Just for everyone’s information, this blog is not dying, there just simply isn’t much to report right now. I would continue talking about the draft, but as expected, everyone still has the Rams taking Suh with the first overall pick. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.

Just a few other pieces of information:

-There has been severe speculation as to whether the Rams would be interested in Michael Vick.  Personally, I say go for it.  St. Louis makes the most sense for him at this point.

-RB Steven Jackson is being accused of assaulting his girlfriend.  I’m calling shenanigans on this one.  Go ahead and yell at me, I just don’t see why someone would wait this long to report something as serious as the situation is turning out to be.

-In other news, my second semester of college is going great.  Thanks for asking.  Hope all is well with all of you.

-Ethan

I was recently emailed by Andrew Crocker, the lead blogger for the Kansas City Chiefs blog, Arrowhead Addict.  He asked me my opinion on what I believed the Rams would do with the first overall pick.  My response was pretty well thought out, so I figured I’d post it if that is okay with him:

The Rams currently hold the first overall pick for the first time since 1997 (which as we all know, isn’t a bad thing in any way, shape or form) so they obviously are going to do everything they can to not mess up this opportunity.  Back in 1997, rather than picking up a big time skill position player, they went with the safest prospect in the draft with Orlando Pace, a solid offensive tackle out of Ohio State who had great size, very proven, and ultimately was set up for a solid NFL career.  Pace went on to become one of the best offensive lineman in the history of the Rams, so it only makes sense the Rams will look to invest their money in a solid player that they can have zero doubts regarding their ability to perform at the pro level.

Using that logic, there is only really one position that the Rams are most likely not evaluating for the first overall pick, that being running back.  The mix of Steven Jackson and the overall lack of a proven running back puts the position far off the Rams radar.  This of course leaves every single other position open for discussion.  However, there is not a doubt in my mind that the Rams will draft Suh with the first overall pick.  He was an absolute beast in college and a terror for everyone that attempted to guard him.  Most big time defensive tackles draw double teams, allowing the other defensive players to have an easier time getting into the backfield.  Suh on the other hand draws the double team and still makes the play.  Although quarterback is most likely this team’s biggest need, there isn’t really anyone in the draft that experts are considering good enough to use the first overall draft pick on.  All year I believed Sam Bradford to be that player, but now there is a severe question mark in the health department.  So as far as Claussen goes, I’m guessing there is a 90% chance that when the Rams take the first player off the board, Claussen will still be available.

So yeah, I believe they will go with Suh.  All signs are pointing towards it and it really is the only logical choice.  As far as the Clausen comment, Crocker wanted to know whether I believed the Rams would have interest in Claussen or not.

A little over a week ago, the NFL announced every opponent for every NFL team for the 2010 season. The Rams opponents are as follows:

AWAY:

-Arizona Cardinals

-Seattle Seahawks

-San Francisco 49ers

-New Orleans Saints

-Tampa Bay Buccaneers

-Denver Broncos

-Oakland Raiders

-Detroit Lions

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HOME:

-Arizona Cardinals

-San Francisco 49ers

-Seattle Seahawks

-San Diego Chargers (ooo what I would give to go to this game)

-Atlanta Falcons

-Carolina Panthers

-Kansas City Chiefs

-Washington Redskins

There is the schedule.  Doesn’t seem like too tough of a year, although I am very dissapointed the game against the Chargers won’t be in San Diego.  Keep in mind those were not listed as Week 1, Week 2, etc.. as those details have not yet been set.

Argue all you want, but it will always hold true that quarterback is the most important position on the football field.  Does the man under center need to throw for 300 yards a game for a team to be successful?  Not at all.  In fact, I consider Joe Flacco to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and he threw 3,613 yards this season, an average of 225.8 yards per game.  What makes him such a great quarterback is the fact that he is a master of managing games.  He doesn’t turn the ball over much (Flacco: 12 interceptions Rams: 21 interceptions) and he finds a way to lead his team to victory even when he is off (throwing for only 34 yards in a blowout win against the New England Patriots last week).  Yes, I understand he is on the same team as one of the best defeneses in the league, but still, he is getting an offense who lacks in big time receivers ( sound familiar?) to move up and down the field.

Now, I’m not trying to push the Rams to trade for Flacco or anything, but he is pivotal in proving my point.  We are not going to draft a quarterback who is going to post 300+ yards a game (at least not for a couple seasons), but we could draft a solid game manager who could greatly contribute immediately (see Flacco, Matt Ryan).  We need a quarterback who is dependable in the red zone and understands that he isn’t going to be making any big time plays with our current offense.  With that said, lets take a look at the possibilities for quarterback next season:

Marc Bulger: Bulger started to look like his old self last season before breaking his leg, but now rumors are circulating that he is considering retirement.  Also, with his giant contract still haunting the front office (not that they care about the team or anything) it appears that the Rams should be ready to move on.  He would be great to keep on to mentor a young quarterback of the future, but he just never really seemed like the kind of guy to attempt to take someone under his wing, or even speak for that matter.  However, if the Rams do not draft, or pick up a quarterback via free agency, Bulger could be our only option.

