Tag Archives: los angeles rams

NFL

Gary, Cleveland



Cards: ProSet 1990, Action Packed 1991
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 4/17    Received: 5/9   (29 days)

I had been looking for Cleveland Gary for some time. Oddly the ‘old’ LA Rams guard (pre St.Louis) are for the most part difficult to get or resentful of their playing time there.  I couldn’t find his ProSet 1989 entry in his Miami Hurricanes gear, so I just shot out his 90 ProSet instead. He signed these two cards for me in roughly a month. I really like both photos on these cards here. I was always a huge fan of Action Packed, and this moderately close image, framed was typical of this set.

A transfer from UGA, Cleveland Gary was a member of the 1987 Miami Hurricanes National Championship team.  Initially he played behind such football fullback stalwarts such as Alonzo Highsmith and Melvin Bratton before getting his break. In 1988, he ran for 480 yards and 7 TDs, and caught 57 passes for 655 yards and 4 TDs. His 57 catches at the time were a single-season Hurricanes record. The Rams loved their running game so selecting Gary- the premier fullback in the 1989 draft really made sense. He’d be the second of the Rams first round picks in that year, (and the second Hurricane that they’d select) at pick 26.

After a middling rookie season, Cleveland became a bright spot in the Rams overall underwhelming 1990 campaign. He’d work his way into the starting lineup starting 7 games, and lead the NFL with 14 rushing TDs on 204 carries (808 yards).  In one of his finest moments, Gary ran for 3 TDs against the undefeated 49ers in a rain soaked affair that season. The game marked the 49ers first loss in over a year.

1991 was an injury plagued year for Gary, yet he rebounded in 1992 after the Rams made a coaching change to Chuck Knox. Cleveland had a career high 1,125 yards  on 279 carries, and caught 52 receptions for 293 yards with 10 total TDs. 1993 was another off season for Cleveland. He’d rush for just 293 yards on 79 carries and catch 36 passes for 289 yards.

He’d be released by the team in late August of 1994 and then was sidelined by appendicitis. Gary recovered and in October of that year rejected an offer from the Dallas Cowboys and signed with the Miami Dolphins. He ran for just 11 yards in 2 games and retired after the season.

Cleveland has done pretty good for himself after football. After dabbling in minor league indoor football leagues he was last spotted as the CEO of the Black Shopping Channel in 2016.

G/GS 68/29     RUSH 674      YDS 2645     AVG 3.9      TD 24      LG 63
REC 135     YDS  874        AVG  6.5       TD 5         LG  60

 

NFL

Goff, Jared

Cards: Leaf Draft 2016, Leaf Draft 2016 All-American, Sage Artistry 2016 (#86/100)
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o The Los Angeles Rams. Box Breaker, 2017
Sent:   5/14     Received:  6/27     (44 days)

As part of their big splash return to Los Angeles, and being on the HBO show Hard Knocks, the Rams traded up for the #1 overall pick to select ‘local’ (as in state) product Jared Goff out of California in 2016. Jared had the most productive career for a QB coming out of Cal since Aaron Rodgers.  He earned All-American honors as a Junior in 2015 throwing for 4714 yards on 341 completions and 43 TDs to only 13 picks. A prototypical pocket passer, Jared finished with 12,195 yards, and 96 TDs with a career passer rating of 144.0.

Head coach Jeff Fisher talked the tough talk during the preseason, emphasizing that the 7-9 and 8-8 records were no longer acceptable for success. He decided to sit Goff behind starter Case Keenum, and after a rough start, the Rams were 3-2 coming out of the gate, but after a crushing defeat to the Bills in October, the bottom basically fell out on the season. The players lost confidence in Fisher and the team unraveled. They’d win one game the rest of the way out. In the midst of the chaos, Goff took over starter duties at quarterback and started the last 7 games of the season.  Jared’s numbers for his rookie season were: 112/205, 1089 yards, 5 TDs to 8 INT.  It really didn’t help that Goff, had a porous offensive line- as Goff took 28 sacks on the chin during that 7 game stretch.  After the Rams loss to the Falcons on December 11th, the Rams relieved Jeff Fisher of his job. After the season, the Rams hired offensive guru Sean McVay to be head coach. It is the hope that under his tutelage and alongside offensive weapons Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin, the Rams can find the fireworks on offense the team is looking for in 2017.

A nice surprise as the #1 overall pick of the 2016 draft signed 2 cards for me in less than two months. Things just seemed to line up perfectly for me on this one as the Rams had just moved from St. Louis back to LA.  I suspected that perhaps the mailboxes in LA would be light, and they’d be eager to answer any fan mail at all that was coming through. Also since Goff was the #1 overall pick, it made sense that I’d strike while the iron was hot. Since that period, Goff has gone almost completely cold, and as of this date he hasn’t signed anything since 2016’s training camp. I got really, really lucky on the Sage Artistry card of him.  I pulled it from a box break in 2017, after previously missing out on sending it to him, and I really like it a lot more than the two Leaf entries I got. Plus I mean look at the autographs from Leaf compared to the Sage Artistry. It’s obvious that the sat down for the Sage ones, as opposed to the Leaf TTM that are rushed.

I feel good about the Rams being back in LA honestly. It’s a shame I don’t live there anymore or I’d attend some games. My admiration of the team goes back to the 80s, during the heyday of Jim Everett and John Robinson. It was a double body blow when the Rams left LA for St. Louis, and then the Oilers followed suit to Tennessee thereafter. I don’t like franchise relocation at all, and one must wonder why the NFL suffers from such an issue when MLB seems completely stable, despite its bevvy of small market franchises.  The Rams coming back to LA completes the circle to me- as hypocritical as that sounds. You have to admire St. Louis for toughing it out for as long as they did with the Rams, but I liken it to a infidelious marriage. St. Louis knew the Rams history and that they longed to be with LA when they got together in the first place. I know this marks the second time that St. Louis has been left at the altar by a football franchise, but to me, the move to St. L smacked of cutting corners to begin with. Regardless I sincerely hope in the future, the NFL in its brain trust will eventually grant an expansion franchise to the city.

CFL, NFL

Hill, Austin

leaf15 ahill sage15 ahill

Cards: Leaf Draft Metal 2015, Sage 2015
Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker

His Sophomore season was a breakout year at Arizona, as Austin Hill had 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns. Unfortunately he tore his ACL, going down in the second-to-last practice of the spring. After he returned in 2014, his numbers fell to 48 receptions for 630 yards and 4 TDs.  Concern lingered into the draft about his knee, and Austin went undrafted.

Austin has kept the dream alive, and his agent must be commended for how he’s kept Hill in the face of executives and scouts. He has been on the rosters of no less than 5 teams including the Raiders, Jets, Patriots, and the CFL Ottawa Redblacks. He became a fan favorite on NFL’s Hard Knocks with the Los Angeles Rams at his last and most recent stop, with his pure love for the game and his daughter.  He was among the final cuts made by the team, but may make an impression on an NFL team’s practice squad somewhere.