Arturo: Hi Jim,
My name is Arturo I live in Mexico, been a Ram fan since 1950
My question is with the problems Orlando Pace is have with his shoulder, how much longer can we count on him being their for every game, do we have a vailable back=up
Thanks A

Jim Thomas: Arturo--I think a lot depends on how Pace makes it through the season. If he continues to have problems once the regular season starts, the Rams have to think about replacing him at the end of the season. Keep in mind, his current injury is in the same shoulder but is unrelated to the season-ending injury that required surgery last fall. Adam Goldberg has played very well this camp as a backup for Pace at left tackle. I think the Rams will still be looking for a fourth tackle on the waiver wire once the final cuts are made over the weekend.

Bob: Jim -
Drew Bennett dropped a tough pass and an easy one in Saturday's game before going out with another injury. On one of those I saw a very disgusted look from Bulger.
With Avery and Burton's impressive performances, do you think the Rams and Bulger are losing patience with Bennett, and could he be cut?
Thanks

Jim Thomas: There's probably not a person at Rams Park who isn't disappointed in Bennett's play so far _ including Bennett. But it's way to early to give up on him. Now, I'm not saying that if Burton and Avery continue to impress, that you don't cut into Bennett's playing time or even bench him at some point. But you don't do that based on one good preseason game by Avery and Burton. (Burton, by the way, is the guy who is backing up Bennett's spot. Avery is behind Holt.)
Besides there are some financial ramifications in cutting Bennett. For one, you've already paid the guy a $1 million roster bonus (early in the offseason). For another, $500,000 of his $2.5 million base salary for this year is guaranteed. And for a third, you would have to take a $5 million cap hit on unamortized signing bonus money.

bassrecord: Linehan always says positive things. It's the PR spin. I understand he cannot be negative and motivate people but just how accurate is he? News media accounts seem to truncate his real meanings. Carriker and Long are typical examples. How much smoke is he blowing about them, if any? How accurate do you think Linehan really is talking about this team right now?

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 means things are way WORSE off than he says, 5 he is right on and 10 things are way BETTER than he says (if that's possible)- Where do you think overall, on average, things really are compared to Linny?

Thanks
John

Jim Thomas: Geez, you're making this way more complicated than it should be. Almost every coach tries to accentuate _ or even exaggerate _ the positive. Dick Vermeil is the classic example. Rarely did you hear him rip a player publicly, which made it all the more noteworthy when he did.
Now I do think coaches, including Linehan, sometimes strain their credibility when they go too far out on the line about a certain player and unit. On the Long-Carriker credibility scale, where 1 means things are worse, and 5 means he is right on, I'd say Linehan is about at a 3 to 3 1/2.

jguev003: How does Tanard Davis look out there playing and what are his chances on making the team?

Jim Thomas: He sure looked good on that blitz against Baltimore but I don't think he stands much of a chance.

james: Hi Jim,

Do you think the defense has improved from last year and do you think they have the depth for the rest of the year? I really don't see too much improvement. Losing Wroten (pick I didn't like), Justin King, no depth at the linebacker position. And do they know how to tackle and is it Hasletts job or the position coaches job to teach them?

Thank You

Jim Thomas: Well, based on what we've seen the past two games, I'd say there is some cause for optimism that the defense will be improved. The team has tackled much better in the past two games. The first-team defense has given up only one TD all preseason; and the overall red zone play has been exemplary. On the minus side, we still haven't seen any takeaways by the defense. And I still think physical, power running teams will give the Rams trouble.