So, what does Sam Bradford do as a follow-up to his strong performance against New England?? Do it against Baltimore.

“I think we all agree he had a pretty good game last week, but in the NFL you’ve got to do it week in, week out, so we’ll be looking for him to pick right up where he left off last Thursday,” said St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo.

Bradford agrees. “Any time you step on the field, you want to play well, you want to help your team win” said Sam. “I felt like I did that last week. Going into this game, it’s no different.  I want to do the same thing. When I’m out there with this offense, I want to do everything I can to get the ball in the end zone and help this team win.”

Besides gaining confidence in himself, Bradford is also gaining the confidence of his teammates.

“I think a little bit.  I know after last week I had a couple guys come up to me and say a couple things about how I handled the situation, the way I acted in the huddle, the way I carried myself on the field.  They were all positive. I think that’s something that I can take away from that game and continue to get better at, but anytime I hear things like that from vets, it’s really encouraging.”

With the exception of Steven Jackson, Bradford and the 1s are expected to be on the field for about fifteen plays against Baltimore—which should give Sam enough opportunity to work on a few things.

“Footwork,” began Bradford. “Footwork in the run game. I can get better on play fakes. I can always make quicker decisions.  The list really goes on and on.  There are so many things I can get better at.  I’m just going to try to go out there Thursday, try to have fun and have a good game.”

RAMdom Notes:

-Tonight’s game is the last chance for many to impress and win a spot on the 53-man roster. As many six spots could still be open on the Rams. “Yeah, I would say that” said Spags. “I tell you what, I worry about…every time I sit down and do that, we have an injury and it throws everything out of whack so I’m very careful when I do it, but I would say that’s true.”

As for what bubble players will be evaluated on, Spagnuolo offered four key things to watch. “Guys are evaluated on their productivity, their character, their ability to learn, and their durability.  So, you’ve got to be a durable guy, you’ve got to produce out on the field, you’ve got to be a character guy, and you’ve got to learn the system. 

“At this point, we cut the volume down in the games, so when you go out there you’re hoping the mistakes are going to be limited.  When you have a guy making the same mistakes over and over, that tells you something, so that hurts them a little bit.”

-One veteran hoping to return against Baltimore, and secure his roster spot, is John Greco. Sidelined by a bruised pectoral muscle, Greco has missed most all of training camp but has slowly worked back into practice this week.

Despite the time off, Greco believes he can catch up quickly.

“I was here for the rookie camp with select veterans—so I’ve been in there. I know the snap counts. I know the plays and everything” explained Greco.

“Just getting a little bit of work here in a day or two of practice will get me right back up to speed and I should be well-adjusted after that.”

Greco’s versatility could be a huge benefit for the Rams. Drafted as a tackle, Greco can play either of the guard spots and has also practiced taking reps at center.

-Speaking yesterday 101 ESPN’s “The Fast Lane”, free agent running back Derrick Ward shared that he is still fully committed to football and is at 235lbs, his normal playing weight. Ward didn’t know where the rumors of his lack of desire or conditioning came from.

Ward also shared that he would have no issue backing up Steven Jackson or any other back, and would be happy to reunite with Steve Spagnuolo—whom he was with in New York.

Not since Stephen Davis was on the Rams in 2006 has the team started the season with a backup running back who had reached at least 1000 yards rushing in a season. Ward reached that mark in 2008, rushing for 1,025 yards with the Giants.

With the last preseason game on the horizon, the Rams look forward to their young talent competing against the Baltimore Ravens at the Edward Jones Dome.  All front office personnel executives will go sleepless this weekend as they burn the mid-night oil watching film, reading scouting reports and making last minute calls to NFL clubs. This makes for some long nights.  Rosters will be cut from 75 to 53. That leaves twenty-two players competing to impress their current coaches, as well as the 31 other teams scrolling through film. 

Aggressive personnel departments start calling other NFL clubs during training camp - prior to the first preseason game - to inquire if a team is “HEAVY” in a position.  For example, a team may have ten linebackers, but plan on keeping seven.  Because several linebackers on the depth chart have impressed coaches by playing well on both defense and special teams, a few of these linebackers are perfect trade bait, leaving someone on the outside looking in.  Personnel departments, as well as coaching staffs consistently look to improve their team’s depth by panhandling for a gold nugget. Keep in mind “one team’s garbage is another team’s treasure.”  Teams look to trade for a draft pick, or swap a player for a player. 

