If Lamar and Pau can get over it (though I wouldn't blame them if they don't), we will have kept two All-Star Caliber Forwards over a Point Guard with a Knee history who had his worst PPG/APG averages in four years last year.

We were basing this entire trade on what he did to Derek Fisher in the playoffs. As much as it hurts to say it, everyone does that to Fisher now. Not saying everyone is Chris Paul, but his production was inflated because of who was guarding him. And that's who we were willing to trade championship pieces for.

I thought this before these talks even started: if we go for anyone, it best be Howard. Only he could reasonably make up for the loss of size we'd have.

C Howard
PF Gasol
SF World Peace
SG Kobe Bryant
PG It doesn't matter at this point.

We could have done that with Bynum/Odom+Picks. That should have been the focus from the start.

You can blame Stern all you want, and this is an unforgivable act, but the bottom line is we shouldn't have made that trade to begin with. This is a team built to win now. I don't care about the future when we have a chance to win now, and I'm not particularly sure it was brighter with Paul anyway.

He and Bynum were going to anchor the future? Let's keep those German surgeons on the phone.

I'm happy this didn't go down. Let's just hope our guys are able to shake it off. Not off to a good start....

Caveat: If you are already convinced that we should fire Steve Spagnuolo at the end of the season, please save yourself a LOT of time by refraining from reading this lengthy post. Wait, don't do that. It might actually have some comedic reading value for someone to take up this difficult stance and try to reasonably defend it.

Where to Begin?

We all have a personal stake in our team. Cursed by my geographical position, which force feeds Packer/Cowboy games to my television, I invest in my team through the annual Sunday Ticket Purchase of over 200 dollars and the common trip to San Diego, Oakland, or San Fransisco (yuck) to watch my team play. It's pricey for a College kid on a minimum wage part-time job, and that's before factoring in the time spent watching the games and buying jerseys/clothing branded with the navy blue and gold.

I stomach these L's through my wallet and my emotions. It hit a new low a couple of Sundays ago, as Pete's Seahawks ripped our O-Line a new one and we wasted another valiant effort by our defense. It really, really hurts to watch these guys continue to play at this level. Watching my Trojans win a big one against an Oregon team on National TV the night prior and then witnessing another debacle by my Rams against another hated Northwest team on Sunday was like eating a delicious donut and having to down it with 10-day rotten milk. As you can see from this terrible attempt at an analogy, we're all running out of ways to describe just how bad this team has been this year.

So how the hell can I still be on the (nearly deserted) Spagwagon at this point? I make the case for his job safety, among other thoughts, after the jump.

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As some "Scout" claimed a few weeks ago, Steven Jackson apparently isn't one of the top 15 players in the division. I made this video (or rather, put together the clips) to show that S-Jax still has his burst and that any declining burst was the product of the groin injury in Week 2, something Williamson conveniently forgot in his analysis. Steven still had a heck of a year statistically, and he also reached some truly incredible milestones. Hope you guys enjoy it, and I'm sorry it isn't the best quality.

*A few notes:

-There's a run against Detroit  that looks short/unimpressive (like the Rams in general did during that game), but I included it because Steven broke the 7,000 yard mark on that one.

-Steve Savard is amazing. But of course, you already know that.

-Holy crap Steven is our top rusher ever. With years of 8 in the box. Not implying that he's better than Dickerson or Faulk, but that is impressive.

-It's a shame we were robbed of the 49er Away game on the OJ Atogwe call, because Steven played his heart out that day.

-Jacob Bell makes me very happy. Probably the best FA news was that he's coming back.

-For Christ's Sake people, he's 28 not 30. With the continuity on the O-Line and the addition of Harvey Dahl, I think the sky's the limit for Steven this year, especially in the Redzone. Anyway, enough blabber, enjoy!

This post is kind of a response to Van's earlier post on Steven. While I was pretty surprised that the Rams didn't draft an RB, at the end of the day it wasn't as pressing a need as everything else we drafted, especially considering that our Franchise RB is one of the top 3 Runningbacks in the league.

To me we're developing a troubling trend of sending off our Legends/Vets on sour notes. When you think of guys like Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, I wasn't particularly happy with how those situations turned out. I know it's the M-O of many teams around the league to let go of players for money issues when they aren't quite in their prime, but I feel as though exceptions have to be made when certain players have been so special to a city and to a franchise. In addition, how are we going to lure big-time Free Agents to St. Louis when it isn't exactly New York, Miami, or Los Angeles on the "attractive cities to rich 20-something millionaires" list? St. Louis is awesome from what I hear, but it is at a disadvantage on many fronts(mainly the amount of bright lights), and making sure we take care of our vets and legends would be a great selling point if we could reverse this current trend and establish a rep with players.

This leads me to Steven. I think if anyone embodies perseverance and excellence in the face of adversity, it's Steven Jackson. He has given and will continue to give his all to this Franchise. Those are the types of players that an organization has to "take care of," if you will. All I'm getting from Van's post is that we're supposed to cut our losses when the day comes that Steven isn't one of the top 3 in the business.

