Francisco Prado: Jim, greetings from Vegas. Can you tell me what is going on with Torry Holt? Is it the knee? Has age caught to him? Can't get no more separation? Avery is developing faster than we thought since we all thought he was a little raw coming out of college, shouldn't he be open or at least draw less attention.

Jim Thomas: Very interesting question. And tough to answer. I keep waiting for him to have a breakout game, but it hasn't happened yet and we are almost at midseason. For one, the Rams aren't throwing nearly as much as they have in the past, so there are fewer opportunities. I don't think Holt runs as well as he did, say, five years ago, but he's by no means a slowpoke. He still has great hands and runs very good routes. He should still be a 1,000-yard plus guy. But this offense is still developing. We'll see what happens with Jackson back in the lineup. And I do think, with Avery continuing to establish himself, it will draw attention away from Holt. But it hurts not having any type of receiving threat at TE with McMichael out.

Sam Rescone: While the club has been playing MUCH better since Haslett took the helm, what do you think will be the focus in the upcoming draft & free agency? I still say: left OT; LB; CB; S, OG, LDE. What do you think?

Jim Thomas: I think all those needs are still be formulated, and will continue to crystallize as this season winds down. I'd say OT, CB, S, C, DE, LB are the top ones at this point. (Geez, that's almost every position.)

James: Jim,

I realize we lost the game but I see a lot of positives coming out of it. The defense has played very well in particular a couple of guys I have been a little down on; Atowge and Long. I still think Chavous is a liability but am happy overall with the defensive side of the ball.

The offense puzzles me a little. Where are the screens when we have pressure coming? Why not use Holt in a wide receiver screen since we put him in motion? I'm sure even Klop could catch a TE screen. It seems we're not making the necessary adjustments to defensive pressure. I do think the game would have been different if Jackson were playing, so I am not ready to place the blame on Bulger just yet eventhough he has been throwing a lot off his back foot. Still reminds me of Jim Everett.

I think Haslett has done an excellent job. The team seems prepared to play which was one of my biggest complaints about Linehan. I think other teams are looking at the Rams on the schedule and thinking it won't be a pushover.

Zygmunt and Shaw still need to go but our draft class has played better than expected. I hope that between Haslett and Devany our next class starts with an offensive tackle and goes to safety and linebacker after that. A quarterback of the future would be nice too.

Please send my reguards to Chip for the tough coaching change and let him know that I at least have some hope for the future.

Jim Thomas: Pittman is not nearly the receiving threat that Jackson is, which minimizes the effect of screens. Rams rookie receivers missed hot reads _ or route adjustments on blitzes _ on more than one occasion Sunday. That hurts as well.

dave: Jim, do the rams see anything in Jonothan Wade. The guy was so raw and got burnt repeatedly last season. Does Haslett or Devaney really think he can become a contributor at CB some day? Some day before his rookie contract runs out?

Also, will we see Greco or Schuening this season. It seems that if richie plays well and gets a new contract at the end of the season, we may never see greco play and definetly not Schuening (since Bell has the left side manned for good). If he can't do anything at RT, then what was the purpose of picking two guards? Seems like a mistake in scouting really...

Jim Thomas: I think they were hoping for more from Wade than they're getting. He's been on the field at CB only when they've had no other alternatives.
I too wonder why the Rams took two guards in the draft instead of a tackle. Granted, Greco was a tackle in college _ and a good one _ but the Rams seem convinced that his future is at guard. There's no guarantee Incognito will be back. And keep in mind, even if they re-sign Incognito, players do get injured. Just look at the Rams line the last couple of years. It doesn't hurt to have depth.

michael gordon: hey jim, thanks for the forum.

what do the rams think of fells. they seem to like him and bulger was talking him up last week. will he become the primary pass-catching TE for the team since becht and klop both have terrible hands (granted klop is injured).

also, wondering how king is recovering from his injury and what he thinks about his move to the pro's since he was put on IR and his penn state team is keying on a bcs championship match...cheers

Jim Thomas: Rams seem to like Fells. He's caught a ton of passes on the practice field. And had one thrown to him Sunday. He played a lot more than Klop against New England, although Klop has some issues with a wrist injury.
King is doing fine. His rehab is on course, but he's got a long way to go before he's ready to get on the field.