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znModeratorzn wrote:
Just a quick discussion inciting hit on this.
My criteria = 30+ TDS, 90+ qb rating, less than 2.7% INTs. Have to have all 3.
Another important criteria for me is comeback wins, but that’s harder to do statistically.
So who has all 3 of the above criteria.
This year it is 8 (alphabetical order): Brady, Brees, Eli, Luck, Manning, Rodgers, Romo, Rothlisberger.
Qbs whose teams made the playoffs though the qb himself does not make that list: Newton, Dalton, Stafford, Flacco, Wilson.
Brady, Luck, Peyton, Romo, Rodgers still alive with those impressive numbers.
I was really impressed with Luck and Flacco last week. I like those QBs a lot. I think Flacco is the most underrated QB in the league.
Do you think Bradford can meet your criteria if healthy? I do…..
Bradford? (Proviso: if healthy.) Yeah, IMO he can meet that criteria, easy.
Like you, I am one of those btw who thinks Flacco is clutch when they have the running game and OL anyway (which they didn’t in 2013).
I think Wilson is the same way. Right guy for the right situation, clutch. Same as Flacco, even though they are completely different players.
…
January 7, 2015 at 3:17 pm in reply to: Reports out of Georgia that Schottenheimer is the new offensive coordinator #15733znModeratorPeople have heard of friendly fire.
I think this is a friendly firing.
Hey I am not going to fire you, but…find a job.
Or at least I will think that until we find out something different.
January 7, 2015 at 2:37 pm in reply to: Reports out of Georgia that Schottenheimer is the new offensive coordinator #15731znModeratorBrian Schottenheimer leaving Rams to become Georgia’s offensive coordinator
By Katie Sharp
The St. Louis Rams will have a new offensive coordinator next season. Brian Schottenheimer has left the team to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Georgia, as first reported by Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph and since confirmed by Georgia.
Schottenheimer was the Rams offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, during which the Rams ranked 28th in total offense (316.2 yards per game) and 25th in scoring offense (20.2 points per game). The team ranked in the bottom third of the league in most offensive categories each season, and showed little improvement statistically during his three-year tenure with the Rams. Prior to coming to St. Louis, Schottenheimer spent six seasons in the same position with the New York Jets, where he had more success as their offensive coordinator thanks to a strong ground game. The 2009 Jets led the league in rushing yards and ranked fifth in yards per carry.
If there is one hole in his resume, it is that Schottenheimer has never overseen a dynamic aerial attack. Although admittedly he has not worked with an elite quarterback during his time in both New York and St. Louis, his teams never ranked in the top half of the league in passing yardage.
znModeratorthey’re going to get richer with a team in the L.A. market, aren’t they?
I hear this, but I don’t see how it’s true. I think the NFL shares a percentage of ticket sales, but there is no guarantee that a team in LA substantially increases that. I mean, once you divide it by 31, what does that percentage represent? And putting a team in LA doesn’t change the tv contracts, which is the NFL’s prime source of revenue.
I read the rest of your post with interest. I am just picking on that one thing cause I have seen it around, but am not sure it’s true.
znModeratorIt’s hard to break habits in season.
You know whether or not this process actually helps CK improve, it is still true that you cannot do a lot to change technique etc. during a season.
I sometimes see some fans expecting that. No, a lot of that is just off-season stuff.
znModeratorLets stop the BS hate LA stuff
Actually let’s tone it down. Round these parts, we don’t get on posters like that. Asking a StL guy to accept the Rams moving would be like someone asking you in 95 to accept the same thing. So let’s not even go there. It’s not an attack on you if a StL guy has his own feelings on the issue, and vice versa. I’m in an interesting position on this because I don’t live in either the LA area or St.Louis but have lived in both (well Claremont for so. cal but close enough).
Just respect persons and sound reasonable about opposing arguments. And if some positions rile us, maybe we should just shrug and say nothing. Fair enough?
znModeratorThanks ZN. All of this is giving me Alzheimer’s.
Uh…all what is?
We were discussing curry recipes,right? (?)
znModeratorEither that or he’s been running a long con ever since his daughter got busted cheating at Mizzou
Just fact-checking. And only because everyone loves a fact-checker.
That wasn’t his daughter, it was the daughter of the daughter of Bud Walton (ie. the cheating daughter’s mother is Nancy Walton, who is Kroenke’s wife’s sister). And she cheated at USC, not Mizzou. The naming rights thing was a big deal, it just didn’t involve SK.
The fact checker has spoken.
znModeratorfrom off the net
znModeratorKroenke may not have the votes to move, and he may not need them
Mike Florio
After months of saying nothing about whether he’ll keep the Rams in St. Louis or move them, owner Stan Kroenke has made his intentions clear by announcing that he plans to build a football stadium in Inglewood, California.