To be honest, I wouldn't care if he's getting top 5 money even if he were performing at only a top 25 level. I guarantee you we've spent worse money before (Tye Hill, Carriker, etc.). And even if his body doesn't allow it, you know he's got the respect of the entire locker room and every single fan, in addition to the fact that he's going to leave it all on the field on Sunday's.

To top it off, while I know his YPC was down a bit last year, Steven is still only 27 years old (he'll be 28 by the time the season starts)! We can do a comparative analysis with our last legendary runner, Marshall Faulk. A couple of caveats: I know Marshall was different style runningback/player. That said, here are some interesting stats that might make this comparison more appropriate.

By the time Marshall Faulk was 28, which consisted of the 1994-2000 NFL seasons (7 seasons in total), he had 2,360 touches (carries+receptions). In Steven's 7 seasons (2004-2010), he has touched the ball 2,205 times. I found this stat interesting considering how high we generally think Steven's workload is. Part of it is that he missed some games, but scatback Marshall still had to endure the punishment of over 150 more touches.

That said, Steven Jackson is simply better built to endure this punishment, owning a 25 pound weight advantage and a 3 inch height advantage. Marshall was never considered a physical specimen after all.

Those caveats included, Marshall Faulk's next 4 seasons (01-04) saw him average 1,456 scrimmage yards (981 Rushing and 475 Receiving per year). This production is pretty much 80% of his yardage production from 94-00, in which he averaged 1,820 yards per season.

So over 4 seasons, age wise, after where Steven is now, Marshall's production was still 80% of what he did during his first seasons, or prime years. I'd be perfectly fine with the same from Steven Jackson, even if he's slightly overpaid at that productivity level.

I propose to you however, that we haven't quite seen the best of Steven Jackson. I'm excited as to what Josh McDaniels can do with a QB of Bradford's level and a RunningBack with Steven Jackson's skillset. Here's hoping that it can somehow morph into what Mike Martz was able to do with Warner/Faulk, at least to some degree. How awesome would that turn out? If not, I'll still take 80% of Steven's last 7 years, at any price. He's earned that kind of respect from me.

And for God's sakes, he's 27. Not 30.

I play Madden obsessively. It's my favorite thing to do in my Birthday month leading up to the NFL season in September (and the beginning of my fall semester). It's kind of a last ditch exercise of freedom. The last 2-3 years, I have been owning noobs online with a team consistently rated in the bottom 3-5 teams in the league, and last place last year. It's safe to say, I'm pretty damn good at the game considering people online use the Colts/Chargers/Saints/Vikings, etc.

That said, who wouldn't want a little help in the form of a new Rams' roster? Madden 11, despite rating us lower than anyone once again, is providing exactly that. Some help at last. It still has some issues, but I am generally pleased with the ratings. Here are my thoughts on why people will once again fear me in the virtual pigskin arena, as well as a breakdown on how we compare to the rest of the NFC West.

Continue reading this post »

Hope you guys get to check out this fantastic piece by Bryan Burwell. It's an inside view of why I respect and admire Marc Bulger. I've got no issue saying that's one of the best QBs we've ever had. A dude who made the best out of a bad situation by being a pro, the last remnant of the GSOT days of professionalism, playing through pain, never getting too high or low, never pointing fingers, and always being a great person in the community.

If you think for a second that he was the reason we couldn't win games, well...let's just say you aren't very rational, as Burwell explains.

Goodbye #10. I hope you do great, (just not against the Rams, even in preseason. :D ).

via upload.wikimedia.org

Just scroll up and click on Bradford to see his rating.

Sam's 80 rating is higher than Stafford's (79) and Sanchez' (78) ratings as rookies in Madden '10. It isn't quite as high as Matt Ryan's 83 overall in Madden '09 however, but I'll take it. Now if we could get some weapons.

(Yeah, I'm warming up to the guy.)

I'm in full "that's my quarterback" mode.

via mccoolio.files.wordpress.com

As vocal as I was for Suh, I always trusted this front office to make a great pick and I know they did just that today. My support for Suh (and any criticisms I had of Bradford) weren't a slight at Sam, but more because I felt Suh was too special to pass up.

I fully expect to eat every word I said against this move, and if any kid can do it, it's this one. Why? Because I'm a Rams' fan first. I won't lie and say I didn't wish it was Suh, but I will cheer as loud for Bradford and defend him as I did Bulger during the dark ages, if it ever comes to that.

I think Sam is definitely better than Stafford/Sanchez/Ryan when they came out, and it's time to focus on surrounding him with the weapons needed to avoid ruining him like we ruined his predecessor, another accurate 6'4" QB. That's Billy D's task. Let's see how it plays out tomorrow. A great day to be a Rams fan indeed. Hopefully we'll be looking at the turning point of this franchise, and joyous moments of collective celebration as we bask in victory. I look to share those moments with you brothers, wherever you may be, thanks to this wonderful site.

