Obviously this is not realistic . It is intended to be a fun poll

Predicting the Rams first round of cuts

http://www.downtownrams.com/single-post/2016/08/28/Predicting-the-Rams-first-round-of-cuts

August 28, 2016 | By: Jake Ellenbogen

Week three of preseason is in the books and some players have nothing to stress about while others are going to wish they could have this game back. Here are the fifteen cuts I believe will happen on or before Tuesday.

Dylan Thompson, Quarterback
A camp arm that never got in any of the preseason games to this point. Can't say he has any chance of making this team. To his defense the three quarterbacks were decided when the Rams cut Nick Foles.

Zach Laskey, Fullback
He hasn't been able to really get on the field and contribute in any capacity other than special teams. The Rams already have it hard enough to cut down their depth chart at RB. Laskey is not in the cards.

Marquez North, Wide receiver
He hasn't gotten on the field in any of the first three preseason games. For that reason alone he is an easy cut.

David Richards, Wide receiver
He had two snaps last week but got on the field more this week and had one target in the red zone which was a drop. His former Arizona teammate Austin Hill has looked much better and it appears it's time to give Hill a double digit number because he unlike Richards will be moving onto the last set of cuts.

Benson Browne, Tight end
Not a lot of snaps and not a lot of production means Browne was just a camp body and will be cut in the first round.

Jake Stoneburner, Tight end
It's not likely Stoneburner makes it through the first round of cuts. Justice Cunningham has experience with this team as a whole and has caught a pass in preseason. Stoneburner was added later on in the offseason and hasn't gotten on the field enough.

Read more...

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Hard to believe but I found a Rams WR making a great catch. This is a glimpse of the Rams future!

I watched the condensed replay that aired at midnight so maybe I missed a few things.

One, why did Gurley not play?

Two, what was Goff's ailment on the sideline? Result of a hit? What body part involved?

Goff's overall stats last night and that dropped pick six to Darien Stewart, are what will be mostly talked about by his critics but my eyes seen the gap between him and Keenum get much closer.

It's easy to point out his flaws but its just as easy for anyone that knows what to look at with QB play that Goff is calming down and those flashes he's been showing are going to win him the starting job sooner than many think.

I noticed unlike in the first 2 preseason games, he's now showing glimpses of moving his feet while his eyes are scanning down field. His comfort level taking snaps under center looks to be vastly improving and not a major concern anymore.

The intangibles that made him so good at California and worth trading up for are beginning to translate to the NFL and he's much closer to my eyes than what his critics will write about.

Keenum is the smart & safe choice to start at Frisco in 14 days but how much closer will that gap be after Goff gets another tuneup game on Thursday at Minnesota, along with 2 more weeks of practice and film study?

I wish I was wrong but like everyone else, I expect Fisher to play it safe and start Keenum for at least the first 2 games but there is no way I believe Fisher is going to let Goff hold the clipboard for much longer than a few games unless Keenum is tearing up the league with his passing stats.

I'm underwhelmed by how the offensive staff (Weinke & Boras) have prepared the young man as I expected him to be further along but If I had to bet everything I own, I would say Goff starts a minimum of 12 games in 2016. I'm still every bit as happy as I was from the moment Snead pulled off the blockbuster trade to get him.

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/Jared-Goff-Postgame-Press-Conference---827/6497edac-6a20-4065-967c-d3c393db1b7a

Seriously. If it isn't Quick, it's Thomas or Duke. I would say this is getting old but that was a long long time ago. When is Spruce gonna be good to go?

Just gonna put this out there, I don't think Goff isn't going to start this year unless there's injury to Keenum or the offense has huge struggles like last year. Not trying to make a bold statement or anything, cause I think this is kind of common sense. It's just a thought that's not really in the forefront of all our minds.

That said, I would be fine with him sitting a year if it means he's more prepared and ready to go when his time comes.

Wanted to put it up before my brain cells leak out my ears as they are wont to after draining this much beer (hic!)...

