Aug 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Chris Givens (13) breaks away from Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Brandon Siler (52) during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

Chris Givens (Round 4, Pick 96) WR, Wake Forest 

Alongside Brian Quick, Givens was brought in to change the face of the St. Louis Rams receiving corps. Like Donnie Avery of the 2008 Draft, Givens’ main asset as a wide receiver is his speed, his ability to “blow the top off the defense,” and to make the opposing secondary respect the pass a little more. In limited time, Givens has gathered quite the fan group, from QB Sam Bradford to WR Coach Ray Sherman. Early in camp Bradford singled out Givens from the massive wideout pool,

“It’s hard to single out one guy, but I think Chris Givens has played really well over the past couple weeks,” Bradford said. “He’s smart, he understands what we’re doing. Rarely does he make a mental mistake. He always seems to be in the right position. I’ve definitely been impressed with what he’s been able to do throughout camp so far.”

Coach Sherman echoed Bradford, stating the obvious, that Givens can “get deep,” and that once he is on the field and running those deep-9′s “they’re going to respect him.”  The quintessential importance of a deep threat receiver is to ensure the opposing defense cannot control the game by making the offensive one dimensional. Defensive coordinators are less comfortable stacking the box with defenders in an attempt to killing the running game, which can force the offense into an every-down passing situation and shrink the size of the openings in zone coverage. Sherman hit the nail on the head with by claiming “it helps everybody else because you know he can do that (go deep).” By forcing the defense to respect the deep pass, players like Danny Amendola, Lance Kendricks, and anyone whose typical route tree consist of 5 to 10 yard patterns across the middle will benefit.

So far, Givens has had a fairly productive first two games, contributing 40 yards on 3 catches, averaging 13.3 yards per reception. However, passing stats do not show the full picture of what he has brought the table. In Week 1 against the Colts, Givens was targeted deep on a couple of occasions after gaining a step on the safety. Although he was not able to hall in the reception, he showed the importance of the deep threat, which is forcing the safeties to respect the receivers down the field. Givens has also been extremely useful in motion, using his speed after a quick catch in the flat to turn the corner for extra yardage. Givens does appear to be Coach Fisher’s favorite in the kick return game, getting a couple more chances than the rest of the field  and being the only player to gain yards in both preseason games on kickoff return. Fisher seems pleased with his rookie wideouts, saying of Quick and Givens,

“They’ve been getting out here in the one-on-one situations and in some team periods,” Fisher said of their reps in practice. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get them some reps with Sam in preseason games.”

More reps typically means more targets, so we will see how he progresses with more time on the field and, more importantly, more time syncing with Bradford and the first time offense. However, for all the good Givens has done, he still needs to work on his body control and positioning so that he can rake in those long balls when they are thrown. It is a crowded field, with Amendola, Pettis, Smith, and Quick battling for first team reps. With the return of Brandon Gibson to practice, the likelihood that any of them will see a significant amount of time over the other will drastically decrease. As long as Givens can stay healthy and continues to progress and contribute, his production should continue to increase.

Grade: B

Rokevious Watkins  (Round 5, Pick 150) G, South Carolina

Due to the injury history of the Rams’ offensive lineman, “Rok” Watkins was an easy choice in the 5th round. Watkins was a beast of a blocker at South Carolina and, more importantly, was extremely versatile on the offense line, playing guard in his first two season before switching to both left and right tackle as a senior. Much like Brian Quick, Watkins had a rough start to his rookie career, showing up to camp overweight and out of shape. “It was pretty high,” Watkins said of his reporting weight. “It was a couple of pounds over where they wanted me to be.” The term couple is definitely subjective, with reports that Rok was 16 lbs. above the coaching staffs expected weight. As a result, until the end of June, Coach Fisher did not allow Watkins to participate in individual or team drills, instead barring him to stretching and conditioning workouts until he achieved and maintained a playable weight.

In this rookie debute, Watkins played primarily with the second unit against the Colts, but, because of the deficit handed to the second unit, was not really given the opportunity to show off his run blocking abilities. However, Watkins got to see a ton of reps in the Chiefs game, including a beautiful, clearing block on the goal line that paved a path for Daryl Richardson’s first NFL touchdown. More impressively, was that it wasn’t a down block or a double team on the nose tackle, but, rather, a pull from the left side into the A-gap. Fisher had this to say following the performance ”They’re (Brockers and Watkins) getting opportunities to play early and we felt like they were going to contribute. I have to look at the tape to look at the big men on both lines, both Brockers and Watkins, but it looked like they were getting the job done.”

