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January 19, 2015 at 1:58 pm in reply to: Alex Van Pelt or Chudzinski for OC? Rams ask permission to speak to both. #16876
znModeratorRams want to interview Van Pelt, Chudzinski for OC job
By Jim Thomas
The Rams’ deliberate search for an offensive coordinator picked up pace Monday when the team requested permission to interview a pair of candidates whose teams were eliminated Sunday in the NFL’s conference championships games.
The Rams sent in a request on Green Bay quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, and also on Rob Chudzinski, who was special assistant to head coach Chuck Pagano in Indianapolis.
Chudzinski, 46, was head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2013 and has had previous NFL stints with Carolina, San Diego and the Browns as an assistant.
Van Pelt, 44, has spent the past three seasons with the Packers, having also worked for Buffalo and Tampa Bay.
Monday’s developments bring to five the number of known candidates the Rams have either sought permission or been granted permission to interview. Two of them, Greg Roman (to Buffalo) and Kyle Shanahan (to Atlanta), have taken jobs elsewhere. Denver’s Adam Gase is the other candidate, but he remains in the mix in Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Chicago.
Greg Olson, most recently with Oakland, and Nathaniel Hackett, most recently with Buffalo, also remain possibilities for the offensive coordinator job that opened when Brian Schottenheimer left to take the same position in the college ranks at Georgia earlier this month.
January 19, 2015 at 1:01 pm in reply to: Alex Van Pelt or Chudzinski for OC? Rams ask permission to speak to both. #16874
znModeratorworking with mccarthy is what would be most appealing to me. he was also the running backs coach before moving to qbs.
i don’t know. i look for something to stand out about him but i don’t see much.
He worked for McCarthy.
Good pedigree.
The truth is, most fans like us, when it comes to discussing most coordinator hires–mostly the ones where a position coach gets promoted (like Martz)–we have no clue one way or another. It’s what we’re least good at discussing.
I remember when Vermeil hired Martz. A lot of guys were like “who?”
January 19, 2015 at 12:25 pm in reply to: Alex Van Pelt or Chudzinski for OC? Rams ask permission to speak to both. #16869
znModeratorChudzinski is a fan darling. He’s the better known commodity.
The positive spin on Van Pelt:
This would be a promotion, from position coach to coordinator. That’s a typical thing. There are only so many out of work experienced coordinators.
He was only a coordinator for one year.
I don’t look at offensive rankings for coordinators. As often as not it’s misleading out of context.
He has been the qb coach in Green bay, after having other positions before that. That means his most recent run is as an assistant to McCarthy in Green Bay, and there is nothing bad about THAT.
It also means he’s a WCO guy, probably. From the looks of things he ran a WCO in Buffalo his one year as a coordinator. So yeah he’s a WCO guy.
Josh Freeman was pretty promising in Tampa when he was the Bux qb coach.
Maybe working with Aaron Rodgers makes them good candidates?
It’s more like McCarthy has a good eye for offensive coaching talent. Plus, the Rodgers part is irrelevant. It’s working with McCarthy that makes them interesting.
January 19, 2015 at 9:49 am in reply to: Seattle doing nothing so far (he said in the 1st half) #16856
znModeratorand what qb would make the rams a 13-3 team with that oline?
I think it’s OL injuries, not the OL itself. Either way they gonna fix it.
But yeah that’s part of the point. No qb makes the Rams 13-3 last year.
Bradford would have made them a winning team though. So would Wilson. Just for different reasons.
znModeratorI had an enjoyable 58:30 of that game. Leaving 4-8 points off the scoreboard killed the Packers.
Yeah that was not how I was hoping it would go.
January 19, 2015 at 9:04 am in reply to: Seattle doing nothing so far (he said in the 1st half) #16852
znModeratorExcept Rodgers is now 40-2 after having a 16-0 lead. Wilson got it done again. Did it with his feet and arm. Plus luck. That third round pick puts our first overall pick to miserable shame.
Well except it wasn’t Rodgers v. Wilson.
Rodgers played well on the road, in the league’s most hostile home venue, against the league’s top defense, and did it injured. There’s no shame there.
