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Random Ramsdom: Rams Vs. Packers, NFL Preseason News, & Fox Sports 1

This should be enough to keep you occupied until it’s time to paint your face with Rams blue and gold.

By Brandon Bate
Doug Pensinger

It’s Game Day, folks. There's a full slate of NFL matchups in store for you this evening. The St. Louis Rams will host the Green Bay Packers at 8pm EST. In case you’ve missed anything leading up to this point, here’s all the news and notes you’ll need on Saturday morning.

Fox Sports 1 Makes It’s Debut: Fox Sports.com

 Look out Worldwide Leader! There’s a new multi-sport cable channel in town! "In the first 18 months of FOX Sports 1's launch, FOX Sports via your local FOX station, will carry NFL regular season games, playoffs and Super Bowl XLVIII, regular season MLB, the All-Star Game and World Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup races including the Daytona 500, Saturday night college football, the Big Ten and Pac-12 football championship games and big UFC cards." The channel kicked off early on Saturday morning….you can find your channel here.



The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' stud RB sustained a nasty blow to the dome on Friday night. In an effort to prevent Josh Freeman from being obliterated, Martin made fans - of the Bucs and Fantasy Football - cringe when a defender in pursuit put him on the turf with a super-knee. Fret not… he was cleared with brevity.


I’m not sure that this is news, but it’s good just having the team in the news. Jared Cook was brought to St. Louis - and compensated well - to catch balls and scores TD’s. We’ve heard about Sam Bradford building a solid rapport with Cook all throughout the preseason. It still sounds good…


You looked hungry for some more Jared Cook news. SI’s Peter King swung by Rams Camp recently, and he was more than impressed with the Rams’ TE. "I think the single-best player we saw on our tour was St. Louis tight end Jared Cook. What a catch radius. How he caught only 44 balls last year in Tennessee I’ll never know."


Senior Columnist - Pete Prisco - hasn’t necessarily held back his praise for the Rams heading into the 2013 season. It appears he’s not done. In this piece, he covers a lot of what he’s liked throughout the Rams’ 2013 offseason, and tops it off with the "There, I said it" section where he makes a few bold predictions.


Tom Brady, despite recently suffering a scary incident involving his knee, was nearly perfect in Friday night’s matchup against the Bucs. For those wondering about the state of his rapport with Danny Amendola…well it looked something like 6 catches for 71 yards, and a score. In other Patriots news, Tim Tebow sucks.


Along with an unfortunate Jo-Lonn Dunbar four-game suspension comes an opportunity for one of the Rams’ young OLB’s to make a name for himself. There are several "horses in the race," but rookies Ray Ray Armstrong, Darren Bates, and Jonathan Stewart find themselves jockeying for position for playing time besides James Laurinaitis. Place your bets!


As expected, the Rams’ starters saw only a glimpse of action in the opening preseason game, prior to taking a seat and watching other players attempt to catch the coaches eyes, and hopefully remain on the team past August 27th. The youngsters - and I use the term loosely, considering the entire team is young, will still see plenty of action, but so will the starters. According to Head Coach Jeff Fisher, "As a general rule they’re probably playing anywhere from six to 12, 14 plays more than they did last week."


Well, that didn’t take long. Austin went from being a great selection by the Rams, and an early candidate for ROTY, to being overvalued and potentially a "bust." Want to know why? Well, the San Francisco and Seattle defense’s, of course. Silly you for not knowing…

Five Things To Watch Vs. Green Bay: St. Louis Rams’ Official Site

As if there was a shortage of things to keep your eye on, the Rams’ official site highlights five aspects of the Rams game that you should tune into on Saturday night. The Running Back competition appears to be hotly contested…all while Daryl Richardson continues to impress. How will the safeties fair against one of the most potent passing attacks in the NFL? I could go on and on…

Mmmm…. More Vanilla: St. Louis Post Dispatch

ARE YOU READY TO SEE THE RAMS OPEN UP THE PLAYBOOK AND GO WILD ON THE FIELD?!? Well, then let me be the first to apologize. Brian Schottenheimer - the Rams’ Off. Coordinator - makes it pretty clear that he likes vanilla, and that’s what the Rams will be serving on Saturday night.


Ganaway always seems to be in discussion for playing time, and what he can bring to the team. His issue, though, is simply getting on the field and being handed the ball. He wants in on the action. The question will be how the coaching staff divides playing time up amongst himself, Benny Cunningham, and Chase Reynolds. It’s something to keep an eye on…


Ahh, breathe it in. There’s nothing like being awarded an honor in the NFL without playing a single snap. Even better…make a prediction that Tavon Austin will have a short career in the NFL. Because, you ask? I thought we went over this….because of the 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals defenses, silly!


Want a little bit of first-hand perspective of what’s going on at Rams Camp? Rams 101 has you covered. Chris Givens, as you might have suspected, is just as impressive in practice as he is in the games. He - along with a few of his counterparts - are making life difficult on the team’s DB’s.

I would understand if you wanted to know less about the Green Bay Packers. The last time the two teams faced off, the Packers left the Edward Jones Dome with a 30-20 win. Let’s face it, they’re good. As a Rams fan, I don’t care much for teams that are better than the Rams. Regardless, you should know what to expect this evening. Ramblin’ Fan has you covered.


You already know what you’ll be looking for in tonight’s matchup against the Packers. What will the the opposition be looking for from their squad?


Much like every other position on the team, the Rams are very young at WR. Two rookies and two sophomores are all vying for playing time. But don’t forget about the Rams’ grizzled veteran, Austin Pettis. At 25 years of age, Pettis thinks things are starting to click for himself and the Rams passing game. He’s had an impressive preseason. Where will he land on the depth chart?

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