The Rams made a roster move today, as the team decided to release fullback Mike Karney from his contract. I thought Karney did a nice job for the Rams during his time here when he was healthy, but this was the right move for the organization and the player at this time. The Rams are obviously shifting their offensive philosophy from run-first to pass-first, so a fullback probably isn’t the biggest need for this offense. I have no doubt that Karney will catch on with some other team and be very successful, and I wish him nothing but good things as long as he isn’t lining up on the opposite sidelines.

Karney’s final season in St. Louis wasn’t exactly a banner year, as he finished with six carries for 12 yards and four DNP’s near the end of the season. He was kind of phased out as the season went on, and it really didn’t come as any surprise to me that he was let go. The organization was honest with him from the beginning, and they did a nice job of giving him an opportunity to find another home before it is too late. Karney was a guest on The Fast Lane on 101 ESPN in St. Louis earlier today, so here is link to that interview.

Fast Lane Inteview

I have to admit that I wasn’t overly confident heading into Sunday’s game at the Dome, but this Rams team completely proved me wrong. I expected the Rams to fall fairly significantly after watching the Redskins run up yards on the Texans the week before, and when I walked to my seats I couldn’t believe that I was surrounded by several Washington fans. Things got off to a good start with SJ39′s big touchdown run early, and St. Louis completely dominated the second half to take the 30-16 victory. Needless to say, my celebration got a little out of hand, which is why this blog post is coming to you on Monday instead of Sunday.

Anyway, let’s look at the keys to this first win of 2010. In my opinion, the biggest key to the game came early in the second half. After taking the lead into halftime, the Rams allowed a field goal by Graham Gano early on the third to give the Skins a 16-14 edge. I, like I’m sure many of you did as well, proclaimed the game over at that point. This Rams team has given us a few good quarters here and there over the last few years, but when they get down you know the game is over. Also, consider that our best offensive weapon (SJ39) and one of our best defensive weapons (OJ Atogwe) were both on the sidelines with injuries. It didn’t look good for the home team, except for the fact that the Rams completely dominated the rest of the game by outscoring the Skins 16-0 to take the victory. The defense finally sacked up and won a game for us, and the offense, minus a few key players, moved the ball and put points on the board. Bravo!

Now, let me quickly touch on an issue that I will go more in depth on tomorrow. I’ve taken some grief over the past two days after the play of Kenneth Darby and Keith Toston yesterday, and considering that I have thrown these guys under the bus on numerous occasions, I guess it is deserved. I will go into it tomorrow, but I stand by my story that these guys aren’t the answer at backup running back, regardless of what they did yesterday.

Injury Report: For a day that featured such joy and happiness for the Rams, it certainly didn’t look that way on the injury report. SJ39 obviously didn’t play in the second half with a groin injury, but an MRI today showed no tear. We probably won’t know his status until later in the week, but the team dodged a major bullet on this one.

Atogwe took a blow to the thigh that has been bothering him recently, and he is being listed as day-to-day. Coach Spags called it a “setback” so his status will likely be based on how he feels leading up to Sunday.

The biggest injury of the day was suffered by wide receiver Dominique Curry, who will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. I feel terrible for Curry, especially considering how steadily he has been progressing. He was a very nice contributor on special teams, and he looked capable of making an impact in the receiving game as well.

In other minor injuries, Dorian Stewart (hamstring), Toston (shoulder), and Mike Karney (thumb) are all expected to be fine.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s far less positive post where I will tackle the backup running back situation and the play of Brandon Gibson.

Also, check out the new poll on the page, and cast your vote on who will win the Rams-Seahawks game this week.

The team also made some moves on the aforementioned practice squad, as they released wide receiver Brandon McRae and running back Allen Patrick and signed fullbacks Brit Miller and Jamie McCoy. With Illini Mike out, the the team felt it needed to have some bodies capable of playing fullback in case something happens to Mike Karney.

As for the workouts, I’m extremely surprised that a running back was not part of the group.  Offensive tackle Kirk Chambers, safety Macho Harris and linebacker Kevin Malast were all in town today, but none were immediately signed. I was a big fan of Harris when he was in college, but he has been slowed by injury in the NFL. I wouldn’t mind seeing him on the squad, but it sounds like the team is passing for now.

Finally, I would like to share something comical I read in Sports Illustrated today. A reporter was talking with Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, and he asked Stoops to name something that new quarterback Landry Jones does better than Sam Bradford. Stoops replied “Grows a mustache”. That’s obviously some high praise for Bradford. For those who don’t know what he’s talking about, here is a pic of the new Sooners signal-caller.