Schedule Release April 14

The league announced Thursday that it will release the 2009 regular season schedule on Tuesday, April 14.
The NFL Network's Rich Eisen will host a two-hour special edition of Total Access, complete with team-by-team analysis, beginning at 7PM ET Thursday.

WEEK 1: AUGUST 13 – 17

St. Louis at NY Jets

WEEK 2: AUGUST 20 - 24

Atlanta at St. Louis

WEEK 3: AUGUST 27-31

St. Louis at Cincinnati

WEEK 4: SEPTEMBER 3-4

Kansas City at St. Louis

by RockRam,

I keep hearing stuff about cutting Bennett, and trading Bulger. How exactly does it help the team to REMOVE about $15 mil between the two from our cap space!? By doing those two things, what we have done is to lower the cap dollars avaialable to about $108 mil, and then have NO QB to boot!

Guys, that's nonsensical and its not going to happen. It's one thing to rant, it's another to actually do it. If either of those two were problem children like PacMan Jones, perhaps. But they are both good citizens.

The way you deal with the cap is to restructure guys you'd like to keep but have bloated cap numbers, or you cut guys with big numbers that you might prefer not to, but cutting them GIVES YOU MORE cap dollars to spend on other players.....not less.

re: mickflynn99
>>>>>

Here is the 2009 NFL Offseason Calendar, courtesy Adam Kaplan at Scouts.com.
—
April 24
Deadline for old club to exercise right of first refusal to restricted free agents.

April 25-26
NFL Draft, New York City

May 18-20
NFL Spring Meeting, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

June 1
Deadline for old clubs to send tender to unsigned unrestricted free agents to receive exclusive negotiating rights for rest of season if player is not signed by another club by July 22.
Deadline for old clubs to send tender to unsigned restricted free agents or to extend qualifying offer to retain exclusive negotiating rights.

June 15
Deadline for old clubs to withdraw original qualifying offer to unsigned restricted free agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting tender of 110 percent of previous year’s salary.

June 28-July 1
NFL Rookie Symposium, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Mid-July
Training camps open.

July 22
Signing period ends at 4:00 PM ET for unrestricted free agents who received June 1 tender.

August 9
Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, Canton, Ohio.

August 13-17
First preseason weekend.

September 1
Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players.

September 5
Roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players.

September 10-14
Kickoff 2009 Weekend.

RamView, December 28, 2008
From The Couch
(Report and opinions on the game.)
Game #16: Falcons 31, Rams 27

The Rams could have been the playoff-bound Falcons’ punching bag for
sixty minutes today, but to their credit, they traded punches in
Atlanta for sixty minutes and nearly pulled off a big upset. Today’s
effort made a major statement about this team’s heart. Unfortunately,
it also made one about their run defense.


Position by position:
* QB: Nice, near-mistake-free game by Marc Bulger (19-30-230, 91.9
rating), though the passing game didn’t really get going until late in
the 2nd quarter. Down 10-7, he and Torry Holt combined for a pretty
throw-and-catch on the Atlanta sideline for 19, and a couple of plays
later on 3rd-and-8, the same combination worked for 12 on the Rams’
sideline. After driving inside the 20, Bulger beat a blitz with a nice
17-yard TD pass to Donnie Avery to put the Rams on top. Down 24-14 in
the 3rd, Steven Jackson worked a screen pass to set up a FG, and a
drive later, Bulger hit Holt down the sideline with a perfect 33-yard
pass at the 2. That set up a Jackson TD to tie the game at 24 in the
4th quarter, and when the Rams took a 27-24 lead, Rams Nation’s
wildest expectations for today had been well exceeded. The lead didn’t
hold, though, leaving the Rams looking to Bulger again to attempt a
last-minute comeback. He opened the Rams’ last drive of the season
with a pretty 29-yard pass to Joe Klopfenstein at midfield, and the
Rams advanced to the final quadrant of the field before Bulger
appeared to run out of open receivers. He took a sack on 2nd down
after getting good time to throw, couldn’t force a 3rd-down pass to
Dane Looker in triple coverage and overthrew Avery on 4th down to put
a wrap on a frustrating season. Even with the failed comeback, Bulger
mostly met expectations today. He threw behind receivers a couple of
times but his accuracy was usually spot on. He was composed and
decisive in the pocket no matter what amount of pressure was coming.
He led the offense on four long scoring drives, and their 27-point
output was their second-highest of the season. Bulger’s effort today
wasn’t good enough to overcome atrocious run defense or some
occasionally funky play-calling, but he’s looked good-but-not-
spectacular enough here in December to think the Rams can gain at
least a couple more W’s next year if he maintains his current level of
play.

RamView, December 21, 2008
From Row HH
(Report and opinions from the game.)
Game #15: 49ers 17, Rams 16

If there’s a way to lose, the 2008 Rams will find it. Today they played about 3½ pretty good quarters before a massive chokejob down the stretch allowed the awful 49ers to overcome a 2-TD deficit and claim a win they absolutely did not deserve. So, that’s the Rams’ ninth loss in a row and their eighth straight in the NFL’s worst division, in which they managed to go winless this 2-13 season. Merry Christmas, Rams fans!

