Rams News

Rams punter Tuten is a hunter, but he shares prey with needy

08/01

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch

There was a deer outside Thompson Hall, the Rams training camp headquarters in Macomb, Ill., on Tuesday night. Standing at the edge of wooded area, it munched on grass in the moonlight, a few feet from a parking lot filled with the players' utility vehicles.
Good thing it's not deer-hunting season, or the creature might have met Rick Tuten. The Rams punter is an avid hunter -- not that he kills just for the sake of killing.
``I don't hunt anything that I'm not going to eat,'' Tuten said. ``I have no desire to go to Africa on some safari or anything like that. That doesn't do anything for me. I grew up in the South . . . and you grow up respecting (wildlife), so you don't shoot things just to shoot them.''
Tuten, in fact, is associated with Project Venison, in which hunters donate unused meat to feed the hungry.
``We get area meat processors to become part of the program, and then funds are raised to be able to pay those processors to take a few animals,'' Tuten said. ``Maybe a guy kills a deer and he can't use all that meat, and he'll donate it.''
Tuten helps raise some of those processing funds with his foot. For every Tuten punt that is downed inside the 20 this season, he makes a $100 donation to Project Venison. He's looking for individuals and companies to match those donations once the regular-season starts. For more information, call Marci Moran of the Rams community relations department at 516-8760.


Soup's on
Denver supplanted Green Bay as Super Bowl champions, and now Broncos John Elway, Terrell Davis and Neil Smith are replacing Reggie White as spokesmen for Campbell's Soup. The commercials will begin airing in the fall. The soup company says the switch has nothing to do with White's controversial anti-gay comments.


Webb City pitchman
Football fans in Missouri will soon see defensive end Grant Wistrom selling cars and salad dressing on television.
The salad dressing commercial is for Ott Food Products of Carthage, Mo. Wistrom doesn't remember his lines and says he's not pictured eating salad. ``It's a bunch of different scenes,'' he said. ``It'll air in St. Louis.''
The car commercial is for R&S Chevrolet in Joplin.


Who, me?
As a rookie in 1996, Jerald Moore shared time with Derrick Harris as the Rams starting fullback. Now that Craig ``Ironhead'' Heyward is holed up in Atlanta, Moore doesn't sound eager to do it again. Particularly since he ran reasonably well as the team's feature back late last season following the release of Lawrence Phillips.
``That's not really a position I look forward to playing, especially in this league,'' Moore said. ``That's for guys like Ironhead.
``I don't think I can be as good a fullback as I can be a tailback,'' Moore said. ``First of all, I'm not really heavy enough to block the bigger guys. That's just not my mentality -- to be a fullback, to be just a blocker. I'm a runner.''
Moore weighs about 230 pounds. But what if it came down to playing fullback, or sitting on the bench?
``Well, if it comes down to that, then that's something I'd have to do,'' Moore said. ``Swallow my pride, and do it. But hopefully, it won't come to that.''


Bad Bryan
Whether it has been flattening Ryan Tucker, or antagonizing Fred Miller, backup defensive end Bryan Robinson has been the most intimidating presence in the Rams training camp other than Orlando Pace.
The second-year player from Fresno State, signed as a rookie free agent after the '97 draft, has bulked up to 295 pounds. That's about 25 pounds heavier than his college playing weight, and most of it must be muscle, judging by the way he has overpowered several offensive linemen in pass-rush drills.
Robinson's work has been noticed by coach Dick Vermeil.
``I say this to the squad all the time: If you continue to work hard, it becomes your personality. The effort becomes your personality. And that's what it is with him,'' Vermeil said. ``He goes hard on every single snap. But if anyone takes a little bit of a breather, he dumps them on their rear end, and all of sudden they're upset.''
Asked if Robinson would see more playing time this season, Vermeil said: ``There isn't any question. We're counting on him to help us. He will be in the rotation, if not in the starting `nickel' unit, rushing inside.''


Postcard from Macomb
> Haven't seen Pace get beat once while pass-blocking. In Champaign, Pace treated Colts end Dan Footman like a cigarette butt. In Macomb, Pace so dominated teammate Jeff Robinson during one drill that salty offensive line coach Jim Hanifan couldn't help but shout: ``Treat him like a dog! Treat him like a dog!''
> Billy Jenkins is Toby Wright Lite. He hits almost as hard, but is a surer tackler than his fellow safety.
> Eddie Kennison's head is back in the game, but he's still dropping more balls than he should.
> The best battle in camp may be Mike Gruttadauria vs. John Flannery at center.
> Miller looks surprisingly comfortable at left guard, but the interior line play remains the biggest concern on offense.


Ram-blings
With all the nagging injuries at running back, the Rams once again are considering signing ex-Chief Greg Hill. . . . Without Heyward, the Rams may sign Chris Sanders as a fullback/H-back/tight end. Sanders has been on practice squads with the Oilers and Redskins, but has played in only one NFL game. . . . Sports Illustrated was in Champaign on Friday to do a photo shoot with Isaac Bruce.

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