SB Nation User Blog: VanRam

Caption this...

VanRam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:36:57 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

2 months ago: St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo watches his team during NFL football minicamp at the Rams' training facility Friday, May 1, 2009, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Happy 4th of July weekend everyone.

After this weekend, the last leg of the offseason should roll by pretty fast...just about three weeks away once we head back to work on Monday. And it won't be as slow as you might think. Well, okay, it'll be a pretty slow few weeks, but there will probably be some contract stuff happening with the rookies, and there's a big deadline on July 15 regarding OJ Atogwe.

If Atogwe doesn't sign his franchise tender by July 15, he cannot sign a long-term deal with the team during the season, which is what both he and the Rams are after. He can sign a one-year deal, but he'll then have to go through restricted free agency again, thanks to the voided CBA, missing out on the kind of pay day he wants. So, keep an eye out for news on that front.

Editorially speaking, I've got a few things lined up for today. Posting will be light over the holiday weekend (I'm bugging out for the weekend), but we'll have an item of interest or two up front.

Since the overarching thread this offseason has been Spagnuolo and Co remaking the Rams, pillars, practices, and all that....how about a what's he thinking caption-off!?!? Post yours in the comments or to us via Twitter.

Have a great 4th!

Spagnuolo will have a 'Ram tough' camp to mold the team

VanRam — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:29:23 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo wants the Rams to get tough this summer at training camp. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo sat down for an interview with the Sporting News. Mostly, he covered the points that have already been covered, but there were a few things that grabbed my attention.

Obviously, he reiterated the Steven Jackson-as-center-of-the-offense theme...people are really going to be surprised when the Rams end up passing on 50% of their plays.

Which of the four pillars has really been seen on the field? Team first, of course.

"The 'team first' is always going to be important to us, and we've talked a lot about that as a group -- both players and coaches. ...I think, from the words being said, that they are putting the team first. I have no reason to believe they're not thinking that way."

To me, that's the most important pillar, and it's good to see that the players and the coaches are buying into the changes at Rams Park. Of course, the real test, as Spags suggests elsewhere in the interview, comes when they face some adversity. Let's see where things stand in week 3 or 4.

Does anyone else get the sense that Tony La Russa (quoted in the interview) is going to be a motivational speaker when he's done giving washed up veteran baseball players a chance to play?

Lastly, Spags gave us a preview of training camp this year. If spring practices were about learning and installing the playbook, camp is all about molding the team. To wit:

We need to establish the physicality of this team, and you can only do that with pads. We need to lay a foundation for the latter part of the season, when you need to win games in late November and December. And we need to come out as a unified team.

That's exactly what I want to hear. Camp is going to be tough this year, like the coach told his players to close out spring practices. And it needs to be. If this team doesn't play more physical than it has in recent seasons - player age and other factors had something to do with that - they won't even be able to make things interesting on a weekly basis.

Sex education expert Sandra "Ms. Mac" McDonald stirred the pot during her opening session by...

VanRam — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:04:14 -0000

Sex education expert Sandra "Ms. Mac" McDonald stirred the pot during her opening session by telling stories, stating facts and showing pictures about some of the unfortunate things that can happen if players aren’t careful or don’t use protection.

The rookie symposium covers ALL the angles.

Fantasy owners like Jackson, who turns 26 July 22, around the No. 5 overall spot, but it is a risky...

VanRam — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:38:46 -0000

Fantasy owners like Jackson, who turns 26 July 22, around the No. 5 overall spot, but it is a risky proposition. We like Jackson and feel he is interchangeable with the Carolina Panthers' DeAngelo Williams...

Fantasy football site KFFL offers advice and a prediction for Jackson's fantasy performance.

The Rams 10 most important players for 2009

VanRam — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:58:36 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

The Rams have a lot hopes riding on Steven Jackson this season, but he's not the only one the team is counting on. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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It's the first of July, and that means we are officially less than one month from the start of training camp. You can kind of start to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. For the Rams, this year's training camp is more important than ever, as the team starts to answer big questions as the players suit up and physical play starts. We'll get into those questions and the position battles lots more as camp plays out.

That said, it's been awhile since we considered the 2009 Rams from a wider perspective. With the draft, individual performances at OTAs and minicamp, and a look at various units here and there, it's been easy to overlook the bigger picture. And what better way to pull back the lens than with a top ten list?!

Note, I got this idea from Fooch over at Niners Nation, another team with lots of questions surrounding a transitional season. Anyway, on with our list, starting at #10, Letterman style:

10. Chris Long - Last year's first round pick, second overall, had a solid debut, collecting four sacks before hitting that dreaded rookie wall late in the season. The Spagnuolo/Flajole attack defense asks much of Long, making him one of the primary pass rushers in the system. If he can excel in his sophomore season, it will give the Rams a defense that opponents finally have to take seriously.

