St. Louis Rams – Blog

Rams Working Through Injuries

- The Rams got back to work on Wednesday and began on field preparation for Sunday’s game against Seattle.

- On the injury front, there wasn’t much new to report. As expected, RB Steven Jackson was held out because of his groin injury. Spagnuolo indicated that Jackson was “improved” from earlier in the week but the Rams will continue to play it day to day with the goal of having him ready to play on Sunday regardless of practice reps this week.

- S Oshiomogho Atogwe also sat out the practice as his thigh injury continues to be a nuisance. The Rams will take a similar approach to Atogwe as Jackson in hopes of having him Sunday.

- WR Laurent Robinson (foot) and S Darian Stewart (hamstring) were also held out of the practice and are day to day.

- DT Clifton Ryan still hasn’t been cleared to go as he waits for word on his migraine headaches. Spagnuolo said doctors are still trying to figure out the root of the issue before Ryan is ready to return.

- TE Michael Hoomanawanui (ankle), TE Billy  Bajema (knee), LB Chris Chamberlain (knee) and DT Darell Scott (ankle) are status quo and did not practice.

- On the bright side, safety Craig Dahl was cleared from his concussion issues and returned to practice. He is still on a no contact order for practice but did most of the reps as the Rams don’t have a ton of contact in Wednesday drills. Dahl is wearing a visor to help protect him from brightness issues with the sun.

- RB Keith Toston made it through practice with his banged up shoulder and looked to be just fine.

- New addition RB Chauncey Washington also took part in his first practice and said he is adjusting to a different offense. He will be expected to contribute on special teams right away, though. He’s wearing No. 33, for the record.

- The Rams also officially brought back CB Kevin Dockery and placed CB Marquis Johnson on the practice squad. Dockery appears to be back to health from his previous hamstring injury.

- Indications are that John Greco will continue to work in at guard this week against the Seahawks. The Rams got a jolt from Greco, particularly in the running game against the Redskins. For his part, he says he’s happy to be healthy and contributing to the team in any way possible.

- Back tomorrow with notes from Thursday’s practice. As always, thanks for taking a look.

Total Team Effort Leads to Win

- When the Rams jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and promptly gave it back with a series of miscues in a second quarter in which nearly everything that could go awry did, the instant reaction of many had to be ‘Here we go again.’ But after two weeks of near misses, the Rams had enough of that old feeling and they surged to a win in a second half performance that was by far their most complete and could nearly be described as dominant.

- I’ll get to the particulars of all of that in a moment but let’s hit the injuries first.

- Clearly, the groin injury to RB Steven Jackson is the most concerning. He was pulled apart at the bottom of the pile in a second quarter collision and did not return to the game after testing it at halftime. Early indications are that there is no tear in the groin and that Jackson should be able to recover fairly quickly if that is indeed the case. Jackson will have an MRI to determine its severity in the morning.

- WR Dominique Curry doesn’t appear to be as fortunate. He suffered a knee injury that is believed to be a torn ACL. If that’s the case, he will miss the rest of the season. That hasn’t been determined fully yet and Curry will also be looked at further this evening.

- Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe battled a quad injury all week and it never loosened up though he played early in the game. He came out and did not finish the game. He’ll be monitored day to day.

- RB Keith Toston (shoulder), S Darian Stewart (quad) and DT Gary Gibson (ankle) suffered what appeared to be minor bumps and bruises though more information on those will be available tomorrow.

- As for the game, what can you say? It was like a movie that started with a great action scene, bogged down by bad acting and writing in the middle and ended with a terrific plot twist. After two weeks of near misses, the Rams learned how to win by falling short.

- In some ways, winning in this manner rather than by jumping to a lead and holding on to it will be better for the long term confidence of this football team. Not that beggars can choosers when it comes to winning but finding a way to get it done when things started turning against them could do wonders for a team as young and inexperienced as this one.

- Jackson gave the Rams a huge lift in the first quarter with his touchdown run. A thing of beauty and anyone wondering if his burst is still there shouldn’t wonder anymore.

- Kenneth Darby had his finest career performance and looked quick and decisive in replacing Jackson. What a lift he gave the Rams. And it should be noted that Toston fought for some hard yards as well.

- QB Sam Bradford is growing up right before our eyes. Tremendously poised and confident performance, especially in the second half when Jackson was out of the game. Some terrific throws and he made all of the right decisions.

- What a pickup WR Mark Clayton has been. He just makes play after play after play. It’s early but so far the deal for him looks like nothing less than a steal.

