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sports network that's fansir sports.com you can also follow us on YouTube our channel is LA Rams up I'm your host Mark you'll hear from my co-host Tom on occasion as well hey we're not Rams insiders we're just longtime fans who love talking about our Los Angeles Rams let's get to it welcome back Ram fans episode 477 of rams up and we finally have a few things to talk about Ram signing John Johnson I was wondering if that was going to happen I thought it was for sure but I started to have my doubts but sure enough Rams bringing back the veteran safety to solidify that back end but man what a crowded DB room it is now we'll get into that in a little bit we're also going to have a couple of player focuses some returning Rams that we need to get reacquainted with evaluate what their role might be on the Rams this year what they've done in the past p and what the future might hold for them episode 477 let's talk about a ram who wore number 77 real quickly Gary Jeter a sackmaster for the Rams for a couple years was a four-year starter for the USC Trojans helped them win a National Championship in 1974 a three-time all pack eight conference selection helped USC reached three Rose bows one two of them went on to play for the New York Giant and joined the Rams in 1983 collected double digigit sacks in 85 and 88 with Rams where he played for his old USC coach John Robinson hour number 77 for the Los Angeles Rams Gary Jeter now I don't know if you caught my fun segment about the NFL expanding to 64 teams and no they are not expanding to 64 teams I was playing off Bill barnwell's article what if what if they eventually did 64 is the perfect number we all know that and schedule-wise it would work out pretty well NFL wants to get to 18 games well 64 teams you got 16 divisions of four teams two conferences you play each team in your own division twice at six games you play two teams in each of the other divisions within your conference 3 * 2 that's six and then on a rotating basis play each team from another division that's another four games you're up to 16 and you need to play one team each from random divisions and you are at 18 18 games and you know I don't like this idea of getting paired up with teams that finish the same as you in the division really tilts it too much especially if you went this type of schedule you got to make it random a random rotating schedule of who you play from the other divisions 18 games it's hard to understand verbally maybe I'll draw it up on the YouTube channel one day but wanted to get that out there schedule-wise it works out really well other news Cameron Dila reporting that Braden Fisk is going to train with Aaron Donald that's a good sign gotta love that Aaron Donald passing it on to the next generation of great Rams hopefully and did you see stevenh Jackson SJ 39 on Demarco fars Rams iconic podcast man I just love that guy had some interesting comments about Sam Bradford how he thought the Rams put too much on him in his second year after a very solid rookie year and they both kind of joked about how Stephen Jackson such a beast looked like a beast and then Marshall faul real no definition compared to SJ but they both got it done in their different ways and SJ 39 pointing out that yeah the running back position has been deemphasized in the NFL but he thinks a lot of teams are going to regret it if they go on the road or at home playing these cold to December and January playoff games without a solid running back and you know what he might be right as far as Hall of Fame talk you know we don't hear it enough on behalf of SJ 39 I think he belongs he was probably the preeminent running back for his time in the league playing for a very dismal franchise but he says he's not going to ride that emotional roller coaster as he put it I think referring to guys like Isaac Bruce and Tor Holt that had to deal with that Tori still dealing with it and he doesn't really care although he did say and this just points to his character again it's going to mean a lot more if his parents can be there when he enters the Hall of Fame not going to mean as much if they're not around anymore pretty poignant comments coming from Steven Jackson wanted to talk briefly about John Johnson coming back to the Rams for another stint saw this coming way back we heard rumors that he helped recruit Darius Williams back to the Rams and it made sense that John Johnson would follow right but couple of months go by John Johnson was still out there and the Rams finally sign him Johnson 28 years old had a stint with the Browns too played in 17 games for the Rams last year remember he started out as a backup eventually took over that safety spot from Russ East finished with 42 tackles and two interceptions pretty good year for John Johnson but what does this mean for the ram secondary we talked about it just last week Paul Wally and I were trying to figure out where all these guys are going to end up Cameron curl he's going to be a safety right starting safety they draft at Cameron kinchin I'd be surprised if he start it from the get-go we heard Quenton Lake was going to be a starter on the back end to keep him on the field every down that was Paul W's Theory then there's also Jason Taylor Tanner Engel I think Jaylen Maka the undrafted free agent has a chance to make this team and now John Johnson is this an indication that maybe after mini camp the Rams aren't feeling it for one of these guys could be or they're just bringing in a veteran that they are comfortable