The NFL believes that, whenever Kroenke applies to move, he’ll need a total of 24 votes approving the maneuver. “Any decision on relocation in 2016 or later is subject to approval by the 32 clubs,” the league office told PFT on Monday. “An affirmative vote by 24 of 32 clubs (three-fourths) is required.”
Per a source with knowledge of the current dynamics in Southern California, it’s not believed that Kroenke currently has 24 total votes. Eventually, he could.
As the source explained it, if Kroenke does the right things this year in Los Angeles, spending the resources necessary to trigger sufficient fan support for the return of the Rams, and if no other team provides with another viable alternative, it’s believed Kroenke eventually will get the 24 votes needed.
Even then, he’ll likely face opposition from the Chargers, and possibly from the Raiders. Both teams have interest in the L.A. market.
But even if Kroenke doesn’t get to 24 votes, it may not matter. According to the source, Kroenke has informed the mayor of Inglewood on multiple occasions that he’ll move the team with or without the approval of the other clubs.
That would be an aggressive, risky move. If Kroenke moves without approval, he’d be entitled to no financial assistance from the league, and his stadium would be blocked from hosting Super Bowls. He also would avoid paying the relocation fee.
The matter could end up in court, as a sequel to the barrister’s brouhaha between the Raiders and the NFL in the 1980s, arising from the league’s efforts to keep the Raiders from moving to Los Angeles. The Raiders eventually won a $34.6-million judgment, which reportedly was settled for a payment of $18 million in 1989.
The dollars, and the stakes, are much higher this time around. If the “B”-level NBA team in Tinseltown is worth $2 billion, what would the Rams be worth?
znModeratorHow about “reimagine” … that’s what Fisher did.
I dunno, I wonder.
See it seems to me that the situation dictated the approach.
If you were hired by SF, they had a great veteran team with a top defense, a good OL, and some weapons (Davis, Gore). You would go with that.
If you were hired by the Rams, you would recognize they had a young core, mostly because they had already been burned down in 2009 with a “start over” approach (plus they had fired the equipment manager, which is just a radically unthinkable deviation from all that is sacred). You would build around that core.
I looked at Seattle once and I think most of the players jettisoned in 2010 and 2011 when Carroll took over are not in the league. I think he inherited the poorest roster of all 3 coaches. The Rams list of guys still in football from the 2011 roster is much longer than Seattle’s list from the 2009 roster.
znModeratorWhen I say “LA” its a euphemism and so let’s call it the “will the Rams move what will/can we do and/or what will happen” thread. I have to be consistent. Don’t want the guys who were moved before to think I play favorites.
znModeratorRams’ Kroenke has made his LA play, but it’s not time for St. Louis to panic — yet
Howard Balzer
FOX Sports MidwestST. LOUIS —
Disaster is around the corner. The sky is falling. Panic is in the air.
That encapsulates the general feelings of the St. Louis football fan base when they woke up Monday morning to learn of the doom that appears certain: Rams owner Stan Kroenke has entered into an agreement with the Stockbridge Capital Group to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The stadium encompasses roughly half of a $4 billion project at Hollywood Park that will include a performance center with up to 6,000 seats and other amenities that include office space, residential units, a hotel and areas for parks and playgrounds.
Furthermore, according to Chris Meany, senior vice president of Hollywood Park Land Co., construction will begin even without a commitment from an NFL team once a ballot proposal is passed that will green-light the development.
“I’ve heard that there’s a lot of talk about a lot of sites that have been out there for a very long time, for years and years and years. I don’t see shovels in the ground on those projects,” Meany said at a Monday press conference. “We’re putting our shovels in the ground and going forward. This is the location in Los Angeles that for decades was the best location for sports and entertainment.”
None of this should come as a surprise. Ever since it was revealed that Kroenke already owns 60 acres adjacent to Hollywood Park, there have been loud whispers that his Kroenke Group was also involved in talks to develop the Hollywood Park site.
So the suspicions were confirmed. But numerous questions remain unanswered, especially as it relates to the Rams’ future in St. Louis. The NFL wouldn’t comment specifically on the story, only reiterating that there will be no relocation of any team — including the Chargers or Raiders — to Los Angeles this year.
It also hasn’t deterred Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon from strongly pursuing the initiative he announced Nov. 5 and where groundwork has been laid over the last 14 months. Notable in Nixon’s consistent message is that he intends to show that St. Louis merits continued membership in Club NFL — be it as home of the Rams or, should the Rams move on, another team with wandering eyes.
“St. Louis is an NFL city,” Nixon said in a statement issued Monday, “and I am committed to keeping it that way. I look forward to reviewing the recommendations from Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz later this week and working with the St. Louis community to put forward a plan that’s consistent with our principles of protecting taxpayers, creating jobs, and making significant use of private investment to clean up and revitalize underutilized areas.”
