Random Ramsdom: March 21: Los Angeles Rams - All Quiet On The NFC Western Front

Twitter Talk

He's made plenty of money over the years. It's now time to go after the ring:

The #Patriots deal for DE Chris Long is 1-year, about $2M, source said. When he said he only cared about winning, he meant it.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2016

Here's to a healthy and productive 2016 for Rodger Saffold:

Rise n Grind

— Rodger Saffold (@Rodger_Saffold) March 18, 2016

We can only hope that Quinton Coples is one very hungry man:

Thankful and truly blessed to be apart of @RamsNFL Thank you all for the love and support shown. @RQuinn94 get back healthy and lets eat bra

— Quinton Coples (@QueCeasar) March 16, 2016

Higher taxes will impact Rams employees in move to Los Angeles: Sports Illustrated

Moving the Rams to Los Angeles is one thing. The higher state taxes and increased cost of living expenses are quite another. The impact will be felt throughout the Rams organization.

2016 NFL Mock Draft: Walter Football

Walt updates his 5 round mock draft. The Rams take WR Laquon Treadwell in the first round, TE Hunter Henry and LB/SS Su'a Cravens in the second round, QB Christian Hackenberg in the third round and CB Kevon Seymour in the fourth round. Notwithstanding the QB pick, I like this draft for the Rams.

Rams still must address needs on offense: ESPN NFL Nation

Will the Rams go into the 2016 regular season with the three-headed monster at the QB position? Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Brian Quick and Stedman Bailey (if he doesn't retire) are all Free Agents after the 2016 season. The Rams would do well to double-down on the position in the upcoming draft. Notwithstanding the re-signing of Cory Harkey, the Rams still have a glaring hole on the depth chart at Tight End. Are Tim Barnes and Demetrius Rhaney truly the answer at center? Make no mistake, there's plenty to sort out with this Rams offense.

PFF Draft Board 2.0: Pro Football Focus

PFF updates their top 100 NFL prospects draft board. More and more this draft is looking very strong on the defensive side of the ball and so-so on the offensive side. Not a good thing when most of the Rams' needs center on the offense.

Stedman Bailey seen working out at Rams Park: USA Today

I admire Bailey's courage and tenacity in working towards returning to the football field. Is it really in his long-term interests (health-wise) to do so? I'd hate to see him suffer a terrible concussion in a game and jeopardize his overall health as a result.

Draft Prospect Highlight Reel: LB/SS - Su'a Cravens - USC

2016 NFL Draft Position Rankings 2.0: NFL.com

Respected analyst Mike Mayock releases his updated positional rankings for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Rams aim to be out of St. Louis by end of next week: ESPN NFL Nation

It will take 30 tractor trailers to get Rams to LA: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

660,000 pounds of furniture, equipment, files, weights, footballs etc....plus one Lombardi trophy, are being loaded up and we will be headed out west by the end of next week.

Free Agency Grades: NFC West: NFL.com

Chris Wesseling doesn't think too highly of the Rams' moves in Free Agency to-date. In my estimation, he's being a little too harsh and doesn't know the team.

Can Sean Mannion be "next guy up" for the Rams?: Cover 32 Rams

Mannion is a bit of the mystery man on the Rams' depth chart. How does the team feel about Mannion's abilities heading into his second season in the league? Could he challenge for the starting role in 2016? Will the Rams draft another quarterback, muddying the picture even further?

