Patti Larue Posts

In 1976, Jackie Slater, like many rookies reporting to their first NFL training camp, held a lofty personal goal. His objective was, 'to become the best offensive tackle in the history of the game.' But his more immediate goal, he confessed, 'was just to make the team.'

Obviously, Slater did more than just make the team. He went on to become the mainstay of the Rams' offensive line for two decades. His 259 regular-season games played, at the time of his retirement, were the most ever by an offensive lineman, he was the first player in NFL history to remain with the same team for 20 years.

Slater served what he called "a good apprenticeship" for three years backing up linemen Doug France and John Williams. His apprenticeship ended, however, in 1979 when he stepped in and started every game at right tackle. That year the Rams made their first Super Bowl appearance.

The following season, Slater, fully entrenched as a starter, was a key component of an offensive line that surrendered just 29 sacks and helped the Rams' offense finish second in the NFL in total yards gained with 6,006. Although in just his second season as a starter, pundits were already referring to Jackie as "overlooked" when post-season honors were announced.

It wasn't until 1983 that he finally was named to his first of seven Pro Bowls. That season, Slater and his offensive line mates demonstrated their power and versatility. Together they allowed a league-low 23 quarterback sacks while also paving the way for Eric Dickerson's rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards.

He was born Herbert Jackson Youngblood III on January 26, 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida and went on to be one of the best defensive ends the Rams organization would ever come to know. He would become known as one of the toughest defensive ends to ever play the game. Pure and simple Youngblood was simply 'Ram Tough' and it wouldn't be surprising if Dodge did not have this indestructible lineman in mind when their advertising department came up with their slogan 'Ram tough'.

And just how tough was this man? Everyone who knows anything about football probably already knows how he played in the playoffs and in the Super Bowl with a broken fibula. But that doesn't say how tough this character was.

He knew it was broken, he didn't have to wait for the doctors to examine the X-rays to tell him that, after all he was quoted as saying 'I heard it snap like a pencil.' as he fell over Dallas lineman Rayfield Wright in a divisional playoff game of 1979.

Youngblood's aggravation mounted at an alarming rate as he sat their impatiently listening to the team doctor try to explain to him the severity of his injury. He recalled getting so angry at the doctor that he finally bellowed out 'Daggummit, it's Dallas, just tape the thing up.'

Not only did Youngblood go out with it taped up to finish the game he took that daggum broken leg with him to the NFC Championship game as well as the Super Bowl. Jackie Slater recalled how impatient Youngblood was when they were trying to fit him with a brace for his leg and all he could say was 'Hurry up, I've got a game to play.'

Youngbloods pain tolerance wasn't high, it was beyond high, it was more like Wile E. Coyote, drop an anvil on my head and I'll still keep coming, or kick me off the cliff and I'll dust it off, type of pain tolerance.

From 1978 - 1980 Youngblood played with a pinched nerve in his left shoulder that caused him to lose 50 percent of the strength in his arm, by 1981 the injury had finally caused a life threatening blot clot that had to eventually be removed. After which they weren't even sure if he'd ever be able to play football again. Yet he continued on three more years with the Rams.

As the final two are left standing, the Colts and Bears, believe it or not, there still are 30 other teams left in the NFL. And as these two teams rest up and prepare during the upcoming two weeks, believe it or not, there still are 30 teams left waiting for the new season to begin. And the Rams still happen to be one of those teams.

As Colts and Bears fans get ready for the big show, there are far more fans out there not nearly as excited as they (the winning teams fans) would like for us to be, while their two teams get ready for that big show. And that includes Rams fans who will half heartily watch the commercial rich, fireworks filled Super Bowl just because it's football.

Just because 30 other teams fans may be watching the event, doesn't mean that they're supporting either team and some may not even care what the outcome is unless they've got a few bucks on the game. In fact some of us go through the motions and look more forward to the commercials come Super Bowl Sunday, than the game itself.

Believe it or not, we will continue to support our team, write about our team, and look forward to the upcoming season all the while during the Super Bowl hype, and deluge of cocky fans supporting the Bears and Colts. Although congrats are in order for both teams and their fans, that won't stop any of us from continuing to support our teams.

And with that said....Go Rams!

The Rams have been struggling immensely for three years now on defense in way of not being able to stop the run. Linehan had his first off season try in 2006 and he made as many moves as he possibly could with what he had available. After bringing in Haslett there was just so much that could be done.

After finishing a dismal 31st in the league out of 32, the Rams once again find themselves in dire need of doing something to find a way to stuff the run.

'We've certainly got an area that we have prioritized and that's to improve our run defense.' Linehan said to reporters. 'Whether it's in our front or our linebackers. Whatever it is that's going to help us, we're going to scour the league and see if there is somebody there that fits what we lack. I think it would be too early to say that it is a certain position, but we will address that, if we can, right away in free agency.'

The Rams did make key improvements by replacing Chris Claiborne and Adam Archuletta with Will Witherspoon and Corey Chavous. Unfortunately though, the rest of the defense didn't make that much improvement and Witherspoon, the secondary, and linebackers found their jobs extremely difficult against the run.