Peacock, a former Anheuser-Busch executive, and Blitz, a Clayton attorney, indicated in a Monday statement from their spokesperson that they remain on track to present a new stadium plan — the key to strengthening St. Louis’ bid to keep the Rams.
“The news today is another reminder of how much competition there can be for National Football League franchises and projects that include NFL stadiums, but it does not change our timeline or approach,” the statement read. “It is important to remember this will be a long-term process, but one that the State of Missouri and the St. Louis region are fully pledged to seeing through. We are ready to demonstrate our commitment to keeping the NFL here, and to continue to illustrate why St. Louis has been and will always be a strong NFL market. We will present a plan to Governor Nixon this Friday as scheduled, and we expect that it will meet his criteria, thereby allowing us to share our vision with the public shortly thereafter. In the meantime, we will continue to have discussions with the NFL, as well as Rams leadership.”
Ever since Nixon went public in early November, even in the advisory announcing the conference call, he has emphasized, as did Peacock and Blitz in their statement, the efforts to show that St. Louis is a worthy NFL city. Peacock has made sure to make his case to the league office, keeping Roger Goodell and Co. updated on the plan of attack.
And league relocation rules are tilted heavily toward keeping teams in place. The Rams are obligated to make good-faith efforts to work with St. Louis on a new stadium plan. So, if Nixon’s crack team can present a viable plan, Kroenke can’t just ignore it.
It is important to remember that no NFL team has ever left a city when a legitimate plan for a new stadium had been proposed. It is also important to note Nixon’s stated goal “to clean up and revitalize underutilized areas.”
That’s a clear reference to the proposed area north of Lumiere Place and reaching close to the Stan Musial Bridge that is expected to include mixed-use development around the stadium that Kroenke would likely be a part of. It might not be as grandiose as Los Angeles, but, hey, we are what we are.
The reality is that now is not the time to panic. Kroenke always had leverage and now could have even more with the Inglewood plan becoming very public in the same week that Nixon will see the fruits of Peacock and Blitz’s labor. All along, everyone knew the only chance we have is to present a plan that will open the eyes of those who make the decisions on relocation requests.
Lookin’ good! Flip through our photo album of NFL cheerleaders.
Admittedly, Kroenke is turning the screws on St. Louis already, making big news in Los Angeles while remaining invisible here. If he has sincere intentions of keeping the team in St. Louis, he has a funny way of showing it. But unless he plans to do as he pleases and the league office be damned, the ball isn’t entirely in his court. And soon we’ll see the strength of the city’s plan to make him play ball.
Of course, there have been those within NFL ownership who wondered whether Kroenke might “go rogue” at some point, so we can’t discount that possibility. There are those who believe he plans to move with or without league approval, knowing he holds the trump card: a solution to the league’s long-standing Los Angeles stadium problem.
Meanwhile, we can only sit back and watch the high-stakes game that Kroenke enjoys playing as he continues to collect real estate and teams. No one, it seems, can top him from having his cake and eating it, too. After all, he’s a billionaire.
znModeratorHey guys. We have a kind of loose rule here that says there is just 1 LA thread per page. I’ve enforced that before by merging threads, so it’s not fair to those guys in those former merged threads if I don’t maintain consistency with that.
So…pretty soon, this gets merged in with the current big active LA discussion thread.
znModeratorPats vs Ravens — dont like either team
Broncos vs Colts — dont like either
Seahawks vs Panthers — dont like either
GB vs Cowboys — dont like the Cowboys.Guess that just leaves the Packers.
I’m kinda “enh” on the Packers.Ah well.
w
vI like the Baltimore Browns. And, the Baltimore Colts. I think GB and Dallas will be a good game and don’t have nothin against either team. Though I agree with conventional wisdom and think that if either GB or Dallas beat Seattle, it would be a big upset.
I am kind of hoping for an all Baltimore AFC final game. Ravens and Colts.
znModeratorBritt, Barksdale, Kendricks head list of Rams’ free agents
By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot…cle_741e8721-6870-5d2d-8dcf-122dc97c011d.html
During the just completed season, the Rams addressed the contract status of their two Pro Bowlers from 2013, defensive end Robert Quinn and punter Johnny Hekker.
Both signed long-term extensions. Quinn, who repeated as a Pro Bowler this season, is now under contract through 2019; Hekker is under contract through 2020.
Those are two important pieces of the puzzle to have in place, but work remains to be done in terms of deciding what to do about pending free agents. The Rams have 14 players scheduled for various forms of free agency this offseason, including eight players scheduled for unrestricted free agency.
