bubbaramfan said:

TC to QB's are kinda like TC for ML pitchers, who try new stuff. A new slider, screwball of perfecting the curve. They try stuff they wouldn't do in a game that counts.

I went to a lot of TC sessions last year and Goff looked pretty damned good compared to '16. Yes he missed some throws, but he made a tom more than he missed.

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Well one thing that stands out in OTA to everybody is how he has been connecting on the deep throws, especially with Cooks compared to Watkins.

Akrasian said:

<cough>Herschel Walker </cough>

You have to know what you're doing to win such a trade - but then, you have to know what you're doing to win any trade.

As time goes by, I am more and more an advocate of getting a bunch of good picks, instead of a couple of firsts. As you say, you aren't going to get a player as good as who you traded, at least not without luck. However, the NFL is a team game, with 53 man rosters. If you keep enough good players, and then build depth around them with an eye for your system, you can keep winning for years - and especially in these days of salary cap, having depth is a very good thing, since it disappears so quickly otherwise. But teams that have quality backups all over can survive injuries, and can sign a player here and there, rather than paying a big star and filling in with whatever around him.

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Walker was one of the few very successful trades. It turned out that he wasn't all that good when not running behind the Cowboys OLine. JJ had to see something that he didn't like. So, in name it was a trade for a big star, but in reality? I don't think so. If the Rams had gotten Cornelius Bennett for Dickerson then it would have been more of an even trade.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/...lights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

New Jersey Legalizes Sports Betting
By Nick Corasaniti

Ending a more than eight-year odyssey to bring sports betting to New Jersey, Gov. Philip D. Murphy signed a bill on Monday that legalizes wagering, with gambling set to start on Thursday — just in time for the start of the World Cup.

For a law designed to restore some of the glitz and glamour to Atlantic City’s casinos, the governor’s bill signing was the opposite: a signature behind closed doors and a statement emailed to the news media.

“Today, we’re finally making the dream of legalized sports betting a reality for New Jersey,” Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, said in the statement. “It means that our casinos in Atlantic City and our racetracks throughout our state can attract new business and new fans, boosting their own long-term financial prospects. This is the right move for New Jersey and it will strengthen our economy.”

The last remaining hurdle standing between would-be bettors and, say, a 6-to-1 wager on Spain to win the World Cup, is the licensing process that is being expedited to get betting operations up and running as soon as possible.

Monmouth Park to begin accepting bets as early as Thursday.

Dennis A. Drazin, the operator of Monmouth Park who helped lead the charge to make sports betting legal in the Garden State, heralded the governor’s action as “a great day for New Jersey.”

“I look forward to the governor joining us at Monmouth Park Racetrack on Thursday morning to usher in a new era for New Jersey by placing the first bet,” Mr. Drazin said.

The Meadowlands Racetrack, which announced last week that it would be partnering with Betfair US for retail and online sports betting, is still weeks away from being able to offer sports betting because it needs to build venues and train employees. The state’s other racetrack in Freehold is also not ready to open for sports betting.

The casinos are governed by the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, which follows a process similar to the racing commission: It posts regulations, accepts applications and then distributes licenses.

The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa is the only casino that is prepared to immediately begin taking bets, transforming some betting windows at its horse-racing facility into a temporary sports-gambling site until a permanent venue is completed. Casino officials, however, would not specify when the Borgata would begin taking bets.

“We are moving ahead with all possible speed to begin accepting legal sports bets as soon as required regulatory approvals are in place,” said a statement from MGM Resorts International, which owns the Borgata.

Atlantic City’s six other casinos continue to prepare for sports betting. Some need to build space; others need a sports-book partner to help set up a gambling operation.

Those hoping to place bets online or through a mobile device will still have to wait to gamble: The legislation includes a clause stating that online sports betting cannot start within 30 days of the bill signing.

The establishment of sports betting in New Jersey has been years in the making as the state pursued a legal battle that culminated in last month’s landmark United States Supreme Court decision that overturned a law that effectively banned such gambling in most states.

The State Legislature passed the bill on Thursday, but no casino or racetrack could begin taking bets until the governor signed it, leading gamblers, sports-betting operators and some lawmakers to urge Mr. Murphy to move quickly.

Mr. Drazin had been hoping to start taking bets last Friday, in time for Game 4 of the National Basketball Association finals and the Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets.

A last-minute effort that amended the legislation by removing language that threatened punitive action against any operator that accepted wagers before the bill was signed into law was not enough to clear the way for gambling without Mr. Murphy’s signature. The governor held off signing the bill until Monday afternoon, saying that his office needed time to review the legislation for potential legal issues.

Mr. Murphy, a die-hard soccer fan who used to sit on the board of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and owns a majority stake in Sky Blue FC, a professional women’s soccer team, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker on Thursday at the East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City.

Mr. Murphy’s office would not divulge which team the governor might bet on Thursday at Monmouth Park, or even which sport. He could bet the lone New Jersey team — the Devils — to win the Stanley Cup in 2019 at odds that are about 80 to 1, or wager on the Jets or Giants, who play in New Jersey, as underdogs to win the Super Bowl. But if he bets the World Cup, which the United States failed to qualify for, Germany is a 4-to-1 favorite.