Stat Facts Of The Week: Big Play Differential

Rank	Team	Plays	Big Plays	Rush	Pass	Big Play %	BPA	+/-
3	Seattle Seahawks	1,035	93	61	32	8.99%	51	42
4	Carolina Panthers	1,060	95	64	31	8.96%	61	34
1	Buffalo Bills	1,016	102	70	32	10.04%	73	29
13	Cincinnati Bengals	1,004	77	46	31	7.67%	52	25
2	Minnesota Vikings	973	91	64	27	9.35%	72	19
5	Pittsburgh Steelers	1,011	90	47	43	8.9%	71	19
22	Denver Broncos	1,056	73	46	27	6.91%	59	14
16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1,017	76	50	26	7.47%	64	12
6	Kansas City Chiefs	955	85	53	32	8.9%	74	11
10	Arizona Cardinals	1,041	85	50	35	8.17%	74	11
12	New York Jets	1,074	85	56	29	7.91%	74	11
15	New England Patriots	1,050	79	40	39	7.52%	73	6
26	Baltimore Ravens	1,083	70	38	32	6.46%	64	6
7	Green Bay Packers	1,056	92	53	39	8.71%	88	4
9	Jacksonville Jaguars	1,012	83	44	39	8.2%	80	3
8	St. Louis Rams	920	79	56	23	8.59%	78	1
20	Atlanta Falcons	1,073	75	48	27	6.99%	75	0
11	San Francisco 49ers	969	79	42	37	8.15%	81	-2
29	Houston Texans	1,127	71	43	28	6.3%	73	-2
23	Philadelphia Eagles	1,102	76	47	29	6.9%	84	-8
18	Chicago Bears	1,025	75	44	31	7.32%	84	-9
17	Dallas Cowboys	969	72	51	21	7.43%	82	-10
24	Oakland Raiders	1,008	67	33	34	6.65%	77	-10
21	New York Giants	1,053	73	39	34	6.93%	86	-13
14	Miami Dolphins	977	74	41	33	7.57%	93	-19
28	Detroit Lions	1,030	65	36	29	6.31%	85	-20
31	Tennessee Titans	976	59	33	26	6.05%	80	-21
25	Indianapolis Colts	1,052	70	37	33	6.65%	93	-23
19	New Orleans Saints	1,096	80	43	37	7.3%	104	-24
27	Cleveland Browns	1,042	66	40	26	6.33%	90	-24
30	Washington Redskins	1,011	63	32	31	6.23%	93	-30
32	San Diego Chargers	1,100	58	28	30	5.27%	90	-32

Big Play Differential is the difference between the number of big plays - running plays of 10+ yards plus passing plays of 25+ yards - an offense creates, and the number of big plays a defense allows. How important are big plays to a teams offense/defense? Last season, NFL teams averaged 0.8 points per drive without a big play, and 3.9 points per drive with at least one of them. The higher the big play +/- the better, as this shows the team more often generates big plays than gives them up.

For the 2015 regular season, the Rams ranked 16th in the league in Big Play Differential (+1), mostly thanks to the efforts of RB Todd Gurley, WR Tavon Austin and a stingy defense. The Rams were 7-2 in games with a positive Big Play Differential and 0-7 in games with a negative or even Big Play Differential. The Rams ran the fewest offensive plays in the NFL (920) and ranked 8th in the league in Big Play percentage (8.59%).

Rams lease office space in Agoura Hills: USA Today - Ramswire

The Rams have decided to temporarily set up headquarters in Agoura Hills, an hour plus drive from downtown Los Angeles. The logistics of the move are staggering, with over 25,000 items ticketed and on computerized lists.

Players who need to step it up: CBS Sports

Rams cornerback E. J. Gaines missed the entire 2015 season with a Lisfranc foot injury. Entering his third season with the Rams, Gaines will be counted on to replace the departed Janoris Jenkins.

Flipping Tables Podcast: Scout.com - LA Rams Report

Turf Show Times' Joe McAtee joins Cam Worrell and Josh Webb to talk about the Rams, the upcoming NFL Draft and the quarterback situation.

What needs to happen to ensure a playoff berth in 2016: isportsweb

The author suggests heavy use of Todd Gurley, playing with more consistency and taking more shots downfield are the keys to a winning season for the 2016 Los Angeles Rams.

L.A. Rams have no big holes on defensive line ahead of the NFL draft: Los Angeles Times

Just a hunch, but I envision the Rams drafting a defensive tackle with one of their top three picks in the upcoming draft.

On This Day In Sports History

1946 - Kenny Washington signs with the Rams, as the 1st African-American player in the NFL since 1933.

1961 - Art Modell purchases the Cleveland Browns for a then-record $3.925 million.

Should Rams truly be sold on Case Keenum: Ramblin' Fan

"While drafting a guy that can truly be the future of the franchise at the quarterback position would be an exciting move, is the decision to "settle" for the status quo in the short-term dooming the Rams to more seasons of mediocrity?"

