Brown in, Hill out of Rams starting lineup

By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Saturday, Sep. 20 2008
Fakhir Brown is back in the Rams’ starting lineup Sunday in Seattle, and Tye
Hill is out. After coming off the bench the first two games for St. Louis,
Brown returns to the starting cornerback position he had manned most of the
past two seasons.
Because of a left shoulder injury he suffered on the first day of training
camp, Brown played only in the nickel package (five defensive backs) in losses
to Philadelphia and the New York Giants.
He was replaced in the starting lineup in those games by Ron Bartell. Well,
Bartell is staying in the starting lineup, but Hill is not. Hill won’t play in
the base defense. But when Seattle goes with three wide receivers, Hill will
come off the bench in the nickel package. In the nickel, Hill and Brown will
play corner, with Bartell sliding inside to cover the slot receiver.
"It doesn’t feel good on the sideline just watching," Brown said. "You work so
hard in the offseason, then you come back and get hurt the first day of
training camp and you’re right back on the sideline watching."
Brown said his shoulder is feeling much better than it did even two weeks ago
at the start of the regular season. "This week it feels a lot better, that’s
why Coach (Scott Linehan) is letting me start."
Hill, meanwhile, struggled in coverage against the Eagles and Giants, and his
confidence appears to be sagging.
"He’ll be all right," Brown said. "He’ll get a little time to think, and then
he’s still going to get a lot of snaps this week because they run a lot of
three wides and four wides. So it’ll basically be just like he’s starting."

LOOKER SPEAKS OUT
Wide receiver Dane Looker might not seem like the most likely candidate to
speak out to the team. But he has been with the Rams longer than anyone on the
current roster except for Orlando Pace, Leonard Little, Torry Holt, and Marc
Bulger. So he took it upon himself to address the team (along with Little)
following the team’s 41-13 loss to the New York Giants.
"I’m not the guy that really steps up vocally that often, but I just wanted let
our team know that we’re good enough," Looker said. "We don’t have to accept
losing. Just because you’re 0-2 doesn’t mean it’s got to turn into 0-8 like it
did last year.
"I wanted to try to nip that in the bud as soon as I could, and as soon as we
can as a team. . . . .You’ve always got to believe you’re going to win. And you’
ve always got to believe that you can turn things around. Once you get down in
the dumps as a team, people feed off that and it goes in the wrong direction. I
don’t want that to happen."
NOT QUITTING
So has this team quit on coach Scott Linehan?
"Not at all," veteran safety Corey Chavous said. "When I watch the tape, I see
guys playing very hard. What I will say again is I saw a lack of execution from
us late in the game. I don’t think that’s attributable to the coach. I think we
understand what we can do better. And that’s what we’re going to have to do."
What do you think, Leonard Little?
"Nah," Little said. "You play this game to win. You play for you family. You
play for different things. The head coach may have a little bit to do with it.
But when you go out there playing, you don’t even think about the head coach. .
. .So I don’t think any one around here is quitting on him or anything like
that. We’re just trying to get our pieces together and do the things we can do
to win games."
CONFIDENT HASSELBECK
Sunday’s Rams-Seahawks matchup is the only contest in the NFL this week pitting
two winless teams. But Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck doesn’t sound
worried. In fact he all but predicted another NFC West title for his club.
"I still believe we’ll win our division," Hasselbeck said during his conference
call with St. Louis reporters. "We’ve done it every year for the last four
years and I don’t think it’ll be any different this year. We’ve just made it a
little harder on ourselves, but definitely I would say no one’s panicking."
SHOTS FIRED BY FREROTTE
Seems like everybody’s taking shots at the Rams these days, including former
Rams quarterback Gus Frerotte. In Minnesota, Frerotte was named starting
quarterback for the Vikings earlier in the week. He’ll get to hand off to
running back Adrian Peterson _ assuming Peterson is healthy _ and have the
strong Minnesota defense backing him up.
"I’m really excited," Frerotte told reporters in Minnesota. "You go back to the
Rams, and we didn’t really have that. And as you can see, they still don’t have
that now. And it’s hard on a quarterback when you don’t have those things. You’
re playing under pressure all the time. When you got a guy like 28 (Peterson)
and the guys we have up front, it takes some of the pressure off of you."
PALIN'S CLASSMATE
For all he knows, Linehan may have taken classes with Republican vice
presidential Sarah Palin at the University of Idaho. He just can’t remember.
"She went to Idaho when I was there," said Linehan, who played quarterback for
the Vandals from 1982-86. "I can’t claim anything with her; I didn’t really
know her. But I’ve got to say, I’d heard a little bit about her. Obviously, she’
s going to be the pride and joy of the University of Idaho now."
NOW HEAR THIS
Chavous has worn the new coach-to-defense speaker in his helmet in the
Philadelphia and New York Giants games.
"Coach (Ron) Milus, he’s been the person talking to me," Chavous said,
referring to the Rams’ secondary coach. "He’s been giving me some good keys on
stuff, just reminders that help us before the play."
So far it’s not working, judging by the Rams’ No. 32 ranking in pass defense

Well it's good that Looker is stepping up. As said, he's not the guy who typically gets vocal. But he's been on the team for a while, why not stand up for the team he's been playing for? He may not even start next game, but if he can do his job and some what motivate his guys, then he's done a better job than Linehan has.

It's good to see the veterans step up and take a leadership role on this team to motivate others but Linehan needs to be there to provide leadership for the leaders. If he doesn't then who will they turn to?

Quote:

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SHOTS FIRED BY FREROTTE

Seems like everybody’s taking shots at the Rams these days, including former Rams quarterback Gus Frerotte. In Minnesota, Frerotte was named starting quarterback for the Vikings earlier in the week. He’ll get to hand off to running back Adrian Peterson _ assuming Peterson is healthy _ and have the strong Minnesota defense backing him up. "I’m really excited," Frerotte told reporters in Minnesota. "You go back to the Rams, and we didn’t really have that. And as you can see, they still don’t have that now. And it’s hard on a quarterback when you don’t have those things. You’re playing under pressure all the time. When you got a guy like 28 (Peterson) and the guys we have up front, it takes some of the pressure off of you."

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Dang.. Those are shots, but their true..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by btimsah

Dang.. Those are shots, but their true..

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Those things may be true but Frerotte still sucks.

I just lost any respect for Gusset Fagotte.

I liked the guy. Like no more.

"Coach (Ron) Milus, he’s been the person talking to me," Chavous said,
referring to the Rams’ secondary coach. "He’s been giving me some good keys on
stuff, just reminders that help us before the play."
So far it’s not working, judging by the Rams’ No. 32 ranking in pass defense"

Yes please don't talk to him anymore.

How funny, that in a thread about Tye Hill's demotion, he hasn't actually warranted a mention in responses yet. Is he no longer even a blip on our radar?

I was really hoping this might be the year for Hill. Two games in, it doesn't look promising. But I will say this: He has fourteen games left in which to prove his worth. I surely hope he learns from this and grasps whatever opportunity he receives with both arms wide open.