Where Are They Now? - Lawrence McCutcheon

More than 40 years in the NFL, including 39 with the Rams, Lawrence McCutcheon, has been Director of Player Personnel for more than 7 seasons after he spent four years as Director of Scouting.

“Clutch” was just that in eight seasons for the Rams (1972-79), ending his career as the franchise's all-time leading rusher. McCutcheon is fourth on the team's career rushing list with 6, 186 yards, and first in playoff rushing with 687 yards. Among the Rams' all-time leading rushers, McCutcheon trails only Steven Jackson, Eric Dickerson and Marshall Faulk. McCutcheon set Rams' records in the 1975 NFC divisional playoffs when he carried the ball 37 times for 202 yards as the Rams beat the then St. Louis Cardinals, 35-23.

McCutcheon, who finished his career with Denver and Seattle in 1980, and Buffalo in 1981, he rejoined the Rams as a scout in 1982.

He was an all-sport star at Plainview High in his native Plainview, Texas, and was named the top player of the 20^th century in Texas' South Plains area by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in 1999. Among those receiving votes was NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh. In February 2007, McCutcheon was inducted into the Texas Panhandle Hall of Fame.

McCutcheon was a four year letterman at Colorado State and a third round draft choice for the Rams in 1972. He is also a member of the Colorado State Hall of Fame; he set more than 20 school and Western Athletic Conference records.

McCutcheon and his wife, Myna, live in Huntington Beach, CA, and have a son, Marcus, a graduate of Stanford University. McCutcheon als has a son, Daylon, who played cornerback for the Cleveland Browns, and a daughter, Adrian and three grand children. 

Where Are They Now? - Roman Gabriel

Birth Name

Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. 

Height

6' 4" (1.93 m) 

Mini Biography

Roman Gabriel, the great starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams during the late 1960s and early '70s, first achieved sports stardom at North Carolina State, where he was a two-time All-American at quarterback and an academic All-American. Such was his athletic prowess, setting virtually every NC State passing record, that on Jan. 20, 1962, Gabriel's jersey was officially retired and presented to him by North Carolina governor Terry Sanford. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame 27 years later, in 1989.

Roman Gabriel, Jr. was born on August 5, 1940 in Wilmington, North Carolina, the son of a Filippino immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1925, and his Irish-American wife. In 1962, he was the first round draft pick of both the NFL's Rams (and second player picked overall in the draft) and of the Oakland Raiders in the rival American Football League (first pick overall among all players). The Rams signed him for three years at $15,000, non-guaranteed; he eventually played 11 seasons for the Rams, from 1962 to '72. At 6'4" tall and 235-lb., Gabriel is considered the first large quarterback in NFL history.

In May of 1966, the Oakland Raiders signed Gabriel for the 1967 season, part of the AFL's raiding of the older league in an attempt to create parity and force a merger. Gabriel had been dissatisfied with the way he had been used by Rams coach Harland Svare, particularly irritated that he had been overlooked for starting assignments. He was ready to leave the Rams, but when the team hired George Allen as coach, he changed his mind. Under the legendary head coach, Roman Gabriel thrived as a starting QB. He won his first Pro Bowl berth in 1967, following it up with selections in 1968 and 1969, the latter being the year that he won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and also was MVP of the Pro Bowl.

In his years coaching the Rams, George Allen had a record of 49-17-4, the best of any coach in Rams history. Yet, owner Dan Reeves did not like him fired him after the 1968 season. The dismissal did not stick as the players revolted, and Reeves was forced to back down. However, Reeves would have his revenge: Despite having a winning season in 1970, Allen was fired by Reeves (who was dying of cancer; the team would soon change hands not once but twice in a short-time). The next two years, Gabriel's play was hampered by a torn tendon in the elbow of his throwing arm. In the ethos of the NFL of the time, Gabriel was derided as a "psycho" and a slacker, and expected to suit up and play in pain. (The novel and movie North Dallas Forty (1979) exposed this plantation mentality among NFL owners, many of whom had reputed links to organized crime.) His statistics suffered, and after the 1972 season, Don Klosterman, the newly appointed general manager of the team, acquired quarterback John Hadl from the San Diego Chargers.

Gabriel took the acquisition of a starting QB by the team as an affront and demanded a trade. Klosterman obliged. When he was traded from L.A. to the Philadeliphia Eagles, Roman Gabriel ranked as the Rams' all-time passing leader with 22,223 yards and 154 touchdowns, which are still team records, as are his passes attempted (3,313) and passes completed (1,705).

