*** Official Greg Salas thread ***

[mycall]

So the Rams just finished their off season activities until training camp today and I'm shocked that no one has talked about the great work that Salas is doing. It's probably because it's the NBA playoffs and the mainstream media don't really care about the Rams. I was a Rams fan before Salas was drafted so I follow them faithfully hoping for their return to a championship. Anyways I'll post some highlights about Greg in the Ram's offseason activites mostly from Nick Wagoner, writer for the Rams website.

[mycall]

- WR Greg Salas is coming off a serious leg injury but you wouldn’t know it watching him on Wednesday. He made a few grabs for touchdowns during some red zone work including one perfectly run route where he turned Fletcher inside out. (May 16, 2012)

Salas was really starting to come into his own before he got injured. I know after the Giants game everyone wanted to forget about him but he was producing after the bye week. Salas should get a lot of work in the red zone because we all know that he gives it his all and fights for every yard. Salas gets knocked for his speed but he sure knows how to create seperation.

[mycall]

- WR Greg Salas bounced back from an early drop with a nice touchdown grab between defenders as Bradford threaded the needle. (May 25,2012)

One point I'd like to bring out is that whenever Salas doesn't perform well, he always comes back harder. While a lot of Bradford's sophmore slump was a result of very poor O-line play, Receivers were dropping catchable balls. Bradford really couldn't trust anyone (after safety blanket Danny amendola got injured in the first game of the season) to throw the ball too until Brandon Lloyd came along. The point I'm trying to get at here is that Salas is a good possesion receiver that can catch balls throwned at him while he being covered closely. A QB wouldn't normally throw to a guy that's covered, but if he trusts that his receiver can catch the ball, he'll let it fly and let the WR get a highlight catch.

[mycall]

A lot of things to talk about that happend on June 8, 2012

- Givens continues to impress and told me after practice that he is really focused on improving right now. Although he had a reputation as a great route runner coming out of college, he said it’s something he is working on and something he wants to perfect because this is a whole different level of route running with more advanced concepts. For the record, Givens is playing almost exclusively on the outside and he expects that to continue. Danny Amendola and Steve Smith have done most of the work in the slot.

For those of you guys don't know. Chris Givens is a 4th round pick out of Wake Forest who is widely known for his speed (sub 4.4 40 time) and his route running. I added this tib bit because of the last sentence about Danny Amendola and Steve Smith (Giants and Eagles last year) doing work in the slot. I mean to add this because a common judgement that people have on Salas is that he is just a Slot Receiver. Rams fans were calling him Amendola's replacement being a bigger version of him. So if Salas isn't in the Slot, where is he? Never fear Hawaii fans.

- Salas is potentially an even more interesting case. He’s been impressive throughout OTAs, which is no small feat considering he’s coming off a serious injury that ended his season early. Not only is Salas healthy, he’s been productive.

Now that's what we like to hear. Salas was probably the most productive receiver in all of UH's history.

- On Friday, Salas worked with the top unit and made some impressive catches from QB Sam Bradford including a diving one-handed number that looked nearly impossible considering the velocity on the ball. Count Salas out of the mix at your own peril but he was coming into his own before his injury last year and looks even better so far this year.

You see, Salas is proving to everyone that he is more than just a Slot receiver. Brian Quick was drafted with the first pick in the second round and is the de facto #1 option/receiver on the Rams right now. He is very Raw; not coming from a division 1 school but when the Rams worked him out they compared and said he could be the next Terrell Owens. Anyways, Salas is looking like a play maker to me. I bolded the part about the catch because a lot of the reason for the dropsies of the Rams receivers last year was that Sam threw the ball "too hard". I don't know about you but isn't a receiver suppose to catch anything throwned their way? The fact that Salas is making these "highlight" catches is establishing Trust between him and Bradford. Near the end of the Bradford's rookie year, Amendola was his safety blanket and Sam always looked for him, all the time. The reason for that was because Amendola was the only reliable one that would catch the ball for Bradford.

