St. Louis Rams

By Jordan P. Davis Bruce Gradkowski, a third year player out of Toledo, looks to just compete for the third string quarterback slot with the Rams behind Marc Bulger and Trent Green, but he is an exciting player nonetheless. ...

By Hal Schaeffer I thought that I would step away from analyzing the various segments of the St. Louis Rams team to share my spin on a favorite subject of mine, one that always generates a lot of debate, sometimes heated, among football fans.  One more thing: This guy was so good, such a winner, that in the only C...

What do you think? The St. Louis Rams’ 2008 draft focused on acquiring players who have speed, great character, and a high level of commitment to the game. To the dismay of many Rams fans, the draft did not focus on adding any new linebackers to the team until the seventh round, when the chance o...

By Hal Schaeffer Among the many weapons that Rams’ offensive coordinator Al Saunders has at his disposal to implement his multifaceted attack against NFL defenses, none is more important than the quarterback. Saunders’ playbook is both voluminous and complex, and it requires a skilled and intelligen...

By Hal Schaeffer Let’s see, who are the top D-line prospects in the 2009 draft???? The selection of Chris Long in the 2008 NFL draft has caused a number of Rams’ fans and observers to feel that the team’s long-standing problems on the defensive line have been solved. Far from it. The Rams’ defensive line has be...

By Punit Vachharajani But if an enterprising businessman takes over, the Rams’ stay in St. Louis may end rapidly. The main prospect for relocation is undoubtedly Los Angeles, the team’s former home, the site of so many great Rams teams. And if L.A. doesn’t want the Rams, some other city will — a city that doesn’t alrea...

By Brett Knight Again, thanks to Chris and the guys at NFL Draft 101 for providing us with this mock. If only you guys (and the Rams) would listen to me, though… Today, we here at RAMblings are pleased to welcome Chris Maier, writer at The Bengal Blitz and founder of NFL Draft 101. In a seven-round mock draft at t...

If Bruce is not re-signed, St. Louis will lose a living legend. He started his NFL career with the LA Rams in 1994, and was the last Ram remaining from the LA team. He has enjoyed a tenure with this team that is unprecedented in modern sports, and he has repaid the favor in full. He made the winning ca...

By Hal Schaeffer The more I see, hear, and read about this whole Belichick-Spygate-Cameragate-2002 Rams vs. Patriots Super Bowl controversy, the more I am convinced that many people are missing the forest for the trees. The point is the integrity of Bill Belichick. Of the New England Patriots. Of Roger Good...

By Hal Schaeffer You know, I’m trying to be optimistic, I really am, but as you can see, it’s awfully hard. The promises of management for bold changes and for maximum effort to return the team to prominence ring a bit hollow. Doesn’t Linehan having a meeting with Shaw and firing various assistants feel like S...

By Punit Vachharajani So, Rams fans, as Linehan hires one of his former tight ends to be offensive coordinator in the coming weeks, just grin and bear it. And wait till 2009. Rams head coach Scott Linehan continued his wave of firings and hirings among his coaching staff on Friday. He fired two coaches — running back...

By Punit Vachharajani Frontiere was a fiery, outspoken, and often controversial figure as leader of the Rams, and many in the St. Louis sports community took umbrage at some of her decisions. It is important to remember, however, that it was Frontiere who decided to move the team from Los Angeles to St. Louis, her o...

By Brett Knight Yesterday, my RAMblings colleague Punit wrote a column detailing the improvement Scott Linehan must achieve in his third year as head coach of the Rams to keep that job in 2009. His assessment? The Rams need only win five games. Mark these words (but don’t hold me to them): If the Rams don’t ma...

By Punit Vachharajani So the question is, what will a successful 2008 Rams season look like? Sure, a Super Bowl win would be nice, but we all know that won’t happen. No reasonable Rams fan expects much from this squad next year. But what must Scott Linehan achieve in order to satisfy both fans and management and to sa...

By Brett Knight Big names like Cam Cameron are already being tossed around in the discussion over the vacant jobs. Former Ravens coach Brian Billick is rumored to be a candidate for Olson’s old job, and current team consultant Terry Donahue (the former Buffalo Bills general manager and president) has be...

By Brett Knight James Hall, DE The Rams’ big free agent pickup finished the year with 2.5 sacks in 15 games. To rephrase, that’s half his output in double the games, as compared to last season (with Detroit). Did Matt Millen really just pull one over on the Rams?

By Punit Vachharajani I hope you are all having a great 2008 so far. If not, let this cheer you up. I’ll be back soon. The season is over, the Rams were terrible, and there will be no more football in St. Louis until next fall. But what to do in the meantime? I have tried to compile a list of possible offseason activities for y...

By Brett Knight Linehan has been silent thus far about the team’s plans thus far, saying that all personnel evaluations will be conducted after the season has concluded. It’s also unclear how much power over personnel Linehan will retain in the power struggle that may take place after such a rotten seaso...

