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THE GOOD NEWS ON FREE AGENCY SO FAR
BY NINER HATER (Feb 20)

INTERESTING OFFSEASON. I was thinking I would be kind of bored this off season because I couldn't think of any real big changes or needs the Rams needed to make or fill. The things started happening quickly.

Since the Rams won the Super Bowl a lot of things have happened that have been out of their control. DV bailing out meant a lot of the changes we've seen in the coaching staff.  I was a little disappointed at first when all of the coaches and players started leaving. My first thought was to just keep the ship nice and steady. Why tinker with a winning formula? These changes are scary yes, but they are also exciting. I have a renewed interest in the draft, always one of my favorite times of the off season. And I'm excited about the Rams flexibility in the draft.

So far, there's good news and bad news.

The bad news first:

We've lost a reserve LB and DE and a starting RT. Clemons, Grutts, Miller,  and Williams are definitely gone. That hurts a little in the depth department. The Rams need to find a way to hold ontoTucker. That could be a key. I'd like to see him stay but I'm astounded at the money Miami is throwing at him.

Now the good news:

* Jay Williams was a nice luxury. However, he can be replaced and at a much cheaper price. He's not a starter and I doubt he ever will be an effective starter for a full 16 games. He was built for the role he played with the Rams. Carolina just loves ex-Ram defensive lineman and LB's. We'll be running at Jay 2 games a year.

* Clemons can be replaced. First I have to say that I'm going to miss Charlie Clemons the most of all the players they have lost. I liked him a lot as a special teams player and pass rusher. He's a good tough football player though. He had the motor I like in players. He plays with a lot of fire and intensity. He's a very good pass rusher and excellent special teams player. New Orleans is going to love him. However, if they are expecting him to be their every down MLB, I'm not so sure he'll be everything they expect. I think he's better suited on the outside with his speed and pass rushing ability. I hated to see him go more than any of the other free agents we've lost so far. Still, you can't pay your backup LB 2+ mil a year. Especially when you have Little waiting in the wings. He may be better than Clemons. Heck, Little may be one of the best LB's we have period. He just hasn't had much of a chance to show it yet. He will this year.

* The money that these other teams are throwing at these guys is stupid money. Fred Miller worth 26 mil? Get out of town! You can have him for that. There's no way the Rams should have kept him at Pace prices. The guy is an average Tackle. Not a particularly good run blocker either. Granted, he was young and improving but 26 mil? Good luck Tennessee, he's all yours.  All the stupid money other teams are throwing at our borderline players is out of our control also. You see it every year. Win the Super Bowl and suddenly every other team wants your average players like they would want another teams stars.

* We have not lost an impact player. We have not lost a player the caliber of a Hardy Nickerson as the Bucs will. Our best players are still here, intact. There's hardly another team that can say that right now or that will be able to say that by the time the signing period is all said and done with. That's not bad considering the Rams have more than their fair share of impact players! And the fact is, every player they have lost so far can be replaced at an equal level of play (and with cheaper price cap number) without too much of a problem.

* Todd Lyght is obviously going to be a Ram for a few more years. This is good news because he is one of the better corners in the league. Good CBs are extremely hard to come by. If you give me the choice of replacing one all-pro corner or a couple of average O-lineman like Grutts and Miller, I'll keep the corner every time. He's an impact player on defense. It's nice to see that the Rams are committed to keeping their impact players even if it's at the expense of a few middle of the pack guys.

* Our best coaches are still here, intact, along with a couple of new intriguing ones I might add. And I think the coaching changes couldn't have come at a better time. By the way, I especially like the addition of Pasquale. In my opinion he is one of the best special teams coaches in the game. The new coaching blood will help to prevent this team from getting complacent. The new coaches will also help to prevent that. This is a Super Bowl Champion that is going to go into next season with a lot to prove. If nothing had changed, I think their youth, basically their relative immaturity, might have hurt them in handling this new found success. Now, even the players are going to wonder a little. A little discomfort and a bit of the unknown in this situation isn't a bad thing. I don't think there is nearly the chance now as there was before, of this team thinking they could just show up for next season and at least get to the playoffs.

THE FRONT OFFICE. Armey is reacting properly thus far to the situations that have presented themselves. Clearly I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling that there is a plan, that not all of this was surprise. Martz has said as much. My guess is that they are making sure they are in position to keep their impact players, like Lyght, both now and in the future. They are leaving themselves with room to maneuver when the time comes.

One of those times will be in April at draft time.

Another one of those times will come in June and then the preseason when everybody has to be under the cap or cuts decent vets. Don't forget that come cut down time, that is when the rubber meets the road for the cap and for the season roster during camp, there will be some veteran quality players who will become available at very reasonable prices. Just like every year, some of those guys are going to just want to hook up with a team that will pay them fairly for a year or two and have a shot at the Super Bowl. Guess which team they'll be looking at first this time? The Rams are preparing for that very scenario right now. Unlike many teams who have spent themselves into a corner, the Rams will be in position to make those moves if they need to. 