with and that is comfortable with their system I think that's what's going on here but they have 18 that's right 18 defensive backs on their roster right now so I have a feeling there could be some surprises come cut down day that's a long ways off but man there's going to be some surprises I think or we'll be surprised about who's playing where perhaps that's what the deal will be so John Johnson back to the Rams I wanted to do a couple of player focuses usually I reserve this for free agent signings guys the Rams draft perhaps or trade for this episode I wanted to talk about a returning player a veteran now a guy that's going to be extremely important to the success of this Rams defense defensive tackle nose tackle Bobby Brown now I don't know if you've caught Cameron D Silva's articles he's doing a countdown of the most important Rams and Bobby came in at number 22 the 22nd most important Ram Cameron pointing out that hey that's a big void to fill Aaron Donald gone who are they going to plant in the middle of that defense Jonah Williams also gone who's going to take over those duties Bobby currently on the depth chart as the leading nose tackle you'll have Braden Fisk on one side Kobe Turner on the other and it really be Bobby Brown's job to stuff the run so let's get to know Bobby Brown a little bit better haven't talked about him much 64332 lbs out of Texas A&M and train his fourth year coming out in the draft nfl.com gave him a 6.21 grade which means they felt he'd eventually become an average starter well they got the average part right and maybe with brown starting this year they'll finally have it 100% right felt like he had the strength and size to control the point of attack needs a little more technique work not going to be much help in the pass rush though hey I'm Ryan Reynolds at mmobile we like to do the opposite of what big Wireless does they charge you a lot we charge you a little so naturally when they announced they'd be raising their prices due to inflation we decided to deflate our prices due to not hating you that's right we're cutting the price of Mint unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month give it a try at mintmobile.com switch $45 up front for 3 months plus taxes and fees promo for new customers for limited time unlimited more than 40 gabes per month slows full turns at mintmobile.com this episode is brought to you by Shopify whether you're selling a little or a lot Shopify helps you do your thing however you Ching from the launch your online shop stage all the way way to the we just hit a million orders stage no matter what stage you're in Shopify is there to help you grow sign up for a $1 permon trial period at shopify.com slsp specialoffer all lowercase that's shopify.com slsp specialoffer when you need Meal Time inspiration it's worth shopping Bakers where you'll find over 30,000 mouthwatering choices that excite your inner foodie and no matter what tasty choice you make you'll enjoy our everyday low prices plus extra ways to save like Digital Coupons worth over $600 each week you can also save up to $1 off per gallon at the pump with fuel points more savings and more inspiring flavors make shopping Bakers worth it every time Bakers fresh for everyone fuel restrictions apply this podcast is sponsored by talk space you know when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself talking to someone who understands can really help but who is that person how do you find them where do you even start talkspace talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need with talkspace you can go online answer a few questions about your preferences and be matched with a therapist and because you'll meet your therapist online you don't have to take time off work or arrange Child Care you'll meet on your schedule whenever you feel most at ease if you're depressed stressed struggling with a relationship or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one-on-one support talkspace is here for you plus talkspace works with most major insurers and most insur members only pay a $25 co-pay or less no insurance no problem now get $80 off your first month with promo code space 80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a license therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code space 80 at talkspace.com so the Rams taken with a 12th pick of the fourth round only 23 years old played in 10 games as a rookie had just one tackle in 2022 nine games seven tackles just 164 snaps as well as 57 on special teams he was playing behind Greg gain who out snapped him about 5 to one in 2023 13 games played 28 tackles and half a sack 313 snaps so about 27% of the Rams defensive snaps about half of what Kobe Turner was getting in his rookie year this year a cap hit of 1.2 million contract year as I said he'll be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 so he suddenly becomes a very important player in this defense Rams seemed to have dressed most of the position groups except for linebacker perhaps stocked up the secondary drafted Braden Fisk along the defensive line don't see him as a run stuffer though Jared verse on the edge along with Brennan Jackson got a lot of talent outside now on the defensive front you got a l the potential of Fisk and the promise of Turner and what he's already shown Bobby Brown kind of a big if factor is he going to be just okay is he going to be really good and what do we have behind him not a lot of depth lurel meren Cory Duran maybe the Clemson rookie Tyler Davis so it's pretty clear we need Bobby Brown to step