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Insider’s Perspective on the Front Office By Howard Balzer [Ed. Note: GRITS has graciously shared with us an E-Mail he received from Howard Balzer concerning common fan concerns with issues currently facing the Ram front office.] Many of the anxieties expressed by fans recently are the product of emotion, not reality. [On the recent cutting of Frohbeiter] First off, Armey was the guy who believed Frohbieter might be a talent and Martz disagreed. It was Martz's decision to release him. Coaches and personnel people disagree from time to time, and it is worked out. Truth is, Frohbieter was a longshot, and Martz felt he wasn't making the progress necessary to count on him for a roster spot this year. Miller and Gruttadauria did not start at their respective positions in 1998, so I would hardly call their departure a "siege" on the offensive line. And how were the Rams supposed to stop Miami from giving Tucker an offer sheet? How does that make them look bad? The entire NFL wordl was shocked that Miami made an offer to a guy that has never started a game. How eere the Rams supposed to know that would happen. That's a very unrealistic comment. [On comparisons between current front office moves with moves made by Shaw and Zygmunt when the team was in Los Angeles] Here we go with references to stuff that happened long ago. The Rams have cap considerations and refuse to give crazy deals that other teams do and then get into serious cap problems later. What free agents were they supposed to sign? Where do they have glaring needs? They re-signed Nutten to a deal above his restricted tender, matched the offer to Tucker and prevented McCollum from going to another team. They also signed Sean Moran, a solid pickup. They entered free agency with five unsigned offensive linemen, lost two and re-signed three. Their top six offensive linemen are now under contract for at least three years, Timmerman for four. What [is] disturbing about the Kurt Warner situation? What is the situation? People overreact to pure speculation. [On whether the cutting of Frohbeiter will determine whom the Rams select in the draft] The Rams will still select the best player, regardless of position, depending on ratings. They are probably looking for defense, but if a top offensive lineman they had rated is not picked by other teams, they could do that. I agree that they will pick offensive linemen at some point in the draft, but that was the case anyway, even with Frohbieter on the roster. [Some folks are] beginning to question a group of people that made the decisions which produced a Super Bowl title? Did they suddenly become dumb? [On the slow pace of negotiations with Warner, Carter, Lyght, and Bruce] It takes two sides to make a deal. If the Rams simply decided to give the players whatever their agents asked for, it would get done quickly. But reality is that it doesn't happen that way. Right now, there is no urgency because those players can't go anywhere. [On rumors of the Rams acquiring Skip Hicks from Washington] Hicks didn't produce in Washington when Martz and Jackson were there, so the connection probably doesn't mean much. I would argue the point that Hicks is faster than Faulk and excels at catching the ball. I think the Rams can do better than Hicks for a backup |
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