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http://www.rams-news.com/jeff-gordons-rams-chat-highlights-feb-14/
Gordon’s Chat Highlights
—I see the Rams sliding down, not far, and still taking the offensive tackles. The Rams spent a high pick on Austin, a good pick on Bailey and huge money on Cook. And let’s not forget and the time and money invested in Quick. It’s time for those guys to play well. The Rams need to spend their high picks on other needs.
—Delmas? Fiery guy, big hitter, noisy in the field — but he has bad knees. He had to stay off the practice field much of last season.
—Tremendous talent? On the Rams? There are some guys with some potential, but there is not much in the way of proven playmakers. The one guy who did stand out, Stacy, seems fine as the lead back. So far the Rams have shown no inclination to add a veteran RB.
—If the Rams opt to bank on their veteran offensive linemen this season, that could be a huge mistake. Lots of battered bodies there, led by Long. The Rams need to look long and hard at their front wall for ’14.
—IF the Rams upgrade their secondary, the team could certainly be a Top 10 team. As James Laurinaitis noted yesterday, the Rams generated lots of pressure with basic pass rushes. Mix in more blitzing and the Rams can have fun. But the Rams can’t blitz a lot unless they fix the secondary. The young corners need to improve and this team needs a big upgrade at safety and an upgrade at corner as well.
—55-45 that Rams Stay in St.Louis? That sounds about right. I was always more optimistic than most, but the current political/economic environment here is not conducive to getting a state-of-the-art stadium built.
—The Rams have spent hour after hour with Quick, day after day after day after day. He has put the work in, but at some point you are either an instinctive offensive threat or you are not. Look at how Austin and Bailey developed on the fly last season. It appears they two have a real feel for the game.
—The Rams have huge needs all over the field. Clowney would be a luxury with the No. 2 pick. That would create addition need to upgrade other positions in free agency. And that scenario would create the need to ditch some veterans Fisher likes.
—Nothing yet, but Finnegan is popular with Fisher. But he is also the most obvious target for at least a pay reduction, as CBSSports.com noted: “Finnegan has been a liability in pass coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, quarterbacks had a perfect 158.3 passing rating and were completing 84.2 percent of passes (16 completions in 19 attempts) against Finnegan until he injured his hamstring in the Rams’ fourth game of the season. Now that Finnegan has returned to action, he has eight games to prove the Rams didn’t make a mistake in signing him to a five-year, $50 million contract in free agency last year. Three million of Finnegan’s $9 million 2014 salary is in a guaranteed third-day-of-the-league-year (March 13) roster bonus. The Rams will still pick up $4 million in cap room by releasing him despite the roster-bonus guarantee. Since Finnegan’s guarantee has an offset, the Rams would recoup money and gain additional cap room if he played for another team in 2014.”
—Bortles at #2? The Rams want to win this season. Starting over with a rookie QB from a middling program in the NFC West is not a recipe for success in 2014.
—If the Rams play with more discipline this season, they will get more slack. If they out there yammering and waving after every play, the officials will keep throwing flags for everything. If they play like renegades, they will get treated like renegades.
—I would just let Wells go. Too many injuries. Due to make $5.5 million with a $1 million bonus. Looks like a $4.5 million cap savings to cut him. Dahl has a $4 million cap number. I might try to clip a million off that. He is a run blocker and you can’t ditch everybody. Finnegan has a $6 million salary, $3 million roster bonus and a $1 million bonus. I might keep him for his salary minus the roster bonus rather than just lose him completely while taking a big cap hit.
—Sign Some Ex-Saints? That would not be a surprise. Williams loves guys who played well for him. That was really obvious during his introductory news conference.
—The Rams will have multiple bidders for that pick. They won’t all call the Rams’ bluff. When teams fall in love with a guy, they obsess about that guy. They stalk that guy. They HAVE TO HAVE THAT GUY. That is why I believe the Rams will do just fine with one trade down, maybe two.
