The Rams have acquired rookie TE Dennis Moore from the Redskins for a conditional draft pick.  Moore was a sixth round pick (#174 overall out of Louisiana Tech.  Morris caught 38 passes for 623 yards (16.4 avg) with 12 TD grabs last season for Louisiana Tech.  Morris caught 70 passes for 1,144 yards (16.3 avg) with 16 TD grabs in his career at La. Tech.  Morris is a longshot to make the team so he should focus on special teams if he is going to make the roster.

UPDATE:  (9/5/2010) – The Rams have released Dennis Moore.

The Rams have placed 26-year old WR Donnie Avery on the Injured Reserve List after tearing his ACL against the Patriots on Thursday Night.  Avery will be missed as he was the Rams’ leading receiver in 2009.  Avery has played in 31 games in his two seasons with the Rams and he has caught 100 passes for 1,263 (12.6 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 14 times for 99 yards (7.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Rams couldn’t afford this type of injury as Avery is the best receiver on the team.  It will be interesting to see who steps up.

Undrafted rookie QB Thaddeus Lewis out of Duke if pushing 2nd year QB Keith Null for his roster spot as the Rams’ #3 QB.  Lewis has completed 16 of 20 passes (80%) this pre-season for 166 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (97.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards this pre-season.  Null has only completed 10 of 27 passes (37%) for 101 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (48.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 3 times for -6 yards (-2.0 ypc) so far this pre-season.  Null wasn’t too impressive as a rookie last season for the Rams so he could be out of a job if he doesn’t improve before the last cut down day as Lewis has really outplayed him so far this pre-season.

UPDATE:  (9/5/2010) – The Rams have cut Keith Null.  Null played in 4 games last season for the Rams and he completed 73 of 119 passes (61.3%) for 566 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (49.9 QB Rating).  Null also carried the ball 5 times for 6 yards (1.2 ypc) as a rookie last season.  The Rams were 0-4 in his starts.  This was a move that had to be made as undrafted rookie Thaddeus Lewis clearly outplayed Null in the pre-season.

The offense overcame a poor effort by the defense and special teams to win the game last night in Foxboro.  Sam Bradford got the start and he was outstanding in completing 15 of 22 passes for 189 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Keith Null completed 3 of 5 passes for only 25 yards.  Undrafted rookie Thaddeus Lewis finished the game strongly for the Rams by completing 11 of 14 passes for 120 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Keith Toston led the way for the Rams in rushing last night with 41 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Kenneth Darby pitched in with 35 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.7 ypc) in this game.  Rookie TE Mike Hoomanawanui led the way in the passing game last night with 4 receptions for 53 yards (13.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  WRs Danny Amendola (5 rec, 50 yards) and Brandon Gibson (4 rec, 50 yards, TD) also pitched in last night for the Rams in the passing game last night.  The Rams finished up with 136 yards rushing (3.3 ypc) and 326 passing yards last night as the possessed the ball for a stunning 43:46!

The defense gave up 28 points last night despite the Patriots only having the ball for 16:14!  CB Bradley Fletcher and S Kevin Payne had 4 tackles apiece last night to lead the way for the Rams’ D.  The Patriots finished up with 28 yards rushing (2.5 ypc) and 260 yards passing last night.  The Patriots also scored on a 97-yard TD return on the opening kickoff by Brandon Tate so the Rams’ special teams also had some issues.  But, hey, the Rams beat the Patriots on their own field last night!  Too bad is doesn’t count.

The Rams somehow beat the Browns in Cleveland last Saturday Night despite playing pretty darn awful football.  A.J. Feely by far was the best QB the Rams had on this night before leaving the game due to injury.  He completed 5 of 6 passes for 45 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Rookie Sam Bradford got punished in this game by the Browns’ D as he completed 6 of 14 passes for 24 yards.  Keith Null finished up the game and he was awful completing only 3 of 14 passes for 46 yards.  Keith Toston led the way on the ground for the Rams with 23 yards rushing on 13 carries (1.8 ypc).  Steven Jackson pitched in with 4 carries for 20 yards (5.0 ypc) last Saturday Night.  Rookie TE (5th round) Michael Hoomanawanui (2 rec, 33 yards) and TE Billy Bajema (4 rec, 32 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Rams in this game.  The Rams finished up with 57 yards rushing (1.7 ypc) and 115 yards passing in this game.