The unrestricted group includes three starters in wide receiver Kenny Britt, tight end Lance Kendricks and right tackle Joe Barksdale. The unrestricted list also includes backup quarterback Shaun Hill, who started eight games as a result of Sam Bradford’s season-ending knee injury.
The free agency period begins March 10, and at that time unrestricted players can sign elsewhere with no strings attached. Until then, only the Rams can legally negotiate with their unrestricted free agents, although it’s safe to assume the agents for those players will get a feel for the outside market between now and March.
Currently there is nothing resembling serious negotiations taking place with any of those players, but that’s not unusual. If a pending free agent isn’t re-signed by the end of the season, the process normally plays out until late February or early March.
Obviously, if Britt, Kendricks or Barksdale leaves, that creates more holes for the Rams to fill besides the obvious needs at quarterback and the interior of the offensive line. The same holds true for Hill in terms of piecing together the quarterback picture.
Britt, Kendricks and Barksdale would all seem to be priorities for the Rams, particularly if the price is right. Britt revived his career by grabbing a career-high 48 passes this season for a team-high 748 yards and a team-high 15.6 yards per catch.
“I definitely want to come back here,” Britt said. “This is a young team. It’s a great young team. They’ve just scratched the surface on what their abilities could be. They’re growing each day, and they’re growing each year.
“I’ve only been here one year, so to see how they’ve grown from OTAs to now is just amazing. So I want to see ’em grow even more. I hope I can be a part of that.”
Of all the Rams’ free agents, Britt may be the least likely to bolt to the highest bidder because of his relationship with coach Jeff Fisher.
As a Ram, Britt has avoided the off-field issues that plagued his career at Tennessee. And in the three seasons he played for the Titans without Fisher, his career nose-dived, in part because of injury.
With the uncertainty of when Brian Quick will return following shoulder surgery — and it may not be until training camp — wide receiver becomes a much more prominent need if Britt signs elsewhere.
At tight end, Kendricks is 1A at the position because of the presence of Jared Cook. But Kendricks has a different style of game than Cook as an all-around player who can catch passes, block on the line and line up in the backfield. Cook is more of a pass-catching specialist. And with Cook around, that means fewer passes in general thrown at Kendricks.
“I like the team,” Kendricks said. “I like the coaches. I like the players. So for me, there’s no hurry to leave. There’s no, you know, ‘I have to get out of here.’ I don’t dread being here. I love being here.
“Obviously, I would want more of a passing role, but that comes with time and just kinda getting everybody in sync. We’ve gotta figure out where everybody fits (on offense). I think once we figure that out, we’ll be a really, really hard team to beat.”
But if another team comes along and promises Kendricks more of a passing role, he could be tempted to leave.
As for Barksdale, after being released by Oakland in 2012, he has flourished in St. Louis as a starting right tackle in 2013 and ’14. He wasn’t as consistent this season, but if the money’s right it’s hard to see the Rams just letting him walk after investing three seasons in his development.
Among the team’s restricted free agents, the two names that stand out are starting free safety Rodney McLeod and fullback and tight end Cory Harkey. Both entered the league as undrafted rookies, meaning the Rams get no draft-pick compensation if they make a minimum qualifying offer and McLeod or Harkey gets an outside offer that the Rams decide not to match.
znModeratorKroenke shows his hand
By Bernie Miklasz
By divulging plans to team with an investment firm to build an 80,000-seat football stadium at the old Hollywood Park location near Los Angeles, Rams owner Stan Kroenke has at least one foot out the door as he plots his attempt to get away from St. Louis.
From a business and strategy standpoint, this was a bold move by Kroenke. Oh, turning the Rams into a hopelessly emaciated lame-duck franchise for 2015 isn’t Kroenke’s concern. His bull-rush move for the California gold is horrible for ticket sales and sponsorships in St. Louis.
But isn’t that the point? Kroenke can continue to choke off fan interest in St. Louis, do everything possible to enrage the fan base — and then use the declining support as part of the case for moving the team.
Kroenke’s decision to jump the line and great ahead of the Raiders and the Chargers to plant a flag in Los Angeles for a potential 2016 move is all about Kroenke, all about LA, all about staking a claim in a lucrative market.
In theory this puts more pressure on St. Louis to come up with a viable stadium plan — but that also assumes that Kroenke is interested in staying here. And he isn’t. At least Kroenke has once and for all declared his true intentions.
The signs have been there all along. Kroenke has refused to enter into any type of stadium negotiations here. He won’t take a meeting with Gov. Jay Nixon, or the St. Louis stadium task force leaders Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz. But he’s obviously made time to have multiple meetings with parties in LA. Kroenke remains elusive in St. Louis for a reason: He mentally checked out of St. Louis and has turned his attention to working on the deal in Los Angeles.
