Rams News Recap: Aug. 26

[RamBill]

Sam, Westbrooks Going Down to the Wire –PD
Defensive end Michael Sam has gotten through the first checkpoint, advancing past Tuesday’s league-wide mandatory roster cutdown to 75 players.

Strauss: Bradford’s Injury is a Turning Point for Franchise –PD
The loss of Rams quarterback Sam Bradford to a second season-ending injury to his left anterior cruciate ligament gives rise to competing narratives:

Rams Notebook: Robinson Experiences Ups and Downs of the NFL –PD
As Greg Robinson readily admits, his first training camp and preseason with the Rams has had “its ups and downs.’’

Rams Coach Jeff Fisher: “We’ve got depth, youth and flexibility” –Video

Greg Robinson Still Working to Catch Up –Wagoner

St. Louis Rams Cut-Down Analysis –Wagoner
Most significant move: None of the Rams’ moves really registered much of a blip on the radar, though parting with defensive end Sammy Brown and safety Matt Daniels in this round might qualify as something of a surprise.

Rams Coach Jeff Fisher in Second Tier of Coach Rankings –Wagoner

Michael Sam Survives First Round Of Cuts For Rams –Video

Did The Rams Get Enough For RG III? –Video

Robert Quinn Looks to Improve Upon Pro Bowl Season –Gray
While St. Louis Rams fourth-year defensive end Robert Quinn may already be the league’s most proficient pass rusher, what’s downright mind-boggling is this: The freshly-minted Pro Bowler is going to get better.

Jim Thomas Talks Rams on PFT Live –Video

Jeff Fisher Post Practice Press Conference Transcripts: Aug. 26

Who Will Replace Trumaine Johnson? –TST
The Rams will be without third-year starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson for four to six weeks to start the season, another casualty from Saturday’s game. Who will replace him in the starting lineup and how does that impact the depth chart?

Shaun Hill In, But Rams’ QB Questions Remain –Stalter
Immediately after news broke that Sam Bradford re-tore his ACL on Saturday night in Cleveland and would miss the entire 2014 season, I started receiving text and Twitter messages about available quarterback options for the Rams moving forward.

Sam Wants to Keep Being a Football Player –Wagoner
As if from an assembly line, the labels have been thrown at Michael Sam.

Morning Ram-blings: QB Options? –Wagoner
There has been plenty of discussion about the St. Louis Rams adding help at the quarterback position after Sam Bradford’s season ending injury.

Mike Martz on Shaun Hill: “I underestimated his ability” –Radio Interview

Wagoner Talks Rams QB Situation –Video

PFT Breaks Down the Rams QB Situation –Video

Rams Coping With Loss Of Bradford –ESPN Video

Burwell: Rams Season Not Doomed –Video

Esiason: Don’t Count Out Bradford, Rams –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: What about Sanchez?
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10987/morning-ram-blings-what-about-sanchez

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Since the St. Louis Rams confirmed the season-ending knee injury for quarterback Sam Bradford, there has been plenty of speculation about possible signal-callers they could add.

Many names have been bandied about though coach Jeff Fisher has repeated multiple times that the team isn't actively looking and would remain patient to see if any potential veteran backups for Shaun Hill shake loose during cuts this week.

One name popular on many lists is Philadelphia's Mark Sanchez. On Tuesday, our John Clayton discussed the possibility of the Rams adding Sanchez.

Clayton says the Rams will not be trading for Sanchez and mentioned that the only way the Rams would add Sanchez is if Philadelphia released him. There's no reason to think that will happen so it's probably a safe bet that Sanchez won't be a Ram.

And really, that should be no surprise to anyone who has followed Sanchez's offseason and how the Rams approached the backup job in the first place. They could have had Sanchez in free agency but pursued Hill instead. And Sanchez's profile has been on the rise only because of his success in some preseason games in a system that apparently fits him well.

The Rams are serious about sticking with Hill. They could add a veteran quarterback in the next week or so and are right to keep their minds open but anyone they add will almost certainly be as a backup for Hill.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Tuesday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... We began an extremely busy day with the Ram-blings and a look at Field Yates' breakdown of potential quarterback options. ... We took a quick look at the 10 players the Rams released Monday. ... Next, we explored end Michael Sam's football journey and how he's on the verge of following all the way through. ... Defensive end Chris Long appeared on Tuesday's #NFLRank list at No. 37 on defense. ... Mike Sando's latest Insider piece placed coach Jeff Fisher at No. 11 amongst the league's 32 head coaches. Insider ... We then looked at rookie offensive lineman Greg Robinson's efforts to get comfortable in the NFL. ... The Rams made their four other necessary moves, leaving Sam still on the roster as expected. ... We then broke down the team's first round of roster moves. ... Finally, we closed the day with Josina Anderson and I discussing where Sam stands heading into Thursday night's preseason finale.

Elsewhere:

The NFL Live crew revisits the trade the Rams made with the Washington Redskins before the 2012 NFL draft.

Meant to get to this Tuesday but here's a video of me discussing Hill and the quarterback situation.

At 101sports.com, Anthony Stalter wonders why the Rams didn't think long term with the quarterback spot in the offseason.

At stltoday.com, Bryan Burwell writes that the Rams shouldn't pursue any of the many quarterback ideas being thrown around.

Jim Thomas participated in his weekly chat.