Brian from Vegas: Jim,
I remember hearing the old Giants GM, George Young, say, "Always draft a great big man over a great small man, because God only makes a few great big men." I think he was correct. Most of the great NFL teams had outstanding offensive and defensive lineman. The Rams were not 3-13 by accident, their lines were awful. Lets not use a early pick on a wide receiver (see Millen, Matt), or on another developmental cornerback (Wade, Shephard, Bartell, etc) lets take our medicine and rebuild the lines. This is the path to long term success. Use the later picks on wide receiver and cornerback. Sound good to you?

Jim Thomas: I don't think there's any doubt the Rams take a lineman in Round 1, be it defense or offense. But after that all bets are off in Rounds 2-3 (WR and CB will be priorities). But if the Rams don't go with an OT (Jake Long) I could see them taking one in either Rounds 2 or 3. And vice versa, if they take an OT (Long in Round 1).

ramfan njersey: after we take g.dorsey with the first pick. what about sending our 2nd round pick to detroit for roy williams ? i know detroit says he not on the block but they said that about shaun rodgers.

p.s. how does matt millien draft all those wide recievers hire my man mike martz let him bring s.mcdonald and m. furrey and not know martz was going to throw the ball all over the field ? plus they have no runnig back to think of who is any good tell me again why does this man still have a job !!! im not even a lion fan and im upset when is enough enough

Jim Thomas:
Williams, I'm told, has some major head case tendencies. Millen does seem pretty firm on his desire not to trade Williams. But you're right, it wouldn't be the first time a team exec changed his mind on something like that.
It is amazing that Millen keeps his job.

Gabriel to Snow: Hi Jim, I wish I'd have asked you this prior to the owners meeting so you could investigate if need be. We all remember how we lost to the Seahawks a couple years ago due to a loophole in the "10 second run off" rule. If I remember correctly, had that loophole not existed, the Rams win the division with that victory tallied at seasons end. Seattle blundered into benefiting from that rule inadvertently. The problem is having no provision for the runoff due to an illegal formation penalty. I thought Linehan provided a perfect example of why the issue should be addressed when he stated "If out of time outs & needing to stop the clock, I'll just have everyone stand where they are as Ike & Torry run up & hike the ball between them. 5 yard penalty, clock stops, we get another play." I fully expected to see that issue resolved at the next owners meetings. I have been waiting for a rule change or for a coach to use Scotts suggestion, thereby raising the topic again. I don't believe either has happened. Am I just uninformed? Or can I hope for the Rams to use Josh Browns leg to win a Seattle game this year, when Scott purposely uses this loophole to stop the clock with no time outs remaining?

Jim Thomas: The "loophole" still exists, but it's an extreme case. A center has to be in position to snap the ball with time running out, and I believe there's a provision that a certain number of offensive players have to be within the what's called the "tackle" box.

Kiefer: Hi Jim,

What are the chances that F. Brown will not be a Ram next season? Also if he isnt, do you think the Rams will pursue a CB in the early rounds of the draft, or try to trade for L. Sheppard?

What will the Rams DL look like if we draft G. Dorsey?

Thanks

Jim Thomas: Question 1: I'd say greater than 80 percent, although there's a remote chance he'll be there for part of the season.

Question 2: I'm sure the Rams would try both options. But the whole Sheppard things seems odd to the Rams. Yes, Sheppard had some injury problems with Philly, but he has played well for them. Why are the Eagles suddenly trying to dump him?

Question 3: I would guess the starters would be: LDE Little: DT Dorsey; DT Carriker; RDE Hall. Glover and Ryan would come off the bench.

Gabriel to Snow: Why is everyone so enamoured with Gholston? Yes, he is a workout wonder. Workouts don't mean squat once the whistle blows. How many Lawrence Phillips & Jimmy Kennedys must we draft before we learn not to take chances on players with questionable dedication? Especially this year, when the 2nd overall pick may garner aprox. $30 million guaranteed. If they couldn't keep the effort up in a college atmosphere, what are we to expect once that kind of coin is already in their pocket?
Jake had only ONE penalty his entire career! That's incredible! Fred Miller & Alex Barron drew so many false start flags you'd think they were doing jumping jacks at the line of scrimmage! Jake Long is a good pick. As is Chris Long. Even if he struggles, it won't be from lack of effort, & all you can ask of someone is their best effort. Same seems to be true for Dorsey. He is passionate, played hurt, & he can dominate.
So, for me, Gholston only makes sense if we trade out & get an extra player. If no trade, it's either of the Long boys or Dorsey. IMHO any of those 3 will be fine. Where do you stand at this point?

Jim Thomas: Here are the arguments for Gholston.
_ He was much more productive in college than Kennedy.

_ He's a better natural pass rusher than Chris Long.

_ He made Jake Long look bad on a couple of plays when Ohio State played Michigan.

But saying all that, I think the Rams still like Chris Long over Gholston, and there are some at Rams Park who seem to like Jake Long best of all. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they're still sorting all this out.