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  • #1

    EJ Henderson

    We were close to drafting this kid but passed on him for Kennedy. He was arrested the other day here in Minnesota and sounds like him and 2 others are going to be charged with felony assult. Word has it that 2 of three might get cut from the team and the remaining player will have severe consequences from the NFL and team.

    Henderson also faces DUI charges from April. This could mean Henderson is on the chopping block.

    Anyone think else think Kennedy was a good choice and taking Pisa in the second was even better.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: EJ Henderson

    Especially the way Kennedy has been working out this offseason. I'm anxious for this D Line to vindicate itself.

    Wouldn't it be nice if we could just totally let the offense take care of itself and watch the defense take control of the game?

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: EJ Henderson

      TX is right. The D (especially the line) should be exciting this year.

      BTW, isn't Henderson another Poston client?
      The more things change, the more they stay the same.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: EJ Henderson

        I am a kennedy supporter and thought it was clearly the right pick at the time, notwithstanding the fact that marcus trufant got taken right in front of us by the seachickens. Hindsight being 20-20, if we had taken a linebacker in that spot i think it would have been boss bailey, not ej henderson. Bailey had an excellent rookie season, but i dont think you could say that he looked better than Pisa. As Pisa gets more experience playing against the pass, he is going to be a truly dominant linebacker.

        I am confident that kennedy's newly found work ethic, combined with the fact that he will no longer be required to play 30 pounds below his ideal weight, will help him succeed, especially against the run. The thought of an emerging kennedy and a healthy pickett as run stuffers in the middle, with a healthy robert thomas at middle linebacker, is exactly what we need to improve on defense this year.

        ramming speed to all

        general counsel

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        • theodus69
          The DE's
          by theodus69
          Seems every one is worried about L.Little and what will happen to him come Court time. But what about the D-Tackles. This Defense ranked pretty bad and I'm wondering if the middle might be the bigger problem. The middle seemed so bad that opposing offenses could double team our DE's all day. So I ask.....who the hell is gonna step up in the middle and draw the Doulbe team so the fast ones can make the plays? Which in turn helps the LB'S and the DB'S!
          -02-15-2005, 12:45 PM
        • general counsel
          Kennedy, an enigma wrapped inside a riddle
          by general counsel
          How bad do you have to be, both physically and attitude wise, to lose your job to the nutcracker. Lewis is so bad out there it is really beyond description and yet kennedy is on the bench. Something is going on for sure, i wish i knew what.

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          As the debacle at defensive tackle continues, god knows where we would be without pickett. he MUST be resigned.

          ramming speed to all

          general counsel
          -11-27-2005, 03:40 PM
        • RamWraith
          Kennedy puts best foot forward
          by RamWraith
          By Jim Thomas
          Of the Post-Dispatch
          Sunday, Aug. 07 2005

          Nearly a year ago to the day, on Aug. 5, 2004, Rams defensive tackle Jimmy
          Kennedy planted during a practice drill against the Chicago Bears, made a cut
          and felt something pop.

          Kennedy, the No. 12 overall draft pick in 2003, had fractured the fifth
          metatarsal in his right foot. After a disappointing rookie season, it looked
          like Year 2 was down the tubes as well and that Kennedy was on his way to being
          a first-round bust.

          Surprisingly, Kennedy now says that the foot injury was "good for me."

          In fact, he added: "I think that's the best thing that ever happened to me
          since I've been a Ram, is me breaking my foot."

          Huh?

          "It allowed all the attention to be on me," Kennedy said. "And I needed that.
          In terms of rehab, it allowed the coaches to say, 'Damn, this dude really
          works.' Because when you come out of college, you get labeled."

          For Kennedy, that label included having weight problems, not always running to
          the ball, and being something less than a workout warrior.

          In Kennedy's mind, it wasn't a case of him suddenly discovering the weight
          room. He claims his upper body strength was always there - it's just that Rams
          coaches simply noticed it once he was sidelined.

          "You just don't start going in the weight room and throwing up X amount of
          weights with reps," Kennedy said. "You've got to work up to that over years.
          You know what I'm saying?"

          At the time of the injury, the Rams considered putting Kennedy on the injured
          reserve list, which would have ended his season. In fact, Kennedy wanted to go
          on injured reserve after seeing Jason Sehorn struggle to come back from a
          similar injury.

          "Coach (Mike) Martz said, 'No, we want you to play (in '04),'" Kennedy said.
          "It's something I had to fight through."

          Turns out Kennedy missed only the first seven games of 2004. Despite
          experiencing soreness in the foot, he played well enough to start the Rams'
          final five regular-season contests.

          "It just really worked out good that we didn't put him on IR," defensive line
          coach Bill Kollar said. "When he came back off of that injury is when he really
          started to turn the corner."

          The momentum gained by playing the second half of last season, coupled with a
          strong offseason in the weight room, has Kennedy poised for a breakthrough
          campaign in 2005.

