Kevin: Jim,

Why weren't the tight ends involved in the game plan yesterday? Jim, I have great respect for your reporting.

Jim Thomas: A good question. Having McMichael serve as a glorified tackle all day _ a move accentuated by Pace's injury _ was another indicator of the conservative game plan on offense.

John: Do you think the Rams will try to work Chris Draft into the starting linebacker mix? Like maybe putting him in the middle and sliding Witherspoon over to the strong side linebacker? Considering the strength at d-line, is a 3-4 alignment an option? Do they even have the personnel to try and implement a 3-4 defense?

Jim Thomas: The Rams don't really have the personnel to play the 3-4. You need OLBs in the 3-4 that weight 250 and can rush the passer. You need a monster in the middle, one of those 350 pounders, and you need bigger ends. I'd like to see Draft in the lineup somewhere, and the logical guy he could replace would be Chillar. Chillar made some nice plays Sunday, including forcing and recovering a fumble. But it looked like he got pinned inside a lot on those running plays that got bounced outside.

Gary Howard: Jim,

Isaac Burce took a a really hard blow to the head near the end of Sunday's game, when the game was out of reach.
Bruce seemed ok after the hit but why run a play like that when the game was already lost?

Gary

Jim Thomas: I think no matter what the score, you're always trying to win the game. To me, it was more surprising that the Rams took a kneel-down on the final play. Bruce, by the way, told a close friend that he didn't think the hit was illegal. However, since a flag was thrown, I would expect to see the DB get fined by the NFL later in the week.

Jay: Obviously Brown's return will give the secondary a boost, but what can we expect from that D-Line? I just thought it was strange that the Rams were so "locked in" on Hall that they didn't make a legit push for Rice as an alternative. In your opinion will this season end up being more of the same with the front four?

Jim Thomas: Hey, we've only seen one chapter of a 16-page book. If the Rams can beat SF this week, they'll be 1-1 _ same as they were last year _ only they will be 1-0 in the division. (Better off than a year ago, when they beat Denver in the opener, but lost to SF the next week.) Saying that, the overall numbers looked the same. The Rams are near the bottom of the league in rushing yards and yards per attempt. Very disappointing, wouldn't you say? You have a whole offseason to make improvements, and the first game out of the game it looks the same. I don't know about Rice. But the Rams could've signed DeWayne White from Tampa in free agency instead of trading for Hall.(He had two forced fumbles for Detroit Sunday I believe). Haslett really liked White. Also, even if the Rams drafted Carriker, I would've loved to have seen the trade for Jenkins come off. I'm in no way giving up on Hall. Without looking at tape (I usually do that Tuesday and Wednesday nights), he looked OK, but had chances to make a couple of nice plays but couldn't finish them off.

Jay: Olsen called a very poor game yesterday. On the drive following their last TD, the Rams are 3rd & 2 and he puts the ball in the air twice in a row? That happened to be one of many "suspect" third down calls on his part. He had a similar habit in '06 Additionally, he completely failed to utilize McMichael (or any of the other 3 TE's this team carries???). Olsen had no real OC track record coming in that I am aware of, he just kind of came along with Linehan. So when is it fair to ask for a change?

Jim Thomas: It seemed like the Rams lost a little faith in Jackson after the second fumble. He had only two carries. But last season, Olson was much more committed to running the football than Linehan and the offense was very productive down the stretch, going 4-2. I think it's way too early to think about a change.