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Random Ramsdom: November 23: St. Louis Rams - Quoth The Ravens, Nevermore

A terrible, ugly loss by the Rams on Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens. Hope springs eternal though. 6 games left. The possibility of finishing 10-6 and vying for the playoffs. Likely? Nope. But that's why they play all 16 games on the schedule. Here's to 6-0 the rest of the way!!

By Frank "Dubs" Dobozy
Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Twitter Talk

Answer: He would undoubtedly be challenging Eric Dickerson's rookie rushing yards record:

The story of the Rams' offensive line this season in a nutshell:

If he can stay healthy, Aaron Donald will be in the Hall of Fame some day, mark my words:

ESPN's Nick Wagoner summed up the Rams-Ravens game perfectly:

Classy gesture, but it sure ain't his fault...this one (like most of them) is on the coaches and the offense:

Who followed concussion protocol on this play? The NFL? No. The Rams? No. I'm very angry about this...worried about Keenum's health and the fact the Rams might have lost this game because he wasn't taken out (he was sacked again two plays later and fumbled the ball, leading to the Ravens' winning field goal):

St. Louis comptroller to oppose stadium financing bill: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Darlene Green makes a lot of sense. The stadium financing plan currently in place IS fiscally irresponsible and could adversely affect the city's credit rating and funding in other important areas. Her suggestions/solutions? Creation of a state sports authority and working with regional businesses; both would make the project more feasible economically.

2016 NFL Mock Draft: Walter Football

Charlie Campbell updates his three round mock draft. The Rams select WR Michael Thomas in the first round, QB Cardale Jones and C Max Tuerk in the second round and OLB Jordan Jenkins in the third round. I like the Thomas pick, but the remaining selections leave a lot to be desired.

Compensatory Picks Can Now Be Traded: Over The Cap

Teams will be allowed to trade compensatory picks (for the first time) in the 2016 NFL Draft. Unfortunately for the Rams, my calculations suggest they will not be receiving any compensatory picks in 2016. The Rams had 4 players signed by other teams as Free Agents: Shaun Hill, Alex Carrington, Joe Barksdale and Mike Person. In turn, the Rams signed Nick Fairley, Akeem Ayers and Garrett Reynolds. Carrington's salary for 2015 is too low to be included in the top 32 (44 players were eligible for compensatory picks).

Breaking Down Josh Doctson And Laquon Treadwell: National Football Post

Greg Gabriel scouts a pair of wide receivers who should be of particular interest to the Rams in the upcoming NFL Draft in April. Treadwell currently sits atop my WR draft board and was the Rams' first round selection in my 2016 mock draft published last week.

The Implications Of Nick Foles' Contract Extension: Turf Show Times

ICYMI. On the weekend I took an in-depth look at Nick Foles' contract extension (signed in August) and the Rams' options going forward. If Case Keenum's performance against the Ravens is any indication, the Rams will likely keep Foles through 2016 (at least). They may very well be looking to move up in the 2016 NFL Draft to select a QB early in the first round.

Draft Prospect Highlight Reel: WR - Josh Doctson - TCU

Ravens, 49ers hit reset: Sports On Earth

How the mighty fall. On February 3, 2013, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. After Week 11 of the 2015 regular season, both teams are 3-7 and are unlikely to make the playoffs. What happened?

Handling of Keenum's concussion raises questions about NFL policy: CBS Sports

Keenum's concussion (and the handling of it) raises a whole host of questions:

"Why wasn't the game stopped? Why didn't Keenum come out of the game? Even if the Rams official spoke with Keenum and thought that he was fine, why didn't an NFL concussion spotter stop the game so Keenum could be examined off the field? Could a concussion test really be administered in 30 seconds? Did the Rams even give Keenum a concussion test?"

Issues between Rams' and Chargers' owners dampen potential for cooperation: Orange County Register

Rams owner Stan Kroenke isn't making many friends as the relocation saga continues. He might have made a couple of enemies along the way too, including San Diego owner Dean Spanos.

Nothing fresh about Fisher: Same old Rams, same old rants: 101 Sports ESPN

Bernie Miklasz (and many others) have said all this before:

"A slumberous offense. Ineffective, inept coaching. Mediocre (at best) quarterback play. Poor discipline. Too many hideous losses. Too many victories that slip away. Too many underachieving or flopping draft picks."

"Not enough playmakers. Not enough points: on the scoreboard or in the IQ."

Rams, NFL handling of a shaken Case Keenum was disgraceful: 101 Sports ESPN

As angry as I was over the handling of Case Keenum's concussion, that's nothing compared to how angry Bernie Miklasz appears to be.

The Rams lost because nobody stopped Case Keenum from playing with a concussion: SB Nation NFL

We'll never know if the Rams could have won the game against the Ravens if Case Keenum had been forced to stop playing. Keenum fumbled the ball two plays after being concussed. A terrible ending to a terrible day, both for Keenum and the Rams.

Rams refuse to win, instead drop ugly 16-13 loss to Ravens: ESPN NFL Nation

Nick Wagoner shares his initial thoughts on the Rams' loss to the Ravens. This was a game the Rams should have won. If only they could stop tripping over themselves.

Stat Facts Of The Week: Toxic Differential

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

Through Week 10, the Rams were tied for 7th in the league in Toxic Differential (+15). The other 9 teams in the top ten had a combined 56-26 record heading into Week 11. The Rams will likely take a drop in the rankings after their loss to the Ravens on Sunday.

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."


Aaron Donald up, offensive line down for Rams in loss: ESPN NFL Nation

Nick Wagoner takes us through the ups and downs of Sunday's game against Baltimore.

