St.louis

via dy.snimg.com First off lets end this make or break year, crap. When Fisher got the job he said two things about Bradford. The top reason he took this job was because of Bradford and his potential and the belief around the league in the coaching circles that he could be one of the great ones. Last year (2011) has been erased and to him its like he is coming off his rookie season (now second season). Meaning in Fisher's eyes no regression has taken place. So in a nutshell what I am saying is Sam Bradford is not going anywhere for a long time. Now without further ado, lets begin. Sam Bradford has only "SEEMED" average, but the truth is he has not even been close to average. He was playing with scraps and seemed pretty good (average). Let me list some guys who are/were also considered average by a lot of analyst: Joe Flacco Andy Dalton Matt Schabb Eli Manning In Bradford’s 3 NFL season’s I have heard average come right before these players name countless times. Being average (also known as game managers) is not such a bad thing. Before I continue here is the list of elite’s: Tom Brady Aaron Rogers Peyton Manning Drew Brees Now, in Bradford’s 3 seasons the average QB’s may not have the eye popping numbers during the regular season but they are winning when it counts. The 4 average QB’s have a combined 9 playoff appearances out of a possible 11. And in those playoffs they have accumulated more playoff victories than the elites, as well as more Super Bowl rings (2-1). These are the QB’s Sam is being compared to??? That’s fine with me. BUT, no one wants to be average, everyone wants to be elite and win rings, which is what all 4 elite QB’s have done, just not all since Sam has been around. Here’s why I Believe Sam is elite. These average QB’s are being called average with much more to work with than Bradord. The talent around Sam has easily been in the bottom 5-7 teams since he got here. But yet he has still been "average" (average guys get rings). They say elite QB's can make an inferior supporting cast seem a lot better than they really are. Well correct me if I am wrong, but did his top two targets both just leave after getting two contracts, and both contracts were much more than originally projected for them? Both Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson were really short on talent. Go back and watch the Cowboys Hard Knocks from 2008. All the coaches kept talking about was how Danny is small, and if you're going to be small you have to have something to stand out. Albeit speed, routes, hands, DURABILITY, something!!! But, he had nothing. Aside from one game against the Texans that preseason he made no plays and ended up being apart of the final cuts. He was tough and worked hard but physically was not a pro, and made a ton of mental mistakes. It was the same exact scenario when he was with the Eagles. Speaking of the Eagles, that's also where Gibson came from. While he could make a really nice catch look easy at times, Gibson had skillet-hands. He also had zero YAC ability. He was not overly strong or quick, to make plays from brute force (Anquan Bolden), or just being quicker than fast (Mario Manningham). And that's not to say Amendola was some YAC master himself. His 8.81 yards per reception is the lowest average in NFL history by a wide receiver with at least 100 receptions. Meaning the more hyped WR between the two, and the one who got more money, happens to be the lesser talented one. But because Sam made him his go to guy and elevated his game it didn't appear that way. Amendola was on his last leg before Bradford, thanks in large part for being on Hard Knocks and the world seeing his flaws. And Gibson was viewed as nothing more around the league than a special teams and/or a 4th option at best. Now because Bradford elevated their play they have just signed two contracts with a combined worth over $40mil, and a combine

Memphis was only farm-club to win as the system went 1-3 W-L overall. Maikel Cleto tossed a 5-hitter through 6 innings of impressive scoreless work. Kolten Wong with another multi-hit game. Big southpaw Kevin Siegrist made his Triple-A debut in a brief relief stint. Memphis 7, Round Rock 0 Kolten Wong smacked three singles in 5 at bats and stolen his 5th bag of the season continuing to punish the ball when he makes contact. Wong is currently on a 10 game hit streak in that span he's hit .457/.500/.826 (21-for-46) with 3 HR's and 5 RBI's. Ryan Jackson hit an RBI single and walked. Brock Peterson was 2-5 with a double. Jermaine Curtis hit an RBI two sacker and walked. Rob Johnson was 3-4 with a home run and 3 RBI's. Maikel Cleto pitched 6 impressive shutout innings by only walking three and striking out 2. This is a very encouraging outing for Cleto whom threw 91 pitches-55 for strikes that's a good ratio for a guy desperate to find control. Kevin Siegrist pitched 2 scoreless innings while striking out 2 in his Triple-A debut. If Siegrist dominates Triple-A hitters like he did Double-A hitters you could see him in the big leagues before long if a need for a left handed specialist opens up. Eric Fornataro pitched a scoreless 9th in relief. Springfield 4, Frisco 5 Mike O'Neill singled twice. Seems like every night he contributes getting on base either walking more than once or singling to get on base what he does exceptionally well. Chris Swauger was 2-4 with a double. Xavier Scruggs hit an RBI double. Starlin Rodriguez went deep for the 4th time this season it was a 2-run shot. Nice to see him using that bat speed to hit for power. Gone. Starlin Rodriguez sends on into the jet stream, carrying over left-center. SgfCards down 5-4 bot4. #boatracin— Kary Booher (@karybooherNL) May 25, 2013 Jake Lemmerman hit a solo homer his 5th on the season. Seth Blair gave up 10 hits on 5 earned runs in 5 innings only walked 1 and struck out 5. The lone walk signifies he was around the plate often that's a good sign. Keith Butler remains to not be scored upon in 11 2/3 innings in Springfield after throwing a clean 9th. Palm Beach 2, Jupiter 5 Colin Walsh smacked in an RBI double. Stephen Piscotty recorded 2 hits (2B and 1B) in 4 at bats. Tyler Melling pitched 5 innings giving up 10 hits on 3 earned he walked 2 and struck out 2. Peoria 1, Kane County 8 Not much offense for Peoria as they were shut down by Missouri native Pierce Johnson drafted last year as a sandwich pick for the Cubs. Ildemaro Vargas was 2-4 with a double. Carson Kelly had the most productive Peoria hit in which was sac fly. Matthew Young the athletic outfielder in his full-season debut singled twice. Tyrell Jenkins reverted back to the Jenkins of old by pitching 5 innings giving up 5 hits on 4 runs (3 earned) walked 4 and struck out 4. Positive thing is Jenkins was still able to manage to induce 8 groundouts in this outing. Samuel Tuivailala pitched a scoreless frame struck out 1 batter.

