Brianbase: We have so many needs! What would you draft first (if the draft wre today) if you were the General Manager? I honestly don't have a clue where to begin.

Jim Thomas: Sorry for the delay. I was on a lengthy phone call I needed to take.
As for your question. Right now, at this moment, it could change in a week, but I'd say:
1.) QB; 1A.) Franchise WR; 1B.) Marquee pass-rushing DE.
In other words, I need three top 10 picks.

donsods: JT--Time to ask the inevitible question--what is the cap hit if the Rams part ways with Bulger at the end of the season?

Jim Thomas: It would be much more financially feasible than it would've been this past offseason. The Rams would take on $6 million of dead money, but would save $8.5 million in base salary. So there would be a net savings.

rams26: Hi Jim -

Another tough loss this week. What was the mood/attitude in the locker room after the game? Is the team hanging in there, or is Spags losing them with every loss? How is the mood at Rams Park? Billy D. mentioned in previous years that there was much carelessness after losses at Rams Park. What is the feel out there?

Also, why do we not try to spread the field on offense and try a pass of more than 15 yards?

Thanks as always!

GO RAMS!!!!!!

Beat the Whiners!!!!

Jim Thomas: The team is hanging in there. The spirit remains high. And the attitude remains very good. The players are still buying in. Whether that will be the same at, say, 0-8, as compared to 0-3, well, we'll see.

Who exactly on this receiving corps is capable of getting open and catching that pass of more than 15 yards?

Ben Spann: Jim,
Thanks for taking my question. It's becoming more and more evident that the team will have to address the QB position. Bulger and Boller are giving it their all but arent' long term answers. Which scenario seems more likely.

1. Stick with Bulger or Boller for another year and draft an impact players at WR (Dez Bryant), TE, backup RB next year. Draft the the franchise QB in 2011 who will then have talent around him to succeed.

2. Draft the franchise QB this year, let him get his lumps, at the same time try to upgrade the talent around the QB.

Thanks.

Jim Thomas: Can't we have both 1 and 2? The Rams certainly have to upgrade their skill positions this coming offseason after doing very little in that area this past offseason. The only tremendous need on defense at this point seems to be a pass rusher at DE. (Although you could make a case for another DT _ again!!!)

teamplayer: Hi there, appreciate your non stop reporting on the Rams. First of all, people judging quarterbacks need to be able to evaluate quarterbacks. If someone can't tell what exactly happens on a play, how can they any credibility to judge one's performance?

Hindsight is 20/20. We should have drafted Sanchez and a tackle in the second round. But we didn't.

What aggravates me is how people can't see difference in how our defense is playing much better and overall how much of a difference Spagnuolo has made.

My question is, what do we do with the offensive line? Do we replace the Offensive line coach at the end of the season? Do we pursue the Colts offensive line coach? Arguably, we have somewhere between 2 and 4 weak links on the offensive line. 2 of them have expiring contracts.

Jim Thomas: The run blocking is improving. I keep wanting to say that the pass blocking needs a lot of work, but the Rams have given up a modest 5 sacks this season (That's about 12th-best in the league). I'd like to see this line thing play out, particularly once Smith gets back, before making any sweeping judgments.

lawdog: It looks like we're a cinch to have the top picks in each of the first 3 rounds. Since we need immediate help at qb, wr, lb, de, dt, ol, rb and cb, it makes sense to me to trade down those top 3 picks in each of the first three rounds (and trade some second day picks up as is necessary) to secure at least two picks in each of the top 3 rounds, hopefully for 6 picks in the top 3--maybe even a 7th so we can fill a lot of those holes pronto.

Bradford is going to fall in the first round due to his shoulder injury so by trading down we should be able to secure Bradford and have a second first round pick to draft a stud wr or lb. Then take the other 4 or 5 picks in rounds 2 and 3 and rebuild the team. What do you think? That would sure give Spags the young team he wants to mold into his form using his own formula and get rid of a lot of the veteran baggage that regularly folds up the tent at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Jim Thomas: Well, it's one thing to want to trade down, it's another to get a trading partner. The Rams even went to the extreme of buying a plane ticket for Sanchez (and letting that fact leak out) to try to entice someone to trade down last year.

As for Bradford, I think it's too early to say his shoulder injury will hurt his stock. What if he returns and plays like gangbusters in the final seven, eight games for the Sooners?

lawdog: Any FAs on the horizon next year who may be lured into the fold with some of the jack we'll save by cutting Bulger and some of the other swine that presently take up roster spots?