Rams find new ways to lose in defeat to Ravens: KMOV

4 fumbles doomed the Rams in the loss to the Ravens. The offense didn't make up for those turnovers:

"The Rams managed a mere 213 yards of total offense and had just 13 first downs while going 3-13 on third downs."

Learning curve steep for Rams' young O-Line: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Many obstacles get thrown in the way of a young offensive lineman's learning curve. Unfortunately for the Rams, season-ending injuries to Andrew Donnal (will be confirmed today), Darrell Williams and Jamon Brown have steepened many of their learning curves. As has the ongoing injury troubles of RT Rob Havenstein.

Drama Builds In Denver: Sports illustrated - MMQB

Peter King takes us through the week that was in the NFL.

Ravens top Rams on last-second field goal: St. Louis Rams Official Website

Rams Insider Myles Simmons recaps the game between the Rams and Ravens.

Blame for Rams' abysmal offense starts with Coach Jeff Fisher: ESPN

Leave it to Janoris Jenkins to throw in his two cents about the Rams' offensive woes:

"This can't be happening every week. Defense, we are playing great ball, man. All we are asking for is a little bit of help. We can't just keep losing like this."

On This Day In Sports History

1895 - The 4th Iron Bowl: Auburn defeats Alabama 48-0 in Tuscaloosa.

1904 - The 3rd Olympic Games close in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Pressers

Jeff Fisher Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
Tim McDonald Jr. Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
Todd Gurley Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
One-On-One With Lance Kendricks: St. Louis Rams Official Website
"This one really hurts" - Jeff Fisher On Rams Loss To The Ravens: 101 Sports ESPN

Charlie Marlowe of Fox 2 Now in St. Louis talked with Rams head coach Jeff Fisher after what Fisher called his most disappointing loss as the Rams head coach.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Post-Game Coverage

Rams lose another offensive lineman to injury

With Andrew Donnal likely done for the season after suffering a knee injury in Sunday's game, the Rams now have lost 4 offensive linemen to Injured Reserve: Donnal, Rodger Saffold, Jamon Brown and Darrell Williams. Plus Rob Havenstein still isn't healthy.

Rams Report Card for last-play loss to Ravens

Jeff Gordon hands out his weekly grades for the Rams' game against the Baltimore Ravens. The tight ends, secondary and defensive line all earned high marks. The rest of the team? Generally poor grades.

What a horrible display by the Rams

That it was...but it's only one game.

Another bitter Rams loss puts season on brink

James Laurinaitis was clearly upset about the loss to the Ravens:

"It just really hurts the way we gave it up in the fourth quarter like that defensively."

"Just the way it happened, and the fact that the whole game you feel like they can’t move the ball on you a lot. And then the fourth quarter. ... Yeah, this one hurts like none I can remember."

Rams fumble one away to Ravens

The Rams couldn't move the ball, couldn't hold onto the ball (4 lost fumbles) and couldn't hold on to a late 10 point lead. It all adds up to couldn't win.

St. Louis Rams Weekly Salary "Re-Cap"

The Rams have $2,681,346 in available salary cap space as of 11:00 pm, Sunday, November 22 (the 6th lowest total in the league). Please check here and here for my regular salary cap updates throughout the year.

CBS Sports Game Grades & Recap

Ravens 16, Rams 13
C- Nick Foles might not have been the answer in St. Louis, but it doesn't look like Case Keenum is either. The Rams almost had as many punts (8) as completions (12) on Sunday. The Rams had eight possessions that ended in four or less plays due to a punt or a turnover.
B- The Ravens season went from bad to worse against St. Louis, even though they won the game. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh announced after the game that Joe Flacco will miss the rest of the 2015 season with an ACL tear. In Flacco's final game of the year, he wasn't great, but he did engineer a huge comeback: The Ravens were trailing 13-3 in this game with under 12 minutes left.

St. Louis Rams Current Roster & Depth Chart

The Rams were forced to make numerous roster moves in the wake of season-ending injuries to OL Darrell Williams and Jamon Brown. The Rams signed a pair of OL to replace them (Eric Kush and Brian Folkerts) and promoted OT Isaiah Battle from the practice squad. DT Doug Worthington was released (and later added back to the practice squad). DE Gerald Rivers was released from the practice squad and replaced by OG David Arkin.

C Tim Barnes Demetrius Rhaney Eric Kush
RG Cody Wichmann Brian Folkerts
LG Garrett Reynolds
RT Rob Havenstein Andrew Donnal
LT Greg Robinson Isaiah Battle
TE Lance Kendricks Cory Harkey
TE Jared Cook Justice Cunningham
WR Tavon Austin Wes Welker Bradley Marquez
WR Kenny Britt Brian Quick
RB Tre Mason Benny Cunningham
RB Todd Gurley Chase Reynolds
QB Case Keenum Nick Foles 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 Matt Longacre
MLB James Laurinaitis Bryce Hager
OLB Mark Barron Daren Bates
OLB Akeem Ayers Cameron Lynch
CB Janoris Jenkins Marcus Roberson
CB Trumaine Johnson Lamarcus Joyner
SS Tim McDonald Jr. Maurice Alexander
FS Rodney McLeod Cody Davis Christian Bryant
Practice Squad Injured Reserve IR-Designated To Return
DT  Doug Worthington CB  E.J. Gaines OLB Alec Ogletree
DT  Louis Trinca-Pasat OG  Rodger Saffold
LB  Zack Hodges WR  Isiah Ferguson
LB  Matthew Wells OT  Darrell Williams Reserve/Suspended
CB  Melvin White OG  Jamon Brown
CB  Eric Patterson RB  Trey Watts
RB  Malcolm Brown WR Stedman Bailey
FB  Zach Laskey
WR Nick Toon
OG  David Arkin

Blast From The Past: Classic Rock Monday: Ten Years After - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

Please have a great Monday and a Ramtastic week!!

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