How does one begin to write about the St. Louis Rams new wide receivers coach Ray Sherman? Do you write about his extensive and impressive career?
How do you encapsulate a career like his? Perhaps it would read something like this:
Coach Ray Sherman has joined the staff of new St Louis Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher, who was the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, before joining George Seifert in San Francisco as defensive backs coach, with Coach Seifert having taken over from Bill Walsh after serving under him as defensive coordinator. Coach Sherman arrived in St Louis by way of Mike Sherman in Green Bay, who worked for Mike Holmgren in both Seattle and Green Bay. Mike Holmgren worked for George Seifert as offensive coordinator, before leaving and taking Ray Rhodes, which got Jeff Fisher hired in San Francisco. Coach Sherman also got here by way of Dennis Green, who coached for Bill Walsh, and who had Brian Billick as an offensive coordinator, who went on to coach the Ravens team that dethroned Jeff Fisher and the Titans as AFC champions in 2000. Ta-da!
Unfortunately, that doesn't do justice to this amazing man's life, both in the coaching business, and outside of it. Let's take a closer look at Ray Sherman's NFL journey.
The St. Louis Rams are taking a break from minicamp on Thursday after two days of excited learning, dead pet stories and practice field super stars. It's spring time in the NFL when everyone has a chance to be great. Enjoy it now.
And what better way to help you enjoy a spring day than a smattering of hot links for your clicking pleasure! We've assembled some choice morsels in Thursday's Random Ramsdom post. Go on, click it. You know you want to.
Head coach Jeff Fisher was pleased with what he saw after the second day of the St. Louis Rams' OTAs on Wednesday. With four months to go until the start of the regular season, this week's team activities are a long way from the real thing, as Fisher made clear. We should caution readers that inspired practice field play does not always translate when the shooting starts.
Spring work is all about getting the playbooks installed and teaching the players how the new coaching staff wants them to practice.
"Yesterday was an exciting day for us because it was the first time that the rookies got to meet the vets, and the vets got to meet the rookies and so we had a little main introduction in the main auditorium and from then on it went very smooth," Fisher said. "Really pleased with what we got done yesterday. We added a bunch of things today. We got a lot of base in, we got third down, we got in the redzone today. Friday we'll probably do some two-minute. So we're throwing a lot at them, but they have responded very well and they're practicing well together."
If you're St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danario Alexander, the last thing you want to do is watch your teammates practice spring OTAs while you sit on the sideline with a hamstring injury. That's exactly what happened at Wednesday's session, according to Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch.
Alexander has been fighting injuries for a long time. A talented prospect out of Missouri, he went undrafted because of four knee surgeries. The Rams took a chance on him in 2010 as an undrafted rookie, but he's had a fifth knee surgery since then. He was limited to eight games as a rookie, and played in just 10 last season. Hamstring issues kept him sidelined some in 2011.
Reports earlier this week said that only three receivers are locks to make the final cut, Brain Quick, Chris Givens and Danny Amendola. That puts Alexander in stiff competition for one of three remaining receiver spots, assuming the Rams keep the standard six. A new coaching staff isn't likely to give a player who can't be counted on for a full season of work the benefit of the doubt when it comes to making roster decisions.
The St. Louis Rams' 2012 draft class received mixed reviews from various places. Any analysis of draft picks after a handful of practices without pads leaves a little to be desired, but it is a fair subject for discussion. This week, Cold Hard Football Facts rolls out with one of the more negative criticisms of the Rams' draft class I've seen, calling it "drifting and directionless."
They give the collection of 10 picks a 'D' grade. Why? Their take is the exact opposite of what Rams GM Les Snead said about the team's draft strategy recently.
We knew all along, after watching the most recent stadium issue get ugly in Minnesota, that public discourse over the St. Louis Rams' plans for the Edward Jones Dome would eventually go south. If you had odds on things getting ugly after three days, pat your cynical self on the back because you won.
I'm not talking about the media stirring the pot. Stadium politics gives local talk radio something feed the mouth breathers and help to fill the late Spring sports void. Midwestern lifestyle guide St. Louis Magazine added to its collection of pet guides and party pics with this jeremiad claiming bad faith on the part of owner Stan Kroenke, while conveniently glossing over the issues surrounding the dueling LA stadium proposals.
But the first shot from a representative actually involved in the stadium dealings came from Mayor Francis Slay's chief of staff, Jeff Rainford.
Up at the mothership, some of SBN's brightest have been discussing the idea of relegation and how it might apply to college football.
If you're not familiar with the idea, go ahead and read that first link. If you're too lazy, here's the gist: the worst teams in a league are "relegated" to the next highest league, while the best teams from that next highest league are promoted to the top league. Obviously, it had me thinking about how it would hypothetically apply in the NFL.
But I ended up going on a tangent: minor league football.
Hey everybody! Minicamp started for the Rams yesterday. It was the first time the whole team has been together under the watch of new head coach Jeff Fisher and his staff. The new season has now started and as Jeff Fisher said on a radio interview during a St. Louis Cardinals' game, "We are now undefeated and are tied for first place in the NFC West. How does that sound?"
That sounds very good Jeff. Very good. On to the links!