Position by position:
* QB: Feel free to ask Marc Bulger (19-36-227, 70.0 passer rating) to manage your offense for you; just don’t ask him to win the game. Marc stuck to the brand of competent-but-unspectacular ball he’s been playing for a few weeks now. He didn’t complete anything downfield until late in the 1st quarter. That was when he got Torry Holt involved with a couple of medium passes that set up the Rams’ first FG. They settled for that after Bulger couldn’t hit Steven Jackson as the hot on a 3rd-and-2 blitz. Bulger’s been quickly looking for that outlet lately when he’s been blitzed, to the exclusion of anything else, but today he showed early signs of progress by looking downfield more under pressure. That was truest of the TD pass to Keenan Burton. With a blitz coming at him, Bulger threw a perfect 30-yard toss to Burton behind the 49er secondary. Bulger showed the power of the dumpoff late in the half, as a couple of long screens by Kenneth Darby set the Rams up for another FG and a 13-3 halftime lead. Marc played pretty mistake-free ball, even as a receiver, where he had another catch to pass Drew Bennett on the season. He did take one pretty dumb sack, rolling out on what looked like a naked bootleg and letting the rusher close on him instead of chucking the ball out of bounds. Pretty clear Bulger doesn’t roll out very often. And this year, he hasn’t pulled the Rams out of the fire very often. Up 16-10 late in the game, needing a first down to keep the clock moving, Bulger’s 3rd-down sideline pass for Holt was knocked down on a nice play by Nate Clements. The Ram QB showed a glimmer of clutch play when the Rams got the ball back trailing 17-16. He hit Donnie Avery with a couple of sideline passes, with Avery’s spectacular catch on 4th down at the enemy 45 keeping the game alive. A couple of plays later, though, Bulger snuffed the rally out, throwing what just looked like a bad pass well wide of Avery and into the hands of somebody named Tarell Brown to end today’s miserable experience. Bulger’s had his team’s back before and led it on 4th-quarter comebacks. Maybe that’s the next step to getting his swagger back. He didn’t have it today. And while Marc Bulger didn’t lose the game for the Rams today, it’s getting more and more frustrating to settle for his very average, don’t-lose-the-game play when the Rams are paying him like an elite QB who wins games for his team.

RamView, December 14, 2008
From Row HH
(Report and opinions from the game.)
Game #14: Seahawks 23, Rams 20

The Rams’ litany of losing continues, after failing to show up in the second half on either side of the ball today against Seattle. That’s eight straight losses overall. That’s eight straight losses to the freaking Seahawks, who the Rams haven’t beaten since 2004. The Seahawks who have THREE wins this year, TWO of them courtesy of your same old sorry assed St. Louis Rams. I need a damn drink.

Position by position:
* QB: Marc Bulger’s numbers again weren’t spectacular – 19-32-207 – but his passer rating of 88.9 makes this one of his best games this season. And though he was terrible against Miami, this is the third straight week of excellent pass protection for Bulger, and his game is getting on something of a roll. He’s throwing accurately; his 31-yard TD pass to Torry Holt between two defenders was a beauty. He’s doing little things right like stepping up in the pocket, and the TD pass was made by a sweet pump fake. He’s finding rapport again both with Holt and Donnie Avery. It is taking a while, but with a few weeks of good blocking in front of him, confidence is starting to come back into Bulger’s game. He’s finding receivers all over the field, not just the sidelines. If not for his teammates turning the ball over, Bulger probably would have had the Rams up 24-0 or 27-0 at halftime and they would have coasted home. (As we’d find out, trying to coast home with a ten-point lead? Not so successful.) As it was, he still led the team on scoring drives of 9, 18 and 13 plays. The offense moved with good rhythm for good stretches, and Bulger’s passing was spot on. He even had a reception today (from Dane Looker) out of “Wildcat” formation, tying him with Drew Bennett for the season. Dare I ask if it’s time now to raise the bar where Bulger’s concerned? He’s still making a living off of short passes. He’s chucking it ASAP at even the hint of a blitz. There was one play where he threw short with the blitz coming; problem was, blitzer Julian Peterson had hit the ground well short of Bulger, before he threw. Marc’s doing a decent job of “managing the offense,” but we’re clearly seeing that isn’t enough to get this team any W’s. The Rams are getting Marc Bulger good protection, and he’s working well again with his best downfield threats; let’s see if it isn’t time to start having him get the ball downfield more often.

RamView, December 7, 2008
From The Couch
(Report and opinions on the game.)
Game #13: Cardinals 34, Rams 10

$50 million for a RB who fumbles twice and gives up a touchdown.
$60 million for a QB who throws a 3-yard TD for his team and a 100-yard TD for the other team.
$36 million for a left guard who gets beaten like a dirty rug.
$14 million for a placekicker who misses easy field goals, and indoors!
Watching three more games of a crap franchise, incapable of even staying on the same field as the Arizona Freaking Cardinals for two years now, while they play out the string in their worst season in St. Louis?

PRICELESS.