By the way, thanks again for giving us a glimpse inside the Rams like this. I go way back with the Rams to their LA days and you can bet the farm that no columnist from the LA Times or Daily News would soil their hands by taking care of the fans like this. Mucho thanks!

Jim Thomas: I really don't pay any attention to free agents until mid-February. So many of the top ones either get signed or franchised in the final couple of weeks before free agency, it's pointless to speculate until then.

Joe S: 1. Rams can not win without a pass rush. Should all the Ram defensive linemen need to be replace? If not who are the keepers?

2. Should Rams switch to 3 defensive line and 4 LB's? They seem to have more talent at LB.

Jim Thomas: 1.) I'd like to see more blitzing.
2.) Spags and Flajole have next to no experience with the 3-4. Don't hold your breath on this one. Plus there are only 6 LBs on the roster _ not nearly enough depth to run a 3-4.

Kurt Marquart: How much longer do we have to put up with mediocrity from Alex Barron?

Jim Thomas: His contract's up after this year.

scott: I think drafting Deshaun Jackson in 2008 and Sanchez in 2009 would have been a good idea afterall.. Thanks for the bad moves...

Jim Thomas: Great point, but it's easy to second-guess now.

DBQIA: In an average draft, where in the first round does a significant talent drop usually occur? Does it make that much difference whether you draft 1st, 3d, 5th, or 10th?

Jim Thomas: It varies from year to year. I think this past year was a case where there wasn't the wow factor or sizzle at the top of the draft, but there was good value throughout the first round and into the second.

Rich Sielaff: Hi Jim, we are 3 games in Chris Long's second season as the second overall pick in the draft, can we expect an average of 3 tackles and no sacks per
game? Is he hurt sick or just a bust?

Jim Thomas: I'll repeat what I said last week. Yes, we'd all like to see more production from Long. And I'll add, that the players taken immediately before him (No. 1 overall) Jake Long and behind him (No. 3 overall Matt Ryan) are doing well. But 19 games is w-a-y early to pass judgment on a player.

dominic zappia: Jim:
I know trades dont happen often at the trade deadline,but,would you try and trade Alex Barron for a draft pick if its attainable?And then move Jason Smith to lt for the next 10 years.
Its time to build for 2010!
Thank you....

Jim Thomas: Interesting point. Play Smith at LT; Goldberg at RT. That leaves you with really no third tackle however. And I wonder what Barron would bring?

dominic zappia: Hey Jim:
Im at a loss at what I am seeing.This team has very little talent....wow!
1)Do you draft a quarterback number 1 or try and win with a Brady Quinn or Jason Campbell? Bernie is right,its time to move on with a franchise qb.Where are you Mark Sanchez!!
2)Whats next? We stink!
Thank you...

Jim Thomas: Well, I did mention on this chat a couple of times before the season started that if this team won six games in '09, they should hold a parade.

Mingo: Get off the suicide watch! Calm down! Watch a work in progress. The plan is clear. Develop the defense and then the offense. Look at as many young players off other teams practice squad and keep the best and get rid of the rest. Churn the roster through the season looking for talent that can be part of the future. This team has 5 wins in three years; Not 5 losses. You can only judge the GM and coach at the end of 2011. Anyone who expected a lot his year was just kidding themselves. First you cry, than you babble, the you scoot, next you crawl and then you try to get up an walk. That is just during the first year.

Bulger must go and be given the chance to recover like Kurt Warner. He is mentally and physically beatup regardless who is at fault. He will not recover here. He needs to sit out a season or two and just be a backup. Maybe he can then come back.

Boller looks like a nice backup for when a real talent shows up. Leave Null on the sideline and let him learn and take a hard look at him the last two games of the season.

Jim thomas: Who else is out there on other teams practice squad the RAMS may bring in? In my opinion that is the real question

Who is gone at the end of the season bsides Bulger, McMichaels and Jacob Bell?

Jim Thomas: Here are some of the players who's contracts are up after this season: Barron, Incognito, Atogwe, Hall, McMichael.

keithv: JT, have you had a chance to talk with Chip? It would be interesting interview to hear what he has to say about the future of the Rams. Thanks.

