The Rams finished up their final minicamp yesterday. They'll pickup with OTAs this week until the middle of the month and then it's silence, oh that long silence, until camp starts at the end of July. One thing to remember about minicamp and OTAs, no pads. This is all about learning the playbook and getting some conditioning work; the players are going through the motions without pads, so judge results accordingly.
Bill Coats' report at the PD from camp has a Tye Hill sighting, with DC Flajole stating that he's "cautiously optimistic" about Hill. I'd like to see Hill get it together; the Rams need good CBs. However, this defensive system is going to require physical play from its cornerbacks, and that's where I'm more skeptical than optimistic about Hill. His will be a camp worth watching.
Fans waiting for the Rams to sign another, veteran receiver, don't hold your breath. The coaches seem to be operating under the assumption that this team will go to war with the receivers they've got...call it the Rumsfeld approach. Here's OC Pat Shurmur's knowingly assured quote in Coats' report:
I like the guys we have. They’re working hard to get open and they’re really working hard at catching the football. I think they’re all trying to think of themselves as playmakers, and that’s what you want.
I still wouldn't be surprised if the team nabs a young-ish receiver with some experience in a similar system when roster cuts come fast and furious before the season starts...not the kind of signing that's going to blow anyone away, just someone useful like an Arnaz Battle-type.
Finally, there's this cockamamie Alex Marvez going after Jason Brown thing floating around out there, hat tip to Tackle Box, in which the Fox Sports writer call Brown the worst free agent signing based. Whatever. When Brown was on the market, Marvez called him the best lineman of the free agent class. Yes, the Rams had to pay a little more than other teams would - the price of being in the cellar two years running (the Ravens made a serious attempt to bring him back, but couldn't up the ante and risk losing out on Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis, the heart of their defense, and bringing in Domonique Foxworth). More to the point, Brown's numbers speak for themselves. The Ravens had the ninth best run game (5.9% DVOA) with Le'Ron McClain (?!) leading the team's rushing attack. That's in large part due to the Ravens having one of the league's top power rushing games and using the middle so effectively - 4.40 adjusted line yards, 10th best in the NFL - and running through that lane on 54% of all their running plays. Marvez provides the latest example of the national media getting their info about the Rams completely wrong (remember when pundits had Vick to the Rams last week?).