Rams News Recap For April 18

[RamBill]

New contract, fresh start for Dunbar –PD
For Rams linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, the 2013 season was like a bad dream. You know, the kind you try to forget.

Rams Worked Out Martavis Bryant, Sammy Watkins Today –NFP
Clemson wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant worked out for the St. Louis Rams today.

Trying to Guess the Rams’ Schedule –Wagoner
This week, the St. Louis Rams announced that they’re having a contest for fans to guess their 2014 schedule with the prize of $100,000 for anyone who can hit it with 100 percent accuracy. Soon after, I laid out just how ridiculously long the odds are for anyone to satisfy all of the requirements to actually win this contest.

Nick Wagoner’s Rams Chat Highlights: April 18

Greg Cosell Talks Draft and the Rams –Radio Interview

Morning Ram-blings: The Quinn Effect –Wagoner
It’s no secret that the St. Louis Rams don’t “need” a defensive end to add to the mix for the 2014 season. Ends Chris Long, William Hayes and Eugene Sims provide plenty of production from the position.

Rams Doing Diligence on WR Watkins –Wagoner
At this time of year, it’s often difficult to discern what’s real and what’s not when it comes to a team’s interest in a draft prospect. But if the St. Louis Rams aren’t interested in Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins, they’re certainly going well out of their way to throw the rest of the league off the scent.

Gruden’s QB Camp: Aaron Murray –Video

Todd McShay’s Draft Minute: Jadeveon Clowney –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: The QB crossroads
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/7581/morning-ram-blings-the-qb-crossroads

No matter your preferred phrase or cliche for what the 2014 season will mean for St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, there's little doubt that it's going to be important in shaping his long-term future with the team and the league at large.

Earlier this week, ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando posted a really interesting piece Insider on Insider focused on what he calls "quarterbacks at a crossroads." Using QBR as his primary measurement, Sando took the records as starters as well as the QBR from their rookie seasons to see if there was an indication of future success to be gleaned from the numbers.

The list starts with quarterbacks entering the league in 2006.

Without diving too deep into Sando's methodology -- it's certainly worth a read on its own -- we can skip right ahead to the part about Bradford. Now entering his fifth season in the league, Bradford has so far been unable to generate much success. Whether or not you choose to factor in the reasons for those struggles, the point is that his performance hasn't been up to par with many other young quarterbacks around the league.

According to ESPN analyst Bill Polian, Bradford falls into a category alongside Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, Carolina's Cam Newton and Detroit's Matthew Stafford as quarterbacks at the crossroads.

Bradford had the lowest QBR of that quartet and while someone like Newton is almost certain to get a rich extension in the near future, Bradford's situation appears more up in the air.

ESPN scout Matt Williamson had this to say when weighing Bradford against the group:

"I'm not done with Bradford, but the Rams were better without him last season," Williamson said. "They changed their philosophy and maybe should have done that from the beginning, but the personnel wasn't that much different. How many great games has he had? There are lots of reasons why and I'd still give him this year, but that is it. For Newton, by comparison, I'm all-in with him."

The Rams continue to insist that Bradford is their man but if he struggles in 2014 or, worse, is again unable to play a full season healthy, they'll have to seriously take a look at the position long-term.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Friday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we took a look at columnist Ashley Fox's piece on Robert Quinn and how it could alter the team's view of Jadeveon Clowney in the draft. ... Next, I took part in my weekly chat, covering a variety of topics with you for quite some time. ... From there, we took a look at the Rams' interest in receiver Sammy Watkins. ... Finally, I offered an unofficial entry into the Rams' guess the schedule contest.

Elsewhere:

Stltoday.com writes that local legend Dan Dierdorf is returning to the broadcast booth at his alma mater, Michigan.

As mentioned above, the Rams put Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins through a private workout Friday.

Stlouisrams.com takes a look at Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin.

NFL.com explores some possible draft-day deals.