First team

Keenum was very sharp. His execution along with the first team offense really had Denver on their heels and they were seriously frustrated by it as shown by that hit out of bounds. Only had one poor throw/decision, but that's gonna happen against a defense like Denver's. We really might have the makings of a good/solid offense. Goff looked solid with the first team, made a couple nice reads and throws but of course Denver had DBs right there and were all over the Rams' tendencies scheme-wise.

Britt really looks good, I obviously underestimated the guy; he seems to have made some strides under Groh's tutelage. Quick held onto the ball. I was amazed. Then he did it a couple more times. I was flabbergasted. Cooper's catch of that well placed ball by Goff was outstanding. Starters showed up in this game.

TEs played well. Kendricks looks really sure handed now, it's great to see. Higbee was wide open on a couple plays early. On the completion to Kendricks which was nice I am pretty sure I noticed Higbee open down the sideline but will need to rewatch it.

RBs of course looked good vs one of the best defenses in the league (again, since they saw KC last week too!). First team OL is dominant, plain and simple. Cannot wait to see them with Gurley in the backfield.

Defense was dominant for the first time this preseason. Our starting front seven were having their way. Ogletree had his first really good game in the middle. Gaines went out worried about him.

Second team

Goff had some issues once that first team got subbed out. Line protections went first, followed by drops.

WRs were extremely disappointing. I don't think any of them were ready to be covered the way Phillips had those DBs playing. Drops all over the joint and it continued through to the end of the game. Kept wishing Spruce had been healthy for Jared's time with second string, think he would have made a big difference.

Higbee was in there for a while and I expected to see him flash but he got manhandled by the Denver defense pretty good. That said I don't think they were trying to feed him or anything, but he got some real lame looks like that quick out that Goff almost completed for a defensive TD.

RB lanes dried up pretty good with the twos. They got some good runs still, but it was tough going. Second team OL got worked over but good. Williams was a liability once he got into the game, very disappointing showing by him. Just a bad group job of sealing rushers up front and penetration in the run game.

Defense had a drive against the Denver ones and it showed up front. After that it was hit and miss, they got gashed way too much for my liking in the run game. Friendly fire on Hill by a safety who will be cut next week, hope he's ok.

Third team

Mannion came down to earth a bit. He made a couple real tough throws in the face of the rush but overall like Goff he faced a very stout rush with receivers that can't hang onto the ball.

There's gonna be a lot of WRs cut next week. Good riddance to many of them, too. Start with the all-athlete non-hands types first, there's plenty of them to choose from.

Magee had a nice run that ended up not gaining anything in points due to drops and pressure breakdowns in/near the redzone.

Third team LBs came in and did a good job. I like the little I saw of Grigsby.

Overall

It's important to note that the Rams didn't seem to adjust offensively to what Wade and company did defensively. Faulk noted on the failed third and short that was dropped by Thomas (big surprise) that there was flat-out open field all behind that CB but the Rams played right into the defensive call. Is that due to preseason? Gotta think they would be able to check into a go route or crosser in that situation. I suspect they got good work out of the ones and pretty much put the gameplan on ice but I'd like to hear what Fish thinks on that.

I am very happy with how this team looked with the ones in there. They looked like a playoff team man, a team that was giving Denver everything they could handle across the board. So for my money it was a great result overall.

For those cursed by not being in the Rams viewing area, the 1st team is playing now, and Goff will be playing soon....

I thought the entire starting Rams D did a helluva job tonight. Ogletree at MLB made some hella good plays, which James L could only have dreamed of...Donald is Donald, a freakin monster. Quinn looked good.

I thought Goff looked really good when surrounded by mostly starters, and WHEN NOT "PROTECTED" by Williams...Williams needs to be cut so hard! His WR's dropped balls that they had to catch, and he showed what Keenum doesn't have. Keenum is 7-9, while Goff might take us much farther...jmo

Michael Thomas just downed a punt at the one. That's how you make the team.

In 2010, Spags coached the third pre season game against the New England Patriots. This was Sam Bradford's rookie year. The Rams starters not only led 20-14 in the first half, the final score was 36-35 Rams. Bradford went 15/22 for 189 yards, two touchdowns, and no INT's.

Unfortunately, the Rams finished 7-9 and the Patriots went 14-2.

