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SportsSeptember 7, 2014

ST. LOUIS -- No one could get enough of Michael Sam's trail blazing role at St. Louis Rams training camp. The fellow rookie who outplayed him to win a backup spot has a pretty nice back story, too. There was zero hoopla accompanying the 15 undrafted free agents who arrived anonymously, unlike the fanfare that accompanied the historic seventh-round pick. Four of them made the 53-man roster, among them a decorated defensive lineman from a directional school...

By R.B. Fallstrom ~ Associated Press
Dolphins running back Orleans Darkwa is tackled by Rams defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks (62) during the second half of a preseason game last month in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee ~ Associated Press)
Dolphins running back Orleans Darkwa is tackled by Rams defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks (62) during the second half of a preseason game last month in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee ~ Associated Press)

ST. LOUIS -- No one could get enough of Michael Sam's trail blazing role at St. Louis Rams training camp. The fellow rookie who outplayed him to win a backup spot has a pretty nice back story, too.

There was zero hoopla accompanying the 15 undrafted free agents who arrived anonymously, unlike the fanfare that accompanied the historic seventh-round pick. Four of them made the 53-man roster, among them a decorated defensive lineman from a directional school.

Soft-spoken Ethan Westbrooks, the Division II defensive player of the year in 2012 at West Texas A&M, had been confident he'd done enough. He was pleased to learn Sam had been signed to the Cowboys' practice squad.

"I know how hard it is to make an NFL roster, or just even get into camp," Westbrooks said. "I'm definitely happy to see he made it to another team."

Westbrooks had 19 1/2 sacks in 2012, one shy of the D-II record, and was among 15 players from the school located in Canyon, Texas who were in NFL training camps this summer, including Rams veteran end Eugene Sims. Westbrook jumped ahead of the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL early on and impressed coaches with production and versatility.

Sam got the second-most snaps among defensive linemen, trailing only Westbrooks. All of them were at defensive end, and the Rams are loaded at that spot. Westbrooks, listed as a tackle in the media guide, was used at all four positions.

"It was cool, I enjoyed it," Westbrooks said. "I've been enjoying playing the whole D-line since college, so it wasn't that big of a deal."

He enjoyed watching the media throng that followed Sam, too.

"It was entertaining," Westbrooks said, "to say the least."

Things to watch for in today's Vikings-Rams game:

* Zimmer's debut: Mike Zimmer makes his head coaching debut for Minnesota after serving as defensive coordinator in Dallas, Atlanta and Cincinnati the previous 14 seasons. The Bengals made the playoffs the last three years and averaged 10 wins. Leslie Frazier was fired after the Vikings started 1-7 and finished 5-10-1, but there's promise with seven first-round picks the last three drafts, and everybody's No. 1 fantasy draft pick in 29-year-old RB Adrian Peterson. Preseason records mean nada, but still it has to be a confidence builder going 4-0.

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"The administrative stuff is obviously different. Thinking about the 46-man game-day roster, the communication with the referees, those things are all different. The football part I've been doing a long time," Zimmer said.

Fisher has 156 wins, third on the active list, but says he's just as excited as he was before his first game in the middle of the 1994 season when he replaced Jack Pardee in Tennessee.

* Peterson rules: The All-Pro running back embarrassed the St. Louis defense at home with 212 yards rushing in the last meeting in December 2012. He was so far in the clear at the end of an 82-yard touchdown run there was time to sneak a peek at the video board. "Yeah, yeah, I was able to see myself," Peterson said.

New Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has players braced for the challenge. End Chris Long remembers Peterson "just destroying the game plan."

"He doesn't avoid contact and if you're a DB, he's going to find out if you like to hit people or not," Long added.

* Wait for it: As a rookie, Cordarrelle Patterson was the NFL's best kickoff returner and set a franchise record with a 32.4-yard average and two touchdowns. Naturally, the Rams are wary.

"If you want to create problems for yourself, give him a returnable ball," coach Jeff Fisher said on a conference call with Minnesota reporters.

Patterson didn't buy it, citing a conversation he had with Fisher this summer in Los Angeles.

"I told him, ‘Just make sure you kick me the ball, man,"' Patterson said. "And he told me, ‘Just be ready.' So I'm ready for that."'

* No Bradford: Sam Bradford missed the final nine games last season with a torn left ACL, and appeared to be completely back before reinjuring the same knee in the third preseason game. The offense is now in the hands of 34-year-old journeyman Shaun Hill, who has thrown just 16 passes the last three seasons.

* Cassel's time: Veteran Matt Cassel earned the starting nod over first-round pick Teddy Bridgewater, getting the edge based on experience and leadership. Cassel was among three quarterbacks who started in 2013, and returned with the assurance he needn't fear looking over his shoulder after every mistake.

* Pass rush: Robert Quinn led the NFC with a franchise-record 19 sacks and the Rams have plenty more who can make a quarterback flinch in Long (8 1/2), Michael Brockers (5 1/2), Williams Hayes (5) and Kendall Langford (5). Plus, pass-rushing tackle Aaron Donald was a first-round pick this year.

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