Andrew Helmick, a record-setting receiver from nearby Lindenwood University, is hoping to make the most of his shot with the Rams.

After brief flashes as rookies, they hope to break out.

It's taken Adam Cracknell a while to prove that he has what it takes to stay at the NHL level, but the Blues have finally decided that he's a better asset with the NHL club than fighting for time in Chicago. The Blues, as per Jeremy Rutherford, have re-signed Cracknell to a one year, one way contract worth $600,000. Cracknell is the king of the one-year contract deal, never signing anything over that length of time. This is, though, his first career one way deal, and it's a nice payraise for someone who has been pretty consistent in his hard work. Cracknell played well this season with the Rivermen, scoring 17 goals and adding 15 assists in 50 games, but his best work came with the Blues. As part of the CPR line with Chris Porter and Ryan Reaves, the Blues' fourth line created chances through effort as much as they frustrated the opposition teams. Excited to be back with the Blues for next season.#longlivethenote. #greatzoo — Adam Cracknell (@ACracknell79) May 25, 2013

http://blog.stlouisrams.com/2013/05/24/rams-finish-third-ota/ The Rams were back on the practice field again Friday afternoon, going through the third OTA on the schedule. They’re nearly a third of the way through the OTA schedule already and now head off for a little bit of an extended break coinciding with the Memorial Day weekend. - From here, the Rams will not have any OTAs next week though there are some workouts scheduled. The next OTA is scheduled for June 3. The rest of the schedule includes OTAs on June 4, 6, 7, 11, 13 and 14. - Friday’s practice came under the sunshine after a somewhat chilly, overcast day on Thursday. - Feature story on RB Isaiah Pead is coming later today but here’s a quick quote from him that gives you an idea of where he is as he approaches a season full of opportunity for a Rams running back. “I look at it as an opportunity every day,” Pead said. “Whether it’s Steven being gone or somebody getting a question wrong and I get the question right. Every small opportunity that I can capture or see, I try to capture it. This one will be a bigger opportunity but I’m trying to capture it as if it was a small one.” - Had a chance to catch up with Swiss Army Knife D-lineman William Hayes for a bit today and I’ll have a story on him next week but he offered some insight into his decision to re-sign with the Rams. I’ll save the details but Hayes said he instructed his agent during the process to make a deal work with the Rams. Although he had plenty of interest from other teams and the chance for more money and even a potential starting job elsewhere, Hayes said he had no intention of going anywhere and he did what was necessary to stay in St. Louis. - As for today’s practice, let’s again issue the usual this is May and what happens now isn’t a big deal disclaimer that needs to go with unpadded practices. - If you couldn’t tell from the players talking about it, there’s an impossible to miss enthusiasm that permeates the practice field when the team is going through its work. Even DE Chris Long tweeted last night that so far this is the most fun he’s ever had in an OTA. He doesn’t appear to be alone in that. - QB Sam Bradford and WR Chris Givens had the long ball working today, connecting on at least a pair of deep passes in team drills. For the record, Givens has added muscle and appears to be better prepared for the rigors of playing and playing a lot. He made a diving catch on a deep ball in double coverage that went for about 45 yards. - From the Department of Redundancy Department: TE Jared Cook. He’s impossible to ignore when he’s on the field. - It’s clear from watching that the Rams intend to be more high octane offensively. Bradford discussed that possibility yesterday and it seemed it was very likely given the weapons that were added during the offseason. - That’s going to do it for today. - Thanks for reading and everyone enjoy your holiday weekend. http://blog.stlouisrams.com/2013/05/24/rams-finish-third-ota/ The Rams were back on the practice field again Friday afternoon, going through the third OTA on the schedule. They’re nearly a third of the way through the OTA schedule already and now head off for a little bit of an extended break coinciding with the Memorial Day weekend. - From here, the Rams will not have any OTAs next week though there are some workouts scheduled. The next OTA is scheduled for June 3. The rest of the schedule includes OTAs on June 4, 6, 7, 11, 13 and 14. - Friday’s practice came under the sunshine after a somewhat chilly, overcast day on Thursday. - Feature story on RB Isaiah Pead is coming later today but here’s a quick quote from him that gives you an idea of where he is as he approaches a season full of opportunity for a Rams running back. “I look at it as an opportunity every day,

