David: I wanted to get something clarified. We've had a lot of early picks since the Rams have been in St. Louis, though since we drafted Torry Holt, the only first round pick (and 24th at that) who's stood out is Steven Jackson, with Adam Archuleta, Ryan Pickett, and Chris Long to a minimal extent. So...

1. With the recent string of failures, what makes people believe that an early pick will actually help us, much less immediately, with John Shaw still hanging around and influencing picks (Long, though admittedly I haven't heard much about Glenn Dorsey since the draft either)?

2. Billy Devaney drafted Jason Smith, who's had little impact this year as well, with a number 2 pick. I understand it's too early to judge Smith, and Devaney for that matter, but with the early pick we're sure to get in the next draft and our recent history, why is everybody saying that an early pick will help, or even predicting whom we should take?

3. When we have taken whom we've taken, however, there has not been much discontent (save for Trung Candidate while Marshall Faulk was in his prime, and perhaps Robert Thomas, but those were lower picks anyway). Marc Bulger was only two years removed from the Pro Bowl and his contract was immovable and our defensive line was awful, making Matt Ryan less of a priority, for example. Long may not have been the sexy pick, but he was solid. And those we have chosen from 2001 onwards seemed to have been picks that combined need and talent the most. If our picks were such busts, why is the front office taking the heat for it when a lot of people at those times thought they were the right choices, or at least not that far off?

4. Shaw and Zygmunt had a lot of success over the years, with the playoff appearances in the '80s and 1999-2001. I even consider Shaw's ultimatum to Vermeil to be the turning point for the Rams, and I remember Zygmunt being hailed as a salary cap wizard. They also had quite a few successes with picks, including Dickerson, Green, Lyght, Gilbert, Bettis, Carter, Pace, Wistrom, Holt, and Jackson. What happened to them that cause them to be viewed as such failures now, especially in terms of the draft?

5. Jake Long, Matt Ryan, and Adrian Peterson, just like Holt a decade ago (has it been that long?) among others, have brought their teams back to respectibility in a relatively short amount of time. What keeps the Rams from being able to take someone who can do this, and what do they have to do to make it happen (I know a lot more besides the pick goes into it, but the Rams have a new coach and a lot of player turnover just like the successful teams, and there is a pretty high correlation between those guys being drafted and almost immediate success).

Thanks for your time, Jim. Keep up the good work. I'll try to reword the questions if you're not clear about what I'm asking, so feel free to say so.

Jim Thomas: 1.) A good point. We often hear fans say they want to see the Rams stockpile picks. What makes us think that they will turn these picks into productive players?

2.) When you're draft that high in the draft, in theory, you're getting one of the top five draft eligible players in all of college football. He should be an impact player. But that isn't always the case. The past two drafts have really lacked dazzling picks at the top. For all the good things Matt Ryan has done in Atlanta, he has had the benefit of a very strong running game and a running game with a strong one-two punch. He also has a Pro Bowl WR in Roddy White and this year a Hall of Fame TE in Tony Gonzalez. The Rams don't have those pieces in place other than Steven Jackson. Although it's been a while back, I heard that Dorsey was playing pretty well in KC.

As for Jason Smith, did you watch him run-blocking against Detroit? He was pretty darn good. That was his third NFL start. I don't know how anyone can pass judgement on a draft pick before his third year.

3.) A lot of the draft picks have made sense when drafted. But then it's time for them to produce. I don't think there was universal acclaim when Long was drafted. I think a lot of people thought it would be Dorsey. And I think a lot of people _ myself included _ thought the Rams might get more of an impact pick if they chose LB Curry this past year. Long and Smith were safe, conservative picks. But they were highly rated players universally, and if the Rams had not taken them at No. 2 overall, they almost certainly would've gone in the top 5 anyway.

4.) Yes, Shaw and Zygmunt have meddled in the draft. But the Rams traditionally have deferred to the head coach on draft day. So it's simplistic and also not true to simply blame them for all of the Rams' draft day failures.

