It’s early, but this team is young and promising. Here is what caught my eye Sunday afternoon…

Thoughts on Offense.

The Rams' improved firepower in the red zone.

One of the most frustrating things about this team last year was the Red Zone offense.  Under Shurmur last season in the red zone, it seemed as though we ran more 2 and 3 yard crossing and pivot routes than any team in the league.   It some points it looked like amateur hour down there.  We couldn’t run the ball in and we couldn’t throw.

At first I thought perhaps I’m cherry-picking a few lasting frustrating moments from last year, but then I looked at the stats and it turns out, my memory serves me well.  Only the Carolina Panthers were worst than the Rams in Red Zone scoring last season.  This is alarming stat considering the success of Bradford, the amount of money/drafts picks spent on this offensive line and the power of SJ39.  This perhaps is why Billy Devaney added 6’2 - Austin Pettis, 6’1-Greg Salas, 6’2 Mike Sims Walker, 6’3-Lance Kendricks, 6’7-Schuyler Oordt.

Sunday’s scrimmage showed a very different offense in the Red Zone.   The Red Zone drill started with Billy Bajema making a leaping grab over Josh Hull in the back of the endzone.  It was followed up with touchdowns by Amendola and Gibson (which may have received a red flag challenge in the regular season).  Later, Lance Kendricks was found wide-open off of a play action fake for a four-yard touchdown.  This was a very successful couple of series for the Rams’ offense.

The Offensive Line looks stronger

It’s tough to fully evaluate an offensive line in this scrimmage, but the  addition of Dahl and the growth and progression of the two young tackles have improved this group thus far.   Dahl is a bully, he’s tough and physical.  (Think Richie Incognito but better and with his head screwed on right.) There were some noticeable mental mistake but those should be worked out during the preseason.  It’s early, but this could be a significant change in the 2011 team.

Competition at Tight End

While, the competition at wide receiver has garnered a lot of attention (and rightfully so – it’s very crowded there) the competition at tight end looks to be an exciting one as well.  The rookie, Lance Kendricks, is very athletic and with his size and speed he is going to be trouble for linebackers and safeties all year. 

It was noticeable during the 2-minute drill towards the end of the scrimmage.  Kendricks was running down the seam (even outrunning safeties on some places) with Amendola in the slot running underneath picking his spots.  Kendricks also had a 3-yard run from the H-position.  In addition, Bajema had a touchdown and another catch that may have been the best catch of the entire scrimmage. 

I think Schulyar Oordt definitely passes the eye-ball test.  At 6’7, 260 he is a huge target.   These three along with Fendi and Illinois Mike will make for a fun competition throughout the preseason.  Considering the important roles the tight ends will play in this offense, this competition is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

A reunion of the Greatest Show on Turf in Canton. How many of these men will eventually be enshrined here? 

Fans of the "Greatest Show on Turf" era of the Rams, the first great era of pro football in Saint Louis in nearly 80 years, got to celebrate as one of their own was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Or, as Marshall Faulk calls it, "Football Heaven."

You can watch the full video of Marshall Faulk's HOF enshrinement speech here. But here are some highlights of his speech, including tributes to his Rams teammates and coaches.

                                                                                               
The Greatest Show on Turf. The Bob ‘n’ Weave.  Anyone, Ram fan or not, alive at the turn of the century remembers these phrases well perhaps more importantly, remembers who is responsible for them.  Faulk was both the driving force behind the football renaissance that took place in 1999 and it’s most lasting memory.  Faulk did more than score touchdowns and win games.  He brought football relevancy and respectability back to St. Louis.  Along with Warner, Bruce, Holt, and Pace, Faulk led the transformation from Lambs to Rams.

Marshall brought a new era to football outside of St. Louis and his impact on today’s game in undeniable. No longer is it acceptable for a RB to simply run the ball. Today’s backs are expected to pound the ball up the middle, bounce outside, catch passes, run tight routes and line up at the line of scrimmage with the wideouts. The position has also become much more cerebral. Running-Backs need to understand not just the play called but the defense they are lining up against.

