Rams News Recap: July 23

[RamBill]

No Summer Vacation for First-Rounders Robinson, Donald –PD
Among the Rams’ 2014 draft class, seventh-rounder Michael Sam has garnered more headlines than anyone because of the history-making nature of his quest to become the first openly-gay player to make an NFL regular-season roster.

Rams Notebook: After Playing 2 Sports in College, Harlan’s Focus is Football –PD
At 6 feet 4 and weighing 281 pounds, Deantre Harlan was a force in the middle of the Bacone College defense in Muskogee, Okla., during the 2012 and 2013 football seasons.

Teams With Most Under-25 Talent: Rams #1 –ESPN
With training camps opening up around the NFL, the preseason is right around the corner, and teams will have a lot of young talent to evaluate when determining their final roster spots.

Rams’ Garrett Gilbert Arrives with Plenty to Prove –Wagoner
Under normal circumstances, Garrett Gilbert’s offseason methods for learning the St. Louis Rams’ offense would have put him in hot water with parents Gale and Kim Gilbert.

Lamarcus Joyner Interview From Training Camp –Video

Lamarcus Joyner & Tre Mason Could Actually Be Rams’ Most Impactful Rookies –Radio Interview

Rams Roster Preview: Barrett Jones –TST
The St. Louis Rams have been working hard to build a strong offensive line in recent years.

Rams Tweak Roster Before Camp –Wagoner
The St. Louis Rams don’t officially begin training camp until Friday, but they took care of a little housekeeping before the veterans join the rookies and they get down to business.

Sorting Out What the Rams Need to Accomplish Before Week 1 –Balzer
It’s finally time for some football in St. Louis, six months after the Rams’ 2013 season ended with a 7-9 record.

Jeff Gordon: DB Development Crucial for Rams
Let’s face it, the Rams secondary remains a primary concern this season.

Morning Ram-blings: Preseason Polling –Wagoner
The Associated Press released its first 2014 NFL power poll Tuesday with preseason rankings of the league’s 32 teams. The St. Louis Rams checked in at No. 17 on the list, not far from where they finished the 2013 season

Jeff Fisher: Michael Sam Hasn’t Been a Distraction –Video

Wagoner’s Rams Buzz: Rookies Westbrooks and Bayer Could Make An Impact –Video

Rams Coach Jeff Fisher with Mike and Mike –Radio Interview

Rams Rookie Greg Robinson Talks About Training Camp –Video

Aaron Donald: “The Rams Veterans Are There for Me” –Video

Jim Thomas Rams Chat Highlights: July 22

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Quinn's value
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/9832/morning-ram-blings-quinns-value

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- When it comes to the many lists of the NFL's top players, opinions vary from person to person and media outlet to media outlet. Over at Grantland, Bill Barnwell has put a little different spin on the usual player rankings permeating the internet in recent weeks.

Taking his cues from Bill Simmons' basketball rankings, Barnwell has released his top 50 trade value chart this week, with the second piece coming Wednesday morning. Instead of a pure ranking of who is the best player, Barnwell takes into account the player's contract, age and production. The ultimate question for the rankings comes down to would you trade a player for a player -- so in other words the team with the No. 1 ranked player wouldn't trade that player for No. 2, etc.

While the St. Louis Rams are only represented by one player on the list, it's a player who checks in quite high. Defensive end Robert Quinn landed at No. 7 on the list, meaning Barnwell views him as the player who would draw the seventh best return in a trade.

Considering Quinn still has two years left on his rookie deal after the Rams exercised his fifth-year option in the offseason. Even better, the Rams will pay him less than $10 million total over those two seasons. Quinn is coming off a 19-sack season and is still only 24 years old.

Considering some of the names in front of Quinn on the list, No. 7 feels about right. Houston defensive end J.J. Watt is the only defender ranked above him and it's hard to argue with that given Watt's slightly larger sample size of premium production.

But as someone who gets to watch Quinn every day, it would not be at all a stretch to say that he should be the highest-rated non-quarterback on the list. His combination of athleticism and effort is unmatched by any pass-rusher in the league and right now he's an absolute bargain in terms of his contract.

The Rams haven't had many legitimate superstars since receiver Torry Holt's prime but Quinn is clearly the next in line.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Wednesday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we took a look at The Associated Press' NFL preseason poll where the Rams checked in at No. 17. ... In this week's Buzz video, we examined a couple of deep sleepers looking to make the roster. ... From there, we went through a few last-minute roster adjustments the Rams made before the start of training camp. ... Finally, we took a look at the work done by rookie quarterback Garrett Gilbert to bolster his shot at landing a roster spot.

Elsewhere:

Rams coach Jeff Fisher made it clear he doesn't view Michael Sam as a distraction in his interview with Mike and Mike.

Columnist Jason Whitlock weighed in on the Dungy/Sam situation as well.

For those that missed it last week, here's Sam accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on the ESPYs.

At stltoday.com, Jim Thomas takes a look at 10 of the most memorable training camp moments the Rams have had since arriving in St. Louis.

Joe Lyons writes that rookie safety Maurice Alexander is back to work after recovering from offseason knee surgery.