Rams chat with Jim Thomas: 11/17/15

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These are selected questions and answers only. To read the whole chat click the link below.
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http://sports.live.stltoday.com/Event/Rams_chat_with_Jim_Thomas_401c0882cd99?Page=0

Rams chat with Jim Thomas: 11/17/15

With all the injuries to the offensive line, who is out there that can come in and help? It seems like we have the same problem year after year with the line. I notice other teams inprove their line(Redskins) with good draft picks. It seems like we can not develop our picks.

At this time of year, there's not a lot out there. You're pretty much stuck with the guys you have. So I would figure Reynolds is the RT with Wichmann and Donnal at guard. The Rams better hope they don't get another tackle hurt. At the end of the day, I still can't figure out why the Rams went with all rookies and didn't try to bring in at least one veteran free agent with starting experience over the offseason..
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can we all agree that Jeff Fischer is not the answer? He's got the Rams to 500 (or thereabouts), but it's pretty clear that as far as he can take them...

It's definitely trending that way. FIsher and Snead did a great job getting this team from horrible to respectable, but just can't seem to take the next step. They've had four offseasons, and plenty of draft picks (thanks in part to the RGIII trade) to get this thing going.

I said at the beginning off the year, this was a no-excuse season for Fisher and Snead, and I still feel that way. But once again, I have to point out that ownership seems to be totally focused on the planned move. I still feel that only a disaster _ 4-12, 5-11 _ might bring about a coaching change.
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Is Fisher killing two birds with one stone in sitting Foles? It calms down everyone with pitchforks over the QB play and knowing his OLine might be swiss cheese protects Foles from getting battered? Sorry, Keenum, run for your life.

Well, Keenum has more mobility than Foles, that's for sure.
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Who is the wr coach? Why does it seem whereas other teams #3 and 4 receivers can catch contested balls not even our 1's 2's or te can?

Ray Sherman is the WRs coach. I will agree that this has not been a good year for this group _ tight ends, backs, and wideouts _ in terms of coming down with those 50-50 balls. You've got to catch some of those to win regularly in the NFL.
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Assume you were at The Ed Sunday, were the Bears fans in the house really that loud?

Pretty loud. And at the end, they were basically the only fans there.
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Did the Rams practice yesterday (Monday) and if so, wasn't crucial time missed in preparing Keenum?

Team doesn't practice on Mondays. I think just about every team uses Mondays for film review, corrections, treatment, recovery, etc. The team practices today.
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How was Welker on Sunday? Did he look like he can get separation and be effective in 3rd down situations (provided the ball is thrown in his vicinity)?

He looked surprisingly good if you ask me. He got open on at least five of those six targets _ two of the incompletions were either errant throws or cases where they QB and WR weren't on the same page.
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I hope Chris Long comes back next year. Our defense seems to be much better wih him in the lineup.

He's more important to this defense than you realize _ not just his pass rush, but his edge-setting ability on run defense. He makes Quinn a better player, too.
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The inability or the feeling of Sneed and Fisher to not add offence line help has been my biggest frustration this year. $5m on Fairly in the off season and then nothing at the deadline!? It seems the asking price for J Thomas was a 1st round pick. Would you have made that trade and moved G Rob over to guard for a year or 2?

I think the Browns wanted more than a first-rounder for JOe Thomas.
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do you think fishers choice to go to Keenum was pushed by the defense showing they can't do it alone against the Bears

I think it was a result of being 31st in total offense, 32nd in passing offense, and not even reaching 20 points in 5 of 9 games _ all losses.
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How would grade J Brown for his first year?

Just OK. He sure didn't play very well against Chicago before the injury.
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Was the mood with the players and coaches after the game more shocked, stunned, or upset?

I would say numbed.
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I know we all like us some Gurley highlights but have we gone too far away from Mason and Cunningham not keeping them involved in the offense. More Cunningham I guess, Mason just seems to not have it this year, physically or has he mentally checked-out with Gurley grabbing the spotlight?

Fisher ideally would like to get Mason 10 carries a game, complementing Gurley. But Mason didn't help his cause by fumbling on his first carry Sunday.
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I just returned from a 7 day cruise so I missed both the Vikes and Bears games. After reading the recaps on NFL &ESPN, it seem once again the major cause is the lack of a true #1 WR to move the chains once our run game is shut down and the lack of a good oline. Do you think we will finally get our true #1 WR in the draft? Treadwell (Ole Miss) or Doctson (TCU) or Thomas(Ohio ST)
we Need 1 of them immediately!


