Random Ramsdom 12/10: Fletcher earns some love

by Ryan Van Bibber on Dec 10, 2010 9:33 AM CST in St. Louis Rams news

Comin' at ya with a load of links, dumped sloppily on your plate for your required daily serving of St. Louis Rams news and commentary.

All about Bradley Fletcher
Rams' second-year CB Bradley Fletcher gets some much deserved love from the local press.

More on penalties, the Rams defense and which WR are the Rams taking in the first round of one mock draft...after the jump.

Ron Bartell has a shoulder stinger
Whether or not he'll play on Sunday depends entirely on if he gets his shoulder strength back in time. Right now, according to the coaches, he has very little strength in his shoulder.

Bradford under center & on first down
Remember when people said Bradford would have a hard time working under center? Yeah, well, they were wrong. ESPN's Mike Sando has the numbers. Also, Bradford and the Rams are struggling on first down, why?

Rams still high on per game penalties
Just because Alex Barron isn't here anymore doesn't mean the Rams can't make a few penalties. Their average number of flags per game has gone up this season. Two thoughts: 1) a rookie and a second year OT, 2) the refs are behind the line this season where they see a lot more holding penalties than they used to.

James Laurinaitis, pro wrestler
It seems the WWE took a liking to Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis. FWIW, I'm glad he chose football.

Spotlight on the Rams defense
Yeah, a natural rookie of the year favorite gets all the press, but, as every TSTer knows, the Rams defense has been a big part of the turnaround this season too.

Can Jackson reach 1,000?
Just 15 yards away from his sixth consecutive 1,000 yard rushing season, Jackson should get there pretty early this week. Of course, if the OL doesn't improve its run blocking a little bit those will be the longest 15 yards of his career.

2011 NFL Mock Draft
A new mock draft from Walter Football has the Rams taking the afore mentioned Baldwin with the 21st overall pick. Who do they have in the subsequent rounds?

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Comments

From Walter's third round choice:

The Rams really need to find an upgrade over Craig Dahl to shore up their pass defense.

Number 8 is great

by Eric Nagel on Dec 10, 2010 9:46 AM CST reply actions

Dahl hasn't been the greatest in coverage, but

he was great in that role last week.

I only like their pick b/c the guy’s named Will Hill…even I can pronounce that on TSR. Not to mention all the witty word plays on that name…

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by Ryan Van Bibber on Dec 10, 2010 11:14 AM CST up reply actions

I have a recording of Jon Gruden's Quarterback Camp on my DVR

I was watching it again yesterday. This was where he hounded Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy before the draft earlier this year.

On the segment of the show where he was riding Sam Bradford, Gruden was asking Bradford to explain the “China-Y” offensive formation. In this formation, Bradford operated out of the gun with 2 receivers on the left and a tight end and reciever on the right. Bradford picked the play apart like it was a part of the back of his hand. It makes me wonder if the Rams offensive coaching staff have looked at the Oklahoma offense and are using a variation of the China-Y to give Sam the Ram an opportunity to run an offensive formation that he is comfortable with.

I'm suffering from an extreme case of laurinaitis!

by NachoD on Dec 10, 2010 11:13 AM CST reply actions

I have that Walter Football draft website saved on My Favorites in my computer.

I saw how one of the mock draft sites finally have us picking 21st which is where we will pick when we make the playoffs. I am very excited about the prospects of adding Jonathon Baldwin to the team. I would prefer him over Julio Jones because of his incredible hands and athleticsm.

Another side note about the draft. After looking at game film on the two tackles Anthony Costanzo and Gabe Carimi, mark my words, Carimi will prove to be a better NFL player. Costanzo just looks to stiff while Carimi consistenly explodes forward and gets beyond the line of scrimmage to make secondary blocks in the run game.

I'm suffering from an extreme case of laurinaitis!

by NachoD on Dec 10, 2010 11:19 AM CST reply actions

i'm a fan of baldwin

but not over akeem ayers.

you don’t take the 2nd or 3rd best wr over the best OLB… really?

Bradford to Onobun!

by Infemous on Dec 10, 2010 11:41 AM CST reply actions

True

Thats why they call them Mock Drafts! If Baldwin is rated higher by our scouts then Ayers, then we will probably take Baldwin. With that said, Walter Football doesn’t do our scouting…I was more shocked by the Rams picking 21st. Usually we are Top 3! Haa

Food For Thought: Spagnuolo’s Defenses at Philly and New York have never drafted an OLB. Interesting…

by Jigzsaw on Dec 10, 2010 11:46 AM CST up reply actions

spags doesnt believe in high profile outside linebackers. he eluded to it in new york and its showing here.

he wants a middle and a dline

by mh39 on Dec 10, 2010 11:56 AM CST up reply actions

though his superbowl year he did have 1st round pick mathias kiwanuka playing OLB

and his other LB, kavika mitchell was quite a good playmaker for him that year. he may not devote a first round pick to the OLB, but i do still think we find a way to upgrade it.

sorry for the terrible spelling on the names, im too lazy to look it up.

עם ישראל חי

by nodisrespect on Dec 10, 2010 2:37 PM CST up reply actions

Umm Who said Ayers is the best OLB?

Sorry, but I still have Bruce Carter on top of my OLB board.
Not to mention, I think it is difficult to compare a preceived 2nd or 3rd position player to a preceived 1st position player at another position. I just don’t think you can make a decision with that reasoning.

by CaliRamMan on Dec 10, 2010 12:11 PM CST up reply actions

As much as I would like the Defense to be addressed early in our draft

I think everyone knows where I stand on Baldwin…..
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
I’ll take him at 21!

by CaliRamMan on Dec 10, 2010 12:13 PM CST reply actions

Fletcher, where is the love?

I’ve been a fan of Fletcher’s since the first game he started. The first thing I noticed about him was his willingness to help with run support and some of the hard hits as a result. While his tackle numbers have been decent this year, I haven’t noticed the slobber knocker tackles this year. Not sure why.

He might not be as good of a cover corner as Bartell but at least he can catch the ball when it hits him in the hands.

Hopefully we won’t see Dockery starting again anytime soon.

by Tini Ram on Dec 10, 2010 5:28 PM CST reply actions