9. James Laurinaitis - It hardly seems fair to put a rookie all by himself on this list, but Laurinaitis was one of the top MLBs in the draft this year and fills a HUGE need for a Rams team that was constantly gashed by opposing rushers.

8. Alex Barron/Jason Smith - Both starting OTs have a lot to prove this year. Barron, in a walk year of his contract with the Rams (though he'd still be a restricted FA after this season), has to become the solid all-around OT the Rams expected him to be when they drafted him. He's never missed a game and has ability; he just hasn't always seemed to have his head in the game to the point where he can be considered something more than just a starter. This new bunch of coaches is known for lighting fires under players' asses, and that should help Barron. Smith has the talent, but he has to translate that to the NFL...making fans forget that Aaron Curry was available with that second pick. How much he can do as rookie will have much to say about how the Rams fare in 2009.

7. Keenan Burton - The Rams need the physical Burton to be their chain-moving possession receiver, a role more important than ever in new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur's West Coast offense. A fourth round pick from last year, Burton missed OTAs and minicamp this spring with a hamstring issue, making training camp a crash course in the playbook as well as the time to prove himself.

6. Donnie Avery - All spring and summer questions have been hurled at the Rams wide receivers: can they make it happen with so little experience? Is Avery good enough to be a #1? Who'll catch passes on the other side to take the heat off? Avery had a nice rookie season on a team whose passing game, um, left a little to be desired. He has to ascend to the next level this year.

5. Ron Bartell - Bartell is the man in the backfield this season, the unquestioned number one CB. As such, he'll draw some tough assignments, Larry Fitzgerald for instance. With a big question mark at the other CB spot, he'll shoulder even more responsibility. The Rams pass rush heavy defense should help the backfield, as well as starting safeties OJ Atogwe and new addition SS James Butler.

4. Adam Carriker - The Rams 2007 first round pick went from college DE to DT in the pros. Unfortunately, his move to DT didn't go as well as the team would have liked. Much of that had to do with Carriker being asked to play some at NT and some on the inside gap between the guard and the center, i.e. not playing to his strengths. Then, he played hurt all of last year, trying to recover from a shoulder injury sustained at the end of his rookie year. Carriker has to step up his game, and Spagnuolo is giving him that chance by shifting him to the left DT position in an attacking defense, where he can play to his strength playing over the guard. He'll also have help from a more creative rotation and hopefully from a bigger body DT in this year's fourth round pick Darell Scott.

3. Steven Jackson - There's no question about Jackson's talent, but if he misses any time this season due to injury, the Rams will suffer...and probably have to look seriously into a 50/50 back situation the next season. I tend to think that a better o-line will take some of the risk off Jackson.

2. Jacob Bell - The middle of the offensive line was the weakest link in a soft chain last year, and much of that had to do with Bell. Playing underweight and dealing with lingering injury issues most of the season, the free agent addition got tagged with the bust label more than once. Now, personal chef in tow, he's back up to guard weight. Not only does he have to keep defensive tackles from breaking through the middle and terrorizing Bulger, he has to make sure Steven Jackson has plenty of room to run.

1. Marc Bulger - The Rams invested lots of money in their QB after his 2006 season, but since then, it's been nothing but second guessing that contract decision as Bulger looked more like an inept backup than a $65 million man. He's got a new offensive line in front of him and a new playbook that should cater to his accuracy and ability to make quick passes. The Rams would like to see Bulger succeed, thus giving them time to find an/or develop his eventual replacement. Bulger would like to succeed so that he might have a career as something more than a backup beyond 2009.

OK, how's that list look to you? Am I missing anyone? Quibbles with the order? I put Bulger first on this list for two reasons, 1) the offense flows through the QB, good line or not, and 2) he's got a big contract to live up to. Arguments for Jackson or the entire o-line at #1 make sense too.

The spring practices (minicamps and OTAs) were decidedly more uptempo than what we'd seen in the...

VanRam — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:49:15 -0000

The spring practices (minicamps and OTAs) were decidedly more uptempo than what we'd seen in the recent past.

From Bill Coats' Rams chat at STLToday.com.

Rams giving WFL WR Prentiss Elliott a tryout?

VanRam — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:15:26 -0000

A while back I passed along some info that the Rams were scouting WR Prentiss Elliott, a member of the Oklahoma Thunder WFL team. Elliott had a promising freshman season at Oklahoma State, only to be kicked off the team the next year, in 2005, for unnamed violations. Anyway, like most redemption stories go, he hit bottom a couple years later, and is now trying to turn things around via football. The Oklahoma Thunder of the WFL (not ot be confused with the OKC NBA team) gave him that chance, and now he might get a shot with another league, the NFL.

