 CAN THE RAMS REPEAT? BY GREAT RAM IN THE SKY
(Feb 13) |
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1. TO REPEAT THE RAMS MUST
GET BETTER The Rams front office is making a huge mistake in standing pat. I think the Rams, as they stand right now are not capable of repeating next season. The Rams defense is good, better then most, but are not capable of winning without support from the offense on a regular basis. Evidenced by the Tampa Bay game and the Minnesota game. How? Heres how! * In the Minnesota game, if the Rams had not exploded for 35 points to give them a 32 point lead, do your really feel the defense was capable of stopping Moss and George all day long? I did not get that impression. * Tampa nearly beat the Rams with a non-existent offense and super defense. The Tampa offense was so bad that the Rams defense didn't have much to defense at all. * I'm not totally in love with the secondary as it is either. McCleon still shows a propensity to not look for the ball in pass coverage and he makes some really bad mistakes out there and Dre Bly at times looks overwhelmed and over matched against the taller receivers. Say what you will---even Keyshawn Johnson said on Inside the NFL that the Rams secondary looks like it can be had. Randy Moss did have the best day of any receiver in that Rams vs Vikings playoff game. If the Rams offense handn't exploded for 35 points what do you suppose might have happened? I wonder. Another issue. In the Super Bowl, what happened in the redzone? Why did the Rams move so wonderfully to the Titans 15 or 10 yardline then die on the vine? NO POWER RUNNING GAME!! The Rams have no inside running game to speak of. The offensive line is terrible at run blocking. They lack a running game period and if things get clogged up by a real good defense as we saw in the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl then the Rams will have real problems moving the ball and scoring. As it stands the Rams offense needs to start thinking score from the opponents 40 yard line in because the closer they get to the goal line without scoring the easier it gets for a good oppossing defense to cover the pass routes---and they know the Rams can't run inside worth a lick. In fact, I'd say the Rams offensive line is very similar to the old lines under Don Coryell at San Diego. Those Charger teams were all pass and no run and it cost them in the playoffs. That was why, getting Chuck Muncie at the time was such a big deal. But, as it turned out, Chuck was better at catching the ball then running because the O-line was not adept at run blocking. The Rams need to upgrade. They are far from dominating. I'm not sure the Rams are capable at this time of making another Super Bowl run. Upgrades are very much required in the offensive line and size is very much needed on the interior of the defensive line. The linebackers are fine but they need to have those tough inside tackles to kind of stall and hold up those guards and centers from firing out on them. They need a power running game on offense to make themselves better at scoring from close in against good defenses. 2. THEY HAVE TO MAKE TOUGH CHOICES They can't hang onto everyone they have---they must keep trying to put together the most competitive team they can without creating huge future cap problems. You see what has happened to Dallas the past few years? And what is happening to San Francisco now? These teams couldn't stand to be down for even one season so they mortgaged several seasons of their future just to stay competitive in the short run a little while longer. Look what Miami tried to do a couple of years ago by offering John Randle 36 million dollars for what---3 years? and then Minnesota matched it...and where did it get Minnesota? Has either Miami or Minnesota won a world championship yet? No. Tell you what I would do if I'm the Rams. * I offer Kurt Warner a real good contract but, I put incentive clauses in it. I also put a loop hole in it as well. If Warner does not perform at a high level next season then the contract can be re-evaluated and renegotiated. I also hang onto Trent Green for this coming season. If Warner demands too much or wants too much or more then I can give and still pay the rest of the team I trade him. Better still, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next season I franchise tag him and garner two number ones and I still have Trent Green. * Issac Bruce has been a mainstay for St. Louis fans for 6 years now and he is a Super Bowl hero, but is it prudent and wise for the Rams to dole out the big money contract Bruce is going to be looking for come free agency? Or is it more wise to trade Bruce now and get some top picks for him? Is Issac going to get any better then he is now? No. He is already one of the best---but perhaps the bigger question is, can the Rams afford to keep him and still be competitive? What about Tory Holt when his contract is up in a few years? Can the Rams afford to give two receivers 6 to 7 million a year? And lets face it, Holt looks like he's going to be every bit as good as Bruce. * Or...what about Tony Horne and Az Hakim? Hakim might be really good, but Horne could be even better with his blazing speed and open field running ability as well. Seems to me they need to do some pre-emptive creative roster handling while using some foresight. Quite honestly I might trade Hakim for draft picks. I know there are teams out there who may covet him. Horne should be brought into the every down line up next season and allowed to blossom. The money I save from trading Hakim, perhaps I can give that to Bruce, Holt, Warner, Carter or whomever. They should try and keep a core of players together...but, you can't keep everyone and sometimes sacrifices need to be made for the overall good of the team. And I'm not saying they NEED to get rid of Bruce or Hakim...but, maybe, it begs the bigger question of do we pay our stars the market value and possibly put ourselves in the same hole the Whiners are currently in? Or do we lock up Bruce, Carter, Warner, Holt, and whoever else for a number of years while rebuilding the roster year after year around them? If one star's salary demands are so outrageous that it jeapordizes the salary structure for the rest of the team what do the Rams do? |
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