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What's left for Rams after playoff elimination?
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/25062/whats-left-for-rams-after-playoff-elimination
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams haven't really been in the playoff mix for weeks, but they were at least mathematically still in it entering Sunday's slate of games.
By the time the day was over, however, the Rams were eliminated. The Seattle Seahawks' win over the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings' triumph over the Chicago Bears voided any far-flung playoff dreams the Rams might have harbored.
So the Rams now have two games remaining on the 2015 slate with trips to Seattle and San Francisco to close out the season. St. Louis will train in Napa, California, between those two contests.
With the postseason officially off the table, here's a look at what's left for the Rams to accomplish, as well as a few modest suggestions for things to try (or not try) in the season's final two games:
If somehow the Rams can find a way to beat the Seahawks next week, they would go play the San Francisco 49ers with a chance to get to 8-8 for the first time under coach Jeff Fisher and the first time since 2006. It would also mean they finished the season on a four-game winning streak, which would be the longest one they've had under Fisher, and give them their best record in Fisher's four years as the coach. It's not much consolation for again finishing in the land of mediocrity, but some sort of tangible improvement would be welcome.
At 6-8, the reality is that losing their final two games probably still wouldn't get the Rams in position to draft one of the top quarterbacks. They finished 6-10 a year ago and drafted No. 10 overall. Clearly, they made good on that pick (running back Todd Gurley), but we're past the point in which losing is going to help their draft position in such a way that they could get the quarterback they desperately need.
There aren't a whole lot of statistical milestones left for individual Rams to reach. Gurley has already hit 1,000 yards, though 1,200 would be a nice accomplishment. Linebacker James Laurinaitis has already reached 1,000 career tackles and set the franchise record. Receiver Wes Welker got his 900th career reception a couple of weeks ago. One thing that would be a nice step forward, though, would be to get Gurley another touchdown. It would give him 10 for the season and give the Rams two players with double-digit touchdowns in a season for the first time since 2006 (with Gurley joining receiver Tavon Austin). It would also probably help Gurley's case for the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Elsewhere on the individual accomplishment front, there's still a chance that defensive tackle Aaron Donald could find himself in the mix for the Defensive Player of the Year award. In my opinion, he should at least be one of the top three contenders already, but he could help his cause by finishing strong. Donald has 11 sacks on the season, and if he could somehow get two in each of the next two games, he could get to 15 for the year. That's essentially unheard of for a player at his position. He also has a chance to get to 20 tackles for loss this season, though he still needs four more to get there. If he managed to get to 15 sacks and 20 tackles for loss, it would be awfully hard to deny his place among the best defenders in the NFL.
The outside cries to allow rookie Sean Mannion to play quarterback began weeks ago, but it hasn't happened yet save for mop-up duty in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams have been hesitant to allow Mannion to play, as he has been inactive since Case Keenum returned from concussion. I absolutely understand the desire to protect Mannion since he'd be playing behind a patchwork offensive line and he hasn't had many reps in practice. But how about a happy medium of allowing Mannion to be the No. 2 quarterback on game days so that if the game gets out of hand or something happens to Keenum, he can get some much-needed work? The truth is that even if Mannion started the final three or four games, it still wouldn't have been enough to judge whether the Rams needed to spend a high pick on a quarterback. But it would still serve Mannion well to get live reps in the final two weeks if the situation presents itself. That can't happen if he's in street clothes on game day.
The Rams are set to open linebacker Alec Ogletree's practice window to come back from his ankle/leg injury next week with an eye toward the possibility of having him available for the finale in San Francisco. I tend to think that probably won't happen, but even if Ogletree seems like he's rounding into shape, there really isn't much reason that it should. Let him practice and get a head start on his return for next year, but there's no reason to risk a setback in a meaningless game.
It's somewhat shocking that the only pending free agent the Rams have signed to this point is quarterback Nick Foles, a deal that looks particularly bad now. But the Rams have a lot of key free agents coming up after this year, including defensive starters Rodney McLeod, Mark Barron, Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson. Johnson could make a run at the league interceptions lead with a couple of big games and is only driving his price higher. At this point, many players probably prefer to wait and test the market, but it wouldn't be bad business if the Rams could lock up a few players before it reaches that point.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/25062/whats-left-for-rams-after-playoff-elimination
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams haven't really been in the playoff mix for weeks, but they were at least mathematically still in it entering Sunday's slate of games.
