The Most Important Player the Rams had, and Let get-away!?

[Killgasm]

I didn't start following the rams until the age of 11 in 2003, so I would have to say Kevin Curtis and Isaac Bruce for me. It was never the same when they left the team.

 

[Thordaddy]

Fred Miller,Kevin Carter ,Grant Wistrom, take your pick

 

[Cullen Bryant]

The one's that hurt the worst for me were Eric Dickerson and Kurt Warner but I also remember being bummed they let Drew Hill go, he went to Houston and became the Oilers all time leader in receptions and yards.

 

[den-the-coach]

I think Lovie also had a say in the duncan fiasco.

He did, but only because Zygmunt did not believe they could keep both so Lovie than wanted Duncan, however, given the choice between Fletcher and Duncan the Rams obviously would have opted for London over Paris, but Zygmunt felt he had the pulse of the market and that theory killed the Rams.

I always preach to not let your strength become your weakness and that is exactly what Jay Zygmunt did in this case. His strength of knowing what players were worth became his down fall in this case as it was in 2003 when the Rams had the 12th pick and Martz was interested in Troy Polamalu, however, DT Jimmy Kennedy surprisingly fell and when it came time for the Rams to pick and they were vacillating between Polamalu & Kennedy, it was Zygmunt with his infinite wisdom that chimed in that paying a safety for what a 12th pick in the first round would command (old cap) would not be good value compared to the rest of the safeties in the NFL, but paying defensive tackle at that price would be more in line with the rest of the league so the Rams went with Kennedy.

Now Zygmunt did not look at the players just their worth in the NFL again Jay Zygmunt that freakin bastard I would like to slap him right across his big fat face.

 

[DaveFan'51]

What makes you say that Hacksaw taught the Niners how to study film and train? That is more of a coaching thing.

I heard Ronnie Lott say, years ago, that Hack-Saw Taught him how to watch Film and Train! So I assume he wasn't the only one.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I'd probably say London Fletcher. We got 11 years out of Reynolds, but we let Fletcher go when he was entering his prime and ended up with a massive hole there for almost a decade.

Your wright about Fletcher, and we could have Won another SB or more had we Keep him! But at the same time I believe had we keep Reynolds, the same thing could have been said, and the 49ers wouldn't have been anywhere near as good against us in the 70's and 80's. and their Div. rivals were the Redskins, where Fletcher went aren't.

 

[DaveFan'51]

How about going old school and saying Norm Van Brocklin?

The Guy in your Avatar ( Waterfield ) Was the reason for letting VanBrocklin go. back then it would have been like the Patriots letting tom Brady go, if it were the other way around!

 

[RhodyRams]

I have to say Fletcher, KW and Bettis in that order

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I heard Ronnie Lott say, years ago, that Hack-Saw Taught him how to watch Film and Train! So I assume he wasn't the only one.

Interesting. Maybe Bill Walsh was not such a genius afterall.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Interesting. Maybe Bill Walsh was not such a genius afterall.

IMHO, and I choke when I have to say anything good about the 49ers, Walsh was really good, his D wouldn't have been anything like it turned out to be without Reynolds. He was to the D what Montana was to the O! The spark, if you well!

 

[DCH]

I'm gonna go with Fred Miller. RT was an absolute hole after he left. Yeah, Ryan Tucker played OK, but then he left or got hurt, and even then he wasn't Miller's level of quality.

Remember the early 2000's? The constant, constant, never-ending attempts to find a right tackle? That's part of what got Warner hurt and greased his path out of town, and a Warner-led GSOT could well have won SB after SB even without London manning the middle on the D.

Edit to add: with Miller, there's no Alex Barron. There's no Kyle Turley. Maybe even no Jason Smith, and if they still take Greco, they put him at G initially, where he's dominated.

 

[Selassie I]

I hated losing all of the players listed. Just reading through the names is getting me pissed.

The one that I will never get over though is Dickerson.

 

[fearsomefour]

Warner and Fletcher.
Two HOF careers with relatively short stays in St. Louis.
The arrogance the team was run with at that point is mind boggling.

 

[fearsomefour]

I'm gonna go with Fred Miller. RT was an absolute hole after he left. Yeah, Ryan Tucker played OK, but then he left or got hurt, and even then he wasn't Miller's level of quality.

Remember the early 2000's? The constant, constant, never-ending attempts to find a right tackle? That's part of what got Warner hurt and greased his path out of town, and a Warner-led GSOT could well have won SB after SB even without London manning the middle on the D.

Edit to add: with Miller, there's no Alex Barron. There's no Kyle Turley. Maybe even no Jason Smith, and if they still take Greco, they put him at G initially, where he's dominated.

Greco moving on when the Rams certainly could have upgraded a G spot is another example of the team not being able to identify talent or how to use players.

 

[DCH]

Greco moving on when the Rams certainly could have upgraded a G spot is another example of the team not being able to identify talent or how to use players.

Yup, dude's been a beast for Cleveland. I'm sure playing next to Alex Mack doesn't hurt.

 

[Loyal]

Yeah, losing Hacksaw leave, hurt. But then, he was one of the few that got a Super Bowl ring from all of those great 70's Rams teams..I don't begrudge him. There were issues with Warner when he left, but still hurt.

The one that hurt the most was London Fletcher. We didn't even try to keep him, and he has had such a great career..We screwed the pooch on that one.

 

[blue4]

Not going to comment on the LA Rams. Only became a fan of them when the Cardinals left, so I can't comment on those players. St Louis Rams, I'd say Londen Fletcher or Ryan Pickett. Both were good players that left huge holes we couldn't fill. Both also were let go for really no good reason but JZ's stupidity.

 

[RamFan503]

Fred Miller,Kevin Carter ,Grant Wistrom, take your pick

Freddy Falsestart? Really? I can see the other two but never a fan of Freddy. Didn't he have something like five or six false starts and a couple other penalties in one game with us?

 

[RamFan503]

I have to say Fletcher, KW and Bettis in that order

Yeah - the Bettis thing pissed me off but not near as much as my dad. He was livid as he loved Bettis' running style. I suppose maybe I was a little numb by then as I watched a constant succession of crappy player negotiations that gave the Rams a huge black eye IMO. We said back then that the showgirl and her shyster would gut this team of every penny the league would allow.

IMO - Dickerson was a little different because of the hold-out. I hadn't yet seen the writing on the wall so maybe I wasn't jaded enough to see it for what it truly was.

 

[Pancake]

I agree with almost all the guys mentioned so far and I would add Bruce to the list. I know his career was on it's last legs but to me there are some guys that should be lifers and Bruce was one of them. He should have never worn another teams jersey.