--Coach Scott Linehan invited former Rams coach Dick Vermeil to Wisconsin to watch practice and talk to the team. Vermeil arrived the afternoon of Aug. 10 and spoke to the team the following night.

He wore his 1999 Super Bowl ring, which he doesn't do much anymore.

"You look at it, it's a great symbol of so many wonderful things that happen," Vermeil said. "I wanted the kids here to see that the Rams - there's people in this building - that know how to do it. They've already done it."

Vermeil talked to this Rams team about overcoming adversity, playing as a team and taking advantage of opportunities. Several players called his words "inspirational."

Said Linehan, "As you would expect, it was a passionate talk. That's what you're always going to get every time with Dick. He knew the hot buttons to push about coming off a tough season, but being ready to make your own magic. I welcome him back any time."

--For the second consecutive week, the Rams' only touchdown of the game was scored with a potential No. 3 quarterback under center.

Against Tennessee, it was Brock Berlin. Saturday night, it was Bruce Gradkowski. Gradkowski played ahead of Berlin this week, entering the game at the start of the second half. His first possession resulted in what turned out to be the winning touchdown.

The first key play came on the first set of downs when Gradkowski completed a 24-yard pass to Marques Hagans on third-and-7 from the Rams' 32-yard line. Then, facing third-and-16 following a first-down play of minus-six yards where the ball slipped out of his hands on an attempted pass, Gradkowski hit tight end Joe Klopfenstein for 12 yards and rookie receiver Keenan Burton for 10 on fourth-and-4.

Then, Gradkowski ran for 13 yards on first down to the San Diego 15-yard line. On third-and-1, running back Travis Minor gained three and two plays later, Minor scored from the 3-yard line.

"It's tough not getting that many series," Gradkowski said. "So you feel like you have to get a lot with what you get. I think that it is how preseason is. I think everyone is on stage. Coach Saunders says that it is the longest job interview and he is right. Just try to take advantage of your reps you are given and just worry about what you can control and that is all I can worry about. Just learning these plays, trying to get the offense down and just execute."

As for his running ability, Gradkowski said, "I don't try to just take off; I like to go through my reads and progressions. It is just instinctive sometimes. If I feel something, I might just take off and a couple times it hurts me. I might see the hole open and then it closes real quick so I have to just go through the reads and just let things happen. If I have to make a play with my feet then I will."

--With a shortage of defensive backs, wide receiver Derek Stanley played cornerback in a practice last week. Stanley was wearing a jersey without a number during the workout.

Said coach Scott Linehan, "First of all, we are not moving Stanley to defense. I wanted him to get some work at it. The whole idea is that these rosters are tricky, as you know; some teams have some guys that are probably working both ways. Derek is such a great athlete and has played the position before. It is something that I wanted to look at because you get into the game and your guy goes down here and guy goes down there, you still need to have insurance.

"Somebody can play offense and maybe a little defense and of course be a special teams player, a big contributor to special teams is of more value. I told him that I just wanted to take a look since we are healthier at wide receiver than we are at DB."

The Rams have been so short in the secondary, especially at safety, that international practice squad player Sebastian Sejean has been working with the second unit in practice and played a lot of the second half against the Chargers.

--Defensive end Victor Adeyanju, who underwent surgery July 28 to repair a broken middle finger on his right hand, returned to practice last week with a huge "club" on his hand to protect the injury.

Linehan said Adeyanju would be able to play with the club "for the time being; as it heals we will start getting it smaller." Adeyanju played with something similar his rookie year in 2006 when he suffered a broken forearm.

"It was bigger than that one," Linehan recalled. "It didn't have quite the light-bulb effect, but it had the full arm deal going. I told him I'm not going to make him mad. That thing would knock you out pretty easy."

Adeyanju played against the Chargers.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I know we did. The only proof is how it pays off in the end. But I know much more about our team now. We've been around each other for 21 days. That's the way you get to know people, new people, everyone. It's been outstanding. I know the players worked extremely hard, and I know we're a lot better football team than we were 21 days ago when we started this thing." -- Coach Scott Linehan on what he feels was accomplished by holding training camp away from St. Louis.