Gordo Live
Didn't Kellen Clemens play under Schottenheimer? If so, might be the right back-up next year.
GORDON: He showed well this year. He would be a good choice.
Do you and JT ever read the forums? If not you should at least check out the From Their Perspective threads that open up after every blues win.
by Joe 2:54 PM
GORDON:Much of the forums are just angry people spewing hatred. It's nice when people try to raise the bar a bit.
On the Rams, 2nd pick speculation... We need playmakers and Blackmon fits the bill HUGE! Picking a lineman hasn't worked too well for our drafts. In my opinion, early round receivers tend to be better than lineman. Many lineman drafted in later rounds pan out to be good players. The Rams need players who are dangerous on every play...that's Blackmon. your opinion?
GORDON:After watching Blackmon loaf for a half against Mizzou before getting rolling, I'd not ready for total buy-in there. The Rams will likely trade down and see what happens.
Do you think the Rams are going back to Cali?
by Rich in Nixa 3:10 PM
GORDON:Not on the horizon.
Any chance the Rams bring back Brandon Lloyd? Also, have you heard of any names that the Cardinals are targeting for their bullpen void?
by Justin 3:10 PM
GORDON:I see Lloyd going to New England to replace Ochocinco. Again, I see no urgency to add a veteran to the bullpen when the young arms are stacked up. Personally, none of the names interest me.
How is it the Trans World Dome, even when it was bland new could not host a Super Bowl??
by h2jjadt 2:34 PM
GORDON:In more recent years, northern cities got Super Bowl bids when they built new stadiums. At the time this dome was built, the NFL didn't want to give St. Louis a team, much less a Super Bowl.
Mr. Gordon, Why did we have to give up three homw games over the next three years? Why could it not be an away game or two mixed in there for London? Also in the lease contract would the playing of these home games in London give the city an edge in negotiations? I would think that there would be something of a clause in the contract stating that they would play atleast 8 home games per the regular season in the Dome. Thanks!
by jimk 2:39 PM
GORDON:The NFL solicited teams willing to give up home games. The league was not going to force a team to do that, obviously. The Rams volunteered. As for the city's side of the lease, there is no edge to be gained by the Rams playing in London.
The Rams are obviously in a transition period right now - and it is exciting seeing the coaching moves that are taking place. It was mentioned that Vermeil assisted in finding the new GM. I think it is a great move to bring back successful alumni players/coaches to assist in developing young talent. Is there any talk of utilizing Vermeil or any others more often? I heard some talk of J.Youngblood helping out C.Long, which given J.Y's toughness, would push Long over the edge as an elite player.
by jasonf 2:43 PM
GORDON:I sincerely doubt that Jeff Fisher will have Rams alumni on the practice field coaching the team. If they want to stop by and chat, great.
Will the Rams be able to sign any major free agent such as Bowe, Colston, act?
by Brad 2:40 PM
GORDON:With Fisher as coach, I'd expect a nice signing or two. Team has some cap space to work with -- and it could create more.
Let's talk about cap space -- how much space, and with how much dead money, do we gain by releasing Brown, Bell and Smith from the O-line?
by BrotherBri 2:47 PM
GORDON:That's a question for Jim Thomas. I saw projections of $23 million for cap space and I know that Smith could cause a cap hit on a straight release. That is why the team wants to redo his deal.
Can explain choosing Schottenheimer over Jackson? Jackson did pretty well with not so good players but Schottenheimer did not do so well with a decent offense.
by Brad 1:56 PM
GORDON:The coaching call at O.C. was close. It was also based on a lot more than the 2011 season. Schottenheimer's overall work with the Jets and elsewhere is quite impressive.
Do you think that the new offense of McD with its defensive reads caused Bradford to go backwards by asking too much from a 2nd year quarterback?
by Old Ram 57 1:59 PM
GORDON:WRs dropping passes, WRs gaining no separations, offensive line injuries, O-linemen playing out of position whiffing on blocks and O-linemen taking penalties to create bad down-and-distance situations had more to do with the backsliding.
What are the differences between Schottenheimers offense and Jackson's offense and do you think Fisher made the best choice for Sam Bradford?
by Old Ram 57 2:12 PM
GORDON:It sounds like there wasn't much separating the Jackson/.Schottenheimer choices. I don't know enough about Jackson to split that hair. Obviously Hue likes to throw it down the field too.
After listening to some of Demoff's interviews I came away with some sense of what the Rams are looking for regarding the stadium issue. But realistically Jeff is there much that can be done to meet those wishes and get the dome into tier the lease calls for? I see it as an uphill battle.
by mightymike 2:19 PM
GORDON:The Dome is never going to be upper-tier again. So Stan should gain his leverage with the out clause, strike an interim deal and start working on the next stadium project here.
Can you spell out for us Jeff Fishers offensive and defensive philosophies and which players he would consider core players
by Old Ram 57 1:27 PM
GORDON:Run the ball, protect the QB, play defense, force turnovers, get the ball back, keep the ball, lean on the other team . . . pretty simple stuff. His core guys are the handful of veterans who kept playing hard last year -- Long, Laurinaitis, Jackson -- along with younger guys like Bradford and Quinn.