Despite having your 53 man roster pretty much inked, anxiety sets in. Teams continue building the roster.  It is a crazy time. Folks are scrambling to get a jump on their competition throughout the league and especially within the division.  Agents are ringing the phones off the hook, calling about team’s positional needs, along with information on clients that are floating in limbo.  Teams work to position themselves to pounce on the sexy name player with production to upgrade the roster and help the team right away. 

On the eve of cut downs, pro scouting staffs grind tons of DNA (player’s film), while General Managers field calls from agents. Clubs research players, calling their peers around the league (coaches, scouts and trainers).  Teams store data for each of the NFL franchises. This is done on the computer so data can be updated quickly and shared among coaches and scouts (or binders for some teams fighting their way out of the dark ages when it comes to computer technology).  The following information is updated several times a year; Team History, Scouting Reports on players, Character (arrest, DUI, Drugs) League Suspensions, Injury history, Current Coaching staff, Advance Scouting Reports, Division Updates, and College Scouting evaluations of pro players (summer assignments). 

This information is broken down into three areas: AFC, NFC, and lastly, Division.  Tracking player personnel is extremely important, at any time of the year, especially when looking to upgrade the bottom end of your roster.  It is imperative that data is tracked year by year and season by season on roster movement (team and player statistics and off field issues along with security background). Keeping all this information current is the key to a successful Pro scouting department.  The main goal for acquiring the opponent and player data is to identify all personnel in the National Football League, and track player performance on and off the field along with team results. 

The cut to 53 is a challenging time of year. As much as you want to upgrade your roster, you must do your homework. Teams must feel good about the player’s character, injury history, playtime, and production.  When adding an aged veteran with double digit accrued seasons in the National Football League, questions must be asked. Does he have a chip on his shoulder?  Can he help develop our youth? You need to get a feel for his desire to still compete at a championship level.  For all players that are possible additions to the roster, General Managers make sure coaches and personnel people agree on the level of comfort within the system that is currently in place.  Question what system the player presently operates in (Offense - Pro Style vs. West Coast; or Defense - 3-4 vs. 4-3; and is the terminology the same as yours).  Is the football player smart enough to pick up the scheme with little to no issues - to allow for a smooth transition?  The Wonderlic test score carries some weight here. The bottom line - are they “football smart” with the ability to absorb the offense and defense? 

After the feeding frenzy and barrage of evaluating and fielding hundreds of calls to possibly secure or trade players, it is time to head home after averaging a few hours of sleep. Then it’s time to head back to the office to establish an eight man Practice Squad and focus on the first opponent.

He might not play much tonight, and he’s much closer to the end of his career than the beginning of his career, but Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is still going strong after fifteen years in the NFL.

What do coaches and front office people around the league think of the thirty-five year old linebacker? Let’s find out.

Tony Softli, 101 ESPN NFL Analyst: The 15-year veteran is a natural born leader.  He still loves the full process of football (training, meetings, game time).  The ultimate competitor who hates to lose and won’t allow anyone to outwork him.  He is a prideful professional player that stays on top of his game.  Even though his skills have diminished slightly, I would love him on my team for all the reasons I mentioned. 

A modern day gladiator with one hell’va dance routine during player introduction

Rick Venturi: 101 ESPN NFL Analyst: Ray has lost a step and doesn't play with the tools he once possessed, but this is still the leader of a proud defensive unit. His football intelligence is off the charts and his anticipation is incredible. If you come in his wheelhouse, he will flat drill you. He's in the autumn of his career, but he is still relevant.

When the Ravens visit the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome tonight, fans attending the game will have the opportunity to see a guy that – at one point in time – was the toast of the town here in St. Louis. Unfortunately for him, Marc Bulger went from being the toast of the town to being one of the guys people loved to take shots at.

That’s what happens when you’re the quarterback of a team that had just six wins in the last three seasons. It came as no surprise to anyone when the Rams and Bulger parted ways a couple of weeks before the draft in April.