The Ramowl said:

"It's as if millions of bandwagon fans suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."

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Ramlock said:

The Earl Thomas whiff

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You can't blame Earl Thomas for that one.
He was rightfully scared and his eyes were closed as he said a little prayer.

Memento said:

Huge fan of Brockers. I think that he dominates this year because opponents are going to concentrate on Donald and Suh. Remember that Brockers had four sacks in his rookie year and five and a half his second year - and both of those years, we didn't have Donald.

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During those first two season MB had a excellent work mate in Kendall Langford. This duo was holding forth the middle of the Ram DL with outstanding results. In 2014 both these well balanced interior DL'ers started the season in the same fashion as they did in 2012-2013 but AD's arrival thru the draft effected both MB & KL. KL started the first four gms & was playing well but by the 5th gm Gregg Williams benched KL & moved MB out of the 3 tech position into the NT post & AD moved into MB starting post & into HOF.

MB stats took a nosedive with this move & his stats went into the AD collection. IMO MB took the back seat position to AD & did much of the heavy lifting for AD while AD got all the attention. At the end of the 2013 season before AD, MB racked up 38 solo's & 46 combo's with 5.5 sacks & 1 forced fumble that's a great season for a DT. MB had several seasons after AD where he only had 38 total tacks with 2 sacks as a whole for 2 seasons while his near 6-6 self was playing NT.

Last year with our new DC Wade changed his mind after the regular season started & in wk 2 moved MB out from the NT post to the DE post. The results were seen immediately. MB responded with his best season since AD's arrival with 39 solo's & 55 combo's & 4.5 sacks. I think that Wade “Released the Kraken!” & we haven't seen the best of MB yet!

I hold MB's value to this Ram defense very high & I do not think any less of him than I do of AD.:bow:

PressureD41 said:

Which cites in Cali do you recommend for a young family to live in, and which cities to run from?

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Lots of good people in California. Keep in mind a lot of the "phony" people that come to Southern California to act, or model, or through music get "discovered", do not represent a good core group of people. Unfortunately, as a result, there are still a lot of phony people.

The central valley, outer suburbs, and many parts of San Diego, Orange County, Northern California are great places to raise kids. We are in Placer County, just outside Sacramento. love it. But shhhh. Don't tell too many people.

Mackeyser said:

Books-a-Million?

Book buying ROAD TRIP!!!!

I can just see it... us having a ROD tailgate outside a Books-a-Million someplace surrounded by some very curious bystanders...

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I've never been to a Books-a-Million. I used to do Hastings and Half-Price Books, but they aren't convenient anymore.

I do mostly audiobooks now (except when I can get a signed Dresden Files book! So geeked about that).

Another great series (non-traditional fantasy) is the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Full of moral ambiguity, complicated plot lines, and hilarious dialogue. Best pure fantasy I think I've ever read. Urban fantasy is really where I'm interested right now though.

If anyone has recommendations for some good Urban fantasy, I'm all ears.

Yeah, if I had to get something besides a Honda, it'd be a Subaru.

When my eldest son was 8.5 months old, we were in a really bad car accident. It was April 10th, 1993 and we had a 1988 Honda Civic Hatchback...striped. No radio, no A/C, stick shift. We used to belt in a boombox in the back seat to have music. Luckily for us, it was the first econobox to have a monocoque body construction aka unibody construction.

Anyway, we were broke, but still found a way to pay for the top of the line Graco car seat, the first one ever with side headguards.

Well, we were on a rain-slicked highway in Allentown, PA when traffic stopped suddenly and the wife was barely able to stop and miss the car in front of us. The guy behind us was looking at his radio dial and didn't see any of it. He was driving this massive Oldsmobile or Pontiac and hit us going what the officer estimated was 55mph. He didn't really get to hit is brakes before hitting us.

Now, if you can imagine a car-seat in a hatchback... my son's head was less than 36" from the point of impact. And between the car and the car seat, he lived. He had a fractured skull and was paralyzed on his left side for 7 days. Many don't believe in miracles, but I DO. I sat with him in my arms in the ICU at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where they'd airlifted him to and prayed for healing because the next day they were going to insert a nasal feeding tube. I was so scared. I prayed maybe the hardest in my life... a few moments I picked my head up and the left side of his lips started moving! I screamed for the nurse who when she saw my son's face, immediately scrambled and handed me a bottle and he drank 4 ounces in what seemed like one gulp.

There are moments as a grown man that I've openly wept and I'm not at all embarrassed to admit it and this was one of those times.

He's fine. He's 25 and a blue belt in RMNU BJJ and maybe the most courageous person I've ever known. He's also high functioning autistic which almost certainly wasn't a function of the accident.

