Rams News Recap: June 16

[RamBill]

T.J. Moe Hoping to Catch on with Rams –PD
T.J. Moe finds himself in a somewhat awkward position these days.

NFL Brings Time of Transition for Auburn’s Greg Robinson –AL.com
Greg Robinson is making the move from the left offensive tackle position that he held down at Auburn to the left guard spot for the St. Louis Rams after being taken with the second pick in the NFL Draft on May 8.

Breaking Down Scott Wells’ Reworked Contract –Wagoner
Last week, the St. Louis Rams quietly worked with center Scott Wells on executing a new contract with the intent to lower his salary cap figure over the final two years of his deal.

NFL Analysis: Weakest Position on Each Team –YahooSports.com
Here is a closer look at the weakest positions for each NFL team as analyzed by correspondents for The Sports Xchange:

RAMS ANNOUNCE 2014 TRAINING CAMP PRACTICE SCHEDULE
The 2014 St. Louis Rams Bud Light Training Camp presented Dr Pepper will feature 14 open practices at Rams Park, and an open scrimmage held at the Edward Jones Dome, the team announced today.

Don’t Undersell the Rams Nickel, Dime Defenses –Clayton
The “nickel” and “dime” defenses in the NFL are now misnamed. There is too much money going into the pass-defense packages to label them as pocket change.

Alex Carrington Adds to Already Deep D-line –Wagoner
When most free agents go shopping for a new home, the priority list usually looks something like money, playing time and a chance to win, in that order.

Morning Ram-blings: Feeling a Draft? –Wagoner
By almost all accounts, it sounds like the NFL draft is going to be on the move from its heretofore residence of New York City.

Rams Rookie QB Garrett Gilbert on Adjusting to NFL “The speed is noticeable.” –Video

Kevin Demoff Talks About the Remaining Off Season –Radio Interview

Aggressive’ Kenny Britt Has Been ‘Best Receiver’ at St. Louis Rams OTAs –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Sub-package special
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/9329/morning-ram-blings-sub-package-special

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- If you're not already reading ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton's weekly mailbag, that's probably something that needs to be remedied in the near future. Like, right now.

Clayton covers a variety of topics all over the league and this week offered an interesting nugget concerning the St. Louis Rams. The lead of the mailbag discusses the importance of having the right pieces in place on defensive subpackages such as the nickel and dime. In other words, when a team abandons its base defense and brings extra defensive backs on the field (usually to replace linebackers).

Given the proliferation of offenses using three, four and even five receiver sets, the emphasis on getting better in subpackages has only increased. In fact, many 4-3 teams use a fifth defensive back more than or as much as a third linebacker. If nothing else, defenses often spend their time in those looks on third down which also ratchets up the need for better pass-rushing options.

Which brings us back to Clayton's mailbag where he names the Rams as one of five teams he projects to improve in subpackages in 2014.

From Clayton's piece:

"The Rams already were loaded with talent in their subpackage with Robert Quinn, Chris Long,Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford. Now they can put first-round choice Aaron Donald in for Langford. Donald has the look of a 3-technique tackle who can get six to nine sacks as a rookie."


In addition to Donald, who should ramp up the pass rush, the Rams also brought in defensive tackle Alex Carrington and drafted likely slot corner Lamarcus Joyner in the second round. The Rams had trouble getting timely stops in 2013 but clearly made rectifying that problem a priority this offseason.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Monday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we began the day with a discussion of the possibility for St. Louis to host the NFL draft. ... Next, we examined the addition of defensive tackle Alex Carrington to a crowded position group. ... From there, we offered the Rams' training camp schedule. ... We closed the day with a look at center Scott Wells' reworked contract.

Elsewhere:

To complement Clayton's mailbag, here's his "Inside the Huddle" podcast with the likes of Richard Sherman joining him as guests.

On ESPN Insider, Bill Polian looks at the likelihood of success Insider for rookie offensive linemen, noting that those starting out at tackle could struggle.

Steelers reporter Scott Brown offers some great remembrances of coach Chuck Noll.

At stltoday.com, Jim Thomas explores the journey for cornerback Greg Reid to the NFL.

101sports.com provides four observations from the Rams' organized team activities.