Wilson’s team kept them afloat long enough for the OT to count, but it took a fake field goal to get it going.
Rodgers outplayed Wilson in virtually every respect as a qb, but Seattle outplayed Green Bay.
January 18, 2015 at 9:58 pm in reply to: Seattle doing nothing so far (he said in the 1st half) #16835
znModeratorfrom off the net
===
waterfield
If there was ever a game where one team “lost” the game as opposed to another team “winning” it this was the one. The Packers beat up and led the Wilson led Hawks for 90% of the game. They “lost” it at the end of the game because of 3 critical plays. 1) the unfathomable lay down after the interception; 2) the failure to hold onto the onside kick; 3) the unbelievable failure of the defender to play the desperate two point pass. A different result in any ONE of those results in a Packers win.
Wilson can and should be congratulated for about 5 minutes of his play today. But he was totally outplayed by a gimpy Rogers.
I am not a Wilson hater. I applaud him not just for the good games he played this year but for the great games. My issue is with the “luck” of Carroll and the manner in which the Pack “lost” the game. IMO this was not a great “comeback” but more of a complete breakdown at the end of the game by the Packers. Nevertheless, the Hawks final drives in regulation time and in OT were precise and they have to be credited for that. Certainly Wilson was a significant part of that. I am actually a Wilson fan but as you might tell I am not a Carroll fan. IMO his team didn’t win the game the other team lost it. As much as I like Wilson I don’t see him through rose colored glasses and I do want Belichick to beat Carroll-not so much because I like Belichick but more so because of my feelings toward the frat guy.
Simply put, as much a fan of Wilson as I am I don’t give him as much credit as some do for the Packer’s loss yesterday. But I’m still a fan of his and have tremendous respect for his talent.
Assuming the Patriots win this evening I will be shocked if they can’t beat the Hawks in the SB.
And give him the Rams and the Rams O line Wilson does not make the Rams a 13-3 team. He didn’t even do that with a far better Seattle team.
znModeratorI would say at this moment, with the Patz up 38-7 after Blunt’s TD, that the chances of a Packers/Colts superbowl are diminishing rapidly.
Just thought I would get that out there.
January 18, 2015 at 6:30 pm in reply to: Seattle doing nothing so far (he said in the 1st half) #16824
znModeratorBostick should be put on suicide watch.
Or “summary justice” watch.
znModeratorWe’ll wait a bit on that.
Seems you were right.
That complicates things.
Or, not.
Spoke too soon.
Overtime.
January 18, 2015 at 6:12 pm in reply to: Seattle doing nothing so far (he said in the 1st half) #16820
znModeratorWe jinxed it I am afraid.
znModeratorMight I choose my own pike? A black walnut one won’t clash with the color of my hair.
We’ll wait a bit on that.
Seems you were right.
That complicates things.
January 18, 2015 at 5:25 pm in reply to: Seattle doing nothing so far (he said in the 1st half) #16814
znModeratornot quite this bad though.
i mean this has to be some sort of career worst for him.
Yeah
January 18, 2015 at 5:18 pm in reply to: Seattle doing nothing so far (he said in the 1st half) #16812
znModeratorSeattle learns a lesson from St. Louis. Fake FG.
i’m shocked wilson is playing so badly. it seems like he’s under a lot of pressure though
Rams have done this to him before. Contain him in the pocket and he ain’t quite the same.
znModeratorthe Rams don’t think they have anybody as good as a bashed up and mangled Scott Wells, or Wells would have sat last year. So unless they sign a FA there, Wells is back.
All 4 centers were hurt.
Wells: got a dangerous illness over the summer, lost weight because of it, took a month off over the summer because of the lost weight, and then (like Long and Saffold) got hurt in the Chiefs game.
Jones: needed to gain weight and strength after 2013, did, then needed back surgery, then lost weight and strength because he couldn’t lift after the surgery. According to him, he needs an off-season to get up to specs physically.
Barnes: all I know is he was listed with a shoulder injury
Rhaney: on IR
So the fact they had to stick with a battered Wells really doesn’t say anything about the other guys. This is one of those cases where injuries dictated everything (I mean…how many teams get FOUR CENTERS INJURED IN ONE SEASON (!!!))
