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Rams notes: Browns FB Agnew prepares to face 'his' team
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_715b5033-97b2-573a-9e7f-c493e5ac6955.html
Ray Agnew grew up as a huge Rams fan.
That’s what happens when you’re raised in St. Louis and spend your formative years in the Greatest Show On Turf era. That’s also what happens when your dad, also named Ray, played the final three seasons of an 11-year NFL career with the Rams and was a key player on the Super Bowl championship squad in 1999.
The elder Agnew remained with the organization after his playing days and is now the team’s assistant director of pro personnel.
But the younger Agnew, who starred at De Smet and Southern Illinois University, will be wearing No. 48 and playing fullback for the opposition tonight when the Rams take on the Browns in Cleveland.
“It’s our first home game of the preseason, which is special enough, but getting a chance to play the Rams is definitely going to make it special night for me,’’ Ray III said in a recent phone conversation. “My dad’s been with the organization for 20-something years, so obviously the Rams have always been a big part of my life. Last year at this time, I was at Rams Park watching them in training camp and now I’m in training camp myself, trying to win a job with the Browns and getting a chance to play against the team I grew up rooting for. It’s kind of surreal.’’
He continued: “I don’t think it’ll be weird. I just think it’s going to be exciting.’’
When asked about the Rams gear he’d accumulated over the years, Ray III said, “I still have it – in St. Louis – I didn’t see any reason to bring any of that stuff to Cleveland.’’
Agnew, 23, stands 5 feet 10 and weighs 247 pounds. He has seen limited action in the Browns’ first two preseason contests, a pair of one-point losses, but the punishing blocker is listed at No. 1 on the team’s depth chart.
“I’m getting a chance and that’s really all you can ask for, right?’’ he said. “I got more snaps against Detroit (14, with three more on special teams) than against Washington (four, one), but that had more to do with the game plan.’’
Agnew said that Rams made contact during and after the draft but he opted to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Browns.
“Cleveland showed a lot of interest throughout the draft process and they’re a team that uses the fullback quite a bit more than most NFL teams,’’ he said. “It just seemed like the best fit for me.’’
Ray III was a standout linebacker and running back at De Smet when Spartans coach Pat Mahoney approached him about the shift to fullback.
“Of all the backs we had, I was one best suited for fullback. I gave it a shot and the rest is history,’’ he said. “It’s not a position with much glamor or accolades, but it’s a position I’ve really come to love. I enjoy the contact and I don’t mind doing the dirty work.
“It’s not an easy position to play, but if you work hard and do the job, you’re going to earn the respect of your teammates and that means a lot to me.’’
Like a lot of players on the field tonight, Agnew is battling to earn a roster spot in the NFL. The league’s first cutdown, from 90 to 75, will be announced Tuesday.
“If you spend a lot of time worrying about it, it’ll drive you crazy,’’ he said. “Instead, you just have to focus on working hard every day and doing whatever the team and the coaching staff ask you to do. Right now, my entire focus is on trying to knock down whoever is across the line from me.’’
And Ray III said his father has been there every step of the way.
“We talk on the phone all the time, so if I have questions, he’s there to answer them,’’ the younger Agnew said. “Because of my dad’s time with the Rams, I probably have a little better understanding of how the business works. But I’m still an undrafted free agent trying to make a football team, so when I get my opportunities, I have to make the most of them.’’
Agnew is one of three St. Louis-area rookies on the Browns’ roster, joining defensive back Pierre Desir (Francis Howell Central, Lindenwood) and linebacker Chris Kirksey (Hazelwood East, Iowa). Cleveland’s draft class also includes quarterback Johnny Manziel and his trailing media circus.
“It’s been pretty amazing, especially coming from a smaller school like SIU,” Agnew said. “Having ESPN at every practice was a little distracting at first, but eventually you get used to it.’’
Agnew joked that “Johnny Football mania’’ has had a positive impact on the Agnew family. “My mom likes it because she gets a chance to see me every day on ESPN,’’ Ray III said, laughing. “I just have to make sure I’m always standing somewhere close to Johnny.’’
A LITTLE MORE MANZIEL
The Browns have announced Brian Hoyer, a sixth-year pro, will start ahead of Manziel, but ... “I’m hoping he gets to play a lot (tonight),’’ Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s an outstanding athlete and he’ll test our defense if he breaks the pocket and takes off running.’’
