Tag Archives: St. Louis Rams

NFL

Keenum, Case

Card: Bowman 2012
Acquired: 2017, Ebay
Failure: 2013, C/o Home

Case Keenum played for the University of Houston- a school dipped in record setting quarterbacks from Andre Ware and David Klingler
to Kevin Kolb. Case was no different except he had a much steeper road to climb to be accepted amongst his peers at the pro level. After leaving the NCAA behind as the career yardage leader with 19,217 yards and a bevy of other records- he went unselected in the 2012 NFL Draft. Teams had grown weary of products from UH and were not enthusiastic about Keenum’s size or injury history. After the draft he signed a free agent contract with the Houston Texans.  He spent the entire 2012 season on the team’s practice squad.

The Texans were on the verge of one of the most terrible years in the history of the franchise. In 2013, Houston came out of the gate firing on all cylinders at 2-0, then dropped the remaining 14 games in a row. During that period, QB Matt Schaub came apart and was benched for TJ Yates who was ineffective, opening the door for Keenum to show his stuff.  He was still really a rookie, but Case showed some promise, and had a cannon for an arm.  Despite his efforts, the Texans did not win a game with him at the helm. Case finished with 9 TDs to 6 INT, on 137 of 253 passes, and 1,760 yards. The Texans cleaned house after the season and Gary Kubiak‘s staff was disassembled. Case was released and signed by the Rams. Again Case bade his time on the practice squad, but as fate would have it, he’d take another turn as quarterback of the Texans.

He’d be resigned by the Texans late in the season and guide the team two two wins, over Baltimore and Jacksonville, helping the Texans finish with a 9-7 record in rookie head coach Bill O’Brien’s first year. Keenum was traded back to the Rams the next year and in mid-November replaced starter Nick Foles as starting quarterback of the Rams, and into the team’s transition back to Los Angeles in 2016.

During that off season the Rams were looking to make a splash in the NFL Draft to show fans in LA they were serious about winning. The team traded up and selected QB Jared Goff #1 overall. -The writing was on the wall for Case. He’d hold down the starting job through mid-November before being benched in favor of Goff.

Case signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings for 2017. Largely an afterthought in the QB derby that was the Vikings, Sam Bradford was holding down the job provided Teddy Bridgewater could return from a catastrophic injury. Case entered the 2017 season as Bradford’s backup. After Bradford was injured during the season opener, Case stepped up and led the team  the rest of the way through. As a passer he had the best season of his career throwing for 3547 yards on 325 completions (481 attempts), and 22 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, while posting an 11-3 record as a starter and to the playoffs. The Vikings were impressed, but Case jumped ship to the Denver Broncos in 2018 where he is expected to bring stability to the position for the franchise. As Case continues to mature, he reminds me of a young Drew Brees coming into his prime- but maybe that is all hyperbole.

Case Keenum is another patient exercise in finding good value off of EBay. After failing on him inexplicably back in 2013, I had been spying his cards for quite a while trying to find a good value pickup. I always felt like Keenum had what it took, and when the Texans traded him away, I was particularly miffed.  When it appeared that the dust had settled after his stint in St. Louis I was able to get this card for like a buck or two off of EBay. Now this particular card is treading water at 6-9 bucks.

NFL

Kennison, Eddie

Card: Score 2006
Acquired: 2017, Future Considerations

Ah Eddie Kennison. I only casually followed the 1996 Draft. Things had already been put into motion with the Oilers, and with my personal life a complete disaster zone at the time, I was completely and utterly disinterested in football. Still, in the meantime, when the Rams selected Kennison, for a brief shining moment there he was the WR compliment for Isaac Bruce, before the appearance of Torry Holt.

An LSU product,  Eddie played for the Tigers from 1993 to 1995. His best year came in ’95 when he put up 45 catches, 739 yards, and 2 TDs. A track man, Kennison averaged 15.9 yards per reception. He had some good measurables entering the combine running a reported 4.29 40.  He’d be the 3rd receiver taken off the board, after Keshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn, and a spot ahead of future HoF WR Marvin Harrison. -Truly the 1996 draft was stocked with WR talent.

In his first season with the Rams, Eddie put up a solid stat line of 54 receptions, 924 yards and 9 TDs. He’d also contribute on special teams as a punt returner with 29 returns for 423 yards and a whopping 2 TDs. After the 1998 season, Eddie was signed by the rival New Orleans Saints. He’d record a career long 90 yard TD reception against the Atlanta Falcons in 1999 and lead the team in yards and receptions despite a quarterback carousel of talent. After the season the Bears traded a mere 5th round pick to get Eddie, where he’d spend just one season with Chicago before heading off to Denver in 2001.

Eddie had a rough ride with the Broncos. After 8 games he decided that he had enough of the sport and opted to retire. Denver released him, but Eddie decided that he still wanted to play after all. About a month later, he signed with  the rival Kansas City Chiefs. Eddie had his best years in KC, spending the next 7 seasons there. He had his best 2 seasons professionally in 2004 and 2005 respectively putting up consecutive 1000 yard seasons and posting career highs in both receiving and yards. After the 2007 season, he’d briefly resurface with the Rams in 2008, and retire after signing a ceremonial one day contract with the Chiefs.

Lance came through again with this one at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame dinner getting Eddie on this Chiefs card. Little known fact is that Kennison refuses to sign any cards from his early playing days on the Rams. Whether this is due to them being rookie cards or that he just has some bad memories with them is unknown. This is not a bad looking card. I find the embellishment and the pencil thin lines to be a bit distracting, but the photo is pretty solid. You can always count on Score to at least have good action photography and provide a wide spectrum of players from each team.

G/Gs 179/84   Rec 548     Yds 8345     Avg 15.2     Td 42    Lg 90t
PR  153       Yds 1528        Avg  10.0        Td   3     Lg   78t

NFL

Collins, Todd (2)

Cards: GameDay 1992, Classic 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent:  12/18/17     Received: 1/5/18    (18 days)
See Also: Todd Collins

Todd Collins finished his career at Carson-Newman with 27 games under his belt, 156 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. He took interceptions of 44 yards and 75 yards to paydirt and earned All-South Atlantic Conference Honors in 1991. A 3rd round pick of the Patriots in 1992, Collins was a nice find and made two Super Bowl appearances- one with the Patriots and later on with the St Louis Rams.

It should be noted that there just wasn’t too many scouting photos of Todd available from his days in college, so both StarPics and Classic ran to the presses with the same image. The GameDay is absolutely stunning. Collins was well regarded for his long frame and it is definitely showcased here with him galloping across the field.