Tim: Im sure You have heard alot of reasons on why the Rams should draft Crabtree. I do think the Rams should draft him primalry because of this. Lets face it were a mess right now we need to get rid of bad blood bring in franchise players, and young talent. Were not playing for anything next season other than to develop players and prepare for the future. Not playoffs. I think we should add in our future No. 1 reciever now while we have a chance amd go from there. I cant believe im saying this due to my strong feelings against Cardinal front office but as far as the OT deal is concerned I think we can get the same if not better talent in next years draft than in this years, so take a wait and see approach and sign a couple of OT in free agency Like Gross Carey Andrews or Traucher and see If you can pick up a tackle next year. To me it doesnt make sence to pick 1 out of the four top tackles in the draft, pass up a stud of a WR, and end up at best a solid RT no matter who you take. Do you agree?

Jeff Gordon: Landing a free-agent tackle is very expensive and very difficult. Hence the appeal of drafting some beef in the first round. But inside the Rams organization, Crabtree has a lot of support. Larry Fitzgerald made a great case for Crabtree Sunday night. The Rams could draft him, turn the page on Holt and be assured of getting results with their first pick.

Steve O'the north: Gordo

Considering how difficult and expensive it is to upgrade a team, I had a wild thought: Would it be possible for the Rams to undertake a wild career salvage attempt of the two disappointing Claude's (Wroten and Terrill)? For example, could they offer them a chance to be supervised, counseled and work out hard for 6 months of so, with a strict schedule? I know the odds of success would be low, but the cost likely would not be so great, and if it worked, the payoff could be big.

Just a crazy thought, but, as costs rise, maybe something like this becomes viable at some point. Certainly, if one or both of them could somehow reach their potential, they could contribute.

Steve

Jeff Gordon: Just the sight of those two would make the harder working Rams wince. This is no time to bring in more head cases. Steve Spagnuolo's task is to week out the ones that are still here. This team has some talent. What it needs is more discipline and a collective sense of purpose.

Tim: So do you think Bell will be moved to RT? I wouldnt mind it, hes fairly quick and If you get him back up to 300 he could neusance against quick small DE. He was way to small to be going up against 330 DT and even with that he played ok so Id like to see what he can do when hes out weighing guys. Mabye then add Jason Brown and Jordan Gross if they reach FA, draft Mack the line looks like Gross Brown Mack Grecco Bell. Not sexy but pretty darn solid.

Jeff Gordon: People assume a two-win team with below-average cap room will somehow land a top FA tackle. Maybe Devaney can pull that off, but I'm skeptical. Bell's body type does scream "tackle," but I'm can't imagine him starring out there after struggling a guard all season. Maybe he spends next season as an expensive utility lineman for this team, playing several spots as injuries hit.

Michael Kent: Jeff ...

Not sure that my question went through when I sent it previously, so let me pose it again just in case. You can skip over this if you got it already.

One consideration not getting any play in the Troy Glaus temporary replacement discussion is the fact that all the minor-league prospects being considered - David Freese, Brett Wallace, Allen Craig - have never been on a 40-man roster. Doesn't a player's countdown to arbitration/free agency clock start ticking the moment they are added to the 40-man roster?

Knowing that, will this weigh heavy on Mo, especially if one of these guys has a monster spring? To me, it seems like the Cards should be giving Joe Mather serious consideration for the temporary 3B role. He's already on the 40-man roster, so his clock has been ticking anyway. Plus he provides Glaus-like power and production.

Not only that, wouldn't time at 3B do some good for Mather's trade value? Not that they are looking to trade him, but it just seems the Cards could do themselves a favor by adding to Mather's value.

What do you think, Jeff?

Thanks.

Jeff Gordon: I like the idea of Mather playing third base. He showed his versatility last spring while competing for a utility job. IF he can play third competently enough, it would enhance his value to this franchise and any other. So that is a win-win deal. As for Freese and Wallace, both are destined to play some big league ball this year. In their case, Mozeliak isn't hesitant to start their big league clock -- because there are so many other prospects moving to the cusp.

DisCard: We’ll never know for sure, but I’m thinking this was Mo’s plan all along. There was one big free agent (Fuentes) target. Beyond him it was a “one size fits all” situation. With last year’s success of waiting until the pool played out and considering Carpenter might show up as Carpenter, maybe this was Mo’s strategy from the outset. If the Cards get lucky and Carp is right, then they spend on the bullpen or perhaps the everyday lineup.

I confess to reading the Sports Weekly and I was wondering if you saw the Bob Nightengale article labeling the Cards one of the “Biggest Offseason Losers.” His insightful analysis concludes, “The Cards could still use another outfielder.” Apparently he agrees with the previous Post suggestion that we play an outfielder at every position. Initially I thought this suggestion was offered facetiously, but perhaps I rushed to judgment. I would never put you on the spot asking for a comment on another writer and I know he is a prominent scribe, but a little investigation would be nice before issuing an indictment.

I actually have a question; do you think there would be any point in giving Jeff Weaver an invite to camp? He’d be dirt cheap. Duncan had great success with him previously. I know LaRussa doesn’t like retreads, but what’s the risk?

Jeff Gordon: There will be several Weaver types looking for work when the spring starts. The Cards might add one, but the team's emphasis on player development precludes the addition of too many margin veterans. The team wants to give younger players as much high-level work as possible this spring.

This philosophical shift paid off last season when 10 rookies broke in -- and most did just fine.

As for outside assessments of the Cards, the pessimism is not surprising. I thought Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com offered a pretty balanced look, discussing fan unrest while noting the rapid organizational progress.

If Rasmus, Perez, Motte, Mather, McClellan, Freese, Wallace, Boggs, et al fail to meet expectations, then this will be a hugely disappointing season. But if they continue to progress, then Mozeliak and Tony La Russa will have lots of options. If they make the most of all those options, the Cards will contend.