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_715b5033-97b2-573a-9e7f-c493e5ac6955.html
Ray Agnew grew up as a huge Rams fan.
That’s what happens when you’re raised in St. Louis and spend your formative years in the Greatest Show On Turf era. That’s also what happens when your dad, also named Ray, played the final three seasons of an 11-year NFL career with the Rams and was a key player on the Super Bowl championship squad in 1999.
The elder Agnew remained with the organization after his playing days and is now the team’s assistant director of pro personnel.
But the younger Agnew, who starred at De Smet and Southern Illinois University, will be wearing No. 48 and playing fullback for the opposition tonight when the Rams take on the Browns in Cleveland.
“It’s our first home game of the preseason, which is special enough, but getting a chance to play the Rams is definitely going to make it special night for me,’’ Ray III said in a recent phone conversation. “My dad’s been with the organization for 20-something years, so obviously the Rams have always been a big part of my life. Last year at this time, I was at Rams Park watching them in training camp and now I’m in training camp myself, trying to win a job with the Browns and getting a chance to play against the team I grew up rooting for. It’s kind of surreal.’’
He continued: “I don’t think it’ll be weird. I just think it’s going to be exciting.’’
When asked about the Rams gear he’d accumulated over the years, Ray III said, “I still have it – in St. Louis – I didn’t see any reason to bring any of that stuff to Cleveland.’’
Agnew, 23, stands 5 feet 10 and weighs 247 pounds. He has seen limited action in the Browns’ first two preseason contests, a pair of one-point losses, but the punishing blocker is listed at No. 1 on the team’s depth chart.
“I’m getting a chance and that’s really all you can ask for, right?’’ he said. “I got more snaps against Detroit (14, with three more on special teams) than against Washington (four, one), but that had more to do with the game plan.’’
Agnew said that Rams made contact during and after the draft but he opted to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Browns.
“Cleveland showed a lot of interest throughout the draft process and they’re a team that uses the fullback quite a bit more than most NFL teams,’’ he said. “It just seemed like the best fit for me.’’
Ray III was a standout linebacker and running back at De Smet when Spartans coach Pat Mahoney approached him about the shift to fullback.
“Of all the backs we had, I was one best suited for fullback. I gave it a shot and the rest is history,’’ he said. “It’s not a position with much glamor or accolades, but it’s a position I’ve really come to love. I enjoy the contact and I don’t mind doing the dirty work.
“It’s not an easy position to play, but if you work hard and do the job, you’re going to earn the respect of your teammates and that means a lot to me.’’
Like a lot of players on the field tonight, Agnew is battling to earn a roster spot in the NFL. The league’s first cutdown, from 90 to 75, will be announced Tuesday.
“If you spend a lot of time worrying about it, it’ll drive you crazy,’’ he said. “Instead, you just have to focus on working hard every day and doing whatever the team and the coaching staff ask you to do. Right now, my entire focus is on trying to knock down whoever is across the line from me.’’
And Ray III said his father has been there every step of the way.
“We talk on the phone all the time, so if I have questions, he’s there to answer them,’’ the younger Agnew said. “Because of my dad’s time with the Rams, I probably have a little better understanding of how the business works. But I’m still an undrafted free agent trying to make a football team, so when I get my opportunities, I have to make the most of them.’’
Agnew is one of three St. Louis-area rookies on the Browns’ roster, joining defensive back Pierre Desir (Francis Howell Central, Lindenwood) and linebacker Chris Kirksey (Hazelwood East, Iowa). Cleveland’s draft class also includes quarterback Johnny Manziel and his trailing media circus.
“It’s been pretty amazing, especially coming from a smaller school like SIU,” Agnew said. “Having ESPN at every practice was a little distracting at first, but eventually you get used to it.’’
Agnew joked that “Johnny Football mania’’ has had a positive impact on the Agnew family. “My mom likes it because she gets a chance to see me every day on ESPN,’’ Ray III said, laughing. “I just have to make sure I’m always standing somewhere close to Johnny.’’
A LITTLE MORE MANZIEL
The Browns have announced Brian Hoyer, a sixth-year pro, will start ahead of Manziel, but ... “I’m hoping he gets to play a lot (tonight),’’ Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s an outstanding athlete and he’ll test our defense if he breaks the pocket and takes off running.’’