Position by position:
* QB: Marc Bulger (22-37-228, 75.1 rating) wasn’t awful today, but the Ram passing game was, if that makes any sense. The Rams had 17 passing yards at halftime, scarcely even trying to throw downfield. Bulger’s long completion for the half was a 10-yarder to Donnie Avery. His highlight was a quickly-thrown 3-yard TD pass to Steven Jackson. I think the only deep throw of the half was by Dane Looker on a WR option attempt. Bulger’s last two passes of the half were stupid screen passes that Arizona was all over for huge losses. The third quarter was almost over before Bulger passed the 58 yards Kurt Warner got out of one first-half completion to Steve Breaston. And since Arizona had a 27-7 lead by that time, they played very soft defense the rest of the way and let Bulger pile up a respectable 135 yards or so in the 4th quarter. That gave Bulger a chance to show he wasn’t the biggest part of the Rams’ woes. There had been costly fumbles by Jackson. Playcalling was lousy. Avery was where he was supposed to be about as often as an electric football player is. At the end of the game, the receivers treated the ball like a live porcupine, with four drops in six attempts. But Bulger threw accurately and moved in the pocket well throughout the game. There was just a lot going on that was out of his control. And by the time Bulger took control, the game was out of control. He had a shot at proving himself in the 4th, engineering an 82-yard drive. On a 3rd-and-long, he stepped up and winged a 16-yard pass to Looker. He found Joe Klopfenstein (!) twice for 36. He drove the Rams all the way to the Cardinal 10. Show us what you’re made of, Marc. Here it comes… an out route at the goal line for Holt, who he’d been hitting well with sideline passes all half… underthrown… picked off by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie… returned 100 yards for a TD. Bulger’s season in a nutshell. The Ram passing game is awful, but it’s not all Bulger’s fault. But he’s not that good, either.

RamView, November 30, 2008
From Row HH
(Report and opinions from the game.)
Game #12: Dolphins 16, Rams 12

Ugh, I went to the Dome for a Rams game and a soccer game broke out.
The Rams and Dolphins traded FGs all day, and though competitive, the
Rams went down kicking with their tenth loss. Maybe next year they’ll
actually be good enough to beat the league’s worst team from the year
before.


Position by position:
* QB: With Steven Jackson somewhat healthy, Marc Bulger was supposed
to return to the back seat in the Ram offense as envisioned here in
the post-Martz era. “Manage the offense” and don’t screw up. Yes, the
Rams paid $60 million for Trent Dilfer. Through about three quarters
today, Bulger was having a classically Dilferian game: 8-20, 85 yards.
He seemed to be “managing”, though. He was the victim of some drops,
played it safe in the pocket with some throwaways, and hadn’t taken a
sack. The Rams weren’t scoring TDs but were still in the game. For
those almost-three quarters, Bulger at least wasn’t hurting the team,
even though the Rams’ biggest problem in the red zone appeared to be
the QB. The Rams got to 2nd-and-goal from the 5 their opening
possession. Bulger had to throw away the 2nd down pass because Miami
had everyone covered. On 3rd down, he forced a pass into the right
corner of the end zone Torry Holt never could have caught. Rams kick a
FG. What was odd was that Bulger had Steven Jackson and Anthony Becht
open in the middle, and Becht had a clear path to the end zone, but
the dumpoff-prone Bulger didn’t dump off this time. Like the next
drive. Bulger settled for a short pass to Dane Looker on 3rd-and-long
with Donnie Avery open deeper downfield. Rams kick a FG. They got back
inside the 20 in the 2nd after Bulger’s nice throw to Holt under
pressure, but on 3rd-and-5, Bulger tried forcing a sideline pass to
Anthony Becht with Holt popping up wide open over the middle. Rams.
Kick. A. FG. Down 13-9 late in the 3rd, Bulger began paying for the
earlier opportunities to cash in. He locked in on Jackson and threw
his first INT right to Akin Ayodele, lying in the weeds. The Rams
recovered from that and got ANOTHER FG, their last, false, hope.
Getting the ball back at his 33 with a chance to drive the offense to
the lead, Bulger rolled out and threw an AWFUL pass, right to Renaldo
Hill, yards short of intended (and open) receiver Becht, for a
crushing INT that allowed Miami to extend their lead to 16-13. What
should have been a big gain was instead a disaster because Bulger got
nervous about Joey Porter five yards away, got happy feet and threw
terribly off-balance. Bulger’s protection was terrific today, and good
on that play; his reaction and that throw are entirely inexcusable.
The rest of the game, with chances remaining to take the lead, Bulger
was a dumpoff machine except for the overthrown bomb for Derek Stanley
at the end of the game that Andre Goodman fielded like he was the
intended receiver for Bulger’s THIRD INT. Coupled with his poor
completion percentage (16-35) and meager yardage (149), that sank
Bulger’s passer rating for the day to a BRUTAL 22.2. The Rams blocked
and ran pretty well. Special teams were pretty good. The defense was
at least better than usual. Marc Bulger had the power to win or lose
this game and he lost it with panicky pocket presence and questionable
decision-making at key moments. The Rams paid $60 million for Trent
Dilfer, and today, they got Tony Banks. Whatever happened to him? Did
he get replaced?