Moral of the story? Let's PLEASE not read too much into this game. Terrific success is fools gold in the pre-season and an abysmal performance portends nothing.

I just hope to come out healthy because this staff NEVER reveals its true nature in the pre season.

I have been posting on this board for a couple years now and honestly I love coming on this board and reading and debating with everyone. With this whole Kapernick thing i just want everyone to know that we are all family from a different MOTHER.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/sources-rams-signing-tavon-austin-to-contract-extension/

The Los Angeles Rams are signing veteran wide receiver Tavon Austin to a contract extension that will be announced Saturday night, according to league sources.

Austin is a multi-dimensional former first-round draft pick who was an All-American from West Virginia.

He was playing under a four-year, $12.751 million rookie deal that included a $7.653 million signing bonus.

Austin caught 52 passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns last season.

He rushed for 434 yards and four touchdowns.

He had a punt return for a touchdown too.

Have trouble surfing? Certain sites bog down? It might not be your machine or the speed of your connection.

It might be your DNS.

There's a free utility for Windows, Linux and Mac called Namebench. It evaluates the speed at which a connection can resolve a certain number of popular web addresses (it's configureable)

For example. I have Frontier FiOS. Ever since they bought FiOS from Verizon, the speeds have stayed okay, but the "feel" of the Internet is just a lot slower. I decided to see if the issue was the DNS.

I installed Namebench, selected a few DNSes that I wanted checked like OpenDNS and Google DNS (you can google those numbers, google's is 8.8.8.8) as well as had it check all known national DNS and regional DNS and ran the test . Took between 5-10 minutes where I needed to just let the computer have the connection.

The results really surprised me.

It turned out that the DNS provided by my ISP was 201% slower than if I used OpenDNS!!! That means that if I go to a page with a lot of links, each link will take that much longer to resolve using my ISPs DNS! Well, I reconfigured my router using the OpenDNS router and...

HOLY COW!!!

It's like every device in my house got an upgrade. My iPhone 6 was loading mmo-champion and Facebook (two really tough sites on load times) almost immediately! My kids have phones from the 6s to the 4 and all of them noticed a huge difference...not in the overall speed, but in the snappiness. Ads, especially, don't seem to take forever to resolve.

I know that as we look for ways to enjoy the streams and vids and content of the season, this may help some folks.

This was just an intro as I'm on my phone. I can go into more depth if folks are interested.

Comparing the Los Angeles Rams from 1994 to 2016

http://www.downtownrams.com/single-post/2016/08/27/Comparing-the-Los-Angeles-Rams-from-1994-to-2016

August 27, 2016 | By: Josh Hardin

The 1994 Rams

The 1994 season for the Los Angeles Rams was the 57th NFL season for the Rams as an organization and the 49th in the greater Los Angeles area. The team had gone through many up and down seasons that included a Super Bowl appearance but by 1994 the luster and good play had dried up leading then owner Georgia Frontier to explore moving the team. The fans in the L.A. area took notice and the Rams had a minimizing attendance average of only 42,000.


The 1994 NFL Draft did produce a future Hall of Famer that became famous during the Greatest Show on Turf in Isaac Bruce but during that rookie season he was buried in the depth chart and finished with only 275 receiving yards. The star of the team, and only Pro Bowler, was the future Steeler Hall of Fame running back, Jerome Bettis, who finished the season with over a 1,000 yards. Bettis went with the Rams to St. Louis but after a change in offensive philosophy became less of a threat.


The offense finished the season in 21st out of 28 offenses in points scored and Flipper Anderson who led the team in receiving yards failed to reach 1,000 yards. Hall of Fame tackle Jackie Slater was still on the team and also went to St. Louis the following year but was mainly a depth player at this point in his career. The offense was quarterbacked by both Chris Miller and Chris Chandler, although neither provided the offense the team needed.


This coupled with the 23rd ranked defense that finished with only 26 sacks, 14 interceptions, and a good 19 fumble recoveries, led the Rams to their 5th consecutive losing season and a 4-12 record, which was concluded on a 7 game losing streak. The failed season and move led to Chuck Knox after a promising beginning to his L.A. Rams tenure. A few other interesting notes about this '94 team was that future St. Louis Rams Head Coach, Mike Martz was the quarterback coach and an important part of the Super Bowl team, LB Roman Phifer was only 23, and current broadcaster, DT D'Marco Farr, was a rotational player as well.