Bulger agreed to a one-year deal worth $3.8M a few weeks before camps opened. Not everyone on the Ravens roster welcomed Bulger with open arms (some players wanted to see former Ohio State star Troy Smith remain Joe Flacco’s backup).

How has Bulger fit in with his new team? We asked some of the people who cover the Ravens on a daily basis.

Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun Columnist: Marc Bulger looked very sharp in an extended performance against the Washington Redskins in the second preseason game and seems to be happy that he hooked on with the Ravens. He has been saying all along that he chose a backup role with the Ravens rather than waiting for a possible starting job because of the quality of the organization and the possibility of the team going deep into the postseason.

Marc provides tremendous insurance for the Ravens, who did not have a backup with any real experience. If Flacco goes down for any amount of time -- particularly late in the season -- the Ravens should be in pretty good hands. Bulger can thread the needle, but I don't have to tell anybody in St. Louis that. When he's right, he's a very good quarterback.

Jerry Coleman, Baltimore Sports Radio Host: Mark is the Best back-up in the league and has been a total pro since arriving. He understands his role, has helped Joe out in every phase. The Ravens trust him in a "pinch" more than Troy Smith, although Joe has yet to miss a down since being named starter.

The Rams of 2010 should view the first 8 games of the schedule as a real window of opportunity. The first month opponents feature Arizona, Oakland, Washington, and Seattle, with the second month featuring Detroit, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Carolina. 

Oakland, Washington, Seattle, Detroit, and Tampa were bottom feeders in 2009. The Redskins and Seahawks were forced to make coaching changes, while Oakland’s Tom Cable along with Tampa’s Raheem Morris held on by a thread and remain on life support. The Lions 2-14 season, despite solid direction from Jim Schwartz, was brutal.

Let us progress from the bottom 5 to the Carolina Panthers. This is a team that needed a miraculous finish (winning their last 4 of 5, after benching quarterback Jake Delhomme) to go 8-8. Since January they have lost their two most dynamic defenders, the incomparable Julius Peppers and playmaker Thomas Davis. If that weren’t enough, add the physical uncertainty of the always explosive Steve Smith, and they are really looking shaky. The quarterback situation is now a work in progress, and only another superb coaching job by the underrated John Fox will keep the Panthers from total disaster.

Moving on, Arizona finds itself in complete transition. After a truly great run with Kurt Warner, the Cardinals rose to the upper tier of the league. With the loss of Warner, Anquan Boldin, Karlos Dansby, and Antrell Rolle, the Cards will be a shadow of their former selves and will drop back to the pack. Fitzgerald’s injury casts further doubt on an already depleted receiver corps. As a matter of fact, the Birds have lost more players to retirement and free agency than any team in recent history.  Quarterbacks Derek Anderson and the listless Matt Leinart have both struggled in the pre-season, and this has shaken the Cards faithful to the core. Coach Ken Whisenhunt will do his best to transition to a balanced attack, but will find it a tough challenge without the magnificent passing game of Warner.

While most people dwell on the Cards offense, we can’t overlook the defensive slide they experienced in the last two playoff games. In those two games they surrendered 911 yards and 90 points. They certainly won’t start the 2010 season with much defensive confidence.  Opening with Arizona gives the Rams the huge advantage of catching them in transition, and at their most vulnerable point.

San Diego remains the only upper tier opponent in the first half of 2010 despite the contract issues involving top receiver Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeil. In addition they will be relying on untested rookie Ryan Mathews to account for 1,300 yards.

The first 8 weeks will provide a real measuring stick to see where the Rams are. The schedule gives them a real opportunity to show progress. 

Trautwein was waived injured, so the Rams will have the opportunity to bring him back six weeks after the length of the their injury settlement. Or, Trautwein could eventually move to reserve/injured and stay there all year.

Other teams also have the option of signing Trautwein, who played in three games as a rookie last year with the Rams.

Trautwein was signed by St. Louis as an undrafted free agent out of Florida, was waived, and spent time on the Cleveland practice squad before being picked back up by the Rams.

The next roster cut for NFL teams is September 4th, when teams must get down from 75 to 53 players.