- Danny Amendola might be the toughest player in the league pound for pound. He finds a new way to get hit, spun around or body slammed every week and he pops right back up and makes another play.

- Nice job by TE Daniel Fells as well. He fought for some big extra yards after the catch and did a nice job blocking.

- Which, of course, leads me to my player of the game for this week: the offensive line. That group absolutely took over and imposed its will in the second half. John Greco worked in some at right guard, flopping in and out with Adam Goldberg and he added some punch in the running game. That’s the type of performance of a jelling offensive line.

- On the other side of the ball, it was a total defensive performance. Great work by that entire unit but a few plaudits are in order.

- He hasn’t quite been able to close the deal for a sack by DE Chris Long is regularly getting in the backfield and putting pressure on the quarterback. He did it again on Sunday.

- Cornerbacks Ron Bartell and Bradley Fletcher have been consistently good in coverage. Congrats to Fletcher on his first career interception.

- MLB James Laurinaitis was all over the place. He was a tackling machine as usual and was good in coverage, including a nice pass breakup in the first half.

- Some nice defensive statistics that made a big difference: the Redskins were 1-of-10 on third downs and 0-for-3 in the red zone. The Rams defense held their third straight opponent to 17 points or less. You can win a lot of games in the NFL with that type of production.

- Center Jason Brown awarded the game ball to coach Steve Spagnuolo for sticking with his team through thick and thin. Much deserved for the Rams’ leader.

- That’ll do it for tonight, Rams fans. The team has been given a “Victory Monday” and will be off tomorrow. But we’ll be here to put a bow on this one and wrap it up before moving on to Seattle week preparation. Have a good night and enjoy the win everybody.

Wrapping Up Oakland

- Welcome to this week’s edition of Wrapping Up. Let’s get down to business.

- The Rams took some more bumps and bruises this week that could limit the roster again this weekend against Washington. Coach Steve Spagnuolo gave the full injury report and it looked like this…

- TE Billy Bajema has a mild MCL sprain and is expected to miss two to four weeks. That injury is believed to be similar to the one suffered by safety James Butler.

- Fellow TE Daniel Fells also has an MCL injury though it’s not as serious and he’s going to be day to day this week.

- DT Darell Scott probably has the most serious ailment, suffering a high ankle sprain in the same category as the one suffered by TE Michael Hoomanawanui last week. He’s expected to miss some extended time with that injury.

- DT Clifton Ryan will have a second opinion on his migraine headache issues this week after he was unable to play against the Raiders. The Rams are hopeful everything will come back OK from that ailment, especially with Scott out this week. The Rams could bring DT Jermelle Cudjo back to the varsity if Ryan and Scott are both not likely to play.

- LB Chris Chamberlain (foot) and Hoomanawanui (ankle) are out of their casts and in walking boots. They are still a ways away from getting back on the field but that’s a good sign for each of their recoveries.

- CBs Kevin Dockery and Justin King are making progress and could both return to practice this week with King’s return more likely earlier in the week than Dockery.

- As for the game, Spagnuolo expressed his disappointment at many of the same things that he was upset with in the immediate aftermath of the game. The penalties, the Rams’ inability to run the ball in the second half and the Raiders’ success running in the second half were the main culprits, according to Spagnuolo.

- Spagnuolo also put the blame on himself and the coaching staff, saying the Rams need to be better prepared, especially in the second half and come out with the same energy and intensity they had in the first half.

- The biggest issue to Spagnuolo in terms of the inability to run the ball is how that correlates to an inability to convert on third down. The Rams were just two-of-10 on third down against the Raiders, mostly because they rarely found themselves in manageable third down situations.

- “The combination of not being able to convert on third down and not being effective in running the ball on first and second kind of did us in a little bit,” Spagnuolo said. ” I don’t think they did anything different. They did it a little bit better and we probably blocked a little better in the first than we did in the second. And here we are.”

- As for the penalties and mistakes that have plagued the Rams in the first two weeks, Spagnuolo says they’re doing everything they can to correct them…”We are in there knocking out the mistakes,” Spagnuolo said. “I talked to the team this morning about some of the things that happened that shouldn’t happen. But after that it’s on to the next game.”

- On further review of some of the calls that went against them, particularly the close personal fouls, Spagnuolo did not want to address. He did say that he wants to team to be “aggressive but smart.”

- Spagnuolo was asked directly about the possibility of the Rams making a trade for a wide receiver, particularly one from a West Coast team that is currently suspended. Spagnuolo had this to say in response: “Billy and I always talk about that (stuff). Usually today, this afternoon is where we sit down and evaluate where we are at with injuries and who is available and all those other things. So we will have that this afternoon.”

