With the NFL doors now open and UDFA signings underway, most Rams fans had their eyes on Derrick Locke, RB from Kentucky.

No question the Rams needed a change of pace back and although Locke lacked the ideal size for a prototypical back, he would compliment Jackson well in McDaniel's system as he has the quickness and hands that could compliment the attack well.

For those questioning his size, ask Woodhead in New England if size matters. Or perhaps our own Danny Amendola (WR).

However, it doesn't matter now, as Locke announced (officially, unofficially?) on his Facebook page that he is signing with the Vikings by way of a pic of himself wearing a Vikings tee-shirt and cap.

The Vikings? Really? With AP in Minnesota one has to wonder why he would make this choice unless he likes riding pine.

We'll see how it plays out as a backup RB has to be #1 priority. Let the games begin!

The St. Louis Rams and the Chicago Bears are scheduled to kick off the preseason NFL schedule with the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 7. Just a month away, that game could be the only casualty to the NFL schedule as labor talks continue. In his update today at SI.com, my Combine media table neighbor (thanks for lending me your headphones) Don Banks suggests the possibility of the August 7 game getting nixed. 

While it has been presumed that the two sides would have to have a deal in place by July 15 in order to play the entire preseason schedule, it is now thought that only the Aug. 7 Hall of Fame Game between the Rams and Bears would have to be sacrificed if an agreement came together as late as July 22. Saving 64 of the league's 65-game preseason schedule would be considered a satisfactory success rate and would not severely dent the estimated $800 million of revenue that's at stake in the preseason.

It is just one game.

The most reasonable estimates now are that an agreement could be reached by the middle part of next week, but as Banks suggests, it could be longer. The truth is, nobody knows, since details from inside the meeting are too sketchy for specific dates. 

Something else to consider is just how far the NFL has to be between a handshake and a signed contract to get the season started. Last time around, they were able to resume business before the agreement was technically certified. 

Just how much time do the Rams and Bears really need to play the game though? As Mike Silver pointed out the other day, it is just a glorified scrimmage. There are enough players on the roster to go through the motions on short notice. 

As this is my first post on the site, please stick with me while I try to get the system down. But onto the Rams!

This upcoming Friday is the Rams first preseason game, against the New York Jets. While they may not be an ideal opponent (I'm sure everyone is well aware of what happened to them last year with a certain veteran QB), they are an opponent nonetheless and are the first test of the upcoming 2009 season. With that in mind, there are a few players on the Rams that stand quite a bit to gain, assuming they play well:

Larry Grant: While Chris Draft was off the field this morning (don't worry, he is fine), Grant played with the 1st team defense. In that time, he picked off Bulger and punished Darby during a running play. Even though Draft has impressed coaches with his play and seems to be playing quite a bit more with the first team defense as of late, Grant could make a huge statement by playing well against the Jets. With both Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens appearing only marginal at best, he has a legitimate shot to make some noise on Friday and could really open up this positional "battle."

Bradley Fletcher/Quincy Butler (Any Cornerback not named Tye Hill): Tye Hill was injured this morning as well and just like Draft, will be just fine. However, he has had an uninspiring camp so far, and with Bradley Fletcher and Quincy Butler looking good, the two stand a lot to gain by playing well this Friday. Like I noted earlier, the Jets QB situation could lead to some big plays, and if it does, Butler and Fletcher stand quite a bit to gain should they be able to capitalize.

Alex Barron: This quote by Mike Sando of ESPN explains exactly why Barron needs to play well for the team to succeed this year:

Bulger tends to look very good in practice no matter what. I think he'll be fine if the Rams protect him, which depends on that line.

I'd think a good night from Barron would just be blocking effectively and most importantly not having any false start penalties, but playing well against the Jets would be a good first step to easing the minds of the entire Rams fan base. The real test is going to in the first week of the season, because he will be going up against Patrick Kerney. At this point, a bad start to the season for Barron would mean nothing less than seeing what the 2010 Draft has to offer in regards to Offensive Tackles. Russell Okung, anyone?

With those players in mind, it will be interesting to see how the Rams look for their first (semi) official game of the Spagamania era. One can only hope they come out and look good.

Alright, this is just a little fun at the expense of our division rivals. Pure folly.

So 49ers draft pick WR Michael Crabtree is prepared to sit out the whole season and reenter the draft for 2010. Hmmm, what if...how funny would it be if the St. Louis Rams drafted him? Of course, I don't know that I'd want to the guy on my team after a stunt like this. Take the money for being a #10 pick and live with it. 

Imagine, though, the guy's draft status takes a hit for 2010 because he hasn't played football in year, dropping his draft status and vaulting other WR prospects above him in the draft (weigh in here draft experts). 

Like I said, this is purely water cooler stuff, but you have to admit it would be a little funny, no?

You'd be hard pressed to find a post that doesn't mention the St. Louis Rams offensive line lately. There's a good reason for that: the Rams success this year and beyond depends largely on a tougher, younger offensive line. Of course, those five players aren't the only ones being counted on to beef up the running game. Fullback Mike Karney was signed as a free agent during the offseason to give Steven Jackson a lead blocker, taking out any defenders that might creep into the holes being opened by the made-over line. 

