Ian Rapoport on 101ESPN (notes)

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Medium-sized Lebowski
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The Dude
[rp3]http://icestream.dev-cms.com:8000/stl/2012/05/05182012135116.mp3[/rp3]
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Notes: Not verbatim. The interview's only 8 minutes long, and this is the gist.

(Why do you think Fisher regards this as something other than a rebuild?)
First, it's crazy how many new starters they're going to have. They lost 54% of the old starters. I think the term "rebuilding" refers to a long-term project though. I don't think anyone in this Organization is seeing it like this. They have a QB who has a chance to be dynamic, and some units that have a chance to be as good as any. I think this is a team that could jump up and make the playoffs.

(If it's not rebuilding, what is it?)
You could call it re-tooling. It's really a team that needs depth, but the talent is really not too bad. Not as bad as last record was.

(Which rookies will have the biggest impact?)
I think Janoris Jenkins. If he is what they say he is. I really think he's headed in the right direction, I think he means it, and I think he wants to be good. Impossible to tell, but that year at N Alabama helped, with the humbling aspect of that. He looks smooth, incredibly athletic, covered some of the best receivers in the SCC. If you put him across the field from Finnegan, all of a sudden it's a difficult assignment for a quarterback.

(People have been trying to dismiss Jackson for years. What do you expect out of him?)
A lot. I don't know why people would overlook him. I guess they haven't been hit by him. He's a every-down work-horse type runningback. He's getting up there in age, but he doesn't look like it. One thing the Rams have done is maybe take him off the field once in a while for Pead, and that could make a difference.

(About the 49ers)
I mean, it looks impressive on paper with the wide receivers they've added, but Alex Smith better get them the ball if they want to succeed. I guess it looks good, but that's still a power running football team. I think Smith can manage the offense, and keep them in good down-n-distance, that's about as good as he's gonna get. They didn't really let him throw downfield much, and that's not a good thing. You know they don't have confidence in him with how little they let him throw. I think they'll let him manage the team, and you could do worse than that. Really.