James Arnold: Jim,
Can you provide any insight or thoughts as to how the rams will proceed with the 2nd pick? any chance they trade down to avoid having to pay the bigger money to the 2nd pick? any chance of trading the 2nd pick all together for a veteran now?

Jim Thomas: I think all of those trade scenarios are possible. If they keep the pick, the four names that are in play right now are Glenn Dorsey, Darren McFadden, Chris Long and Jake Long.
And that's about as far as it goes right now.

Dave: Hi Jim!

Thanks again for being here for us!

I have a comment really, more than a question. It's about Madison Hedgecock. Have you noticed that in the last two weeks of the playoffs how much the commentators love this guy!? Collinsworth went so far as to essentially call Rams management a bunch of boobs(it takes one to know one!) for outright releasing him and Joe Buck commented that the G-men love him so much that they signed him to a 5 year contract extension!

I saw on two TD plays that Hedgecock cut blocked one guy to clear the way and crushed a linebacker to make the hole that Brandon Jacobs waltzed through. Is this just not another nail in the coffin of the Shaw/Zygmunt/Linehan brain (t)rust!?

You just know these guys are going to sign Brandon Chillar to a long term contract for big bucks this off season when the guy gets blocked by everybody's grandma! I can see the return of the 90's already!

Jim Thomas: Dave--There's no doubt letting Hedgecock go was a mistake, particularly since he was replaced with Richard Owens.
As for Chillar, it doesn't look like he will be re-signed.

rambro 180degrees: boy ,that cromartie would look good in a ram uni, ...tye hill, it wasnt even close!!!!!!!!!!

we need co offensive and defensive co ordinators ,so if we f up we can fire one during the season, draft dorsey, felix, lbs and wr's till we are done.......easy
go rams in 08, i hate seeing dallas in playoffs without my rams to knock em out like the old days

Jim Thomas: There can be no doubt Cromartie looks like a slam dunk better ick than Hill right now, but two years is a little early to judge and there were injury questions surrounding Cromartie when he came out.

Jackie Chiles: Jim,

My question is about the Edward Jomes Dome and the current Football Operations there.

Who is responsible for upholding the lease requirements for the Dome? Have the requirements been met for the 10 year period?

I have been to almost each and every game in 2007. I noticed that the pre-game functions, game functions and halftime show are terribly depressing to listen to and to watch. The music is off, it doesn't coincide with the big screens, and the whole football atmosphere is just a wreck. Does the NFL or the Rams manage the complete football experience inside of the dome for game day?

I recently read in an article that a poll was done in each NFL city rating the whole game day experience along with the dome itself and the football experience inside of each dome. St. Louis was among the bottom.

Does the Rams ownership know this and what are they doing about it?

Also,

Do the rams plan on pursuing a real full time fullback for 2008? James Hodgins (sp) was the last true one we had. Is he still around?

Thanks!

Jim Thomas: The lease requirements are monitored by the Rams and the people who run the dome (I believe it's the Convention and Visitors Commission.)
Anyway, the Rams and the CVC have only recently agreed on meeting the 10-year requirements. (13 years into the dome lease.) About $30 million of improvements are scheduled in the next year or so; in a $300 million stadium, it's not like this is a massive facelift.
The game day activities and entertainment, etc., are the responsibility of the Rams, subject to some NFL regulations.
I wrote an article about the Rams game-day atmosphere nearly two months ago now, I believe, and cited the stadium survey you're talking about. I'm sure management knows about it. They are aware that there are game-day problems. But knowin there's a problem and doing something about it are two different things.
Don't know about the fullback thing. They could use one. I think Hodgins is out of football.

Kathy: Hello Jim , Do you any idea or do you know if the Rams are starting to get concerned with ticket sales next year ?
Are they concerned with the backlash of having their Head coach return . I am waiting to see what they do the next few weeks before I decide

Jim Thomas: If the Rams aren't concerned about ticket sales, they could be in for a big shock over the next few months when the PSLs start coming in. (Or more precisely, don't start coming in.)
I think they have a sense of this.

Time to go. Thanks for all the questions. I got to as many as I could. We'll have a chat again next week. Stay tuned for details.