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Random Ramsdom: October 12: St. Louis Rams - Acme Packed

The Rams head into the bye week with a 2-3 record. Can they turn things around and still make a playoff run?

By Frank "Dubs" Dobozy
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Twitter Talk

Wishing Alec Ogletree a speedy recovery. Good to see him in fine spirits (and likely on morphine) right after the surgery:

That about sums up the offense in the game against Green Bay:

Let's hope they don't miss any significant time:

Rams Offense Trashes A Chance To Win In Green Bay: 101 Sports ESPN

Give Bernie Miklasz credit for summing up the game perfectly:

"The 24-10 loss to the Packers can be put at the feet of the Rams offensive line, at the right leg of kicker Greg Zuerlein, and on the right arm of QB Nick Foles. We could also put some blame in the hands of Rams’ receivers … but hell, they’d end up dropping it. The usual foolish pre-snap penalties were an issue again."

Rams' offense fails to capitalize on another strong defensive effort: ESPN NFL Nation

It should come as no surprise that the Rams' defense is keeping the team in games and has shown to be miles ahead of the offense.

Todd Gurley up, Nick Foles, Jeff Fisher down for Rams: ESPN NFL Nation

Nick Wagoner takes a look at the "ups" and "downs" of Sunday's game against the Packers.

Highlights: Todd Gurley at Packers: St. Louis Rams Official Website

A highlight-filled game versus the Packers for the Rams' rising star.

Draft Prospect Highlight Reel: CB - Vernon Hargreaves III - Florida

Stat Facts Of The Week: Toxic Differential

Toxic Differential Leaders
Team Turnover Differential Big Play Differential Toxic Differential
1 Carolina Panthers 8 16 24
2 Cincinnati Bengals 3 12 15
3 New York Giants 6 6 12
4 New York Jets 6 5 11
5 Green Bay Packers 4 6 10
6 Buffalo Bills 4 6 10
7 Pittsburgh Steelers 2 7 9
8 Arizona Cardinals 0 5 5
9 St. Louis Rams 2 3 5
10 Minnesota Vikings 4 1 5
11 Jacksonville Jaguars -1 6 5
12 Atlanta Falcons 6 -2 4
13 Philadelphia Eagles 1 3 4
14 Seattle Seahawks 1 3 4
15 Denver Broncos 5 -4 1
16 Chicago Bears -2 2 0
17 Tennessee Titans -2 1 -1
18 Baltimore Ravens -3 2 -1
19 New England Patriots 3 -5 -2
20 San Diego Chargers -2 0 -2
21 Kansas City Chiefs -4 1 -3
22 Dallas Cowboys -3 -1 -4
23 Washington Redskins -4 -3 -7
24 Detroit Lions -2 -6 -8
25 Cleveland Browns -3 -6 -9
26 San Francisco 49ers -5 -4 -9
27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers -4 -5 -9
28 Oakland Raiders 1 -13 -12
29 Houston Texans -6 -7 -13
30 Miami Dolphins -3 -11 -14
31 Indianapolis Colts -9 -5 -14
32 New Orleans Saints -3 -13 -16

Four weeks into the regular season, the Rams rank tied for 8th in the NFL in Toxic Differential (plus +5). After the big win against Arizona, the Rams' ranking rose from 13th to its current position. The biggest factor? The Rams did not commit a turnover against Arizona yet had three takeaways.

The expression "toxic differential" was coined by former NFL coach Brian Billick. Billick was head coach of the Baltimore Ravens for 9 seasons, and led them to a Super Bowl victory in the 2000 season.

From an article by Brian Billick for NFL.com in November, 2011:

"People are constantly looking for the right combination of stats to indicate the probable success of a team. What are the key factors to winning? Is it sacks, third-down conversions, first-down efficiency, the ability to run the ball and stop the run, total passing yards? All are important, but none are a precise indicator of success."

"Beginning in 1998, when I was the Vikings' offensive coordinator, I used a formula that I called the "toxic differential" as the best barometer for our team's success. Simply stated, the toxic differential is the correlation between turnovers and explosive plays."

It's Getting Weird In The NFL: Sports Illustrated - MMQB

Peter King recaps the week that was in the NFL.

