Reacting To Rams 53-Man Roster Heading Into 2024 Season | Between The Horns

[Music] oh we are so back with between the horns presented by your Southern California Toyota dealers every week from now until the playoffs the Super Bowl right let's keep it going Andrew ceciliano DeMarco far JB long here at our new home in Woodland Hills this is a special 53 man roster edition of between the horns but really it's a special happy birthday Andrew ciciliano Edition happy birthday man thank you guys welcome I'm I'm touched I'm flat on a move that you actually remembered it was my birthday not only remember but like I tried to wear the exact same pants you today thank you these this we I think we're wearing the identical pants we look like a band don't we sizes what's the name of the band uh we'll come up with one later 53 how about that yes or trade me uh thankfully I'm not 53 yes there actually the show the roster is no show today uh this was all just staged get you here we can show you your new office inside um fantastic do I get a window year ahead no okay uh in all seriousness happy birthday thank you for another great season of preseason football on the with Andrew Whitworth am Mina KS and even a little bit of mjd there I thought Maurice was great I don't know if you noticed because once the final preseason game is over like it's it's over let's move on but lesne came in for the beginning of the third quarter was going to stay maybe two segments maybe two possessions but we got got into a role onto a role he was having fun and then I had this idea cuz we thought we're going to have sha McVey down to the sideline coming up next let's surprise Shawn with less in the booth and have less ask Shawn a question he would know that was coming but then Shawn got delayed a couple of series and it turns out Les spent the entire third quarter in the booth and to answer your question mjd only worked three quarters and he spent the third quarter eating those Voodoo Donuts and watching college football think that means % compensation too we can talk to away with this it's awesome I'm just saying I couldn't get past the jean jacket anyway yeah I couldn't get past that yeah what was with the Jean ja come on somebody somebody tweeted where did the I'm sorry where did mjd go yeah did he go to the Gap when in Texas right can shop off the rack I love it let's Andre I know you've been here earlier this week DeMarco first time putting eyes first time here yes I I'm stoked this is awesome uh you get right here I saw the weight room I see the field the offices this is this is what it should be right here yes I need you two to put your creative genius behind a challenge doesn't have to be right now I'm not trying to put you on the spot we need a name for this place for this facility like you know the Cowboys have the star right yeah and I I imagine there's going to be a sponsored name at some point but in the meantime let's see what we can come how about this try this on for size what I miss ad no the Kurt Warner Center in Woodland Hills Warner Center see what you did There's also like an Engle Woodland tie-in that kind of brings the whole R Kurt ecosystem together those are both atrocious the comments like where your is I like that all right should we get to business let's get it do it we since we're all here for Andrew's birthday we might as well do a real show let's kick it off with sha mcvey's comments um about the 53 man roster yesterday but of course the lead Story the trade uh of team captain from last year and record setting in the middle of the defense Ernest Jones the Titans I I have a ton of respect for Ernest and I'm excited about what he'll do in Tennessee and what he's meant here um but this was a decision that we feel like is best for our football team with the guys that we have I think Troy reer and Rose boom are excellent um I think Jake hmel got versatility and I couldn't be more impressed with Omar Spates and his emergence as a young undrafted rookie free agent making the team Eli Neil's another guy and um and we've got a bunch of different things that we can do personnel wise with some of the guys that we have on the back end and on our front and doesn't take anything away from Ernest but you know every decision that we make and I think you guys know me well enough now is what we think is best for our football team and this is in alignment with that all right so the day after you had a chance to sleep on it your Reflections I'm a little bit better than I was yesterday yesterday kind of hot you get upset I mean but this is football it happens the same basketball the same baseball where you just run the same team back 10 years in a row teams Chang and there was a good chance he was going to be gone next year anyway in free agency that's just the way way it goes but when you think about it I agree with everything Sean said it is best for the team and here's what I don't know maybe you guys know who introduced trade first because once that comes up there is no going back once you say you want to break up there is no going back so you're all in you're trying to uh climb on Everest when you start talking about me first you put yourself in front of the football team and that could Fester if you get upset with it so the best thing