• In case you missed it, the Rams have signed former Chargers S Clinton Hart, in anticipation of losing star S O.J. Atogwe for the remainder of the season.
• Jim Thomas on the Rams red zone struggles this season. To sum it up - historically bad. Gotta love the headline on that article though. Kinda stating the obvious don't you think?
• In a Superbowl XXXIV rematch, the Rams open today +11.5 on the road against the Titans.
• Will from Rams Herd with a good piece on Keith Null and the spread offense. 
• From the Tennessean, 5 things they know about the Titans (in slide show form).

Have a good Wednesday and GO RAMS

More photos » by JOE RAYMOND - AP

Jimmy Clausen: The next Rams quarterback? (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

Browse more photos »

The news out of South Bend today is that Notre Dame's junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen is entering April's NFL draft. Clausen was the number one overall player out of high school a couple of years ago, but it seemed like his career for the Golden Domers was star-crossed. Never had a great offensive line, his defense stunk, and lacked playmakers on offense (until the emergence of Golden Tate this year). Will he be moving to a similar rebuilding situation in St. Louis? In an article on ESPN.com, Tom Friend speculates about his possible destination:

Rated as perhaps the top quarterback in this year's class, he is believed to be coveted by St. Louis, Cleveland and Washington -- three teams that will conceivably pick in the top 5.

Draft talk around here has started to heat up lately, and for good reason. The Rams simply need talent. Everywhere. Including quarterback. We all know that Marc Bulger is likely done as a Ram, and Kyle Boller has performed up to the standards he was hired to - backup. Jimmy Clausen won't solve the Rams problems on offense. Personally, I've lobbied for a playmaker at WR like Dez Bryant in the first round, mostly because I'm afraid of taking a quarterback as high as we're likely to be picking. There's certainly also an argument for guys like Ndamukong Suh on defense. That being said, I can't help but feel like Devaney and crew are looking hard at a QB, especially after I read this:

But six days later, he threw for 340 yards and five touchdowns at Stanford, and his ability to persevere is why several general managers, who have requested anonymity, believe he is the most NFL-ready quarterback in this year's draft. They say he's already mastered an NFL offense, has already been subjected to a leaky offensive line and has already been part of a rebuilding process. They like that he played his entire college career on national TV and that he thrived in one of the biggest fishbowls in sports: Notre Dame.

*Emphasis Added

We don't know what he have in Keith Null. But he's not ready to be a starter in the NFL. And yet there are serious holes all over this team, of which QB is not the most glaring. Is Jimmy Clausen going to be a good pro QB? Probably. Will he help the Rams next year? Probably not.

"I feel great," Smith said. "I feel like 310 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal."

Here's the link

One of the many quarterbacks to go down Sunday, Marc Bulger is now out at least three weeks with a fractured tibia according to Jay Glazer. I've also heard this reported on this evening's Sportscenter. Kyle Boller will get the start against the Seahawks on Sunday. This is just another in a long line of injuries that have decimated this team in 2009. The hits just keep on coming! Stay tuned for more fallout.

Some quick hits for the rest of the afternoon:

• Jim Thomas gives us a little background on Brandon Gibson.
• A little more on the newest Ram WR, Jordan Kent.
• Mike Sando counts Adam Goldberg and Brandon Gibson among his Super Subs for the NFC West.
• The Rams are +7 at home against the Cardinals this week. Even though the wins aren't there yet, it seems Vegas is respecting the Rams more and more each week. Earlier in the season this line would have been much higher.
• Jim Thomas on the tough schedule for the Rams in the past few weeks. And, of course, Kurt Warner is coming back to town.

GO RAMS

As Van said earlier, I'm sure I speak for all of us here at TST when I say good luck to 3K. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Time for some links...

• Help our military relax and catch a Rams game with your help. This weekend, the Rams are donating one ticket to the military for every one sold to the public. Love this.
• The Rams promote LB Dominic Douglas to the 53-man roster. CB Marcus Brown who visited earlier this week was signed to fill Douglas' spot on the practice squad.
• Jim Thomas on the improving special teams under coach Tom McMahon.
• Mike Sando with his Midseason Report on the Rams. Good stuff. Midseason reports for the 49ers, Seahawks and Cardinals are also up on his blog.
  
• The Rams are +13.5 at home against the Saints this weekend. If you watched ESPN's 30 for 30 last night on Jimmy the Greek, you know that he loved the underdog. I'm just sayin'.
• Steve Korte offers a look at the beginning to the second half, starting with the high flying Saints.

Have a good rest of the day. GO RAMS!

This might be the best bye week ever. We get to enjoy the first of many Rams wins in the Spagnuolo era for two weeks. And last I checked, the Rams won't be losing this week, either. On a personal note, I'm glad they picked Sunday to win. The night before, my football spirits were in the dumps as I was on Rocky Top witnessing my school on the wrong end of a good ole' fashion beat down in the steady rain and cold. God those uniforms were hideous. On to the links...

