Jericho, an apocalypse with a twist, i like it and still watching first of two seasons
train

Had it done yesterday and it took away over 50 gigabytes of RAM.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-...ter-updating-to-windows-10-april-2018-update/

Using the link above I got back about half of it but honestly WTH? Anyone else come across this?

At least it shouldn't be hard to sign our draft picks.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-draft-recap-2018-rams

PFF 2018 NFL Draft Recap - Los Angeles Rams
BY PFF ANALYSIS TEAM

Mar 14, 2018; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo participates in drills during Pro Day at Everestt Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Though the Los Angeles Rams’ brass traded away significant draft capital to bring in some highly regarded veterans (i.e. Brandin Cooks, Marcus Peters) this offseason, general manager Les Snead and his team still walked away from the 2018 NFL Draft with valuable additions on Days 2 and 3.

Former TCU offensive tackle Joseph Noteboom, the Rams’ only pick on Day 2 of the draft, ranked 16th among qualifying draft-eligible offensive tackles in pass-blocking efficiency (97.9) and earned an 88.0 pass-rush grade in 2017. Where he struggles is in the run game, as Noteboom earned sub-71.9 run-block grades in all four of his years with the Horned Frogs.



Los Angeles opted for the defensive side of the ball on three of their first four selections on Day 3, adding edge defenders John Franklin-Myers and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and former Virginia linebacker Micah Kiser in Rounds 4 and 5.

Our fourth-ranked edge in the 2018 class, Oklahoma’s Okoronkwo earned an 87.5 overall grade in 2017, racking up 47 total pressures and a career-high 46 defensive stops in the process. At 6-foot-2, 253 pounds, Okoronkwo is a skilled athlete with high-end potential in both pass-rushing and coverage roles at the next level.

Kiser is a bit more one-dimensional than Okoronkwo in that he plays the run much better than he does the pass. He contrasted a career-high 83.8 run-defense grade with a career-low 43.0 coverage grade in 2017. He likely projects as a two-down run defender in Los Angeles’ defense.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLPIRa5nztLKoZ_unCRSAC9vK9F4BGeqFz&v=4842RFXLw6o

Of the Rams’ remaining six picks in Rounds 6 and 7, former Tennessee running back John Kelly and SMU edge Justin Lawler are two projects that could yield positive results down the road if they’re able to properly develop.

Kelly improved his grades every year of his career with the Volunteers and could continue that trend if he can turn the peaks in his game into more consistent occurrences. And Lawler earned a career-high 90.7 overall grade in 2017 to cap off three years of excellent grading with the Mustangs.

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/5/16/17358962/nfl-biggest-offseason-bets

The Biggest Bets of the 2018 NFL Offseason
The Giants stuck with Eli Manning, the Cowboys filled Dez Bryant’s role with a receiver-by-committee approach, and the Bears put all their chips down on Aaron Lynch. But did they make the right call?
By Robert Mays


Getty Images/Ringer illustration

A crucial piece missing from any post-free-agency, pre-draft analysis of team needs is an understanding of the way NFL clubs view their own rosters. The litany of mock drafts and all the speculation about where teams have to improve presupposes how they see their weaknesses, and miscalculations of that nature can lead to some of the wildest misses of draft-prediction season.

When teams reach the tail end of the offseason without addressing their remaining roster deficiencies, it signals that, by default, they’re doubling down on the players they already have. Occasionally, these seemingly risky choices are the products of teams knowing their players better than any outside observer could. In other cases, they’re dice rolls that probably never should have happened.

Now that the 2018 offseason is all but over, with only a few straggling free agents left on the market, most of the NFL’s rosters are set—and that means the league’s most significant gambles have come into focus.

Rams Linebackers
No team had a more exciting offseason than the Rams. In less than two months, GM Les Snead added Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Ndamukong Suh, and Brandin Cooks to a team that made the playoffs last season and already looked poised to be a postseason fixture for years to come. That’s more star power than some franchises add over a five-year stretch.

Snead’s all-in approach to the offseason bolstered position groups that desperately needed help, but it also left the Rams without many additional resources.

They’re paying the sticker price for everyone in that group except for Peters (who has one year left on his rookie deal before his fifth-year option kicks in next season), and the capital surrendered for Cooks, Peters, and Sammy Watkins—whom the team added last offseason—left Snead without much ammunition to add talent in the draft.

The flurry of moves all but guaranteed that a position or two would suffer as a result, and when the dust settled, that turned out to be the linebacker spot.

The Rams are likely pleased to be out from under the four remaining years on Alec Ogletree’s $42.8 million extension, but trading him to the Giants—combined with the team’s inability to take a linebacker early in the draft—means that Wade Phillips’s defense will enter the season with Bryce Hager (2015 seventh-round pick), Ramik Wilson (free-agent signee), and Micah Kiser (2018 fifth-round pick) vying for the two spots next to Mark Barron in the Rams defense.

Even if only one of those players will be a nominal starter in the team’s standard nickel package, he’ll still represent the weakest link on the defense by a notable margin. It’s still going to be difficult for teams to develop game plans to attack a group that’s absolutely loaded almost everywhere, but expect to hear early and often about the ways teams are looking to exploit the Rams’ pass defense in the middle and intermediate areas of the field.