An athletic guard is an invaluable asset to any run heavy football team, especially when combined with a Pro Bowl-caliber center that doesn’t require guard-assistance in maintaining their blocks. With the proclamation that the Rams are going to push forward with run-first style of offense, Watkins could prove his worth in gold in the interior line that has been disappointing over the past half-decade. Watkins will have to show that he can maintain the conditioning requiring to compete at the professional level and continue to progress as a pass blocker, especially in an NFC West stacked with all-pro defensive lineman.

Grade: B- for a poor first impression; B+ since getting in shape

August 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams place kicker Greg Zuerlein (4) kicks a extra point in the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Greg Zuerlein (Round 6, Pick 171) K, Missouri Western State

Zuerlein hails from Missouri Western State, a Division-II program that competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association that might be better known as the complex for the Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp. In college, Zuerlein rewrote the NCAA record books for kickers, most notably,  nailing 9 out of 9 50+ field attempts his senior season. Some cautioned that ‘Greg the Leg’ would have some trouble adapting to the pressure imposed on kickers at the NFL level, especially since Zuerlein himself said that he didn’t recall ever playing infront of more than 6,000 fans. However, Zuerlein had the perfect response to that criticism,

“I really haven’t thought about trying to prove myself. I’ve always thought kicking is kicking at any level. I just figured as long as I went out there and showed everyone what I can do then everything else would take care of itself. Up to this point, it has.”

Zuerlein is quickly turning into a fan favorite,  put on a show during the Fan Fest scrimmage and nearly knocked Marshall Faulk out of the commentator box with his 52 yarder against the Chiefs, which he made look like a chip shot. Fisher has yet to “unleash the leg,” being quoted as saying, “we all know he (Zuerlein) can hit from 20 and 30 yards.” The picture of confidence, not only from the coaching staff and his teammates, but also in himself. Zuerlein is a perfect 2 of 2 on field goals, 4 of 4 on extra points, and has only had a single kickoff returned for more than 25 yards. The sky is the limit for this guy, literally, and Rams Nation should be excited to see what he can do during the regular season.

Instead of ending with my take on the kicker, I will end with a quote from the man himself. After booting a 64-yard field goal in an early training camp session, which bounced off the lower post and through the uprights,  Zuerlein said, ”my leg was tired and nothing was going as far as it normally does”

Grade: A+

Aaron Brown (Round 7, 209) LB, Hawaii

Being a 7th-rounder in the NFL, you are not going to get much of the glory, especially when you do not play a “skill” position. Aaron Brown will undoubtedly make the final roster, somewhere on the depth chart behind the cluster of free agent veterans picked up by the Rams shortly after the draft. Brown, so far, has 2 tackles in extremely limited time, put seen consistent action on special teams, which is where later round pick and UDFA often make their mark.

Fisher noted after the Colts opening loss that  Aaron Brown “blocked well on kickoff returns,” so he is at least being noticed by the head coach. As long as he continues to make plays on special team, Brown should progress nicely, if nothing else, learning from the veteran linebackers ahead of him on the depth chart. Assuming their isn’t some wave of catastrophic injuries that wiped out the current linebacking rotation, Brown will likely never see the field on defense during the regular season. However, special teams can make all the difference in a win or a loss, so hopefully he can continue to contribute in the area. It is hard to give a grade to a guy who hasn’t really seen the field, but lack of production, regardless of the reason, is still a lack of production, so…

Grade: C+

Nov 5, 2011; Fayetteville, AR, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks offensive tackle Rokevious Watkins (73) during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas defeated South Carolina 44-28. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-US PRESSWIRE

Now that the rookie training camp is officially under way and open to the media, we can get a better idea of what’s going on at Rams Park with the new guys. The news is not all good, unfortunately. Newly signed CB Trumaine Johnson made his Rams debut after missing Wednesday’s workout after sleeping through his alarm and missing his flight on Wednesday, while G Rokevious Watkins has been limited to pre-practice and post-practice stretching and conditioning drills after showing up to camp out out of shape.

