Rams put hill on ir - Chavous benched

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RAMS PUT HILL ON IR
Posted by Mike Florio on December 9, 2008, 8:23 p.m.
The St. Louis Rams have placed starting cornerback Tye Hill on injured reserve, according to Adam Caplan of Scout.com.

Hill, a third-year player, appeared in only four games this year, the first four games of the season.

The Rams are a woeful 2-11. After a four-game losing streak to start the season, the Rams stunned the Redskins and Cowboys in consecutive weeks. Since then, the Rams have lost seven in a row.

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Since then, the Rams have lost seven in a row..... crap! Thanks PTF.com, now EVERYONE will know!

Hill will not be back this season
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Dec. 10 2008
Tye Hill is out for the season, and Corey Chavous is out of the starting lineup
for the Rams.

Hill had missed the past nine games of this season following arthroscopic knee
surgery. And with the knee still bothering Hill, the Rams decided to put him on
the injured reserve list Tuesday.

"He's still rehabbing," said Billy Devaney, the Rams' executive vice president
of player personnel. "It's going to be probably another couple weeks before he
has a chance to even get back out there.

"So at this point rather than push it, we thought this was the best thing for
Tye and for us. The best thing for him is just to start the total rehab
process, and get ready for next year. And it frees up a spot to take a look at
a guy that we kind of monitored during the season."

That would be cornerback Quincy Butler, who was claimed off waivers from
Dallas. Butler, 6-1, 185 pounds, played his college ball at Texas Christian.
Signed by the Cowboys as a rookie free agent in 2006, he spent the entire 2006
and 2007 seasons on the Dallas practice squad.

This season, Butler has been all over the place. He has spent time with the
Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League and the New Orleans Saints
practice squad, and he was on the Cowboys' active roster before being released
and claimed by St. Louis.

"He can run a little bit," Devaney said. "We're looking for some bigger people
across the board. I know this: They've got some talented people in the
secondary at Dallas."

Meanwhile, team sources said that Chavous will be replaced in the starting
lineup at strong safety by Todd Johnson in this Sunday's game against Seattle.
Barring injury, Johnson will start the final three games of the season.

Chavous, a defensive captain, is one of the most respected Rams in the locker
room. A tough, hard-nosed player, he's tied for third on the team in tackles
with 85. But four weeks shy of his 33rd birthday, Chavous doesn't run as he
once did, and his lack of speed has been a problem in coverage. Johnson is by
no means a burner, but he has better range than Chavous. Although not as strong
in the box as Chavous, Johnson is a willing tackler and normally a sure tackler.

Johnson missed Games 7 and 8 this season because of a bruised kidney. Since
joining the Rams in 2007 as a free agent, he has been one of the team's top
special teams players. He led the Rams in special teams tackles a year ago with
23 and is tied for second this year (12 tackles) even with those two missed
games.

Over the past two weeks, the Rams have begun to work Johnson in on defense. He
had two tackles on defense Nov. 30 against Miami, and recorded five tackles and
one quarterback pressure this past Sunday against Arizona.

"It's just fun to get out there and play," Johnson said after the Arizona game.
"Obviously, we wish we were playing a little better, but I felt pretty
comfortable."

As for Hill, he becomes the 10th Rams player — and third cornerback — to go on
the injured reserve list this year. (The other cornerbacks on IR are rookie
Justin King and Ricky Manning Jr.)

A first-round draft pick out of Clemson in 2006, Hill had a decent rookie
season, playing in all 16 games, intercepting three passes, and making Pro
Football Weekly's all-rookie team. But injuries struck last season. He missed
four games in September and October of 2007 with a lower back injury, then
suffered a season-ending wrist injury in the Rams' Game 12 victory over Atlanta.

This season, Hill appeared only in the first four games. He suffered torn
cartilage in his right knee defending a deep route midway through the first
quarter Sept. 28 against Buffalo and hasn't played since.

Despite another injury-plagued season, Devaney said the team isn't giving up on
Hill.

"The only thing I think that's held Tye back are these injuries," Devaney said.
"That's something that we have to deal with. His first year, Tye was showing a
lot of promise. We still have high hopes for Tye."

RAM-BLINGS

Tuesday's MRI exam on linebacker Gary Stills, the team's leading special teams
tackler, showed bone chips in his knee. Stills will be rested this week in
practice. If he can't go Sunday, recently signed linebacker Larry Grant will
make his Rams debut on special teams against Seattle.

It took long enough for the team to realize Chavous doesn't have the skills anymore.

Exactly. We just don't have the safety we need. Johnson will give us something different, but we still need a true starter in the position.

About time we're shaking things up...

Chavous is definitely not the same cat that caused havoc when he played in the secondary for the Minnesota Vikings. I thought Corey would be the missing piece to the Rams defensive puzzle. He was not! HE's now showing his age, I for one completely agree with his benching! This is Corey Chavous last season with the Rams for sure!

Hopefully Ty Hill will ready to go in 2009!

Johnson isin right now to see how much of a priority SS will be in the offfseason depending on how he plays we will know.

Why does it take the coaches, GM, and all Rams personal to see what most of us has seen for a long
time now???? That alone shows how we need to rebuild from the top down.:D