War hero has Rams tryout

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DaveFan'51

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Let the OTA's and Camp determine our roaster! Keep the 54 best! ( +the PS of course!)
 

RamFan503

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Question. If he was never in the military, would he have been given a chance? The answer is no. I'm sorry, but he's a glorified gimmick and Fisher loves his gimmicks. I respect the guy, but I disagree with you. Heart and determination does not trump talent. This isn't Rudy. Good movie though.
That very may be true but we are talking about one slot out of 90 that will be filled regardless by someone else that has little to no chance of making the team. As far as what trumps what, there are plenty of more talented players flipping burgers because they didn't have the heart and determination. In the end, we are not passing up some diamond in the rough because Fisher wants a gimmick. Instead, we are giving a guy who served our country a chance to live out a dream. If he makes the 90, I'm not sweating the whys one bit.
 

LazyWinker

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I'm pulling for him. Clemson has had a quality group of receivers, I hope he surprises us.
 

Akrasian

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I'm sorry, I wouldn't want him on the 90 man roster. Let him carry the colors before the Star Spangled Banner, let him pose with players, etc. But putting players on the 90 man roster should mean either

1) You expect them to make the team; or
2) There's a shot for them to make the team, even if it would be a surprise or require injuries; or
3) There is something physically intriguing about them, and you want to see if they should be put on the PS (think what should have been done with Fendi Onobun); or
4) They are quality camp bodies to get reps to keep the main players from getting too tired.

This guy looks like at most he's #4, and very marginal at that.
 

RamzFanz

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #27
I'm sorry, I wouldn't want him on the 90 man roster. Let him carry the colors before the Star Spangled Banner, let him pose with players, etc. But putting players on the 90 man roster should mean either

1) You expect them to make the team; or
2) There's a shot for them to make the team, even if it would be a surprise or require injuries; or
3) There is something physically intriguing about them, and you want to see if they should be put on the PS (think what should have been done with Fendi Onobun); or
4) They are quality camp bodies to get reps to keep the main players from getting too tired.

This guy looks like at most he's #4, and very marginal at that.

5) There is something mentally intriguing about them, the guy is so accomplished and and has so much heart, you know he will drive himself to excel beyond just his physical gifts.
 

bluecoconuts

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Good for him, while I can't imagine he sticks, would be nice to see him get some preseason action.
 

RamBill

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Rams sign tryout players Daniel Rodriguez and Tyler Ott
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/18423/rams-sign-two-tryout-players

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams only invited two players to their rookie orientation on a tryout basis over the weekend, but they both did enough to earn contracts.

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Daniel Rodriguez and long snapper Tyler Ott officially signed with the team after the rookie orientation. With both players signed, the Rams now have a full roster at 90 players.

Rodriguez, in particular, brings with him one of the most inspirational stories you'll find among this year's crop of rookies (or anywhere). Rodriguez, 27, got a tryout with the Rams after spending four seasons at Clemson.

Before his time with the Tigers, Rodriguez was in the Army from 2006-2010. He worked his way up to sergeant and served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Along the way, he earned a Purple Heart when a rocket-propelled grenade left shrapnel in his neck and legs and a bullet hit him in the shoulder.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who is a big proponent of the military and holds the Wounded Warriors close to his heart, hinted Saturday that Rodriguez might get an extended opportunity with the team.

“His story’s well-documented," Fisher said. "Wanted to give him an opportunity. We’ll see what happens. Very impressed obviously with his story and what he did at Clemson and what he was able to accomplish.”

Ott comes to the Rams after spending most of 2014 training camp with the New England Patriots. He was back with the Patriots in March but released last week. The Harvard product played at the Senior Bowl in 2014.

Both Rodriguez and Ott face long odds to make the Rams' roster with the team well-stocked at receiver and with long snapper Jake McQuaide in place.
 

Alan

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flv identifying a problem:
1 issue I have with the PPE is that it doesn't apply in year 3 even if a player has already qualified for it after year 2. Givens looked disinterested last year and I speculated it might be because he was stuck on near minimum wage, ($570K), although he'd already qualified for the upgrade. McDonald has already qualified for PPE in 2016 but he's on $624K this year. I hope his enthusiasm doesn't wane. I know teams can't renegotiate until after year 3 but players not actually getting the PPE highlights the nonsense. Pettis didn't get it, Givens probably won't get it, and Russell Wilson, yes...like it's a factor now!

Bailey will need 35% of snaps this year to qualify for PPE next year. Gaines only needs about 200 snaps over the next 2 years.
So do you see a solution?
 

Alan

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flv with this:
If players qualify after 2 years i'd pay them in years 3 and 4. I don't think many would begrudge McDonald a $1.542M salary. If management did they could cut him or offer a reduced amount...as they did with Pettis.
I'd put the same rule in place for UDFA rookies as well.
That money has to come from somewhere. Isn't their inability to get those snaps their fault? They should get a performance escalator for not performing?

When you say that Givens looked disinterested I'll take your word for that but assigning the blame for that on ONLY getting $570K to play isn't something I can relate too. Why would you want a player like that anyway? Most of us have never seen that kind of money and you think someone would get disinterested in their profession because of that? I really can't get on board with that.

Also on that same front, if they are motivated by money wouldn't they realize that in order to make the bigs bucks they have to shine on the occasions when they do get a chance? How can you do that if you're disinterested? I would think they'd want to be especially interested.

On the other hand, it's not my money and if it doesn't wind up counting against the CAP then I'm all for the billionaires giving back some of that money to the merely very well off. :LOL: