James: Hi Jim,

What a way to start the season. The question I have is about Haslett's defense. I was never a fan of his team or his defense and still don't like being the D.C. They can't tackle, cover and they just seem to be out of place. I don't think his defense was ever in the top 12. If Tye Hill was his pick, he has speed but can't cover or tackle and same with Jonathan Wade. Still don't like Carriker being a DT and think he should be a DE, like he was in college. It's a tough transition. What do you think? It's going to be a very very long season.

Thank You

Jim Thomas: I guess of all the things that happened in the game, I'm most disappointed about the defense. Even with Leonard Little going down early in the game, I expected more out of the unit. The Rams have invested a lot of money and a lot of high draft picks in their front seven, and there just wasn't much there on Sunday. I expected that their might be some disjointed play in the secondary by Fakhir Brown and Oshiomogho Atogwe because they basically missed all of training camp and the preseason. What I did not expect is for Tye Hill and Corey Chavous to have such terrible plays. The Rams need to get Ricky Manning out there and see what he can do. He can't be any worse.

RamsFanInKnoxville: Hi Jim – Thanks for this forum.

As a life long Rams fan I’ve looked forward to sharing the fun of the NFL and more specifically the fun of being Rams fans and being Rams buddies together with my young son, and we’ve had a couple good years of doing just that. But, now he’s six years old and really getting into the NFL and it’s getting REAL hard to get him excited about the Rams. What kid doesn’t want to be fans of a winner and I’m losing him as Rams fan. He’s asked for Romo jersey and doesn’t want to wear the Steven Jackson or Marc Bulger jerseys I bought him and he’s worn proudly in the past. But, now he’s figuring it out that the Rams don’t win very much.

The reason for this post is to ask you please forward this on to the upper management at Rams Park and to Chip R. in L.A. and let them know they are losing a whole generation of future Rams fans through these down years. They need to fix this, and fix it now! Kids are drawn to winners, and so are adults for that matter.

Thank your again for this forum.

P.S. - I’m going to buy my son that Romo jersey even though I HATE the Cowboys with every fiber of my being. But, I love my son more and want him to have fun being an NFL fan.

Jim Thomas: I'll try to relay your thoughts to Chip.

midnighter67: I'm sure you have been inundated with angry emails by now so I won't go overboard with insults of the players, coaches, and front office people. Just put my name on the long list of angry and frustrated Rams fans. I've been a fan since '78 and this is the worst state I've seen this team in. I can't put my finger on a single cause; it seems the blame can be spread evenly throughout the organization. The woeful seasons of the 90s weren't as painful to watch as last year's failures and yesterday's debacle. I actually thought, after 1999's improbable finish, that the worst was behind us but, clearly, that isn't the case. How could it come to this again? It's obvious that the only truly good thing that's happened to this franchise since 1989 is Dick Vermeil. Along with him came some good players via the draft and free agency but, like Vermeil, most of those players are long gone. What can possibly be done to turn this mess around? I feel totally frustrated and helpless. I live in Colorado so boycotting games or booing loudly at the sloppy play we've been "treated" to is not an option for me. Maybe the organization can find a new direction through new ownership in the coming months but, honestly, who wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on this garbage? I wouldn't care if they turned over the entire coaching staff and the entire roster with undrafted free agents if it meant we could see some inspired play on the field. What we saw yesterday was absolutely apalling and a slap in the face to the true fans who have stuck with this team through all the lean years. You know more about this team than any of us so what's the solution, Jim?

Jim Thomas: Well, I wish I had an easy answer for you as well. The Rams basically were dominated in every phase of the game. And given the strength of their schedule early in the season, I'm not sure how it gets better. I just can't believe the talent level is as bad as what it looked like on the field. You can't tell me there isn't 8-8 talent on this team. So I don't know what's missing.

Leroy Irvin: Is Tye Hill really a former first round draft pick entering his third season? This guy is totally clueless. He got schooled by 2nd teamers. He got schooled by a rookie. Can we finally label him a bust? I count 8 first round draft picks spent on defense this decade and this defense is atrocious. I hear Sheppard wants out of Philly but I'm sure he'd veto a trade to this team if he could in lieu of riding the bench in Philly this season. I don't think any quality free agent will come to this this mess no matter how much they're offered. This franchise is doomed. Yet I'll still watch every game from start to finish just as I did throughout the '90s, '81, and '82. Loyal fans deserve better than this.

Jim Thomas: Hill has a lot of talent. But breakdowns in technique and inconsistencies in plya continue to haunt him. And in the case of DeSean Jackson's first catch, I think it comes down to who wants the ball more. Hill was in pretty good position to make a play on that one _ and we all saw what happened.

Nolan Cromwell: What trade value does Torry Holt have? I agree with Bernie, Isaac Bruce was the class of the WR corps. I think it's clear Holt really doesn't want to be in St. Louis and even the best WR in the league couldn't get this team to the playoffs. Let's get what we can for him and move on.

Jim Thomas: Torry Holt wants to win. And he wants to win know. The only thing Torry said after the game was that he didn't have anything good to say, so he didn't feel like talking. Does that make Holt classless? Isaac Bruce was notorious for leaving the locker room as soon as the game ended, win, lose, or draw. So what's the big deal? I caught up with Holt at Rams Park on Monday afternoon and will have a story on him for Tuesday's paper.