I wonder: How does that go over at the NFL headquarters? The NFL has rules on relocation. As a refresher, here are some key excerpts:
“Because League policy favors stable team-community relations, clubs are obligated to work diligently and in good faith to obtain and to maintain suitable stadium facilities in their home territories, and to operate in a manner that maximizes fan support in their current home community…”
And this: “No club has an ‘entitlement’ to relocate simply because it perceives an opportunity for enhanced club revenues in another location. Indeed, League traditions disfavor relocations if a club has been well-supported and financially successful and is expected to remain so.”
Kroenke hasn’t come close to fulfilling those obligations. And having a chance to make more money in another market doesn’t justify moving a franchise.
As for the matter of support in St. Louis …
Despite being subjected to mostly hideous football through the years – only 16 winning records in 48 NFL seasons – St. Louis fans still filled the Edward Jones Dome to 88 percent capacity in 2014 as the Rams lurched to their 11th consecutive non-winning season.
And if Peacock, Blitz and Nixon come up with a viable plan for a new stadium — one that would satisfy league standards, greatly enhance the Rams’ revenue and presumably engender NFL support — then how could the league possibly green-light a Kroenke move to Los Angeles?
Well, there are two intertwined reasons:
1. The NFL relocation rules are worth less than the printer paper that spits them out, and the league will brazenly discard its own bylaws to accommodate Kroenke. The league already has granted Kroenke one significant favor by allowing him to continue to violate the NFL rules preventing cross ownership. Kroenke has had four years to divest his ownership of the NBA Denver Nuggets and NHL Colorado Avalanche, but he’s yet to comply with league rules.
2. The NFL could decide that Kroenke represents its best opportunity to set up shop in Los Angeles. He checks off several important boxes. He has the money and the willingness to build his own stadium there. He has the real estate to house the project. He has an NFL team to anchor the Los Angeles stadium complex. The situation in Los Angeles has been a mess for 20 years, leaving a trail of flimsy stadium plans and promises. Kroenke’s all-encompassing commitment provides a neat, tidy package that can solve the NFL’s longstanding LA problem.
Kroenke isn’t popular with the NFL or its owners, but he can deliver a Los Angeles solution. The NFL’s second-wealthiest owner is throwing down to go big into Los Angeles. With no other credible Los Angeles plans on the table, does the NFL have the stomach (and integrity) to cut Kroenke at the knees? Call me skeptical.
But it may not be so simple.
The NFL has been steadfast in its desire to control the Los Angeles market. The league has set up a process for going back into Los Angeles, and other owners have complied with the league’s wishes to proceed in an orderly fashion. Kroenke’s decision to go rogue could backfire on him.
According to multiple NFL sources, Kroenke’s decision to go public with his Los Angeles bid caught the NFL off guard. The league wasn’t happy with being ambushed by Monday’s big news.
The NFL already has cut Kroenke a break on cross ownership. Now the league has been put in position of having to surrender the lucrative Los Angeles market to Kroenke at a time when other teams (Raiders, Chargers) have more of a case for moving there.
How many times can one owner grab for the money and his additional self enrichment before the NFL takes a strong stand?
I don’t have the answer. I guess we’ll find out.
In the meantime, Peacock, Blitz and Nixon can’t afford to be rattled or distracted by Kroenke’s power play. In my conversations with NFL people Monday, one message resonated: Stay the course, St. Louis. Keep working on that stadium plan. Make sure that it’s real and viable and will result in a new stadium here.
Get the stadium going. It’s the best plan — the best protection — that St. Louis can produce. A new stadium would reduce support for Kroenke. A new stadium would turn the NFL into an ally. A commitment to a new stadium could keep the Rams here. But if the Rams should go, a new stadium could attract another NFL franchise.
From the beginning, Peacock’s strategy has been to make a direct appeal to the NFL. Peacock hasn’t been able to get Kroenke to the table, so Peacock has focused on bringing the NFL into the loop and keeping the league fully updated on the stadium initiative here.
Peacock has maintained steady contact with Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFL executive VP Eric Grubman and several NFL owners. And league sources insist that the NFL is encouraging Peacock to keep doing what he’s doing. Why? Even if the Rams defect, Peacock’s approach is geared to gaining the NFL’s support to put St. Louis in line to land another franchise.
A new stadium – especially one that benefits Kroenke – would set off a contentious debate locally. The plans for funding a new St. Louis stadium haven’t been divulged, let alone approved. And the plan could be shouted down, and get blown up.
We have some excruciating decisions to make here.
This region could decide to stand on principle by refusing to capitulate (again) to NFL greed.