We have no idea what they think of the other 3 (after Wells). We can’t assume anything about it, let alone assume they think bad things.
Having said that, they should and probably will acquire a center this year. If the new guy comes through AND the other 3 do too, then, yay…gravy.
..
znModeratorIt seemed to trip your trigger a bit. I was just trying to contribute something regarding where the Rams currently are in terms of cap space.
Oh I wasn’t aiming anything at you. People should always post whatever reading material they want. The poster is not responsible for what it says…the author is. I have posted plenty of things I didn’t agree with in the least, but it’s news, it’s buzz, it’s discussion fodder, it’s about the Rams.
So I was not arguing with you. I think it’s absolutely wrong to go off on a poster for an article he posts. THat used to happen on the old unmoderated huddle and it led to ugly, ugly, ugly posts. “You believe THAT shit? You’re such a tool.” (I am not exaggerating.) Nor is it even right to assume that people post things cause they have agendas. They post things cause we post things. The more the merrier.
So I go off on bleacher’s report stuff about the cap because they are really BAD at analyzing the cap.
You are not supposed to take that as aimed at you. It would be wrong to aim it at you.
It’s the same thing when I post Miklasz, and half the posters go after Miklasz. That doesn’t mean they’re going after me for posting him.
Fair enough?

znModeratorWhat will happen to Bradford?
Rams cut him and move on. Rams cut him but re-sign him at cheaper rate. Rams keep him at current price. Trade bait. Submit Vote vote to see resultsJeesh. None of those are the more viable options. In fact cutting him is stupid. He’s not obligated to re-sign with YOU if you cut him. So the worst case scenario is, you cut him, someone else has a better deal, and he comes back as a player on a different team and plays well. You just then threw away a qb for nothing. The Rams would look like fools. What idiot GM would risk that.
This whole “cut him and bring him back for less” malarkey is just nonsense. In contrast, one smart thing to do would be to extend him in a way that BOTH reduces the 2015 cap hit AND pays him if he plays.
The secret is incentives and future roster bonuses.
Incentives don’t get paid unless the player reaches certain benchmarks (like playing time.) When they do get paid they count against the following year’s cap.
Roster bonuses–they are set for specific dates. Like let’s say March 2016. The player only gets the roster bonus if he is on the team. So if they cut him before the RB he doesn;t get it and it doesn’;t count against the cap.
First, it’s important that it’s an extension. So they could take this years 13 M, and turn it into 6 M, with 7 in incentives, plus put in say a 10 M roster bonus for March 2016, plus let’s say 2016 also includes 3 M salary. If he plays you end up paying 13 M a year for 2 years. If he doesn’t you are out 6 M.
That’s good for the team, that’s good for Bradford.
Of course my example presents only 1 way of doing it. There are hundreds of others. A creative cap guy like Demoff could do lots of different things.
See that’s the thing about bleacher report. It’s just a fan blog. Often as not you will find message board posts that are better.
the Rams frequently move their defensive ends inside.
Williams doesn’t do that. That was a Fisher before Williams thing.
Wells and Long are possible cuts.
My guess? They are not going to go nuts with free agency.
I mean after a certain point, you have to learn your lesson. If we go with this guys scenario and cut 3 FAs–Long, Wells, Langford–what does that tell you about FAs???!!!
PLus this thing that some fans have where every year you go “hey buy lottsa free agents”…well good teams don’t do it. I posted a study once that looked at the average number of big market FAs per playoff level team going back a couple of years. They average 4 each. Playoff teams as a rule are not built by signing multiple free agents. IMO that’s just a fan fantasy.
My prediction: they are not going to create anything remotely like 30 M in cap space. They will be prudent in free agency if they go there at all. And they will be fine.
January 17, 2015 at 10:47 pm in reply to: William Hayes: defense has grown and will continue to grow #16777
znModeratorListen to him talk about Aaron Donald.
Wow.