Giants Quarterback Eli Manning and Broncos Quarterback Case Keenum
Both the Giants and Broncos came into this year’s draft with top-five picks and uncertain futures at quarterback. Denver had handed 30-year-old Case Keenum a two-year, $36 million deal in March following his surprising year in Minnesota, but John Elway and his staff were still considered prime candidates to select a QB in the first round.

For the Giants, stumbling into the no. 2 overall pick seemed to create a perfect opportunity for first-year GM Dave Gettleman to find Eli Manning’s successor. The franchise stalwart is entering his age-37 season with only $6.2 million in dead money left on his deal after 2018, and with the talent still remaining on the roster (and players like Odell Beckham Jr. healthy again), it’s unlikely that the Giants will be picking that high again next spring.

Despite all the mock-draft speculation, the first five picks of the draft came and went without either team snagging a quarterback, which leaves the burden for this season squarely on Keenum and Manning.

The Giants appear content to hedge their bets for 2018 and possibly beyond. Gettleman waited until the 108th pick before drafting Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta. By eschewing the chance to address his need for a quarterback until the fourth round, Gettleman was able to grab two prospects who project as immediate starters on offense.

Running back Saquon Barkley (taken second overall) and guard Will Hernandez (34th) have a chance to transform the entire identity of the Giants’ offense. This group finished 29th in rushing DVOA last season, and Manning’s offensive line was one of the league’s most notorious positional wastelands.

By injecting Barkley, Hernandez, and free-agent left tackle Nate Solder into an offense now led by new head coach Pat Shurmur, the hope is that an improved infrastructure can help Manning make one final run.

Denver’s approach has similar components, but a few notable differences. Second-round pick Courtland Sutton brings even more talent to an already-established wide receiver group, and third-round running back Royce Freeman has a chance to emerge from a crowded backfield. For the most part, though, bringing in Keenum is the Broncos’ (potentially) transformative move of the offseason.

With a combined 5.4 adjusted yards per attempt and 58.7 percent completion rate, it’s hard to get worse quarterback play than Vance Joseph’s team did last season. Keenum may have marginal upside, but he’s a real upgrade. And with its other offensive tweaks, Denver’s hoping to jump from a bottom-shelf offense (31st in DVOA) to actual competency on that side of the ball.

The climb to at least a middling offense would pair well with the Broncos’ goal of returning to an elite level of play on defense. Denver’s drop-off in its first season without defensive coordinator Wade Phillips seemed precipitous, but Joseph’s team still finished 10th in defensive DVOA and second in yards and plays per drive last year.

Adding defensive end Bradley Chubb with the fifth overall pick represents an attempt to jolt the defense back into the top tier, while a Keenum-led offense could help the Broncos move closer to their Super Bowl formula from 2016 and give them a fighting chance in a wide-open AFC.

Cowboys Wide Receivers Tavon Austin and Allen Hurns
The timing of Dez Bryant’s release from the Cowboys was curious to say the least. By cutting Bryant less than two weeks before the draft, Dallas limited the places it could look for a replacement. With the pool of free-agent receivers almost entirely dried up, the draft and potential trades were the only remaining avenues for the team to add an outside receiver.

Rather than making a splashy move by drafting Calvin Ridley out of Alabama, Dallas chose linebacker Leighton Vander Esch with its first-round pick and lost yet another opportunity to bolster its receiving corps.

Rather than selecting a wideout in the first two rounds, Dallas swung a trade for Rams receiver Tavon Austin, who’d been the odd man out during Sean McVay’s first season in Los Angeles.

In a Jerry World without Bryant and tight end Jason Witten—who retired earlier this month—Austin and free-agent signee Allen Hurns may be the two most prominent receiving options for Dak Prescott, and it’s possible that Hurns turns out to be an upgrade as the Cowboys’ top receiving threat. Bryant’s lack of explosiveness and his inability to separate from DBs often gave the Dallas passing game a stagnant feel last season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Cowboys quarterbacks had a 74.8 rating when throwing to Bryant last season; he ranks 41st of the 45 receivers who garnered at least 50 percent of the team’s WR targets.

Hurns may not have deserved the knee-jerk contract extension Jacksonville gave him in 2016 after just two seasons, but he’s a more than capable receiver who should provide Prescott with a better target than anything at his disposal last season.

In this offense, though, he’ll have to be more than that. In his limited workload in 2017 after returning from a hamstring injury, Hurns lined up in the slot on 72.8 percent of his snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. But how the alignments and snap distribution for nontraditional outside options like Hurns and Austin will shake out in Dallas isn’t yet clear.

Nothing from Austin’s tenure with the Rams suggests that he’s a secret weapon waiting to be unleashed. If McVay—who’s rightfully considered one of the league’s most creative offensive minds—couldn’t find a way to implement Austin into the offense, it’s unlikely that offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has some master plan to turn his new receiver into a potent force.

But that doesn’t mean Dallas won’t have to heavily lean on him anyway. Even if Hurns does emerge as a reasonable no. 1 receiver, no one else on the roster (including third-round rookie Michael Gallup and long-time Cowboy Terrance Williams) is a proven secondary option.

