SB Nation User Blog: kevinramsfan

A little something to lighten up the off season and get ready for the 4th of July.

kevinramsfan — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:19:18 -0000

A little something to lighten up the off season and get ready for the 4th of July.

Tell me THIS doesn't look weird. Credit: The State Newspaper

kevinramsfan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:01:29 -0000

Tell me THIS doesn't look weird.

Credit: The State Newspaper

Cory Boyd to play @ Carolina?

kevinramsfan — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:24:12 -0000

Cory Boyd to play @ Carolina?

Looks like a small chance that he might play, but a chance nonetheless. He's active and wearing #30. Good luck Cory and GO COCKS!!

Observations from D.C.

kevinramsfan — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:02:48 -0000

Well I guess I picked the right game to drive all day long to. Had an awesome time in what I would arguably call the best home gameday atmosphere I've seen (excluding college football). Some random observations...

- There were maybe 10 other Rams fans in attendance. Literally. From what I could see from my seat, the entire staduim was in burgandy and gold. Pretty impressive. They had a college-like band and a fight song that everyone knew the words to.
- Skins fans were pretty subdued when it came to heckling. Obviously there were a few drunk asses who let it fly, but all together it was kept to a minimum. Good tailgating scene. BIG stadium.
- As soon as Brown's game winner went through, three or four Skins fans immediately shook my had and said that the Rams deserved to win. Pretty classy.
- I didn't think we were going to lose, I knew we were going to lose. Sounds pessimistic, but after the Skins final drive with two big gains, followed by Incognito's personal foul, who wouldn't think that way? After all, it's the Rams. But hey, Josh Brown has already gone from my most disliked player to one of my favorites (in a matter of a few months) for a reason.
-Steven Jackson is a big man, even seen from the upper deck.
- Bulger-to-Avery was even more majestic in person.
- The defense played with confidence, something I haven't seen in a long time.
- The offense was certainly improved, but has a lot of room to grow.
- PLAY DONNIE AVERY.
- D.C. traffic sucks.

Anyway, gotta love the Rams win. Let's go get those Cowboys.

P.S. -- I didn't see it until i watched the highlights, but I loved the fact that Haslett got up in that Redskin player's grill. Thats what we need.

Mortensen: Rams Fire Linehan

kevinramsfan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:08:34 -0000

Here's the link

It looks like Chip Rosenbloom made good on his word. I'm not sold on Jim Haslett being named the interim coach, although he's the best in-house option we have. You may recall after the Martz firing that Joe Vitt lead the team to some improbable victories (Jaguars) with a firey leadership style similar to that of Haslett. The defense was much improved yesterday, getting pressure and forcing bad throws (Ron Bartell played out of his mind); so did the offense, with the line getting just enough push for SJ to break a couple off. All and all, it's a step in the right direction, but I think that most of us can agree that as much of the problem lies with upper management (i.e., John Shaw, Jay Zygmunt) as it does with the day-to-day football side of things.

Ed. Note from VanRam: Nothing personal against Linehan, but this is good news for the team. There was an obvious, irreconcilable gap between players and the head coach. Haslett might be a fine interim, as he'll most likely be looking for a head coaching job somewhere relatively soon, and this gives him a 12 game audition to take a team considered by many to be the worst in the league and salvage something. I have my doubts too, but am willing to judge it all as it happens.

Yes, we still need to make changes in the front office, but it sounds like those will come after the season, per this report in the Post-Dispatch today: "After the season, changes will be made to the team's management structure." There's more of a transition process there, and I suspect they'll want to make it a peaceable separation between the management personnel that Georgia was close too, i.e. a face-saving retirement or reassignment. Zygmunt would be fine as a cap guy and cap guy only.

Anyway...we'll see what happens. I really hope this move and those that follow are a serious effort to reinvigorate this franchise, not just a quick fix.

New Format/Tourney

kevinramsfan — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:49:36 -0000

First off, I really like the new platform, I really like the fact that we can use one login name for the entire network now. As such, while I used to be AssKicknChickn here, now I'm kevinramsfan. I'm currently studying journalism at USC, and live in Atlanta for the summer. I'm origninally from St. Lou, so go Cocks, Cards, and Rams!

