Gurley gets some rest on estimated injury report/Wagoner

[RamBill]

Gurley gets some rest on estimated injury report
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ley-gets-some-rest-on-estimated-injury-report

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams began their work week with a walkthrough Monday as they prepare for the quick turnaround for Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Because the team only did a walkthrough but is required to submit an injury report, Thursday's list is an approximation of how much or how little a player would have participated had there been a full practice.

Running back Todd Gurley, who left some fans holding their breath when he left Sunday's game against Detroit, is apparently going to be just fine. Gurley told reporters after the game that he "banged up" his knee and though he's listed as limited on Monday's injury report, the reason listed is "not injury-related (rest)."

Elsewhere on the injury report, the Rams have still not placed end Robert Quinn (back) in injured reserve, so he's listed as not participating. Offensive lineman Andrew Donnal (knee) and cornerback Eric Patterson (ankle) have the same designation.

Cornerback Janoris Jenkins, meanwhile, has passed all but the exertion test in the concussion protocol, according to coach Jeff Fisher. Jenkins missed Sunday's game against Detroit and was limited Monday, but if he passes the exertion test will be cleared to return.

Here's Monday's full injury report:

Did not participate -- DE Robert Quinn (back), OL Andrew Donnal (knee), CB Eric Patterson (ankle).

Limited participation -- RB Todd Gurley (rest), WR Kenny Britt (shoulder), OT Rob Havenstein (calf), CB Janoris Jenkins (concussion).

 

[NateDawg122]

Great news on Gurley. Let him rest and recover all week. He knows the plays and we need him to have fresh legs, I have a Fantasy playoff to win!

 

[Robocop]

on the final drive why the F was Gurely still in the game. yea you wanna seal the game but the seasons over and don't risk stupid shit. give it to Benny or Mason thats why they're here and tell them they better hold onto that ball or find themselves buried on the depth chart. he shouldn't have been in period. these coaches just baffle me sometimes

 

[RamzFanz]

on the final drive why the F was Gurely still in the game. yea you wanna seal the game but the seasons over and don't risk stupid crap. give it to Benny or Mason thats why they're here and tell them they better hold onto that ball or find themselves buried on the depth chart. he shouldn't have been in period. these coaches just baffle me sometimes

Because Rams needed a first down to seal the win and he got it for them? What would you be saying if they didn't play him, didn't get the first, and Rams gave the ball back and lost?

He's here to play. It wasn't a blowout or I'd agree. The season is over when the Rams are eliminated.

 

[VegasRam]

Also, IIRC, Benny ran the last 3 plays.

 

[RamBill]

Jenkins might return to face Tampa Bay
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_12e27efd-b0b4-51b2-81c0-c1a009bd44b4.html

According to Rams coach Jeff Fisher, there’s a chance the team will get cornerback Janoris Jenkins back for Thursday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Edward Jones Dome.

Jenkins, a talented fourth-year cornerback, sat out Sunday’s 21-14 win over visiting Detroit after suffering a concussion the week before.

“He was limited today in practice,” Fisher said Monday when asked about Jenkins after a walk-through at Rams Park. “He passed all the tests today. He’s got one more phase, which is the exertion phase. We expect that to happen” Tuesday.

Jenkins, a second-round draft pick in 2012, started the Rams’ first 12 games this season and has 52 tackles, including 47 solos, and three interceptions. He has 10 career interceptions in 55 career starts.

With Jenkins out, the Rams’ secondary stepped it up against Detroit. The team’s other fourth-year cornerback, Trumaine Johnson — who had missed the previous two-plus games — intercepted a late first-half pass and returned it 58 yards for the game’s first score. He also helped limit the Lions’ Calvin Johnson, aka “Megatron,” to just one reception. It went for 16 yards.

“It’s next man up,” Rams safety Rodney McLeod said. “You miss having guys like Janoris and (safety) T.J. (McDonald) out there, but you see a lot of guys out there who’ve earned the right to be on that field and who really played well. Marcus Roberson was going against Golden Taint — that’s not an easy matchup — and Maurice Alexander filling the shoes of T.J. You can just go down the line. … All you can do is just try to battle through the injuries and keep trying to make plays.”

