Dick Vermeil thinks differently about Bradford's contract: Random Ramsdom, 8/3

by Ryan Van Bibber on Aug 3, 2010 8:12 AM CDT in St. Louis Rams training camp

It's another scorching hot day in the Midwest and the St. Louis Rams take the field twice today for practice. My hat's off to these guys. I can barely stand to be outside on this lovely 85 degree morning. Let's stay cool with some Random Ramsdom though, shall we?

The last Rams coach to win a Super Bowl was at camp yesterday for an inspirational visit. Dick Vermeil is in town to promote his new win and stopped by to remind the boys in Golden Horns that it wasn't always 3-, 2- and 1-win seasons here.

Speaking of Dickie V, he was not only impressed with QB Sam Bradford, he had an interesting take on the first round pick's six-year, $78 million contract:

I think if you give the money to the right kind of people, it doesn't change anything. It adds a sense of responsibility to meet that commitment that the organization has made to him.

Danario Alexander was at Rams Park yesterday. He passed a physical given by the Rams, stay to watch practice then caught a flight for a visit with the Seattle Seahawks. You saw his hopeful tweet yesterday after the visit.

Rams fan on the scene, @21bird, had some reports from practice yesterday. He had good things to say about Jerome Murphy's hitting, Justin King's coverage, Burton and Gibon's ability on display and more. Of particular interest was a nice rollout from Bradford to Fendi Onobun.

This NFL.com report makes it sound as though Rodger Saffold has leapfrogged Jason Smith for the LT spot. I think that's a bit of a leap itself. Smith's recovering from a broken toe and has dealt with three notable injuries through his first season and second preseason in the league now. The Rams want to make sure they have an acceptable sub on the left side should Smith be out of action. Maybe. Maybe I'm just giving too much benefit of the doubt to Smith.

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Jason Smith is beginning to resemble Adam Carriker the second. Can't stay healthy.

by RamChop on Aug 3, 2010 10:19 AM CDT reply actions

What a massive waste if he moves to RT

The House of Spears reigns supreme

by Eric Nagel on Aug 3, 2010 1:31 PM CDT reply actions

Maybe, but who would we likely have picked instead?

Aaron Curry?

Who cares if he plays RT and Saffold ends up playing LT. We end up reaching on one and getting a bargain on the other. It’s a wash.

Besides, we still need to be patient with him. He’s not Adam Carriker yet.

I can take a beating ... I'm a Rams fan.

by Midasknight on Aug 3, 2010 3:38 PM CDT up reply actions

Smith was supposed to be our starting LT for a decade and the anchor of the O-Line. Having to replace him at that key position with a rookie 2nd round pick is a disaster.

Apparently we didn’t find Orlando Pace II with our 2009 1st pick.

by RamChop on Aug 3, 2010 7:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Its not a disaster.

I would prefer him to play on the left too, and he probably will within the next season or two. I think he probably will this season. The coaches are just playing it safe with him and they want to see how well they could fare without him. He should be back soon and we’ll see if he can win the LT spot from there. The best player should play there though, regardless of pay. He’s not a bust yet. Hopefully Dwight Freeney taught him what not to do last year.

Onubon > Gates

by Carneros on Aug 3, 2010 8:19 PM CDT up reply actions