Rams News

With cuts still to be made, Vermeil
wants to harness praise of players

04/25/98

By Elizabethe Holland
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff


In the Rams camps last year, coach Dick Vermeil just couldn't say enough about monstrous defensive tackle Jon Kirksey.

But just as Vermeil had everyone convinced that Kirksey had won his heart and some job security, the player got his walking papers.

``Every year at this time, anytime I've ever coached, I always get too high on somebody and then I end up cutting the guy,'' Vermeil said Saturday. ``I'm trying to be a little more practical with my praise because I'm a the-glass-is-always-full guy. The trouble is, that can distort the evaluation process for a kid. . . . So I'm just trying to tone that down a little bit.''

That said, Vermeil's list of rookies who have impressed him in this weekend's minicamp includes wide receivers Tony Horne and Tyrone Goodson and offensive guard Fred Pollack. None of the draft picks has disappointed him, the coach added. And overall, Vermeil is pretty tickled with what he has seen so far.

``It's amazing how much better we are,'' he said. ``I'm almost embarrassed to think back to how bad we were at this time a year ago.''

Kickball, anyone? In addition to tending to injuries that troubled him last season, Rams star wide receiver Isaac Bruce has spent his off time hitting the books. When Bruce finishes two courses he is taking this semester through the University of Memphis, he will have 10 hours of classes remaining before he can graduate.

This summer, he will take a computer class and a physical-education course, leaving him with one hour to fulfill. That requirement will be met when he becomes a student-teacher sometime within the next year. When that happens, some lucky school will lay claim to a high-profile P.E. teacher.

``That should be fun for some school,'' Bruce said. ``I think I've got a couple of schools in mind that I can go to where they'll probably welcome me.''

Bruce said he would like to teach in St. Louis, perhaps at his ``adopted'' school, Bruce Elementary.

``They'd probably hang me if I didn't go there,'' he joked.

As for his status in his primary occupation, Bruce has not appeared at all hobbled in the minicamp.

Local line: Should any of the Rams need a tour guide in St. Louis or Macomb, Ill., rookie free agent Frank Spraggins will be at the ready. The safety graduated from East St. Louis High and then played football at Western Illinois in Macomb, where the Rams training camp is held.

Spraggins said his local connections have good and bad points.

``I'm more relaxed probably than other guys that come from somewhere else,'' he said. ``And in another way, there's a lot of pressure. . . . There are a lot of people, I believe, in my city who hope I fail.''

Spraggins has other ideas, however. ``I know I'm at the bottom of the depth chart, but I'm up for the challenge.''

Minicamp finale: The minicamp ends today with a practice from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Trans World Dome.
The workout is open to PSL holders and their families if they bring a postcard that should have been mailed to them.

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