I have always been a football fan but I would be lying if I said my passion for it had diminished. The football Cardinals left town when I was little and I never had a “my team” to latch on to and identify with. No team to live, breath, die, rejoice with and over. Marshall Faulk help give that to me and I can only assume countless others. Thank you for that and above all…congratulations!

Let The Praise Begin

Rams getting loud about their guy

The mind of a QB at RB

Sometimes you just need to let the numbers speak for themselves

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s, it’s… Super Ram

Warm climate, a winning team & natural grass…not what he was looking for but it got him to Canton

A Top Ten for 28

He stood alone among the best

Who better to praise Faulk than those he went against and with on Sunday’s

How I love thee Marshall…let me count the ways

And finally…the evil genius behind it all

I wasn’t always a football fan.

There, I said it.

I grew up in Utah, a state built on John Stockton and Karl Malone, the heroes of my childhood who I spent countless hours watching with my grandpa.

The beehive state is distinctively void of a professional football team with most Utahans relying on transplanted fanhood for the nearby Denver Broncos or any team with room on the bandwagon.  

This is why I want to recognize a man who inspired me to love football so much that I now want to build my career around it as a sports journalist.

His unparalleled skill and athleticism as the catalyst to one of the most prolific offenses in the history of the league drew me into the weekly Sunday ritual.

Marshall Faulk. Number 28. Superman.

Faulk, who will be inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame this weekend, transcended what it meant to be an “all-purpose back.”

He came to the Rams as a much needed jolt to a team that finally looked to shake its well-deserved title of NFL punching bag.

With Marshall in blue and gold and the surprise ascension of Kurt Warner, the Rams rode a high-octane offense orchestrated by Mike Martz to the tune of a Super Bowl victory.  

As my eight-year-old mind began to wrap around what football was, I gravitated to the excitement and potential of the aptly named "Greatest Show on Turf" with Faulk as the centerpiece.

Admittedly, my favorite player was and is Torry Holt, but Faulk was like watching poetry in motion combined with a Beethoven symphony.

Whether it be a hand off between the tackles or a dish into the flat, Faulk could take it the distance while making defenders whiff as if he saw the play around him unfolding in slow motion.

On 340 touches from scrimmage, Faulk scored 12 times with 2,429 yards in an offense that scored 526 total points in 1999.

His impact was also measured not only in yards, but in the moments of inspiration he brought to the entire team.

His rush to pick up Az Hakim in order to stop the clock and his unspoken passing of the leadership torch to Kurt Warner resonate louder than the stats in the record books.

He went on to lead the Rams in rushing for five more seasons and was a part of the league’s top rated offense three seasons in a row, all the while exuding class and professionalism that is rare amongst top athletes.

As he goes into the Hall of Fame, it is vindication for me that he is finally recognized with the honor, accolades and timeless statue associated with entering Canton. 

Just as Faulk cemented my football fanhood, he is now cemented into gridiron legend.

Superman has crossed the goal line once more, this time scoring a place in football history.

It was all smiles early for Jerome Murphy at practice on Friday. Unfortunately, it didn't end that way.

It was a good news-bad news day at Rams Camp today. The good news is that the scorching 100-degree heat has finally broken, the cooling clouds and rain parted, and the field drained off nicely so we could actually have a practice. The bad news: this is one day that Jerome Murphy might wish had been rained out.

One day after Dominic Curry suffers a fractured hand, Jerome Murphy may be lost for a significant period of time after getting tangled up with Danario Alexander during a WR-vs-DB sideline drill.

I didn't see the play, but saw the immediate aftermath, Murphy crumpled on the field and just... not getting up. It's the worst feeling, especially at practice. Trainers came over and had his leg up in such a way that at first we were hopeful that it might be a cramp, or at worst a hamstring. But in helping him up, Murphy took maybe one step, and couldn't put any more weight on it. In the end, he had to ride the cart off the field, and a sideline report from Tony Softli is saying that the team fears he might have a fractured ankle.