• Broken by ram_rod yesterday, the Rams did some roster shuffling, cutting Tim Carter. Carter had to go and we're thin at corner. He's gotten some important targets in the red zone this year and did nothing with them.
• James Laurinaitis gets some love in the Jeremy Green's Rookie Watch.
• Steven Jackson will not tolerate your insolence! (Or in this case, the Lion's)
• An injury report from the AP regarding Danny Amendola and Jacob Bell. Let's hope these two get back soon. Amendola has been a find this year and I really admire the passion he plays with.
• Sean over at SBN's own Pride of Detroit has a drive-by-drive breakdown of the Rams' first win.
• Interesting, if not exhausting, debate about the QB situation at the PD. VanRam wrote about Bulger yesterday and I agree he's just not the solution anymore, although its hard to argue with the decision to bring him back.
• I'd much rather hear Steve Korte talk about Steven Jackson's will to win that overcomes everything. Including 17-game losing streaks. I've said it here before, we must build around him. His performance Sunday was borderline inspirational, and the Rams can be great (yes, I said great) if we make him the centerpiece of the team like we did against the Lions.
• The line is even for Rams against Bye this week. Should be a push, they're pretty evenly matched.

In all seriousness, enjoy your Wednesday. And as always, GO RAMS.

Tough sledding for Rams fans these days. I'll do my best to find some bright spots.

• With a pretty good individual season so far (minus the scores) Steven Jackson keeps his composure. I have to hand it to this guy, he's trying very hard to be a team player. He must realize how good he could be behind a good run-blocking line, but isn't complaining or blaming anyone else. Jackson is a player we must build around before his time runs out. He has the potential to be an elite running back in this league and I hope Devaney and company make a commitment to do so. If they don't, in my opinion it will be a long time before the Rams get a running back similar to his caliber again.
• The Rams have signed a new long snapper to replace Chris Massey, now on IR. Ryan Neill will take over the job that Massey has had since we drafted him out of Marshall in 2002. If there is such a thing as an underrated long snapper, I think Massey is it. It's hard to find stats to back up a claim on any long snapper, but to my knowledge he hasn't missed a game in eight years and as far back as I can remember, I can't remember him costing us points because of a bad snap. Point blank, if you don't do you job you cost your team points, possibly a win. Just ask Trey Junkin.
• Gordo on how, despite the results, the Rams have maintained a professional attitude. This is something that keeps me believing in what Spags has going on at Rams park. The talent might not be there, but I'd at least rather have players that don't give up. At least we no longer have to put up with the Claude Terrell's and Damione Lewis's of the world.
• Nick from the Bleacher Report has, shall we say, an interesting take on how he would remodel the Rams if he were to buy the team. I'll let the comments sort this one out.
• With your Wednesday line update, at least one casino as the Lions at -4 for Sunday's matchup. Might be the least amount of points we've been underdogs by, if you're looking hard for some bright spots.
  

Keep the faith! GO RAMS

• Mike Sando's take on the Witherspoon trade. I have to say when I first heard about the move I was a little upset. But after reading his rationalization, I feel better about it. Needless to say that the two positions involved in the trade (OLB and WR) are positions that need to be addressed this offseason.
• Familiar training camp face OT Phil Trautwein was signed to the 53-man roster after being cut by the Browns. To make room, the Rams cut WR Nate Jones.
• Bryan Burwell says despite the Witherspoon trade, the Rams haven't yet bailed on the season.
• Early Sports Illustrated 2010 Mock Draft  has the Rams taking Sam Bradford #1 overall. Yeah, I went there.
• The line opens up today at Indy -11.5 pts. Betting lines typically open high and go down throughout the week, but I would not be suprised if this one went up another .5 to 1 pt.

GO RAMS

Can you believe we're halfway through October already? It seems like the season just started. Here's a few links to get you through your hump day.

• The redemption of Alex Barron. Look, this guy needed to have a game like he did so let's not praise him too much for doing his job. However, towards the end of Sunday's game the one thing that hit me is that (if I'm not mistaken) there weren't any penalties attributed to the offensive line. That's something we need consistently from that group.
• Some more practice squad shuffling. Familiar training camp face K.C. Asiodu makes his return to the Rams.
  
• In case you missed it, Marc Bulger is the starting quarterback heading into Sunday.
• Tim Carter re-joins the team.
• Donnie Avery apologizes for that idiot dance performance he put on when his team was down big, late in the fourth quarter. Earth to Donnie: It's now week six. You're the number one wide out of an 0-5 team, and you have one touchdown catch in garbage time. Get ya mind right. That was almost as embarrassing as the offense's performance in the red zone.
• Mark from Rams Gab on the last 25 years of Rams football. 
• Will from Rams Herd laments (very entertainingly) the ways the Rams have shot themselves in the foot this season.
• The Rams open today at -13 underdogs at home to the Jaguars on Sunday. What does that say about us if the Jags just got beat by 40+ by the Seahawks?

A good Wednesday to you. GO RAMS.