So the car... well, if that Honda hadn't utilized unibody construction, my son wouldn't be alive today. When I went to get our stuff out of the car (both me and my son were pried out of the car with the jaws of life and transported by ambulance, my wife staying with my son), the car was folded... the entire roof was bent, pitched upwards, meaning the car absorbed the impact all the way to the A pillars. From an engineering standpoint, those Honda engineers really got it right.

And... that's why in the last 3 years, our family has purchased 5 Hondas.

But if Honda ever did anything to ruin that (sorta like Toyota did a few years back really screwing millions of customers and seriously putting them all in danger), then I'd almost certainly go to Subaru.

I'm cheap which means I want value, value, value. Doesn't matter how much a car costs, per se, it matters what the TCO is... and both Hondas and Subarus have ridiculously low TCOs compared to other brands.

LoyalRam said:

Truly great article, Jake. I knew Coy Bacon's name, I am sorry to say, as an obscure user name at Rams Stalk...My full awareness came around 1973, after Coy was gone. Thank you for the article, I learned something.

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Of course man, thanks for reading!

DR RAM said:

Yes. Didn't he almost do two in one game?

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That 2nd kick, the 61 yarder outdoors in Minnesota, in the same game he drilled a 53 yarder at the last moment in regulation to send the game into OT (so yeah, a 61 and 53 yarder outdoors in the same game)

Lol, he missed 3 kicks that year and there were scalp hunters (established respectable core members mind you) passionately calling for us to replace him with Roberto Aquayo

Sad but true, funny thing is, i know who these guys are and ironically, they, to a man were on the Wentz (potato chip Wentz) wagon

Good times I tell ya, good times!

LesBaker said:

I think this is going to make the kickoff more important than it has ever been.

I know some people don't like it and think that the NFL is trying to get rid of this part of the game. IMO they just did the opposite because without running starts and wedges returners are going to have more space and lanes to run in.

They got two things done. They made it "safer", a little bit anyway, and more exciting. Now kickoffs won't be the most boring play of the game. Imagine what PCooper is going to do to coverage teams now that they don't have a jump on him..........

I'g glad to see this myself and won't be hitting the fridge during kickoffs.

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I just looked at the kicking field goals with the history. When I saw a college recorded I thought about tees,then kickoffs,& history.

I then remembered your topic line that I never opened & read.It got me thinking though about rule changes & effect of the game because of the Tee in college.

#1 question though was for the kicking team to kick it out of the end zone??

anyone ever remember Popular Mechanics , they always had like the best covers

Simply the best.....

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNU3aIJs88g

Woods was the 3rd fastest ball carrier in week 9 according to nextgen stats, clocking in at 20.43mph. Gurley was the 2nd and Watkins was the 4th.

That’s awesome Rhody!

My wife’s maternal grandmother still lives it up in her ‘90s. Never gave a crap about any of the 7 kids from 4 different men she had. Traumatized them with men and booze. Essentially prostitution.

As a result, my mother-in-law has lived a bi-polar existence. A bit better than her mother. My wife is heroic. Breaking generational cycles. An amazing, sacrificial mom. But she deals with her own issues.

I get the sentiment of these kids in their payback-obituary. Selfish, narcissistic parents can do generational harm. They are scum.

Nobody taught my wife how to be a great mom. Her models were horrible. But she chose love and chose to be a mom.

@fearsomefour made a great point. The opposite of love is indifference. Not hate. Choosing hate is like swallowing poison in order to get back at your enemy.

That is why it is best to do what is counter-intuitive and forgive. It frees us of destructive bitterness. Allows us to truly love. And is like heaping hot coals on our enemies lap.

Only love can change the hearts of man.

Akrasian said:

Did they get the financial seminar that they did under Fisher? It always seemed to me that was the real advantage of signing late - they couldn't blow their money until they had gotten a talk from players who blew all their signing bonus

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For all the deserved and undeserved criticism, player relations were a Fisher strength.

He did a lot of good for the franchise and it’s members.

As Les likes to say “great human being”

Great job on the podcast.

Roman Gabriel! I see him in my mind...memories of watching games with my Dad, a long time ago.

He’s right about Eddie Meador too; a deserving Hall of Famer. Still leads the Rams in career INT after 40 years.

Nice interview. Like @Ram65 mentions, I expect a lot of growth in this second season. And I think we will see a marked improvement with regards to game management, communication, and plenty of new and innovative offensive plays. If Goff is who a lot of us "Think" he is, we will see him take quiet command of this team this season. He made great strides last year, but I really think the best is yet to come.

I gotta echo the ESPN LA conversation.

Business travel takes me to SOCAL and I make a point of dialing it up for some Rams conversation...all having to wade through a lot of NBA crap and the aforementioned Meshawn running his yap.

Couldnt stand it.

Here’s to another choice!

nighttrain said:

i like Bryant to fill Cody Davis spot
train

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That was my thought as well. We discussed this more on the newest podcast too. It should be fun.

OldSchool said:

Gotta take care of Suh somehow right?

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Tano said:

Blue font man blue font

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I may have made the comment with my tongue firmly in cheek, but if Britt becomes a 'go-to-guy' he'll have one heck of a season...

Dang it....

Pens fan