The major cause just could be sub par quarterback play in both games as well as a defensive coaching staff that lost the Xs and Os battle to Bears OC Adam Gase.
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If the Rams decide to cut Foles after this year, what type of a cap hit would they take? I know there was a certain amount of his contract guaranteed, but I don't know how the numbers work out with what he has already been paid. I think I have seen enough of Foles to know he isn't the long or short term answer...

Foles has a $6 million roster bonus due next March that already is guaranteed. in addition, $2 million worth of unamortized signing bonus would count against the cap if he's cut. So it sure doesn't look like that's going to happen.
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I am not making excuses for last Sunday, and I really can't say I know the rules that well, but weren't the first two holding penalties against our RT weak? And wasn't that the case with the penalty for hitting their QB? Also, I thought our QB was it harder in the head and no call? Again, not an excuse, just wondering.

I thought Barron pulled off on his hit on Cutler, so I thought that was a weak call. Also there have been a couple of times this season where Robinson has been flagged for holding where it just looked like he was shoving the player to the ground.
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How much longer does Greg Robinson have to play at his current level to be considered a bust?

I'm not even close to breaking out the "B" word. He has been a pretty good run blocker.
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Uh, oops... Admittedly I am no expert but sure seems like if Todd Gurley encountered difficulty running the ball, it seems like the offensive line's likely the problem for our offensive woes. In fact, situation to me seems to give Foles almost no chance. Not sure benching him is the best move. Wonder of your thought.

Wasn't a strong game by the O-line overall. But if you saw all the misfires by Foles or open receivers he just didn't see, it's hard to say Foles had no chance.
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by Chris Givens - The way things are going, Ill probably catch 3 touchdowns on Sunday!!

That would be fitting, wouldn't it.
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On that first long TD play by the Bears, it looked like our players around the ball were very slow to react, then got out of position, and missed a tackle. Did you see that as well?

Rams blitzed from that side. Once Ayers overran the play, there were only two players left who could make tackles. Jenkins was blocked out of the play downfield; McLeod came in too hot and slipped.
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Think the rams bring back Barrett Jones for OL help?

Doubt it. The Rams need help at guard and tackle, not center.
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On Cutler's long run, it appeared to me that as soon as Cutler reached the second level of the defense, there was a Ram safety (or maybe LB, not sure who it was) bearing down on Cutler who pulled back and didn't hit him. It looked to me like Cutler might have been about to slide, but he didn't and kept running. Did a defender not hit Cutler for fear of being penalized (ala Joyner)?

Could be. $23K is a pretty hefty fine.
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How were the Rams on third down when spags coached?

Not this bad.
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How much does this team remind you of the Steven Jackson Rams and how other teams defend against them?

It's starting to get that feel, although I think Gurley potentially is better than Jackson.
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I understand Coach Fisher promising that QB Foles will eventually be starting again, this season. What's supposed to happen between now and then to make that a possibility? Aside from a season ending injury to QB Keenum, of course.

Maybe he's simply trying to send Foles a message that the team isn't giving up on him, that they just want him to sit back, gather himself, and regroup.
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I think the oline doesn't handle stunts or games well. Am I the only one.

I think you're seeing what we're seeing. And I think we all figured with such a young O-line teams would try such things until the Rams blockers showed they could consistently stop them.
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G rob prob not a bust but would you agree players chosen after him in the draft have outperformed him so far? Or do you think Snead took the best lineman on the board?

i would've taken Matthews or Leewan. Not sure how they're playing.
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I am so tired of watching career backups start at quarterback for the Rams.

Keenum will be the 23rd QB to start at game, in this, the 21st season of the "St. Louis" Rams.
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Why Keenum over Mannion? Mannion has to learn sometime and this team is going nowhere fast.

Mannion's just not ready.
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Will the Rams ever put a true burner back on kickoffs?

It takes more than just speed. Pead and Givens were very fast.
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Okay, Jim. Time for you to talk us off the ledge. Are things going to get any better with this team?

All right. Our first "talk us off the ledge" question of the year. My short answer to your question. . . .I doubt it.
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Are there enough OL bodies on the roster for this weekend or there will be more juggling of active/practice squad players during the week before Sunday?

I expect the Rams to add a lineman to the active roster and a lineman to the practice squad.
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In your opinion is their a franchise qb currently on the rams roster if not whats the best course of action draft or free agent again.