up we do not need him to be a superstar we do not need him to play at a pro ball level we just need him to play pretty good most importantly he needs to help this defense stuff the Run Bobby Brown needs to be good for this defense to be special another veteran I wanted to talk about focus on this episode kind of odd calling him a veteran but he is Tutu Atwell drafted the same year as Bobby Brown and by the way the Rams have no players left from their 2020 draft three players left from 2021 tutu Atwell Ernest Jones and Bobby Brown so as well as the Rams have drafted over the last several years kind of disappointing that more of these guys haven't stuck with the team so Atwell out of Miami played quarterback in high school switched to wide receiver at Louisville had a pretty prolific career came out in the draft after his junior year nfl.com com gave him a 5.97 rating and predicted he would be an average backup or special teamer so far I think they've nailed it and what did they say about him nothing we don't already know at this point we've learned about 22 Atwell rail thin slot receiver with electrifying speed and a history of hitting the Home Run they question whether he had a diversified enough skill set for teams to take a chance on because of that small frame right his strengths pretty obvious legitimate deep PA danger and Breakaway speed weaknesses all skin and bones Falls well below size standards even for a slot so the Rams pick him in round two pick 57 of the 2021 draft and he'll always be associated with another player of the Rams passed on Center Creed Humphrey who has gone on to have a pretty good career with the Chiefs but hey we got to get past that especially since we now have Steve a at Center he looks like he's going to be pretty good played in Eight Games as a rookie before being put on injured reserve he is basically a special teams guy up to that point in 2022 got his first touchdown against the Saints remember that long touchdown pass 62 yards in that season he ended up with 18 receptions for 298 yards and that one TD 2023 his best year so far 39 catches for 483 yards in three TDS they've pretty much moved on from him as far as a returner just two susceptible to injuries with that small frame so H his career 57 catches 781 yards four TDS one rushing TD and also had that TD against the Lions in the playoffs so what was the deal with Atwell last year 287 offensive snaps that's about 60% on the year 13 fewer snaps and Cooper Cup who was hurt a lot what's notable about Atwell is in week 10 in Seattle he was on the field for 88% of the offensive snaps after that dropped to 36% 39% 6 and 7% and then he was on the field for almost the entire game in that mop-up game against the 49ers worth noting Demarcus Robinson didn't have an offensive snap until week eight 16% in week eight and then week nine 10% right when atwell's snap counts dropped off Robinson's sword week 11 60% and then 59% and then the next four weeks pretty much around 90% every game and what's what's the difference between these two well obviously the size Demarcus Robinson 61203 worth noting the wide receiver of the Rams drafted this year Jordan Whittington 61202 so his physique is almost a carbon copy of Demarcus Robinson quite a bit different than what you have with tutu Atwell so what is the future of tutu Atwell with this team on the last year of his contract just like Bobby Brown sometimes players Elevate their game now Bobby Brown's going to get his opportunities the problem with Atwell is he going to be on the field enough to make a difference and that remains to be seen that was one of my questions last week for Paul wallia who's going to have more snaps tutu Atwell or Jordan Whittington and Paul and a couple commenters on the YouTube channel were in tutu's corner just because of his familiarity with the offense I'm not so sure I don't know what tutu has to do to earn more snaps in the first place though yeah I suppose he can block he's a willing blocker anyways but he's never going to be the blocker that Demarcus or Jordan Whittington are going to be that's for sure you can't question that so he has to become valuable in other ways McVey has to decide he is going to find ways to use Atwell that's a little bit different from the Direction This offense has been heading over the last year so it's quite the Dilemma for tutu and I'm just not sure he's going to get the opportunities to prove himself at this point and you know the Rams haven't even played him in the preseason the last couple years which led us to believe he was going to be a big part of the offense it just never really manifested itself but hoping it works out for tutu atal maybe Jordan wington has a red shirt year and tutu at gets its opportunities but from what I heard about Whittington he's going to make a push for some playing time probably not going to happen right away because the rants are pretty well set with their top three it's going to be Whittington and Atwell two very different wide receivers battling for that fourth spot along with Tyler Johnson don't want to Discount him he could also be in the mix for sure so prove it time for Tut two Atwell has to have the opportunities has to earn the snaps there has to be something in the playbook for him in the first place or it's not going to happen for tutu [Music] Atwell that's going to do it for this episode remember you can reach us at Rams up Podcast gmail.com and don't forget about our YouTube channel our handle is at laams up.com till next time keep the horns up stay safe and have fun out there