“…He’s probably ‘the’ best rookie I’ve ever played with,
and i’ve played with some really good football players,
we will be remembering his name fifteen to twenty years from now,
i promise you that. He’s something special. I’ve never seen
anything like him….he’s so unorthodox, strong, uses his hands
better than anybody on this defensive-line. And he has the best
leverage, coz he’s 5’2
…”w
vYeah.
“He’s the best 3-technique in football right now…defensive rookie of the year? if there weren’t a JJ Watt out there he could be in line for best defensive PLAYER of the year.”
January 17, 2015 at 10:47 pm in reply to: William Hayes: defense has grown and will continue to grow #16776
znModeratorListen to him talk about Aaron Donald.
Wow.
“…He’s probably ‘the’ best rookie I’ve ever played with,
and i’ve played with some really good football players,
we will be remembering his name fifteen to twenty years from now,
i promise you that. He’s something special. I’ve never seen
anything like him….he’s so unorthodox, strong, uses his hands
better than anybody on this defensive-line. And he has the best
leverage, coz he’s 5’2
…”w
vYeah.
“He’s the best 3-technique in football right now…defensive rookie of the year? if there weren’t a JJ Watt out there he could be in line for best defensive PLAYER of the year.”
znModeratorYeah, but you like Old, Injured players
so…there’s that.Only when they can’t play.
znModeratorFour Centers have positive season ratings:
Hudson, 26, of KC,
Shipley, 29, of Indy,
De le Puente, 30 of Chi,
Montgomery, 32, of DenverIMHO: any one of those 4 would be fine.
znModeratorJanuary 17, 2015 at 6:11 pm in reply to: relocation: Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask Talks Kroenke, Rams' Future & Stadium #16757
znModeratorThe land did force St Louis to get off its butt and get some wheels turning, though.
Who knows about any of it yet. Right now, one good take is as good as another.
My only small disagreement comes with the sentence I quote. The St. Louis stadium plan was in the works for a few months. I actually think SK released the news about his own stadium plans in LA to preempt the St. Louis announcement, and to steal some of its thunder.
znModeratorWhat’s your bet.
My bet is, …well I will tell you after the games.
znModeratorI think that he DID build an OL that supported a power running game…
Now if people want to say he should not have relied on the previously injured Jake Long, that’s one thing. And bear in mind I was initially against signing LOng…
To me though they can’t say Wells was a bad signing..
Joseph wasn’t supposed to start.
Rok? So what…
Jones? No one knows yet..
What about Person, Rhaney, Bond, and/or Washington? No one knows yet.Well, they made a big mistake signing Jake Long. I have
no qualms about judging them on that one. He was the
key signing for their OLine Plan. A lot of people
thought he was too big of an injury risk, at the time.Do you think they made ANY mistakes with their OLine plan
so far?w
vWell I don’t remember a lot of people (or even any people) saying he was “an injury risk.”
I remember people wondering if after 2 arm surgeries he was capable of playing at an effective, high level.
And no one said he was at risk for getting OTHER injuries.
I think any “mistakes” they made are neither here nor there. No one builds a line with a 100% hit rate.
It’s just that when I see a long line of injuries…including all 4 centers in 2014…I don’t immediately think “quick blame a coach.”

znModeratorEveryone says he wants a power running game. But he STILL hasn’t built an OL that can support his vision.
He owns that.Well, I think the biggest failing of Snisher was
the Jake Long decision. There was a lot of discussion
about that signing and a lot of posters were against it
because of his injury-history. (I loved the signing at the time)Well, it turned out to be a bad signing. And Wells turned out
to be a bad signing. And Joseph turned out to be a bad signing.
And B.Jones turned out to be a bad draft pick. As well as Rok.So, yeah they ‘own that.’ They’ve made some bad free-agent personnel decisions.
But other than the OLine and QB the team looks promising.
Can they finally fix the OLine?
Yeah, i think so. Cause they know damn well
its the key to the season. And they have
Barksdale, GR and Saffold which is a good start.w
vI think that he DID build an OL that supported a power running game. And that when it was not injured it did just that.
For example, after Stacy started in 2013, the Rams could run. Extrapolate their avg. rushing game numbers with Stacy across 16 games and they get 2084 rushing, which would have been 8th in the league.
