Billy C: 1 Poor management / we need a real GM from outside the organization .
2 Pood drafting & FA pickups / key word Quality (unless they look it up they dont know what it is)
3 Poor coaching / Shellshocked once again / we need a leader like Bill Cower
4 No emotion on the offence / Kurt Marshall & Lawerence played psyched up football
5 No sense of urgency / There are nomore tomorrows : the Fans wont be here .
6 No Team Leader among the players / Wheres the Leadership / wheres the Family / wheres the Direction ??????
Any of the above will hurt a team / all of them will KILL a team . I love the Rams from the 60s to forever / win or loose I am an Old School Ram who walked the field and cherished it . But we are a shell of our former selves and dead in the water without changes . Management must change and admit thiungs are wrong all the way up and back down the line . Fix it befor all the Little Guys stop comming to the games .
I still think we should draft Brian Brohm with our #1 and trade Marc / ya we can win games with Marc but Brian will make us consistant winners again . With or without a cap hit from trading Marc it will still take us a few years to be continders again so bite the bullet and dont pass up on Brian .
Maybe Im nuts but I think Georgia will wake up and do what CR did to fix the team / we will see . Billy C Old School Ram Fan

Jim Thomas: Hello again everybody, and judging from leadoff man Billy C _ it looks like everyone is in a good mood today. I'll just address BC's last point. The Rams do need to add a quarterback _ but as a No. 2. Regardless of how you feel about Bulger, the Rams simply have too much money invested in him, to jettison him. And there is more hit and miss with QBs taken in the top 10 of the draft than any other position. For every Peyton Manning, there's a Ryan Leaf. Or two. But I would like to see the Rams select a QB in the middle to late rounds, someone they can develop.

George "stlramz" Mavris: Is it true that (1) Marshall Faulk sat in on the initial interview with the Rams Front Office when they interviewed Linehan for the head coaching job? and (2) it it true he objected to the hire?

Thanks for your efforts Jim.

Jim Thomas: I don't believe this is the case. But I'll try to check for you sometime in the near future.

Rogurs: Hey Jim,
Last year at home vs. the Seahawks, Rams up 21-7 at half, get throttled in the second half and lose the game. This year almost the exact same story.
Linehan's playing not to lose instead of playing to win mentality just doesn't work in the NFL. Didn't Linehan learn anything from last years game? Can we officially say the Linehan experiment is over??

Jim Thomas: John Shaw has made in clear on several occasions now, that he will do nothing before the season ends. There are 16 chapters in this book, and five more still must unfold. But there's no doubt in my mind that Sunday's loss to Seattle was a big step backwards for Linehan. In terms of play-calling, game management, starting Petitti over Gorin, even the fact that his hand-picked No. 2 QB Gus Frerotte played poorly. Linehan is coaching for his job over the final five games. He knows it. His staff knows it. The players know it.

Charlie Connors: Jim,

I've been harping on these points for weeks, but here I go again. Top reasons to fire Linehan.
1. His record is horrible and far worse than Martz's. Martz was out sick much of '05. (Failing grade)
2. He was brought in to keep offense rolling with Bulger, Jax, Holt. (Failing grade)
3. His offensive scheme lets his franchise qb take beatings. Even after seeing these teams earlier in the year. (Failing grade)
4. His offensive players do not believe in his system and do not believe in him. Including the franchise QB. How can situation ever improve when you don't get along with your Qb? (Failing grade)
5. He chose a more expensive Drew Bennett over Kevin Curtis? Look how Curtis is playing now with some coaching! (Failing grade)
6. He is 0-5 at home! His 2nd halfs are a joke. Heck, he tried giving last week away to at SF! (Failing grade)

Jim Thomas: 1.) The Rams were 56-36 under Martz: they are 14-24 since he last coached a game on the sideline (prior to his illness).

2.) You're exactly right. Linehan was hired because of his offensive resume. He inherited an aging, but still pretty good corps of skill position players.

3.) For all the talk about how Martz got QBs hammered, things haven't changed under Linehan. The Rams are at close to a record pace for sacks allowed this season.

4.) Some players have quietly grumbled about the system being too simplistic; but these are basically the same guys who grumbled about the Martz system being too complex. Well, which is it guys?

5.) Can't quite agree with you on this one. Curtis wanted to go somewhere where he could be a starter. Bennett and Curtis contract are very similar.

6.) Worse yet, regardless of circumstances, regardless of the injuries, all five home games were very winnable.

Dman: Jim,

Yesterday loss summarizes Linehan lack of head coaching potential. Even with all of the injuries, he has repeatedly loss early leads which is indicative of his lack coaching adjusments. His O plans have lacked innovation and creativity. However, Haslett's D (aside from the Cleveland game) has out performed expectations. In your honest opinion, do you think the executive management would provide Haslett the chance to run the show and if so when would you thinkg the change can occur? If not, do you think Cowher or a big ticket head is being considered as we speak?

Jim Thomas: I must admit, Haslett and the defense have really come on over the last month or so. They have moved up to 15th in total defense. Haslett has done an admirable job adjusting to the loss of DE Leonard Little.
I'm beginning to think that if a change is made, Haslett might be the best alternative. 1.) Hiring unproven coordinators is always a crapshoot.
2.) I don't think someone like Cowher will be coming here and I don't think the Rams want to pay $5Million-plus for a head coach.