It put a damper on an otherwise good day of practice, a hard-working day that stretched nearly three hours, and featured some significant hitting during 11-on-11 drills. This is a hungry team, though one that still needs to gel up front on its rebuilt offensive line. Highlights and photos after the break.

Editor's Note: This is the first in a recurring series that looks at the moves being made (or not) by our esteemed NFC West opponents this offseason.

Next to Michael Crabtree, Braylon Edwards seems like a quality guy. Or maybe it's supposed to be the other way around.

So far in free agency, the 49ers have made all the wrong moves. So they finally decided to fix that, by signing Braylon Edwards.

No, really. I'm being serious.

With every other team in the NFC West hell-bent on using this foreshortened frenzy of free agent activity to better themselves, our golden-domed rivals have sat idly by and watched. The complete indifference to managing their roster extended to their own key free agents, Takeo Spikes and Aubrayo Franklin, who both walked away somewhat befuddled by the lack of interest from their former employers.

Then, San Francisco confused nearly everyone around the league by shopping second-year safety Taylor Mays via mass email, killing whatever might have remained of the market in the process.

Their only signings of note have been moving sideways, replacing Nate Clements with Carlos Rogers, swapping out mildly disappointing centers, and adding former Viking Madieu Williams (who allowed a 114.5 passer rating against last year) to the secondary. Meanwhile, they've failed to add anything significant to an offense that averaged a subpar 19 points per game.

It was fair to question whether anyone was at home, and if so, whether they had a plan other than to expect new coach Jim Harbaugh to sprinkle magic dust on Alex Smith and hope for the best. I suppose there may be a transition in the works, but robbing from the only strength the team had -- its defense -- while failing to supplement the offense just doesn't sound like a good idea.

Enter Braylon Edwards on a one-year deal to save this team from themselves. Hey, anything's possible.

New Rams contract signees like safety Quintin Mikell, forced to the sidelines, have been the last hostages of the NFL's convoluted CBA process.

Remember when the NFL lockout ended? You know, at 3:30 today? Yeah, that was cool.

Not so cool for a busload of signers of new contracts with the Rams, including returning players like Danny Amendola and Jacob Bell and the slew of new incoming free agents like Quintin Mikell, Harvey Dahl, Mike Sims-Walker and Jerious Norwood. Especially not when they came out onto the practice field all suited up in uniforms and pads, and had to be pulled off the field minutes later.

In legal terms, none of these contracts can be considered official until the entire population of the players casts their vote in favor of the CBA. That was supposed to be done by today, but apparently a contingent was still concerned with some elements of the league's conduct policies: specifically HGH testing and Commissioner Roger Goodell's ability to act as Judge, Jury and Executioner.

But this last-minute hang-up has had the effect of giving the Lockout one last final twist of the knife, for the players and for the fans.

MikeSimsWalker
They playing wit my emotions saying that we (free agents) might not be able to practice tomorrow......

Today's practice was originally scheduled for 1:50pm, but was pushed back by the Rams to 3:00 to allow time for the votes to come in. At 3:05, reported Mike Freeman of CBS Sports, player reps were waiting for a text message with the official announcement that practices were a go. Minutes later, RamsHerd correspondent Dane Pinkston sent a tweet from the practice field sidelines:

Danep12
Al Harris just came out in full pads. We are a go!

Harris, wearing number 31, got in a few drills. Danny Amendola and Jerious Norwood (number 34) caught a few punts. Then, according to Dane, the new signees were pulled from their drills, gathered together under a tent aside the field, and asked to remove the uniforms and pads and stand aside.

For twenty minutes or so, the Lockout monster raised its weary head off the ground and stole one final bit of football from us. Then with a text message at 3:30, it was finally slain once and for all.

Jay_Glazer
Just got word from a source they have received enough votes! Let the league year begin

Once word trickled back into the camps, those Rams signees became spectators no longer. And with that, ten years of NFL labor peace finally begins.

Oh, and Harvey Dahl is now officially allowed to start hitting players. You have been warned.