dominic: Hey Jim:
1)What end position best suits Chris Long,left or right end? 2)Why not Jeff Saturday at center instead of Matt Birk for our veteran center unless we can get Jason Brown from Baltimore? 3)Youre going to get sick of me writing this,but cutting Drew Bennett will count only 50,000 against the cap according to Howard Balzer,who by the way thinks the Rams should cut him yesterday.We need to ask ourselves.....is he better than Torry Holt?He already cost us Bruuuuce and we know he wasnt better than him.Personally,I dont think Torry wants to be here so if we can get any draft pick for him,I say let him go. 4)We need to keep Orlando Pace so hopefully they can restructure,is that a possibility? Thanks Jim!

Jim Thomas: 1.) Not sure. But he's got a whole NFL season in at right end now, so why switch?
2.) I'm sure Saturday is a guy the Rams are considering as well as Birk or Jason Brown.
3.) Here's how Howard comes up with the $50K. Bennett currently counts $5.05 million against the cap. If he's cut now there's $5 million of dead money that you subtract against the $5.05 million. My point is, is it really worth $5 million of dead money to get read of Drew Bennett? In essence, you would be starting with a cap of $118 million instead of $123 million.
4.) Restructuring is one of the possibilities with Pace.

donsods: Jim, I have read a lot of post that urge the Rams to cut/trade Holt & Pace to make room in FA. How about keeping those high character guys and not making a big splash in FA this year? High character guys are hard to find and both are still better than most. Build this team through the draft for long term success, with high character veterens to show the way. I'd even advocate bringing back Chavous for less money a la James Hill. He is not a starter anymore, but he is high character and can provide better depth than some of the other guys on the roster. Your thoughts?

Jim Thomas: Personally, I'd love to see the Rams restructure both. That would still free up several million bucks to help with free agency, and bring Pace and Holt back. But I don't know if the current coaching staff thinks Holt and Pace have much left to get give at this stage of their careers. And I'm not sure if Pace or Holt really want to come back. One thing I've noticed in covering the league as long as I have. Players near the end of their careers just want to win. And with the Rams clearly in a rebuilding mode, Pace and Holt may not want to endure another season or two here hoping that things get better.
As for Chavous, I think he'd make a heck of a coach.

28-Blast: Now that Cory Chavous has been cut, it would seem that the Rams need a new safety. Can it be told if there is a FA currently being considered?

Is Brett Romberg an adequate center, or is the need there great?

Jim Thomas: The obvious choice would be Butler of the New York Giants in free agency. After all, he played for Spagnuolo for two years. But if the Rams are going to invest a lot of money in retaining Atogwe, they may not want to spend big bucks in free agency. They may look to the draft instead.
Romberg has been slowed by injuries throughout his time in St. Louis and is undersized. I'm sure the Rams want to upgrade there and find a starting center either through free agency or the draft.

San Diego Chris: Hi Jim,

Fred Taylor has just been released from the Jags. The guy sill seems to have gas in the tank. The Rams could use a proven back since Steven Jackson has a history of injury during the season. Do you think that Taylor would be a good short term fit in the Ram organization?

Jim Thomas: Taylor is 33, and that practically makes him a dinosaur by running back standards. If the Rams could get him cheaply, he'd be worth a look. Otherwise, I'd think they'd try to get younger there.

COGzilla: With all of the talk of offensive tackles and crabtree, i think a lot of ram nation may be surprised to see a defensive guy as our pick, but i believe that very well could be the case.
This is a new staff and regime and they wont be scared to hop on a raji type just because of failures of recent dtackle picks. He is no jimmy kennedy.
Spags likes his dlinemen and i could picture that 340 pound monster roaming the middle.

Jim Thomas: I couldn't agree with you more. Raji of Boston College could provide the bulk and the attitude that the Rams need to stop the run. It would be a mistake to overlook him in any discussion of possible Rams picks in the first round.