Around the Horns: 3/1
Julio Jones to St. Louis?
Despite going No. 14 to St. Louis on a lot of NFL mock draft boards, I think it’s possible Alabama WR Julio Jones won’t be available for the Rams to take come draft day. Especially after his outstanding performance at the combine which Ryan Braun of the Bleacher Report breaks down. I think it’s unlikely Jones falls to No. 14, but if he does, you can bet the Rams will grab him.
Atogwe cut, where to next?
Free agent safety Ohiomogho Atogwe was cut by the St. Louis Rams earlier in February after six solid seasons with the team. By cutting Atogwe, the Rams wanted to avoid paying him an $8 million bonus. It’s unclear what’s the next jersey we’ll see the safety in next, but it’s believed he’s a great fit for the Washington Redskins, just one of the teams the free agent has meet with thus far, but no deal has been signed.
Leshoure to STL? Possible, but not likely.
The six-foot 227 pound running back out of Illinois isn’t as tall, or as heavy as Steven Jackson. However, if you ask Mikel Leshoure which NFL running back he reminds himself of, that’s who he say. ”He’s a big guy but he’s very versatile. He shows good hands, and he shows toughness, and he plays through injuries. I feel like I can do all of those things and hopefully have a career like he has so far.” The Rams have made it no secret they could add a running back in the draft to compliment Jackson. I believe there’s a chance for Leshoure to be the next Steven Jackson in the NFL, but it’s doubtful in St. Louis. Jim Thomas has more on stltoday.com
Around the Horns – 12/29
Rams Ready for Primetime
It’s been a long time since the St. Louis Rams have played on the big stage. This is the first time in primetime since a Thursday night appearance on NFL Network against Pittsburgh on Dec. 20, 2007.
Taking it a step further, with the Rams-Seahawks game flexed to NBC Sunday Night Football, the Rams will be appearing on a National Network (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) game for the first time since Monday Night Football against Indianapolis back on Oct. 17, 2005.
Oh yeah, what’s more strange is if St. Louis wins… there in… the playoffs. Playoffs? Yeah Jim Mora, playoffs! Last year we all just hoped we could win a game, this year we’re talking about playoffs!
Bradford by the Numbers
Wins: 7 Most wins by a rookie QB drafted No. 1 overall (since 1970)
Completed Passes: 335 All-Time Rookie Leader
Passing Yards: 382 Yards away from tying Peyton Manning’s record of 3,739 as a rookie
Hoomanawanui’s Return?
Tight end Mike Hoomanawanui is expected to practice on a limited basis Wednesday as the St. Louis Rams attempt to get the rookie receiving threat ready for this week’s game at Seattle for the NFC West title.
Hommanawanui has 13 catches for an 11.2-yard average and three TDs after missing the first four games of the season with a high left ankle sprain. Hoomanawanui missed the last four games with a high right ankle sprain.
Jackson Headed for Pro Bowl
“I’m elated to be named to the Pro Bowl,” Steven Jackson said in an article posted on the team’s website Tuesday. “It’s a tremendous honor that has come through a lot of hard work by myself, my teammates and my coaches. I’ll be at the Pro Bowl and I’ll be proudly representing St. Louis.”
Jackson has 1,196 rushing yards through 16 games. This is his 6th straight season over 1,000 yards rushing.
Idle Rams Move to 1st Place in NFC West
NFC West Week 9 Results:
- St. Louis Rams (4-4) Bye
- Seattle Seahawks (4-4) L, 41-7
- Arizona Cardinals (3-5) L, 27-24 OT
- San Francisco 49ers (2-6) Bye
The NFC West is certainly the most wide-open division in the NFL. It’s really anybodies guess who will win at this point in the season. All four teams still have a shot at winning the west, but out of the four choices St. Louis is a logical pick. Throw last year’s 1-15 season out the window. The defense is playing extremely well, and Sam Bradford has the offense running smoothly. It doesn’t matter what the Rams did last season, this team is looking ahead. What they see are the 49ers in week 10.
We should know a bit more about the West after next week’s divisional match-ups.
- Seattle @ Arizona
- St. Louis @ San Francisco
San Fran will go to QB Troy Smith who started in the week 9 vs. Denver. St. Louis is looking for their first road win of the season. If they defeat the 49ers, the Rams will be above .500 for the first time since 2006 when they were 4-3 after week 8.
Steven Jackson is Ram Tough
My apologies for the corny line, but it’s true. SJ39 is as tough as they come in the NFL. Steven Jackson figures he might have to play one-handed a few more weeks, even after the St. Louis Rams’ bye. As R.B. Fallstrom for the Associated Press reports, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Last week, just six days after surgery to insert two pins into a broken left index finger, Steven Jackson carried the ball exclusively in his right hand–something is typically used to doing. Jackson had 59 yards on 23 carries against Carolina and made a one-handed grab for 4 yards. The rushing total was 1 yard above his season worst, although the 58-yard game came in only 10 carries before he hurt the groin in Week 3. (more…)
Rams Pass On Randy Moss
Despite a beat up receiving group, the St. Louis Rams decided the talented wide out wasn’t worth the trouble, and didn’t put a claim in for WR Randy Moss. They weren’t alone. 20 other teams passed on Randy before he was claimed by the Tennessee Titans.
In fact, Tennessee was the only team to put a claim in for Randy Moss.
No Moss, No Problem for St. Louis. Steven Jackson said, “We’re not going to lose any sleep over it.”
Was the character issue part of that consideration?
“It all goes into it,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said earlier Wednesday. “We factor everything. We do that with every guy we talk about adding to the team.”
Said general manager Billy Daveny: “I can’t go into everything, I can say this: We spent the last three days . . . that’s all we’ve been doing, researching this. We just came to the conclusion a couple of hours ago . . . this is the direction we’re going to go in.
“We were tempted because of the talent level . . . (But) we’ve won a couple of games with this group of receivers. They do a lot of the grunt work. They help Steven Jackson in the run game. Sam Bradford is comfortable with them.”
That was a nice way of putting it. Of course the Rams would welcome the talent level Randy would bring. Let’s not kid ourselves. The character issue had a lot to do with the Rams passing on Moss. Of course, his salary isn’t cheap either and at 33 he isn’t what he once was. I’m sure that was also a part of the decision, but it’s obvious for the Rams–and all the other teams–(excluding Tennessee) the off-the-field risks, weren’t worth the on-the-field rewards. I guess we’ll let the Titans be the judge of that.