By Brett Knight I’ve got my computer charged and ready, and Bryant Gumbel, Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk are in the booth. I’m ready for some football. It’s unclear whether the Rams, led by Scott Linehan, can say the same. Gumbel: “They’re doing pretty much anything they want with St. Louis right now.” Your...

By Brett Knight That’s exactly the problem, though. No one’s watching the Rams play this season. And while San Francisco, another bad team, has the name recognition to continue to draw support, the Rams have been second fiddle to the Cardinals (the baseball version) ever since their move from Los Angeles....

By Punit Vachharajani Check out our opposition at The Steel Tradition as Mike Boyko scouts the Rams and Steven Jackson. He agrees that this will be a tough game for the Steelers. It’s been a short and disappointing week for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams going into Thursday’s game at the Dome. Pit...

By Brett Knight Don’t forget that this week’s game is an early one! (And it’ll be televised!) See you all soon. A Rams loss and a 49ers win gave the Rams jockeying position for the 2008 draft. As it stands now, the Dolphins will almost certainly lock up the top spot; after collecting its first win of the season,...

By Brett Knight Green Bay challenges, but luck is on the Rams’ side today. (?) First down, Rams. Ball comes back on a Green Bay holding penalty. 2:45 - Rams finally pick up a pass-interference call. Happy holidays, St. Louis Rams, from your officiating crew!

By Punit Vachharajani The St. Louis-Green Bay game of 2007 will best be remembered as another stepping stone along Green Bay’s almost Cinderella-like journey through the season that will culminate in the NFC Championship game and, if they are lucky, a Super Bowl berth against the Patriots. But hey, the Rams wil...

By Punit Vachharajani In another way, however, Linehan really deserves much of the blame for the debacle we call the 2007 St. Louis Rams.  Certainly there has been slow, barely noticeable improvement since the miraculous New Orleans win that finally snapped that horrendous 8-game losing streak. But Scott Line...

By Punit Vachharajani I apologize for the long break from my last post, but I have been very busy this week feverishly trying to read a book called The Fabric of the Cosmos for a biology class. The book explores some crucial ideas in today’s world of physics (yes, I am quite the science geek). Because we all know that n...

By Brett Knight The Rams did need to improve their depth at running back, and this selection would have made sense if they hadn’t picked Leonard. The Chiefs were high on Smith coming out of camp, and after an injury to Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes’ retirement, Smith, in week 12, found himself thrust into...

By Brett Knight Seems like two completely unrelated events, right? Think again - these Tigers are the Rams. Allow me to clarify. Isaac Bruce passed Cris Carter for 5th on the NFL’s career receiving yards list; nice to see two sideline masters side-by-side again. And don’t forget his “old-school” compadre...

By Punit Vachharajani Sunday’s St. Louis-Atlanta game will feature two of the worst teams in the NFL, each battling to climb back up to “mediocre” status. Normally, this game would get some attention from the media as it would provide a potent source for jokes and wry comparisons to the much more anticipated Gree...

By Brett Knight We’ve already seen articles putting the blame for the loss on Gus Frerotte’s shoulders (not all unjustifiably) and fans calling for Scott Linehan’s head. Yes, it was a truly disheartening game and may indeed be the nail in the coffin that gets Linehan canned.

By Punit Vachharajani Before I am run out of St. Louis by a pitchfork-bearing mob, let me clarify that I do not now nor will I ever advocate getting rid of either Bruce or Holt. Both of these men are fantastic football players, will probably go into the Hall of Fame, and have contributed too much to this team and this ci...

By Punit Vachharajani 1. Gus Frerotte needs to go. Yes, he had an adequate game filling in for the concussed Marc Bulger. But that last drive, the one that could and should have won the game, the one that would have kept the Rams alive for at least another week, failed because of Frerotte. To wit: First down and goal, Fre...

By Punit Vachharajani Meanwhile, the Rams defensive front has actually managed to stop the run in the last couple of games. Against a backup running back, expect Haslett and company to try to shut down the run early. This should force Seattle to revert to the air attack, and with an ailing quarterback, that might j...

By Punit Vachharajani 1946: Coming off their championship, the Rams commemorate their move to Los Angeles by becoming the first NFL team to integrate, hiring Kenny Washington and Woody Strode out of UCLA. The season, unfortunately, is disappointing, as the Rams fail to make the playoffs.

By Brett Knight Jesus (via trade from New Orleans): Right now the Rams don’t have a prayer, but that could change faster than you can say “Hail Mary” if they’re able to acquire this rare talent. “He” has worked miracles for teams in the past and has a proven track record in the league — dozens of players, inclu...