Bears Outside Linebacker Aaron Lynch
It feels strange—and as a Bears fan, potentially dangerous—to say this, but after its offseason haul, Chicago doesn’t have many obvious needs. GM Ryan Pace completely revamped the team’s receiving corps in free agency by adding Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Trey Burton. Pace also re-signed cornerbacks Kyle Fuller, Prince Amukamara, and Bryce Callahan to keep the secondary intact.

And in the draft, the Bears addressed three defined weaknesses by drafting linebacker Roquan Smith, guard James Daniels, and wide receiver Anthony Miller in the first two rounds.

But when a team comes into an offseason needing so much work, at least one position inevitably has to go unaddressed. For the Bears, it’s their edge-rushing spots. As part of the team’s pre-free-agency contract purge, both Pernell McPhee and Willie Young were released, leaving 2016 first-round pick Leonard Floyd as the only proven pass rusher on the roster.

Chicago’s only notable offseason addition to the pass-rushing group was former 49ers outside linebacker Aaron Lynch, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal in March.

Lynch was all but nonexistent for the 49ers last season. He finished the year with only one sack and was a healthy scratch four times. But the Bears are hoping that a reunion with Vic Fangio—whom he played under in his rookie season—will be enough to jump-start a player who’s still just 25 years old. Lynch finished with six sacks as a rookie in 2014 and followed that up with 6.5 sacks in 2015.

In a down year for free-agent pass rushers, and with so many other spots to fill in the draft, Pace is banking on Lynch being the unheralded signing they needed to become a worthwhile partner for Floyd. If Lynch can emerge as that guy, he could be the final piece for a defense that—if it can stay healthy—could surprise a lot of people.

Seahawks Cornerbacks
Now that the eulogies for the Legion of Boom are behind us, it’s time to figure out who the heck is going to be playing cornerback for the Seahawks. Richard Sherman was obviously the most devastating departure, but the recently released Jeremy Lane and Lions signee DeShawn Shead are also gone.

All that turnover leaves a group of Seattle cornerbacks who are barely recognizable. The Seahawks tendered restricted free agent Justin Coleman, who should return as the nickelback after playing 387 snaps (the fifth most in the league) in that role last year. Shaquill Griffin, the 2017 third-round pick who took over as a starter six games into the season, will start on the outside. But the left cornerback spot may be up for grabs.

Seattle made no real investments in that spot this offseason, which means a collection of undrafted free agents, late-round picks, and career special-teams players are now in the mix for the job. That group includes Neiko Thorpe, DeAndre Elliott, and Mike Tyson. Somehow, Byron Maxwell is also hanging around. It’s a positional Thunderdome that’s sure to depress anyone who loved the last five years of Seahawks football.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/05/16/panthers-announce-sale-to-david-tepper/

Panthers announce sale to David Tepper
Posted by Darin Gantt on May 16, 2018

Now it’s official.

The Panthers announced the sale of the team to Steelers minority partner David Tepper, setting the stage for his being approved at next week’s owners meetings in Atlanta.

“I am thrilled to have been selected to be the next owner of the Carolina Panthers,” Tepper said in a statement from the team. “I have learned a great deal about the community and the team over the past several months and look forward to becoming part of the Carolinas.

I want to thank Jerry Richardson and the other Panthers partners for all they have done to establish and develop the NFL in the Carolinas. It has been a remarkable 25-year journey and I promise to build upon the Panthers’ success on the field and in the community.”

Tepper was able to buy the team after Richardson put it up for sale hours after a Sports Illustrated story regarding his alleged workplace misconduct.

That closed the book on the run of the only former NFL player to own a team, as the North Carolina-native said goodbye.

“Bringing the Panthers and the NFL to the Carolinas in 1993 was enormously fulfilling for Rosalind and me and all of our partners,” Richardson said. “We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support over the last 25 years.

You have taken the Panthers into your hearts and made them part of this warm and supportive community. We want to thank all of our past and present players, coaches and staff for their hard work in making the Panthers a great success both on the field and in the community. The personal relationships we have enjoyed have been very meaningful to us.

“I look forward to turning the stewardship of the Panthers over to David Tepper. I have enjoyed getting to know him in this process and am confident that he will provide the organization with great leadership in both its football and community initiatives. I wish David and his family the very best as they enter this exciting new phase of their lives.”

The sale might not close until July, but the league was eager to get Tepper into the club on a bigger basis, making him one of the richest in a club of very rich people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Tepper



David Alan Tepper (born September 11, 1957) is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Miami Beach, Florida.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He earned an MBA (then known as an MSIA) from Carnegie Mellon in 1982. In 2013, he donated his largest gift of $67 million to Carnegie Mellon University, whose Tepper School of Business is named after him.

For the 2012 tax year, Institutional Investor's Alpha ranked Tepper first, for earning a $2.2 billion paycheck. In 2016, Tepper earned $1.2 billion, the world's 4th highest earning hedge fund manager.

With more than half the NFL to choose from as an undrafted free agent, Indiana linebacker Tegray Scales, shown playing against the Purdue, joined the Rams.

The call never came for Tegray Scales.

