- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Cunningham likely to start for Rams
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_f6a9e6ca-020b-5c6d-8114-27b48da2930c.html
In the running back “section” of the Rams’ locker room, Benny Cunningham’s stall is surrounded by former first-, second- and third-round draft picks.
Yet it is Cunningham, undrafted out of Middle Tennessee State in 2013, who is the probable starter for the Rams on Sunday against Seattle.
Rookie Todd Gurley was listed as “out” on Friday’s injury report as he puts the finishing touches on his rehab and recovery from knee surgery while at the University of Georgia. It might be another couple of weeks before he makes his Rams debut.
Tre Mason, the Rams’ leading rusher a year ago (with 765 yards), did not practice all week and is listed as questionable because of a hamstring injury.
Per NFL parlance, the “questionable” designation means a player has a 50-50 chance of playing. But with rare exception, players who don’t practice all week don’t play Sunday.
So the expectation at Rams Park, inside and outside the locker room, is that Cunningham will get the start against the Seahawks.
“I’m just trying to prepare myself as best as possible for this upcoming game, and trying to make the most of this opportunity right now,” he said.
In two seasons with the Rams, Cunningham has carried 113 times for 507 yards and four touchdowns, and caught 45 passes for 411 yards and one touchdown. So he has seen a fair amount of playing time in the NFL and has even started two games.
His first NFL start, in fact, came against these same Seahawks last Oct. 19, a game in which he had 45 yards on five receptions and a TD and returned a kickoff 75 yards but had only two carries for 3 yards.
Because he has some seasoning, stage fright shouldn’t be a problem. But can he carry the load against a Seattle defense that ranked first in scoring defense and total defense, and third in rushing defense, a year ago? Cunningham never has had more than 13 carries in a game.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job of preparing this offseason, and most definitely this week, to get ready for moments like this,” Cunningham said with a quiet confidence. “Throughout the offseason you don’t prepare to go be a backup. You prepare to be a starter. I feel like that’s every running back in the NFL. So when the opportunity is given to us, we just want to make the most of it.”
Cunningham certainly has the confidence of his teammates.
“He’s gonna perform,” said linebacker Daren Bates, newly named as one of the Rams’ special teams captains. “He’s played some downs of offense in the past since he’s been here.”
So Cunningham starting against Seattle is no big deal?
“It’s nothing,” Bates said. “Just plug him in and keep playing because you know he’s gonna produce. Benny’s strong. He might be 5-5, but he can move the pile.”
Well, listing Cunningham at 5 feet 5 might be, uh, short-changing him, but his listed height of 5-10 might be stretching it.
A year ago, Cunningham was the Rams’ second-team running back behind the now-departed Zac Stacy and then Mason. He carved out a niche as the third-down back. A month from now, he’ll probably be third-string behind Gurley and Mason.
But in the Rams’ 2015 season opener, all signs point to him being the starter. As expected, coach Jeff Fisher was tight-lipped in discussing the injury situation in the backfield.
“(Mason) did not practice today, and he will be listed as questionable,” Fisher said Friday. “Todd Gurley was limited in practice and he is out, as we discussed.”
End of discussion. Earlier in the week, Fisher said Mason would be a “game-time” decision, which almost always is coach-speak for “probably not going to play.”
If Mason indeed joins Gurley in street clothes Sunday, and with Trey Watts suspended for the first four games, that means Isaiah Pead is the No. 2 back Sunday behind Cunningham.
Yes, Isaiah Pead, former second-round draft pick, former Big East offensive player of the year at the University of Cincinnati, a forgotten man on the Rams’ depth chart almost since his rookie season of 2012.
Pead missed the entire 2014 regular season because of a knee injury suffered against Green Bay that preseason. In 2012 and ’13, he carried a combined 17 times and caught only 14 passes.
There were times when it appeared his roster spot might be in jeopardy. But he kept working, most recently working through his knee rehab, and now he’s in line to see some playing time in the opener.
“He finished up really strong two years ago for us on special teams, and last year was a really big year for him, we thought, and then he had the injury,” Fisher said. “But he’s come back and he’s returned right back to where he was.
“The injury’s not an issue anymore and he’s a productive (special) teams player for us. He knows our offense and he’s definitely going to play.”
Pead even discarded his knee brace in the Rams’ preseason game against Indianapolis two weeks ago and hasn’t used it since. The knee feels that good.
Cunningham and Pead are in their third season together as teammates, so they know they can work together Sunday.
“As a running back group we hold each other accountable,” Pead said. “We all have a good vibe. We share information with whoever’s on the field. So me and Benny going 1-and-2 feels like it’s always felt.”