If it were up to Steven Jackson, he won’t be playing this Thursday night as the Rams close the preseason against Baltimore. “No,” laughed Jackson. “But if Coach wants me to go out there, I’m fully prepared to go in there and play however long as the ones are going to be out there. But me personally, no I don’t want to play.”

Jackson is also aware that being on the field would provide valuable experience for Sam Bradford.

“It’d definitely be beneficial in letting us to grow more chemistry, yes,” agreed Steven.  “But the gentlemen asked me if I want to play. (laughs) I understand, yes, the chemistry for us to play another game before the thing really counts.”

“I do think it’s probably something that Coach probably would want and I’m ready for it if it happens. I’m not going to go out there and grope (gripe) about it. You know it’s something that I would like.”

“Not sure on that one yet,” answered Steve Spagnuolo. “ We’ll decide that tomorrow, see how he feels.  There’s a chance he could go out there, but I don’t know.  Fifty-fifty on that one.”

On nine carries, Steven has 42 yards in the preseason—plenty of work to be ready for the regular season. “Yes, I’m really excited. I’m ready for September 12. The more days and the more, as the days go by I’m getting more anxious by the week. So, a few more short weeks and we’ll be here.”

RAMdom Notes:

The Rams announced a pair of trades with Washington on Monday—the first sending defensive end Hall Davis to the Redskins in exchange for an undisclosed conditional draft pick.

Davis, a fifth round pick this year, had three tackles and two sacks for the Rams in the preseason. At Louisiana-Lafayette, Davis totaled 60 tackles (34 solo), 6.5 sacks, one pass defensed and two forced fumbles. During his senior season, Davis started all 12 games, making 22 tackles and three sacks while earning honorable mention All-Sun Belt honors.

In the second move, the Rams received fullback/tight end Dennis Morris in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick.

-Davis becomes only the second draft pick of the Spagnuolo era to be traded or released. Brooks Foster was cut from the team August 22^nd when the Rams signed Danario Alexander.

“He’s a guy that we had looked at coming out of the draft, a guy that we had a chance to take a look at now, so we made the move.  Worked out pretty good,” said Spagnuolo.

Morris (6’2, 265lbs) was selected by Washington in the sixth round of the 2010 draft.

As a senior at Louisiana Tech, Morris had 38 receptions for 623 yards and 12 touchdowns. After the season, Morris was named the best tight end in the nation by the College Football Performance Awards.

NFL teams may open training camp with up to the 80 player limit.  There are two cut down deadlines that clubs prepare for.  The deadline for trimming the fat to 75 is August 31^st. Teams must make the final cut down to the 53 man roster limit by September 4^th at 3PM (4PM Eastern).

A good personnel department begins the roster analysis in January. Street free agents are signed, and these free agents are called “Futures”.  Teams take a chance on Futures to fill hot spots and create competitiveness within the depth, and build up the back end of the roster. 

Then college scouting departments gear up for the annual NFL Draft. The first order of business as far as the draft is concerned is the NIC (National Invitational Camp) or Combine held in Indianapolis in February.  Pro scouting departments prep the coaching staffs for the free agency period, which begins in March. 

Once the Draft has concluded and free agency ends, rookie mini-camp and off season workout programs get under way. This period is called OTA’s (Organized Team Activity).  These team activities involve coaching sessions and conditioning drills. These sessions prepare the team for Mini-Camp, Training Camp and Preseason. 

There are several avenues taken by NFL clubs to remove players from the 80 man roster.  The process is governed by the NFL league offices Player Personnel Department.  First players are waived, meaning they no longer have a contractual agreement with that current team, allowing them to seek employment with another club.

Secondly, injured players can be placed on "Reserve/Injured" or IR. Once on this listing, they are lost for the remainder of the season (the club retains the rights of that player). Once on IR, players are prohibited from practicing, but have responsibility of rehabbing any injury they sustained. They are required to attend daily classroom sessions and meetings on a daily basis. There are those in the league who feel teams still use IR illegally, stashing players who weren't really injured to circumvent the rules on roster limits - gaining a competitive advantage - while building a firm foundation for the future.

When finalizing the 53 man roster, players fall under several other categories, Retired List, League Suspension and PUP.  Players that have come to the end of their career mail in the proper paper work into the league office. 