By the time the day was over, however, the Rams were eliminated. The Seattle Seahawks' win over the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings' triumph over the Chicago Bears voided any far-flung playoff dreams the Rams might have harbored.
So the Rams now have two games remaining on the 2015 slate with trips to Seattle and San Francisco to close out the season. St. Louis will train in Napa, California, between those two contests.
With the postseason officially off the table, here's a look at what's left for the Rams to accomplish, as well as a few modest suggestions for things to try (or not try) in the season's final two games:
If somehow the Rams can find a way to beat the Seahawks next week, they would go play the San Francisco 49ers with a chance to get to 8-8 for the first time under coach Jeff Fisher and the first time since 2006. It would also mean they finished the season on a four-game winning streak, which would be the longest one they've had under Fisher, and give them their best record in Fisher's four years as the coach. It's not much consolation for again finishing in the land of mediocrity, but some sort of tangible improvement would be welcome.
At 6-8, the reality is that losing their final two games probably still wouldn't get the Rams in position to draft one of the top quarterbacks. They finished 6-10 a year ago and drafted No. 10 overall. Clearly, they made good on that pick (running back Todd Gurley), but we're past the point in which losing is going to help their draft position in such a way that they could get the quarterback they desperately need.
There aren't a whole lot of statistical milestones left for individual Rams to reach. Gurley has already hit 1,000 yards, though 1,200 would be a nice accomplishment. Linebacker James Laurinaitis has already reached 1,000 career tackles and set the franchise record. Receiver Wes Welker got his 900th career reception a couple of weeks ago. One thing that would be a nice step forward, though, would be to get Gurley another touchdown. It would give him 10 for the season and give the Rams two players with double-digit touchdowns in a season for the first time since 2006 (with Gurley joining receiver Tavon Austin). It would also probably help Gurley's case for the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Elsewhere on the individual accomplishment front, there's still a chance that defensive tackle Aaron Donald could find himself in the mix for the Defensive Player of the Year award. In my opinion, he should at least be one of the top three contenders already, but he could help his cause by finishing strong. Donald has 11 sacks on the season, and if he could somehow get two in each of the next two games, he could get to 15 for the year. That's essentially unheard of for a player at his position. He also has a chance to get to 20 tackles for loss this season, though he still needs four more to get there. If he managed to get to 15 sacks and 20 tackles for loss, it would be awfully hard to deny his place among the best defenders in the NFL.
The outside cries to allow rookie Sean Mannion to play quarterback began weeks ago, but it hasn't happened yet save for mop-up duty in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams have been hesitant to allow Mannion to play, as he has been inactive since Case Keenum returned from concussion. I absolutely understand the desire to protect Mannion since he'd be playing behind a patchwork offensive line and he hasn't had many reps in practice. But how about a happy medium of allowing Mannion to be the No. 2 quarterback on game days so that if the game gets out of hand or something happens to Keenum, he can get some much-needed work? The truth is that even if Mannion started the final three or four games, it still wouldn't have been enough to judge whether the Rams needed to spend a high pick on a quarterback. But it would still serve Mannion well to get live reps in the final two weeks if the situation presents itself. That can't happen if he's in street clothes on game day.
The Rams are set to open linebacker Alec Ogletree's practice window to come back from his ankle/leg injury next week with an eye toward the possibility of having him available for the finale in San Francisco. I tend to think that probably won't happen, but even if Ogletree seems like he's rounding into shape, there really isn't much reason that it should. Let him practice and get a head start on his return for next year, but there's no reason to risk a setback in a meaningless game.
It's somewhat shocking that the only pending free agent the Rams have signed to this point is quarterback Nick Foles, a deal that looks particularly bad now. But the Rams have a lot of key free agents coming up after this year, including defensive starters Rodney McLeod, Mark Barron, Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson. Johnson could make a run at the league interceptions lead with a couple of big games and is only driving his price higher. At this point, many players probably prefer to wait and test the market, but it wouldn't be bad business if the Rams could lock up a few players before it reaches that point.
