JIM FADLER NOTES, AUG 4Add yourself to The HERD's Official Roster (guestbook), if you think you are man enough!
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I am a big Todd Collins fan and even more of a fan of the Rams for finally getting an outside linebacker with some weight in his britches. Though Collins is not a blitzer or at least has never shown that ability.
Some notes on NFL scouting I have learned. NFL insiders are blaming the loss of Charlie Armey and the ascendance of Bobby Grier for the Patriots recent draft woes (The Canty led 1997 draft was a disaster). The ascendance of McCutchoen in the Rams organization is not an accident and the 1995 and 1996 horrible drafting has been laid at the feet of one John Becker by the higher ups in the organization. I am led to believe that after this season is over you will see more scouts coming and going in the office.
What happened to Holcombe last year? My thought about Holcombe was that he had never been hurt or dinged up before and after the Jets game he did not know how to compensate or change his style to compensate for a series of minor injuries. That and in the Cardinals game the defense shifted a DT to be head-head like a NT on the center and took away his favorite alley to run in. Like the passing game after the Dolphins game the Rams coaching staff showed no ability to change things or to react to a defense that had figured them out and basically kept calling the same plays over and over for him.
Mike Bush is one of the best sources for Rams news now that he is the play by play guy. The Rams like to cultivate the "voice" of the team and will feed him lots of stuff. Gary Bender left partially over money and partially over the need to get a local voice on the team. Bender had not lived here in 15 years or so and was not well known anymore.
I have heard lots and lots of people raving about Leonard Little and his new found grasp of the defense. It would appear that during his hiatus he watched some film and did a lot of work along with the soul searching.
[Note from Fast Eddie--As for LL... he looks like he's kept himself in fabulous shape. His teammates all appear to be very supportive, and the coaches go out of their way to recognize him and show him some appreciation on the practice field. Carl Hairston especially likes him. The Rams fans that were in attendence were noticeably supportive as well. I yelled at him during warm-ups, "Go get 'em Leonard!" and he gave me a smile and a thumbs up:)]