Meet your Turf Show Times writing staff!

As the Los Angeles Rams prepare to embark on the 2023 season with new names and faces that fans will come to get to know over the next few months, so too should you get familiar with some of the talented writers who will be covering the team here at Turf Show Times.

If there is a mission statement for how Turf Show Times has always covered the Rams and will continue to do so, it is: Stick to the truth.

For the first five years of Sean McVay’s tenure, it was easy to write complimentary articles and statements about the team because the team was consistently good-to-great. I am luckier than the previous site manager, Joe McAtee, because I didn’t have to cover the Jeff Fisher era. Or worse, Steve Spagnuolo.

But finally Rams media was challenged again with a difficult season in 2022 and we enter the age of uncertainty in 2023. Whether McVay shocks the world again, as he did in 2017, or L.A. simply looks to come out of the season alive and ready for another roster reload in 2024, I can guarantee that Turf Show Times will cover the Rams with truth, with fairness, and with comprehensive coverage at all angles.

Sometimes the truth hurts. Hopefully in the case of the 2023 L.A. Rams, it soothes.

This will be my fourth year of covering the Rams at Turf Show Times and as exciting as covering a Super Bowl champion was in 2021, I’m even more intrigued by what’s to come in 2023. Because truly nobody has any idea what to expect.

My favorite player on the Rams right now and of all-time is Aaron Donald because he’s the best defensive player I’ve ever seen. It could be that Deacon Jones or someone else in team history was even better, but I didn’t watch them. My pick for a breakout star this season is going to be the controversial selection of Tutu Atwell. He probably won’t finish the season with outstanding stats, but I think he will create many of L.A.’s top highlights of the year.

Now you can share your favorite Rams players, now and of all-time, as well as your pick for breakout player of 2023. Here’s our six member staff of Turf Show Times as we head into the preseason, and their answers.

JB Scott

What would you describe as your main area of interest as a football fan/writer?

I started writing for TST because I am an avid sports reader and Rams media consumer, and I felt there were storylines pertaining to the team that went underreported. I like to run contrary to the regular news cycle and bring Rams fans angles they can’t get anywhere else.

Who is your favorite Rams player of all-time?

OJ Atogwe

Who is your favorite Rams player of right now?

Sean McVay, if coaches count

Who is your pick for the top breakout Rams player in 2023?

Quentin Lake, DB

The latest from JB Scott: By drafting Zach Evans, Rams are contributing to RB pay disparity

Blaine Grisak

1. I would say my main area of interest as both a fan and a writer is the draft. The Draft has become such a big event. I love studying the players coming out and finding their fits, learning why certain players succeed and other bust, and analyzing the different approaches teams take during the draft. Every team has hope after the draft which is part of what makes it so exciting.

2. My favorite player of all-time is definitely Kurt Warner. Warner is the reason that I started following the Rams and it’s hard not to love his story on how he got to the NFL. He was a big reason that the Rams won their first Super Bowl. Steven Jackson is a close number 2, though!

3. Right now, my favorite player is probably Cooper Kupp. He’s not the biggest or fastest player, but the amount of work that he puts in makes him one of the best. As someone who watches Big Sky Conference football, I loved Kupp coming out of the draft and glad he’s on the Rams.

4. This is tough because there are so many candidates. I may have to go with Ernest Jones here. He was ready to take that next step last year before the Rams signed Bobby Wagner. He’s now had a year to learn under one of the best. I’m expecting a really big year out of Jones.

The latest from Blaine: Who has an early lead in Rams position battles after first two days of training camp?

Venie Randy Soares

#1) I’m a huge fan of the draft process and build a board every year. Although I do rank the top prospects, I don’t spend much time on them. I prefer digging through the mid and lower tier prospects for possible value. Part of that reason is the Rams haven’t had any Round 1 picks in awhile. I may change my protocols for 2024, unless Trader Les deals it away. LOL.

#2) For an old buzzard like me that takes a lot of players into account. I guess Marshall Faulk, gotta love his dual threat skills. When I was a kid, I had a Wille Ellison jersey, not an official one, a blue on white #33, likely a Kmart knockoff. Another old-timer story. My grandfather did not speak or write English and the only sports he enjoyed were boxing, bull fighting and pro wrestling. We had a handful of relatives that moved out of the boonies into SoCal, when we’d go to visit we always would go to the Olympic Auditorium downtown for boxing or wrestling. By chance one night, Rams linemen Joe Carrollo and Joe Schibelli were on the wrestling undercard, battling a couple of tomato cans whose name I cannot recall. Anyway they won, putting the tomato cans in the corner against the turnbuckle and working them like a blocking sled. The crowd roared. We ran down after the match and got their autographs. Hot times in the big city.

#3) Cooper Kupp, he plays the game old school. It would be easy to say the great Aaron Donald, but I was around when Deacon Jones ruled. They cancel each other out.

#4) Cam Akers appears on the cusp. Plus I love a great backstory and his is that. He’s another old school player, his hard work and toughness accentuates God-given talents.

Latest from Randy: For Rams defense to survive, this edge rusher needs to step up in year 4

Jason Dalessanndro

What would you describe as your main area of interest as a football fan/writer (i.e. “Draft” “Xs and Os” “Analytics”)? Xs and Os and Cap management/player movement

Who is your favorite Rams player of all-time? Kurt Warner

Who is your favorite Rams player of right now? Cooper Kupp

Who is your pick for the top breakout Rams player in 2023? Kobie Turner

Latest from Jason: Rams rookie Stetson Bennett standing out early in training camp

Evan Craig

What would you describe as your main area of interest as a football fan/writer?

A: What got me into football is seeing other fans’ perspectives of their teams. Everyone has their own opinions and feelings on their favorite squads and that is so fascinating for me. That is why doing the 5Qs and 5As throughout the season is such a pleasure to do. I also enjoy breaking down particular coaching decisions from game to game while not strictly limiting myself to Xs and Os. There’s usually a method to the madness and I like to break it all down the best way an armchair QB/coach possibly can.

Who is your favorite Rams player of all-time?

A: All-time I’d have to go Kurt Warner. I’m a sucker for an underdog story and his happens to be the greatest in league history.

Who is your favorite Rams player of right now?

A: As much as I love Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford is my favorite player on the team. I always rooted for him while he was in Detroit and seeing him finally have success his first year in LA was unbelievable. He was long overdue for a ring.

Who is your pick for the top breakout Rams player in 2023?

A: As much as I’m rooting for Tutu and Cam to live up to their hype, I’ll go the semi safe route and choose Van Jefferson. He had a sneaky underrated season back in 2021 alongside Kupp’s historic campaign. With no proven WR2, it’s time for Jefferson to show exactly what he’s made of.

Latest from Evan: Lance McCutcheon is fighting for his NFL career at training camp

Danny Stone

What would you describe as your main area of interest as a football fan/writer (i.e. “Draft” “Xs and Os” “Analytics”)?

I enjoy getting to write about a sport that I love and a team that I am obsessed with. It’s fun to share ideas, hear from others, and write about Los Angeles Rams football!

Who is your favorite Rams player of all-time?

Marc Bulger

Who is your favorite Rams player of right now?

I guess Cooper Kupp is what I’ll say but I mean I feel like it should be Aaron Donald. Tough to say. Both?

Who is your pick for the top breakout Rams player in 2023?

What if this year is a disaster and no one breaks out? Tutu Atwell. I want to see him pan out.

Latest from Danny: Kyle Shanahan considered signing Philip Rivers during playoffs last year

If you have any interest in joining the Turf Show Times writing staff in the future, please submit your information here and the next time we are looking, I’ll go through those submissions.