It's far from a foregone conclusion because, as the story mentions, demand for Fisher will be high. Jacksonville is another rumored destination. But Fisher has been the "nom de jour" in St. Louis since Gruden nixed the notion that he could be talked out of the broadcaster's booth.

I'd call it simple restating public opinion. As opposed to Burwell who wrote last week that 10-38 wasn't a good enough reason to fire the coach because the players hadn't quit so he must be a good leader.

forsberg_us wrote:

It's far from a foregone conclusion because, as the story mentions, demand for Fisher will be high. Jacksonville is another rumored destination. But Fisher has been the "nom de jour" in St. Louis since Gruden nixed the notion that he could be talked out of the broadcaster's booth.

I'd call it simple restating public opinion. As opposed to Burwell who wrote last week that 10-38 wasn't a good enough reason to fire the coach because the players hadn't quit so he must be a good leader.

If the Rams want a guy who thinks an 8-8 record makes him a winner, there's always Tom Cable. Just watch out for the flying fists.

Well the Rams got their guy.  Apparently it came down to Miami offered more money but less control over organizational decisions whereas the Rams offered less money but greater control.

Now we see if it works.

Wow. That's a big haul.
I'm almost certain this will backfire on the Redskins. Everything backfires on the Redskins.

"It's entirely possible that Trent Richardson is the best player available."

I don't like 5-9 backs. They end up being third down backs in the NFL.
Unless Blackmon somehow drops to #6, I'd go for one of the two cornerbacks. You can build a pretty good defense out of Long, Laurianitis and one of those two corners.

After Luck, Griffin and the OT from Southern Cal to the Vikings, there's really no consensus. I've seen mock drafts with Richardson as high as five and as low as 17.

alz wrote:

I'm not a fan of shooting a top 5 draft pick with an offensive lineman. Not even Left Tackle. Give me a full line of average NFL lineman, and use the 1st rounders on the skill positions any day of the week.

Case in Point.... Jake Long over Matt Ryan, I still hate Miami for this.

Interesting. I thought Long has been a stalwart for the Dolphins, but no matter. The conventional wisdom, of course, is O-line is a safer pick. If a JaMarcus Russell shits the bed, all you end up with is a bed full of shit. Robert Gallery wasn't the second coming of Art Shell like the Raiders had hoped for, but he turned into a serviceable offensive guard. I think you need at least two Pro Bowl-caliber offensive lineman, at left tackle and either right tackle or center. Left tackle is essential. Kurt Warner became Kurt Warner in part because he never had to worry about his blind side.
I hate to give the Patriots credit, but one of the reasons they've been so successful is because they've had great play from their offensive line. Same with the Giants. You can go back to most of the teams that have had several good years in a row and the one thing they have in common was a great O-line. You can win with Trent Dilfer at quarterback, but I don't think you can win without Jonathan Ogden keeping Trent Dilfer upright.

artie_fufkin wrote:

"It's entirely possible that Trent Richardson is the best player available."

I don't like 5-9 backs. They end up being third down backs in the NFL.

Maurice Jones-Drew, Ray Rice and Frank Gore respectfully disagree.

I haven't heard anyone express concern about Richardson's size.  Especially at 225 pounds.  My only issue with drafting Richardson is that it isn't an immediate upgrade for next season.  It makes sense long term, because Jackson's body has a limited number of carries left in it.  I'm not sure that's a move a team with the number of holes as the Rams can make.

Latest rumor is that the Rams have a deal in place with CB Courtland Finnegan (one of Fisher's guys at Tennessee).  That could reduce interest in Claiborne, although the last time I checked, teams play more than 1 cornerback.

Last edited by forsberg_us (3/13/2012 10:08 pm)

"Latest rumor is that the Rams have a deal in place with CB Courtland Finnegan (one of Fisher's guys at Tennessee)."

$50m/5y, with $27 million guaranteed.

Meanwhile, in the AFC West, the Chargers add Robert Meachem, the Chiefs add Peyton Hillis, the Broncos court Peyton Manning ... and the only significant move the Raiders make is cutting the only tight end on the roster who has ever caught a touchdown pass in the NFL.

It's not just Ryan... They drafted Jamar Fletcher ahead of Drew Brees. When San Diego dumped him for Rivers, they made a half assed effort to sign him, and lost him to New Orleans (who was at the time a joke of a football team). I had high hopes with Luck, RG23, Barkley and Landry Jones that Miami would have someone legitimate to put stock into and build around, and that just got progressively more and more fucked as time has went by...

It's hard to be a Dolphin fan right now.

But there's Bradford.... With everything wrong with the Rams, they have always had a QB that they expect greatness from. Whether it's acheived or not, the Rams went after Trent Green, landed an amazing find in Kurt Warner, had a pretty serviceable quarterback in Bulger (for a while at least), and then drafted Bradford number 1 overall. Sadly, I'm a quarterback guy. I love watching the passing game, although I'm a walking contradiction in that I hate the new rules against defensive hitting. To me I think that's kind of cheap.

There's also Fisher. Everything wrong with the Rams on the field can be directly pointed to Coaching and the Front Office. Well the Front office gave Fisher the keys to the kingdom, and control over personel as well as coaching. He's overhauling everything.

Lastly, you also have a pretty damned amazing set of NFL drafts coming. To go from 2 to 6 (four spots), you get the next two first round picks from Washington (of all teams), and you'll still have your own first rounders in the next 2 drafts as well. You also get a VERY HIGH ADDITIONAL second round pick (now with #2 and #6 in the second round) for this deal and Washington was high enough that is really right on par with a later 1st round pick. Aside from the ownership moving the franchise, there's very little negative aspect from St. Louis.

I wouldn't be shocked to see the Rams leave with another Lombardi trophy. There's a lot of success you can have over the next 2 drafts thanks to the RG3 deal, ESPECIALLY with Fisher running shit.

artie_fufkin wrote:

"Latest rumor is that the Rams have a deal in place with CB Courtland Finnegan (one of Fisher's guys at Tennessee)."

$50m/5y, with $27 million guaranteed.

Meanwhile, in the AFC West, the Chargers add Robert Meachem, the Chiefs add Peyton Hillis, the Broncos court Peyton Manning ... and the only significant move the Raiders make is cutting the only tight end on the roster who has ever caught a touchdown pass in the NFL.

It isnt much better for the Vikings.  They are in rebuilding mode with the best RB in football.