Camp week is here: Random Ramsdom, 7/27

It's (finally) a big week for football. Rookies, QBs, and a few others report on Wednesday, July 29 and have some workouts the day after, the same day the rest of the roster reports before getting into full team practices on the 31st. Stay tuned, we'll have you covered for camp right here. Speaking of camp...TST plans to be there soon, but if you're going to the open practices this week and this weekend, give us a shout and let us know what you think of what you see. The best fanposts covering camp get a t-shirt. 

I missed this little tidbit last week, but it's worth coming back to since we've been talking about St. Louis Rams FS Oshiomogho Atogwe, who recently signed his franchise tender. Could some of the intent behind the one-year deal involved the former Pro Bowl safety to prove himself to the new coaching staff? Pro Football Weekly cites a team insider who says that's the case:

Certainly the team's old coaching staff had seen enough to make a long-term commitment to him, but now it's as if he has to prove himself all over again to a new set of eyes.

That makes some sense, but losing the FS would leave the Rams with some serious work to do in their secondary for next season. There are lots of scenarios that could happen, not the least likely of which is that they get a deal done - something the team has stated a desire to do, on the record. It's reasonable to expect also that Atogwe can iron out some of the kinks in his coverage skills that have prevented him from being a truly elite FS under Spagnuolo, a former d-backs coach. 

Some more info...

From cellar to stellar? 
Prediction season is in full swing, and a few talking heads here and there are starting to pay some attention to the Rams. Here's a look at how the last place teams in each division will fare in '09.

WR Drew Bennett Retires
How long was he a Raven? Didn't he even try out? An old knee injury got to him, which tells you a little something about what went wrong in St. Louis. 

Patriots S Chung reports on rookie date
That's significant news to Rams fans because Chung was drafted in the second round, 34th overall, right before the Rams picked LB James Laurinaitis. No contract details yet, but the deal should help influence Laurinaitis' contract with the Rams.

Expect the Rams to start getting more deals done with the remaining rookies in the next few days, especially if the team plans to have them all in camp on time.