By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/15/2005
Offensive lineman Larry Turner could be getting a second chance with the Rams.
Turner, a seventh-round draft pick by the Rams in 2004 out of Eastern Kentucky, was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Tuesday evening and meet with team officials. If all goes well, Turner could be signed and on the practice field this afternoon.
The Rams have been carrying only eight offensive linemen since releasing Matt Willig on Oct. 21. One of those eight, guard Tom Nutten, has a bulging disc in his neck and shoulder area, which forced him to miss Sunday's game in Seattle.
Turner, a center and guard, appeared in 14 games for the Rams as a rookie last season, including a start Dec. 19 at left guard in Arizona. He was released at the end of this preseason, when the Rams made their final roster cuts.
Turner spent one week with Cincinnati last month without seeing any game action. He was released Oct. 10.
Curtis gets the hook
Quarterback
Marc Bulger almost never complains about officiating, but he couldn't help himself when it came to his only interception against Seattle. On the play, wide receiver Kevin Curtis beat Seahawks defensive back Kelly Herndon with a pump-and-go fake.
But Herndon hooked Curtis on the play. Curtis fell to the ground and couldn't get up quickly enough to reach the spot to which Bulger threw the football. Seattle safety Michael Boulware got there in time to intercept the pass late in the second quarter.
When asked about the play after the game, Bulger said, "You mean when (Curtis) got tackled? You try to pump to him and get the DB to do exactly what he did - tackle the guy, because he's getting beat. And he tackles him. Whether he ran into him or not, it's still illegal. He did it. And it ends up being a turnover."
The explanation that Bulger said he received from the officiating crew was that the contact was incidental because Herndon slipped.
Good reviews for Allen
The numbers weren't overwhelming, but interim head coach Joe Vitt liked what he saw Sunday from David Allen in his Rams debut returning punts and kickoffs.
"He can make the first guy miss, which is critical," Vitt said. "Overall, our punt average was better (Sunday) than it's been all year at only eight yards. But it's better."
Allen, who was signed out of the Canadian Football League last week, returned two punts for 16 yards and averaged 18.7 yards on six kickoff returns against the Seahawks. Allen bobbled the ball on two of those kickoff returns.
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