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Random Ramsdom: December 7: St. Louis Rams - It Wasn't In The "Cards"

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It sure is getting tougher to write these...as the losses keep piling up.

By Frank "Dubs" Dobozy
/ new
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Twitter Talk

Once again, the Rams were in their throwbacks on Sunday. This tribute never grows old:

The whole relocation process is finally coming to a head...or is it?:

The letter sent by the NFL to representatives of St. Louis, San Diego and Oakland stadium proposals (or lack thereof), outlining the December 30 deadline and the time-frame for the next owners meetings:

All the best to Stedman and his family. You are all in our prayers:

Helluva hit by T.J. Unfortunately, he hit Janoris Jenkins instead of the WR:

Well, they better be coming up with some answers real soon, for ALL of us have many unanswered questions:

Peacock Making Last Minute Changes To Ensure Stadium Financing: 101 Sports ESPN

Last minute changes to the city's end of the stadium financing bill may be all that's needed to gain the approval of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.

NFL requests final proposals by December 30: Pro Football Talk

January 4, 2016. The date NFL teams can apply for relocation. January 12-13. The NFL owners meet to consider the applications. December 30, 2015. Finalized stadium proposal deadline.

2016 NFL Mock Draft: Walter Football

Walter Campbell updates his three round mock draft. The Rams select QB Connor Cook at #10, WR Demarcus Robinson and C Max Tuerk in the second round and OLB Eric Striker in the third round. I like the Cook selection and not much after it.

Defensive dip has fueled Ram's decline: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I have a couple of thoughts as to why the Rams' defensive performance has dipped. One. Injuries to key players: Chris Long, Robert Quinn, Trumaine Johnson and Alec Ogletree. Two. Time of possession. The Rams' defense is consistently on the field a minimum of 4 minutes per game more than it should be. It's about this time of the season where those minutes add up to an entire extra game on the field.

Draft Prospect Highlight Reel: QB - Connor Cook - Michigan State

Rams fall to Cardinals 27-3: St. Louis Rams Official Website

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

Rams coach Jeff Fisher says QB Case Keenum will start next Sunday: ESPN NFL Nation

Considering Nick Foles' struggles, the Rams could certainly do a lot worse than starting Keenum once again.

John Hekker up, Nick Foles, run defense down in Rams' loss: ESPN NFL Nation

Nick Wagoner takes us through the ups and downs of the Rams' loss to Arizona.

St. Louis football fans stay away in droves: Sporting News

A 4-8 record, accompanied by relocation headlines, is a sure-fire way to keep the fans away.

Stat Facts Of The Week: Toxic Differential

Toxic Differential Leaders
Team Turnover Differential Big Play Differential Toxic Differential
1 Carolina Panthers 16 32 48
2 Seattle Seahawks 5 28 33
3 Cincinnati Bengals 6 22 28
4 Minnesota Vikings 3 23 26
5 Buffalo Bills 3 18 21
6 Kansas City Chiefs 12 8 20
7 Pittsburgh Steelers 1 18 19
8 Green Bay Packers 6 6 12
9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 8 10
10 New England Patriots 6 4 10
11 St. Louis Rams 0 6 6
12 New York Jets 4 2 6
13 Philadelphia Eagles 0 6 6
14 Jacksonville Jaguars -6 10 4
15 Arizona Cardinals 2 2 4
16 Denver Broncos 0 1 1
17 Atlanta Falcons -3 2 -1
18 Baltimore Ravens -10 8 -2
19 Houston Texans 0 -4 -4
20 New York Giants 10 -16 -6
21 San Francisco 49ers -3 -3 -6
22 Chicago Bears -1 -11 -12
23 Oakland Raiders -1 -11 -12
24 Dallas Cowboys -12 -4 -16
25 Indianapolis Colts -5 -12 -17
26 New Orleans Saints -4 -19 -23
27 Tennessee Titans -7 -16 -23
28 Miami Dolphins -4 -20 -24
29 Detroit Lions -9 -16 -25
30 Washington Redskins -2 -25 -27
31 Cleveland Browns -3 -25 -28
32 San Diego Chargers -6 -22 -28

Through Week 12, the Rams were tied for 11th in the league in Toxic Differential (+6). The Rams have dropped from plus +15 to plus +6 in the last three games (all losses). The top ten teams in Toxic Differential sport a combined 73-37 record after Week 12. The Rams will once again drop in the Toxic Differential rankings after Sunday's terribly played loss to the Cardinals.

