TWO THINGS I WAS WRONG ABOUT 8/10

TWO THINGS I WAS WRONG ABOUT, BY ZACK NERUDA (Aug 10)

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* I was wrong about Torry Holt. Well, not entirely exactly-but in a way. I knew he was good before the draft and had an inkling the Rams would draft him. Then on draft day, I was disappointed they didn't take Bailey. It would have been very cool to have really tough corners, I thought. In fact, the shut-down corner myth is valid. Which means it's no myth...though you have to modify the myth some. IF a team has two very strong corners, it works wonders for a defense. For example, the Raiders have both Allen and Woodson. Before Allen went out last year, the Raiders were allowing about 17 points a game. After Allen went out, they started allowing about 30 points a game. Two great corners on the field helps a defense in amazing ways. So it's no myth.

But Holt is worth sacrificing that. And I am not even saying Bly won't be good (actually, I think he WILL be good, just not AS good...though I could be wrong about THAT, too).

It doesn't matter about Bly though, one way or another, because I am saying that Holt is THAT good. In fact I think he is going to be even better than even his strongest advocates said he would be. In short, Holt is so good, I now realize, that he was hands down the best possible draft choice. No contest. Non-issue. When he is a seasoned pro the combination of Holt and Bruce will be legendary.

BTW, Holt has a lot of great attributes, but there's one I hardly ever see mentioned. He is amazingly aggressive on the field for a WR. I have now seen highlight after highlight where he just takes it right to the Dbs after the catch-running through tackles, taking defenders on and winning. It's not just that he can break tackles. He has this deep, aggressive mindset-you can just sense it. All forward motion and edgey energy, looking looking looking for opportunities, yards--and taking it TO the defense. I really cannot think of another receiver who has this characteristic, at least not to this degree. It's almost as if he has the attitude of a great special teams kamikazee. Granted, that may not even be his best or most salient trait-but it strikes me as being a unique one, and an important part of his package.

* I was wrong about Little. Oh, I knew he would be a great player and a good person. That was all given. But ever since he just accepted his suspension, I've noticed that the "controversy" I thought would always surround him just isn't there.

I kept saying that the team couldn't afford the distraction, that while he had a right to play, the tensions surrounding his presence on the Rams would be too much. I think I'm wrong about that. I still personally feel awkward cheering him on (and I know he is a decent man), but all the rest, the supposed controversy, is all a non-issue. I think the suspension had a lot to do with that.

He strikes me as someone who loves the game of football but has a tragic mistake to cope with Okay. And this is a hard distinction to explain, but as far as I am concerned, it still doesn't matter (to me anyway) whether he is a Ram. But at the same time, I don't think the fact that he IS a Ram will lead to any deep conflicts or awful controversies. If you see what I'm trying to say.

Okay so there's two things I wuz wrong about.

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