Cunningham added: “I know what he brings to the table; he knows what I bring to the table. We work well with each other. He’s competitive. He has a great work ethic. It’s good to know you’re going to war with somebody like him.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_f6a9e6ca-020b-5c6d-8114-27b48da2930c.html
In the running back “section” of the Rams’ locker room, Benny Cunningham’s stall is surrounded by former first-, second- and third-round draft picks.
Yet it is Cunningham, undrafted out of Middle Tennessee State in 2013, who is the probable starter for the Rams on Sunday against Seattle.
Rookie Todd Gurley was listed as “out” on Friday’s injury report as he puts the finishing touches on his rehab and recovery from knee surgery while at the University of Georgia. It might be another couple of weeks before he makes his Rams debut.
Tre Mason, the Rams’ leading rusher a year ago (with 765 yards), did not practice all week and is listed as questionable because of a hamstring injury.
Per NFL parlance, the “questionable” designation means a player has a 50-50 chance of playing. But with rare exception, players who don’t practice all week don’t play Sunday.
So the expectation at Rams Park, inside and outside the locker room, is that Cunningham will get the start against the Seahawks.
“I’m just trying to prepare myself as best as possible for this upcoming game, and trying to make the most of this opportunity right now,” he said.
In two seasons with the Rams, Cunningham has carried 113 times for 507 yards and four touchdowns, and caught 45 passes for 411 yards and one touchdown. So he has seen a fair amount of playing time in the NFL and has even started two games.
His first NFL start, in fact, came against these same Seahawks last Oct. 19, a game in which he had 45 yards on five receptions and a TD and returned a kickoff 75 yards but had only two carries for 3 yards.
Because he has some seasoning, stage fright shouldn’t be a problem. But can he carry the load against a Seattle defense that ranked first in scoring defense and total defense, and third in rushing defense, a year ago? Cunningham never has had more than 13 carries in a game.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job of preparing this offseason, and most definitely this week, to get ready for moments like this,” Cunningham said with a quiet confidence. “Throughout the offseason you don’t prepare to go be a backup. You prepare to be a starter. I feel like that’s every running back in the NFL. So when the opportunity is given to us, we just want to make the most of it.”
Cunningham certainly has the confidence of his teammates.
“He’s gonna perform,” said linebacker Daren Bates, newly named as one of the Rams’ special teams captains. “He’s played some downs of offense in the past since he’s been here.”
So Cunningham starting against Seattle is no big deal?
“It’s nothing,” Bates said. “Just plug him in and keep playing because you know he’s gonna produce. Benny’s strong. He might be 5-5, but he can move the pile.”
Well, listing Cunningham at 5 feet 5 might be, uh, short-changing him, but his listed height of 5-10 might be stretching it.
A year ago, Cunningham was the Rams’ second-team running back behind the now-departed Zac Stacy and then Mason. He carved out a niche as the third-down back. A month from now, he’ll probably be third-string behind Gurley and Mason.
But in the Rams’ 2015 season opener, all signs point to him being the starter. As expected, coach Jeff Fisher was tight-lipped in discussing the injury situation in the backfield.
“(Mason) did not practice today, and he will be listed as questionable,” Fisher said Friday. “Todd Gurley was limited in practice and he is out, as we discussed.”
End of discussion. Earlier in the week, Fisher said Mason would be a “game-time” decision, which almost always is coach-speak for “probably not going to play.”
If Mason indeed joins Gurley in street clothes Sunday, and with Trey Watts suspended for the first four games, that means Isaiah Pead is the No. 2 back Sunday behind Cunningham.
Yes, Isaiah Pead, former second-round draft pick, former Big East offensive player of the year at the University of Cincinnati, a forgotten man on the Rams’ depth chart almost since his rookie season of 2012.
Pead missed the entire 2014 regular season because of a knee injury suffered against Green Bay that preseason. In 2012 and ’13, he carried a combined 17 times and caught only 14 passes.
There were times when it appeared his roster spot might be in jeopardy. But he kept working, most recently working through his knee rehab, and now he’s in line to see some playing time in the opener.
“He finished up really strong two years ago for us on special teams, and last year was a really big year for him, we thought, and then he had the injury,” Fisher said. “But he’s come back and he’s returned right back to where he was.
“The injury’s not an issue anymore and he’s a productive (special) teams player for us. He knows our offense and he’s definitely going to play.”
Pead even discarded his knee brace in the Rams’ preseason game against Indianapolis two weeks ago and hasn’t used it since. The knee feels that good.
Cunningham and Pead are in their third season together as teammates, so they know they can work together Sunday.
“As a running back group we hold each other accountable,” Pead said. “We all have a good vibe. We share information with whoever’s on the field. So me and Benny going 1-and-2 feels like it’s always felt.”
Cunningham added: “I know what he brings to the table; he knows what I bring to the table. We work well with each other. He’s competitive. He has a great work ethic. It’s good to know you’re going to war with somebody like him.”