The Returning 2016 Rams

The 2016 LA Rams features a young running back in Todd Gurley that has many "experts" already stating that he is the best back in the league, a no.1 pick at quarterback in Jared Goff, and a good defense. The offense is in need of the biggest change in production after finishing last in nearly every category excluding rushing. This Rams team also hasn't had a 1,000 yard receiver in quiet a few years, the last one to do so was Torry Holt.

The defense of the new L.A. Rams is where this team makes its money. With Pro Bowlers Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn, the defensive line will continue to be a point of emphasis for opposing offensive game plans. After releasing long time St. Louis Ram, James Laurinaitis, the new man in the middle will be former outside backer, Alec Ogletree. Ogletree is the main reason I believe this defense will become great. You just don't find linebackers with that kind of speed and coverage ability. This Rams team will nearly be identical to the team the Rams had last year in St. Louis just with a few subtractions and a few new draftees.

The biggest questions for this team will be, can the secondary make up for the loss of corner Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, and can the offense improve off a putrid season that had the Rams finish last in points scored and yards gained?

Read more...

... The Cowboys offered a second round pick for Keenum, would you?

As many of you know with my migraines, I use my comp for my pain management, occupational therapy, socialization and just plain fun!

Well, my old comp was a Mac Pro 1,1 with an ATI 5870 1GB video card and 2TB Western Digital Black HD with a 30" Apple Cinema Display that I bought in 2006.

The only thing that I do that stresses it is playing World if Warcraft and Diablo 3 and recently, because my machine couldn't do the latest OS upgrades, I got hard locked out. To say I was depressed was an understatement. I have friends for 8 years or more in the WoW community that would be tough to KIT with without the game (just like it's tough to KIT with folks who've stopped following football...).

Anyway, after a TON of prayer and patience... Well, the prayers were answered and I was able to put together my new rig.

I coulda just posted the specs, but since when have I ever just posted a short post?

Mack's new Mac:
Mac Pro 5,1 6 core 3.33GHz
32GB 1333MHz ECC RAM
EVGA GTX 980 Ti ACX 2.0 6 GB -Blessed (Mac ROM)
Samsung SM951 AHCI 512GB SSD on
Lycom DT-120 PCIe card
ASUS MX27AQ 27" WQHD IPS monitor

It's a beast! I put the parts together myself on eBay (I did a TON of research so I knew what I was looking for), so it cost me between half and a third of what complete systems with these specs were going for.

Best part is that in my research I found out that I will be able to "hack" my old machine to upgrade it to the latest OS. So the wife will get my old rig which is a massive upgrade over her old iMac.

Great start to the season!!!!!!

Should also make streaming nicer!

*I got a note about how to help with that I'll put in a new post*

I might post a pic if I can finish tidying up (no sooner than I clean than people try to dump stuff on my desk!!! Arrrggghhhh!!!)

Anyone else get a new rig or new piece of gear that will add to the fun of the season?

Rams DE Robert Quinn primed for a breakout comeback season

http://www.downtownrams.com/single-...t-Quinn-primed-for-a-breakout-comeback-season

August 26, 2016 | By: Jake Ellenbogen

The Rams made their young defensive end Robert Quinn a franchise player when they extended his contract in 2014 all the way through 2019. The team's single-season sack record holder had a bumpy road last year trying to fight off a back injury.


Quinn had never missed a game until week nine versus the Minnesota Vikings. What we didn't know at the time was that Quinn would end up being done for the season. The Rams haven't really had a chance to maximize their defensive line personnel because they have battled injuries. Everyone talks about the extreme depth the Rams have on their defensive line but it's minimized when they can't use their backups in a rotational way. Last year that definitely was the case as both Chris Long and Quinn went down with significant injuries.