Of course, that would mean losing the Rams and would probably foreclose on the possibility of acquiring another NFL franchise. And given all of the atrocious football and awful ownership that’s challenged the loyalty and patience of even the most devoted fans, who could blame our town for collectively rising up and declaring:
THAT’S ENOUGH.
NO MORE.
JUST LEAVE US ALONE.
Of course, that declaration of NFL independence comes with repercussions.
Namely: No more NFL. As in … ever.
We’re quickly approaching the crossroads.
Are we in or out? It’s just about time to make that decision.
znModeratorHave a good new year Matt. Brighter things are ahead, I;m sure.
znModeratorRams’ stadium situation at a glance
The LA Times reported Monday that Rams owner Stan Kroenke plans to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, Calif., without any public funding. Kroenke, who bought 60 acres in Inglewood a year ago, has joined forces with the owners of the 300-acre Hollywood Park site, Stockbridge Capital Group.
A look at where things stand:
KEY DATES
• Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s two-man task force of Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz have a Jan. 28 deadline to submit a report on a new stadium proposal – though the report is expected much sooner. Peacock traveled to New York in late November to show NFL executives preliminary plans for a stadium near the Mississippi River, north of the Gateway Arch.
• Also by Jan. 28, the Rams must decide if they are going to a year-to-year lease at the Edward Jones Dome.
• Feb. 15 was the date for the Rams to file any intent to relocate, but the NFL already has stated that no team relocation to Los Angeles will take place for the 2015 season.
HOW MUCH WOULD AN LA STADIUM COST?
The new Minnesota stadium will end up costing $1.1 billion. The shared stadium (with the Giants and Jets) in New Jersey cost $1.4 billion four years ago. Jerry Jones’ playpen in Dallas cost $1.3 billion five years ago. The cost of building an NFL stadium never goes down, so building one in an expensive market such as LA figures to cost more than $1.5 billion. In addition, the relocation fee could be upward of $1 billion.
THE RELOCATION GUIDELINES
The NFL’s relocation guidelines were put together and approved by league owners in an effort to control the movement of teams from one city to another. They specifically state that an owner cannot move a team simply to enrich himself or herself, and that a move can only be considered after all efforts to solve the stadium situation have been exhausted. Those efforts include potentially calling in the league to help rectify a stalemate situation. Many observers don’t feel Kroenke has come even close to meeting those relocation guidelines. But in a league that has been known to occasionally twist its own rules to suit its needs, how strongly will league owners abide by these guidelines?
SEEKING APPROVAL
For a franchise to relocate, three-quarters of the NFL owners must vote for approval. But how successful will Kroenke be in convincing 24 of the 32 owners to vote in favor of relocation? Kroenke is not very engaged in league affairs. Some league insiders and some respected national football pundits don’t think Kroenke is particularly well-liked by many of his fellow owners. The league bent the cross-ownership rules in his favor in 2010 when he gained controlling interest of the Rams. He ruffled some feathers earlier this fall in the way he went about getting an extension on meeting cross-ownership guidelines. Although he got enough “yes” votes on the cross-ownership extension, interestingly it wouldn’t have been enough “yes” votes to meet the 3/4 majority needed to relocate.
— Compiled by Jim Thomas
znModeratorDunno if this has been posted:
Former Anheuser-Busch executive Dave Peacock and Clayton attorney Bob Blitz, heads of the St. Louis stadium task force, have released a statement in response to news Rams owner Stan Kroenke plans to build a new stadium Inglewood, Calif….see link
w
v“The news today is another reminder of how much competition there can be for National Football League franchises and projects that include NFL stadiums, but it does not change our timeline or approach. It is important to remember this will be a long-term process, but one that the State of Missouri and the St. Louis region are fully pledged to seeing through. We are ready to demonstrate our commitment to keeping the NFL here, and to continue to illustrate why St. Louis has been and will always be a strong NFL market. We will present a plan to Governor Nixon this Friday as scheduled, and we expect that it will meet his criteria, thereby allowing us to share our vision with the public shortly thereafter. In the meantime, we will continue to have discussions with the NFL, as well as Rams leadership.”
In November, Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Peacock and Blitz to develop plans for a new outdoor stadium on the St. Louis riverfront, as well as ways to finance it.
Peacock’s and Blitz’s statement Monday falls in line with similar comments made by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.
“We’re committed to keeping an NFL franchise in STL because they have value,” Slay tweeted. “I am confident that Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz, working within Gov Nixon’s parameters, can come up with a viable plan to do that.”
Slay’s chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, also said the threat of a land deal in Inglewood shouldn’t change anything related Missouri’s expected proposal.
“The parameters the governor laid out were spot-on,” Rainford told The Post-Dispatch. “It doesn’t make sense to take money away from other important needs or to raise taxes or raise fees.”
znModeratorfrom off the net
==
RamUK
The NFL is not rigged! This argument makes zero sense on any level.