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Sorry for the blurriness.

GO RAMS!!!!

Great interview with Suh for 101 ESPN, and here's Sando's thoughts on it.

I still can't help but think we're making a mistake passing on this kid. Even with all the momentum, the "media painted picture" as Suh says, clearly in Bradford's favor. As good as Sam is, I don't know if I want Wilkie's number taken.

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Obvious joke! Chill out guys. But that guy was a hell of a kicker.

I mean, really? Suh does this and he's going to the Lions? Ugh.

Go Rams!

MidasKnight is on the clock with the draft shaping St. Louis Rams pick at # 1. Here's the rest of the order:

1. St. Louis Rams(1-15)- MidasKnight (unenviable task indeed)
2. Detroit Lions(2-14)- IrishRamsFan
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers(3-13)- flipthebird15
4. Washington Redskins(4-12)- VanRam
5. Kansas City Chiefs(4-12) - Ramfan from Seattle
6. Seattle Seahawks(5-11)- ram_rod
7. Cleveland Browns(5-11)- Le Ram
8. Oakland Raiders(5-11)- AbsolutMoose
9. Buffalo Bills(6-10)- gorams77
10. Jacksonville Jaguars(7-9)- sergey606
11. Denver Broncos(from Chicago 7-9)- CaliRamMan
12. Miami Dolphins(7-9) -Caruso
13. San Francisco 49ers (8-8)- stlcardsfan4
14. Seattle Seahawks(from Denver 8-8)- ram_rod
15. New York Giants (8-8)- TrojanRam
16. Tennessee Titans(8-8)- Habte E
17. San Francisco 49ers(from Carolina 8-8)-stlcardsfan4
18. Pittsburgh Steelers(9-7)- mooseknuckles41
19. Atlanta Falcons(9-7) - CoachConnors or 3k
20. Houston Texans(9-7)- Danteslion
21. Cincinnati Bengals(10-6)- RamintheUK
22. New England Patriots(10-6)- CoachConnors or 3k
23. Green Bay Packers(11-5)- MathB
24. Philadelphia Eagles(11-5)- maybra48
25. Baltimore Ravens(9-7) - loyal2therams
26. Arizona Cardinals(10-6)- thisguy
27. Dallas Cowboys(11-5)- revrue914
28. San Diego Chargers(13-3)- Carneros
29. New York Jets (9-7)- ksmooth
30. Minnesota Vikings(12-4)- NachoD
31. Indianapolis Colts(14-2)- dbcouver
32. New Orleans Saints(13-3)- kickasskeever

[Note by VanRam, 04/03/10 8:50 AM EDT ] Ok ladies and gentlemen, I've tried to streamline it a little more this year with the magic of computer technology. At this link you will find a Google doc with the first round draft order and TST'er responsible for that pick. Head on over to the spread sheet, make your pick, providing it's your turn, and provide your write up and I'll fashion a post for each pick. 

As far as timeline, let's try to get through the top ten by Wednesday, April 7. If it's one person gets held up and can't make their pick, I'll probably just make it for you. We'll keep an eye on the Google doc and let people know when it's their turn to pick. If you want to make a trade, use this open thread to discuss and accept offers, or contact the person you'd like to make a swap with directly. Once you have an agreement, myself or 3k or Trojan Ram will sign off on it, just to make sure it's something legit, and adjust the draft accordingly. Big thanks to Trojan Ram for driving this thing. 

Happy Drafting!

Here are the posters who have volunteered to brave into the area of daring imagination, NFL GM style. This round-up is so that we can get this thing going (we're on April 2nd already! 20 days!!!). MidasKnight asked about a round 2, but at this point I'm not sure we've got the time. Hit the jump for the order.

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I truly wrestled with whether or not I should write this post, whether or not it even had any significance at this point, and whether or not it would be cohesive and drive the point I’m trying to make at the level it should.  With Slingin’ Sam putting on a show on Monday, and the collective media orgasm that ensued, it all drenched a "who cares how much effort you put into these thoughts, we’re the media and we will get our QB" stench on any draft talk or opposing views I have. That said, I wasn’t about to let a little hyperbole from Gil Brandt (akin to the epic Russell hyperbole in 2007) erase the fact that I worked hard on this post. After examining the things I was trying to do in the first place, I realized that whether or not there’s reason left to hope for a Defensive Tackle at #1, my post was meant for a different purpose.

This fanpost was inspired by a recent post titled "St. Louis Rams Team Needs." In it I aim to address the curious thought that Defensive Tackle isn’t one of the Rams’ top 8 needs. To do so, I took the time to create a video that supports my claim rather strongly, as well as a video that illustrates the reasons why some believe drafting a Quarterback is more important. I realize we’ve beat this thing about a million times, but I simply aim to at least get us to agree that, whether you’re Bradford/Clausen or Suh/McCoy, Defensive tackle is no worse than our 3rd or 4th most pressing need (I must admit, even that seems a little too generous). Hit the jump to read/see my argument.

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