This year Quinn has been trying to come back better than ever but he faced an uphill battle in the injury recovery process. Now this Saturday when the Rams go to Mile High Stadium to play the Denver Broncos, Quinn will be in the starting lineup on a defensive line he hasn't been with in an actual game since the middle of the 2015 season. It should be a fun experience for Quinn who probably won't play a ton but still needs the game reps for the season.


Here is the thing with Quinn, he had a defensive player of the year worthy season in 2013, a down year to his standards but still solid nonetheless in 2014 and his 2015 campaign was plagued by injury. Now here comes a new season in a new home and new players to go with him on that d-line.


If everyone stays healthy this defensive line could be a monster presence in the record books. The Rams signed former first-round picks Quinton Coples (Quinn's former teammate at UNC) and Dominique Easley. Quinn is coming back to a defensive line that has a new starting defensive end alongside him in William Hayes and an overall improved interior d-line duo of Michael Brockers and one of the best in league in Aaron Donald.

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Rams 53-man roster predictions: Preseason week three edition

http://www.downtownrams.com/single-...roster-predictions-Preseason-week-two-edition

August 26, 2016 | By: Jake Ellenbogen

The Rams moved to 2-0 in the preseason with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The first cuts (down to 75) date is August 30th and here is our updated roster prediction for the 53-man roster going into week three in Denver.

1.QB1: Case Keenum
2.QB2: Jared Goff
3.QB3: Sean Mannion

4.RB1: Todd Gurley
5.RB2: Benny Cunningham
6.RB3: Malcolm Brown
7.RB4: Chase Reynolds

8.WR1: Kenny Britt
9.WR2: Tavon Austin
10.WR3: Pharoh Cooper
11.WR4: Bradley Marquez
12.WR5: Nelson Spruce
13.WR6: Duke Williams

14.TE1: Lance Kendricks
15.TE2: Tyler Higbee
16.TE3: Cory Harkey
17.TE4: Temarrick Hemingway

18.LT1: Greg Robinson
19.LT2: Darrell Williams
20.LG1: Rodger Saffold
21.LG2: Garrett Reynolds
22.C1: Tim Barnes
23.C2: Eric Kush
24.RG1: Jamon Brown
25.RG2: Cody Wichmann
26.RT: Rob Havenstein

27.DE1: Robert Quinn
28.DE2: William Hayes
29.DE3: Eugene Sims
30.DE4: Quinton Coples
31.DE5: Ethan Westbrooks
32.DE6: Matt Longacre
33.DT1: Aaron Donald
34.DT2: Michael Brockers
35.DT3: Dominique Easley

36.MLB: Alec Ogletree
37.MLB2: Bryce Hager
38.OLB1: Mark Barron
39.OLB2: Akeem Ayers
40.OLB3: Cameron Lynch
41.OLB4: Cory Littleton

42.CB1: Trumaine Johnson
43.CB2: E.J. Gaines
44.CB3: LaMarcus Joyner
45.CB4: Troy Hill
46.CB5: Marcus Roberson

47.FS1: Mo Alexander
48.FS2: Cody Davis
49.FS3: Christian Bryant
50.SS1: T.J. McDonald

51.K: Greg Zuerlein
52.P: Johnny Hekker
53.LS: Jake McQuaide

Notable roster cuts:

Aaron Green, Running back - This is only going to get tougher as the preseason moves along. Green has already looked like a back worth keeping. The problem? Chase Reynolds doesn't get cut and he happens to be the best special teams player on the Rams. Not playing last week hurt him but Green figures to play versus the Denver Broncos this week in what could be one of his last chances to impress.


Brian Quick, Wide receiver - Still don't see him making the roster. The emergence of guys like Nelson Spruce and hopefully Duke Williams will be too much for Quick to overcome. Even more notable head coach Jeff Fisher called him out in a press conference saying that he needs to catch the ball. Quick is playing his last two games in a Rams uniform unless he really comes out and gives them a reason to keep him.


Mike Thomas, Wide receiver - Thomas had a couple of drops week one of the preseason and as of right now Nelson Spruce and Paul McRoberts have poured on some pressure for the 6th round pick out of Southern Miss. Thomas didn't do much to help his cause in week two. Spruce has been more noteworthy but McRoberts has been logging some serious snaps in game. We will see if Thomas can bounce back, if not he could be looking at practice squad stint at best.