But that doesn’t mean the Indiana linebacker’s phone didn’t ring during last month’s NFL Draft.

“Midway through the sixth round, I started to get calls from everybody saying, ‘I thought you would have been picked up by now,’ ” Scales said.

By the time the seventh round ended, it was clear the scenario had flipped. Rather than Scales waiting to be picked by an NFL team, the second-team All-Big Ten selection was going to be able to choose his own NFL destination as an undrafted free agent.

“I definitely talked to more than half the teams,” Scales said. “Calls start coming in and I was missing calls because I was talking to one team and another team was calling. My agent was talking to them, as well.”

With more than half the NFL to choose from, including his hometown Cincinnati Bengals, Scales decided to join the Los Angeles Rams.

“I just felt like it was the best fit,” Scales said on Tuesday, when the Rams unveiled their 2018 draft class at Cal Lutheran. “I like what’s going on here. They’re contenders for a championship, building up as a top team and I just want to be a part of it."

I was expecting to get drafted. … (But I’m) still blessed with this opportunity. I’m here. I can make the most of it.”

That he chose the Rams is another sign that the franchise, just two years after moving to the Conejo Valley, is becoming a destination for NFL players, whether it is at the top or bottom of the roster.

“We got a lot of the guys that we targeted,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “That goes back to just being able to have those guys targeted from the beginning, when you’re able to start making calls and have that communication, that contact occur. They felt good about the situation they were coming into.”


It was easier for the Rams to attract a free agent at a position like linebacker, considering the Rams had turned over three of their four starters at the position in the offseason and haven’t brought in any big-name free agents to fill the holes.

“I would say you do have a better chance to acquiring some top-level free agents at some of those spots where maybe you don’t have as much depth, based on a way that an agent perceives it,” McVay said. “It’s smart for these agents to look at it and be realistic about it.

“If you are a spot where there’s a lot of depth … it’s probably not going to be the most ideal place to go and try to make a football team.”

Although Scales said he didn’t necessarily look at the depth chart before making his decision.

“I didn’t really get into all that stuff,” Scales said. “I just knew they had some good players here, some veterans on the defense that I would like to learn from.”


Tegray Scales wasn't drafted last month. But the linebacker showed enough playmaking ability at Indiana to push for a role in the Rams' new-look defense.(Photo: PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG BISACRE/INDIANA ATHLETICS)

At 6-foot, 230 pounds with a 4.77-second 40-yard dash time, Scales wasn’t quite big or fast enough to be drafted.

But his instinctive playmaking ability, which he used to pile up 13 sacks and 36 tackles for loss over his final two years at Indiana, made him a sought-after free agent.

“I’m not the biggest or strongest, but I’m instinctive, I’m scrappy and I make plays,” Scales said.

Scales is just one interesting undrafted free agent on a 90-man roster that now has an influx of 28 rookies, 11 draft picks and 17 free agents.

Others included 6-6, 225-pound tight end Cody McElroy, who played baseball at Texas and in the Atlanta Braves system and basketball for Oklahoma State before picking up football for the first time since middle school at Southeast Oklahoma State.

McVay called him a “a priority free agent."

“I think you look at just the athleticism and you just see him in person, the size is impressive,” McVay said. “Not a lot of football experience, but a lot of upside that you’ve seen.”

The Rams also added former USC receiver Steven Mitchell, who was healthy as a senior after a series of knee injuries as a Trojan.

“Anytime you’re looking at a receiver, you want to see guys that have the ability to separate, aggressive hands attacking the football,” McVay said. “You look at the production that he’s had. He’s a guy that does have some of those traits and those characteristics that you’re looking for, that we feel like will translate.”

Texas A&M-Commerce quarterback Luis Perez, who, like McElroy, did not play varsity football in high school, earned a spot on the team over the weekend at the Rams' tryout camp.

“Everybody that I’ve talked to really can’t say enough about the human being,” McVay said. “But then when you just watch him in terms of natural base, balance, body position to deliver the ball, he earned the right to be able to be on this team.”

While Scales is walking into a good situation at linebacker, Weber State defensive lineman McKay Murphy turned down three other teams to join a depth chart that includes perhaps the two best players in NFL at his position, in Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh.

“I actually just got off the phone with my buddy and he asked me the exact same question,” Murphy said. “Some people could look at it as a huge obstacle, but I look at it as an amazing opportunity to learn from two of the best, to see how they operate.

“Some people could back down from the opportunity. But I see it as an opportunity to learn.”

Murphy is the third son of former major League baseball star Dale Murphy to sign with an NFL team. His brother Shawn, a guard, was drafted by Miami in 2008. His brother Jake, a tight end, was an undrafted free agent who played for four teams.

“I stopped playing baseball after eighth grade,” he said. “Basketball had too much running. Baseball wasn’t enough. So football was a happy medium in between. I was just always drawn more to the physicality of football.”

[www.vcstar.com]

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...an-mcvay-linebacker-competition-rookies-camp/
By: Cameron DaSilva

Entering the offseason, linebacker wasn’t viewed as a major need for the Los Angeles Rams. It certainly wasn’t thought to have been higher than cornerback or wide receiver on the priority list.

