This is Torry Holt’s first Rams training camp without Marhsall Faulk in eight seasons with the team. “We miss him now,” Holt said Sunday. “But we really won’t know how much until we go through camp and get into the season. Marshall was so intelligent. He passed on so much knowledge to the other backs, on how to set up a defender, how to run a certain play. As a player, he played hurt. He was a such great back.”
Faulk, the league’s MVP in 2000, is now dealing with the possibility of retirement. “I can’t imagine how tough that is,” Holt said.
The Rams have placed Faulk on the PUP (physically unable to play) list and believe he will start the season on the reserve PUP. They recently also reduced his base salary from $2 million to $1 million for this season, meaning they don’t believe Faulk will be playing this year.
Giant expectations
LaVar Arrington made some tabloid headlines his first day in training camp, defending his play with the Washington Redskins, but the best news out of Giants training camp was Tiki Barber talking Super Bowl or bust. Barber believes the Giants have all the pieces in place to make a serious run. He said he also settled things with coach Tom Coughlin quickly after he had criticized his play-calling in the 23-0 playoff loss to Carolina.
“Tom and I settled it the next day,” Barber said. “I criticized everyone, not just him. Afterwards, I asked him, ‘Tom, do you think I don’t have the same ideals, the same beliefs, the same direction that you have?’ He said we did. I said, ‘Well, we don’t have a problem. There’s no argument. We’re seeing exactly the same thing.
“I know he’s getting old as a coach and I’m getting old as a player (31). He doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring and I don’t have one either. That’s why I want to win it now.”
The Rams should have enough talent and experience on their offense to get by without a guy who is past his prime. Faulk is valuable, but I think that St. Louis will still score points.
Tiki is a great guy, but the expectations may be a little high. Last year, the Giants defense was inconsistent. Particularly the pass defense. I don't think that there was enough improvement there. Good luck to Tiki, but maybe he should play another two or three years to get his ring.
riv- i try not to always point that kind of stuff out...but when a read a person's bio and they either are, were, or plan on being a writer (sports or otherwise) i expect a little more i guess. as i've always said, i've made plenty of mistakes myself, i'm a bit surprised they dont get pointed out more often.
The Rams passed up the best QB in the draft for what a tight end, give me a break. I give them five games and they will be looking "who can throw a football"
Uh, hey there genius, all three QB's were off the board when the Rams drafted, and, uh, i think you're talking about San Francisco, 'cus they were the only ones to get tight end before Denver took Cutler with the 11th pick. By the way, they took a quarterback first pick last year. Get your info straight before you post so you don't look like a COMPLETE jerk.
are u kidding me, have u ever watched the rams team, im new to this blog but come on the rams have been in at least the top 10 in passing since we won the super bowl, to ask "who can throw a football" u obviously dont know about the rams passing attack, the real question is how often will they run the ball
Attn: poolboy87, Almon222 was correct. The Rams traded out of the # 11 postion with the Broncos in which the Rams could have drafted Cutler for the # 15 position a for substandard defensive back all of 5'9 1/2". Wannastedt is alive & well & is in charged of the Rams draft. As far as the typo goes, this is the New York Times of the internet. Thank You, STINGERS
Here is my NFL preseason predictions: NEW YORK VS. KANSAS CITY in Miami for the superbowl. I believe both teams have a complete team. Kansas City improved defense and New Yorks improved offense. Sounds good right! Like I said preseason prediction. What do you guys think?
I was at the Giants camp Friday. The offense looked sharp for a first day. Toomer looks like he is 25 again. Eli was on the money in passing drills. Demps is a good addition at safety. I think cornerback is the only question mark at this time. Watch for McQuarters to beat out Sam Madison. The tough schedule could be the crucible to propel them to the palyoffs. Barring serious injuries they will contend this year, and they have better depth to withstand the injuries.
Hey cuzzifer, the word "I" gets capitalized. If you're going to be a total jackas s about typos you should at least have grade-school level command of the language yourself.
ramsfan and ALAN- i'm not a journalist, dont plan on being one. and, if you knew anything about me, you'd know i dont use capital letters or punctuation unless i feel like it.
i dont expect perfection, but when it reads in the bio about being a former editorial consultant, i expect correct use of words, and mistakes to be edited/corrected BEFORE it goes to print or is posted in the internet.
and in case you didnt notice, i mentioned in that comment that i make plenty of mistakes myself. i own up to it. no offense to nfl_czar, but i see he corrected the mistake, even though he didnt acknowledge the fact he made it in the first place. oh, and ramsfan...Rams...should be capitalized, and a space between Rams and fan. just thought i'd mention that since i'm a #### with a grade school command of the language.
i think its funny people who dont have their own blog feel it's their place to defend the guy who made the mistake on HIS blog. is he paying you for this?
cuz, I think your a little too fixated with spell check and grammar. Did you have a bad experience with a punctuation authority at some point in your past. Don't worry bro, it's gonna be okay. In the mean time, we'll all try to dot our t's and cross our i's.
I thought that the idea of these blogs was to talk sports and exchange information, not to pass an english exam. As long as I can understand the blog, I am happy. To be a hypocrite is not cool though. Don't criticize others for mistakes when mistakes are made by yourself. I don't care whether you are a journalist or not.
John Czarnecki, a former sportswriter with over 20 years experience covering the NFL, has been the editorial consultant for the Emmy Award-winning FOX NFL Sunday since its 1994 inception. Prior, he provided exclusive information to CBS Sports' The NFL Today program from 1991 to 1993, holding a similar position.
Prior to joining CBS Sports, Czarnecki was a pro football writer for The National Sports Daily (1989-91), The Dallas Morning News (1989), and The Los Angeles Herald-Examin er. An archive of work can be found here.