League suspensions are carried out during the regular season to penalize player salaries. A prime example of this is the Ben Roethlisberger suspension that will start with the first game of 2010 season.  He will not receive game checks during this period, and is not allowed to work out with team or come around the Pittsburgh facility. 

And then there’s the Physically Unable to Perform or "PUP” list. If a player starts training camp on the PUP list, they can be moved to the active roster at any time, even after one practice. A player is not allowed to be placed on the PUP list if they start training camp on the active roster, even if they take part in only the first few minutes of the first practice. 

Say a player begins the regular season on the PUP list. He must sit out his team's first six games. After that point, a team has three weeks to activate him once the player starts practice.  If the player is not activated by that time, or if he does not begin practicing within that three week window, he must remain on the PUP list for the remainder of the season or be moved to the Reserve/Injured listing.

A lot goes into the process of cutting a team from 80 to 53.  It starts with evaluation of practice sessions and preseason games.  There are long staff meetings with coaches and scouts fighting for players.  Most teams break down the roster by groupings, with the amount of players within the group needed to form the 53 man roster. 

For example Offense: QB 3, RB 4, FB 1, TE 3, WO 6, OL 9  (26)  Defense: DL 8, LB 7, DB 9   (24)  Special Teams:  Kicker, Punter, Snapper   (3) = 53   These numbers can be moved around, example if you want to keep four TE, and five WO. 

The formula I use is simple. I rank the team from 1-60, from the best players to the worst, Blue to Green.  Blue players are difference makers with blue production, Red players are starters and heavy contributors, Orange Players are back-up special teamers with limited production and Green players are high percentage of free agents that won’t make the team. I pick the starting eleven on offense and defense. That’s 22 players.  Add the second string players and you get 44.  I then add a Kicker, Punter and snapper to bring the total to 47. Once I get to 47, I then choose six players I just could not go without to bring the total to 53. 

After each team has finalized its 53-man roster, every team in the league has 24 hours to sign any player who has been waived. Once this 24-hour period has passed, each team may sign up to eight players to form its practice squad. These eight players practice with the team, but they are ineligible to participate in games unless they are added to the official 53-man roster (in the place of another player, of course). Teams may sign a player from another team's practice squad only if they immediately add the player to the 53-man roster.  
 
For each NFL game, only 45 players can be listed as active, or eligible to participate in the game. In addition, each team may designate one player outside the 45-man list, as an emergency backup. This is saved for the third quarterback, and he may play only in the event of injuries to the first- and second-string QBs.

I’ve never been cut from anything in my life. I don’t mean to come off as braggadocious but it’s just a fact. I once tried out for a dance production in high school and I made the opening night show. And I can’t dance to save my life! Now all I did was stand there on stage and look mean and intimidating while swaying back and forth to a tribal African drum beat but at least I can say I made the opening day roster.

The end of August literally will be the end of the line for many players in the NFL. August 31^st is usually cut down day for all teams when the fat of the roster is trimmed down and only players who have a legitimate shot at making the team are left over. It’s a rough time for everyone involved, but roster cuts are an inevitable byproduct of the competition for jobs. You just can’t keep everybody.

So, in honor of the demonic Turk making his way around every NFL locker-room looking for the poor undrafted rookie free agent place kicker who missed three field goals and had a kickoff land out of bounds in preseason or the over the hill cornerback that’s been burned more times than ash at a crematorium who’s just trying to steal one more season in the league, here are my 4 rules to surviving the dreaded cut down day in the NFL.

If you a veteran who likes to play cards for money with the guys in the locker room, make sure you collect all debts owed to you by August 25^th.  If you wait too long chances are you’ll never see the guy or your money ever again. And conversely if you’re the one who owes money then by all means wait until after August 31^st to pay up because who knows the team could whack your debt along with the player.

Find out which coach or staff member has the job of the “Turk”. If you identify that person and develop a pseudo relationship with him it will make final cut day easier for you. If you smile and chew the fat with a guy on a regular basis it will be less difficult to tell on cut day if your number is up. If you walk in to the locker-room on cut day and all of a sudden your “friend” isn’t smiling back at you then it means it’s time to dust off the old resume and get started on your life’s work.

