Todd: Rams 0-8, Phins 0-8. Linehan has his mark on both. Coincidence that both teams stink ? This is what happens when you hire an OC of a losing team. Shaw & Zig took the cheap route again. You get what you pay for.

Jim Thomas: No sale on the Linehan connection to the 0-8 Dolphins. Linehan hasn't been there since '05 _ Miami finished 9-7 that season.

Jack Cramond: Its nice to hear that the rams are ready for their "new season" , but unfortunately the realities of our continous slide into the black abyss will become ever apparent on Sunday after the game with New Orleans. It really is too bad. When you think how weak the division is, we could have claimed another division title if nothing else. Whats even worse, is that I have to hope they continue losing so the "powers to be" are finally forced to make "changes", starting at the top and working their way down. One can only hope.

Jim Thomas: No doubt, the Rams are hitting New Orleans and Drew Brees at the W-R-O-N-G time. The Saints are outscoring their opponents by an average margin of 13.8 points and averaging 413.5 points per game during their current four-game winning streak. Brees is 66 for 88 with 7 TDs and 0 INTs over the past two games.
As for management, if 0-8 _ even an injury-ravaged 0-8 isn't a wake-up call _ I don't know what is.

DBQIA: The rams drafted a later round offensive tackle that was labeled as raw but with talent. If I remember correctly he was injured in training camp and was cut. Did he show enough to warrant a second look? It could be worthwhile to at least have him on the practice squad.

Jim Thomas: You're thinking of Ken Schackleford, a sixth-round pick (No. 190 overall) out of Georgia. He showed next to nothing in training camp, making some of us regulars who cover the team on a daily basis wondering why he was even drafted. Don't think he's the answer, even on the practice squad.

Mark: Jim,
You NEVER answer my question. Do you think the Rams still care? Do the vets (Bruce, Holt, Bulger, Glover, Chavous) have any pull on this team? I am still in shock this team is 0-8, but I guess all the little things are adding up. Lastly, is Isaac Bruce in his last year in STL? I know he is intensely private, but I think he clearly loves the Rams and knows his legacy...

Jim Thomas: Yes, the Rams still care. At least most of them. Yes, the players look up to Bruce, Holt, Chavous. But Bruce and Holt aren't the most vocal guys around. Chavous has been hurt. In the NFL, it seems the guys that are on the field and playing the best usually become the de factor leaders. Isaac Bruce has a year left on his contract. He's due a $3 million base salary next season, plus a $2 million roster bonus at the start of the league year (in March). I think he's earned the right to play out his contract here. But if he doesn't have a productive second half of the season, I wonder if management doesn't release him in February.

J.D.: Jim,
I was up in chicago last weekend and the sports talk up there was dogging Lovie Smith hard. Do you see them going a different direction in the off season? If so do you think we would have a shot at getting Lovie back as the rams head coach?

Jim Thomas: No matter what happens the rest of the way in Chicago, I don't think the Bears dump Lovie one year after reaching the Super Bowl. The Bears need a quarterback, not a new head coach. I do know this about Lovie: the players play hard for h im and respect him.