JT chat, 1/6

Rams chat with Jim Thomas: 1/6/15

Edited and formatted by Prime Time, who says: “These are excerpted questions and answers. You can imagine what topic a large number of the questions are on so there isn’t as much here as usual. To read the whole chat click the link.”

http://sports.live.stltoday.com/Event/Rams_chat_with_Jim_Thomas_71?Page=0
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Poor special teams, bonehead turnovers, costly penalties, bad ref calls, anemic offense and third-string QB play – if you want to relive the 2014 Rams season in one game, just watch ARI in their wildcard matchup.

Actually, Rams special teams were very good this year. As for third-string QB play, Austin Davis was about 5 times better than Ryan Lindley.
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Would you take Jameis at 10 if available?

He’d be tough pass up. I’d do a lot of investigating on his background, study his maturity. But I think he has a skill set that fits the NFL better than say Mariota.
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Any chance rams would pick DGB

If Britt isn’t re-signed, the Rams will need a wide receiver.
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Are all assistants expected to return next season?

At this point, yeah. Although there have been rumors that Brian Schottenheimer may be under consideration as offensive coordinator at Georgia.
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Heard some rumors on Schotty with ties to UGA OC job. Let’s say that happens, who would the Rams target?

Yeah, I just mentioned that. That’s a good question. I think in house Rob Boras the tight ends coach would be a possibility.
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Hey Jim, I dont know if it was already questioned but…is Bradford´s contract renegotiable? can he take a pay cut? since he didnt play and 1/2 season?

Of course. That’s the plan.
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Any QB is worth taking for you, besides Winston and MAriota in this years draft?

Sure. I’m not necessarily saying I’d draft them, but there are QB prospects worth looking into, such as Manion, Petty, Hundley, Cook.
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Is Connor Cook coming out after big MSU bowl win?

My bad, CNote. Mark Dantonio apparently said on a conference call Monday that Cook is returning.
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Did Rams play QB Davis enough to see what he has? Hill has zero upside and should not be brought back. He is under .500 QB

I think eight starts is a pretty good sample size for Davis.
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It’s early, but the commentary is leaning towards if you need a QB from this draft and aren’t getting the top 2 on the board (Mariotta and Winston) your team is out of luck. The Rams are out of luck on many counts but in this case what do they do? Dig deep and find a diamon in the rough? Don’t they need a stronger QB coach who can develop Austin Davis and a new guy?

Dig deep and find a diamond in the rought.
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Is Long, Saffold or Robinson the Rams best bet at LT? Any chance Robinson moves to guard next year if Long is healthy and Barksdale is resigned?

Fisher’s stated preference in the season-ending press conference was to have Robinson at LT. He said it’s possible Long could play RT or guard. And I think the Rams like Saffold best at guard.
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Seeing that offensive line is an obvious need. Do you think they can find so many upgrades on the line, assuming that Barksdale leaves? As we saw with Davin Joseph, players with previous success that are all of sudden left go typically means they are in decline. Seems doubtful that we can address all of those holes immediately through the draft solely. Agree?

It does become more of an issue if Barksdale leaves. Then you’re talking about possibly three new starters. But you could see some combination of free agency and the draft.
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Jim–do all members of “The Greatest Show on Turf” make the HOF this year?

I would be very surprised if that were the case.
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Would you say that the Rams WR corps is actually under-rated heading into 2015? Provided they re-sign Britt, I think him and Quick on the outside is a very good combination. Throw in Bailey/Austin in the slot and I think the Rams might finally have an NFL worthy WR corps again.

They improved noticeably over what we’ve seen in recent years. I think if Britt’s back, they have the potential to be a solid group.
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Would u rather have rookie center or guard

In theory, I guess you go with the veteran center because he’s more experienced in making line calls, etc. But there have been plenty of rookie centers come in and play well.
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What direction are the Rams going to take in the QB Department?

I think they’d like to re-sign Bradford, re-sign either Hill or Davis, and most likely add a draft pick with starter’s potential.. Obviously only Fisher knows for sure.
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Fisher seems like he is happy with Shotty’s offense. Do you see him at least asking him to get a little more aggressive or does it just depend on personnel?

It depends on personnel to a degree and also Fisher’s overall philosophy of what he wants the offense to look like. What exactly do you mean by being more aggressive?
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Do think the Rams have chance to sign Larry Fitzgerald or Dez Bryant? If not who should we be targeting

Do you really think Dallas will just let Bryant walk? Fitzgerald would be worth looking into, but at what cost, particularly with his career seemingly on the downside?
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I would like to see them try and throw the ball downfield a little more. The way they are calling pass interference it would seem like we should try to be more aggressive that way. Also when we have a lead in the 2nd half could we try to throw the ball to get a couple more first downs then running the ball and punting?

The Rams took more downfield shots this year. And had the pass protection been better, as well as the overall QB play, it might have been even more.
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If the Rams have to cut Bradford due to cost. Who would be some possible QB’s they would target?

First off, I don’t think Bradford gets cut unless the Rams have what they think is a solid alternative in place. If they do that, they would probably lean more heavily toward a veteran. Hoyer? Trade for Cutler? Trade up for Mariota or Winston?
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Jim, what position should the Rams take in the first this year? And what round should we take a QB?

Assuming the Rams stay at 10, it depends _ and always depends _ on who’s there. Defensive tackle wasn’t a great need in last year’s draft when the Rams picked at No. 13 overall, but Aaron Donald was too good to pass up _ the Rams felt. And I think we’d all agree it turned out to be a pretty good move.
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Do you think the Rams will take a WR with any of the top 3 picks?

Possible if Britt goes elsewhere, but even then I doubt if they’d take a WR at No. 10 overall.
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Jim, How would you go about rebuilding the O-Line? It seems that that’s the cause of many of the turnovers and pick-sixes and QB fumbles, poor protection. Our running game seemed pretty mediocre as well, especially against the better defenses.

I think you need a minimum of 2 new starters _ guard and center. It becomes three if Barksdale signs elsewhere. At least one of them has to be via the draft. But if you do go free agency for one of the spots, the Rams must be very careful here. Their track record isn’t stellar signing big bucks free agent linemen, a trend that predates Fisher/Snead. (Such as Jacob Bell/Jason Brown.)

Maybe the Rams feel like Tim Barnes and/or Barrett Jones could start in the interior. But the fact that they didn’t start down the stretch when Wells and Joseph were obviously struggling tells me they don’t feel that way.
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Are the Schottenheimer rumors surfacing about the OC job in Georgia for real?

I kinda think there may be something to them. But haven’t been able to confirm it yet. Then again, with so much other stuff going on, I haven’t been able to put a ton of time into that. Schottenheimer has interviewed somewhere every offseason that he’s been in St. Louis.