Ramblin' Fan » Dan Muir

DX Checked Out, Illini Mike Hurt

Justin Stine — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:06:21 +0000

The Rams have had fairly good luck on the injury front thus far, but it looks like that’s no longer the case. First, let’s start with the good news. WR Danario Alexander missed practice today and got an MRI on his surgically repaired knee. The MRI showed no further damage, which is pretty great news considering his injury history. “It’s not that anything happened,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “It’s just that it feels funny on him. We just want to make sure we’re not dealing with anything serious, and put his mind at ease.” DX has had a rough go of it so far this preseason, and I think we need to start at least entertaining the possibility that he could get cut. I’m not saying it will happen, but if you consider that Danny Amendola, Mike Sims-Walker, Donnie Avery, Brandon Gibson, Austin Pettis and Greg Salas seem likely to make it, DX could be in trouble. I could see the team trying to do something like putting one of the rookies on practice squad or maybe keeping 7 WRs, but if not then it could be bad news.

In other unfortunate injury news, TE Michael Hoomanawanui left practice with a strained calf. We don’t know the extent of the injury for sure yet, but it sounds like this could be potentially serious. Illini Mike has a ton of potential, but he just hasn’t been able to stay on the field consistently in his short career. Hopefully this isn’t as bad as we think, but if he does have to miss significant time it could be good for a guy like Fendi Onobun.

Mardy Gilyard missed practice with a thigh bruise suffered in the Titans game, while Dan Muir missed time with an ankle tweak. Jacob Bell and Rodger Saffold were back at practice today, which is good.

Rams Have First Full Practice

Justin Stine — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:36:36 +0000

We have talked about the numerous free agent signings by the Rams over the last week, but on Thursday those players made their official debut with the team. The new CBA was officially ratified in the afternoon, allowing everyone to take the field for practice after the team took a break to wait for the news. It was great to see all the new faces running the drills and competing today, and I think the position battles during the preseason are going to be amazing.

Speaking of position battles, the Rams re-signed DT Gary Gibson today, adding him to what has suddenly become a pretty large group of quality players at the position. Gibson was a starter last season, but I was a little surprised the team brought him back after signing Justin Bannan and Dan Muir earlier in the week. I kind of like Gibson, but I’m just not sure there’s much room for him on this roster. I guess we will just have to see how the competition plays out.

In rumor news, apparently veteran tight end Bo Scaife is set to visit the Rams as he continues to look for work. There are already plenty of tight ends on this roster, so I would be surprised if Scaife joins the team. But I guess you never know.

Free Agency Grades: St. Louis Rams

Justin Stine — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:25:25 +0000

My guess would be that the Rams aren’t done in free agency just yet, but with practice started I wanted to get my rankings out since most of the players who will be on this team in 2011 are with the club. Overall, I thought the Rams did a nice job in free agency. We had some glaring holes, and most of them have been filled, and filled with pretty solid talent. I really like a few of the signings, and some I’m not as excited about, but overall I understand all of them to this point. What I don’t understand is why this team still hasn’t added a backup running back. Billy Devaney has been saying we need to address the spot for two years, and he still hasn’t done anything to do it. I still expect him to bring someone in before long, but it’s frustrating when you hear names like Darren Sproles and Reggie Bush during the offseason and then these guys go elsewhere for a reasonable price without the Rams being in on them.

As far as the moves I really liked, I can’t decide whether I like Mike Sims-Walker or Harvey Dahl more. Both filled a huge need, and both have the chance to not only fill a hole, but be a major upgrade in talent at their respective positions. We needed a guard badly, and I think Dahl is perfect for that spot. As far as MSW goes, I think there’s a chance he could have a monster season. More after the break…