Tough opening draw for the tourney huh? A forty win team to start with, then the possibility of playing of facing No. 1 seeds back-to-back in the following rounds. I'd love the chance to avenge the 2006 super regional loss to Jawja.

By the way, keep up the good work C&F.

Summer Camp

kevinramsfan — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:14:06 -0000

As VanRam recently mentioned, Rams minicamp is right around the corner. After picking up eight players draft weekend, the Rams signed 12 undrafted free agents to compete in camp. Normally these players have a slim-to-none chance of making the team; however Quinton Culberson's success last year is an example of why this group shouldn't be easily overlooked. So, in order, here are a few UFA's that I think can make the 2008 squad, and maybe even make an impact.

1. Vince Hall - 5'11" 238, LB Virginia Tech
I know Rams fans likely tired of hearing the phrase "high motor", but this kid has one. He played a pivotal role on a Hokie defense that was ranked 4th nationally in total defense. Hall's production did drop off in his senior campaign; he had 37 solo tackles this year to 61 in '06. He played inside in college, and I think that's where he's best suited to play at the next level, though he may be slightly undersized. Hall's NFL.com profile had high praise:

To say that Hall has a "nose for the football" would be selling him short. He recorded 404 tackles during his career and became the ninth player in school history to lead the team in tackles twice in a career.

It also mentions that Hall was a pre-season All-American this year, and would have been one at the end of the season as well if he hadn't been injured. With Will Witherspoon not getting any younger, a budding Brandon Chillar signing elsewhere and the linebacking corps as a whole growing thin, I think Hall has a great chance of making the 53-man roster.

Current linebackers on roster (w/o Rookies):
Will Witherspoon
Pisa Tinoisamoa
Tim McGarigle
Chris Draft
Quinton Culberson

2. Yvenson Bernard - 5'8" 204, RB Oregon State
The first thing that jumps out is Bernard's height. At 5'8", he's short even by non-NFL standards. However he makes up for it with the combination of quickness and athletic frame. In short, he's a spark plug. In his four-year career at Oregon State, he rushed for just short of the 4,000 yard mark, including 1,214 in '07. He also flashed some hands, catching 36 balls for 179 yards. Here's what Sporting News had to say about this Beaver (Gotta love the mascot):

Bernard has experience playing in an NFL-style offense, so he will have to make few adjustments. He projects as a good backup who plays mostly on third downs.

Oh yeah, and he went to the same school as SJ. Funny mascots and famous alumni aside, Bernard's realistic ceiling is probably third string. Antonio Pittman turned out to be a steal last year after the the Saints cut him, and Jackson is obviously the starter. Assuming Brian Leonard isn't listed strictly as a "running back", Bernard could battle Travis Minor for the third spot and action on special teams. All in all, Bernard is a versatile player who could fight his way onto the team.

Current running backs on roster (w/o Rookies):
Steven Jackson
Antonio Pittman
Travis Minor

3. Russ Weil - 6'0" 241, FB Illinois
While I have seen the previous two players in action on multiple occasions, I confess to not having seen Weil play. The two games I did see the Illini play were the Rose Bowl and the Ohio State game; clearly they are spread-option type team in which the fullback isn't fully utilized. Why then would I pick a fullback who didn't get used much in college to make an NFL roster? Because it's the Rams. After the frustrating, outright release of Madison Hedgecock early in the season (he got the better end of that deal ) the Rams were left without a true lead-blocking, head-banging tank to clear the way for SJ. Sure Brian Leonard is a "fullback", but he's not a great lead blocker. This guy seems to have the body type to do so. I couldn't find much about him anywhere, but I did find this gem on his Illini profile :

Caught a career-long 31-yard pass against #5 Wisconsin, a play that was a "Top Play Nominee" on SportsCenter.

They kind of dug deep for something, but hey, not everybody gets to be on ESPN. Weil seems to be a long shot, but at least serves to motivate and compete against the other players in camp. If he does make the team, he can give the Rams the physical presence they've lacked at the position for some time.

Current fullbacks on roster (w/o Rookies):
Brian Leonard
Richard Owens

Poll

Which rookie(s) will have the biggest impact in '08?

Chris Long

11 votes

Donnie Avery

2 votes

Keenan Burton

7 votes

Other Draft Pick

1 votes

Undrafted Free Agent

0 votes

21 votes | Poll has closed