a good (and so far unanswered) question.  We know that he had a stress fracture in his lower leg, and had rod implanted to shore it up so he could continue to play sports. Injury and surgery is the norm in pro football, so while having a pre-existing injury isn't ideal, at least we know he's got the guts to do whatever he has to do to play. And he apparently has healed up well enough that it wasn't a deal breaker for the draft. 

The coaching staff obviously signed off on this one - Billy Devaney doesn't just draft this athlete unless the coaches were convinced he has enough raw ability and enough of a coachable disposition that they can teach the kid how to play the position. Having walked on at Houston, he's at least shown the ability to set and achieve goals for himself. He'll need to bring that with him if he wants to have a chance of getting on the football field one day. 

If Fendi Onobun can find a way to utilize his  sub-4.5 speed, he could grow into one of Sam Bradford's weapons for years to come.

Hall Davis is Defensisive End and the first of our 2010 picks to have a background in basketball, which seems to be a growing trend in the last few years.

Davis played for lesser known Louisiana-Lafayette, whose coach has had 19 players since 2003 drafted or sign NFL contracts.  He certainly didn't have off the charts production against Sun Belt Conference competition, although he had some decent games against their bigger opponents of LSU and Nebraska.

He's a project with nice size, and comes with Eugene Sims as part of the Adam Carriker+ 5th round pick parlay. I felt like this equated more to quantity than quality but I'm reluctant to grade picks this early. That said, Sporting News had him the 7th ranked DE in this year's draft, and the Rams got him somewhere around 17th, depending on how you classify some OLB/DE guys. I know you're thinking Who cares what SN thinks?, but SN has given me some surprisingly insightful scouting info on little known players over the years.

Grading him as a Defensive End is not the same thing as grading the pick though, so I included some of those below for those of you who (like me) are not familiar with his game.  Now you have something else to look for in the pre-season.

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Josh Hull comes to the Rams from Linebacker factory Penn State. He's known as more of a technician than freak athlete, but that doesn't mean he can't physically perform: Hull had the fastest 20-yard shuttle at the combine and the second fastest 3-cone drill by a mere .01 seconds.

Will the late 7th rounder be able to stick on the roster?  I wouldn't bet against him.  He's been in this position before and made it work.  An ILB from Penn State might seem to offer a better chance of sticking than most, but when you consider he was a walk-on who earned a scholarship, only to end up leading the team in tackles the last two years...I'm telling you, there's something special about those kind of guys and you'd be making a big mistake to count him out based just on long odds. His rise to the NFL did not happen by accident.

Hull only weighs 237 pounds, which is not surprising for someone so incredibly agile, but that's pretty light for an inside backer. Now, let's see....where can someone utelize elite agility and a bona fide tackling pedigree? Oh yeah, Special Teams! While Josh bulks up to NFL size, he can spend Sundays weaving through blockers, locating and killing kick/punt returners like a heat seeking missile.

Adding to his chances of making a career out of the NFL is that he'll be learning under one of the best in the entire league in James Laurinaitis (#4 overall, solo tackles in 2009). The fact that he lead Penn State in tackles, as Laurinaitis did at Ohio State, is a very good sign for someone who will need to outperform his draft position if he wants to make his impact felt on the regular defense. He's not an underachiever that coaches have to coax effort from, so he has a chance of backing up Laurinaitis or being a Special Teams star if he can add some size and strength, and stays healthy.

More information on the hard working Josh Hull below.

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Who is George Selvie, you ask? George Selvie was an first team All-American and Big East Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2007, and was one of the quickest and fastest DE's in college football history. (btw, "quick" has an element of suddenness to it, whereas "fast" refers to speed that can be built up).

Selvie's production fell off pretty dramatically after an ankle injury caused him to miss a couple of games, and quasi-freak (and first DE off the board) Jason Pierre-Paul arrived on his college team. Predictably, his draft stock  fell off pretty dramatically, too. But by all accounts he is a passionate player with a love for the game.

As a 7th round lottery ticket, the investment and risk is low. The payoff, should Spags be able to utelize him anywhere near as effectively in the NFL as he was in college, could be huge.

Obviously, as an All-American, George has shown the ability to be a very effective "speed" pass rusher. Often, the tradeoff athletes make for speed is a lack of size, and Selvie is no different. The NFL lists him at 6' 3" 252, which is nice NFL Linebacker size but definitely small for his Defensive End position.

It remains to be seen whether the Rams will ask Selvie to try out for OLB; after all, Spagnuolo is known for his eccentric but effective D-line combinations. Wherever they try him, Selvie does come with pass rush specialist's skillset, something the St. Louis defense definitely needs to bring from somewhere...anywhere...

[Update, 5/1/10: The Rams have him listed as RDE]

More opinions on speedy George Selvie below..

