Brandon Gibson and his signature pink sneaks have been all over the practice field so far.

Year three is when wide receivers are supposed to put it all together. The Rams' newest wideout, Mike Sims-Walker, knows all about that. After two injury-marred years in Jacksonville he exploded for 63 catches, 869 yards and seven touchdowns in his third season. (Call it coincidence, but he spent that entire year lining up next to Torry Holt.) 

So it was interesting to hear his take on the most impressive Rams receiver so far in camp:

MikeSimsWalker
RT @illinilax: @mikesimswalker Which #RAMS WR has impressed you the most so far in practice?< Brandon Gibson!

And several other camp observers, including new RamsHerd correspondent Dane Pinkston (@danep12) would have to agree. Gibson has been running with the 1s on offense in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s, and looking much smoother in his footwork in drills and more sure when catching the ball. 

I was asked yesterday who my starting six* was for the Rams, and while it's admittedly very early, it's hard to leave Gibson off that list.

Ahhh the Honeymoon period. Anyone who is married, engaged or has even dated someone knows this period well. It is that time when everything is rose-colored and perfect. Annoying habits haven’t yet surfaced, expectations are high and you cannot imagine how they would ever let you down. That is how I feel about the first weekend of Rams practices.

This is the NFL’s honeymoon period. No one have been cut, hurt or lost their starting spot to the 6th round pick out of Utah Valley State. Right now Sam Bradford is as sharp as ever, DX is cutting on a dime on his surgically repaired knees, Robert Quinn is the future opposite Chris Long and both Mikell and Sims-Walker are great Free Agent signings.

Not to say any of this is not the case or will not come true. But that is the beauty of the honeymoon…nothing has happened contrary to any of these thoughts. For the next six weeks Rams fans should be excited about the young corps of WR’s Devaney has put together, new blood that brought in through the draft and free agency, as well as new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Of course inevitably the rose colored hue fades. They will annoy us, piss us off, disappoint and at some point, yes….let us down. That being said we still have high hopes for the Rams this season and we should. If they do let us down it should be seen as a sign of the progress Coach Spags and the Four Pillars have made in raising the expectations of Rams fans across the country. GM Billy Devaney has put together a solid core in St. Louis and I for one feel that this time, the honeymoon is going to go on for a while longer. Here is what others are saying.

Let the analysis begin!

Will brings it from day 1

What exactly are we getting with Sims-Walker? 

An O-Line with 80 combines starts in 2010 should help #8 continue to develop

Excited to hit the field

It’s still all about the WR’s

McDaniels already liking what he sees

Always smart to protect your $50 million investment

I wasn't able to get to Rams practice today, but one who did was Zach Roman, known by his Twitter handle @BlazinBox. And he just might have come away with the juiciest tidbit of the day.

BlazinBox
Shook devaney's hand, and he said at least one more move coming "hint it begins with a R and a B"

And he clarified that he meant position not necessarily ronnie brown... #ramscamp

This adds even more weight to the rumors that have been flying this weekend about the Rams and their pursuit of a trio of available running backs: Former Falcons Jason Snelling and Jerious Norwood, and ex-Dolphin Ronnie Brown.

We make a case for each, after the break:

Editor's note: This article was ready to go to press yesterday morning, but didn't get published. Since it was written, Robert Quinn and the Rams came to terms, with the help of his new agency. My apologies to Tim, but the piece still deserves reading.

Robert Quinn, presented as the Rams' first round pick. Quarterbacks, beware!

As Rams fans headed to Earth City yesterday to get their first glimpse of the 2011 team, there was one notable face missing from the group – Robert Quinn.  The 14th overall pick in this year’s draft remained unsigned and currently is the subject of a lawsuit.  

When the NFL Players Association decertified back in March, I was working for an agent in Greenville, South Carolina.  That night I jokingly remarked to my boss to get some money together in an attempt to steal other agent’s clients.  While I was joking, it seems as though there were some agents out there that intended to take advantage of the decertification of the NFLPA and the lack of oversight of their agents.  At least that is what Robert Quinn’s former agent, Carl Carey, has alleged in a law suit filed earlier this week in federal court in Houston.

Carey claims to have given $300,000 to Quinn for training, housing, transportation and other necessities since they formed their relationship in early December.  Carey is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent Impact Sports and two of its agents, Tony Fleming and Mitchell Frankel from negotiating Quinn’s contract.  Fleming and Frankel have countered by claiming that they do not represent Quinn.