Try to act normal if you survive first cuts. If you show up for work on cut day and the Turk passes you by and there’s still a locker with your name on it for God sakes act like you expected it to happen. No one likes a guy that’s on his knees thanking everybody for the opportunity to play in the NFL. If you made the team then that means someone thinks you’re a damn good football player so please freaking act like it. Save the “momma I made it” phone call for the hotel room.

Never try to console a guy who’s been axed. It doesn’t do any good, and you’ll just wind up lying through your teeth anyway. It’s better to fake surprise that Joe Bag O Donuts has been let go versus telling him that you thought he had a legit chance to make the team. Most vets can tell day one who’s going to be on the team and who’s getting cut. This job isn’t for everyone and lying to a guy only prolongs his agony.    

These are strange times here in the city of St. Louis. I mean, really strange times. How strange, you ask?

Well, consider this. St. Louis has the best baseball fans in Major League Baseball. These are fans that cheer for the smallest of things – whether it’s a sac fly, a bunt to move a runner over, or just giving a guy a standing ovation for making his Cardinal debut (Will Clark would be a great example of that).

But something strange is going on here. In a city that is consumed by baseball - I mean totally consumed by baseball - there is something amiss. What could that be?

I’ll tell you what it is. The football team in town, while not stealing any thunder from the Cardinals, is making some fans around here excited about the upcoming season.

Yes, St. Louis. The Rams have a pulse. And it’s not as weak as it used to be.

This isn’t just buzz I’m talking about. It’s something more than that. It’s excitement.

You read correctly. I said excitement. There is excitement about a team that has won just six games in the last three seasons. I see more Rams hats, jerseys, shirts, and other swag around town than I have seen over the last year that I have been in town. All of a sudden it’s cool to be a Rams fan once again.

So, what is going on here? Why is a team that went 1-15 a year ago getting people all worked up?

Well, there are a few reasons why. First of all, there’s the kid from Oklahoma wearing the #8 jersey. Sam Bradford, even if he struggles in the regular season (and you can bet your bottom dollar he will struggle at times), has given this fan base something it hasn’t had for the last couple of years – hope.

What Bradford has shown during this pre-season is that yes, you can have a good quarterback play from someone wearing a Rams uniform. It’s something that Rams fans haven’t seen in about four years. Bradford has shown enough for me to say I’d be comfortable with him under center September 12^th against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome. In fact, I’d be more than comfortable with Bradford as the starter. I’d be upset of he wasn’t.

Bradford has given this fan base hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and this team won’t be a playoff team this year. But this team will be better than it was last year (granted it would be hard to be worse than 1-15). Bradford, Steven Jackson, and James Laurinaitis are the building blocks. The fans understand that the foundation is being laid down. It will take a while for it all to come together, but the foundation is being put in place.

The Rams are a young team that is giving their fans hope. On the other hand, the Cardinals are a veteran team that is giving their fans heartburn. I don’t sense excitement for the Cards right now. Instead, I get the feeling that Cardinal Nation is near the end of its collective rope.

Whether or not the Cardinals are flawed or just underachieving, the bottom line is that this season has not panned out the way many of us thought it would. This was supposed to be a team that went through the National League Central like a hot knife through butter. This was not supposed to be a team that struggled against the likes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, and Milwaukee Brewers.

This was not supposed to be a team that had trouble scoring runs. This was not supposed to be a team that played poor fundamental baseball. This was not supposed to be a team that had problems in the locker room. Like I said, this has not been the kind of season it was supposed to be.

Look, fans around here realize the Rams aren’t going to play in the Super Bowl this February. Rams fans know that the team isn’t going to play in the Super Bowl in February of 2012. But, they see a young team with potential. They see a quarterback that can make plays (the last one stopped making plays a couple of years ago).

Rams fans know this team is going to have their share of ups and downs over the next couple of years. But, if they see a team that improves from week to week, they will get behind it. It has happened before.

The Cardinals are always going to be number one in St. Louis. They always have been and they always will be. But, because of the way they’ve played this season, they’ve opened the door for the Rams – not to steal the spotlight (that will never happen) – but to steal some of the attention away from their baseball brothers.

For a franchise that has been as down as the Rams have been, that’s a victory in and of itself.