Right now there are probably at least 10 available offensive lineman that are better or equal to the ones the Rams have lost. There will be others by the time preseason is over with. At center alone there is Mayberry, Raymor, Graham, Luenberg, Scott, Sweeney and more. All of them are probably at least the equal of Grutts overall. All of them are better run blockers. Most or all of them will come cheaper than Grutts signed for. At guard there are even more possibilities and at tackle there are names like Armstrong, Heck, Brown,  and maybe even Gruber out there. I'm willing to bet that all of them would be interested in playing on a Super Bowl contender now that they are in the twilight's of their careers

So IMO the Rams will find reasonable ways to fill some holes left by some middle of the road players that won't kill them now or later. (At least I hope that is what they are doing!)

I guarantee you this. By the time the season starts, there will be a quality veteran O-linemen who will be playing for the Rams who will play every bit as good as Miller will next year. He may only be a temporary solution but he will be solid. Playing on Super Bowl Championship teams has a way of doing that to a player. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see them get a good dirty ol' road grater or two to help the running game along. 

GRUTTADAURIA. If you read the Post Dispatch article about the Grutts signing, you may see something interesting. Grutts says he found it curious that the Rams could lose Miller and Clemons but still not find the money to pay him. He said they tried to find the money but just couldn't come up with it. He wondered out loud what happened to the money that was designated for the guys who left. I think the answer to that question is simple. The Rams probably had the money but didn't want to spend it on Grutts. They wanted Grutts at their price only.

Grutts is a decent center but not a great one. Why would you pay an average center over 2 mil a year? Grutts gets by on smarts but his run blocking is lacking. He's a pretty decent pass protector. I wish Grutts good luck. The fact is, however, he's going to need it. It's not a matter of wishing it on him---it's a matter of watching the Cards play a lot over the last few years. The Cardinals O-line is a mess. They have no running game what so ever. They have a young QB who, right now, wants to hold onto the ball too long and make too many bad decisions. They have a bad system under Trestman (the OC) IMO Grutts will struggle with the Cardinals. He is not a guy who can step in a make a bad line good. He's the kind of guy who can keep a good line good.  Here's hoping Jake the Snake can work his magic again for Grutts sake. 

This is your typical Bill Bidwell maneuver. Sign a guy who is now high profile, but who will not break the bank, to make the fans think you're actually doing something. Don't go spend some real money though on a guy who will actually make a difference. If he really wanted to get a top notch center, he would have gone after Christy really hard. The problem is that Christy actually cost a lot of money. Grutts comes cheaper. Christy would have made a difference. Grutts will not. The fact of the matter is, Bidwill just bought a center who is no better than the one he already had.

Ironically, the guy Grutts is replacing in Arizona is his clone. It's almost laughable from an Arizona standpoint. Aaron Graham is probably as good of a center as Grutts is. If he's not as good, he's pretty darn close. They have both been in the league 4 years now. They both are considered a little undersized. They both played on poor lines (until last year for Grutts). Graham is actually a little bigger and probably a little better run blocker. Grutts is probably a better pass protector and a little more of a technician. . Overall though, you won't find two more similar players.

In fact, they are bringing Graham in on Monday [Feb 21]. It's like a swap of identical centers. Only the Rams are going to get the better end of the deal because Graham won't cost as much as Grutts would have. Maybe if you put him on a line with Pace and Timmerman you might see what he can really do. I know he's probably a better run blocker than Grutts is. He's got experience, youth and talent. Plus, we will not have to overspend for him.

TUCKER. I think they may have decided that Tucker is more important than Grutts because of his versatility. That alone makes him valuable both from a starting and depth prospective. It gives them more choices by allowing them to go after either a center, guard or tackle now. Since Tucker can play either center or tackle, and Nutten can play either center or guard, they can decide who is the best fit for the money at one of the other positions.

If they kept Grutts and let Tucker go, they would be limited to searching for a tackle, which is probably the thinnest and most expensive FA position right now. Now they can go with the best player available for the money. Therefore, I do think that they will try to get either a FA center or tackle also. He probably won't be a big name guy who costs a lot though, unless the player is willing to sign for less because he wants a shot at a championship. He'll likely be a guy like Aaron Graham, the guy who Grutts replaced in Arizona, or Mayberry because there won't be a lot of demand for their services. They were both replaced by their respective former teams which will lower their market value some. Other teams will wonder what's wrong with them. Yet, they are both solid performers.

The Rams may just decide to pay a little more for Tucker than he's probably worth out of pure need and depth concerns. We can live with that for a while. In the meantime, it's time to draft a tackle or two.

THE RUNNING GAME COULD IMPROVE. Who out there thought that Tom Nutten would play as well as he did last year? I don't see any hands in the air. Do you realize that Nutten played every bit as well at left guard as Grutts played at center and Miller played at RT? OK, a few hands there.  Who would have thought that a line that included Nutten, Grutts and Miller would have been a quality NFL line before last season began? No hands again. Why was the line successful last season then? What changed? Not the Grutts and Miller, I can tell you that. What changed was Mike Martz, Adam Timmerman, Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner.

