Despite the arrival of Foles, there are still a lot of question marks surrounding the offense, too many at this stage of the offseason.

He forgot the rest of his own article: drafting 5 offensive linemen, signing Garret Reynolds and drafting a highly regarded running back. Yeah, C+ article by a D+ writer.

I don’t know if this has been discussed, but does anyone think the Rams tried and failed to sign La’el Collins after the draft? Seems curious that the Rams would give up a fifth round pick next year to add another offensive lineman in the supplemental draft when signing Collins in May would have saved the pick and gotten them a higher ranked athlete. Of course, the player chooses where to go as a free agent based on money, coaches, etc… Just wondering if Fisher or Snead said anything about Collins after he signed with Dallas, liked “Dang, we tried but didn’t get him.”

Did the recent hearing have anything to do with the pendulum’s movement?

http://finance-commerce.com/2015/06/judge-hears-case-over-new-st-louis-football-stadium/

Judge hears case over new St. Louis football stadium
By: The Associated Press June 26, 2015 4:26 pm 0

ST. LOUIS — A judge will decide whether a public vote is necessary on funding the construction of a new football stadium in downtown St. Louis, after hearing arguments in the case.
It’s not known when St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Thomas Frawley will make his decision, though several attorneys said after a Thursday hearing that they expect a ruling soon, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
At issue is a 2002 city ordinance that requires a public vote before using tax dollars on the replacement of the Edward Jones Dome, where the Rams play.
A public board that operates the dome had claimed in its lawsuit against the city that the law is “overly broad, vague and ambiguous.” The board wants the court to rule that law doesn’t apply, conflicts with Missouri statutes or is unconstitutional.
But city officials contend that the ordinance is valid and doesn’t contradict state law.
Proponents of a new stadium hope for a quick ruling, since Gov. Jay Nixon’s stadium task force is relying on the city to pay for some of the bonds needed to build the proposed $985 million open-air, riverfront arena.

Read more: http://finance-commerce.com/2015/06/judge-hears-case-over-new-st-louis-football-stadium/#ixzz3eTT366EL

This is good information. I guess the league and the players union compromised – lower rookie salary structure for the first round picks in exchange for four years guaranteed.

zn wrote:

snowman wrote:

It seems to me that cross ownership of other professional sports teams is one of those rules that is not enforced. It’s like jaywalking. There are 11 NFL owners, including Kroenke, who own other professional sports teams. Most of them are in the NBA and NHL, and it has been going on for a long time.

The cross-ownership rules only apply if your other franchise or franchises are in the same place as another NFL team.

I don’t know all of your examples, but, it seems to me that they don’t all fit that restriction.

Yes, I updates my previous post with that condition. Though I don’t see how the Denver NBA and NHL franchises are in the St. Louis market.

I am edit-happy today. Notice that Mike Ilitch’s teams are both in Detroit. And he looks like one of the walking dead. Better example – Paul Allen owns the Seahawks and the Trail Blazers, both in the northwest US.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by snowman.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by snowman.

He is currently listed at 6′ 4″ and 308 lbs, so he is big enough. He has been in the weight room and has watched a lot of film, so he just needs to stay healthy. He is one of the guys who really needs to step up and play well for us. We need quality linemen to protect Foles and open holes for Gurley.

Qualitative and speculative. Meh.

Happy Birthday TSRF !

Not sure that I know what TSRF stands for. I assume the RF stands for Rams Fan, but i dunno about the first two letters. Please choose one from the list below:

Tomato Soup Rams Fan
Texas Style Rams Fan
Totally Smooth Rams Fan
T. S. Eliot Rams Fan (The E is silent)
T-Shirt Rams Fan
someThing elSe Rams Fan

It has to be one of these. Notice that there is no choice for “other”. 🙂

About the Rams, I was wrong about Tavon Austin for much the same reasons you felt wrong about Quick. I thought he would excel, at least as a return specialist. His receiving numbers were blunted by Bradford’s injury, but still, I fear he may too small for his speed or not fast enough for his size.

About the NFL in general, I was wrong in thinking that the Patriots were finally going to some down to earth and be mediocre. They still won. I am waiting for them again this year to be middle of the pack, and they might without Brady for the first month of the season. For league security purposes, Belichick should be required to wear a body camera 24/7. What’s the German word for enjoying someone eles’s failure? I have that for the Patriots.

Did Mark Barron start at the free safety spot last year after we got him from Tampa? I don’t know if he is better than McLeod, but I thought we acquired him to at least compete with McLeod for that spot.

Thanks for posting that. I didn’t realize there was a cutoff date when signing and losing free agents did not factor into next year’s compensatory draft picks.

Waiting and hoping for at least one veteran FA signing for the OL. That would make our draft look better to the pundits.

It makes sense to me. Fisher has said he wants to build a power running team so this move fits that plan very well. He also does not draft offensive linemen this high because he believes they can be drafted later and developed. Outside of picking Robinson to be the LOT, he has been consistent in doing that going back to his years in Tennessee. I would not be surprise to see the Rams draft two or three offensive linemen in this draft. I would almost bet on them taking an OL in the third round, maybe fourth as well.

wv, I agree with all of that and I hope it comes true. I can’t see taking a tackle at #10 if he is not going to be the starting left tackle in a year or less. That’s Robinson’s job now. It doesn’t make football sense and I believe that Fisher and Snead also believe that it doesn’t make sense.

Outside of a game-changing defensive player or a left tackle to protect your QB, I have always felt that a top 10 or 12 pick int he draft should be a skill player on offense. You can’t coach speed and other rare natural abilities. You can’t coach instincts or football sense, that comes with experience. That’s just my bias, because I see other positions filled with mold-able, teachable players who become very good pros over time. We can coach up interior linemen and a right tackle, but we better draft a gifted skill player or game-changer on defense if he is available to us.

I think you are right but I don’t think Bradford has much value in the FA market as a starter. And I doubt that a team (or Bradford) would sign him as a backup because that creates an immediate QB controversy.