Finding a big body and one that knows his job in free agency will be a tough task for the Rams to take care of. And as for the draft, they've not had much luck in the past three years, leaving only Jimmy Kennedy out of those drafted to cover the line.

'That's the biggest disappointment,' Haslett said to the Post Dispatch. 'We did well the last three weeks, but in order to play really well in this league you have to stop the run. We have two issues here on that. We didn't play well and when the offense cranks it up like they did at the end of the season, teams want to run the ball to keep the offense off the field and run the ball because it can be effective. That's one issue we are going to have to address. We have to do a better job on the run next year.'

Last year they brought in Glover mainly for leadership and rotation, but due to a lack of depth at the position, Glover had to play more downs than the Rams wanted to have to ask of him.

The possibility exists that the Rams may start looking at some of these linebackers in free agency in the coming months. Chicagos' Lance Briggs, Baltimores' Adalius Thomas, and Buffalos' London Fletcher-Baker just a few of the best of the bunch. Haslett has also said he would like to try and keep Witherspoon in the middle, but that depends on whether or not they add a big tackle up front.

No matter how you look at it, the 'Help Wanted' sign is posted and applications are being taken now.

Last year about this time, Scott Linehan's head was spinning. Coming into the Rams organization as first time head coach, he not only had to try and evaluate the team, but he also had to try and put together a coaching staff that would work well with his plans and ideas. And so when it came down to checking out the players during the 2006 Senior Bowl, there wasn't much time for him to really pay much attention to what was going on.

That has all changed this year. With just one coaching spot to fill with the loss of defensive quality control coach, Joe Baker heading off to Denver, he has far less on his plate this time around.

Last year at the Senior Bowl, Linehan admitted that everything was just a blur and most of the time he spent locked up in his hotel room ordering room service, just to be able to try and figure out exactly what he was going to do with this Rams team, let a lone check out 50 or more anxious senior players waiting for him down in the hotel lobby.

This year will be different though. This time he will be able to devote all his time for the Senior Bowl, going to their practices, meeting with the players, doing the whole deal, to see what these players have to offer and just where they might fit into the Rams draft plans for 2007.

Linehan and his staff will leave Sunday for Mobile and will be joined there by the scouting crew along with president of football operations Jay Zygmunt.

'The Senior Bowl's the best evaluation we've got other than the NFL scouting combine,' Linehan told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. 'The campus workouts are fine, but they rank No. 3 in my book. At the Senior Bowl, you get to watch them practice football. And doing what we do. It's a pretty good measuring stick.'

Linehan will meet with the scouting department Monday and Tuesday in Mobile, to review both rosters in the Senior Bowl. Then they plan to meet with players Monday and Tuesday nights. This is a common practice generally done during the combine, which is next month, but Linehan simply wants a head start on the rest of the NFL this year. Linehan knows you only get about 60 reviews at the combine and by getting a head start on it at the Senior Bowl, he'll be giving his staff an extra 30-40 reviews.

The staff will return to St. Louis on Thursday with their findings and start preparing themselves for the combine next month and start building that draft board for April.

A lot of fans may say that Pickett should have been gotten rid of without a doubt, and a lot did say it before the 2006 season started, and well, they got their wish. The Rams failed to re-sign Picket at the beginning of the season, where he went off to Green Bay for a very modest price tag.

With the departure of Pickett, this led way for an opportunity for Jimmy Kennedy to start at nose tackle. Once thought to be a player that would be a benefit for the Rams in a big way because of his bulk, turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments on the defense. Instead of being an improvement over Pickett he was a downgrade. Contributing to some of the worst rushing defense in the NFL.

Meanwhile, back in Green Bay, Pickett may not have been one of the best but he was active and was above the average standards at stuffing the run, far more than Kennedy ever exhibited. Even with an average effort to stop the run, the Rams may have been able to win one or two more games, enabling them to get into the playoffs, or even win the NFC West.

Instead, the Rams decision to let Pickett go, replace him with Kennedy was a failure. Instead of fixing their problem, they worsened it and fell to next to last in the NFL against the run, and once again find themselves scratching their heads and wondering where they can find someone, anyone, from anywhere to help patch up the gaping wounds rushers created all during the 2006 season.

When training camp opens for 2007, the receiving corp of the St. Louis Rams may have a different look to it than what we've been accustomed to. With the likelihood that Kevin Curtis may have coaches pounding on his door this off season, despite his decline in numbers from 2005, teams have seen enough of him to know that he's good enough to be a starter on any team.

Shaun McDonald on the other hand may not end up with as many invites as Curtis, but since the team doesn't seem to have any interest in keeping him once training camp comes along, look for McDonald to become a casualty of roster cuts.

Should both these receivers be lost, this will probably open the door of opportunity for both Marques Hagans and Dominique Thompson to try and grab roster spots on the team as replacements for Curtis and McDonald.

Hagans who was a quarterback at Virginia, has been trying to make the transition from quarterback to wide receiver and kick returner since, while being on the practice squad the entire 2006 season. At five foot, 10 inches, and 205 pounds he has good bulk as well as good hands and elusiveness but lacks great top end speed like Curtis, Holt, or Bruce.