Here's an article by Rams on Demand that further breaks down what Nick wagoner http://www.ramsondemand.com/blog/rams-r ... g-options/

[mycall]

- Brian Quick and Greg Salas had some nice moments during one on one passing drills. Salas made a one-handed grab on a fade route to the sideline over Janoris Jenkins and Quick ran some nice deep dig routes for catches. (June 13, 2012)

New head coach Jeff Fisher never shys away to pit the starters against each other. Janoris Jenkins is a CB who many claimed to be the top cover corner of this classs over Claiborne. The reason why he dropped to the second round was because off all his off the field issues. Luckily for the Rams, nothing bad has happend since Jenkins was drafted. Anyways, Salas continues to produce and make those "highlight" catches and is working with the first unit working on the outside.

[mycall]

That is all till late July/early August when training camp opens. This is where Salas really gets to shine and show his grit when the pads get put on. Anyways, I wanted to create this thread because I feel like Salas will be something special this year and will Represent Hawaii well. There is no doubt in my mind that he'll have a Marshawn Lynch "Beast mode" moment in the year. I'll keep everyone posted here on anything/stats I get on Salas throughout the season. Feel free to call in to a local sports broadcast and share the information I shared here

[WA Warrior]

Good stuff! I'll be rooting for Salas all the way!!!

[Haynr8dr]

Nice.

Mahalo for sharing.

I like Salas' chances of at least making the team again. He could even break out and become a recognized name in the league, much like Bess.

Otherwise, most pundits and obviously the Rams speculate that WR is still a position of need for them - given their 1st round selection of Quick and Givens in the 4th.

[SundayJam]

Yeah, thanks for the updates, Mycall. With so many former Warriors on injured reserve and/or free agency, it's hard to keep up with these guys in the off season. Shoot, Alama-Francis, Mouton, Greene, and Veikune were 2nd round draft picks too.

[mycall]

With the NFL releasing tape to the general public RamsONDEMAND was able to make a video of Salas' season(minus the dreadful Giants game)

http://www.ramsondemand.com/blog/greg-s ... in-review/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBHhoGiu ... r_embedded

[Neighbor]

What about Austin Pettis? I was looking through some Rams forums and all the talk is about Amendola and the two rooks they got. I'm not a huge fan of AP, but didn't he get quite a bit of playing time last season cause of all the injuries? Or is he just that terrible?

[mycall]

Training camp opened today for the Rams so it's time to get hyped about Greg Salas again. Look forward for this thread being very active within the next month.

[mycall]

On the Rams current receiver situation: The two rookies and Amendola are all locks. FA signing Steve Smith (Giants and Eagles) is supposedly a lock too since he was just signed this year. That leaves Danario Alexander, Brandon Gibson, Austin Pettis and Greg Salas to battle for one or two more spots. Out of the four, Greg has the best chance to make the roster. Salas plays hard and has a knack for YAC. He is definetly going to please new HC Jeff Fisher who focuses on the trenches, running the ball and playing tuff.

Alexander has the tools to be a bonafide number one receiver and star in this league, if he wasn't always injured. For someone with 5 knee surgeries, I would just be glad enough to walk. Brandon Gibson is the receiver who has had the most time to play with Bradford but he hasn't shined when there was every oppurtunity to do so. Pettis seen playing time last year only due to injuries, mostly to Amendola and Salas.

My final prediction for the Rams WR corp would be Brain Quick, Danny Amendola, Chris Givens, Steve Smith, Greg Salas and if they carry a sixth receiver: Danario Alexander. Fisher has gone on record to say that he gives the team another dimension on Offense, especially in the Red Zone. Despite being injury prone, his knee hasn't bothered him in a while. Only thing bothering him is a nagging hamstring injury that seems always pop up. If Alexander gets major injured before the regular season, I see Brandon Gibson taking his place. Gibson, while unimpressive has seemed to benefitted the most from Sam Bradford making plays.

Austin Pettis is suspened for the first two games of the season for taking Performance enhancing drugs and will not count against the 53 man roster spot until then. If the Rams will to retain him, the would need to cut someone else before week 3.

[mycall]

Don't know how to post tweets on here but Salas is playing physical right out of the training camp gates. He is again working on the outside and has a chance to be a starter in the base packages since they have Gibson and Amendola working with the ones right now. Salas is drawing under the radar praise and is looking Solid.

[Haynr8dr]

Rich Eisen and the NFL Network just gave the Rams, otherwise Salas about 20-seconds of air time - showing Greg in a one-on-one red zone drill in which he snags a TD out of the air from Bradford. They liked it so much, they replayed it.