for everybody is to move on now you have to worry about what comes behind him he is a leader I missed him I'm to miss him everybody's going to miss him you cannot replace his leadership but like I said this is professional football guys leave and you have to move on it is what it is the leadership thing for me is the biggest piece to answer your question about who who wanted what first yeah Sean made it clear on Monday standing right over here uh because remember Ernest tweeted I didn't ask for a trade I think that tweet got T got taken down and Sean said he's right he didn't ask for a trade um but Les need made it clear back at the owners meetings the annual meeting in Orlando at the end of March that they were going to go into the offseason and not offer Ernest his extension so that kind of sends the message um and I think it's fair to say and I don't think it's unfair to Ernest obviously he's fighting through a knee um that those other guys won jobs now can you argue or can you push back were they actually better A lot better look I'm not breaking down the film with him or without him Omar no no were they better than than what Ernest Jones did in the joint practices okay because Ernest Jones wasn't out there for the three preseason games clearly nobody was from from the first team those other guys were Omar Spates won a job on this team nobody can argue that um Elias Neil probably should be on this team as well certainly practice squad he should be on this field regardless getting ready for week one whether it's part of the 53 or part of the eventual 17 man practice squad either way and when you're heading into the final year of a contract and you're not going to resign the guy if you think that you're going to get the Omar Spates that blew up a dude on the first kickoff in the first quarter of the second preseason game who can run and hit and play special teams then you're going to keep that guy now could you have kept Ernest Jones for three million I think that's the conversation you have to have um and I think the other conversation you have to have is is you tell me what do you think of tackling stats generally speaking uh I think they're Ultra important especially for guys like him I mean he's a downhill backer he's supposed to make every tackle on the field when they run the football sometimes in pass if he can't cover go towards the quarterback what do you have four and a half sacks yes he became the Bobby Wagner the new style of downhill guys so he's special and I don't think you're better without him yet but you can be and that's the thing we all go through contract negotiations in this job I think I'm worth this they say no either either suck it up or move on that's just the way it goes so I respect both sides if you think you're worth more than what they offered stand on that if you think you can move on without him then stand on that but I like I said I agree with Shawn McVey moving on not letting this Fester is best for the football team period you may not see that now but later on it will be proven true you mentioned a name along the way there that I think is important Bobby Wagner yeah Bobby Wagner had one of his best seasons as a ram I think he was pro football focus's highest graded off-ball linebacker it wasn't his fault the Rams went 5 and 12 that year but with great off ball linebacker play they still lost 12 games and I think that was informative in terms of what was already happening in terms of thinking about that position and how to invest in it um if Matthew Stafford had had a career best season was the number one graded player at his position that year the Rams would have been much better than 5 and 12 two polar you know opposite examples but you see where I'm going with this that it's just you know mama don't let your son grow up to be an off ball linebacker if he wants to play in the and and I'm not trying to suggest by the way that he had a bunch of empty calories and empty stats there I'm not saying that at all I think tackle stats and PFF and film analysis it's gotten so much better over the years where it's not like it was 10 12 years ago where everyone knew the official score in Seattle pumped up those tackling stats for the Seahawks I mean that's been well documented it's not like that anymore I was just curious you being the one football player here in these three chairs did you see on film last year here that Ernest Jones was playing at a very high level I think I told you this uh looking up PFF I was shocked at where he was rated I thought he would be higher and where was he rated in the bottom third okay I I could not believe it but then they value the the passing stats a little bit more for those guys picks passes defense I mean he's not that style anymore and that's the thing when we talked to him at training camp the first thing I said was man are you down a few pounds he say yes I dropped 15 pounds I think he was trying to get into that I want to be a Fred Warner cover type dude no you are a downhill tackle the Ratt tee go after the quarterback guy can I ask you a question because you mentioned pass rush his ability to play on both sides of line of scrimmage I think was his superpower yeah am I reading too far into it to say if we can live without Ernest Jones giving