BALZAR REPORT FROM FAST EDDIEAdd yourself to The HERD's Official Roster (guestbook), if you think you are man enough!
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1.) Balzer is in the dark on Faulk. He thinks alot hinges on the Anderson negotiations. He doesn't believe the most recent reports that Anderson has reduced his asking bonus from $10 mil. to $6 million. He thinks the major difference between the Faulk's situation with the Rams and Anderson's with the Falcons is that Anderson has been playing in the Falcons offense for years and took them to the Super Bowl last year. Training camp is probably much less important to Jamal than Marshall. This argument holds alot of merit IMHO because Faulk will be expected to play such a major role in the passing game, which Balzer also pointed out. Joker has argued that Faulk is an established All-Pro and he's keeping himself in good shape, and so he thinks camp is not so important for him.
Martz has a new offense that all the players are learning. It is predicated on timing. We all agree that what sets Faulk apart are his abilities as a receiver. Faulk has practiced that offense for all of 3 days at this point. He will fall behind quickly with each day that he's not in Macomb...
Consequently, Balzer thinks it could get ugly if a deal is not done in the next two weeks.
He also repeated what we heard him say last week and which has been debated heatedly in this forum... He said that several players told him personally that Faulk's unstated goal is to avoid Macomb. He added something this week... he said that the basis for this opinion is Faulk himself... he told some players this in the minicamp he attended.
2.) Howard reiterated what I've been saying... that the Rams CAN afford Amp Lee with or without Faulk. It all boils down to whether they see a place for Lee in the offense with Faulk... indications are that they do. It's not a cap matter.
3.) Balzer says the coaches were very impressed with Lionel Barnes in minicamp and IF he can do WITH PADS in camp what he did in minicamp without... then he could be a nice surprise.
4.) There is no pressure on Torry Holt to start immediately, and he will not be handed the job starting opposite Ike Bruce. Yet, he'll be given an opportunity to earn it in camp, as will Hakim and Proehl. The coaches' expectation is that he will do so. I think Az will have something to say about the matter.
5.) Balzer thinks the offensive line is upgraded over last year. Timmerman will make a big difference at RG. He said that Miller's job at RT is not set in stone and the coaches expect Ethan Brooks to be competitive for that position. He thinks either of these guys will be an upgrade over Gandy. Brooks will be the first alternate at tackle at the very least. The coaches are HOPING that Tucker will step up in camp and give Gruttadauria and Flannery a run at center... one of these 3 guys probably doesn't even make the team. LG is wide open... McCollum will get strong competition in camp from Nutten, Spikes, and even Jeremy McKinney. As I've said before, I like Spikes to break into the lineup sooner rather than later.
6.) The coaches are counting on Leonard Little in camp. Possible sanctions by the league are still pending, but Balzer doesn't think they'll be extreme based on how the league has handled similar cases in the past.
6.) Howard thinks...TB has a legitimate shot to start in Baltimore.
Peace,
FastEddie