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Mike Hoomanawanui is a blocking Tight End. Is he really the next Manumaleuna? Well, he may have impressed scouts with his receiving ability but the fact remains if you can't get open, you can't be a receiving threat. To be fair, he did have a 5 catch game in 2008.

I don't know how much of a concern durability realistically is, but he missed 4 of 12 games last year due to an ankle injury.

Respectable 4.8 in the 40-yard dash.  He put up 25 reps in the bench press at the combine, not far off the best TE performance of 30.

Little known trivia: Mike was born on the 4th of July, in the same city as yours truly (Honolulu, Hawaii), and was all conference in high school for TE and DE. 

More scouting observations on Hoomanawanui below.

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Anyone remember how Devaney said Marc Bulger played well but just didn't have enough talent around him? This pick goes toward solving that.

I like the guy's skillset a lot (see below) because he brings some very "workable" skills from a coaching perspective. It sounds simple, sounds basic, but you can do a lot with a guy who can catch and run....unfortunately the reality is a lot of guys are lacking one of those two things. Gilyard has both.

Current St. Louis Rams WR coach and former DB Nolan Cromwell gets the chance to teach Mardy how the beat a NFL DB, and he gets a playmaker (yes, I said playmaker!) who already has great hands and the ability to break off hard angles at speed, and knows what to do after he has the ball in his hands.

You will love his his hands right away. And one day, if (when) he learns how to setup Cornerbacks, you will love his electric touchdown RAC's. That's "Run After the Catch", ya rookie!

Reality sets in when you remember WR's are commonly in the league for 2 to 3 years before they start playing up to their potential. So please...act like you've been here before, and refrain from bagging on this guy if he doesn't look like Desean Jackson by the end of the year.

I would have liked TE's Dennis Pitta or Aaron Hernandez here (taken in consecutive picks a little later) but, like you, I am happy the Rams have a future playmaker to grow up with Bradford. Give those two a football to play catch with, stat!

Here's some other opinions of Mardy Gilyard's talent and skillset:

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A Cornerback like Jerome Murphy may be thought of by some as not that high of a need, but he's an aggressive hardnosed, hard hitting player that brings a nasty attitude to your Rams defense.

He had an INT and Fumble Recovery  in the International Bowl, so its nice to know he has the ability to show up in big games. I think we're going to love watching him crush people. You have to love the fact that he knows about the GSOT and vows to put on a show for us.

For those of you (us) that can't get enough of our new Rams, here's some other opinions, in hopefully a little easier to read format:

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Rodger Saffold, OT, Indiana - 6'4⅝" 316

NFL.com Grade 8.1

Summary

Saffold is a good collegiate lineman who started at left tackle for three consecutive years at Indiana. He lacks the massive stature that teams are looking for in a left tackle and may be lacking a step in quickness to play on the left side but should be able to find a home on the right side or even inside at guard. He has above-average initial quickness and does a good job of getting a fit with his hands to control and steer opponents on by the hole or pocket. He understands blocking angles and does a good job of recognizing stunts and twists up front and keeps his head on a swivel when in pass pro. While he doesn't really jump off the screen at you, the end result is that he consistently gets the job done and often makes it look pretty easy.

Strengths

Saffold is tall with good bulk. Has a quick first step and engages with his hands to get inside defenders. Takes precise blocking angles in the running game and gets leverage to steer defenders out of lanes. Displays good awareness dropping back in pass protection and consistently picks up his blocking assignment.

Weaknesses

Frame is not wide enough to play left tackle in the NFL. Does not have the power to be a road grader in the running game. Lacks the lateral range in pass protection to neutralize edge rushers. Not athletic enough to make blocks in space at the second level and will struggle to pull if he makes the move to guard.

Scouts Inc: Grade: 89, Overall Rank: 31, Position Rank: 6

Overall Football Traits

 Production 1 2006: (7/6) All six startsat left tackle. 2007: (13/13) All 13 starts at left tackle. 2008: (10/10) Started all 10 in which he appeared at left tackle. 2009: (12/12) All 12 starts at left tackle.

 Height-Weight-Speed 3 Lacks ideal height for OT position. However, he is thickly built and runs well for his size.

Durability 2 Started 41 of 42 games played during four-year career at IU. Played through a nagging back injury in 2008 and missed two games with a knee injury that season.

 Intangibles 3 Has a reputation for being a bit lackadaisical. Plays hard though and has shown willingness to play through pain.

Offensive Tackle Specific Traits

Awareness 2 Good overall awareness. Consistently shows good feel for picking up stunts and blitzes.

Toughness 2 Shows adequate to good toughness. He's not a nasty street-fighter type but he clearly has a mean streak in him. He plays with a bit of an edge and gives solid effort to the whistle.