I guess you could go back and watch the St. Louis Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV on VHS. Maybe there are DVDs of it floating around. Hell, it was the year 2000. But why do that when you can relive the experience in GIF format? Friend of TST Jeff Roman, @Jeff_underscore has done just that. He set up a Tumblr GIFing the Super Bowl. It's got all the plays you remember. God, that Hakim dropped pass still makes me wince. But then you see Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk and London Fletcher and, damn, if it doesn't just make your heart fill with that strange warm sensation. But wait, it gets better. Jeff has included some of the commercials. Bud Light was lame then too. My favorite was seeing the hey day of the early internet economy ... this wasn't too long before the first dot com bubble burst. And of course, there's Jeff Fisher, then the Titans head coach, in his mullet prime! via media.tumblr.com Go check it out.

May 14, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) looks on during organized team activities at the Cardinals Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Sports media has essentially crowned the NFC West the toughest, most dominate division in the NFL this coming season, which is hard to argue against. The big cliche surrounding the teams’ offseasons has been the “NFC West Arms Race,” started by the Seattle trade for Percy Harvin and the 49ers’ trade for Anquan Boldin, then inflamed by the Seahawks signing of every “big name” defensive end available in free agency. The Rams’ added their two cents with the acquisitions of Jake Long and Jared Cook, and the Cardinals tagged in with Carson Palmer. The fun didn’t stop there though, at least not for some teams, especially on offense. The Rams added the most explosive player in the 2013 NFL Draft class (Tavon Austin), then took the most productive receiver in college football last season (Stedman Bailey) a couple of rounds later. In less flashy fashion, the Cardinals took a chance on Ryan Swope late in the draft, soon after the 49ers’ stole Quinton Patton in the 4th round. So, with all of these changes, what do the NFC West offenses look like right now? With a little help from our friends over at OurLads.com, here are the updated depth charts, with a couple of projected changes, via Ramblin’ Fan. Note: CAPITALIZED name designate a new starter at that position from the team’s 2012 roster. This could be a new player or a returning player that either a) switched positions or b) moved up in the depth chart. Seattle Seahawks Position Name Quarterback Russell Wilson Running Back Marshawn Lunch Wide Receiver (No.1) Sydney Rice Wide Receiver (No.2) Golden Tate Wide Receiver (No.3) PERCY HARVIN Tight End Zach Miller Right Tackle Breno Giacomini Right Guard Paul McQuistan Center Max Unger Left Guard JAMES CARPENTER Left Tackle Russell Okung For Seattle, the offensive roster is relatively unchanged, with the exception of Percy Harvin as their slot receiver and utility back. James Carpenter has had trouble staying healthy since being selected 25th overall by the ‘Hawks back in 2011. He could be the final piece of the Seattle offense line if he can stay on the field. If there were any area of concern in their offense, it was likely the tight end spot, with Zach Miller failing to show the fluidity and pass catching ability he had in Oakland. Anthony McCoy was likely to have some chance at more reps this season, but was reported today to have torn his Achilles’ tendon. St. Louis Rams Position Name Quarterback Sam Bradford Running Back DARYL RICHARDSON Wide Receiver (No.1) BRIAN QUICK Wide Receiver (No.2) Chris Givens Wide Receiver (No.3) TAVON AUSTIN Tight End Lance Kendricks Right Tackle RODGER SAFFOLD Right Guard Harvey Dahl Center Scott Wells Left Guard BARRETT JONES Left Tackle JAKE LONG The Rams did an full make-over of the offensive roster this offseason, not only through free agency, but through the draft as well. The “starters” at both running back and wide receiver have yet to be determined, but we do know that it will not be Steven Jackson lining up in the backfield or Brandon Gibson lining up out wide. Daryl Richardon, Isaiah Pead, and 2013 draftee, Zac Stacy, should all have a legitimate shot at earning the lion’s share of reps, but that is anyone’s guess at this point. At receiver, Chris Givens and Tavon Austin are locks for a “starting role,” who will fill the slot left by the departing Gibson is still up in the air. Brian Quick is likely the favorite at this point in the offseason, but it would not be surprising to see Stedman Bailey penciled in at the No. 1 position come August. The offense line will look comple

Wide receiver rushed 72 times last season at West Virginia. Also: Bradford clicks with Cook.

Much has changed in the past year for Rams running back Isaiah Pead. A year ago at this time, Pead was in his Cincinnati apartment, waiting for Rams running backs coach Ben Sirmans to contact him ...