adam neil: How much cap space are we scheduled to have for 2009? Is the NFL going to raise the cap this year? What do you think the trade value is for Holt or Pace?

Jim Thomas: The salary cap for 2009 is expected to go up to at least $123 million, an increase of about $6-7 million from '08. The latetest figures I have on the Rams _ and they're pretty old _ is that the team had $91 million committed in salaries for 31 players in 2009. So they'll have some room, and of course you can always create room by restructuring contracts or cutting certain players.
Why do you want to trade Holt and Pace?

cyclone77: JT, thank you. Love your insights, hate the Rams 08 play.

Please help me out here with a few questions.

1) Wasn't Haslett HC in New Orleans with OT Kyle Turley's melt down ? Maybe this adds a few answers in his support of OG Incognito.

2) A few comments on Rams getting all the blame in FA, draft etc.
A) MLB Fletcher leaving a huge mistake done by Martz.
B) DT Pickett leaving, the Rams had a offer on the table for
more than what GB signed him for. He just wanted out that bad.
C) FB Hedgecock his play was awful until he got cut and a light
came on. This happens alot in the NFL. Some players have
to be cut for this to happen.
D) WR Bruce signed with SF for the same money the Rams offered.
SF offered a 2nd yr but if he doesn't perform he'll never
see it. Not worth the paper it's written on. He just
wanted back with Martz. Hasn't earned it in SF either.
E) WR Bennett signed for the same money Curtis got from Eagles
All they now talk about in Philly is how poor the Eagle WR
are. Poor Donovan no one to throw to. Again he wanted out
of SL. By the way both were bad decisions.
F) DT Lewis let go to Carolina. They choose him over Jenkins
and traded Jenkins.
Alot of bad moves by all including Martz, Linehan, JZ and all but still some of them left no matter what the Rams offerred they just wanted out.

Now the fans call for Bulger to be gone. Have we learned nothing from the Warner handling. It took 3 teams, 4 HC's and time to get him healthy and now he comes back a MVP again.

Thanks for letting me rant but you do not get this bad overnight and you cannot make FA's play where want out so bad. Plenty of blame to go around.

Jim Thomas: 1.) Yes Haslett was in new orleans at that time.
2A) Fletcher's leaving had NOTHING to do with Martz. Lovie Smith didn't like Fletcher and thought that Jamie Duncan would be better in coverage. This was Lovie's move all the way, although at the time the front office (Jay Zygmunt) felt the team could afford either Fletcher OR Little. They chose the pass rusher.
2B) Pickett didn't want out. I don't think the Rams even made an offer. But the fact is, they showed VERY LITTLE interest in re-signing him.
2C) Hedgecock has improved with the Giants, no doubt. But he wasn't playing awful at the time Linehan cut him. He was about a C+ player at the time.Linehan just wanted to bring in one of his guys (Richard Owens).
2D) Bruce offered to take his second paycut in three years to stay with the Rams. A PAYCUT, not a restructuring. But the Rams offered him less than even the $1 million "discount" Bruce was prepared to give the Rams. I think he went to San Fran for a little less than what he wanted ($4 million) to stay in St. Louis. There's no doubt Bruce isn't what he used to be. But he's still pretty good. He has 39 catches for 625 yards (16.0 yards per catch) and 6 TDs with the Rams. Anybody putting up those kind of numbers in St. Louis right now? I don't think so.
2E) The money was almost identical for both Curtis and Bennett. Curtis wanted to go somewhere where he could be a starter. But if he knew the Rams were going to offer $30 million (which they did for Bennett), I bet he would've stayed. Curtis has missed some time this year with a sports hernia injury. But he still has 26 catches for 288 yards and a touchdown. (To Bennett's one catch for four yards.) Now healthy, Curtis has four games to add to his totals; Bennett is done for the year. Since going to Philly, Curtis has 103 catches for 1398 yards and seven TDs. Since joining the Rams, Bennett has 34 catches for 379 yards and three TDs. Which do you think is the better deal?
2F) Jenkins is a high maintenance player with some weight issues. But the Jets are glad to have him. He's the anchor of the Jets defense. But I do have to say, Lewis is starting and playing pretty well for Carolina.

Terry Kucharski: What isn't there anything said about Saunders the offense coach? He was not that good with the Washington Redskins. Why don't the Rams talk about replacing Him?

Jim Thomas: Let's see, he's got no tight end. Basically three rookies playing a wide receiver. No fullback (even when he had one). The start running back and best player has missed half the season. The quarterback remains in a funk. The offensive line again has had its share of injuries and has frequently been overmatched. How much of this is his fault?
True, Saunders didn't light up scoreboards at Washington, but in case you didn't notice, after a quick start, the Redskins are falling back to the back. They are 14th in total offense at the moment.
Yes, some of Saunders' play-calling causes you to scrath your head. And you'd think some way shape or form, he could figure out how to get the ball in the end zone more often, particularly on those rare occasions when the team gets the ball in the red zone.

OCRich: 1. Is there any reason not to play Brock Berlin? Continuing to trot a mentally fried Marc Bulger out there isn't doing him or the team any good. See if he can play. We pretty much know Trent Green won't be around next year so there's no need to start him.
2. I sense a some lingering bitterness/anger from Haslett towards Jackson stemming from the first Arizona game. Now we get a "disagreement" about Jackson's playing time. What's the scoop?
3. (Commentary.) Bring back the gold pants! At least they'll look like teams that won games in the past!
4. Ever been tempted to take a swig of an, uh, adult beverage before doing these chats every week? As a fan I'm always tempted to drink before, during, and after games.

Thanks as always. You deserve to be sainted for doing this week in and week out. See you in Arizona! I can't wait to witness this team in person...

Jim Thomas: 1.) Trust me on this, if the Rams thought Brock Berlin was good enough to start, he would be starting.
2.) No. No. No.
Jackson is sensitive about criticism that his holdout affected conditioning. Haslett is a big boy; Jackson venting some steam ("I'm not gassed. . .I wish he'd quit saying that") is no big deal to Haslett. At least that's my sense of the situation.
3.) I agree. But I've been told the new owner isn't a fan of the gold pants. That's why you're not seeing them.
4.) Not tempted. But if a team ever drove a person to drink, I think this would be the one.

Gabriel 2 Snow: Hi Jim, I know the Bulger bashing will reach new heights. Here is my perspective. Been a fan for 46 years, never seen a QB that was less entertaining. This is an entertainment business, and I am afraid business will be bad until a new face is behind center. Bad cap hit, but that's just business sometimes. Fans don't want to wait until we've had 3 straight bad years of QB play to see change. Two is enough. Maybe Green isn't the answer and everybody says Berlin has no chance so don't play him. That kind of thinking would have left Kurt Warner on the bench and us without our only superbowl crown. We can't compare Berlin to Warner. We can't even grade him. Why? Only because he has never been given a chance! Play him, if he shows any promise bring him back to duke it out with two other QB prospects next year! At least THAT would be entertaining!

Jim Thomas: Did you watch the Cincy game last year?