With Philadelphia in 1973, Gabriel led the league with 3,219 yards and 23 touchdown passes, winning him the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award and making the Pro Bowl. His total yards and his passing completion percentage of 58.7 were the best of his career. While with the Eagles (1973-77), he threw for 7,221 total yards and made 45 touchdowns.

Though in 1978, his career was all but over, George Allen -- newly returned to the team -- wanted Gabriel as a third-string QB and quarterback coach. However, Klosterman (and to a lesser extent Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom) made it clear to Gabriel that he was not wanted back, so Gabriel walked away from playing. He did not turn his back on the game, though, serving as the offensive coordinator of the Boston Breakers and Arizona Wranglers franchises in the short-lived USFL. He had a lackluster career as a head coach, leading the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American Football to a 0-10 mark in their first and only season of 1991-1992.

Possessed of a stellar physique and dark, good looks, Gabriel took advantage of living in country's major entertainment center and had a brief career in movies and television. He made his TV debut as a "native" on "Gilligan's Island" (1964) and his movie debut as a prison guard in Otto Preminger's notorious stinker Skidoo (1968). The highlight of his acting career was playing Blue Boy, the Native American adopted son of the legendary John Wayne in the horse opera The Undefeated (1969). On the set, Gabriel struck up a close friendship with co-star Rock Hudson.

Roman Gabriel and his wife Lisa are deeply committed to charity work in his North Carolina community. The couple have raised $4 million for charity through their RG Sports Connection trust.

Not What Most Expected

If you can be honest with yourself as a Rams fan, you know very good and well, that Brian Quick was definitely not at the top of your draft dream list as our first pick for the wide receiver position in the draft. In fact, he may not have been on any of our lists. I know he wasn't on mine. However, he's on the team now and we now have an obligation as fans to at least give him a chance to prove that the coaches are right about him and that he is the target that Sam Bradford needs to get this offense back on track.


It has been one failed year after another since both Bruce and Holt have been gone. The Rams organization year after year have miserably failed to replace either one of these incredible receiver. In fact they've not even gotten close, ever. Making it difficult for any quarterback to perform at a level that is expected of them. The list is long:

• Donnie Avery
• Mardy Gilyard
• Mark Clayton
• Brandon Lloyd
• Mike Sims-Walker
• Keenan Burton
• Danario Alexander
• Brandon Gibson
• Austin Pettis (jury still out)
• Greg Salas (showed great potential for a slot receiver in 2011 till injury)
• Danny Amendola (wonderful slot receiver but can't fill the void we have in big time wide out threats)

So, a lot could be riding on this new kid called Brian Quick. He is not only going to have to be quick on the field, but also will need to be a quick learner. So let's hope that the name is good luck for him and that he quickly picks up on everything he needs to pick up on and can become that threat that Bradford needs.

Some current players that some are comparing Quick to are listed below.

Vincent Jackson - They both are big receivers Quick is 6'4" and 220 lbs and Jackson is 6'5" and 240 lbs and both are physical players that can get a jump on the ball.

Brandon Lloyd - (This one is silly....in retrospect it seems the Rams should have kept him to go along with Quick) Lloyd has made his living off of his terrific hands and his ability to make circus like catches. Something that Quick seems to be able to do as well.

Terrell Owens - Not in attitude but in playing ability. Both receivers are nearly the same size and Quick has been known to be just as physical and ball hungry as TO, in TO's prime. Like TO, Quick goes after the ball and has the desire to come up with it and make the big play.

Larry Fitzgerald - To stand them side by side, they are both nearly the same height and weight and both of them are well rounded athletes that are both physical and have speed. Quick is nearly as good as plucking the football out of the air as Fitzgerald and Quick has great hands similar to Fitzgerald. If Quick is willing and able to put in a lot of effort into his football training, there is a chance that he could end up playing as similar to Fitzgerald as anyone could and that could eventually lead him to the top 10 list in receiving. But only time will tell.

Worst-case scenario, I think Brian Quick emerges as a big target for Sam Bradford to throw to, a luxury in the red zone and a productive player.

Best-case scenario, I think Quick becomes the kind of big, physical, imposing receiver that would elevate Bradford into the conversation with the other elite QBs in the NFL.

I could see Quick being the kind of player that averages 85-90 catches, 1,200-1,400 yards and 10-12 touchdowns per season.

First things first, I'd like to see Quick go out and make an impact as a rookie. I think he is going to get every opportunity to play, and it wouldn't shock me at all for Quick to catch 50-60 passes for 800-1,000 yards his first year in the league.