Yesterday, Howard Balzer wrote an article on the 101sports.com website on the matter.  He came up with a creative way to end this whole thing.  Howard’s advice to Quinn?   Proceed on without an agent.  While having just graduated from law school under notion that someday I’d represent athletes myself, I cannot fully endorse this idea.  However, Howard brings up some valid points.  We are in a new age of contracting in the NFL.  The new CBA has greatly decreased the bargaining power of any agent by assigning value to every slot picked in the draft.   

Without a doubt, the biggest negative about the whole situation is Quinn’s absence from camp.  Quinn, like any young player, needs the time in camp to learn and develop.  Perhaps this time is more valuable to somebody like Quinn who missed all of last season.  He’s a very raw athlete who needs the time in camp to not only develop his skills but also to get reacquainted to the game.  Every rep counts.  Hopefully for all parties involved, there is a prompt resolution to this dispute.

Postscript: The Rams announced via their official Twitter account that the team has come to terms with Robert Quinn, and he is expected to practice on Sunday. 

If Sam Bradford is the unquestioned star of the Rams, then new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is the unofficial star of Rams Camp. Where Pat Shurmur was all but invisible to fans as a personality on the sidelines the last two years, the fiery McDaniels is standing out from day one.

He was in Bradford's ear all afternoon long, tutoring, cajoling, yelling, and cheering. His voice was clearly audible from across the field as the offense ran drills, commenting on every rep until the unit had satisfied him with their precision. And in a pressure drill late in the workout, McDaniels himself was the one holding the blocking pad and rushing his own quarterbacks.

His energy helped sparked a Rams camp that, due to arcane NFL rules, saw a lot of key Rams sidelined against their will. Players like Danny Amendola, John Greco, Al Harris, Quintin Mikell, Zac Diles, Harvey Dahl and Mike Sims-Walker who just signed new contracts have to stand and watch until the league year begins. 

On the sideline with me at various points were Patty of The Pigskin Arch, Ron Clements of CBS Sports, and fellow twitterers @KidNoble, @lannyosu, @BlazinBox and @capriquarius, which allowed us to cover a lot of ground. Some key highlights follow....

Are you still worried, Rams fans? Click to expand these results

We got a very nice amount of responses to our web poll before the Rams actually started getting active and addressing some of our free agent fears. Thanks to all who participated! The question now is, did the moves made address your fears? Visit our Facebook page to give us your answer, or chime in in the comments below.

Wide Receiver: Rams sign Mike Sims-Walker to a one-year deal, but have not yet signed Mark Clayton.

This is really a no-risk move with potential for great reward, but it also puts several Rams receivers on watch. St. Louis now has an overload of intriguing (if not elite) talent at the position, potentially creating an interesting trade bank for themselves if more than just the top six start impressing in camp.

Sims-Walker has size and questionable health in the knees, putting him in direct competition with Danario Alexander, and may have already beaten out Mark Clayton for the right to audition. Count me among the deeply surprised if Clayton is not signed, but I acknowledge the risk of trying to sign him long-term after only a four-game audition.

Running Back: (Crickets chirping)

The Rams might be playing a waiting game here, hoping that someone shakes out of the overstuffed backfields in New England, Philadelphia, or New Orleans. Or, they might just be continuing to turn a blind eye to the problem, as they've done systematically for the last three years.

The one new addition? Utah Ute Eddie Wide, who arrived as one of the 24 undrafted free agents. Says Shane P. Hallam and Matt Waldman of the Twitter scout community: "Meh."

Mike Sims-Walker stands tall, but not yet head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Rams' receivers.

A lot of thoughts went through my head when I heard that the Rams had signed former Jaguar and perennial "breakout candidate" Mike Sims-Walker, but all of those thoughts eventually boiled down to a single word.

Why?

That simple take provoked a series of reactions, some who agreed with my pessimism, but others who are intrigued by the possibilities:

DodgerCapLow
@RamsHerd 2 years of work 14 TDs. We just couldnt punch it in for 6 at the end of our drives last yr. Coaches wanna presence in the endzone.

IamDHawk
@RamsHerd No risk, possible big reward. So the question should be, Why not?

By my thinking, when Devaney and company missed out on the elite targets potentially out there (Vincent Jackson: franchised... Santonio Holmes: re-signed... Sidney Rice: well, you know), that there wasn't much point in chasing after and overpaying for second-tier guys like Braylon Edwards, Malcolm Floyd and the like. Compared to the as-yet-unknown potential of the group we have, there just wasn't enough bang for the buck.

But an incentive-laden one-year deal for a guy with size, speed and scoring prowess? I have to say, it does make me willing to at least consider the possibilities.