With three of the four starters under contract, the Rams were looking at maybe adding one edge rusher to the first-team unit. After trading Alec Ogletree and Robert Quinn, the Rams are looking at three new starters at linebacker.

Sean McVay and Wade Phillips haven’t sounded overly concerned by that fact, waiting until the fifth round to draft a single linebacker. The Rams were hardly aggressive in free agency, signing only Ramik Wilson.

That begs the question of who exactly will line up next to Mark Barron, and who will be the primary edge rushers. Los Angeles still has three-plus months to figure that out, but that process begins in the near future.

Here’s how McVay sees the competition right now.

“I think when you look at the four veterans specific to the inside linebacker position, guys that have had production in this league,” McVay said Tuesday. “You look at Mark Barron, you look at Cory Littleton when he got an opportunity to start in place of Mark last year, how great he played against Tennessee. Bryce Hager stepped in when [Alec Ogletree] got hurt in the Arizona game. And then Ramik Wilson is a guy that’s played a lot of good football for a great defense in Kansas City the last handful of years.”

There isn’t a ton of experience in that group, but Barron and Wilson do have a number of games under their belts. Littleton and Hager are the underdogs of that group, but there’s no denying the former’s playmaking ability after the show he put on against the Titans last season.

McVay didn’t mention fifth-round pick Micah Kiser or any other linebackers, but he and Tegray Scales will undoubtedly have the chance to compete, too. Still, the veterans might have a slight edge.

“Those are guys that have played football, they’re NFL-caliber players you feel confident in,” he added. “Then those other guys will come in and get a chance to compete and it’s going to be one day at a time. By no means are they coming in ahead of anybody else. Those guys have kind of earned the right to be guys that are taking those first few reps, then we’ll see how they accelerate and perform.”

Outside linebacker is a bit more concerning for the Rams, given how important it is when it comes to generating pressure and creating turnovers. Los Angeles has enough bodies and run-stoppers in the middle, but the outside linebacker position is a bit thin on top-tier talent.

McVay shed some light on that competition, as well, saying Morgan Fox will kick outside after primarily playing defensive end last season.

“Matt Longacre is a guy that’s had some success. Morgan Fox is a guy that we feel like is gonna allow us to play outside a little more because of his athleticism and position flex,” McVay said. “Samson Ebukam is a guy that we expect to take strides, which he demonstrated throughout the year. I think when you look at some of those guys, we’ve had some production from those outside rusher spots and we’re excited about seeing these guys continue to grow.” LB'er is really the Rams’ only position of need, but don’t expect them to address it from the outside. They’ll almost certainly fill those holes from within.

Obo Okoronkwo studied the Rams player he might replace this season



Oklahoma linebacker Obo Okoronkwo runs through a drill during the NFL Scouting Combine on March 4 in Indianapolis. Okoronkwo only played two years of high school football before landing at Oklahoma, where he was the Big 12 co-defensive player of the year in 2017. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

By RICH HAMMOND | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: May 15, 2018 at 4:29 pm | UPDATED: May 15, 2018 at 4:43 pm

THOUSAND OAKS — As a football neophyte in college, Obo Okoronkwo needed study material, so one of his former coaches suggested video of an NFL player with a similar body type and skill set.

That’s how Robert Quinn unwittingly became Okoronkwo’s tutor, and now, a couple years later, Okoronkwo has a chance to replace Quinn as one of the Rams’ starting outside linebackers. It’s been a remarkable rise for Okoronkwo, whose draft day last month literally could have been part of a dream.

Okoronkwo and the rest of the Rams’ rookies arrived at the team’s Cal Lutheran practice facility Monday, then took part in on-field drills for the first time Tuesday morning as part of the team’s offseason program.

“I definitely see an opportunity to play, if I do everything in my power,” Okoronkwo said. “So I’m going to go in with a worker’s mentality. … Out of all 32 teams in the NFL, this is the perfect fit for me.”

There’s still an eternity before the Sept. 10 season opener against Oakland, and plenty for Okoronkwo to learn, but it’s beginning to seem as though he’s fated to have success with the Rams.

Okoronkwo said he went through the pre-draft process expecting to become a Ram. Area scout Steve Kazor remained in his ear and told him the team would draft him, even though the Rams didn’t have a pick until the third round and Okoronkwo had been projected to go as early as the second round.

Then came the draft, and Okoronkwo’s phone remained silent through the first three rounds. The Rams made two fourth-round picks and one fifth-round pick, and continued to skip over Okoronkwo until late in the fifth round, with the 160th pick.

“I’d waited so long that I fluffed my pillow and took a nap,” Okoronkwo said. “Every time I heard a pick and it wasn’t my name, I’d sink a little lower in my seat. There was a point where I was on the couch laying down, so I was like, let me just hop on my bed. I put my phone in the middle of my family and took a nap in the next room. They just busted in the room when they saw the area code said Thousand Oaks.”

Finally. Okoronkwo’s draft stock might have slipped a bit because of concerns about his size (6-foot-2, 253 pounds), speed and lack of experience. A son of Nigerian immigrants, Okoronkwo didn’t take up football until his junior year of high school, and even kept it secret from his parents for a while.