By Brett Knight Linehan wasn’t afraid to come out and throw, and the Rams offense pretty much embarrassed the 49ers defense on the opening drive. Haslett’s defense proved effective for the whole game. Even if the Rams couldn’t widen the margin, especially down the stretch, the two still deserve credit fo...

By Brett Knight So as the Rams prepare for their game at San Francisco tomorrow, it seems an appropriate time to examine the Rams’ fantasy match-ups. There’s a bounce in their step - and a smile on their faces - after last week’s big win over New Orleans, but can you trust these Rams with your fantasy lives th...

By Brett Knight Also, I wanted to let you all know that I was interviewed by Mack Rosenberg of Fourth and Inches Radio on Thursday. It was fun to do, even if the Rams made me look sort of foolish with their play today. It’s a good foolish, though. It’s hard to pin-point exactly the best part of the Rams’ 37-29 win ov...

By Brett Knight Steven Jackson’s return will revitalize the offense, but Leonard Little’s injury will leave the defense even more porous than usual, and no amount of Jackson magic can make up for that deficit. New Orleans’s offense, which looked so anemic the first few weeks, is suddenly resurgent and h...

By Brett Knight Runner-Up: Marc Bulger, QB - Bulger’s literally thrown away multiple games for his team. He’s the opposition’s MVP, for sure. League-Wide: Tom Brady, QB, Patriots - 3.7 touchdowns per game (on pace for 58 total) and a 131.8 QB rating. The season records are 49 and 121.1. ‘Nuff said.

By Brett Knight The Rams’ only advantage is that they’ve been to the playoffs somewhat recently. In 2004, St Louis made it to (and promptly lost in) the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. Some say the Rams were looking ahead to the Bye, and were shellacked 17 - 47 by Atlanta as a result. Ra...

By Brett Knight You may have noticed I did not put up a post-game write-up following Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately, given the NFL’s desire to punish regional fans and my unfortunate location in Columbia, I was not able to watch the blacked-out game. But X is here again to pick up the sl...

By John Pullega McGarigle grew up in Chicago and went to St. Tarcissus for grammar school. While there, he consistently played against my grammar school, St. Francis Borgia. While St. Tars lost many of those games against Borgia throughout the years (though Tars did beat Borgia in a championship game in 1999...

By Brett Knight Though the roster move came just hours after Terrell was arrested and charged with assaulting his wife, Rams coach Scott Linehan kept the focus on on-field issues in his press conference, saying that the sole motivation behind the cut was performance-based.

By Brett Knight It’s unclear who would replace Linehan: team president John Shaw has been silent on the subject, and the Rams front office won’t say if it will look within the team’s ranks (most likely defensive coordinator Jim Haslett) or go outside to find a new coach. But if for no other reason than this s...

By Brett Knight Even as we here at RAMblings enumerated Linehan’s offenses just a couple weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that Linehan’s job was in any danger. After all, the last Rams head coach to only last two years with the team was Rich Brooks in 1995 and ‘96. Dick Vermeil even made it to year three after goin...

By Brett Knight Jeff Gordon has his typical insightful coaches’ quote sheet up over at the Post-Dispatch website. And now for a quick round of my favorite game, Quotes Out of Context, this one courtesy of offensive coordinator Greg Olson: “Not winning is difficult.” Good times. (Honorable mention, from H...

By Brett Knight 14. Marc Bulger, QB - The Rams are winless. That is a fact. But the games against Carolina and Tampa Bay were definitely winnable, and Bulger’s erratic play had a big hand in that. After shaking off the rust in week 1 and taking a pounding in week 2, Bulger didn’t even resemble the hyper-accurate P...

By John Pullega Watching the Rams game this week, I was shocked and appalled by what I witnessed: The Rams scored not one, not two but three (count ‘em, three) touchdowns through the air. Three! I sat there and pondered exactly how journeyman Gus Frerotte threw for three touchdowns behind an increasingly...

By Brett Knight But if, as is more likely, the Rams decide that their problems run deeper than a spot or two in the starting lineup, free agency would at best be a stop-gap solution and could ultimately prove detrimental to the team’s future success (see: Washington Redskins). No, if the Rams are looking to...

By Brett Knight With his team sitting at the bottom of the weak NFC West with a record of 0-4 and with a depleted group of players team can’t get it together on either side of the ball, Scott Linehan issued a vote of confidence Monday for both Marc Bulger as his starting quarterback and Greg Olson as his offens...

By Josh Jacobson With only 386 shopping days left until Super Bowl XLII, the Rams front office has some work to do before they can book their trip to Glendale or even hope to be back in the playoff chase. After spending all season looking at what can be done on the field, let’s take a look at [...]

By Steve Weinman Rams Offense vs. Redskins Defense: Three St. Louis skill players received the news that they will be making the trip to the Pro Bowl in Honolulu this year, and all have merited the honor with their play. Action Jackson sits at sixth in the league in rushing with 1,236 yards, but the potent scree...