Jim Thomas: Just in passing last week. Chip has gone underground.

tim: do you think the rams managment are in the beginning stages of trying to move the team?they have put out a bad product out on the field for several years now and with the dome being behind on the upgrades;it seems to me that it is a good possibility.jerry jones new state of the art facility does not help matters much either.

Jim Thomas: If that were the case, why would the team spend $37.5 million on Jason Brown, a potential $33 million guaranteed on Jason Smith, franchise Atogwe, re-up Bartell, bring in James Butler, etc. These are not the kind of moves made by a team trying to improve the bottom line in order to sell and/or move the team.

RamFan360: Jim

As a Ram Fan I may be overly sensitive to the officiating however it appears that the Rams are slighted by the officials each and every game. I point to the Washington game when Bulger slide and was hammered by not one but two Washington players. No whistle not even acknowledgement by the officials that Bulger should be protected. And then yesterday when Jackson's progress was clearly stopped and being pushed back before the ball was stripped. The play should have been whistled dead however the officials allowed the fumble.

It is bad enough watching the Rams struggle so badly only to have the officials exasperate the problems. There does not seem to be any passion from the sidelines regarding these calls or lack of calls. Is this just recognition by the coaching staff that bad teams generally get bad calls? Thanks.

Jim Thomas: I heard this one on local sports talk radio the other day: Who's going to get the benefit of the borderline pitch call in baseball: Albert Pujols or a rookie hitting .189? Right now, the Rams are the .189 hitter. Officials may not conciously think of team's won-lost records while they're on the field, but it happens.

Dallas Ramfan: Jim,

Looking back at Bulger's contract for $60 million plus a couple years ago....in retrospect could it be said that Bulger has been one of the biggest $60 million busts in Rams history...or dare I say even on the list for League history? I mean the look at the stats.

I'm aware of the O-line problems that are not his fault, but ask Ben Roethlisberger how he manages to get the Super bowl getting sacked more than Bulger?

Jim Thomas: The numbers are what the numbers are.
Roethlisberger is about 40 pounds heavier than Bulger.

biglen626: Hello, Jim. I am of the opinion that D. Avery's game has gone downhill due to the emergence of Laurent Robinson. It seems to me his on-field demeanor has changed since he is not the main target anymore. Now with Robinson injured, should we expect Avery to grow up and make plays or do you think he just going through a sophomore slump?

Jim Thomas: According to press box stats, Avery has been target almost as many times (21) as Robinson (23) this season. (Granted Robinson missed the second half of the Green Bay game following his injury.)
I think Avery was rusty entering the '09 season because of his foot injury, and he is pressing now that the regular season has started.

tom in sf: Hi Jim,

Thank you, as always, for the chat.

At what point in the season, if at all, does the "Null hypothesis" get tested? I'm not going to argue that he's the second coming of Kurt Warner by any stretch of the imagination. If I were part of the Rams management team, I would want to know how Null performs against other teams' first-stringers before next year's draft rolls around. Your thoughts?

Tom in SF

Jim Thomas: This staff is high on Null, I don't think that can be questioned. But this staff is trying to win as many games as it can. As long as the coaches think Bulger or Boller gives them the best chance to win, that's who will start.

Colton: Hey Jim,

Do you think that the Rams will take a look at trading for Chiefs WR Dewayne Bowe? There's rumors that he's up for trade. Have you heard anything? Do you think they could strike a deal? What about other receivers? Do you see any good options available?

Thanks,
Colton

Jim Thomas: Haven't heard anything. Ooops! I misread his contract. Bowe is due to make only $460K this year. Not, $4.6 million. But I still haven't heard anything.

Danny from Denver: If the Rams and Chiefs combined rosters to make a super MO team and played in the NFC West from the beginning of the season, how many wins would they put together?

Jim Thomas: They'd win a few. You could have a Steven Jackson-Larry Johnson tandem in the backfield. Dwayne Bowe would help the wr corps considerably. Tamba Hali would help the pass rush.

Dan Lum: For lack of any other decent questions; How's Alex Barron doing at Left Tackle?

Jim Thomas: I'd say so-so at best.
He missed two blocks that led to messed up pass plays in Seattle.
In Washington, he had two holding penalties, and on four occasions his man ended up getting a hit on Bulger at QB.

Murat from Pitt: Hello Jim;

I wanted to get your take so far about the defense. I am somewhat disappointed with the play calling on defense. When we had the GB pinned down within their 5 yard line, how come there were no blitzes? How could we let Aaron Rodgers have all the time behind a make shift offensive line to throw to very respectable receivers? Also I read on STL PD website that linebackers were mostly not involved in the defense, recording a few tackles. Why did Flajole not send them blitzing? I do not understand.