Okoronkwo quickly progressed at Oklahoma. In his first two years, he played in just nine games and recorded 16 tackles. In his junior and senior seasons, Okoronkwo played in 26 games and totaled 146 tackles, 17 sacks and five forced fumbles. He was the Big 12 co-defensive player of the year in 2017.

Now he’s a perfect fit for the Rams, who need to rebuild their group of linebackers. Second-year linebacker Samson Ebukam seems to have the edge to replace Connor Barwin, who didn’t re-sign with the Rams, and Okoronkwo will contend for playing time at the other outside spot.

That’s where things get a little eerie. When Okoronkwo took up football at his high school near Houston, shortly after Quinn had an All-Pro season with the Rams in 2013, a coach singled out Quinn and told Okoronkwo, “When you finally get it and the light comes on, this is the kind of player you’re going to be.”

Sign up for Home Turf and get 3 exclusive stories every SoCal sports fan must read, sent daily. Subscribe here.
So, Okoronkwo studied Quinn, who is slightly bigger at 6-4 but has a similar burst around the edge and is a pass-rush specialist. Okoronkwo watched other top linebackers, such as Von Miller and Justin Houston, but said he always kept a particular eye on Quinn’s skill set.

“His dip and lean,” Okoronkwo said. “He could really run and bend around that corner. I feel I can do that too. He does a lot of crafty things to get to that point, so that’s why I watch his film. I don’t even just watch highlights. I watched cut-ups because I wanted to learn the method behind the madness.”

The Rams traded Quinn to Miami in March, which left an opening that Okoronkwo might fill, although linebackers such as Matt Longacre and Morgan Fox also will be in contention for playing time.

That process started this week when Okoronkwo and 27 other rookies reported to Cal Lutheran and joined the Rams’ offseason program. They also will be on the field next week, when the Rams get into the more intense practices, commonly known as OTAs.

At some point, Okoronkwo likely will match up against the Rams’ third-round pick, offensive tackle Joe Noteboom, and those two have some history. Oklahoma beat TCU in 2016, then twice last season, including once in the Big 12 championship game.

Okoronkwo smiled and laughed when he talked of the time he “started giving (Noteboom) some gray hairs,” during that 2016 game when Okoronkwo got the better of Noteboom in the fourth quarter of a close game.

“He let up the game-clinching sack,” Okoronkwo said. “You can ask him about it. I sacked Kenny Hill and we won the game and went home. His story might be a little sadder.”

ROSTER MOVES
The Rams brought their roster to the league limit of 90 players Tuesday when they were awarded running back Larry Rose off waivers from Tennessee.

The Rams previously announced the signings of 16 undrafted free agents: quarterback Luis Perez, running back Nick Holley, receivers LaQuvionte Gonzalez, Ricky Jeune and Steven Mitchell, tight end Codey McElroy, offensive lineman Jeremiah Kolone, defensive linemen Dalton Keene, McKay Murphy and Brian Womac, linebacker Tegray Scales and defensive backs Afolabi Laguda, Curtis Mikell, Steven Parker, Ramon Richards and Chucky Williams.

To bring their roster to 90 players, the Rams waived running backs Sam Rogers and Lenard Tillery.

[www.ocregister.com]

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/996504217471762432

Commentary by Dan Orlovsky

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Orlovsky

McVay
Login to view embedded media View: http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Sean_McVay_Press_Conference_515/7e536380-b55a-4837-b970-5c2d45fa45bc
Noteboom
Login to view embedded media View: http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Joseph_Noteboom_Press_Conference_515/e394a06a-d8e8-4842-9a49-5ae4de8710e4
Orlovsky: Goff is in Best QB Situation
Login to view embedded media View: http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Orlovsky_Goff_is_in_Best_QB_Situation/78399459-f9b8-4d7d-a7db-664ab7c56f60

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...ounder-sam-rogers-sign-two-undrafted-rookies/

Posted by Josh Alper on May 15, 2018, 12:41 PM EDT

Getty Images

All eight of the Rams’ 2017 draft picks opened the offseason on the team’s roster, but one of them won’t be there for the rest of the offseason program.

The Rams announced on Tuesday that fullback Sam Rogers has been placed on waivers. Rogers was one of two sixth-round picks for the team last year and spent the season on the practice squad. The Rams also waived running back Lenard Tillery.

They filled the roster spots with a pair of undrafted free agents. Defensive tackle Dalton Keene was the Missouri Valley Conference defensive player of the year at Illinois State last season and safety Charles Williams is coming off an 80-tackle season at Louisville.

With Keene and Williams in the fold, the Rams now have 16 undrafted rookies on the roster along with 11 players selected in last month’s draft.

There are sooooo many opportunities for backup OL and that LB corps is gonna need 3 new starters plus it’s own backups. Not to mention the DL rotation. Whew!

There are good reasons why the Rams loaded up in those 3 areas. Forget the draft status vs UDFA’s. I foresee fierce competition for the pecking order in all of these areas. And I think that it’s way too early to jump on any player’s bandwagon.

I usually tend to have a favorite or two to really step up each camp. Sometimes I’ve nailed it, but sometimes my guy doesn’t even make the 53. Well, this year is probably a good year to just stand aside and let the players and coaches sort this out on the field.