Karney's a bruiser who is more than capable of bulldozing through opposing defenders. And he's young(er), than the last FB the Rams added, Dan Kreider, who was still recovering from serious injury issues. Statistics for fullbacks are wrapped up with the stats for the running backs and offensive line. I did find one interesting number at Football Outsiders that Karney that Karney's performance would have directly impacted. The Saints, Karney's former team, had a 28.1% DVOA on runs in the red zone last season, the fourth best number in the league. By comparison, the Rams had a -39% DVOA on runs in the  red zone, second worst in the league.

More and more teams are abandoning the traditional blocking fullback, but for a team installing a power running game at the heart of their offense he's indispensable to the equation. 

• Don't forget, tonight it's the Turf Show Radio training camp spectacular! The fun starts at 6 p.m. central time. Here's the call-in and listening info. Will from Rams Herd and Jeff from Rams Gab will be joining 3k and I as we get ready for the official start of the Rams 2009 training camp.
• Got a design or a suggestion for a TST-shirt? Then send it to us. If your design gets picked, you get a free shirt. Sweet!
• Camp starts in full swing Friday, when the entire roster takes the field. If you're going to be at Rams Park this weekend, BE SURE to post your reports, reactions, etc. in the fanposts. We want to make sure we have as many of our community members as possible offering their thoughts on what they see. 

I got together with the other NFC West bloggers to compare linebackers, this time around, middle linebackers. I gotta say, it wasn't as embarrassing as last year when the Rams LB group looked sketchy to begin with. Sure, we've got a rookie starting at that spot, but he's a good rookie. And, well...just read the rest.

In a division trademarked for its linebackers, the St. Louis Rams were embarrassingly substandard last year, thanks to poor decision making that left Will Witherspoon in the middle and arrogantly allowed an emerging Brandon Chillar to flee for greener, more frozen pastures. Addressing the situation at linebacker has been a top offseason priority for the defensive-minded new regime led by head coach Steve Spagnuolo and defensive coordinator Ken Flajole. 

Continue reading this post »

Trading ruled the day in River City...St. Louis, that is, for the diaspora of Rams fans. (If you really want to add a literary note the trades made by STL's pro teams yesterday, it looks like one team is overcoming the hobbles of dysfunction as another, one long considered to be above the fray, slides further and further in that direction.) The addition of Curry prompted the St. Louis Rams to make an ancillary move with the release of WR Chad Lucas. 

Lucas was signed in March to round out the team's depth at WR. HIs name wasn't mentioned often in reports from spring practices, a reminder of his uphill climb to make the team in the first place. Barring a huge shocker, Curry is a lock to make the final roster. And with that, I thought it would be good time to update our TST final roster prediction for wide receivers. 

Though the final number of wideouts the Rams is yet to be determined, it's difficult to imagine the team keeping more than six on the 53-man roster. Earlier in the month, the predicted six WRs were: Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton, Laurent Robinson, Tim Carter, Derek Stanley, and Brooks Foster. 

With Curry, I think the Rams six WRs will be: Avery, Curry, Burton, Robinson, Stanley and Foster. This is a tough prediction to make, shooting wildly in the dark. Curry gives them a veteran presence, replacing Carter. There are a couple of other ways it could go, though. If the Rams find a better option for the return job, Stanley looks vulnerable. Or, Foster could become an addition to the practice squad. There are no guarantees, and the only receivers with any certainty to make the team are Avery, Curry, Burton and Robinson. Even then, I like what Burton has to offer, but he still needs to have a really strong, injury free camp. 

The Rams made official announcements yesterday that the team had agreed to terms with seventh round pick RB Chris Ogbonnaya and fifth round pick WR Brooks Foster. We reported both signings over the weekend, via other sources. On that news, it's worth while to take a look at which of the 2009 Rams draft picks have signed. Check out Nbr1RamFan's post for the list of who is signed and who has not. As for the guys not signed, here's a round up of what we know and expectations.

1st round - OT Jason Smith: Both the Rams and Smith have expressed a desire to get a deal done in time for camp. A contract somewhere slightly north of what OT Jake Long got last year is probably a reasonable expectation.

2nd round - LB James Laurinaitis: Again, both sides have expressed a particular willingness to work things out prior to camp. Not many first or second round picks have signed yet, and the players drafted in the slots around Laurinaitis remain unsigned. 

4th round - DT Darell Scott: A deal is expected any day now. Kind of surprised nothing's been announced given news of an impending deal with Scott got the same assurance as the looming deal with Foster.

6th round - QB Keith Null: As a sixth round pick, Null's contract should be simply a matter of lining up the contract with the value of his slot in the draft. The Browns signed RB James Davis, the player drafted immediately before Null, to a four-year, $1.849 million deal with a $99,250 signing bonus on July 10. LB Steven Hodge, drafted by the Cowboys directly following Null has not signed a deal. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see deals with the later round picks get wrapped up before the first two. In fact, it seems like a deal with Scott could be announced any day, leaving Null as the last unsigned second day pick. It's tough to go by last year because the Rams front office has since changed and the prior regime handled rookie contracts differently. Second round pick Donnie Avery was the last to sign in 2008, and first rounder Chris Long signed a few days ahead of several other players.