Random Rams Ramblings

We are in the calm before the storm. There isn’t much left to talk about before the draft, other than to speculate. I’ve already spent a reasonable amount of time profiling prospective draftee’s and creating mock draft scenarios, so my speculation is probably wore out by now. This week I’m just going to cover a few random stories that have popped up this week that relate to the St. Louis Rams.

– The Rams brought in Jerome Simpson and Jericho Cotchery to try-out this week. Both are proven commodities in the NFL, and would  be more reliable than the rest of the Rams receiving corp; however, neither is going to significant;y upgrade the position. I do think it is important for the Rams to sign a receiver like one of these guys before training camp. St. Louis needs a non-rookie they can count on. Gibson, Alexander, Pettis, and Salas have not proven to be reliable, so the Rams will have to go off-shop to find some compliments for Bradford.

– Dennis Dixon was brought in to throw to the aforementioned receivers this week. Dixon played well when filling in at QB for Pittsburgh, and I believe they are making  a mistake by letting him go in favor of Charlie Batch or Byron Leftwich as a #2. He would be an acceptable backup for Bradford. He isn’t going to take over a game, but he can win games (as he has proven), so I hope the Rams are seriously considering him as the Rams #2. It’s a position the Rams have been flirting with all off-season, but have yet to solve for 2012-2013.

– The Rams new uniforms from Nike were released this week. I think all the Nike uniforms were upgrades, and that includes Seattle. The Nike uniforms are more modern and provide a dynamic style that the players enjoy. “Old guys” and purest’s will be resistant for the next few years, but that just means Nike is doing there job.

– The Patriots signed former Ram linebacker Bobby Carpenter, and I expect he will have a great year in New England. Bobby is a guy who has made some great plays, but has failed to do so consistently. I give the “evil hoodie” a 50% chance of reviving his career. it just seems like a good fit.

– OJ Atogwe is still on the open market. It might not be a bad idea for the Rams to see if he’s healthy (the biggest concern I think most teams have). Everyone knows OJ is a hard worker and a good player. It might not be bad to make a low-risk investment at safety. By the way, isn’t it about time we cut James Butler?

– Lebron has cursed Miami. Ever since “the decision” Miami sports franchises can’t catch a break. The Dolphins are terrible in 2011 and fire their coach after not being able to hire Jim Harbough in the off-season. Then, they fail to hire Gruden, Fisher, or just about anyone with prior credibility as thier new HC. They can’t sign Peyton Manning or Matt Flynn, and settle for David Garrard, but are vocally unhappy about it. They can’t trade for up for the second pick and lose out to Washington, and finally can’t seem to sell any season tickets. And, we haven’t even talked about the Marlins yet. The Marlins couldn’t sign Pujols and spent billions on a  new stadium that no one comes to, and then lose their first game of the season to the Cardinals. Geeze Lebron, what did you do? Was he worth it Miami? Obviously I’m joking about the correlation, but would it be a stretch to say that the Lebrons decision to go to Miami two years ago really did tarnish the reputation of Miami sports? I’ll let you decide.

@tylerbishop