5 more days until one of my favorite days of the entire year. Opening day in the NFL! Every team walks in with the same chance to win the Super Bowl. It's going to be a great season and I can't wait for it to start. Let's get to the links.
Meet the new Rams Wragge and Spach
Nick Wagoner of stlouisrams.com had this nice article about the Rams new signings. Wragge as has been said is a mean SOB type of linemen, but he's still more than that. He can play any position on the line and he will be a huge asset this year. Here's Wragge.
The 6’4, 310-pound Wragge earned a reputation for being a big, physical type of player but says he tries to be fundamentally sound in addition to his natural mean streak.
"I like to mix them both," Wragge said. "I would say I am a technician because that’s what keeps you in the league a long time, allowing you to work your craft and hone your technique but don’t get it misconstrued because you better be a mean SOB when it comes down to it so I’m a little bit of a mauler. I’d say I’m a little bit of both."
Spach is a guy who is very similar to Billy Bajema in that he is not much of a receiving threat, but man can he block. At 6' 4" 260 lbs, he has great size to be able to handle blocking defensive linemen.
Jim Thomas on Clayton being PUPed
Jim Thomas of stltoday.com had an article about the Rams deciding to put Mark Clayton on the PUP list to start the season. Consequently he won't be able to play for the first five games this season. Clayton's rehab was hard and long.
"It was like in the third month, fourth month, even into the fifth month (following surgery), the gain was so small that I was like, 'This ain't going to happen,' " Clayton said. "So it was long. And it sucked. And it hurt. I cried."
Clayton feels that he was ready though, but obviously the team disagrees.
After re-signing with the Rams Aug. 31 (he was an unrestricted free agent), Clayton feels he's game ready. The team's medical staff obviously has other ideas, because Clayton was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. That makes him ineligible to play for a minimum of six weeks. One of those weeks, however, is the Rams' bye, so in theory Clayton could miss only five games.
It's still sad that this is noteworthy, but when the team had a three year stretch of only winning 6 games, the fans have to have a good reason to buy tickets. The Dome should be rocking on Sunday and provide a nice "Dome" Field Advantage.
Rams work out a corner
The Rams worked out CJ Wilson yesterday. The Rams are looking to add another CB before the season starts. It seems that he is a very likely candidate. Here's Van's take.
"So what kind of player is Wilson? Versatile, but a backup. He's a big guy that can stay with his man, but has an advantage in the zone. Carolina parted ways with him over the weekend."
That's all I got for today. Have a good one and GO RAMS!!!