Read more...

And this is a projection made prior to the Bronco game, btw.

I know a few of these players have many ardent fans. But I think they may be victims of the numbers game.

These are merely a few of the players that many consider to have a good shot, but I am skeptical. In no particular order...

Brian Quick
Kush
Rhaney
Justice Cunningham (numbers game)
Mike Thomas ( barring a miracle in these last 2 games)
North
Coples
Chase Reynolds

As an aside, I think Sensabaugh makes the 53. But he won't be among the actual top 5 CB's. It will be an experience thing.

Did I miss anybody?

These will probably be final cut casualties, btw.

Thoughts?

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...garrett-tony-romo-has-broken-bone-in-his-back

Disaster has stuck in Dallas.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett announced Saturday that starting quarterback Tony Romo underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed a broken bone in his back, per David Helman of the team's official website.

Garrett labeled Romo "day-to-day" and refused to give a timetable for his return, but NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport was told by a source that the quarterback's "best-case scenario" is returning by "mid-season," noting that Romo "broke a different bone than last time" when he suffered a fracture in 2014.

"We're confident that he's going to be coming back and playing football for us this year," Garrett told reporters.

Romo was hurt three plays into Thursday's preseason game against the Seahawks, writhing on the field after taking a hit from Seattle's Cliff Avril. The passer was quickly removed from the lineup in favor of promising rookie Dak Prescott.

This is dark news for Dallas. Back injuries are especially tricky and Romo's recent career has been riddled with broken bones and upper-body setbacks. At age 36, it's fair to wonder how many more hits his body can endure.

It's a worst-case development for the Cowboys, but Prescott also brings a dash of hope. While it's dubious to judge quarterbacks off preseason action, the fourth-rounder has lit up opponents in August and made one big play after the next for the Cowboys. Prescott currently leads the NFL in completion percentage (78 percent), passing yards (454), passing touchdowns (5) and quarterback rating (137.8).

The strategy in Dallas won't change, though, with the clock-chewing Cowboys expected to ride rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott in hopes of keeping their less-than-stellar defense off the field.

For weeks, many have wondered what Prescott might accomplish in the rough-and-tumble regular season. They'll find out much sooner than anyone expected.

The defending SB champs and the #1 ranked D in the league. And the Broncos are at home.

What better test for the following:

First, the O players.

Keenum
Goff
Gurley, Cunningham, Brown, and Green
Entire OL. If they can dictate here, they can dictate to anybody.
Higbee, Kendricks, and Hemingway
All of the WR's not named Britt or Austin. Cooper's not out of the woods just yet, either. Who will step up here?

Any O players that can impress vs the Broncos are gonna take a giant step forward. Can't imagine a greater risk/reward challenge, frankly.

Now the D players.

Some DL sorting is gonna take place among Coples, Fox, Westbrooks, Longacre, Sims (yeah, Sims), Thomas, and Seau. Anyone impressing against the SB champs is gonna have a big leg up for the 53.

Gawd! Will someone in this LB corps finally blow things up and truly impress? Would be nice to see Tree at MLB flash, huh? And those backups have a golden opportunity to claim a spot if they can look really good on a few plays. Far as I can tell, there are 3 LB positions that are wide open, still. Frankly, that seems less of a case of the backups looking really good (as in RB's) and more of a case of the backups looking just sorta "pretty good". Kinda disappointing for me, TBH.

CB's. What can I say? Can Gaines seize that outside starting spot tonight? Can Sensabaugh look like a starting caliber CB for the first time? Wouldn't hurt Joyner to shine tonight either, huh? We've got 3 promising youngsters in Hill, Jordan, and Washington. Which one will claim that 5th spot behind Roberson? Talk about pressure.

Finally, there's the S position. Can TJM start to look more comfortable back there? If only to make the fans a bit more comfortable. And it's almost now or never for Mo, Bryant, and Davis to claim that other starting position, isn't it?

So there we have it. A showdown vs the defending SB champs. Some careers will be on the line tonight right up to the final snap of the 4th quarter.

Can't wait for kickoff!