Rams News Recap: June 12

[RamBill]

Rams Notes: Club Signs 11 Draft Choices –PD
The final team in the National Football League to sign a draft pick, the Rams took care of their entire 11-man class Thursday, announcing that all signed contracts following the OTA practice session.

From Jail Time to Rams Park for Rookie Reid –PD
Even on a Rams offseason roster that numbers 90 players, every player has a story to tell. But none are as compelling as that of cornerback Greg Reid this offseason.

Kenny Britt Impressing in OTA’s –Video

Rams Sign All 11 Draft Picks –PD
Under coach Jeff Fisher and since the new collective bargaining agreement in 2011, the Rams have taken their time to a degree in signing their draft picks. There is little suspense to signing draft picks these days, with all of the money basically slotted by draft position.

Rams RB Zac Stacy Must Rise to Challenge Again –AP
Zac Stacy made his mark as a fifth-round pick last year, falling just shy of 1,000 yards. Now, the running back must prove his worth all over again.

Lots of OTA reps, closer to home –what’s not to like for Shaun Hill in the STL? –FSMW
Moving closer to home often is among the factors in a relocation, and that was the case with free-agent quarterback Shaun Hill. But there was more to it than that.

Lamarcus Joyner OTA Press Conference –Video

Isaac Bruce Talks About Lasting Lessons He Learned From His Dad –Radio Interview

Tony Softli Talks with Rams QB Garrett Gilbert –Radio Interview

Observations from Rams’ Sixth OTA –Wagoner
The St. Louis Rams got back to work Thursday with their fourth organized team activity open to the media.

Zac Stacy Focused on Adding to his Game –Wagoner
St. Louis Rams running back Zac Stacy fell 27 yards short of reaching 1,000 for his rookie season, an accomplishment that would have been impressive given he barely played the first quarter of the season.

T.J. McDonald’s Role Expected to Expand –Wagoner
St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams have an extensive history of working together. Their defensive philosophies are similar and, now that they are reunited in St. Louis, the scheme isn’t expected to change much at its core.

Morning Ram-blings: Broken Dome? –Wagoner
It’s no secret that the St. Louis Rams are looking for a new place to play. Their lease with the Edward Jones Dome is up after the 2014 season and what happens after that is knowledge seemingly limited only to owner Stan Kroenke.

Chris Long vs. Johnny Hekker in FIFA –Video

Holt on Hazing: ‘Do What the Veterans Say’ –Video

Can the Rams Win the NFC West? –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: No 'Hard Knocks'
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/9234/morning-ram-blings-no-hard-knocks

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Before and especially after the NFL draft, there was much speculation that the St. Louis Rams would be a prime candidate to appear on the HBO reality show "Hard Knocks" this summer.

Although coach Jeff Fisher indicated that it wasn't likely to happen, that speculation persisted. Well, for anyone hoping to see the Rams on HBO, whatever hope remained vanished Thursday morning when the Atlanta Falcons announced they would be featured this year.

What's interesting about the Falcons jumping on the opportunity is they were not one of the eight teams the league could force to participate. Under new rules from the NFL, teams can be forced to appear if they meet three requirements. One of those requirements gives a team a pass if it has made a playoff appearance in either of the past two seasons.

The Falcons went to the NFC Championship Game two years ago before falling to San Francisco. But before the league would force any team to participate, it opens its doors to volunteers. Clearly, Atlanta decided that the additional pub would be good for it as it looks to rebound from a rough 2013.

The Rams, meanwhile, wanted nothing to do with anything they deem to be a distraction. They already avoided the potential Michael Sam-focused "docu-series" and now have avoided the HBO cameras as well.

Personally, I don't believe a few extra camera crews would be much of a distraction for any NFL team but I can also understand why the Rams would prefer not to allow additional access to anyone. Either way, it doesn't matter much now.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Thursday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we began the day with a look at the future of the Edward Jones Dome. ... Next, we explored the ways in which safety T.J. McDonald's role will expand in 2014. ... From there, we looked at what running back Zac Stacy is focused on heading into his second season. ... Following the team's sixth organized team activity, I offered some observations on the day's practice. ... We closed the day with the news that the Rams signed all 11 of their draft picks on Thursday afternoon.

Chat: The weekly Rams chat makes its return today at 1 p.m. ET. You can submit questions now and/or join us when we go live. Hope to see you there.

Elsewhere:

Seahawks reporter Terry Blount writes that running back Marshawn Lynch plans to skip the team's mandatory minicamp.

Blount also offered some thoughts on what Lynch might be thinking.

At stltoday.com, columnist Bernie Miklasz writes that the Rams' offense isn't the only group that needs to be better in 2014.

Jim Thomas provides his post-practice update.

At FoxSportsMidwest.com, Nate Latsch writes that receiver Tavon Austin is looking for a bounce back season.