Quinton Coples should have chance to reach his potential with Rams: ESPN NFL Nation

Nick Wagoner goes through his weekly Twitter mailbag on all things related to the Rams. I like the Coples signing. It's relatively low-risk, with the potential to pay decent dividends for the Rams, much like the Nick Fairley signing did last year.

Los Angeles Rams mock draft update: Ramblin' Fan

Speculation runs rampant at this time of the year in relation to what the Rams will do in the first round of the upcoming draft. The myriad of mock drafts run the gamut of possibilities for the Rams, everything from a MLB (Reggie Ragland) right through to trading up to Number 1 overall (and selecting a QB in the process). I'll be unleashing my 5th Rams mock draft later this week, with the Rams trading down into the early 20's. Stay tuned!

NFL Power Rankings: NFL.com

Elliot Harrison Shares his post-Free Agency Power Rankings. The Rams are way down at Number 27 in the rankings. In my estimation, that's about 7-8 places too low. Let's see how the draft and remainder of the offseason unfold before jumping to definitive conclusions.

NFL takes aim at sportsmanship issue: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"...there were 75 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties this past season league-wide. That’s significantly up from the average of 50 such penalties a year over the previous five NFL seasons."

If the new rule is passed, a player who receives two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a game will be automatically ejected.

4 suggestions for the new LA Rams: LA Observed

Going with throwback uniforms is easily the best suggestion of the four. No to Hard Knocks, RG3 and different London opponents.

On Ejections And Receptions: MMQB

Peter King takes us through the week that was (and the week coming up) in the NFL.

Quote Of The Week

From Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports:

"It's fairly telling that with winning teams like the Jets and Broncos without a starting quarterback right now, there is literally no buzz whatsoever about Nick Foles. It's like his play and that contract have made him toxic. You hear more rumbling about guys like Mike Glennon and Brian Hoyer than you do Foles."

Los Angeles Rams Weekly Salary "Re-Cap"

I haven't finalized the figures for the Rams' recent signing of DE Quinton Coples; nonetheless, the Rams have approximately $5.1 million in available salary cap space remaining to spend (with all additional 2016 financial obligations taken into consideration) as of 11:00 pm, Sunday March 20. I'll be publishing a complete salary cap update later in the week.

Los Angeles Rams Current Roster & Depth Chart

C	Tim Barnes	Demetrius Rhaney	Eric Kush
RG	Jamon Brown	Cody Wichmann	Brian Folkerts
LG	Rodger Saffold	Garrett Reynolds	David Arkin
RT	Rob Havenstein	Andrew Donnal
LT	Greg Robinson	Darrell Williams	Isaiah Battle
TE	Lance Kendricks	Cory Harkey	Justice Cunningham
WR	Tavon Austin	Stedman Bailey	Kain Colter
WR	Kenny Britt	Nick Toon	Isiah Ferguson
WR	Brian Quick	Bradley Marquez	Deon Long
RB	Tre Mason	Trey Watts	Malcolm Brown
RB	Todd Gurley	Benny Cunningham	Zach Laskey
QB	Case Keenum	Nick Foles	Sean Mannion
PK
P	John Hekker
LS	Jake McQuaide
DT	Aaron Donald	Doug Worthington	Louis Trinca-Pasat
DT	Michael Brockers	Ethan Westbrooks
DE	William Hayes	Eugene Sims
DE	Robert Quinn	Quinton Coples	Matt Longacre
MLB	Alec Ogletree	Bryce Hager
OLB	Mark Barron	Zack Hodges	Matthew Wells
OLB	Akeem Ayers	Cameron Lynch
CB	E.J. Gaines	Coty Sensabaugh	Marcus Roberson
CB	Trumaine Johnson	Lamarcus Joyner	Eric Patterson	Troy Hill
SS	Tim McDonald Jr.	Maurice Alexander
FS	Cody Davis	Christian Bryant
	65 Players Total

Blast From The Past: Classic Rock Monday: Led Zeppelin - You Shook Me

Please have a great Monday and a Ramtastic week!!