Now if people want to say he should not have relied on the previously injured Jake Long, that’s one thing. And bear in mind I was initially against signing LOng, but it’s because I thought Saffold was a better pass-blocking LOT.
Nothing in Long’s past arm injuries indicated you should be wary of future KNEE injuries though.
To me though they can’t say Wells was a bad signing because he wasn’t. His streak of freaky injuries and illnesses started with the Rams. Some mention age, but I don’t accept that argument…centers can and have routinely played through their 11th and 12th seasons.
Joseph wasn’t supposed to start.
Rok? So what. When it comes to lower draft picks, UDFAs, and ronin types like Barksdale, you add several and see who sticks. You don’t lament a 5th round pick. Over a 20 year period from 2012 back to 1993, the NFL drafted 43 guards in round 5, and of those, 5-6 became viable starters.
Jones? No one knows yet one way or another. He hurt his back, that set him back.
What about Person, Rhaney, Bond, and/or Washington? No one knows yet.
January 17, 2015 at 10:56 am in reply to: relocation: Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask Talks Kroenke, Rams' Future & Stadium #16738
znModeratorThere’s financial penalties. The league could sue to enforce them.
So, basically he can move, and pay a fine.
w
vWhich include, if I read it right, being cut off from that team’s share of tv contract revenue.
According to former Raiders CEO Amy Trask via this piece with Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, an unapproved move by an owner would bring “draconian” penalties, including but not limited to the loss of annual TV revenues — which equated to about $200 million per team for the 2013 season alone.All things considered, it would appear that a rogue move would be unlikely and certainly very costly if fulfilled, considering the above and the fact that the league controls over 60 percent each team’s revenues.
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“It’s not like the olden days in that regard. The league really battened down the hatches to prevent teams from acting as rogue agents.”
Since that “relocation era,” the league has tweaked and added to its relocation policies. The league has also implemented financial penalties for teams that move without league approval.
The league has put in place a number of safeguards, if you will, which make it very, very, very hard for a team to … act as a rogue agent,” Trask said.
“These safeguards are really draconian. They involve financial penalties and other penalties that really should deter teams from doing things like that without (league approval).”
Among them are forfeitures of part of a team’s annual share of leaguewide television revenue. Another is forfeiture of a team’s share of leaguewide income from NFL Properties — the league’s merchandising arm.
January 17, 2015 at 10:34 am in reply to: relocation: Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask Talks Kroenke, Rams' Future & Stadium #16737
znModeratorThere’s financial penalties. The league could sue to enforce them.
So, basically he can move, and pay a fine.
w
vWhich include, if I read it right, being cut off from that team’s share of tv contract revenue.
That would mean, in effect,that every dime spent on the Rams would come from SK’s own pocket…minus ticket sales, which do not compare to the tv money.
znModeratorHe’s their Ray Malavasi.
We don’t know yet if he will be a good head coach. There’s all kinds. Not all are media savvy.
January 17, 2015 at 1:13 am in reply to: relocation: Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask Talks Kroenke, Rams' Future & Stadium #16729
znModerator
Rams need to follow NFL process to move to L.A.: stadium panel chiefBy Sam Farmer
http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-nfl-stadium-20150117-story.html#page=1
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, chairman of the NFL’s stadium committee, had a simple message this week for St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who has announced plans to build an 80,000-seat football venue in Inglewood: Not so fast.
“There are still cards to be played,” Rooney told The Times in his first public comments since Kroenke unveiled his vision for a state-of-the-art stadium on the Hollywood Park site. “There’s still a process that has to work its way out, and we don’t know what the outcome’s going to be yet. That’s why we have league committees and approval processes.”
Rooney’s words were measured but his message was clear that the NFL is going to make the decisions on stadiums and relocation.
“I think we’re comfortable that we could stop a team legally from moving if it didn’t go through the process,” Rooney said.
The NFL does not have a strong track record in blocking teams from relocating. The only instance in the modern era of a team moving to a new city, then reversing its decision after pressure from the league, came in 1996, when the Seattle Seahawks set up operations for one week in Anaheim. But Ken Behring, who owned the team at the time, immediately moved back to Seattle when then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue threatened to fine the franchise.