us that maybe it's a good sign to what we believe we've captured in our front this year that we're saying Hey by and verse and Fisk and down the line we might be able to get more with four than we even realize going into this off Ally and I like I don't think the name stuck but I I think it might they call Byron young and and Jared verse the Velociraptors because that's what they look like when they're standing up there going after you so there's some pass rush there you add in Braden Fisk here's a guy that's going to be a problem up the gut but the first thing I thought or the second thing I thought was it's Ultra important for those bigs Bobby Brown Cory Duran The Bigs up front to be more of space eaters than tacklers so I'm not looking for you to get a bunch of stats a bunch of tackles what I need you to do is hold up these guards so these guys behind can come clean up and make plays it is a bit of an era in this sense Ernest Jones was the last player on this roster to play defensive snaps in the Super Bowl championship and not play for another team since wow right so there are other defensive players still on this Rams roster who are part of that game day roster yeah yeah okay but to play defensive snaps and not go end of an eror man to Jacksonville and back like Darius Williams and that's what I think hurts Rams Fans most that was all over my social media last night uh oh really they were they were mad about what you got in return I'm like what' you think was going to happen Welly I mean let's say this you get what the market dictates not just what the market dictates but there's precedent for this whether it's Jaylen Ramsey or Robert Woods like the Rams will not take Premier market value to make sure that a player they like and respect has a chance to thrive in his next home and I think this another instance of that absolutely I get that as well um but there is look we all like Ernest I mean Super Bowl champion leader and that's what's going to be missed great in the community Ernest Jones is a good dude and it is hard to say goodbye truly especially considering JB what you just said about the Super Bowl um this this league moves fast yeah he wore the Green Dot in terms of pure Logistics Chris schula's first season as a defensive coordinator what do you think challenging or what challenge does that present between now and kickoff in Detroit finding a replacement for that well that's that's the great question who is going to be your leader who's going to be the guy that steps up and rallies the troops especially on that side of the football and I have no problem saying it's Jared verse I know that seems weird because he is a rookie but you've seen this guy you not logistically you're saying not logistically but just emotionally like when you need somebody to pep some guys up or hey look let's go ahead and hit him in the mouth you know what they do like what Aaron did in the Super Bowl when he gets everybody together and stares through your eyes and like I need more out of you I don't mind that being a rookie leaders are born I think he might be that guy the Green Dot though it likely I think well two things I my first thought was cam curl me too oh but unless Quint lake is going to be out there exactly depends if how you if Quinton Lake's not coming off the field playing Star then you could hypothetically give it to him it is notable as well that Quinton Lake was named along with Kobe Turner a defensive captain I don't think he's leaving the field this year I I don't think Quinton lake is leaving the field I think he's on it every snap as long as he's healthy yeah I I think you're every down safety is probably a long-term solution there but we'll see soon enough yeah um the other shock wave this was as much I think fantasy football related as actual football related but you can help me tease that out Kiren Williams announced as the punt R returner uh why are you laughing it it's something that the three of us kind of caught wind of a couple of weeks ago and haven't necessarily put that on the street to hear it out loud yesterday and to see everyone's reaction that's why I'm chuckling because yes from the fantasy perspective Ernest Jones is very much a local story here with the Rams he's a very good player obviously but when the guy when the KY Williams news hit yesterday you should I know you were on Twitter you saw the reaction I did sorry for cutting you off no no it's that's very much where we're going uh it's not the first time that he will have returned punts for the Los Angeles Rams but in this context after another year of a lower body injury and now as the Undisputed lead back maybe not just at this organization but one of the tops on the draft boards yeah he's got to stay together stay healthy but it's it's another touch for him that's the way I looked at it and they're going to be smart with him hey look I need you to fair catch this you know just make sure you feel it give the ball to the official and let's play offense depending on score and what happens in the football game but it's another touch for him and it also means to me in my opinion that means Blake corm is on the rise because he's going to get carries so I'll give you an extra touch here to start the possession in Kiron and then I'll