Random Ramsdom: February 22: Los Angeles Rams - Black Friday

Twitter Talk

Class through and through...

After seven unforgettable seasons with the St. Louis Rams, I am saddened that my time with the… https://t.co/ekrLhHaNlO

— James Laurinaitis (@JLaurinaitis55) February 19, 2016

In my estimation, a pretty normal reaction to getting released:

Ah hell one beer turned into more than one.

— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 20, 2016

Quite the compliment from the Rams Hall of Famer:

I'm wishing @JOEL9ONE & @JLaurinaitis55 the best - get these boys back on the field! excellent ball players and even better teammates!! -JY

— Jack Youngblood (@theblood85) February 20, 2016

I like the idea of drafting MLB Reggie Ragland a lot better, keeping Ogletree and Barron on the outside (and/or returning Barron to safety):

Have mentioned this a few times this offseason but Rams hope is to move Alec Ogletree to MLB and re-sign Mark Barron to play WIL.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) February 19, 2016

"Rams want to extend younger players": Los Angeles Rams Official Website

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport shares his thoughts on the Rams' roster moves involving James Laurinaitis, Jared Cook and Chris Long.

2016 NFL Mock Draft: Walter Football

Walt updates his four round mock draft. The Rams select WR Laquon Treadwell in the first round, TE Hunter Henry and LB Su'a Cravens in the second round, QB Connor Cook in the third round and CB Kevon Seymour in the fourth round. Love the Treadwell and Henry picks.

2016 NFL Mock Draft 1.0: CBS Sports

Pete Prisco unleashes his first mock draft of the year. With the top three QB's gone (and WR Laquon Treadwell still available) the Rams select CB Eli Apple from Ohio State. Prisco predicates this pick on the possibility of the Rams losing both Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins in Free Agency. My feeling is the Rams will re-sign both of them.

Go Long: QB Outlooks For The Future: Sports On Earth

If you think the Rams' QB situation looks questionable for the coming season, imagine what it could look like in 2018.

Rams cleared cap space in order to keep their own: ESPN NFL Nation

Reminds me of the song "The Circle Of Life" from the movie "The Lion King".

Draft Prospect Highlight Reel: ILB - Reggie Ragland - Alabama

Free agency buyer's guide: Finding value on offense: NFL.com

TE Dwayne Allen, C Stefen Wisniewski and WR Reuben Randle top my list of reasonably priced Free Agents who would significantly improve the Rams' offense.

Rams CEO Kevin Demoff updates Free Agency, move to Los Angeles: The NFL In L.A.

Vincent Bonsignore spoke with Rams CEO Kevin Demoff on his radio show The Beast 980 Friday.

Rams vs. Seahawks: For A Few Dollars More: Turf Show Times

Why were James Laurinaitis, Chris Long and Jared Cook released by the Rams? I explored the reasons why in a late December article for Turf Show Times and cited the three players as potential cap casualties. When all is said and done, the production just didn't match up very well with the large salary cap hits of those three players. In my estimation, the Rams made some tough decisions here...and the correct ones.

Did the Rams just clear cap space to sign RG3 or Peyton Manning?: USA Today

Let's hope the answer is no to both. The Rams could definitely spend their money better elsewhere.

Rams still working to finalize Los Angeles plans: ESPN NFL Nation

It seems like only just yesterday that the NFL owners voted to allow the Rams to re-locate to Los Angeles. In a little more than a month, the Rams will pack up and head out west.

On This Day In Sports History

1980 - The USA defeat the USSR in Olympic Hockey by a score of 4-3, in a game commonly referred to as "The Miracle On Ice"

1967 - The sling-shot goal post and 6 foot-wide border around the field become standard in the NFL.