What is the farthest the Rams should move down in the draft? Last year, Atlanta moved up in a blockbuster from the mid 20's to get Julio Jones. What if a team like NE who has two #1's in this year's draft offered a comparable blockbuster, would it be worth considering?
by AP 1:45 PM
GORDON:How far the Rams are willing to drop depends on how the new GM assesses the draft and the comparative offers on the table. Once the Rams actually have a GM, this will be one of the things the new guy will start studying. I'm guessing the Rams will come away with both quantity and quality regardless of where they pick.
What is your opinion of Robert Quinn's play this year? JJ Watt, Aldon Smith, and Ryan Kerrigan certainly had more notoriety. I hope he pans out, but this is another example of Devaney's flawed thinking. Why take a player with a benign brain tumor, who did not play his entire senior year due to NCAA violations?
by rtcreden 12:41 PM
GORDON:You take Quinn there in the first round because he has Top 5 talent. I'm guessing the complaints about Quinn will cease now that Fisher and his staff have a whole offseason to get him ready for the next campaign.
Jason Smith was the #2 pick in his draft year. He played one year of LT at Baylor after being a TE. I'd like to see the Rams shift him to OG; he's big and athletic. Remember Robert Gallery? Why isn't this a viable possibility? Thanks!
by rtcreden 12:26 PM
GORDON:IF Jason took less money and agreed to the experiment, perhaps it is worth a look. But he will be prone to further concussions wherever he plays.
Mike Sando, in his excellent ESPN blog, re-ran a chart describing the Jets offenses under Schottenheimer. It's interesting to note the best year was the one they had the bets QB (Favre), and that all the stats suffered when Sanchez took over. Many of the stats for this year improved, even with the Sanchez/Holmes silliness and the play-calling rut Schott developed.
by BrotherBri 12:29 PM
GORDON:I think Bradford is a better QB prospect than Sanchez. Now we'll have some basis for that debate.
I heard once that the dome was based on some design originally for the Big Red in 1987, and already 8 years out of date when it was built. Do you know if there is any truth to that? thanks
by ihtnep 11:37 AM
GORDON:Nothing wrong with the dome design. The sightlines were fine, way better than, say, the Superdome. The dome held a lot of big events. The sound system/acoustics were never great, but dome served the city very well. Now it is just getting old.
Follow up: are you suggesting local leaders are not interested in rallying? Or is this just saying IF in the case it ends up being so (as speculation)?
by Shane G 11:40 AM
GORDON:We'll see soon enough. If local leaders want to give the Rams the stiff-arm, we'll know in the coming months. My guess is we'll see a reasonable effort to keep the team.
Could we be taking the London games too personal? Afterall, the games in St. Louis have not been sellouts. If we assume Stan is trying to make it work in St. Louis, I don't mind one less home game and I am a season ticket holder. If overall, Stan maximizes his revenue and puts that back into the team and a new stadium down the road, we all benefit. Plus, the whole London thing might be kind of cool to get some national attention if we get back to winning. Could it be we just need to show a little patience?
by Dave 11:54 AM
GORDON:Stan and team COO Kevin Demoff wishes every fan looked at this way. It could actually help the team stay, since a regular game in London would make Stan extra jack and perhaps ease his desire to boost revenue by moving.
Jeff in reguards to the stadium did you see the article by Peter King that the rams stand to make 5 million for each of the games even if they lose in London?
by Warren 11:57 AM
GORDON:This was a revenue move. And, again, playing one game every year in London could actually work in favor of St. Louis keeping the team.
Jeff: While I haven't attended a Rams game in some years, my personal response to the rising costs of tickets, concessions and parking, the only thing I found irritating was the extraordinarily loud noise coming through the loud speakers. As for the field, seating, etc. I could find no fault. Apparently, there were enough luxury boxes to satisfy the Rams then. Knowing that this is all about money, what improvements do you hear need to be made to satisfy Stan?
by CuriousGeorge 12:06 PM
GORDON:I'm I am Stan, I want improved sound, more natural light, additional premium seating improvements and better food service. I'm sure he has additional items on his list.
. I was wondering - With the hire of Schottenheimer who will make the line calls in regards to protection? It seemed Bradford struggled in this area last year. Does Schottenheimer have the Center make the calls, the QB or a combination of both? Thanks...
by crazy-legs 10:54 AM
GORDON:Brian comes from the Coryell coaching tree. That offensive school tends to give quarterbacks much responsibility to make reads and changes at the line of scrimmage.
Jeff- With the Schotty hire, a comment by Rex Ryan in the past week or so got me wondering. I am paraphrasing but Ryan stated that the offensive calls were too difficult. Does that worry you at all with Bradford?
by SouthDakotaRamFan 10:57 AM
GORDON:Schottenheimer had a lot of success with Sanchez. He made it to a couple of AFC title games with a kid QB. Nobody was complaining about the complexity of the calls during those playoff runs. As for Bradford, I tend to think having WRs dropping passes and gaining no separation was a bigger problem than the line calls -- along with the fact that his offensive linemen, often playing out of position, suffered repeated breakdowns.
Jeff, I agree with your take re: the upcoming lease negotiations between the Rams and CVC in expecting SOME enhancements to the dome (not a complete overhaul) in exchange for prime land and commitments, etc. towards a new stadium in the city/region down the road. If/when (and I believe it will be when) this is finalized, it will be one of the greatest days ever... not trying to be dramatic, but for me- right or wrong- that will be true.
by Shane G 11:30 AM
GORDON:Let's see if St. Louis can make it happen. There is a deal to be made here. Other teams have much bigger stadium issues than the Rams have right now. But if local political leaders are not interesting in rallying around the team . . .
