jon from kentucky: Thanks for your time and answers Jim. We seem to have some depth on the defensive line this year in carriker, long, hall, little, glover, Adeyanju or however its spelled.. would it be in our best interest to start adeyanju over glover? why? why not? How many sacks do you see the defensive line snagging this season. Chris Long?

Jim Thomas: Adeyanju at about 280 isn't big enough to play inside on an every-down basis. End is still his natural spot. And he still is a below-average pass rusher, although he has gotten some penetration during the preseason. Haslett and Baker like to rotate d-linemen, so Adeyanju will get a lot of work.
As for sacks. I think Little to date has shown he's capable of getting back into double figures. Even at this advanced stage of his career, Glover is still good for five or six. I say Carriker gets 2-3, Ryan 1-2, and the Long-Hall combo about 8.

lstein: Thanks for taking my question. Bennett is cap protected. What about Hall? Is there any chance of him being released/traded to open a spot for Stanley or another WR/returner?

Jim Thomas: Hall is in the final year of a contract the Rams inherited when they made the trade with Kansas City. So there is no cap hit. But I don't think Hall is going anywhere. He has a history with Saunders, and has been very good on the practice field and in the presason before the latest injury.

Bob: Jim-
From your observation, are Torry and Linehan on good terms now, or are they just co-existing with Saunders as the middle-man?

Jim Thomas: I think they're fine. Holt's attitude has been very good all throughout camp and the preseason. I think what you saw late last season was just a lot of frustration boiling over. We'll see what happens once the regular season starts.

Steve B.: Jim: Thanks for these chats. It really helps those of us who don't have access to the St. Louis broadcast media.

From what I can see, the Rams only have five NFL caliber linebackers, one of them a rookie (Chamberlain). McGarigle has done next to nothing this pre-season. Who do you see making the final roster, and will they keep seven Lb's or only six?

Second,with Gorin out and Pace hurting, do they just keep three true tackles and hope Bell or Greco can fill in if needed, or has any other tackle in camp shown enough to stick?

Finally, I thought Chris Long looked a little better against the Ravens, and I'm wondering if you agree.
Thanks.

Jim Thomas: Actually, after a bad first game in Tennessee, McGarigle has rallied with solid games against Baltimore and San Diego.
As I've mentioned in earlier posts, the Rams think Greco is pretty much game-ready at guard, but not at tackle. So I think they'll scan the waiver wires on final cutdown day Saturday. (Keep in mind the Rams pick second on all waiver claims of younger players, behind only Miami.) Also Fred Miller, the former Ram, could be a possibility as well. He's still on the street.

JMAN: Jim -

Why is Trent Green not getting any work in pre-season games? Even if Bulger plays well, you know he will get injured at some point this season. The team will need to count on Trent at some point this year. Will he see any significant action this Thursday?

Jim Thomas: I'm writing about Trent Green for Wednesday's PD. In it, I'll get into why he hasn't played much this preseason. But just to let you know: He's starting Thursday at Kansas City.