- On the topic of receivers, Spagnuolo indicated that rookie Mardy Gilyard is closer to being ready to contribute to the offense, saying he will “get involved” and complimenting Gilyard’s work as a gunner on special teams.

- In the final evaluation of QB Sam Bradford’s second NFL start, Spagnuolo said he was pretty pleased with the way the rookie fought through the struggles he had in the third quarter…”There were a couple of things in there obviously he needed to do better. But he knows that. All in all, the offense that took the ball from the minus 3, all the way down to the 5, that was pretty impressive for a bunch of young players. I was proud of the way Sam, after struggling a little bit in the third quarter, then all of a sudden putting that together and being able to score to put us in a position to have a chance.”

- Spagnuolo acknowledged Bradford’s comfort level in the no huddle offense at the end of the game, an area Bradford excelled at Oklahoma.

- On the other side of the ball, Spagnuolo was pleased with how rookie CB Jerome Murphy competed in his first NFL playing time as he worked extensively in the nickel position. While Murphy was targeted a lot by the Raiders, he battled and came up with an important interception to keep the Rams alive. For his first game, Spagnuolo thought Murphy did pretty well.

- Back on the injury front for a moment, the Rams seem to continue to get hit at the same positions over and over. Here’s the way things look right now at a few positions and how the Rams figure to go about handling the personnel at those spots:
DT: (Healthy) Fred Robbins, Gary Gibson.  (Hurt or sick) Clifton Ryan, Darell Scott – Should those two be out this week, Cudjo could get called back up from the practice squad to the active roster.
CB: (Healthy) Ron Bartell, Bradley Fletcher, Jerome Murphy, Marquis Johnson. (Banged up) Dockery, King – It appears the Rams are about to get King and Dockery back. That would perhaps allow Johnson to return to the practice squad and free a roster spot somewhere else.
TE: (Healthy) Darcy Johnson, Fendi Onobun. (Injured) Hoomanawanui, Bajema, Fells – Pending the way Fells responds to treatment this week, the Rams might again have a need at this position. For at least the next two weeks, Hoomanawanui and Bajema will be out and likely longer. Spagnuolo said Onobun still has some work to do to be ready to contribute so that could also factor into this equation.
S: (Healthy) Oshiomogho Atogwe, Darian Stewart. (Mostly healthy) James Butler. (Injured) Craig Dahl – It’s possible Dahl could recover from the concussion in time to play this week but the Rams won’t rush anyone back from a head injury. Butler stepped in for Dahl at the end of the Oakland game and appears to be slowly getting back into football shape. Spagnuolo indicated he’d be the top option to fill in for Dahl but it also remains to be seen if Butler is ready to take on a full workload, meaning another body could be brought in to help at safety or Stewart could see a more active role.

- That’s going to do it for this week. Back with updates throughout the week and don’t forget to send your questions to Nick’s Mailbag which goes down every Tuesday right here at 12:30. Thanks for stoppin’ by.

Rams Break Camp, Ready for Patriots

- The Rams brought the training camp portion of their schedule to an end Tuesday as they completed their final practice of this camp around 4:15.

- Coach Steve Spagnuolo rewarded one fan for his loyalty and persistent presence at the training camp practices, bringing the man they call “Coach” Jerry out of the stands to break down the huddle. Coach did so with his traditional “Get Low and Stick ‘Em” as the players joined him in his familiar refrain.

- And with that, the actual camp portion of the preseason is over. It was 27 practices and nearly a month of work but now the Rams will start focusing on getting into a regular season schedule. While there is still some work to do before an actual game week, things will settle in terms of meetings and the team will have more regular hours.

- On the injury front, the only addition Tuesday was for tackle Phil Trautwein. A teammate fell on his knee during the workout and he was unable to finish the practice. Trautwein had an MRI on Tuesday afternoon.

- Tight end Daniel Fells (hyperextended knee) and receiver Mardy Gilyard (illness) also were held out but are expected to travel with the team to New England.

- Spagnuolo said the first team offense would play the first half, including quarterback Sam Bradford. Running back Steven Jackson will likely be limited to a couple, maybe three series before calling it a night. Spagnuolo said it’s possible the first team could go into the third quarter depending on how many snaps each side gets in the first half.

- That will do it for today. Back tomorrow with a look at the Patriots. Tomorrow is a travel day leading into Thursday’s game. The Rams are back to practice on Saturday.

- Special thanks to all the fans who made it out to the Russell Training Center to watch practice and those that took the time to say hello. Hope to see you again down the line.