NFL chat with Jim Thomas … (5/9)

NFL chat with Jim Thomas

http://sports.live.stltoday.com/Event/NFL_chat_with_Jim_Thomas_62?Page=2

JT – College production for a receiver at Eastern Washington when you have 10 yards separation from the DB is one thing, but when the DB in the NFL is on you like a cheap suit, there isn’t much separation. Go ask the Rams receivers from last year.

I get your point. But Kupp put up some good numbers against Pac-12 competition as well.

Did the Rams plug a hole at center when they signed Sullivan or do they need a little help?

I guess he’s the presumptive starter. He turns 32 in August so he’s no spring chicken. Even though he was a backup last year in Washington, he does have 94 career starts.

It seemed to me That Fisher never developed any talent on the offense side of the Ball. His offensive coaches were unimaginably without creative inspiration. Still the Rams would win 6 or 7 games with defense and breaks. I think what sank the Rams last year was move and the trips and the uncertainty.

The Rams had some bad luck with quarterbacks under Fisher, particularly Bradford. They never could seem to find wide receivers. And the defense was decent-to-good, but also a little bit of a tease. It never quite played up to the hype _ some of which I concede I helped create in past seasons. Nor did the defense play up to all the money and high draft picks spent on that side of the ball. Yes, I think all the moving around hurt the team in 2016 _ To LA, to Oxnard, to Irvine, back to Thousand Oaks, with a trip to London for a game as well. They were a weary team at the end in my opinion. But above all, there just wasn’t enough talent on the roster.

Brian Quick reminded me of Johnny Barefield – looked great in his underwear, couldn’t play football (Johnny could put a quarter in his ear, though). Do any of the Rams current draft choices fit that mold – great at the combine, but still have to prove it on the field?

I think a recurring theme of the Fisher-Snead drafts was too heavy a reliance on workouts, measurables, and potential; and too little emphasis placed on production and football IQ. It looks like the approach changed some this year.

As for Snead still having a job – I have never heard the Rams FO state who was advocating for a particular pick. I assume Demoff was in the room for most of the drafts. I can only imagine that Fisher was pushing for guys that have not panned out more than Snead was pushing for guys that have not panned out. Your thoughts?

No organization says who is responsible for a particular pick. It just doesn’t happen. (Although you hear cases of a certain coach or scout “pounding the table” for a specific player.) In well-run organizations each pick is a choice made through consensus. The scouting department and GM know which types of players the head coach likes, what will fit in the system, and the idea is to look for those kinds of players. If they’re any arguments they come before the board is set. Once the board is set, that’s your guide. You’re supposed to stay true to the board. So I wouldn’t be able to give you an idea of which picks were Fisher’s and which were Snead’s. Although I will say, Fisher didn’t like taking WRs high in the draft.

Les Snead is just another sycophant in a long line of yes men like Demoff who shine Kroenke’s shoes and wash his car(s). Both of them put together wouldn’t make one good man. That’s why he keeps his job as GM. He’s no more a GM than I am.

So if I’m reading you correctly, you’re saying you wouldn’t have drafted Greg Robinson No 2 overall.

Danny Amendola is the 5th receiver for the Patriots, but he’d be the clear #1 for the Rams. Remind me why they let him go?

I hear you. I believe he recently took a pay cut to stay with the Patriots. If you remember in St.. Louis, he had trouble staying healthy. Played in just 12 of 32 games over his final two seasons with the Rams.

The Patriots are the clear favorite in the AFC, no one would dispute that. Who is #2? The Raiders? Does Carr have another level of play in him?

I’m gonna say the Steelers will mount the biggest challenge to New England. Having Le’Veon Bell around for 16 games will be key there, however. As for the Raiders, I think I have to see it to believe it when it comes to them putting together another huge season. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’ll contend for a playoff spot. Also, I just wonder how their lame-duck status will be received on game day in the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum

Is Colin Kaepernick just not getting any offers, or is he ambivalent about continuing his career? I don’t think there are 32 quarterbacks who are better at their job than he is. He could definitely start, somewhere — Cleveland, Houston, the Jets, Denver …

If you saw Peter King’s recent MMQB, he made mention of the fact that some in the 49ers organization think Kaepernick is more invested in social activism these days that his pro football career. There’s no way to know for sure if this is true, because Kaepernick hasn’t spoken on it. I find it hard to believe that no one in the league is interested in him; maybe the money’s just not right..

Hi Jim: So, I’ve been fascinated for a while by the way pro football coaches operate and make decisions out of fear. For instance, the math says that punting the ball after you have crossed your own 40, and certainly after you have crossed midfield is bad strategy. Similarly, settling for field goals is bad strategy as well. However, coaches not named Belichick are afraid of the backlash if they go for it and fail. I’m wondering if you see a time when coaches embrace the analytics of these situations and ditch the “traditional” strategy

A lot of coaches still firmly believe in the field position game. Do the analytics really favor going for it from your own 40? I’ve always liked the guys who take chances. With rare exception, for example, Mike Martz coached with no fear. Now sometimes that got him in trouble, but it led to a lot of touchdowns as well.

When the Big Red were in St. Louis, Bill Bidwill could be a little thrifty, and it was a time before players had free agency. I seem to recall stories by guys like Hart and Dierdorf about a lot of cheap stuff, like getting charged for the game balls after wins, in addition to the low salaries. Maybe that has something to do with hard feelings after 40 years

No doubt.. Not to mention contract negotiations. And many of those things took place in Arizona as well until Michael took over the day-to-day operations of the club from his father. I remember when Aeneas Williams came to St. Louis, he was ecstatic that he could just grab a T-shirt or a new pair of socks from the equipment room and didn’t have to ask, or have them deducted from his pay check.