Kyle Boller: No

Keith Null: A rookie who was thrown into the fire far too early, Null could eventually develop into an okay quarterback, but it doesn’t appear he is much of a game manager.  Coming from a college that would give him the tag of “system quarterback”, he doesn’t appear to be ready to run an NFL style offense, especially one that sees the passing game taking a back seat to the running game.  I don’t see Null being the answer to the Rams problems, but if Bulger doesn’t return next season, Null may have to mature very fast.  He threw 9 interceptions in just 3 1/2 games, so obviously he has a lot of work to do.

Sam Bradford/Colt McCoy/Tim Tebow/All Other Quarterbacks In The Draft: Bradford was injured for virtually his whole senior season, but he is too good of a quarterback to ignore.  If he can come back completely healthy, the Rams should trade down and take him with a mid-first round pick.  If they decide to go the route of McCoy or Tebow, then waiting until the second or third round would be in their best interest.  I’ve grown up a die hard LSU fan, so I’ve seen a whole lot of Tebow over the last few years, and the guy knows how to win.  He is a solid game manger, and if he can develop his passing skills, I think he has a real shot at being a star in the NFL.  McCoy would be good, especially since he has the ability to scramble, something we haven’t seen a Rams quarterback do in awhile.  Any quarterback we get here will not be an immediate success, but Tebow, Bradford, and McCoy would be the Rams best bet.

Michael Vick: Just humor me.  Vick still can make big plays and with him starting to get back into the flow of things, he could be a real threat again.  There were reports that he wasn’t happy in Philadelphia and felt he was ready to be a starter again in the NFL.  If the Rams need something, it is publicity.  They are never talked about, they don’t really have a big time player to talk about outside of Steven Jackson.  The one anti-Vick to Rams argument I’ve heard is that their fan-base isn’t strong enough to support such a controversial player coming to town.  Well to be honest, their fan-base isn’t strong enough to support a barrage of losing seasons.  I may live on the West Coast, but at the beginning of the decade, I saw Rams stuff everywhere (that might have had something to do with the fact that I went to the same high school that Robert Thomas, former first round draft pick of the Rams, went to), but still, stores used to have everything Rams from a jersey to money clips.  Now, I actually am shocked when I see a Rams jersey in a crowd.  I’m in my freshman year at Cal State-Fullerton, and amongst the swarms of Patriots, Chargers, Raiders, and Steelers shirts, I have seen one Rams jersey.  These fans need something to get excited about again.  Vick could be the answer.

Dennis Dixon: Just something to consider.  Has the potential to be a big playmaker and showed poise in his one appearance this season against a very tough Ravens defense.  Just saying, it wouldn’t hurt to consider Dixon.

Any other suggestions?  Feel free to voice your opinions, such as “Bring Doug Flutie out of retirement”.  No seriously, don’t send me crap like that, I prefer real suggestions.  Bringing Jamarcus Russell back from the dead seems more plausible.

Checks Jamarcus Russell’s wikipedia page

He’s not dead?  Oh wait, I meant his career.  Jamarcus Russell’s CAREER.  My apologies.  Geaux LSU.  Oh and Go Rams too.

This season, as you all should know, was a very painful one. It all seemed to be a giant blur of crapiness mixed together with a touch of lack of talent. Lets take a look back:

The Beginning:

The hiring of Steve Spagnuolo had us all excited, and training camp only furthered the excitement.  The intensity of the team was up, and although the offense was missing several pieces, the promise of a healthy Steven Jackson leading the way seemed like the Rams were morphing into the next Baltimore Ravens.  It all just fell on to how the defense could perform with a whole new group of players.

Preseason went well, and the offense even showed a little bit of flash that had me thinking that although this team wasn’t super bowl bound, they certainly could make some noise.  However, once the regular season rolled around, it all came crashing down.  Out of the first four games of the season, the Rams were manhandled in three of them, and also suffered a tough loss to the Redskins which really set the tone for the rest of the season.

Not only were they losing games, but the Rams were also losing players at a rapid pace.  Adam Carriker, Laurent Robinson, OJ Atogwe, and Marc Bulger were a few of several players St. Louis lost for a large amount of games throughout the season.

The Middle:

The Rams managed to pull out a win against a badly injured Detroit Lions team, but that was all they could muster with a sub-par offense, a terrible secondary, and the inability to close out games.

The End:

Once again, the Rams went winless over the last few games and ended the season with a 1-15 record.  The highlight?  The defense played strong in the last game of the season, and held the 49ers to single digit scoring well into the third quarter.  However, neither Keith Null or Kyle Boller could do much with the Steven Jackson-less offense and the Rams failed to close out the season with a second win.

Summary:

Although this team is in rebuilding, its obvious there is loads of work to do.  This year was more about getting out with the old, rather than getting in with the new.  This upcoming season, the rebuilding process should really begin to start.  With the Rams holding the first overall pick in the draft, they would most likely pick up Ndamukong Suh out of Nebraska considering Spags defensive background.  With rumors of Marc Bulger considering retirement however, I wouldn’t be too against the Rams trading down and taking a Qb (thats only if you, like me, believe that none of the QBs in the 2010 draft are worth the first overall pick and approximately $70 million).