In all other cases, teams that have moved have either been successful in litigation or have reached settlements with the league enabling them to stay. However, since the Raiders and Rams left Southern California after the 1994 season, the NFL has strengthened its relocation guidelines, and won a legal battle with late Raiders owner Al Davis regarding his claim he owned the rights to the L.A. market.
Rooney said he wanted to clarify the league’s position after reading the comments of Dallas Cowboys ownerJerry Jones that Kroenke would be able to unilaterally move the Rams without league approval. Under NFL bylaws, such a relocation would require a three-quarters-majority vote of the 32 team owners.
“I don’t agree with Jerry on that point,” Rooney said. “The majority view is that there’s a process the teams are going to have to go through, and I think everybody understands that in terms of the teams that may be interested, I expect that the process will be observed, and hopefully it will be an orderly process.”
The Rams have not indicated they intend to circumvent the league’s relocation process. Team officials declined to comment.
In a New York Times story on Monday, Jones said Kroenke had the ability to move his team even if the league attempted to block him.
“As it would turn out now, apart from the league saying no, you can move there,” Jones said. “Keep in mind that teams have moved without the permission of the league. They just have.”
In a separate interview with The Times, Jones said any relocation would be a league decision, but added: “It always was and always will be the decision of the individual to take the risk, pull the trigger, and give his energy and talent through the franchise. That’s the real decision maker. And we’ve got a guy that’s made the decision to be involved in some way in Los Angeles, and that’s Stan Kroenke.”
The Rams, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders are all unhappy with their current stadium situations and have the yearly option to get out of their leases. L.A. is held up as a relocation option. Chargers owner Dean Spanos contends his club would be significantly damaged if another franchise moved to L.A., where he said at least one-quarter of his season-ticket holders live. He has said he would attempt to block any team from moving there, something that would require nine no votes from fellow owners.
The counterargument is that Spanos, who has worked 13 years to find a stadium solution in San Diego, has had his chance to make an aggressive move for L.A. yet hasn’t taken it. What’s more, the NFL has controlled the process for two decades and there is still no team in the market. In December, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informed teams the league would not be accepting relocation applications in 2015, meaning the earliest a team could be in the L.A. market is 2016.
If three teams apply for relocation, but there are only two vacancies in L.A., one of those franchises would have to go back to the city it tried to leave, with severely diminished leverage for getting a new stadium.
“That’s why we have a process and why it’s incumbent on the league’s committees and league staff to manage the process so that, to the greatest extent possible, we exhaust the possibility of a team remaining in its home market,” Rooney said. “We don’t want to have a team that gets itself in a situation where it has to file an application and go through a process where at the end of the day it could wind up being a lame duck, or even worse, having to go back to a city it attempted to move from.”
Rooney also said a team that moves to L.A. must have a solid stadium plan in place, one that has cleared all the required political, environmental impact and financial hurdles.
“I don’t think any of us are interested in having a team moving to a temporary facility without any of us understanding what the ultimate permanent location is going to be,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons why we put the relocation process on hold and closed the window this year.”
Officials in St. Louis have met repeatedly with the NFL in recent months in New York and St. Louis, and the stadium proposal they unveiled last week was designed in part to persuade the league that a good option exists for the Rams to stay put. If St. Louis can execute its plan, said Dave Peacock, a local business leader who’s heading the project, the league rules stipulate the city should keep its team.
“The NFL bylaws are very clear,” Peacock said. “I believe in those bylaws, and I have confidence that we’re an NFL city. We hope the Rams are playing here for a long time.”
The league has also been in negotiations with AEG about a potential deal at Farmers Field, a proposed downtown stadium next to L.A. Live. In the 20 years since the Raiders and Rams left, the NFL has fostered the idea of competing sites to get the best deal. Rooney said that continues to be the case.
“I think next year is a time frame that I would hope that we at least go through a site-selection process and at that point are in a position where we have a site where we’d all feel comfortable putting a stadium,” he said. “Then we’d be ready to go through a relocation process where we all understand that there’s a first-class NFL stadium for a team to move to.”
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