          "It's probably the most dramatic change in any football player that I've ever
          been around in one year," Martz said. "From...
          -08-08-2005, 05:01 AM
        • RamWraith
          Catching Up and Moving Ahead
          by RamWraith
          Wednesday, August 17, 2005

          By Cynthia Hobgood
          USA Football

          St. Louis Rams rookie tackle Jimmy Kennedy grew up fending for himself on the tough streets of Yonkers, his mom worked two jobs, and he was heading down the wrong path when his football coach turned his life around.

          When Kennedy met Coach Tony DeMatteo in 9th grade gym class, Kennedy had been placed in special education classes because he was struggling in school. He was reading at a fifth-grade level. Kennedy had been cut from the 7th grade and 8th grade football teams because he was "too slow and too small," and was in desperate need of a family, not a gang.

          Now Kennedy, 23, proudly stands at 6'4", 320 pounds, sporting a college degree in rehabilitation services with minors in African-American studies and sociology from Penn State University, and plans to work with kids who come from exactly the life he did.

          Kennedy credits DeMatteo, who he considers a father figure, for sending him down the right path away from the gang life and towards a new focus on education and athletics. From encouraging Kennedy to play football and study hard, to making sure he was eating properly, DeMatteo was ever present.

          "He was definitely important. He is the reason I'm here playing in the NFL today," Kennedy said. "My mother worked two jobs and wasn't home a lot. Coach D found out I wasn't eating regular dinners. I'd eat cereal or maybe cook once in a blue moon. So he started taking me to his mother's house up the block, and we'd eat dinner there a couple nights a week."

          DeMatteo is proud of his former player mostly because he graduated in four years with a college degree and a 3.2 GPA.

          "Jimmy Kennedy is very special to me only because he got his degree," DeMatteo said. "He is a perfect example of someone who wants to teach and a person who wants to learn. You put those two together, and you can do anything."

          After working his way out of special education classes and graduating from high school, Kennedy arrived at Penn State. By his own account, he had some catching up to do in terms of academics, but Kennedy was determined to leave Penn State with a college degree. Along comes another mentor; Penn State Coach Joe Paterno's wife.

          "In my first year at Penn State, I had to work extra hard because I felt I was behind," Kennedy said. "Mrs. Paterno tutored me that year. I learned time management, how to balance football with school life, and not to wait until the last minute to study for a test."

          Given his experience, Kennedy believes very strongly that kids need to focus on getting a college degree, no matter how skilled an athlete they are.

          "My motto is football doesn't last forever. God forbid, if something happens and my career is cut short, I...
          -08-18-2005, 05:02 AM
        • RamWraith
          Move to nose tackle is task for Kennedy
          by RamWraith
          By Jim Thomas
          ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
          11/24/2006


          A part of Jimmy Kennedy was surprised by the news last offseason. But at the same time he understood why the new Rams coaching staff wanted him to make the switch to nose tackle.

          Namely, there was nobody else.

          Ryan Pickett was gone, signing a free-agent deal with Green Bay. And La'Roi Glover, a free-agent pickup from Dallas, wasn't really a nose tackle. That left Kennedy, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2003 draft out of Penn State.

          "Once they picked 'Glove' up, they told me they were going to slide me over to nose (tackle)," Kennedy said. "I was surprised by it. But it made sense to me the way they delivered (the news) to me. I'm a bigger guy. And La'Roi is a proven Pro Bowler."




          You wouldn't think moving a couple of feet over on the

          defensive line is a big deal, but in the NFL it is. Nose tackle is the blue-collar position of the defensive line.

          "They do more of the grunt work," Kennedy said. "You're the anchor of the defense for the most part. You have to go out there, take on the double teams, and make the guy behind you look great."

          The other defensive tackle position, generically called the "3-technique," is more of the glory spot. The "3-technique" lines up between the opposing team's offensive guard and tackle and is counted on to shoot that gap.

          This is the first time Kennedy has played the nose, in the NFL or college. By the numbers, Kennedy has 38 tackles and is on pace to top his career high of 53 stops last season. But nose tackle is the one position on defense where statistics don't necessarily reflect effective play.

          "When you play the nose, you've got to eat up that center-guard (double team)," coach Scott Linehan said. "If you can take up two players, someone else is going to benefit — Will Witherspoon and the linebackers.



          "It seems like you're pounding your head against the wall. There's a little reality to that, too. The guys who embrace that and do the best job at playing nose guard don't get a whole lot of production. You don't see a lot of tackles."

          Kennedy — and the Rams' run defense — gets in trouble when he reverts to his old role and plays more like a "3-technique" instead of a nose tackle. What the Rams need from Kennedy is the dirty work: eat up blockers and let the linebackers clean up behind him.

          But old habits apparently are hard to break. Too often, Kennedy turns sideways to go around a block, trying to make a play upfield. That leaves the middle of the field open, leading to some big runs against the Rams.

          "At times it can get frustrating because I'm not running around making all those plays," Kennedy...
          -11-24-2006, 05:07 AM
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