JJG: My last question...I am a Gordo fan...his game day Blogs is almost as good as direct tv Sunday Ticket....but how does it not benefit the team to turn it over to Haslett. He is the only one (with injuries) to actually give hope to the fans that we might have a potentially a very good defense(RIP L. Marmie).0-7and his guys are still playing hard And his his guys have to watch the invisble offense..yet they keep getting quietly better...your Honest take?

Jim Thomas: Granted, the defense has made some strides, but does having the 18th-ranked defense in a 32-team league qualify you for a promotion? But as I said in an earlier post, Haslett could be auditioning for a job over the final nine games.

morris puma: Why does'nt Linehan watch how the other teams score? He has no clue once the Rams have the ball inside the opponents 20 yard line. He has had that problem last year and especially this year. Any team that can score one touchdown can beat the Rams, because the offense does'nt have a clue how to get in the endzone. He should admit he needs help from a offensive mined person. He just does'nt get it. Any team can score , it should'nt be that hard. He should use play action or put Hagans in the back field and use him as an option. Try something different, because it isn't working what he's doing. Morris P.

Jim Thomas: There's no doubt the rams stink in the red zone this year. But they didn't last year. After a slow start in the red zone, they ended up among the top teams in the league in red zone efficiency.
Linehan is an offensive-minded person. He got his head-coaching job in St. Louis because of his work as an offensive coordinator, making the current nose-dive all the more mind-boggling.

Hugh: Jim-

Was London Fletcher a free agent this past offseason before the Redskins picked him up? If he was available, why didn't the Rams try getting him? He would have seemed like a perfect guy for the defense- a leader, a fan favorite, and a guy that knows how to tackle.

Jim Thomas: Fletcher was a free agent. He left miffed after his first tour of duty because he thought the team low-balled him. You may remember how he blasted the front office after in the pages of the Post-Dispatch after he signed with Buffal. So I don't think there was any way he would return here after that.

eldiablo: I've read the theories advanced by various P-D staffers about why Linehan should not be fired pronto. I'd be interested in your take JT if you haven't advanced it already. But try this theory on for size. If the Rams dismissed Linehan now and appointed an interim (say, Haslett), wouldn't it give them greater flexibility to gauge interest of several "name" coaches (Marty S., Parcells, Dennis Green, Cowher, etc.). Some of these guys may be uncomfortable discussing the job with a head coach under contract. If you assume Linehan will be dumped no later than 48 hours after this season, why not make a move earlier to initiate a search for a head coach with strong player personnel background. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I'm diggin' JTL??? but tell Coats to put down the crack pipe and stop picking the Horns to win. I thought Rams Park was a Drug Free Zone.

Jim Thomas: 1.) Shaw is taking the avalanche of injuries into account.
2.) Shaw, good Catholic that he is, still feels some remorse over axing Rich Brooks after two years. (As a result, he gave Dick Vermeil a third year after DV went 9-23 in his first two season here, and we all know what happened in Year 3.)
3.) By admitting that Linehan failed as a coach; Shaw is admitting that he failed. It was Shaw who obviously hired Linehan.
4.) Believe me, if Shaw wanted to explore the waters on hiring a new coach, he could always get his point across through agents and intermediaries. It happens all the time in player free agency.

P.S. _ I think my partner, Mr. Coats, felt the Rams would win because he felt the return of Bulger would spark the offense. I don't know if you follow baseball, but I think he got his crack from all of our baseball writers who picked the Cardinals to win the NL Central. Even a helmet head like myself could see they lacked the starting pitching.

Win in '08: What's the formula for a winning Rams team in 2008? I think they're much closer to building a dominating defense than an explosive offense, and would like to see them draft accordingly. Spend early picks on playmaking defenders. Win with defense and a merely average offense. A healthy O-line, Jackson and Bulger should give you that, even with ordinary receivers. It's a different mindset than Greatest Show, but isn't it more realistic?

Jim Thomas: The Rams need a speed-rushing defensive end, a pass-rushing linebacker, and a safety on defense. (This is my minimum shopping list there.) On offense, they need a speed wide receiver, and an OT, and a young QB to groom as at least as a future No. 2.
I don't know yet what to make of this tremendous offensive collapse. Assuming Pace is healthy and back in '08; and Jackson, Holt, and Bulger return to form, the future doesn't look all that bleak on offense. But is it safe _ or wise _ to assume that all those players will return to form in '08?