Thanks.

Jim Thomas: The most surprising thing to me so far, is the lack of blitzing. I realize there haven't always been ideal situations. The Rams haven't played with the lead much at all _ they've led for only 12 1/2 minutes (out of a possible 180!!) in the three games this season. They haven't had the opposition in a ton of predictable throwing situations _ third and long, etc. Still, I expected a more aggressive approach.

paul young: Why dont they get rid of bulger? and put some glue on there hands?

Jim Thomas: I presume you want the glue to be used on the receivers, correct?

Jumbo J: With McMichael recently forgetting how to catch the ball, could you see him getting the axe next? I'm not sure what his cap ramifications would be.

Jim Thomas: Nothing will happen this year, but as I mentioned earlier, his contract expires after this season.

Jumbo J: I like the Ramsey pick up. Any chance he is starting week 4?

I'd also like to see what Adeyanju can do. Any possibility he is active and Ah You is out this week? Ah You doesn't seem to be getting much PT.

Jim Thomas: I doubt that he'll be starting this week, but he had a more expanded role against Green Bay and seemed to do OK.
The fact that Adeyanju hasn't dressed yet this season is mind-boggling to me. As for Ah You, according to my unofficial count, he was in for 14 plays against Seattle and 12 against Washington. He's used almost exclusively in passing situations, frequently in an all-DE alignment with Little, Hall, and Long. Ah You isn't that big, and gets pin-balled around a lot. He did have two pressures against Washington.

Rams Fan In China: What are we going to do when Jackson gets hurt?
How long will the current Rams losing streak last? This is getting ridiculous.
Rams Fan In China

Jim Thomas: If Jackson gets hurt, the Rams are up the Yellow River (or Huang He) without a paddle.
As for the franchise record 13-game losing streak, unfortunately for the Rams, it seems like the most winnable games in the next month or so are all on the road _ San Fran, Jax, and Detrot. I'm not sure if the Rams would currently be favored in any of their remaining games.

zn2003: This is a remarkable near-confession by a coach who is usually pretty controlled about saying anything:

(On if the receivers are winning one-on-one situations) “I don’t know if I can…we are winning them here and there. I’d have to know of specific plays. It depends on what they are asked to do on that play. I don’t know if I could throw out a definite answer on that one.”

I mean, no comment necessary, right? That speaks volumes. I suppose we could coin a phrase and call it "throwing players under the bus with faint praise."

So anyway. In your estimation, even if it's just an educated guess, why haven't Avery and Burton progressed? And a more general question. Have you ever seen a situation where a team is so thin at receiver it is counting on guys signed after the season began? (!!?)


...

Jim Thomas: Yeah, Spags didn't exactly shower them with praise.
Avery, as I've mentioned before, was rusty entering the season because of the foot injury, and has been pressing. As for Burton, I don't think anyone ever pictured him as a game breaker. But it looks like he's starting to come along (with five catches for 75 yards in his last two games.)
No, I've never ever seen a WR corps so thin.

Rich: Greetings Jim,

Do you see the Rams bringing back Staley or Curry to replace Robinson (assuming he goes on IR) based on the fact they know the offense.

Or will the Rams continue bringing in new faces in the effort to find diamonds in the rough?

Thanks for these chats.

Jim Thomas: As I blooged earlier today, Stanley is not in the picture. In fact, he's visiting Detroit today. I'm not aware that Curry is in the mix, either.
The two guys who I know are in today _ and there may be others, I don't know _ are WR/return man Larry Beavers (who was in Carolina's camp this preseason) and WR Courney Taylor (the former Seattle Seahawk).

Johnny Tex: Jim,
All the talk and controversy this week surrounds the quarterback (who should start) and injuries. I still believe this team has to overcome the "loser mentality" that seems to almost overwhelm them at times. Not having many skilled players is a huge disadvantage, that's obvious. But until this team truely believes it can win a game, it won't matter much who's on the field. All I can say is good luck coach Spags!

Jim Thomas: Very good point, JTEX. Both the Washington and Green Bay games were there for the taking. Avery fumbles on the 5 in the 4th quarter at Washington, and instead of taking the lead the Rams lose 9-7. Against Green Bay, the Rams rally from a 16-0 deficit to trail by only 23-17 in the fourth quarter, and give up two touchdowns. Most NFL games come down to the fourth quarter. The Rams must learn how to finish.