We should expect the unexpected when the dust finally settles.

I’ll say this. No vet backup player should feel complacent, that’s for sure. This is gonna be one tough roster to make.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/05/15/chargers-sign-nelson-spruce/

Chargers sign Nelson Spruce
Posted by Josh Alper on May 15, 2018


Getty Images

The Chargers made an addition to their wide receiver group on Monday.

The team announced that they have signed Nelson Spruce to their 90-man roster. Spruce worked out for the team earlier in the day.

Spruce’s signing brings him back to Los Angeles, although not with the team he played for during his first stint in the city. Spruce signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and spent time on the active roster without getting into any games. He was waived last September and spent time on the Bears practice squad and the Chiefs offseason roster before landing with the Chargers.

Spruce, who holds most University of Colorado receiving records of note, joins a group fronted by Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, Mike Williams and Travis Benjamin. They also drafted Dylan Cantrell in the sixth round this year.

Rams Sign Six College Free Agents, Waive Thompson
Posted 10 minutes ago

Myles SimmonsRams Insider@MylesASimmons

In the initial period following the 2018 draft, Los Angeles signed seven undrafted free agents to bolster the team’s roster through the duration of the offseason. And heading into Phase 3 of the program, the Rams have officially added six more college free agents to their roster.

Additionally, Los Angeles has waived outside linebacker Carlos Thompson with an injury designation. Thompson played three games in 2017, starting the Week 17 contest against the 49ers. He recorded a total of three tackles during the season, including one for loss.

The athletes below will join LaQuvionte Gonzalez, Ricky Jeune, Jeremiah Kolone, Steven Mitchell, McKay Murphy, Ramon Richards, and Tegray Scales — along with the club’s 11 drafted players — as part of Los Angeles’ 2018 rookie class.

Nick Holley | RB | Kent State

Holley split his time between quarterback and running back at Kent State, though he suffered season-ending injuries in his last three seasons with the program. He began 2017 as the starting quarterback for the Golden Flashes, but tore his ACL in September. In Holley’s junior year, however, he rushed for 920 yards on 195 carries with 10 touchdowns, also making 13 receptions for 135 yards with two touchdowns in 2016.

Afolabi Laguda | S | Colorado

The free safety never missed a game in his time at Colorado, starting in 26 of 38 contests. Throughout his career, Laguda recorded 171 tackles, 11 pass deflections, four forced fumbles and two interceptions — becoming known for his aggressive style of play and impressive pass coverage.

Codey McElroy | TE | Southeastern Oklahoma State

A former minor league baseball player in the Atlanta Braves farm system, McElroy then walked on at Oklahoma State as a basketball player, before making the transition to football. The 6-foot-6, 255 pound tight end finished his only season at SEOSU with 14 receptions for 173 receiving yards.

Steven Parker | S | Oklahoma

Parker will join former teammate Ogbonnia Okoronkwo in Los Angeles this offseason. The Oklahoma product was a second-team all conference selection as a senior, compiling 63 tackles and six pass breakups. Plus he had an all-around productive career in Norman, playing in 50 games for the Sooners as a significant contributor on both defense and special teams.

Luis Perez | QB | Texas A&M-Commerce

Perez earned the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2017 as the best player in the nation for Division II, completing 70.6 percent of his passes for 5,001 yards with 46 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His strong play helped lead Texas A&M-Commerce to its first national championship since 1972 last season.

Brian Womac | DE | Rice

Womac set a program record with 22 tackles for loss as a senior in 2017. His 10.0 sacks also led Conference USA last season. In all, Womac recorded 40.0 tackles for loss and 17.0 sacks in his four years at Rice.

http://www.therams.com/

I just read that the Rams have signed invitee QB Luis Perez to their roster. If true, does anyone think he has a realistic shot at making the Rams final roster or at least their Practice Squad? Definitely, A Real Long Shot but the Rams know all about Long Shots!

So just getting into the meme battling thing on #NFLSHOTSFIRED on FB. Don't know if any of you have seen this but it's kinda interesting to throw shade at other fans.


my creation.

If you don't know scumbag steve is a meme on the interwebs and bottom right hand side is going to be my calling card. Feedback? What do you think?

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...roy-aikman-will-call-thursday-night-football/

FOX confirms Joe Buck, Troy Aikman will call Thursday Night Football
Posted by Michael David Smith on May 14, 2018


Getty Images

NFL fans will get a double dose of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman this season.

FOX confirmed today that Buck and Aikman, who were already the top Sunday afternoon duo for the network, will also call the new Thursday night package.

That will be a lot of work for the two, who may get some Sundays off. Buck will likely need some NFL games off in the fall when he calls the baseball playoffs for FOX. It is not known yet who will team with Aikman while Buck is focusing on baseball.

In the past the NFL required its Thursday night partners, CBS and NBC, to use the top Sunday team on Thursdays. But this year the league made no such requirement, and FOX first tried to get Peyton Manning to call the games before deciding to go with Buck and Aikman when Manning said no. In the end, FOX decided to go the same route and give Thursday nights to its top Sunday team.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...ainst-ban-on-state-sanctioned-sports-betting/

Supreme Court opens door to state-sanctioned sports betting
Posted by Josh Alper on May 14, 2018


Getty Images

Bettors who wanted to gamble on sports legally have long had limited options to do so in the United States, but that is about to change.