Both of these issues are not what you want to see from rookies, but in the big scope of things I don’t think either will be that big of a deal. I feel for Johnson, because I too have been known to sleep through my alarm. It sucks, and I’m sure he feels terrible about it, but it happens. I’m told head coach Jeff Fisher wasn’t happy about it, but it happened so let’s move on.

As far as Roke goes, I really believe he has the ability to start at LG from Day 1 on this team, so coming in not in shape and missing precious workout time is disappointing. I wouldn’t be so quick to jump on his case, though. He is a huge man who has struggled with his weight in the past, and sometimes it can be tougher for those guys to head into camp ready to go. I’m not giving him a free pass, but I think as long as he works hard to drop some weight and get in shape it won’t hurt his chances to earn a spot.

One other interesting note from Thursday was that TE Michael Hoomanawanui was one of the only veterans in attendance working out with the rookies. Illini Mike is coming back from knee surgery, so he wanted to get a little time on the field before full camp starts this weekend. He reportedly looked slim and moved around pretty well.

June 12, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) talks with wide receivers during minicamp at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

I got an email from Zac Snyder, our editor over at Sidelion Report, asking me to answer some questions about the Rams for a preview he is doing for the Lions. After I originally didn’t see the email for about a week, Zac emailed me again on Wednesday and I answered his questions. After thinking about it, I thought I’d share my answers with everyone here and offer the opportunity for you to agree or disagree with whatever I had to say.

1. What is your opinion of the Rams’ 2012 draft?

It’s hard to judge a draft until you see the players in action, but on paper I think the Rams did an outstanding job in the 2012 NFL Draft. Michael Brockers is exactly what we needed in the middle of the defensive line, and I think one of the best picks of the entire draft by any team was getting Janoris Jenkins in the second round. Brian Quick looks like he can be a very good NFL WR, but he might need some time to adjust to the league after coming from Appalachian St. I also really like the upside of Chris Givens and Roke Watkins, two guys the Rams got later in the draft. They didn’t address every hole on this roster, but they got a heck of a start.

2. Matthew Stafford had to prove doubters wrong after two injury filled seasons to start his NFL career, are any Rams fans having doubts about Sam Bradford?

Sam Bradford is probably the biggest question mark on this Rams team right now. I think most fans here in St. Louis believe that Bradford has the ability to be an elite QB, but recently there has been a growing concern that he suffered from “Cabin Fever” in the pocket last season and that me might struggle to recover. If the offensive line gives him time, I believe Bradford could take the league by storm just like Stafford did last year. I would say that there are a good number of Rams fans who aren’t as confident as I am, but overall I think Rams fans are willing to give him at least this season to prove himself.

3. What is the general feel around the fanbase regarding Jeff Fisher taking over as head coach?

The Jeff Fisher hiring has completely rejuvenated the fanbase here in St. Louis. I think the fans recognize that bringing in a guy who is proven as an NFL head coach is exactly what the Rams needed after striking out with Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo. Fisher brought a fantastic staff with him to St. Louis, and St. Louis fans truly believe that Fisher is going to get this thing turned around much like Dick Vermeil did when he came to town years ago.

4. How real of a possibility is it that the Rams don’t work out a resolution to their stadium situation and leave for another city?

I know plenty of people here in St. Louis who are highly concerned about the possibility of the team moving to LA. Personally, I feel like the chances are significantly lower than most people think, but there is a chance. Stan Kroenke hasn’t done anything to lead me to believe he wants to move the team out of St. Louis. He helped bring the team here in the first place, and he has opened the checkbook to make this team better ever since he took over as owner. If i were a betting man, I’d have no problem putting my money on the line in favor of the Rams staying put, but this is still an issue that could escalate if it doesn’t get resolved soon.

5. What are your expectations for the Rams this season?

It’s so hard for me to put expectations for the upcoming season on this team right now. We have made so many changes, both in the coaching staff and in player personnel, that I don’t know what’s realistic. I certainly think the team will be greatly improved from last year, but it’s hard to be much worse. I think this organization is a few years away from being a legit threat to make any kind of postseason noise, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the 2012 version of the Rams won anywhere from 4 at the low end to 9 or 10 if everything fell perfectly in place. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, so if I had to predict a record I would say 6-10.