Tackleberry: Jim,

At what point does Devaney start to feel the heat? There is no doubt that most of the issues that plague the Rams go back to the earlier part of this decade, but if this club is going to turn around quickly Devaney needs to hit a few more HR's in the draft and free agency. Right now it seems like for every gem he finds/signs (Robinson/Butler/Lauranitis) there is a bust/underperforming player (Bell/Long/Avery) that counter-balances their success. And Long and Avery were drafted in the first two rounds, while Bell was one of the "bigger" signings that year. I think people appreciate Devaney because he is not Zygmunt, but his results so far can't warrant a grade much above a "C."

Jim Thomas: You're bringing the heat today, Tackleberry. I don't think you can grade a draft class until near the end of its third year. But we're certainly not seeing a heck of a lot of production right now from the top of the draft class of '08.

Long Island Ram Fan: The last two weeks have been interesting for at least a little while!!! Anyway, my question is this....We need serious help at receiver..in your opinion what big name free agent would be the biggest surprise if we picked him up?? Is there a sleeper name out there as well???

Jim Thomas: I don't think there are any magic answers out there at this point.

Bruce: Jim-

Any new information on the possible sale of the Rams? Any potential St.Louis buyers? Dave Checketts is awfully quiet.

Jim Thomas: I'm taking the fifth at this point.

Jake: Is it realistic to expect Bulger to be "back" to any kind of form after taking the shot he did, with a week or two off does it even seem practical to throw him back in to a situation he didn't handle in the first place?

Jim Thomas: It could take longer, there's no question about that.

OT RamFan: I've been a SERIOUS Ram fan since the days of Dick Bass, Roman Gabriel, Deacon Jones, etc. and have rarely missed watching a game...until they no longer were wanted on national television and before the days of DirectTV. Being in California, you are my best connection to the Rams, thank you for that! And I will tell you I think you have incredible coverage for a horrible team, better coverage than I can find for any team, anywhere. This is my assessment of the Rams and I would like your comments. We don't even need to talk about the previous Ram management and coaching, I think we all agree...and it's HISTORY. Usually our emotional response comes from met or unmet expectations and I'm not sure most fans have reasonable expectation for the Rams. When looking at the 53 man roster, in my opinion there were only SEVEN players at the beginning of camp which had spot on this team (Jackson, Witherspoon, Atogwe, Bartell, Brown, Jones and Massey.)...a stunning 46 players , or 87% of the roster in which the management did not have confidence they were they players they want! Of those 7 players which were definitely going to be depended upon, THREE of them only get in on kicking plays!! When I review other NFL rosters, cursory of course, I can't see any team that has so few players they can depend upon. I think any assessment of the Rams winning anything this year has to take this into consideration. Essentially, we are watching an audition which will determine the off season activity and draft! I think under these circumstances it would be stunning if the Rams win 5 games. Believe me, I'm a FAN!! I'm not making excuses for the Rams. Here's my question, not by position, but by numbers, how many future starters, say 2010 and 2011 do you think are on the current rams roster? Excluding starters, i.e. the remaining 31 active players, how many players do you think the Rams REALLY have an interest in keeping, if we really knew what they thought in private? My impression is the Rams would be happy to turn over 60% of their roster in 2 years...pretty hard to win with this situation. I think the Rams will become competitive when they can get a roster with 75% of their players have 2 years or more in the current system....hmm, the math looks like we're 3 years away, that's sad... but I'll still be an OTRAMFAN!

Jim Thomas: I agree with your basic point that there are not many playmakers, or difference makers on this roster. But three games into the season, it's impossible to tell who may or may not be coming back. There's still a lot of season left, and I think you've got to wait at least until the second half of the season to start making such assessments. And by the way, the Rams turned over more than 50 percent of their roster at the start of the season. (There were 27 players on the opening day roster who weren't on the opening day roster in 2008.)

Terrapin03: Jim,
Now that Robinson is done for the season, our lack of WR depth is glaring. All throughout the offseason and preseason we were told that they liked their WRs, they didn't need to sign anyone. They cut Curry, they cut Stanley, Robinson is done for the season, Avery looks lost, McMichael can't catch a ball. Devaney and Spags have egg on their face and there's not many options to fix it now. What makes this so frustrating is that everyone could see WR as a weakness months ago and nothing was done. Where do they go from here, re-sign Stanley and cross their fingers?