Stat Facts Of The Week: 2015 Failed Completions

Rk	Quarterback	Passes	Comp.	Failed	FC%	FC %ATT	Rk	ALEX	Rk
1	Cam Newton	494	296	44	14.9%	8.9%	1	1.4	3
2	Carson Palmer	532	342	52	15.2%	9.8%	2	2.1	1
3	Jameis Winston	533	312	60	19.2%	11.3%	3	0.5	6
4	Blake Bortles	603	355	69	19.4%	11.4%	4	0.3	8
5	Brian Hoyer	369	224	45	20.1%	12.2%	5	0.5	7
6	Andy Dalton	386	255	52	20.4%	13.5%	9	-0.2	13
7	Brock Osweiler	275	170	35	20.6%	12.7%	7	0.0	12
8	Marcus Mariota	368	230	49	21.3%	13.3%	8	0.1	11
9	Russell Wilson	481	329	71	21.6%	14.8%	12	-0.5	17
10	Ben Roethlisberger	469	320	70	21.9%	14.9%	14	1.5	2
11	Matt Ryan	614	407	90	22.1%	14.7%	11	-1.2	24
12	Andrew Luck	291	162	36	22.2%	12.4%	6	0.6	5
13	Matthew Stafford	592	398	90	22.6%	15.2%	15	-2.4	35
14	Tom Brady	621	402	96	23.9%	15.5%	18	-1.2	27
15	Philip Rivers	661	438	105	24.0%	15.9%	21	-2.0	33
16	Jay Cutler	482	311	75	24.1%	15.6%	19	-0.3	15
17	Ryan Fitzpatrick	562	335	81	24.2%	14.4%	10	0.3	9
18	Matt Hasselbeck	257	157	38	24.2%	14.8%	13	-1.2	26
19	Eli Manning	617	387	98	25.3%	15.9%	20	-0.8	18
Rk	Quarterback	Passes	Comp.	Failed	FC%	FC %ATT	Rk	ALEX	Rk
20	Derek Carr	572	350	91	26.0%	15.9%	22	-1.1	22
21	Drew Brees	626	429	113	26.3%	18.1%	27	-1.3	28
22	Johnny Manziel	222	129	34	26.4%	15.3%	17	-1.1	23
23	Kirk Cousins	543	379	100	26.4%	18.4%	29	-0.8	20
24	Ryan Mallett	242	136	37	27.2%	15.3%	16	-0.2	14
25	Aaron Rodgers	571	347	96	27.7%	16.8%	23	-0.8	19
26	Alex Smith	471	308	86	27.9%	18.3%	28	-2.4	36
27	Joe Flacco	409	266	76	28.6%	18.6%	30	-1.4	30
28	Ryan Tannehill	585	364	105	28.8%	17.9%	26	-0.5	16
29	Sam Bradford	531	346	100	28.9%	18.8%	31	-2.0	34
30	Josh McCown	292	186	55	29.6%	18.8%	32	-1.4	29
31	Tyrod Taylor	380	242	72	29.8%	18.9%	33	1.0	4
32	Peyton Manning	330	198	59	29.8%	17.9%	25	0.3	10
33	Colin Kaepernick	244	144	43	29.9%	17.6%	24	-0.8	21
34	Teddy Bridgewater	447	292	95	32.5%	21.3%	35	-1.6	32
35	Matt Cassel	202	119	39	32.8%	19.3%	34	-1.2	25
36	Blaine Gabbert	282	178	63	35.4%	22.3%	36	-2.6	37
37	Nick Foles	335	190	78	41.1%	23.3%	37	-1.5	31
-	2015 NFL Totals	18258	11534	2893	25.1%	15.8%	-	-0.6	-

From the February 18 Football Outsiders article "Failed Completions 2015":

"The Super Bowl is over, which means it is time to start cranking out stat studies from the previous season. One of the quickest categories we can analyze from the play-by-play data is failed completions. These are any complete passes that fail to gain 45 percent of needed yards on first down; 60 percent on second down; or 100 percent on third or fourth down."

Rams cut ties with mainstays Long, Laurinaitis: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

As James Laurinaitis told the Post-Dispatch in a phone interview Friday night:

"I didn’t see this one coming."

Round-by-round ranking of 2016's best NFL QB prospects: Pro Football Focus

For those who believe the Rams should draft a QB in the first round, PFF grades only 2 QB's (Jared Goff and Carson Wentz) for first round consideration.

Could Sam Bradford be an option for the Rams?: insidesocal.com

RG3? Sam Bradford? If the Rams sign either (not likely) the irony involved would be for the ages.

From Rotoworld, on what could happen with Trumaine Johnson this offseason:

"The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jim Thomas "heard earlier this offseason" the Rams might place the transition tag on free agent LCB Trumaine Johnson."

"The Rams' goal is a long-term deal with Johnson, but the transition tag could be a way for Los Angeles to secure Johnson's 2016 rights if a longer agreement can't be reached. Only 26, Johnson is coming off a monster season in which he recorded 17 pass breakups and seven interceptions while earning a top-20 cornerback grade among 118 qualifiers from Pro Football Focus."

LA Rams gain cap space at expense of popular players: Los Angeles Daily News

It's always a shock to see players released who us as fans have followed and cheered on for many years. The salary cap forces teams to make many difficult decisions each offseason. The business side of the NFL will always take precedence in personnel matters.

Prioritizing the Rams' many Free Agents: ESPN NFL Nation

Nick Wagoner has the priority list nailed in my estimation. His top five? Janoris Jenkins, Trumaine Johnson, Mark Barron, William Hayes and Rodney McLeod. The Rams will likely pull out all the stops to keep their defense intact.

Five Free Agent Targets For The Los Angeles Rams: Fansided - NFL Spin Zone

I would personally love to see the Rams sign C Stefen Wisniewski, TE Ladarius Green and WR Reuben Randle. None of the 5 would break the bank and all three would improve the Rams' offense.

Why did the Rams release Long, Laurinaitis and Cook?: NBC Sports

Mike Florio and Chris Canty explain why the Rams decided to cut ties with the three veterans.

Why The NFL Should Give Picks Back To Pats: Sports Illustrated - MMQB

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

More shocked by the release of Cook than Long and Laurinaitis??: 101 Sports ESPN

Los Angeles Rams Weekly Salary "Re-Cap"

Later this week, I'll be publishing my first 2016 Complete Rams Salary Cap Update of the year. It will include my estimation of how much salary cap space the Rams will have when the new league year (and Free Agency) opens on March 9. Stay tuned!

Los Angeles Rams Current Roster & Depth Chart

The updated roster reflects the recent addition of QB Kain Colter and the release of James Laurinaitis, Chris Long and Jared Cook on Friday. All players on the current roster are under contract until March 9, 2016.

Classic Rock Monday: Steely Dan - Black Friday

Please have a great Monday and a Ramtastic week!!