I'm not giving up on any of these QBs, but I can't say at this point that I truly see a franchise QB on the roster right now.
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I got the feeling that maybe Jeff was trying to send a message to the team with the QB change?? When he said he had talked to the three QBs and they understood the reason for the change and Nick would be back under center sometime later this year. Did you get that at all?

Yeah, the message is that the offense has to do better. I think benching a player _ especially at QB _ always gets everyone's attention.
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Some short good video of Keenum in his two preseason games with the Rams on YouTube.www.youtube.com and www.youtube.com

Thanks for offering this
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Why didn't the Rams re-sign Joe Barksdale? I understand they had a set amount they weren't going to go over but he ended up signing with SD for a little over a million a year. Did the Rams REALLY think he wasn't worth at least that much?

I always thought it was one of those deals where the Rams were willing to let him test the FA waters but I'd always thought they'd at least try to match or exceed the other teams' offer if it fit into that set amount they had in mind. I find it hard to believe that they'd let an starting caliber RT walk for what Barksdale ended up getting. What's your opinion Jim?


Because he wanted about a bazillion dollars. He took much less to sign with San Diego than the Rams were offering. And did you see Barksdale get bulldozed twice late in the Bears' game Monday night? We're not talking Dan Dierdorf here.
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With the Oline in shambles, a backup QB, potential team move, etc. do you see this team winning another game? More of the same from the Fisher-Snead regime. We've seen this picture before. Why should I go to the games.

Yeah, the Rams will win some more games. And why go to the games? Because even bad football is still football.
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I have been a fan since Roman Gabriel played. I think that problems with the rams goes to their not very disciplined. This shows in their inconsistency. I also think that the end of the season they should replace Fisher. He has shown that, as far as coaching, he is mediocre at best. Good at picking talent, but not better than an average coach. I know that a good quarterback would help but I still think most of it goes back to coaching.

The lack of discipline is an issue, there's no doubt about that.
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Is Harvey Dahl still retired/available? Do we have his phone number? Might be better than throwing Battle out there as fresh meat if it gets to that point.

Harvey is happily retired, and much closer to big WR size than OG size these days.
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That same old feeling came over me Sunday night (in UK). The dawning feeling of a doomed season - about half way through the third quarter. I suppose it was better than the last ten years when that has happened on or before week 5 of the season.

Question, do you agree that aside from stellar performers (potential and actual pro-ballers - Quinn, Donald, Gurley, Ogletree, Austin, McDonald and Laurinatus, maybe Jenkins) our roster just isnt good enough to make it to the play offs. Still too many let downs, dropped passes, penalties, lack of intensity, etc. Or is it just about poor QB play and an O/L that is still to raw and injured to score points?


I see a team that is good enough on defense, good enough on special teams, and good enough in the running game to be a serious playoff contender. If the passing game were even average, I think the Rams would be right there.
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Were you in the room when Fisher made his comments about not regretting the Foles trade or extension? If so, did anyone laugh out loud or something like that?

Yeah, we were there. Nobody laughed. There were only about a half dozen or so reporters there. Not many reporters show up for Fisher's press conferences on Monday.
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Does Greg Robinson understand what holding is? Is he a knucklehead like Alex Barron was reported to be, or does he come across like a reasonably intelligent person?

He doesn't seem anything like a knucklehead to me.
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What are your thoughts about B Quick ROS?

So far, he's been a big disappointment this year. I thought he'd have more of an impact. I can't see the Rams re-signing him for 2016 at this point.
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Will Gurley be able to break loose against the Ravens D ?

Won't be easy. The Ravens are ranked 10th in the league in run defense, and are allowing only 3.8 yards per carry. In addition, the Rams probably will be starting rookies Donnal and Wichmann at OG.
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I assume I'm in the minority here, but I do not want Welker. I rooted against him when he was on the field Sunday. He's a Patriot. I hate the Patriots. A guy who was there for a few years I could overlook, but not Welker. I wish they could ask Bruce to come back and catch 5 passes per game, go down or go out of bounds, don't take a hit. I hate Welker. If this sounds petty, irrational and emotional, so be it.

I know there are many others with strong anti-Patriot feelings. But Welker is a couple of years removed from being a Patriot. Doesn't that help?
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Will some of the offensive guys skip the day off this week to get comfortable with Keenum's cadence and to work on timing or is that disallowed by the CBA?

Almost all of the Rams are at Rams Park in one way or another on Thursday _ which is the day off this year. I'm sure they'll at least be watching some film w/Keenum on Thursday.