Thompson, who has been on the practice squad for two years now, has pretty good size at six foot one, 190 pounds and decent speed and over the past two years on the practice squad he has improved his skills well enough to be considered a possible roster spot.

And let's not forget about the fact that Dane Looker, Wilkin's favorite ball handler for kicking, is a very reliable possession receiver, who was all but forgotten in 2006, except by Wilkins, may also have another opportunity to see more action in 2007 should the Rams lose both Curtis and McDonald.

There's no doubt in anyone's minds though, that the mainstay of this Rams receiving corp will continue to be Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.

If there's one thing we found out for certain about Scott Linehan, it's that he's a man of character, a man of his word, and that he refused to allow his ego get in the way of his decision making. Never was it so evident that he would not allow ego to blind his reasoning as in the dreadful shutout against the Panthers.

After the humiliating meltdown of his team he did not allow it to fluster him, he did not allow his ego as head coach get the better of him. Instead he remained calm, focused and even keeled when he decided that perhaps calling the plays just wasn't going to work for him as head coach and decided to hand those duties over to his offensive coordinator Greg Olson, and by sticking with this decision the rest of the season and into the 2007 season. By doing this, he was able to salvage a season that was teetering on the edge of being worse than the 2005 season. In making this decision he allowed himself to have more insight into what was going on with the entire team and individual players. His decision to cast aside ego paid off, especially in the last four games of the season where his offense began to flourish and he finally became the head coach each and every game day.

One flaw though was his reluctance to play the younger players a good part of the season. But in the end, he threw them in and discovered that he might actually have a few diamonds in the rough.

Jim Haslett on the other hand had a far harder task to undertake with the defense and even though they put out some big bucks for some players, the overall result of Haslett's first season as defensive coordinator was a major disappointment. The entire year it seemed they were still shy of three to four major players needed at key positions on the defense.

They've had enough time now to see where they need to go for them to reach the next level. In the off season there will be plenty of time and room for this coaching duo to grow and improve upon their shortcomings of 2006.

Overall Grade: C+

The only players that truly made any kind of impact on the Rams special teams were kicker Jeff Wilkins and punter Matt Turk. Wilkins, who still remains one of the league's top kickers, with his 32 field goals on the year, is the second highest in his career and he tied the season for the lead with Robbie Gould of the Bears. Although he may be losing a little distance in his kickoffs, he still remains far above average in the league in that area.

His counter part, punter Matt Turk, who ran into Scott Linehan before the season started, told the coach that if he needed a punter in St. Louis to just give him a call. That call came sooner than Matt expected and he easily won the punter's position with his leg strength and directional skills. Turk proved to be a godsend for the Rams with his punting abilities. Matt was seventh over all in net yardage and tied for 11th for punts within the 20 yard line with 26.

Both Wilkins and Turk are the good news for the Rams special teams, but that's where it ends and the bad news begins. The bad news is that the Rams kickoff coverage finished 28th, finished 26th in kickoff returns, and 25th in punt returns.

The Rams allowed three kickoff/punt returns for touchdowns, while scoring none themselves. More often than not the blocking on kickoff returns fell just shy of being hideously inept. Although there was an obvious effort on their part to try and improve the coverage unit, the same thing can't be said for their efforts to find a true return man that could actually make a difference.

Other than Wilkins and Turk this unit still remains a mess and will have to once again be addressed along with the defense.

Grade: C+

Tomorrow: Coaching

And why wouldn't opposing offenses love the Rams, they only allowed 2,327 rushing yards for 2006, third worst in Rams history. I guess one could blame it on the fact that the defense rarely had playing time when they were a head, they played 10 teams that had 1,000 yard rushers, three of them being Tomlinson, Johnson, and Gore. But what was the excuse for the other 6 games that they allowed rushers to gash through the line?

Face it, the Rams rush defense was just simply embarrassing. Jimmy Kennedy didn't get the job done at nose tackle, Brandon Green, high in enthusiasm didn't make many noteworthy plays, Glover had some bright moments, but it would suit him better if he were to play less downs. Claude Wroten may not be the answer with what little he showed in 2006. Even Leonard Little's tremendous Pro Bowl caliber season was enough to help this group. After all, it's impossible to expect one man to do the entire job.

Will Witherspoon was asked to do a lot for the team by switching positions and showed that he had tremendous sideline to sideline speed and was one of the few bright spots on the defense leading the team in tackles on the year. Pisa Tinoisamoa suffered from so many injuries that they finally forced him off the field for the season, despite his insistence upon continuing to play. But even with the efforts of these two warriors, it just wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the defense's inability to some how figure out the fundamentals of stuffing the run.

A lot of the reason for their inability to stuff the run comes from the fact that so many of the players simply are not big enough to handle some of the bruising backs that have emerged in the NFL and this will be a key issue for the Rams coaching staff to focus on this off season. They must commit themselves to finding a couple of players that are not only big but ones that have attitudes to go with the bulk.

Although there were a few players on the defense that played hard enough and determined enough to deserve far better grades, it's just not feasible to give them higher, because the overall performance of the group was abysmal.

Grade: D

Tomorrow: Special Teams