Rams News Recap: Jan. 29

[RamBill]

Plays that Shaped Rams’ Season: No. 2 –Wagoner
You’d be hard-pressed to find a play who merged imagination and execution better than the one who defined the St. Louis Rams’ 28-26 win against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 19.

Bernie: Wilson Contract May Shake NFC West
With only the New England Patriots left to stop them, the Seattle Seahawks are in pursuit of their second consecutive Super Bowl championship.

Closing Arguments for Aaron Donald as Defensive ROY –Wagoner
The NFL awards show is scheduled for Saturday night with such lofty honors as league MVP, coach of the year and this year’s Hall of Fame class scheduled to be revealed.

Rams’ Coordinator Search Narrows Again –Wagoner
News came Wednesday that Nathaniel Hackett, the only remaining known outside candidate the St. Louis Rams had courted for their vacant offensive coordinator job, pulled out of consideration for the job and was headed to Jacksonville to become quarterbacks coach.

Bernie: Bring back . . . Mike Martz?
You may have noticed that the Rams are struggling to find a qualified individual to fill their vacancy at offensive coordinator.

Morning Ram-blings: Ranking young talent –Wagoner
For St. Louis Rams fans who might not have appreciated the Pro Football Focus study saying the team is 10 players away from being a Super Bowl contender, ESPN NFL Insider Matt Williamson offered a silver lining earlier this week.

Vermeil: Trading for Faulk Would Cost a Lot More Today –Video

Under the Lights: Les Snead –Video

What Were The Top 10 Rams Plays of the 2014 Season –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Regrading the offseason
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15854/morning-ram-blings-regrading-the-offseason

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Last week, ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. regraded the 2014 draft classes, bumping the St. Louis Rams' grade down from an 'A-' to a 'B+.'

On Wednesday, ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando took a look at the bigger picture from last offseason, regrading every team's performance in a more all-inclusive sense.

With the help of Louis Riddick, Matt Williamson, Field Yates and Bill Polian, Sando came to a similar conclusion as Kiper when it comes to the Rams in lowering their offseason grade from 'A-' to 'B+.'

In dropping the grade slightly, Sando pointed to a discussion with a personnel evaluator who "crushed the Rams for not doing more to insure themselves at quarterback."

Riddick, however, believes the grade for the Rams was justified and it paid off properly during the 2014 season.

"Could we knock the grade down to B-plus?" Riddick asked. "Sure, but they still had a very solid offseason."

While last offseason provided plenty of hope in areas other than quarterback, this one will depend heavily on what the Rams will be able to do at that position. Without the plethora of draft picks but with more salary cap space, the Rams will have to strike more of a balance between the two this year.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Thursday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we offered a look at Williamson's rankings of the teams with the best 25-and-under talent in the league. ... Another potential offensive coordinator candidate has moved on. ... Kurt Warner and Orlando Pace are hoping for the call to the Hall of Fame. ... Making the final case for defensive tackle Aaron Donald as Defensive Rookie of the Year. ... The No. 2 play that shaped the Rams' season was "The Mountaineer" punt return in the win against Seattle.

Elsewhere:

Here's the entire breakdown of expert picks from the many who cover football at ESPN.

Interesting read from David Fleming on the Seahawks' exploitation of the rules.

NewsOK.com offered an update on Rams quarterback Sam Bradford.

At 101sports.com, Dick Vermeil tells The Turn how he thinks his 1999 offense would fare against Seattle.

At stltoday.com, Jim Thomas writes that the Rams will likely have to hire their offensive coordinator from in house.

Bernie Miklasz ponders the idea of the Rams bringing back Mike Martz for that coordinator job.