Fisher added that he was “really pleased. For Marcus to line up and make the plays he did and then for Maurice to step in for T.J. and play and run and hit and tackle in addition to doing the special teams stuff, I was pretty impressed with the way they played.”

GURLEY IS OK

Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley sat out the last few plays Sunday after getting the game’s final first down. But he said it wasn’t a big deal.

“I banged my knee up just a little bit,” he said following the game. “But you know, it’s part of the game. It happens every game. We got a quick turnaround, get in there and get some treatment and I’ll be fine.”

The Rams and Buccaneers were limited to walk-throughs Monday, meaning their injury reports were estimated. Gurley was listed limited/not injury related (rest).

“He was fine,” Fisher said. “We had to project today, but he was limited. There was no issues with Todd other than he had 16 carries for 140 yards.”

And two second-half touchdowns.

According to the Rams’ report, DE Robert Quinn (back), OL Andrew Donnal (knee) and CB Eric Patterson (ankle) did not practice, with WR Kenny Britt (shoulder), T Rob Havenstein (calf) and Jenkins (concussion) listed as limited.

The Buccaneers listed LB Bruce Carter (ankle), WR Vincent Jackson (knee) and former Illinois DT Akeen Spence (ankle) as not practicing. Listed as limited were LB Lavonte David (ankle), DE George Johnson (calf), G Logan Mankins (ankle), fand ormer Mizzou DE Jacquies Smith (hamstring).

SUNDAY PARTICIPATION

Six Rams defenders were on the field for all 71 snaps Sunday: Mark Barron, Eureka High’s Alexander, McLeod, Johnson, Roberson and James Laurinaitis.

According to the press box stats, Barron led the way with 11 tackles, with Laurinaitis and Roberson chipping in with eight each. Roberson also knocked down a pair of passes.

Johnson scored the game’s first points, with his interception. It was his career-best fifth interception this season and the 13th of his career. Johnson also had a pair of pass defenses.

The Rams’ Aaron Donald had three of the team’s four sacks. The other came from fellow defensive tackle Michael Brockers.

Quarterback Case Keenum and offensive linemen Tim Barnes, Garrett Reynolds, Cody Wichmann, Greg Robinson and Havenstein were on the field for all 55 offensive snaps.

RAM-BLINGS

Fisher said that receiver Stedman Bailey continues to make progress after being shot twice in the head on Nov. 24.

“We’re hoping to get some news here in the next couple of days, but he’s improving,” the coach said. “He’s still in the hospital. He’s more in the rehab phase right now than he is in the recover phase.”

Bailey was officially moved to the non-football injury list on Monday.

• Asked about the yellow uniforms the Rams will be wearing in Thursday’s “Color Rush” game, Fisher said: “I’m just glad it’s not baseball where I have to wear the uniform as well.”

• Midway through the first half Sunday, after a sack by the Lions’ Ziggy Ansah left the Rams with a fourth down at the Detroit 37, Fisher passed on a 55-yard field-goal try and opted for a punt.

“It was a field-position thing,” the coach explained. “It had nothing to do with (kicker Greg Zuerlein). Greg’s leg strength was there. You saw his kickoffs. You saw his PATs. It was just a field-position thing.”

Zuerlein, who kicked a franchise-record 61-yarder earlier this season, had missed the previous two games because of a strained hip.

On Johnny Hekker’s punt, reserve safety Christian Bryant came up with a stellar play at the goal line to keep the ball from getting to the end zone and teammate Chase Reynolds downed the ball at the Detroit 2-yard line.

 

[RamBill]

Rams shuffle schedule in short week
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2db92518-a54d-5bb7-8946-c3f2481869f4.html

The Rams won a football game Sunday, but then promptly lost Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

That’s the way the calendar works when you’ve got a Thursday night football game, as is the case this week for the Rams. Following a 21-14 victory over Detroit at home, it was back to Rams Park on Sunday night for coach Jeff Fisher and his staff to begin preparing immediately for Thursday’s contest with Tampa Bay (6-7).

Normally, there is a thorough review of the previous day’s game film Monday with the coaches, and perhaps a correction period with the players. But not in this compressed week.

