After 21 years in St. Louis Rams hoopla returns to LA

After 21 years in St. Louis Rams hoopla returns to LA
By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[www.stltoday.com]


Gene Ruesche of Affton asked for a day off from bagging groceries at Dierbergs to be there.

Waitress Victoria Ciaramitaro of Overland swapped shifts so she could bring her 7-year-old son Scott.

The record showed that Howie Kremer and Blake Halpern, both 14, of Parkway Central High School were the first fans to arrive wearing Jerome Bettis jerseys.

After a police escort, players bounded out of three buses and walked through a roped off area to the field. They got a standing ovation.

Quarterback Chris Miller was asked if that had ever happened before.

“Only if you trip and fall,” Miller cracked.

It was July 17, 1995, the first training camp practice for the Rams in St. Louis. There was a soccer camp scheduled at camp site Maryville University, so the first week of practices were at Parkway Central.

First-round draft pick Kevin Carter, the rookie defensive end, got more than an ovation when he stepped off the bus. In a radio station stunt, he was greeted with a warm hug by a bikini-clad woman.

Welcome to St. Louis.

Twenty-one years later, the script has flipped. Owner Stan Kroenke has moved the Rams back to Los Angeles, and Saturday marks the first training camp practice for the franchise on the West Coast since 1994 — the team’s last season in Southern California before the move to the Midwest.

They’re back at the University of California, Irvine, south of Los Angeles in Orange County. They may not get a standing ovation just for walking on the field, or be greeted by anyone in bikinis, but it’s sure to be a warm welcome.

UC Irvine doesn’t have a football team, but soccer fields used by the Anteaters for practice have been upgraded for training camp. Portable stands have been brought in, and a large crowd is expected for Saturday’s initial practice, which begins at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time (or 5:30 p.m. Central). Coach Jeff Fisher always liked those late-afternoon practice sessions.

The Rams held their spring practices, or OTAs, in Oxnard to the north, but those June workouts were closed to the public.

Rams media relations staff has issued dozens of credentials for the event. The NFL Network will be on hand as will ESPN. Hard Knocks, the HBO reality show, will have a crew of 30 working Rams camp.

You can count on some former LA Rams checking out the proceedings. And it won’t be surprising if Kroenke shows up in an LA Rams cap. So it figures to be a zoo-like atmosphere.

Those in attendance will see a team that didn’t post a winning record over its final 12 seasons in St. Louis, and hasn’t made the playoffs over the past 11 campaigns. Mike Martz’s 2004 squad squeaked into the playoffs with an 8-8 record as a wild-card. The last Rams team to finish above .500 was the 2003 squad, which finished 12-4 and won the NFC West.

Two mainstays of the Rams’ final decade in St. Louis, defensive end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis, didn’t last long enough too make the trip west. They were released in February, with Laurinaitis subsequently signing with New Orleans and Long latching on in New England.

Nick Foles, who began 2015 as the starting quarterback in St. Louis, was cut on Wednesday. The status of running back Tre Mason is uncertain because of off-field issues.

But the headliners and showcase players for the LA Rams remain the same as they were last season in St. Louis. Todd Gurley is one of the best running backs in the league after winning offensive rookie of the year laurels, and Aaron Donald is firmly entrenched as one of the NFL’s premier defensive tackles after just two pro seasons.

Without Laurinaitis, the Rams are counting on Alec Ogletree to step into the middle linebacker role. Veteran William Hayes replaces Long as the opening-day starter at left end. Hayes and Ogletree are being counted on to help fill the leadership void created by the departures of Long and Laurinaitis.

In the secondary, University of Missouri product E.J. Gaines replaces Janoris Jenkins at one of the cornerback spots following Jenkins’ free-agent departure to the New York Giants. Gaines missed all of last season with a foot injury.

At free safety, there is no clear-cut option when it comes to replacing Rodney McLeod, who signed with Philadelphia in free agency. St. Louisan Maurice Alexander (Eureka High) is in the mix along with Cody Davis and Christian Bryant.

On offense, the Rams need big things from Brian Quick at wide receiver and Lance Kendricks at tight end. Jared Cook, now with Green Bay, was the starting tight end for three seasons prior to his February release.

At wide receiver, Stedman Bailey no longer is with the team after surviving two gunshot wounds to the head in a drive-by shooting last season in south Florida. So Quick needs to step up.

After drafting four offensive linemen a year ago — five if you count the supplemental draft — the Rams will have a little more experience up front. It’s a key year for former No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson at left tackle after a disappointing 2015. And a healthy Rodger Saffold at left guard will do wonders in terms of adding a veteran presence.

But the success of the offense, and really the entire team, rests on what happens at quarterback. The Rams traded a boatload of draft picks to move up to No. 1 overall for Jared Goff of California. He figures to be the opening-day starter, although Fisher could go with veteran Case Keenum.

If Goff clicks, the Rams will be getting standing ovations for more than just getting off the bus. If he doesn’t, they’ll be the same old Rams. Some things just don’t change, even after 21 years.