Some examples. . .The Rams simply didn't do enough homework on Jimmy Kennedy when he fell to their pick. That falls on the personnel department, then run by Charley Armey.
It was defensive coordinator Lovie Smith who insisted he needed DT Damione Lewis and LB Robert Thomas to run the defense. Martz fell in love with Adam Archuleta. Linehan wanted the TEs Klopfenstein and Byrd.

5.) Miami (Jake Long), Atlanta (Matt Ryan) and Minnesota (Adrian Peterson) weren't in the midst of five-year dips like the Rams when they made those picks. Miami was 9-7 as recently as 2005; Atlanta
's worse season between 2006 and 2004 was 7-9. Minnesota was a .500 franchise before drafting Peterson. What I'm saying is that they had more pieces in place than the Rams, who haven't had a winning season since 2003.

lawdog: I'm virtually certain we'll draft a franchise qb with our top 3 pick in the first round if only for business reasons. Only truly hard core fans still follow the team, much less pay for a ticket to see them lose. In order to sell the team Rosenbloom needs to put fans back in the seats. If he has a Bradford, Locker, Claussen or one of the other supposed "elite" prospects at the qb position, the fair weather fans will start coming back.

Whoever that qb is, he'll need a real elite WR to go with him. Being from LA, I've seen a lot of Damian Williams of USC. I have a sense he will fall to the top of the second round because he lacks true blazing speed. He's probably no faster than 4.5 (like Ike and Rice) but looks so much like Ike and Rice in all other areas including route running , getting separation, changing speeds with a quick burst, soft hands, intelligence--it's almost uncanny. With an elite qb and wr we will have our offense back, even with our offensive line.

Do you think the Rams will go with one of the best qbs with their first pick and hope that a WR like D. Williams falls to them in the 2nd?

(We'd then probably use the rest of the picks for defense.)

Jim Thomas: THere's just no way to make such a projection in November. And don't rule out the prospect of the Rams using a top 5 pick to take a defensive player this coming spring. DE, DT in particular. After all, you do have a defensive-oriented head coach in Steve Spagnuolo.

St. Lou Angeles of Cleveland: Last week you said that the rams have so many holes that they should take the best player avaliable, regardless of position. If eric berry was deemed to be the BPA, would you draft him?

Jim Thomas: Tough, tough question, since the Rams are pretty good at safey. I think I might have to finesse that one if I were in the Rams draft room.

CierraRam: Hi Jim!

Great to get a win, even though it was against the Lions, ill take it. Just a couple of comments that I would like to get your thoughts. I have seen a lot of Tim Tebow since I lived in Florida for most of his college career. And I made it a point to watch him this past Saturday. And really I think he is the best choice for next years 1st round pick should the Rams have the position to take him. To me he looks similiar to Donovan McNabb. He has good size, a good arm, great character and can run. He even has the wee bit of an accuracy problem that gets to McNabb here and there. On my fantasy team I have Tashard Choice the RB from Dallas who is a 3rd stringer when Barber and Jones are healthy. I think for a 3rd to 4th round pick he can be picked up. I say this because when he's played he's been extremely productive in both running and catching. He's fast too. He Kinda reminds me of Jerious Norwood. Based upon what ive seen, Choice would more than solve the #2 running back problem. Wold love to here your comments! Thanks Jim.

Cierra

Jim Thomas: I go back and forth on Tebow. I'm trying to watch as much of him as possible this year as well as the other QB prospects, but I miss a lot of the college football games every other week because I'm traveling to Rams road games. There's just 2 questions with Tebow. Will his style of game transfer to the NFL? And is he accurate enough to throw into the tight windows that are the norm in the NFL? His intangibles and leadership are off the charts. His unbelievable in those repsects.
As for Choice, I'd rather see more of a pure speed back as a complement to Jackson, but Choice would be an upgrade.

Paul M: Hi Jim
Would are the odds the Rams will go Back to the 1990's uniform colors!?
The New Colors are so blah on TV!

Thanks!

Jim Thomas: No uniform changes are in the works as far as I can tell. Maybe the new owner(s) will have other ideas.