“We didn’t get to spend a lot of time on the (Detroit) game for obvious reasons,” Fisher said. “But we did go through it late (Sunday) night. We gave out some game balls this morning and we got right onto the Bucs.

“Guys are excited. We respect our opponent. Tampa’s playing really well. I think they’re 11th in offense, 11th in defense, and they’re making a lot of plays.”

In this truncated week, what the Rams did Monday resembled what the team normally would do on a Thursday. Along those lines, Tuesday will be a Friday work schedule; Wednesday will resemble a Saturday schedule. Thus no Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday schedule this week.

It might sound a little confusing but the idea is not to be confused come Thursday. That’s a game day, with Tampa Bay and highly-touted rookie quarterback Jameis Winston coming to town for a 7:25 p.m. kickoff in a nationally-televised game on the NFL Network that also will be simulcast locally on KMOV (Channel 4).

After nine consecutive kickoffs at noon on Sundays, it’s the only prime-time game of the season for the Rams (5-8). The weight of a five-game losing streak finally removed with the victory over Detroit, Fisher seemed pretty relaxed Monday, all things considered.

“As I’ve said every week, the players are working hard,” Fisher said. “They’re doing everything we’ve asked of them. The wins didn’t come, but it finally did (against Detroit). So it was rewarding. Especially if you get it at home. It’s our goal to do everything we possibly can to get back-to-back wins at home. This will be our last home game here this year.”

And possibly the last home game in St. Louis, period, what with owner Stan Kroenke planning to move the team to Los Angeles next season.

“It has not crossed my mind,” Fisher said. “As I’ve said to you oftentimes throughout this process, my focus is on this football team and the next game. And so I’m sure all those (relocation) things will be addressed once the season’s over. But it has not crossed my mind.

“What’s first and foremost right now is the Bucs, and the uniforms. You’ve seen the uniforms, right? So that’ll be a little different.”

OK, the last part of Fisher’s answer there was a joke. The Rams are wearing bright yellow uniforms Thursday as part of the league’s “Color Rush” promotion. But Fisher isn’t concerned about fashion.

He’s concerned about Winston, and running back Doug Martin, and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy of the Buccaneers, among others. Martin ranks second in the NFL with 1,214 yards rushing. McCoy has seven sacks, the fourth-best total among defensive tackles in the NFL. (The Rams’ Aaron Donald leads all D-tackles with 11.)

“It’s all Bucs, and what the Bucs have done, and how far they’ve come,” Fisher said.

Although the Buccaneers are a non-divisional foe, the Rams have some familiarity with them and that helps preparation-wise in a short work week. Fisher has played Tampa Bay each season he has been in St. Louis, winning the three previous contests — including 19-17 last year in Tampa.

Fisher also knows Winston well from the predraft process of a year ago. Winston was among several college quarterbacks the Rams put through the paces in private workouts last April, jet-setting all over the country.

Even with that overall familiarity, some assistant coaches got a sneak peak at Tampa Bay last week. But not the coordinators.

“We have a philosophy — we don’t permit the coordinators to do so because you could start confusing (upcoming) opponents,” Fisher said Friday.

Speaking of coordinators, the last thing you wanted last week was a confused Rob Boras. Fisher joked about Rob Boras being sleep-deprived last week as he got a handle on his new duties as offensive coordinator. As for this week? Well, it’s a different, higher level of sleep deprivation.

“I don’t have a description for you right now about him,” Fisher joked.

But it worked out well enough against Detroit. The Rams scored two offensive touchdowns for only the second time in six games. They topped 300 yards for just the second time in five games, and the only turnover was a harmless Case Keenum interception just before halftime.

“(Boras) did a great job,” Fisher said. “Really happy for him. He just was calm, worked hard all week, and players were excited.”

When asked if Boras seemed nervous or excited Sunday up in the coaches’ box, Fisher joked, “I wasn’t upstairs, but someone told me he threw up about four times upstairs. But no, he was fine.

“You know, he’s really into the (game) situations because we had prepared all week. He was on top of it. He understands the difficulty of play-calling. As a play-caller you want every play to be a touchdown, every play to be a first down. And it doesn’t always happen that way.

“But I thought he was in really good rhythm. He was good with the situational-type stuff. ... He’s just gonna get better at it.”