Something called the availability heuristic means we recall events that stand out and are meaningful to us more easily, hence we forget things that do not.
This is worsened by confirmation bias in which we look for things that affirm what we already believe, hence people forgetting the call that went against Dallas previously that was equally bad. And the overturning of the 1st down was dubious in my opinion. Did he make it? Probably, but it was far from conclusive.
As another poster pointed out where was this favoritism for the last 20+ years when Dallas were sucking?
For it to be true the owners would have to approve it and there is zero likelihood of other teams doing that.
It also suggests not only is every single official corrupt, but that they can all keep a secret that would crush the NFL.
That story would make anybody who broke it an instant celebrity and probably very wealthy.
The PI call was just a blown call, not a conspiracy that would make Watergate look like child’s play.
Saying Dallas doing well in the play offs is no more evidence of a fraud of biblical proportions being perpetrated than me saying I’d like more money means I’m planning a raid on Fort Knox.
I feel gutted for Detroit and the poor officiating needs rectifying, but come on people, let’s drop the schoolboy notions because we’re pizzed.
January 5, 2015 at 2:28 pm in reply to: who are the best 6 OLs this year & how were they built? #15563znModeratorI think the Patriots have always had very good offensive lines. Gave up only 22 sacks this season. Here is their starting five:
New England
LT N.Solder 1st round pick 2011, 17th overall
LG D.Connolly UDFA 2005 by Jacksonville
C B.Stork 4th round pick 2014, 105th overall
RG R.Wendell UDFA 2008 by New England
RT S.Vollmer 2nd round pick 2009, 58th overallThanks, that’s good work.
The problem with saying anything about the Patz OL in 2014 is that they shifted it constantly, due to injuries and just plain experimental shuffling trying to find the best line-up.
I don’t say this to “argue,” I just think it’s interesting in its own right.
The Patz played 10 different OL combinations in 2014, and started 9 different players.
znModeratorfrom off the net
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alyoshamucci
Carden had a record breaking day in his bowl game against the best cover corner in the nation and one of the top defensive backfields overall.
He threw on time, he threw while disrupted. He threw running, and he took hits (Fowler had a huge game against their O line).
He trusted his receivers to make plays, took chances, and recovered from a pick 6 showing ZERO affect on his mental gameplan.
^^^^ That’s all I need. I hope his measurable drop him to round 2 and we can STEAL him. But I’m all in on him being a great fit for our franchise. Especially if he gets a year to relax and learn.
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Mariota looked reallllllllly good. He is the obvious 1 overall. He threw with poise from many positions. He is also just sooooo athletic it’s scary.
He still has advantages at this level that will not exist in the pros. The tempo keeps the defense exhausted so they have a real system advantage there. He gets to live one step ahead of a relatively confused and winded opponent.
That said, he’s still the 1 overall. He deserves it, he works hard, and throws a gorgeous ball.
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Winston actually “Quarterbacked” better. He used more head movement, and threw with better anticipation of the field than Mariota did. Reminded me why I held him in such high esteem before he started his boneheaded mistake filled year. If he wasn’t a knucklehead I’d draft him over Mariota, but being a knucklehead is something you have to grow out of, and that doesn’t happen overnight.
All 3 of these guys threw one baaaad ball and got it picked. All 3 guys recovered and kept pushing.
znModeratorRefs give Cowboys a gift with pass interference no-call
We’ll have to wait until after the game to find out what on earth Morelli was thinking when he called off the penalty. But he gave the Cowboys a huge gift in the fourth quarter of a close playoff game.
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Referee Pete Morelli explains controversial non-call in Lions-CowboysMike Florio
With three wild-card games that lacked controversy, the last game of the weekend had enough for all four, and then some. After the Cowboys-Lions game, referee Pete Morelli explained the decision to pick up the flag in what appeared to be an obvious case of pass interference in a key moment as Detroit was driving in Dallas territory with a 20-17 lead.
On third and one, Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens appeared to interfere with Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The flag was thrown, the foul was called, and then it all just went away.
“The back judge threw his flag for defensive pass interference,” Morelli told pool reporter Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. “We got information from another official from a different angle that thought the contact was minimal and didn’t warrant pass interference. He thought it was face guarding.”
Who thought it was face guarding?
“The head lineman,” Morelli said.
Asked what Morelli saw, he said, “It’s not my responsibility. I’m a hundred miles away.”
Morelli pointed out that face guarding, which happens when a defender uses his arms to deliberately obstruct the receiver’s ability to see the ball, isn’t a foul in the NFL.
“It is a penalty in college but not professional football,” Morelli said.
Asked whether he should have waited to announce the call until the head linesman had a chance to chime in, Morelli said, “Probably, yes. . . . The information came and then the officials got together a little bit later, after it was given to me, the first information. It would have probably been smoother if we got together.”