Is it going to be the Rams that give him a chance in the big leagues? An assistant coach with the Thunder, Thom Roundtree, told the Examiner-Enterprise of Bartlesville, OK, in story filed yesterday afternoon, that Elliott would attend the Rams training camp next month. A profile of Elliott appearing in today's Tulsa World says nothing about the WR attending camp with the Rams, but it does note that the Rams have been one of several teams to have scouted him, viewing every Thunder but one and asking for tapes of each. Given that level of interest, it wouldn't be surprising if Elliott has been invited to camp.

You can read about his impressive stats with Thunder - WFL caveat - at the Tulsa World link above. That's about the closest thing to a scouting report I can find. A look at the 2004 OSU team listed Elliott at 6'0" 175 lbs as a freshman. He may well have added some weight since then, but the 24-year-old profiles much like the other Rams wide receivers.The Thunder's official site lists him at 6'1" 205 lbs.

He stood out as a return man at OSU, so you'd have to think if he still has the kind of speed they say he does and he really has been invited to camp, that Elliott will get some looks as a returner, an area where the Rams are still looking for more definitive answers.

Successful offensive drives rare for the Rams in '08; will '09 be any better?

VanRam — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:58:50 -0000

Here's a number for you: .595

That's the Rams offense's drive success rate, which measures the percentage of the team's offensive drives that result in another first down or a touch down. Clearly in the "F" territory were a teacher assigning grades based on that percentage, and deservedly so. That's the second worst drive success rate (DSR) in the league, behind only the lowly Oakland Raiders. For the sake of comparison, the top DSR belongs to, no surprise, Indy at .757. Division-mates Seattle (.643), San Francisco (.661) and Arizona (.718) all fared better.

The reason, one of them, for the Rams poor performance on offense has to do with their relative weaknesses on first and second downs, something discussed earlier this month, that reflect consistency and offense's ability to move the ball productively. Go back and look at the numbers on first and second downs, and you'll see the passing and rushing were equally troubled, a fact that has much to with the offensive line, among other things.

Expecting a record above .500 may be too much to ask, but with improvements on the offensive line and if Bulger's progress is real, we should expect to see better results on first and second downs, translating to better numbers on overall drive success rates. That will make for a more competitive team and give them something to build on for future seasons.

$18.59 million

VanRam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:47:00 -0000

$18.59 million

That's what the Rams spent for each team win between 2004-2008, according to this post from NFL.com's Jason La Canfora. The Rams won just 27 out of 80 regular season games during that five-year span. Hopefully, we're coming out of the wilderness now.

New looks on the Rams defensive line

VanRam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:04:20 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams rookie fourth-round draft pick defensive tackle Darell Scott figures to be an important part of the Rams new-look d-line under Spagnuolo and defensive coordinator Ken Flajole. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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One of the things I'm really looking forward to is the new look Spagnuolo and coordinator Ken Flajole are giving the Rams defense. Their re-interpretation will have the defense constantly on the attack, as opposed to running set plays and relying on sideways movement and specific gap assignments.

We've talked some about this lately, taking a look at the Rams' sack rate and the development of Chris Long, who'll play an important role chugging in from the edge. Another change in the defense is the use of specific left and right tackles, rather than UTs and NTs. This should better utilize Adam Carriker, who'll play left DT, over the guard where he can better use his skill set. 3k and I spent some time talking about the new look of the defense, particularly d-line technique, on the last edition of Turf Show Radio, too.

I bring this up again, because Pro Football Weekly has some insider chatter about the defensive extreme makeover. Here's what the team source said about the left and right DTs:

Spagnuolo did the same thing with his tackles when he coached the Giants’ defense. It’s an interesting premise, since neither Carriker nor Ryan was a pure nose or three-technique-type anyway.

On top of Carriker and Ryan, they'll also rotate in fourth round pick DT Darell Scott, a gu with some more size, and possibly Orien Harris (acquired in the Brian Leonard trade) or one of the other tryout DTs now on the roster.

What was most interesting about the PFW piece, however, was that those DTs won't be the only players seeing some time in the middle. Spags made the practice of plugging DTs into all four front spots famous during his time with the Giants. Anyone that watched the Giants Super Bowl victory will remember the sight of DE Justin Tuck breathing fire down the Patriots' cheating necks from a two-point stance in the middle of the line. With the Rams, we'll likely see Adeyanju and James Hall shifted inside, and who knows what other configurations.

Before you light up the comments, let me just say I'm not at all suggesting that the Rams have the same kind of talent and can expect the same kind of results as the Giants d-line did in '07. I didn't sniff that much glue in high school. However, I think it is reasonable to expect to see some positive results from the new look. Consider me excited.