Rams Sign RB Chauncey Washington

[ramsanddodgers]

Rams Sign RB Chauncey Washington
Tim Klutsarits posted on September 28, 2010 13:59

The Rams made a move to increase their running back depth this morning as they sign running back Chauncey Washington off of the New York Jets practice squad. The 5'11 224 lbs. running back will presumably be the backup to Kenneth Darby and Keith Toston as the Rams face the high probability of being without All-Pro running back Steven Jackson this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks.

Washington has bounced around in his two years in the NFL, but was one of the most highly recruited players in the country out of high school and wound up going to USC. While at USC he was stuck behind Reggie Bush and LenDale White on the depth chart. In addition to being behind two talented backs, Washington suffered from some injuries as well as being academically ineligible. Now in his third year in the NFL, Washington has bounced from the Jaguars to Cowboys to Jets and now the Rams. He has been a good special teams player but not much of a factor running the football yet.

I am certain that most that follow the Rams were hoping for a bigger impact move than this. I am certain that Billy Devaney would also agree with that, but this is what the Rams could do as they prepare for the Seahawks, sign someone who can provide some more depth and might be useful on special teams and help down the road. The reality of the situation is that the Rams are almost certainly going to be without Jackson on Sunday and most likely a game or two more. That of course means that the Rams are going to have to rely on Kenneth Darby to carry the load as best he can.

This is truly the first referendum on Billy Devaney as General Manager of the Rams. The backup running back problem has been a known issue for the past two seasons and it has not been addressed in any great manner. The Rams coaching staff is professing their faith in Darby and Toston being able to get the Rams through this stretch, but if the Rams do not get anything done on the ground on Sunday and the Rams lose, then a lot of this can fall at the feet of Devaney.

I don't believe that Devaney has simply not paid attention to the problem or doesn't believe that the Rams can't do better at the position, but he has not been able to draft the right player or acquire someone in a trade. While it would be easy to say that he has tried, but failed thus far, is not really an acceptable answer. This is the NFL and it is a results oriented league. If the Rams lose specifically because of this than Devaney should face the music for not being able to get it done, much like any player in uniform.

The Rams are 1-2. The vibe is positive around the franchise. People are interested. The Rams could move into a tie for the lead in the NFC West and they don't have their best player. Clearly there is doing to be a dropoff, but other teams have guys who can bridge the gap for a couple of games. We are about to find out if the Rams have that guy on their roster. If they don't, the heat is about to get real hot on Billy Devaney.

Rams Sign RB Chauncey Washington > insideSTL.com > STL Rams

[Ironmaidenram]

If Darby can give us half of what SJ can do, we have a Legit chance at winning the game, maybe 70 yds rushing, 45 receiving and 1 td...???

[Keenum]

Hopefully Jackson can go, but if not Darby has earned the start for the next game. I would imagine Totson would still see a majority of the backup snaps.
Washington has played a lot of special teams, do you think he could take over Darby's spot on special teams, at least for this week?

[C-Mob 71]

I love how easy it is to tell Devaney to go get a quality backup running back.
The problem is, as big of a hole it is, he had to fill other positions with STARTERS.
I wanted Dexter McCluster, but I would rather have a starting left tackle.
Sure Lesean McCoy would have been a great pick, but we needed a leader for a defense, a stud middle linebacker.
What were we going to pass on a franchise QB and take CJ Spiller?
Sure we need a backup, but I think we need starters quite a bit more.

[mcpeepants232003]

what is this bigger move the writer wanted us to make? Seriously there aren't any decent rb's available(lol at Johnson or another over the hill runner who will come in and get 3 ypc).

The jets fans are absolutely livid that Washington is getting signed away and they seem to believe he'll be a player in this league.

I'd rather take a shot on a young guy with potential and whose hungry than an over the hill vet who hasn't done anything in years.

Also where did this writer here Steven will be out at least 2-3 games? Jackson seems to think he's making a lot of progress already.

[tomahawk247]

If the Rams lose, it won't be because of a lack of decent back up running back alone.

[DistantRam]

I believe that the Rams wanted to draft Shonn Greene in 2009 but the Jets got wind of this intention and moved above us to secure him.

[Rampingitup]

As always everyone wants it all and wants it now. I think that Devaney has done a reasonable job so far in rebuilding the Rams. Do I wish that it could be done faster? Sure I do. But there are realities in terms of money available and the talent available. Right now we can sure use a good back up running back, and I hope that Darby breaks out and provides it, but as it has been stated where is a good veteran running back not already on a roster somewhere? And even if another team had an extra it was willing to trade, what do we have to trade back that would not hurt us?

All signs for me this year have looked pretty positive. The teams does seem to be moving in the right direction. And while I can only dream that we will somehow break out and make the playoffs, I more reasonably expect that we will win about 5 or 6 games this year. That in itself will be a big improvement.