The United States Supreme Court has ruled in favor of New Jersey in the state’s challenge to the federal law known as The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The law barred states from legalizing gambling on sporting events with the notable exception of Nevada and less notable exceptions for sports lotteries in three other states.

The court’s ruling that the law is unconstitutional, which came by a 7-2 vote, sets the stage for states to start allowing gambling on sports. How that will be implemented from state to state remains to be seen, but the amount of money on the table will lead many of them to make risking a few bucks on your favorite team a fairly easy undertaking.

Professional sports leagues have expressed an interest in getting a cut of that action as well, although NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not elaborate on the league’s plans for expanded sports betting in the United States when asked about it in March.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/05/14/get-ready-for-the-gambling-floodgates-to-open/

Get ready for the gambling floodgates to open
Posted by Mike Florio on May 14, 2018

Monday’s landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court allows all states to establish sports wagering programs. Most surely will.

It’s a far cry from the 1970s and 1980s, when states were haggling over the ethics of the daily number, Powerball jackpots, and scratch-off tickets. That said, those who fretted that low-level gambling would be the gateway to something more were right, because many states already have something more via table games. Now, every state can have it all.

And it will be much more than betting on the outcomes of games, either via point spreads of over-under propositions. A wide variety of prop bets will undoubtedly be available (including for example rookie quarterback over/unders, the topic of the attached video), along with the possibility of in-game wagering on the minutiae of a game, from ball vs. strike to run vs. pass to whether a putt is made or missed.

Basically, betting will be available on anything relating to sports, which means that it will be available on everything. And any state that launches a wagering program would be wise to take as much action as possible, because when the house sets the odds properly, the house always wins.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...s-business-whether-league-embraces-it-or-not/

Gambling will be good for NFL’s business, whether league embraces it or not
Posted by Michael David Smith on May 14, 2018

The NFL has officially held gambling at arm’s length, with strict rules against players, coaches, owners, officials and anyone else having any business interests in sports betting. But that doesn’t mean the NFL has no interest in sports betting.

The Supreme Court’s ruling today, opening the door to legal sports gambling in every state, will be very good for the NFL’s business, regardless of whether the NFL embraces gambling or continues to distance itself from it.

That’s because there’s going to be a huge increase in the number of people placing bets on NFL games this year, once they can do so at safe, legal, legitimate businesses in their own states. And an increase in the number of people placing bets on NFL games will lead to an increase in the number of people who care about NFL games.

That could mean a reversal of the league’s declining television ratings, if more bettors translates to more viewers, and even if it doesn’t end the league’s ratings slide, it will surely be profitable for the league’s network partners from an advertising perspective. Remember that brief time when Draft Kings and FanDuel ads were everywhere, before the government started cracking down on those businesses?

Expect a return of that kind of advertising environment, as there will be far more sports books advertising their services to fans. An increased demand to purchase advertising time on NFL games and other NFL-related programming is valuable to the NFL, even if the NFL keeps claiming that it doesn’t endorse gambling.

Of course, the league may come around on gambling, especially if the states that legalize gambling can be persuaded to pay the much-discussed “integrity fee” to the sports leagues, which would mean some of the money from betting on sports goes directly to the leagues themselves. It’s hard to imagine NFL owners turning down a chance to get a percentage of the gambling revenues.

Even if the integrity fees don’t come to fruition, however, the reality is today’s news is good for the NFL’s business. The NFL has officially stood against sports gambling for many years, but privately the league’s owners have to be pleased at the prospect of making a lot more money, thanks to the Supreme Court allowing Americans to bet money on games.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...hen-it-comes-to-setting-odds-for-local-teams/

States will need flexibility when it comes to setting odds for local teams
Posted by Mike Florio on May 14, 2018

The good news? States can now have sports betting. The bad news? State can now have sports betting.

States and/or those who will have the ability to take bets in a given state will need to be smart when it comes to setting odds — especially when it comes to bets involving local teams.

In and around Pittsburgh, for example, the locals will be inclined to bet the Steelers no matter the odds. Which means that it will be much harder for the house to achieve the broader goal of equal betting on each team. Which means that there will need to be local adjustments constantly made to the decisions made by sports books in Las Vegas.

And the sports books in Las Vegas can attest to the problem of too many wagers being placed on the home team. Local fans, swept up by the excitement of having an NHL franchise, bet heavily on the Golden Knights. As a result, the casinos have been losing money on the winning team — and they’ll lose big if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup, especially since at one point the odds were set at 500-1.

Even without local bias affecting the action, states can easily screw this up. In 1976, Delaware took a bath over bad betting lines. That’s why most states will have outside entities handle the action, with the state simply getting a cut. Either way, whoever is setting the odds will be facing unique challenges based on the betting trends involving the local teams.

In most states, the sports books will quickly become fans of every team that local team is playing. They’ll particularly become fans of any team that the locals love to hate.

Brian Womac fom Rice.
Edge rusher.

[m.youtube.com]

[draftscout.com]
Read comment at the bottom.

[www.google.com]