 HOW THINGS LOOK NOW, BY PHANTMJOKR (March 7) |
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THE PLAN. I think from
what I've read the Rams seem to have a plan. Perhaps they're a little blabby about how
well they are/have done but I think they've done well nonetheless. I like everything that they have done. Long ago I continued to try and point out that the Rams it looked to me were setting themselves up to be in this position...and there were darn few takers in my op. I wasn't sure if Vermeil could finish but the team was, under the skin, changing direction after Vermeil's arrival...there were certainly a lot of "mistakes" made yet none of that precluded the team from actually winning the Superbowl. They got lucky but they had a hand in manufacturing that luck. Vermeil wasn't totally responsible but I think he was the great catalyst... It's going to be barring injury bugs a very good team over the next 3-5 years...and then it will likely peter out and run up against the cap with an aging group of core talent, the very guys that are making them good at this time... CONSTANT REBUILDING. The league is continuing to move in the direction plotted by Walsh's early Niners. Get the ball out ASAP to the skill guys, have a mobile qb and have him send the ball out before the rush can even get in his face, etc, etc, etc. Then stick you money in your offensive skill players and defense. The real reason that the Niners fell IMHO was their defense got money bloated and wasn't producing the way it had. It is important to look at "first contract players" and their new importance in the capped NFL. Any and every team needs those. That is what killed the Rams for most of the decade. They had some stars but what was behind and around them was terrible and full of very unwise drafting and spending... This is in part the reason that the Rams are so well put together at the moment. All those undrafted guys and draftees are providing the most bang for the buck and is what's going to allow the team a very good opportunity to remain good over several years. The good teams get raided every year...you can't avoid it so you sure ought to plan for it. Superbowl winners and losers are always the targets of FA raiding. The Eagles raided the Titans of their RT and it tricked straight to the Rams. EVERY year there are going to be FA movements on every team... Robert Jones played for the champion Cowboys but was overpaid by the Rams. Now were looking at the other end of that stick... ...and so far the Rams are really looking at losing 3 out of 22 offensive or defensive starters... and the big shot comes in the O line...Miller, Gruttadaria, and Jenkins. In a lot of cases cause of the cap some part of a team is going to have to be put together on the cheap. The Vikes have no secondary. The Bucs have no passing game. The Titans passing game isn't all that threatening... and the Rams have to find two new starters for the O line... You can't have a 20 Million dollar O line. You'll be about right to have it cost about half that and in the Rams case a good chunk of that is tied up in 2 players---Pace and Timmerman. The reason you can't do it is because of the rising cost of skill players. But the way this team has scoured the talent pools for the likes or undrafted rookies and the like I'm not real concerned. Rumors have Spikes as a player. This is from the staff that fished up Nutten from the NFLE, found Warner, etc, etc, etc. ANY team that wins is getting the most bang for the buck and you have to have a stock of guys playing over their pay...that comes from the overlooked bargain FA's and draft/undrafted rookies. That as we know was a big part of what made this team go. Warner, Fletcher, Jenkins, etc coupled with your high picks like Pace, Carter, Light etc are what make a winner in the player pool. Look at the results. Right now if we lined up the OL would be Andy McCollum at center, Tom Nutten and Adam Timmerman at guards, and Orlando Pace and Ryan Tucker at the tackles. This is a better run blocking unit than 99 IMHO.... perhaps much better. Tucker in his brief stint in the Tennessee game handled Kearse quite well. Why? Because he showed incredible strength in handling the man. He wasn't sliding real fluidly but Kearse couldn't do anything when Tucker got a hand on him. I think this will ultimately translate to more push in the running game. The same has been said of McCollum over Gruttadaria. DRAFTING. Armey said they were looking at drafting defense defense...so get ready. The O line is rather set in contract terms. There probably won't be a notable incoming FA signed there for years. The O is set for some time with the trio of Warner, Faulk, and Bruce plus...but the defense is still thin IMHO... KICKERS. Who needs Janikowski? Not the Rams...Wilkins and his injury might be a problem worth solving but I don't think spending a day one pick on a kicker is the answer... So who needs Janikowski? Who should take that risk? A team that favors the run over the pass. The Bucs made progress in selecting Grammatica as their kicker. Why? Because their ground control approach often pushes into opposing territory but can't finish crossing a line...so you kick... The Rams move the ball up and down the field and score in buckets. They certainly need a kicker but they need consistency and accuracy at the fore. Experience. That's not a draftee... Wilkins has suffered two notable slumps. When Gansz first appeared and last year, with the bum leg. He's a better kicker than he's shown recently. This is not to say that you stick with a guy with an injury or one having problems. In fact I think they shoulda gotten a different kicker last year when it was obvious he was injured. But IMHO healthy and free of Gansz Wilkins is a very good talent... QUARTERBACK. Is perhaps a worm in the works concerning Warner losing his cool because Green will be a competitive backup? C'mon. Warner's great asset is his cool. He came from the Hy Vee and walked coolly to the Superbowl MVP. I doubt that he's going to crack up or play any differently Green or no Green... If you want to look for a real problem look at what happens should Warner get hurt and the backup is Justin or the not yet ready for prime time Germaine... Perhaps it's this. They come into the off season knowing that the O line is going to take the raiding hits or that is where they will try and take the hits. Why? Because you couldn't generate enough cap space by cutting guys like Green. At that point you say well, until the unit regains it's cohesiveness our Qb might be taking some licks and we can field two with confidence in winning... Warner is going to get the nod for a variety of reasons...and Green probably would be pushing it with his knee to return as a starter this season anyway. In the end I think this is the best plan for everyone. Green may not like it but I think he might be better off this way. They deal him after next season when it's more cap friendly.... unless of course...there's another trip through the looking glass... |
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