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Random Ramsdom 11/14: St. Louis Rams News & Bye Week Notes

There will be a shortage of St. Louis Rams’ football in Week 11 of the NFL year. There will not, however, be a shortage of news. Turf Show Times always has your back!

By Brandon Bate

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David Banks

Toxic Differential Favors the Seahawks and Eagles:  NFL.com

Toxic differential essentially combines turnover differential and explosive-play differential. (Explosive plays are those that gain 20-plus yards.) The reason some of us have been drawn to this concept is that it is an interactive statistic. Coaches have been teaching the importance of avoiding turnovers since the football was first inflated, but toxic differential illustrates that it's not enough to merely avoid turning the ball over; you also need to generate big offensive plays. On the flip side, you can't just sit back on defense and play a deep prevent all the time; you must create turnovers, too.


The Rams are up, the Colts are down.  Which pretty much equates to…."A corn-fed harvest mouse, a hooker, a nun, a Flemish peasant woman, whips, chains, whistles, yo-yo's, a circus midget. My grandmother riding by on a bicycle gives me the finger, and a duck!"


London Fletcher - who played LB for the Rams during their Greatest Show on Turf days - states that "the NFC East is so terrible."  He then goes on to rank the teams therein.  Things aren’t looking so good for ‘ol London.

Place Ya Bets Heya!:  CBS Sports

According to Vegas - who’s not a person, but a city - the Rams are 500-1 long shots to win the 2014 Super Bowl.  Had you placed your money on them last week, you could have doubled your earnings.  Even at 500-1 odds, putting $1 on them to win the Super Bowl this year would make you….like a bajillion bucks.


Safety has been a position of trouble for the St. Louis Rams for a number of years. Gone are the days when Aeneas Williams and a good Adam Archuleta locked down the deep secondary. Gone also are the days of Ed Reed being a dominant NFL player.


He was drafted to play right tackle.  He potentially was drafted to replace Jason Smith at left tackle.  He replaced Jason Smith at left tackle.  He was replaced by Jake Long at left tackle.  He was moved to right tackle.  He was apparently upset.  He was then outplayed by his replacement - Joseph Barksdale - while injured.  He’s now replacing Harvey Dahl at right guard.  He’s done pretty well all over.  Watch your back, Johnny Hekker.


Austin joined Randy Moss and Gale Sayers as the only rookies with three touchdowns in a game of 50-plus yards and his 314 all-purpose yards were the second-most in Rams history.

Race For Rookie of the Year, Week 10:  Pro Football Focus

One, seemingly household name, Rams’ rookie is a player to watch in the race for [either Offensive or Defensive] Rookie of the Year.  A hint:  he wasn’t drafted in the first round.  Neither of the Rams’ 1st rounders are even in consideration, according to PFF.

Pro Bowl Cheat Sheet, Week 10:  Pro Football Focus

Did you expect to see Robert Quinn’s name mentioned in the same breath as J.J. Watt?  Of course you did.  Well, this is the link for you!  It’s probably no secret he’s been the most noticeable Rams’ player [on either side of the ball] in 2013.  He deserves the mentions and, at this point, he should be looking to buy some Hawaiian shirts.

Any Given Sunday; Rams Over Colts:  Football Outsiders

Tavon Austin showed the world what he’s capable of…the Colts kick returners did not.  Robert Quinn might be the Defensive Player of the Year.  On the other side of the ball, Trent Richardson…not so much.

NFP Power Rankings:  National Football Post

Despite an impressive road win against the Colts, the Rams find themselves tied for 24th…with the Atlanta Falcons, who have won two games all year.  Makes sense.


Want to see Jared Cook catch a lot of footballs?  Perfect.  Watch the pre-game portion of this video in it’s entirety.  Want to see him score a touchdown against his old team, and then eat a non-existent something with a spoon out of his glove?  You’re in the right place!

Kendall Langford. The Gentle Giant for Tiny Babies:  St. Louis Rams’ Official Site

St. Louis Rams Kendall Langford knows all about the importance of pre-game preparation. It’s his job. The premature birth of his daughter last spring wasn’t something he was ready to tackle. At times he still finds it difficult to discuss.

Special Teams Yielding Special Results:  St. Louis Rams’ Official Site

Holding court near the corner of the visitor’s locker room following the Rams’ 38-8 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, kicker Greg Zuerlein could only shake his head when recounting the exploits of the Rams’ special teams units on Sunday.

Clemens Holding His Own as Leader of Rams’ Offense:  St. Louis Rams’ Official Site
I think I’ve gotten more comfortable with each rep, both in practice and in games. Fortunately, we were able to get a win on Sunday. I think I’ve gotten more comfortable each week, and hopefully we can continue to make plays and be effective on offense.
Rams’ GM - Les Snead - Juggles Schedule:  St. Louis Post Dispatch

Like many coaches and executives in the NFL, Les Snead hates losing more than he enjoys winning. So tempting as it may be, he tries to avoid rooting for two teams every week. Namely the Rams and whoever Washington is playing.


In the NFL, it is (apparently) never too early to start talking about the next season, regardless of how far away that may be into the future. A perfect example of that is the 2014 NFL Mock Drafts that were being posted in April, before the 2013 rookies had even been fitted for shoulder pads and helmets. So, in the spirit of that, we thought we would jump on the prophesy-train and attempt to predict how the St. Louis Rams roster will look in 2014…


1)  Offensive Line Continuity,  2)  Zac Stacy’s Pass-Blocking,  3)  Changes in Pass Coverage and Personnel, and 4)  Maturity.  Click the link for further details.


One might think that a team coming off of a 38-8 drubbing of an opponent many had pegged as a dark horse to make it all the way to MetLife Stadium in February would want to keep rolling through opponents as quickly as possible. The St. Louis Rams were responsible for the aforementioned throttling in Week 10, but they have no problem with taking a week off following their best performance of the year.


Shane Gray - of ESPN 101 in St. Louis - provides his grades for each position [to include coaching] of the Rams’ most recent upset of the Colts.  Do his grades match that of your report card?


There’s not necessarily anything "new" to see here.  It appears Walt has pegged offensive tackle and Safety as the top positions of need for the Rams heading into next year’s draft.  One thing to note:  The destruction of the Colts has moved the Rams [not via Skins] pick outside the Top 10.  It apparently has little bearing on their selection, though.


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