Rams Getting Hurt By Injuries

[r8rh8rmike]

Rams getting hurt by injuries
By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/10/2009

The injury bug, surprisingly kind to the Rams early in training camp, has begun to chomp away.

Not only has the team lost its top wide receiver, Donnie Avery, for at least a month with a foot injury, Friday night's scrimmage also produced one season-ending mishap. Safety Eric Bassey, a valuable special-teams contributor, suffered a torn ligament in his right knee and, if he clears waivers, will be placed on injured reserve.

Bassey, whose 13 special-teams tackles were third on the club last season, said Sunday that he expected to undergo surgery in about two weeks. He was hurt during a non-contact special-teams drill.

"As he was running down, I think he got his leg crossed up with a couple of other guys," coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "That's the risk that you run. ... It's a sad thing for Eric, but he'll bounce back."

Bassey, 26, is a third-year pro who was signed by the Rams in 2007 as a free agent. A replacement, as yet unidentified, will be added to the 80-man camp roster.

Defensive tackle Adam Carriker is expected to be sidelined about two weeks with a sprained ankle, Spagnuolo reported. With Carriker out, four-year veteran Gary Gibson moved up to the No. 1 unit Sunday.

Safety Craig Dahl (hamstring) is day-to-day, as is fullback Mike Karney (ankle) a week after he was injured in live tackling drills at practice. Karney did some individual work Sunday.

SHAUN SMITH GETS A LOOK

Veteran defensive tackle Shaun Smith, released Saturday by the Cleveland Browns, was given a physical exam by the Rams on Sunday. So far, Smith has not been signed to a contract.

The 6-foot-2, 325-pound Smith, 27, is a sixth-year pro. He was with the Browns the last two seasons and got into 26 games, including 20 starts.

LAURINAITIS MOVES UP

For the first time, rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis spent an entire practice with the first-team defense. Laurinaitis manned the middle Sunday morning while Chris Draft moved to strongside linebacker from inside.

"I'm happy that (Spagnuolo) had the confidence in me to put me with the first group," said Laurinaitis, a second-round draftee. "But nothing changed from my mind-set. I'm going out there still trying to learn, still asking lots of questions and trying to get better."

Spagnuolo cautioned that the promotion wasn't necessarily permanent.

"That'll be an ongoing evaluation," he said. "Just like we're doing at a lot of other positions, moving guys around, just trying to find a comfort level. We'll do it with the (offensive) line, we'll do it with the linebackers, we'll do it at safety now with the injuries."

Still, Spagnuolo acknowledged that Laurinaitis is coming along nicely.

"He's a smart football player that's tough and can run real well," Spagnuolo said. "He's picking up things pretty good. The volume keeps getting heavier and heavier, but he's handled it pretty good."

PICKING UP THE PACE

The players were in full pads Sunday morning for their first practice since the scrimmage. Only one live tackling period was included, totaling about 15 plays.

"They were a little sluggish early, which I kind of expected coming off the scrimmage on Friday, off all day yesterday, so they get out of sync a little bit," Spagnuolo said. "But then we got midway in there and we started to get into some of the thud (contact but no tackling) and the live, and they started to pick it up.

"That's encouraging; they responded well. But it's still got to get a lot better. We've got a long way to go."

RAM-BLINGS

Cornerbacks Quincy Butler and Justin King had interceptions during 11-on-11 team drills. Butler, who has had a solid camp, played in one game with the Rams after being picked up off waivers from Dallas in December. ... Sunday afternoon's practice, a 70-minute special-teams session, was held at the indoor facility at Rams Park.

[LA Rammer]

We've got a long way to go."

I don't like the way this sounds. What are they running over there a clinic?
Get Curly, Moe and Larry off the field quick before they get more of our guys hurt!

[Varg6]

I hear ya, it's discouraging to hear about injuries, but is there ever a team that doesn't have injuries in training camp?

[Bosna-Ram]

Let them sit now, so they can get hurt later. We have seen coaches in previous regime do this and then most of the season guys are hurt. If Avery is hurt someone else has to step in and be the man. I don't care who gets injured those guys can't feel sorry for each other. They must work hard and count on one other to be there when needed. I love the Rams and I hate losing....