The defense played pretty well in the second half for the Rams in this game.  Rookie 7th round pick (LB) Josh Hull (8 tackles) and safety Craig Dahl (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Rams’ D in this game.  The Browns finished up with 98 yards rushing (3.6 ypc) and 187 yards passing in this game.

The Rams have released safety David Roach.  Roach played in 15 games as a rookie for the Rams last season and he had 15 tackles.  The Rams have signed 23-year old safety Brett Johnson to replace him.  Johnson has no game experience during the regular season but he was with the Eagles last year.  This shouldn’t be much of a loss for the Rams as Roach was little more than a special teams player.

The Rams didn’t have much of a chance last night.  The offense was overmatched as they only had the ball for 23:12 last night.  A.J. Feeley started the game and he completed 3 of 6 passes for 19 yards.  Sam Bradford got his first taste of the NFL last night and he completed 6 of 13 passes for 57 yards.  Keith Null was so-so completing 4 of 8 passes for 30 yards.  Thaddeus Lewis finished up the game by completing 5 of 6 passes for 46 yards.  Keith Tolston led the way on the ground for the Rams last night with 16 yards on 4 carries (4.0 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 5 yards last night.  Chris Ogbonnaya only had 8 yards on 5 carries (1.6 ypc) last night but he also caught 4 passes for 31 yards (7.8 avg).  WR Danny Amendola only caught 1 pass for 5 yards but he really stepped up on special teams last night.  He returned 2 kickoffs for 40 yards (20.0 avg) and 3 punts for 102 yards (34.0 avg) including a 93-yard return for a TD.  The Rams finished up with 33 yards rushing (2.5 ypc) and they passed for 117 yards last night.

The D didn’t play much better than the O for the Rams last night.  Linebacker Josh Hull led the way for the Rams’ D last night with 8 tackles (1 tackle for a loss).  CB/S Marquis Johnson pitched in with 8 tackles and 2 passes defensed last night.  The Vikings finished up with 78 yards rushing (2.5 ypc) and 336 yards passing last night.

24-year old WR Danny Amendola came out of nowhere last season for the Rams.  He played in 14 games for the Rams last season and he returned 66 kickoffs for 1,618 yards (24.5 avg).  Amendola is a very dependable return man but rookie Mardy Gilyard will compete with him for his job.  Gilyard was a 4th round pick out of Cincinnati last April has speed to burn.  Amendola is more dependable but Gilyard’s has the speed to go all the way at any time.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAMS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  B

The Rams have signed 28-year old kicker Shaun Suisham.  He played in 14 games for the Cowboys & Redskins last season and he made 20 of 24 field goals (83.3%).  He also connected on 25 of 26 extra points last season to finish up with 85 points.  Suisham has played in 57 games in his five years in the NFL and he has made 87 of 110 field goals (79.1%).  He has also made 101 of 103 extra points as he has 362 points in his NFL career.  Suisham will be the kicker for the Rams on Saturday Night due to Josh Brown having tweaked his hip during practice earlier this week.  Suisham probably won’t be with the Rams very long unless Brown’s injury is more serious than they expect that it is.

UPDATE:  (8/17/2010) – The Rams have released Suisham as Josh Brown now appears healthy.  He made an extra point in the pre-season opener but he didn’t get any shots at kicking a field goal.

It appears that the Rams are going to go with rookie 2nd round pick Rodger Saffold as the starting LT in 2010.  He was a solid run and pass blocker in college so the Rams hope that he will be able to handle the blind side in the NFL.  LG Jacob Bell excels as a pass blocker but he will need to get better with his run blocking.  Center Jason Brown is the leader of this unit as he’s smart and hates to lose.  He is a leader both vocally and by example as he’s a good run and pass blocker.  It looks like Hank Fraley will be the starting RG for the Rams in 2010.  He is a veteran who knows all of the tricks.  Jason Brown will be the right tackle for the Rams in 2010.  Brown is a really solid run blocker but he will need to improve his pass blocking soon.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAMS O-LINE in 2010:  C+