Davis had three tackles and two sacks with the Rams thus far in the preseason. At Louisiana-Lafayette, Davis totaled 60 tackles (34 solo), 6.5 sacks, one pass defensed and two forced fumbles. During his senior season, Davis started all 12 games, making 22 tackles (12 solo) and three sacks while earning honorable mention All-Sun Belt honors.

St. Louis also traded an undisclosed pick for fullback/tight end Dennis Morris, who was selected by the Redskins in the sixth round of the 2010 draft.

Wearing #49, Morris was on the practice field today--working mainly as a fullback/h-back.

"He's a guy that we had looked at coming out of the draft, a guy that we had a chance to take a look at now, so we made the move.  Worked out pretty good." said head coach Steve Spagnuolo.

One of the many things to like about Sam Bradford is the big arm. At Oklahoma, the quarterback regularly had plays of 40 or more yards en route to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2008.

While it hasn’t shown up yet in the Rams preseason, no one is questioning the arm of the rookie. In particular, Danny Amendola — who had his hand split open from catching a Bradford pass against New England.

“Yeah, yeah he can wing it” shared Amendola. “I think it was the first one. I just looked down and my glove was all bloody. At the time, I didn’t feel it but at halftime, I took my glove off and it was sliced pretty good so I got some stitches.”

Despite the stitches, Amendola continued to play against the Patriots and was full go in practice on Sunday. His refusal to take anytime off did not go unnoticed. “I tell you, he’s a competitor,” said Steve Spagnuolo.

“You’ve got to kind of keep him from hurting himself, he just wants to go go go, which is a good problem to have.  I love the way he plays and competes.  I think it’s huge.  I think it’s great for our team, and the other guys see it too.  I think they feed off of it.”

Amendola, along with Keenan Burton and Mardy Gilyard, may be stepping in to try and fill the void left by the loss of Donnie Avery.

Gilyard had the first opportunity, but Spagnuolo cautioned that the rookie still has a ways to go before winning the job.

“I think he’s behind,” explained Spags. “In the volume of the scheme, I do think he’s behind.  Some of the things that kind of should be smoothed out by now are still not, and that’s his… he’s a pro now and he’s got to iron that out.  We’re coming up here on 14 days before we play a regular season game, so that’s something he’s got to work on.”

Gilyard agrees with the assessment.

“My thought process is a little bit slower than everybody else’s just because I’m still trying to figure out stuff on the run,” volunteered Gilyard. “I’m getting better. I’m way better than I know I was week one. Again, I know I made tremendous strides as I did prior to week 2. On my end, I feel like I’m coming along, but I need to grow up fast in all honesty.”

RAMdom Notes:

-The Rams released three players prior to Monday’s practice: running back Jamie McCoy, cornerback Marcus Brown, and offensive guard Joe Gibbs.

As expected, Steve Spagnuolo stated that Donnie Avery will be placed on Injured Reserve (IR) prior to Thursday’s deadline of trimming the roster to 75 players.

That means the Rams will need to make one other move to get under the limit. One likely candidate is Phil Trautwein, who is expected to be out at least another six weeks recovering from a third-degree MCL injury.

-Don’t expect wide receiver Laverneous Coles to wind up in St. Louis. While recently released by the New York Jets, the veteran is leaning towards retirement.

"I think I'm done,'' Coles, 32, told The Newark Star-Ledger."I don't want to become one of those journeyman football players. I don't need the money. Coach (Rex Ryan) said I was doing well and they want to bring me back after the first game but I don't know. I don't think that's something I want to do.”

The Cincinnati Bengals released veteran wide receiver Antonio Bryant, whom they had signed this off-season to a four year, $28M contract. Eight million dollars of that money was guaranteed.

Bryant had knee surgery last year, which limited him to 39 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns in thirteen games. He had yet to play a down for the Bengals during the pre-season.

Bryant came into the NFL as a member of the Dallas Cowboys in 2002, and has topped the 1,000 yard mark twice in his career – in 2005 with the Cleveland Browns, and in 2008 with Tampa Bay.

With the Rams losing Donnie Avery for the season thanks to a major knee injury last Thursday against the Patriots, we thought we’d ask our resident NFL analysts – Tony Softli and Rick Venturi, whether or not Bryant would be a good fit for the Rams.

