July 16th, 2014 
Mark Peterson 
Posted in This could be the quietest time of the year for NFL fans. Too quiet if you ask me. So let this sick Youtube video put the smile back on your face ‘Tavon Austin 2013 Rams Highlights’ Enjoy!!!
Go Rams!!!
Can You Smell It?
Photo of Zac Stacy
It’s beginning to smell a lot like Football Season. Everywhere you go… Yep OTAs are finishing up and training camp is just three weeks away. It seems like forever since I’ve seen a game. There have been some post NFL fillers (thank God). It was great to see someone other than the Heat win the NBA finals, we’ve had the World Cup (congrats to team USA for making it out of the group of death), and we have the MLB season now firmly underway. In between each of these has been the distant scent of football. Free agency and the 2014 Draft perked our nostrils. Well, the aroma may not have filled Rams fans’ nasal passages (because we engaged in little activity during either), but regardless we sniffed, we listened, and we breathed it in baby.
Ahh man, we are getting closer to the beginning of the upcoming and amazing 2014 NFL season (can you say “I love you football?”) In just a few weeks rookies will throw on shoulder pads for the first time in their professional careers. In just a few weeks reformed defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will begin his quest for redemption. In just a few weeks grown men will slap each other on their butt cheeks and no one will give it a second thought.
This coming season we’re going to have very tough offensive and defensive lines. I want to complain about a lot of things, but I know that if our lines are strong, a lot of good things can happen. And good things are going to happen in 2014. Go Rams… AHHHH@!!!!
2014 Rams – Ulterior Motives?
The Rams did very little in free agency and very little in the 2014 draft. Why? There are only a couple reasons why a team who hasn’t had a winning season in 10 years would bypass their only major avenues for improvement. The three reasons that come to mind are 1) a lack of money, 2) the belief your club is good enough as it is and 3) team ownership has ulterior motives.
1 Lack of money – according to Forbes the Rams reported $21M in operating for 2013. That means after all operating expenses were paid, Rams ownership walked away with a cool $21M profit. The Rams are making money so this is not the reason.
2 We are good enough – after a disappointing 2013 and after picking up mostly mediocre talent in the off season, could Rams management and coaching believe they’re sufficiently staffed to right this ship that’s been off course for so long? Well, Pro Football Focus has just ranked 2014 NFL rosters and if you think the Rams are ok, you’re not going to like what they had to say. Pro Football Focus ranked the Rams 31st out of 32 teams (only the Jaguars ranked lower). To make things crystal clear here is a quote from Pro Football Focus’ article published by ESPN ‘Ranking the rosters 1-32’
70.8 percent of the projected (Rams) starters’ grade out as average or worse, with the entire back seven from the defense fitting that description. Safeties T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod represent a starting pair that have graded out poorly so far, a stark contrast to the quality elsewhere in the division at the position.
Don’t fool yourselves; our team is not ok.
That only leaves us with…
3 Ownership has ulterior motives – my definition of ulterior motives is when operational decisions are driven by anything other than a pure desire to win. Now, if I was an owner and I was getting ready to move my team, there is a possibility I’d want to save some money. Rams owner Stan Kroenke recently purchased a large amount of property in LA, CA. Right now the city of Los Angeles has plans on the table for a $1 billion football stadium (according to Forbes). Did I mention the Rams can legally walk away from the Edward Jones Dome in 2015?
I don’t know if the Rams are moving (please don’t move to London), but the Rams are not singularly focused on winning. Where do we go from here? Well, we wait. We wait for unexpected talents to defy the odds and lead us to victory. We wait for the universe and the stars in the sky to align. And we wait for the time when Rams ownership is singularly focused on winning.
Go Rams!
Rams Sign Long Snapper
Rams sign (or resign) former long snapper Jorgen Hus. Hus played for the Rams during the 2013 preseason before being released. He was very recently picked up by the Seahawks (April 2014), but it was probably just to shake up their own long time snapper Clint Gresham. For whatever reason, Seattle released Hus in May and he is once again a St Louis Ram.
Hus stands 6-foot-1 and weighs in at 232 pounds. His collegiate career was spent at Canada’s University of Regina. Hus has gained a little notoriety via his Youtube trick snap video (check it out below).
Welcome to the team Hus. Go Rams!!!
Rams Draft Offensive Weapon (Kind of…)
Isn’t he a cute little guy? This is such a feel good draft. Why not draft someone who’s cute? We’ve been way to serious about this winning thing right (not that we’ve been winning, but we do talk about it a lot)? Since we didn’t draft someone with serious talent, a nice consolation is that his dad was part of De La Soul.
He’s small (5’8″), expected to have durability issues, doesn’t have much receiving experience, wasn’t expected to be a great fit in the Rams offense, but hey… he’s fast and ran over the SEC last year. So why not? Welcome aboard.
PS His name is Tre Mason. RB out of Auburn.
Go Rams!
Rams Make Solid First Round Draft Picks
Nothing crazy going on here. No high risk high reward scenarios to try and justify. Just a couple of solid old school football picks. The kind of picks that make you want to fire up your bbq, slap a couple steaks on the grill, and start thinking about football. With 2 picks in the first round (2 and 13) here’s what we got Rams fans:
#2
Greg Robinson – Auburn OT
- good run blocker
- fast for size
- versatile
- not injury prone
- no off-field issues
#13
Aaron Donald – Pittsburg DT
- fast
- durable
- great student of the game
- great pass rusher
- no off-field issues
These kind of picks are just what we need to help us get over the hump in 2014. Stay tuned Rams fans…
Rams Take Pitt Pass Rusher Aaron Donald with 13th Pick In Draft
The Rams got a pass rusher with the 13th pick in the draft, taking Pitt DT Aaron Donald. He stands 6’1, 285, and had an impressive run to the draft with an excellent combine. He’s now a member of the Rams.
Rams Select OT Greg Robinson w/ The Second Pick in the NFL Draft
Highlights breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson, who is the second overall pick in the draft, joining Jeff Fisher and the Rams.