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."


Ten Takeaways from the Rams' 27-3 loss to the Cardinals: 101 Sports ESPN

Randy Karraker shares his thoughts and takes on the game between the Rams and Cardinals.

Stay or go, the Rams can't afford to keep Jeff Fisher: 101 Sports ESPN

Bernie Miklasz believes there's no legitimate reason to stay the course with Jeff Fisher as coach of the Rams.

The upset of the season: Sports Illustrated - MMQB

Peter King takes an in-depth look at the week that was in the NFL.

Jeff Fisher is "almost out of answers": ESPN NFL Nation

Could this mean the end for Jeff Fisher as coach of the Rams?

On This Day In Sports History

1985 - The 51st Heisman Trophy is awarded to Auburn RB Bo Jackson.

1963 - Instant replay makes its debut during an Army-Navy football game.

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
Chris Long Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website
Todd Gurley Post-Game Press Conference: St. Louis Rams Official Website

Fox Sports Director Martin Kilcoyne goes one on one with Coach Jeff Fisher after the Rams' loss to the Cardinals.

Following a 27-3 loss to Arizona at home in which Nick Foles started at QB, Rams coach Jeff Fisher says he’s going back to Case Keenum as his starter.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Post-Game Coverage

Rams Report Card: Most units flunk again

Jeff Gordon hands out his weekly game grades. They aren't pretty.

Big Red run roughshod over Rams

Jim Thomas shares his thoughts on the game between the Rams and Cardinals.

Rams keep hitting the repeat button

The reporters at his press conferences are running out of questions...and Coach Fisher is running out of answers to give them.

Dull, dull, dull down at the dome

As Jeff Gordon notes:

"If Kroenke gets his way and the Rams move to Los Angeles for next season, he should fire the whole football operation and start over in his new market. Even with LA starved for football, selling PSLs and premium seating for such a miserable product could prove difficult.."

St. Louis Rams Weekly Salary "Re-Cap"

The Rams have $2,615,317 in available salary cap space as of 11:00 pm, Sunday, December 6 (the 7th lowest total in the league). Please check here and here for my regular salary cap updates throughout the year.

CBS Sports Game Grades & Recap

Cardinals 27, Rams 3
A Carson Palmer kept his faint MVP hopes alive by throwing for 356 yards and two touchdowns. The biggest question for in this game for Arizona was whether or not David Johnson and Kerwynn Williams could fill-in for the injured Chris Johnson. The answer to that question is yes. The duo totaled 158 yards and a touchdown in the win. Overall, the Cardinals' 524 total yards was the most that Arizona has put up in a four quarter game since 1963, when the team was still in St. Louis (The Cards have topped 524 yards twice since then, but both games went to overtime).
F The Rams' quarterback situation has been a mess all season and really, the only reason to watch them this season has been to see Todd Gurley run and to see the Rams defense smash people. Sadly, neither of those things were watchable. Gurley only totaled 41 yards and the Rams defense was shredded for 524 yards, the second most yards St. Louis has given up since 1997. If that's not ugly enough, the Rams were also ugly on third down, converting only 1 of 12 attempts.

St. Louis Rams Current Roster & Depth Chart

The roster and depth chart are updated to include all transactions as of 11:00 pm, Sunday, December 6. The roster remained static this past week, a rarity for the Rams this season.

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
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 Zach Hocker
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
CB  Melvin White OT  Darrell Williams Reserve/Suspended
CB  Eric Patterson OG  Jamon Brown
RB  Malcolm Brown RB  Trey Watts
FB  Zach Laskey WR Stedman Bailey
TE  Justice Cunningham
WR Nick Toon
OG  David Arkin

Blast From The Past: R&B Monday: Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness

Please have a great Monday and a Ramtastic week!!

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