Fan: Is anyone surprised that a coach would request the services of an offensive coordinator with a history of failure, eg. Olson while in Detroit, or players / retreads that were unsuccessful on a losing franchise ie. McMichael & Minor, and giving up a 7th round 3rd string QB,(who is currently a #2, or 1 heartbeat away from being a starter, who had great potential, for a 7th round (?) ?

While most reporters thought he had a great first year coaching in St. Louis, when in fact, this Head Coach was 5 and 8 and beat 3 non-playoff teams to finish the year at 8 and 8.

I'm a fan of Mike Martz and he did hire Larry Maire, (who had great success in Arizona/joke), but Martz went to the super bowl and 2 other births in the playoffs. Yet, when Martz was in town going to the playoffs wasn't considered successful season.

Lesson learned: don't hire friends unless they are the best available at their position. It will cost you your job.

There should be a fear that this player acquistion style will only continue. I liked Madison Hedgecock, Godspell, and Kevin Curtis. Get rid of Byrd, maybe Brown.
Let's hope Saunders / Haslett have more input in the draft.

? Is Greg Williams off the radar? or has he found a job? (I'm sure he could learn something working with Haslett, and vice versa, although egos could get in the way).

What worthy offensive tackles will be available in the 2nd round?

Jim Thomas: As you mentioned, coaches hire friends all the time, or people they have worked with before. It always helps if they're competent.

I'm not sure about the second-round OTs. Give me a couple of weeks on that one.

Dominic: Hi Jim! Thanx again for taking our questions.Isnt karma great?The patriots spied on the rams and beat us 17-14,so they lose after being heavily favored,17-14.......hmmmmm,interesting? Please tell me the Rams are considering cutting Glover,Chavous and reworking Littles contract to net them close to 10 million dollars.And do you think they will be active in free agency?
You are definitely appreciated!!!

Jim Thomas: Actually, the Rams lost Super Bowl XXXVI by a 20-17 score. But the margin of victory/defeat was the same _ three points.
I think Chavous and Glover will be back. I'm sure the Rams want to rework Little's contract.
My current read is that the Rams won't go nuts in free agency, but they'll make a couple of big moves, and some smaller ones _ similar to what they've done in the recent past.

S.Monkey:


Hi JT,

I live in Boston and just want to tell you how beautiful of an experience it was to see so many Patriot fans unhappy after the Super Bowl, sweet justice my friend.
That being said, I believe we've made three great moves since this time last year: Drafting Carriker, drafting Ryan, and hiring Saunders. To me, the obvious is that we have to have an A+ draft and shore up the OLine in free agency. My biggest concern is: What happens to Leonard Little's situation? It seems like he is on the wrong side of 30 and with his off the field issues combined with a huge cap number, maybe cutting LL is our best option. What's the buzz around Rams park about this and the Ike situation?

Best,


S. Monkey.

Jim Thomas: Why cut Little? Why not just rework his contract to save cap money. If the Giants showed us anything in the Super Bowl, it's that a fierce pass rush can slow even the most potent of offenses, and it can also make a secondary look better.
I sensed the mood change from midseason (it looked like Isaac was out) to the end of the season (it looked the the team wanted him back but in a reduced role). I would think that the addition of Al Saunders as offensive coordinator helps Isaac's cause since Saunders had him as a WRs coach in 1999 and 2000 and knows first-hand what Isaac is like and what he can do.

Chris: Though I have been a long time Ram fan, I guess I'm not an inside football type. I've heard it said many times that the NFL hates the Rams. Why is this and what events lead to this situation?

Jim Thomas: I wouldn't say the league hates the Rams. But the NFL owners never thought much of Georgia Frontiere, and obviously didn't want the team to move from LA to St. Louis. However, John Shaw is still held in high regard as a member of the league's powerful management council.

Mark in NY: Jim, was that a great Patriots loss or what? I have finally got back that "bounce in my step" that I lost about 7 years ago after a similar super bowl. Bellicheck mauled the Ram receivers and got away with it, and our beloved Rams lost what should have been their second (or third) title. How's it taste Bill?

Finally, do you believe the Patriots taped the Rams walk-thrus, and how much do you think it hurt us. Thanks!

Jim Thomas: From what I've been able to gather, it looks like the Patriots did tape the Rams' walk-throughs. Without knowing exactly what the Rams worked on that day six years ago, it's hard to say how much it may have hurt the Rams. But the Rams did work on their short-yardage, goal-line, and red zone offense that day _ and if you look back at the play by play from that game, the Rams weren't in the red zone very often, but were stuffed on nearly every play down there. Mind you, these were the days when the Rams were at or near the top of the league in red zone offense every year. So read what you want into that.