Read Complete Gordon Chat
Gordon’s Chat Highlights
—I see the Rams sliding down, not far, and still taking the offensive tackles. The Rams spent a high pick on Austin, a good pick on Bailey and huge money on Cook. And let’s not forget and the time and money invested in Quick. It’s time for those guys to play well. The Rams need to spend their high picks on other needs.
—Delmas? Fiery guy, big hitter, noisy in the field — but he has bad knees. He had to stay off the practice field much of last season.
—Tremendous talent? On the Rams? There are some guys with some potential, but there is not much in the way of proven playmakers. The one guy who did stand out, Stacy, seems fine as the lead back. So far the Rams have shown no inclination to add a veteran RB.
—If the Rams opt to bank on their veteran offensive linemen this season, that could be a huge mistake. Lots of battered bodies there, led by Long. The Rams need to look long and hard at their front wall for ’14.
—IF the Rams upgrade their secondary, the team could certainly be a Top 10 team. As James Laurinaitis noted yesterday, the Rams generated lots of pressure with basic pass rushes. Mix in more blitzing and the Rams can have fun. But the Rams can’t blitz a lot unless they fix the secondary. The young corners need to improve and this team needs a big upgrade at safety and an upgrade at corner as well.
—55-45 that Rams Stay in St.Louis? That sounds about right. I was always more optimistic than most, but the current political/economic environment here is not conducive to getting a state-of-the-art stadium built.
—The Rams have spent hour after hour with Quick, day after day after day after day. He has put the work in, but at some point you are either an instinctive offensive threat or you are not. Look at how Austin and Bailey developed on the fly last season. It appears they two have a real feel for the game.
—The Rams have huge needs all over the field. Clowney would be a luxury with the No. 2 pick. That would create addition need to upgrade other positions in free agency. And that scenario would create the need to ditch some veterans Fisher likes.
—Nothing yet, but Finnegan is popular with Fisher. But he is also the most obvious target for at least a pay reduction, as CBSSports.com noted: “Finnegan has been a liability in pass coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, quarterbacks had a perfect 158.3 passing rating and were completing 84.2 percent of passes (16 completions in 19 attempts) against Finnegan until he injured his hamstring in the Rams’ fourth game of the season. Now that Finnegan has returned to action, he has eight games to prove the Rams didn’t make a mistake in signing him to a five-year, $50 million contract in free agency last year. Three million of Finnegan’s $9 million 2014 salary is in a guaranteed third-day-of-the-league-year (March 13) roster bonus. The Rams will still pick up $4 million in cap room by releasing him despite the roster-bonus guarantee. Since Finnegan’s guarantee has an offset, the Rams would recoup money and gain additional cap room if he played for another team in 2014.”
—Bortles at #2? The Rams want to win this season. Starting over with a rookie QB from a middling program in the NFC West is not a recipe for success in 2014.
—If the Rams play with more discipline this season, they will get more slack. If they out there yammering and waving after every play, the officials will keep throwing flags for everything. If they play like renegades, they will get treated like renegades.
—I would just let Wells go. Too many injuries. Due to make $5.5 million with a $1 million bonus. Looks like a $4.5 million cap savings to cut him. Dahl has a $4 million cap number. I might try to clip a million off that. He is a run blocker and you can’t ditch everybody. Finnegan has a $6 million salary, $3 million roster bonus and a $1 million bonus. I might keep him for his salary minus the roster bonus rather than just lose him completely while taking a big cap hit.
—Sign Some Ex-Saints? That would not be a surprise. Williams loves guys who played well for him. That was really obvious during his introductory news conference.
—The Rams will have multiple bidders for that pick. They won’t all call the Rams’ bluff. When teams fall in love with a guy, they obsess about that guy. They stalk that guy. They HAVE TO HAVE THAT GUY. That is why I believe the Rams will do just fine with one trade down, maybe two.
Read Complete Gordon Chat