give it to you again and then Blake corm is coming in and Ronnie Rivers is going to get some too so yeah it's it's just another touch for Kyon Williams in my opinion I'm not going to lie it's perplexing probably in the in the scheme that we're talking about but the Rams have to get better in the kicking game and if this is a lever they believe they can pull to make that happen then I guess I don't really care if Christian mcaffrey or you know other backs jir Gibbs around the league are not in the same role he averaged 95 yards 96 yards a game last year from scrimmage I I'm sorry rushing um it is perplexing um I wonder how long it lasts and I'm not suggesting hey you know he's going to get popped week one and hey you're out of there but I I wonder how long it lasts if for example he is the hot back right and he is cheing out yards and let's say we're in the third quarter and and he's got 12 carries for a buck 15 he had busted a big one and you're like you know what you're good let's send somebody else back there whether it's tutu whether it's Xavier Smith hypothetically he's back by the time this a is on the practice squad and he's a game day elevation whomever I think especially what Xavier Smith did in the pre season he has earned that chance he's not necessarily in the building week one we don't know that yet um I'm all for kir I'm with you there if they're going to be a better team with him back there doing it I I just wonder a how long it lasts and B how long he can hold up we had the same discussion about Cooper cup remember when he was going to return there were a lot of fair catches back there though one one all you got to do is field the punt to win the game who you putting back there well that's cup wait are we are we talking safe or are we talking second quarter in a 73 game you would like a return field it you win that's it I'd feel better with Kiren if I heard yesterday hey kirn's on kickoff return yeah right because we're going to run outside Zone not that they would put that in the street but you know a lot of special team coaches are treating it like a scrimmage play right that would be different agree yeah all right let's Buzz through some other roster stuff including this morning's news that the Rams have apparently reportedly claimed veteran defensive lineman Neville gallamore former Dallas Cowboy cut by Miami one of the shocking releases there from the Dolphins he's a vested veteran so not subject to waivers he gets to choose his next destination and add some defensive depth to the Rams front have you seen his picture on Wikipedia he's got a suit on he looks Dapper I like those type of dlin I love that you go to Wikipedia for that I just love it that's yeah that's you right there he's he a welled guy but he's big he pursues he's a monster in the middle perfect uh Andrew I know you tweeted about this it was something that caught all of our attention that in a sequence of giraffes where the Rams take 14 and then 10 players so 24 drafted players the last two cycles there was still room for five undrafted college free agents on defense to make this 53 unbelievable and when you consider they drafted five as well first round second round third round obviously with verse with Fisk with kinchin you're throwing Brandon Jackson and who am I missing there's a fifth rookie I wasn't listen sorry okay there are five drafted rookies and five undrafted rookies on defense on defense 10 rookies I mean that that is eye opening now how many dress that's today's NFL that's another issue so kudos to college Scouts the position coaches who as you know work frantically behind the scene in those post-draft hours to appeal to these players in their representatives Tyler Davis thank okay good clean up baller um but then also like to hit on your picks yeah and consecutive drafts and on day three like I not to throw another team under the bus here but I read that the Indianapolis Colts cut three day three picks from this year's Class A fifth a sixth and a seventh the commanders cleaned out all of last year's draft as well different administrations so from those 24 picks the last two years to have 19 make this initial roster two more on injured reserve so still around in hopefully future Rams um and then others who could return on the practice squad as well I think I mean to turn this roster over especially defensively in the period of time that they did incredibly impressive organizational wide props to the evaluators but also props to the coaches getting these guys ready to go and ready to be effective Pros immediately out of the gate what else what else in terms of the 53 shaping up caught your attention uh let's see um the tight ends I you keeping all three tight ends the receivers um I guess Jordan Wedington was kind of the surprise of Camp anybody anybody yeah yes yeah you knew he was making the team though right but I didn't think he'd be that good on offense I knew he'd be effective but not that good on offense uh offensive line um no no surprises Bo lemmer I we we knew he was going to that backup spot no no big surprises outside of what we just talked about no uh Logan bruss was the one for me I know the three of us have talked about it but um it's a good reminder that 22 year olds are not necessarily ready-made NFL