Pass Protection 3 Quickness in pass pro set is not elite but certainly good enough to protect the edge versus most NFL pass rushers. He's thickly built with long arms and big hands. Will jar defenders with initial punch. Typically plays with balance but lacks ideal mirror and slide ability. Struggles to sustain at times (see: spin moved used to beat him back inside with 10 seconds remaining in first half versus Illinois in 2009). Also lacks ideal lower body strength. Good bull rushers have been able to drive him back into the QB on occasion.

Run Blocking 2 Takes good first-step and solid angles. Thickly built and shows good upper body power. Generally in very good position and will knock defenders back with initial pop. Works to finish and shows toughness but he doesn't always show the lower-body strength to drive defenders off the line. Bottom line is that he rarely fails to execute his assignment in the run game.

The St. Louis Ramsare in the driver's seat with the first pick of the second round in this year's 2010 NFL Draft, and will likely trade the pick.  While I was checking out some of the defensive options they had (and may still have, depending on how far they move down), I thought I could come up with a consensus "BPA" or two, but I ran into a problem. 

I always look in several sources for my information, but with just the few guys I looked at this time, I found that there was an extremely wide range of opinions in a lot of cases.  Putting them in order was not practical. In fact, projecting them in the same round wasn't even practical.

For example, Daryle Washington is ranked as high as 3rd OLB by some organizations, as low as 10th by others.  That translates to being drafted multiple rounds apart. Thaddeus Gibson (who played with James Laurinaitis) is the 2nd ranked OLB by Sporting News, but 11th by Scouts Inc.  DT D'Anthony Smith is graded only a 6 out of 10 by NFL.com but 8.1 and the 3rd ranked DT by Sporting News, which is a huge difference.

Anyway, while we wait to see what the Rams get for their 33rd pick and we find out how far they move down, I  thought I'd offer you some examples of how much scouting reports can vary by source.  You may have your favorites when it comes to getting info but the funny thing is, all of these sources have given me good information at different times over the last several years, so to just dismiss any of them as unknowledgable isn't a good idea if you really want to look into a particular player.

These wide ranging opinions ought to serve as clear examples why you shouldn't rely too heavily on one source for information. You are strongly encouraged to make your own determinations about what skills are important to you.

Remember, they could easily still end up with one of these guys. 

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I've heard Jimmy Clausen was a "film room rat" but I took it with a grain of salt because I didn't think his coaches would say anything different. I know some people can't stand him but let's try to set aside personality issues for a second and take a look at what the guy did from year to year.  Did he actually play like a film room rat?  Here's how you can tell.

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Brady Quinn won't be coming to the St. Louis Rams.

Denver gave up FB Peyton Hillis, a 2011 sixth-round pick, and a conditional 2012 pick.  Not much for a 1st rounder of just 3 years ago.  I guess that says a lot about his play.

Adam Shefter just tweeted "QB Derek Anderson out of Cleveland, and he might not be alone. Browns have discussed dealing QB Brady Quinn with other teams."

A couple of guys have asked about getting Quinn.  If Shefter is right, he could be on his way to a new team soon. 

I thought he might be worth a look, but then again I have to remember he had trouble beating out Derek Anderson.

Guess who seems to be positioning himself for a trade?  "If as an individual I'm not really in their future plans I would like to go elsewhere."

It goes without saying that a true #1 WR will cost big bucks, but some guys have said that the Rams have a conspicuous need for one.

Sure, you could draft one...just know that it usually takes until their 3rd year before top wideouts play like top wideouts.  Free agency doesn't offer anyone very compelling, so how about a trade?  He's been productive and avoided distractions for the Patriots, just as he did for the Vikings a few years ago.

Gotta pay to play, brother. Are you willing to spend what it would take to get that top wideout?  Take a look at the article. They talk about destinations and of course none of them are St. Lou, but I'm not sure he could veto a trade even if he wanted to.

What do you think?

K.C. Joyner, who bills himself as a "football scientist," has evaluated top NFL draft prospects for ESPN.  A couple of weeks ago, he wrote an article titled "Lessons of Brees extended to Clausen."  Here's a recap of the grading. 

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LaDainian Tomlinson was released by the San Diego Chargers today. He owns or shares in 28 Chargers records,  won two NFL league rushing titles, set an NFL record for single-season touchdowns and was a league MVP in 2006.  You don't get all those records without racking up a lot of miles, though...7 miles to be exact (12,490 yards), and he turns 31 years old in June.

If you don't know by now, 30 is considered old for an NFL running back.  Although he was pretty fired up for this season, and seemed to have a new determination to come back and have a strong year, his on the field results fell a little short of expectations with only 730 rushing yards on a 3.3 yards per carry average.

Thomas Jones is already 31 and is due a $3,000,000 roster bonus on March 9.  If the Jets don't want to pay that much for a 31 year old, which seems very possible, they will likely release him.