Morelli said the head linesman had the better view of the play. Regardless, replays showed that Hitchens did more than face guard Pettigrew. Some have suggested that Pettigrew committed interference of his own. Either way, a mistake was made — and the mistake made by Morelli in announcing the call before wiping it out compounded the first one.
Coincidentally, NFL V.P. of officiating Dean Blandino will be a guest on the first PFT Live radio show on Monday. The play probably will be discussed. A little.
znModeratorRefs give Cowboys a gift with pass interference no-call
by Michael David Smith
With the Lions facing third-and-1 at midfield in the fourth quarter today in Dallas, Matthew Stafford threw a pass to tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The pass fell incomplete, but the officials called pass interference, giving the Lions a first down.
And then something bizarre happened: Referee Pete Morelli, who announced the pass interference call, didn’t enforce it. He signaled fourth down and didn’t explain why he was waving off the penalty on the Cowboys.
It was obviously pass interference (and Pettigrew also had his jersey grabbed on the play, so it should have been defensive holding if it weren’t pass interference), but for some reason there was no penalty, and the Lions punted on fourth down.
Former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira, working the game for FOX, said he had never seen anything like it.
“It is clearly pass interference,” Pereira said. “I strongly believe that was not a good pickup of a flag.”
We’ll have to wait until after the game to find out what on earth Morelli was thinking when he called off the penalty. But he gave the Cowboys a huge gift in the fourth quarter of a close playoff game.
znModeratorSo do you think this means that Fisher and Harbaugh took over already rising teams and that Carroll came in when the team was at rock bottom?
Or do you think Carroll is an egomaniac and just blew it up to reform it in his own image?
Or, is the real question how many of those 8 pre-Fisher Rams will still be on the roster in two years?I think it’s approach. Carrol tore up his team and started over.
Harbaugh just plain inherited a good team. Compare his list to Fisher’s list. Harbaugh’s list is mostly vets. Fisher’s isn’t.
I think Fisher intended to build around a core of inherited players. They were young, so he worked with them.
So to me that’s 3 different situations combined with 3 different approaches.
Back to Fisher. He did identify a core he liked, though at the same time, interestingly, there’s a list of Rams players he cut who are still contributing, including a few starters. Not even talking about the free agents they let walk like Gibson, Amendola, Mikkel, C.Dahl and Jackson. Talking about cuts, guys he got rid of before they were free agents: Bajema, Bannan, Fletcher, Gordy, Hoomanawanui, Kehl, Salas, Stewart. A lot of those are role players and situational guys and depth, but they’re still in the league.
January 4, 2015 at 12:03 pm in reply to: who are the best 6 OLs this year & how were they built? #15503znModeratorThat is all for us to disagree. We have our opinions.
Yeah there are lots of different views on this kind of thing.
I look forward to PFF’s annual OL rankings. I don’t think they’re definitive, but IMO they’re always interesting.
znModeratorThe ram players played hard for Spags.
Thats something that gets overlooked sometimes.Sometimes Owners just want to recharge
the fanbase. Bringing in a new Head Coach
can do that, to state the obvious.w
vYeah, even Fisher noticed the “play hard” thing. He said it immediately when he went public after being hired. Said that the 2011 injuries were “horrific” (direct quote) and said the team never quit.
I think that SK just wanted his guy, and I doubt Spags would have filled the bill for him. Who knows what they would have done and where they would have gone if Spags had stayed…either way I had no problem with SK putting his own guy in. Might as well.
You know one small thing Spags and Fisher had in common? Spag’s great Giants superbowl defense was built around the DL, and his DL coach was Mike Waufle. Waufle then comes to the Rams when Fisher gets hired. Interesting, hunh.
znModeratorGreat video.
znModeratorApparently Spags did a great job with that group. I didnt know
he had that job. I wonder if he’ll ever be a head coach again.Do you like Fisher better as a coach or Spags ?
Spags did a great job–they fixed the entire secondary while playing week to week. Stewart even played well enough to start. Baltimore, I think, has a history of fixing things on the move. So for example, their superbowl year, they shifted the OL around just before the playoffs, and it paid off. I don’t think I have seen anyone do that before.
Of the 2, JF and SS, I like Fisher better. In comparison, Spags made too many “first time head coach” mistakes.
I think for sure Spags will be a coordinator again, and yes sooner or later a head coach. As you know, I think most anti-Spags stuff comes from just overlooking the incredible, dire effect the 2011 injuries had on everything. Plus it followed doing well in 2010. If there’s one thing that riles fans up, it’s raising their expectations and then stumbling. It brings out the “you are dead to me” mode in a lot of fans.
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