offensive linemen especially those drafted outside the top 100 I don't care how much big 10 football you play and asked immediately to to make a position change and then go back and then that way listen I I actually kind of regret this we had circled Mina and mjd and I had circled Logan bruss um even though he wasn't going to be playing in that third game in Houston to to give him his flower to tell that story about hey good for him right um he's gone through a lot the injury uh the doubts uh people thinking that this was a pick that simply already rip it up away hey we don't have the numbers here so you're making this team it's like no we've invested heavily in the guard position and you had your best off season to date Logan bruss is not a guy that made the team simply because he was a third round pick and they felt the need to save face and keep him around he came back this camp and he won that and good for him that was the story we wanted to tell I also wanted to shout out the safeties uh because I kind of made a note of something I kept a receipt from this off season that was Pro Football Focus ranking the ram safety group 32 out of 32 going into training camp and I understand partially why because they rightly categorized Q as a slot corner and not part of that safety group um but they weren't immensely high on corl who's drawn rave reviews um I don't know I just think it's one of the most exciting position group on the roster all of a sudden because of the way guys played during the offseason program because of the upand cominging prospects like I think it's gone from a perceived weakness to a strength and correct me if I'm wrong it's going to be a fascinating storyline because of what Chris Chula wants to do with those safeties this year everyone wants to focus on the corners he's going to use safeties in the slot obviously the Star position clearly here but this is going to be the backbone of that back line was it West Virginia that used to use that 335 sure it's a bunch of safy a bunch of small guys that would just run and attack the quarterback from all angles I I see that with this safety group depending on who you play it's just more speed on the field and guys that you can also load up in the box and stuff San Francisco if you have to or at least try yeah if you came up a little short in depth in terms of the corner position you're right Andrew that to have a Russ yeast a Quinton Lake who can give you that position flexibility to get it done with the overarching term defensive back then maybe that gives you time for Darius Williams to settle back in maybe Trey white gets right you have something there I can't wait to see what he looks like at full speed white I can't wait to see what he looks like listen fingers crossed cuz he's such a good dude and he's overcome so much um really really respect that guy I think he could be the under the radar defensive signing of the off season here it's not getting enough attention nationally look he he's a guy coming off a major injury again a major injury so got to go out there and prove it but look that could be a steal a reminder that this is uh not a finished product that behind the scenes the the back of the roster churn is ongoing stay tuned to most of these channels for updates on the practice squad which I think has a chance to be really impactful here in 2024 and then the more complete 53 man roster as we turn our attention to gameweek the Detroit Lions I can't wait to go back there you excited it crazy that was a heck of an atmosphere and you got to go back there again that's fun yeah I I'm just reminded that it wasn't just Matthew Stafford who was booed but also the head coach Shawn McVey yes who took notice of that that's awesome who everybody come on that's the environment you want yeah that I just it made my uh the hair on my back of my neck stand up then and uh it was louder than New Orleans which I thought would be the loudest football game I ever called in that n championship game so it was on I wasn't there for Detroit it was louder than 2018 in New Orleans it was ridiculously loud yes super loud because they had the noise makers in New Orleans I'm convinced they were pumping that back through the speakers first playoff game in Detroit in how long and it was a night game generation theyve been out all day it was loud yeah they didn't feel a thing they were feeling no pain you know what I'm saying yeah yeah uh keep me posted on names for Woodland Hills will you we'll do yes in the meantime the horn I mean this is between horn the horn between the horns right placeholder we'll see if we can come over the top of that I like I like it too you don't like it no no it's better than the Kurt Warner Center no offense to your former that's why they always attacking my dude see I got I got your guy come on good to see you to Marco happy birthday Andrew we're back next week to preview Rams going to Detroit week one against the Lions in the meantime a couple of practice uh here to get ready for that game and then a long holiday weekend for Andrew cilo DeMarco far I'm JB long how old are you you don't want to say Andrew's Wikipedia page next stop on the program as always this is between the horns presented by your Southern California Toyota dealers d [Music]