The Rams had the significant Good Fortune to draft Aaron Donald at #13. They didn’t just get a standard-issue Hall of Fame great player. They got one of the best players who ever lived in a position to affect every down. Run or pass, Donald is a factor. That makes him more important than Jalen Ramsey. Donald is SO dominant that the Bengals changed their offensive strategy away from their strength as an offense, away from the very thing that got them to the Super Bowl in the first place. Donald is SO good that he wrecked the Bengals before anybody even arrived at the stadium. So that’s just Good Fortune, and you can’t count on the Rams doing that again.

But what we can count on, imo, is that the Rams will continue to make all the other decisions that got a lot of blue chip and red chip players into the squad. Drafting, UDFA, trades, and FA. They even have had the wisdom to let some very good players go when they had opportunities that created value. Remember this is a team that traded Quinn and Woods. They parted ways with Talib, Peters, Watkins, Suh, T. Johnson, EJ Gaines, J. Johnson, Ogletree, and so on. My point is that the Rams have churned the roster in addition to drafting well. They’ve clearly got a handle on drafting late, and maximizing compensatory picks, and putting the right pieces together. The track record of roster building has been consistently good for long enough that we know they didn’t just get lucky. They maybe got a little “lucky” with Donald. But the rest of the wheeling and dealing has just been consistently good. At this point, they have earned my trust. I think they can keep that window open quite a while. (I don’t understand the Robinson over Woods move, but I have a feeling I will understand it by Week 10).

Looks to me like these guys know what they are doing.

THREAD. Today, the New York Times published one of its most dishonest, biased, and dangerous pro-police articles that I have ever read. What's happening at the NYT is important, so I try my best to explain below why it’s so harmful.

— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) June 4, 2022

You’re not safe at school.
Not safe at a hospital. Not safe in a grocery store. Not safe in a mall.

But there are no guns allowed at the NRA meetings. Remember that. https://t.co/TZZi2tQ76H

— jinx, the nowhere queen (@PunishedJinx) June 2, 2022

The Donald thing is weird.

I can understand a man wanting to retire when he has reached the summit. But if he wanted to do that, he would just do that.

This whole story doesn’t ring true to me. Aaron Donald is genuinely driven. He’s the kind of guy who would have done this for $52,000 a year, if that was the going rate.

He already HAS money. He cannot raise his standard of living with a bigger contract than he already has. So…why would he say he’s thinking about retirement? If he really was, there would be signs of that. But there are no signs he is actually “tired” of the grind, etc. He’s training right now.

The whole thing just seems transparently scripted by his agent.

And I don’t care that he wants more money. He is arguably the best football player this century. A case more grand than that can be made for him. So pay him.

But he isn’t retiring. That’s not real.

The Rams marketing branch is not shy. Glitzy, seaside mansions set up to watch other teams draft players. Hollywood movie trailers. And now they are reminding their tenants who the landlord is.

🗣 SAN DIEGO TAP IN!

📍 New stop added to the Trophy Tour this Sunday!

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) May 17, 2022

wv wrote:

Well, they still have Jimmy G, and who knows, they might keep him as insurance. At any rate, the Trey Lance thing is interesting.   The media have practically all decided he is a bust.   Based on a few hints here and there about him ‘not being ready.’    I dunno.   What if he ‘is’ an upgrade over Jimmy G?   Imagine that beastly 49er team we saw last year, with a slight upgrade at QB. The 49ers are a kind of wild-card.   All depends on Trey.

The “Trey is maybe not working out” narrative is pretty sketchy, from what I gather from NoCal radio. And it’s based on what “insiders” were saying last season. All I’m hearing is a report that coaches were somewhat disappointed in his development last season. There were no claims made as to whether it was learning the playbook, execution, or whatever. But it’s a bit premature to bury his prospects, imo.

Furthermore, the 9ers tried to trade Garappolo, or at least were reported to be interested in doing so, but did not get their price. If that is true, then the 9ers felt that at a certain price (2 second-rd picks or more is what they allegedly wanted), they would have taken a deal, saved some cap space, and proceeded with Lance. That, at least, speaks to a willingness to go with Lance this year. They wouldn’t do that without a level of confidence. They were in the NFC Championship last year, and made it to the SB before with JimmyG in the past. Why would they deliberately make themselves worse? You don’t turn the keys over to an unqualified driver when your team is on the cusp.

So I think the Lance will have to beat out JG straight up, or at least give the coaches reason to think he’s on the road to eclipsing JG, or else they keep Garappolo another year.

Either way, the 9ers should not be ranked at 24. IMO, they are closer to #10 than they are to #24.

But let’s just tee it up, and find out.

wv wrote:

That cant be real.  Rogers did not really type that.

I think it would have made legitimate news media within an hour or two if this was real. People who fill the sports airwaves 24 hours a day have to talk about something, and this would have been mentioned.

wv wrote:

49ers are ranked 24? WTF are they smoking?

Yeah. They are better than that, even if they go with Trey Lance, and he isn’t any good.

Addendum 2: Some people claim this is all bogus. Forgery of some kind.

Anyway, how ’bout those Rams?

And now…oh, no…Rodgers has circled the Rams game on his calendar.

WHAT🤯🤯🤯 #Packers QB Aaron Rodgers doesn’t hold back in response to Kelly Stafford, wife of #Rams and former #Lions QB Matt Stafford. 😳

Who’s side are you on?🤔 pic.twitter.com/iCNrG6bhP7

— NFC North News (@NFCNorthNewss) May 17, 2022