This line was not nearly as good as Denver's the previous two years or Dallas's in the early 90s. The Rams line was only above average, thanks in part to Pace and Timmerman. Also, thanks in part to Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, and an offensive scheme that didn't rely on them for  too long of a period of time. Mike Martz, more than anything else, made the line better than it was by keeping the defense off balance all the time and by creating an up-tempo style that meant the linemen only had to hold their blocks for a brief period of time.

Who can name more than one or two players who may be considered possible Hall of Famers from the 80's and 90's 49ers offensive lines? Randy Cross, maybe. Jesse Supolu, doubtful. Who else? No one. Not really. The 49ers had a couple of mainstays on those lines---but their linemen changed on almost a yearly basis. Whether it was from free agency, retirement or injury, they were constantly finding players who could fill in, but were not super stars. Those lines were mostly no name lines that were helped tremendously by the system they ran.  The Rams were very very similar in 99 because they didn't rely on a power, 3 yards and a cloud of dust style. What's more, Martz, more than anyone, knew the Rams could not play that style even if they wanted to.

But as a result, the one area the Rams really need to improve coming off the Super Bowl is their run blocking. The most glaring problem in the playoffs this year was the Rams inability to run the football. That is inexcusable considering that they have one of the best backs in the history of the game and had one of the most dangerous passing attacks ever.

You have to assume that Coach Martz was not happy that we could not run the ball inside the 20 very effectively. Or that they could not convert 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 unless they threw the ball. Martz was constantly forced to throw the ball! That worked great for most of the season, but cost us points come playoff and Super Bowl time. If you listen to Martz talk, he would prefer to be more balanced than that. In the playoffs, Martz called the plays he thought had the best chance of working. Obviously that meant throwing the ball. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing he would like to change that at least a little. Also, even with the lead, we still had to throw the ball a lot because the offense was not capable of switching gears.. When you don't feel comfortable running the ball with Marshall Faulk in the back field against top notch opponents, something is wrong up front. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing he would like to change that at least a little. Both he and  Vermeil said as much. I think Martz would ideally like to be able to attack with the pass as a rule, but would also like to be able to be flexible enough to be able to run the ball effectively when the circumstance calls for it.

Was it Pace or Timmerman? Hell no! They were blocking the hell out of people. It was Grutts mostly and Miller also. They were good pass protectors and poor run blockers. I don't believe I saw Grutts move the pile forward once this year. I don't believe I ever saw Miller lay a crushing run block on anyone. (Granted Nutten was also not the greatest run blocker, but he didn't ask to be paid like a pro-bowler either.) The reality is that Grutts and Miller are average NFL O-linemen. They filled in adequately but did not dominate. So, ironically, with Grutts and Miller leaving, they now have the opportunity to improve the line.  It is entirely possible, then,  that the Rams will actually be better on the offensive line by the time the season starts next year. I'd say even likely.

As I said, it looks like they'll keep Tucker. That means they get a veteran with one or two decent years left and they might actually be able to run the ball come playoff time next year. Plus, my guess is, the Rams will be looking for linemen who are big and can get a push. They don't need to be extremely mobile because they don't have to hold their blocks for very long in pass protection. They just have to be able to get that pop at the point of contact to give a few seconds to throw the ball and a crack to run it. And this doesn't even take into consideration that the two in house guys we already have in Spikes and Frohbeiter, who experts say have big potential.

I'm willing to bet that next year you will see a bigger, tougher, nastier offensive line than you saw this year. What's more, it will be a cheaper one to boot and it will be the very reason we'll be able to keep impact guy's like Warner, Bruce, Carter, Lyght, Pace and Lyle come contract time and even guys like McCleon, Fletcher, Wistrom and Hakim when they come due is a couple of years.

SO THINGS ARE SHAPING UP IN GOOD WAYS. So far the Rams are making the right decisions. Give it a little more time and I'm sure you'll see that they will make some more correct decisions.

We still are going to be the defending champs with the brightest offensive mind in the game, the best young talent in the game and a number of veteran players and coaches leading the way. We will still be one of the youngest and fastest, if not the youngest and fastest, team in the league. We will have opportunities to improve ourselves through the draft and free agent transactions as the off season wears on.

I look forward of seeing what players the Rams will add to their already formidable stable of talent. Don't forget that come cut down time, that is when the rubber meets the road for the cap and for the season roster during camp, there will be some veteran quality players who will become available at very reasonable prices. Just like every year, some of those guys are going to just want to hook up with a team that will pay them fairly for a year or two and have a shot at the Super Bowl. Guess which team they'll be looking at first this time? The Rams are preparing for that very scenario right now. Unlike many teams who have spent themselves into a corner, the Rams will be in position to make those moves if they need to.

And if this team really can get a little meaner, nastier and bigger up front---if they can run the ball when they have to---there will be absolutely no way to stop them. Not even Tampa Bays defense could hold them down. If they DO improve, they may score 600 points next season.

The Rams are in good shape.

It's going to be an exciting off season. It already has been.  It's going to be fun. It's good to be the king!!