Venturi: Antonio Bryant has the talent to help the Rams, but I fear the knee has become an overwhelming obstacle. It was fairly common knowledge in Tampa, that Antonio really struggled to practice and was playing on a wing and a prayer. I was surprised when the Bengals signed him to a huge contract, knowing about the knee. I'm sure with the excellent play of Terrell Owens, they had to cut their losses. I do think the Rams need to respond to the loss of Avery, but I don't think is the smart move.

Softli: No, he wouldn’t because he is hurt. The Bengals signed him with 8 million guaranteed. For them to cut him tells the league they made a mistake, and he is not healthy. That's all the Rams need is another wide receiver with knee issues. He didn't play one preseason game and sources tell me practices were spotty! Bryant limped around was never once full speed. 

Thanks to the growth hormones and steroids in today’s beef and chicken, high school players are bigger stronger and faster as they mature into young men and move on to the college level.  Only two percent of college players have the skill set to develop into an NFL player. They spend the rest of their lives telling tales of high school lore, and the stories get more animated as they grow old. 

The National Football League is for the elite player - grown men wearing light weight plastic, looking to de-cleat one another. The action is faster and extremely violent, making it more exciting for the fantasy football population, couch potatoes, and the wives that deal with the Monday morning arm chair quarterbacks sitting at home or enjoying a beer and brat among the population of NFL jerseys tailgating in stadium parking lots around the country.  Meanwhile, it’s what the players are struggling with behind the scenes that rarely gets any attention. 

I had the opportunity to speak with Marshall Faulk, the future Hall of Fame running back. The one topic that stuck with me was injury recovery.  When I asked him how he was feeling since his retirement, he replied “my body has not been the same since the second quarter, of the first game of my rookie season.”  Football players are at risk every time they step onto the practice field or into game action. Several suffer significant, long term and sometimes catastrophic injuries. Survival and longevity are the keys to success. So is luck. 

There is nothing more sobering then watching ESPN footage of former NFL players like Kurt Marsh - a childhood friend of mine and former Washington Husky teammate. Marsh was drafted by the Raiders in the early 80’s as an offensive linemen. Since his career ended, he’s had a procedure to amputate his lower leg. He is suffering from other complications after years of combat, and spends most of his days in a wheel chair.  At the age of 51 he struggles to function on his own or lead a normal life. Ask yourself is it worth it. 

Modern medicine has changed. Athletes are treated immediately, rehabbed and ready to go back to battle much faster than players of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.  The aftermath of years of service as a modern day gladiator is not pretty. There are hip and knee replacements, strokes and death at the average age of 60, and the ongoing study of the repercussions of head trauma. Players are now donating their brains to science, and this forces me to ask the question “how much do you love the game and is the risk of long-term injury really worth it? “ 

The NFL is the only professional league that doesn’t guarantee player salaries. This means a player is only as good as his last pay check or contract extension. The NFL player lacks financial security that other professional athletes cherish.  Players feel the pressure to make the team every day, every play, and every game. As an NFL Executive told me many years ago,  “Players have to perform daily and despise the label of chronic visitor to the training room, injury prone or having a low threshold of pain.  Injured players - especially aged veterans - are looking over their shoulder at upper management. money men, and General Managers who constantly look for the younger cheaper talent that is brought in to replace them.  

As the NFLPA (National Football League Players Association) protects their clients, these modern day gladiators are pushed to the brink of muscle failure, and when you can’t perform you’re no good to them.  The union makes sure the players’ rights under the current CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) allow them protection despite the pressure from coaches, teammates and the front office. 

The bottom line is that players must play with pain, minor injuries, broken bones, swollen joints, partially torn ligaments, or worse. They all risk long term injury. 

Hey Gladiator - ask yourself one question. “How much do you love the game?”  

Tony Softli is in his first year as a 101 ESPN NFL Analyst. Softli was formerly the Vice President/Player Personnel of the Rams. You can hear Tony throughout the week on The Bob Stelton Show, The Bernie Miklasz Show, The Fast Lane, and on Rams Game Day on 101 ESPN!

That leaves one more cut to be made by the August 31st deadline to have the roster at the mandated 75 players.

Teams must then trim down to 53 players by September 4th.