Rams lose DE Long, OG Saffold to injuries in loss to Packers: Fox Sports

The injury toll is mounting. Let's hope both players make a speedy recovery over the bye week. More will likely be known today about the extent of their injuries.

Turnovers abound in 24-10 Green Bay win: Acme Packing Company - SB Nation

Our sister site's take on the game between the Rams and Packers.

Todd Gurley slams Clay Matthews: NFL.com

Now THAT's throwing a block to protect your quarterback!

Learning how to win in the trenches with Aaron Donald: Sports Illustrated MMQB

Donald is only in his second season and already he's become one of the most dominant forces in the NFL.

On This Day In Sports History

1992 - Washington Redskin WR Art Monk sets an NFL record with his 820th career reception.

1992 - Bret "Hitman" Hart defeats Ric Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight title.

1967 - The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Boston Red Sox 4 games to 3 to win the 64th World Series. Lou Brock steals a record 7 bases in one World Series.

The Pressers

Jeff Fisher Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
Nick Foles Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
Tavon Austin Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
Trumaine Johnson Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
Todd Gurley Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website

Rams coach Jeff Fisher says four interceptions and three missed field goals were the nail in the coffin for his team in the 24-10 loss to Green Bay.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Post-Game Coverage

Rams Report Card: Glaring Failure At QB

Jeff Gordon hands out his grades for the game against the Green Bay Packers.

Rams' hopes picked off by Packers

Jim Thomas shares his thoughts and recaps the game between the Rams and the Green Bay Packers.

Rams throw away chance to win

Rams QB Nick Foles had one of the worst outings you'll see in the NFL this year. You just can't win many games when your quarterback throws four interceptions. Poor pass protection by the offensive line also contributed to Foles' miserable day.

Gurley makes Rams dangerous

Todd Gurley has gained 305 yards on 49 carries in his first two starts for the Rams. More good things to follow.

Big plays sink secondary

Along with turnovers, a pair of big plays were deciding factors for the Rams in the game against Green Bay.

St. Louis Rams Weekly Salary "Re-Cap"

The Rams have $4,137,127 in available salary cap space as of 11:00 pm, Sunday, October 11 (the 11th lowest total in the league). Please check here and here for regular salary cap updates throughout the year.

St. Louis Rams Current Roster & Depth Chart

RB Trey Watts' roster exemption will expire on Tuesday. He will likely be added to the 53-man roster, with OLB Alec Ogletree being placed on Injured Reserve-Designated For Return.

C Tim Barnes Demetrius Rhaney
RG Rodger Saffold Garrett Reynolds
LG Jamon Brown Cody Wichmann
RT Rob Havenstein Andrew Donnal
LT Greg Robinson Darrell Williams
TE Lance Kendricks Cory Harkey
TE Jared Cook
WR Tavon Austin Brian Quick Bradley Marquez
WR Kenny Britt Stedman Bailey
RB Tre Mason Benny Cunningham
RB Todd Gurley Chase Reynolds
QB Nick Foles Case Keenum Sean Mannion
PK Greg Zuerlein
P John Hekker
LS Jake McQuaide
DT Aaron Donald Nick Fairley
DT Michael Brockers Ethan Westbrooks
DE Chris Long William Hayes
DE Robert Quinn Eugene Sims
MLB James Laurinaitis Bryce Hager
OLB Jo-Lonn Dunbar Daren Bates Alec Ogletree
OLB Akeem Ayers Cameron Lynch
CB Janoris Jenkins Marcus Roberson
CB Trumaine Johnson Lamarcus Joyner
SS T.J. McDonald Mark Barron Maurice Alexander
FS Rodney McLeod Cody Davis Christian Bryant
Practice Squad Roster Exemption Injured Reserve
DE  Matt Longacre RB  Trey Watts CB  E.J. Gaines
DT  Louis Trinca-Pasat WR  Isiah Ferguson
DT  Doug Worthington
CB  Melvin White
CB  Eric Patterson
RB  Malcolm Brown
FB  Zach Laskey
WR Nick Toon
TE  Justice Cunningham
OT  Isaiah Battle

Blast From The Past: Classic Rock Monday: Black Sabbath - N.I.B.

Please have a great Monday and a Ramtastic week!!

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