Jim Thomas: As I posted earlier, Stanley not in the mix. He is visiting Detroit today. WRs Courtney Taylor and Larry Beavers were among those visiting today.

Steve: Jim, what is going on with the play calling on both sides of the ball? Is it that we dont have the personnel to play the way the coordinators want? Can't they adapt to the personnel we do have? Where is the creativity or aggressiveness that we expected to have with Spags?

Jim Thomas: So far, it does seem to be a conservative approach, on both sides of the ball.

Ineeda Hammer: Could you please clear something up for many of us... Who made the decision to sign J. Bell?

Jim Thomas: Obviously Zygmunt executed the contract. But Devaney ran free agency that year.

Ineeda Hammer: The so called "Dead $" that we have, seems like a convenient way for our current "Ownership Group" to not have to spend as much $ on player salaries. I know that the $ amounts count against the salary cap, but the Owner does not actually have to pay that amount of $ to anyone because the salaries are not guaranteed.
I do realize that some of the cuts were needed, however, I think too many were made at once. We are no longer even competitive and we are now giving effort. These cuts happened as a $ saving method first and foremost, the cuts were blamed on the rebuild though.

Do you think the Fans will put up with this same "smoke screen" next year when we again lead the league in "Dead $" because of all of the cuts that will again will be blamed on the rebuild ?

Jim Thomas: Actually, the Dead Money is for money already paid in the form of signing bonuses. Example: Player signs a five-year deal that includes a $5 million signing bonus. The signing bonus money is paid right away. But for accounting purposes, it is spread out over the length of the contract _ $1 million over each of those five years (with any base salary paid that year counting against the cap as well.) But say a player is released during the second year of the contract _ then all of that unamortized signing bonus, the $1 million for that year, and the three years on the remaining contract "accelerate" _ or count _ on that year's cap. So in our example listed here, the player would have $4 million of signing bonus counting against that Year 2 cap after his release, rather than just $1 million. But again, the money already has been paid.

Someone asked me last week about where the Dead Money comes that's currently counting against this year's cap. Here are all the players with dead money of $100,000 or more that were cut or traded after the 2008 season. (some numbers are rounded off):
_ Drew Bennett, $5 million
_ Orlando Pace, $3 million
_ Tye Hill, $2.67 million
_ Torry Holt, $2.2 million
_ Pisa Tinoisamoa, $2 million
_ Corey Chavous, $1.6 million
_ Trent Green, $1.4 million
_ Fakhir Brown, $953,000
_ Chris Draft, $605,000
_ Brian Leonard, $569,000
_ Todd Johnson, $406,000
_ Joe Klopfenstein, $331,000
_ Anthony Becht, $135,000

brr055: I see the Bulger/Boller "controversy" as a moot point. Neither are all that special. I see the issue as other than Steven Jackson, the Rams have no playmakers at all. Personally, I'm shocked that Jackson is getting as many yards as it is...I'd MAKE the Rams beat me in the air before I offer up anything than man-to-man coverage with one safety.

PLEASE draft a QB next year. I hate to say this folks, but we are going to see 3-4 years of mediocre football until we can get a REAL offensive line.

Jim Thomas: That's what the Packers did, by playing 3 linemen and 5 linebackers in their base scheme, but Jackson still got his yards.

Gary Nguyen: Jim,

What happened to Larry Grant, Sean Walker and Victor Adyenaju? They were playing well during the pre-season. Why not add them to the active roster when the talent is not that good anyway?

Also, is the NFL going to make an exception and have Stan Kroenke buy out the remaining ownership of the Rams so that he can build his own stadium and have his a scouting department that can look for talent because the talent on this team is pretty much below college level.

Jim Thomas: Grant is on the roster, but playing mainly special teams. Adeyanju has yet to play, he's been on the pregame inactive list all three games. Sean Walker began the year on the practice squad but was subsequently cut.

At the moment, I don't think the NFL is inclined to make an exception for Kroenke.

Watchdog: Hi Jim, thanks for being our insider!
Couple of questions:
1. How do you see the morale of this team holding up, and how long do you think Spags can keep this team focused and together in the face of a new and different type of loss each week?

2. In your opinion, are the majority of the injuries to this team a product of just bad luck, or are there conditioning deficiencies still lurking around the weight room?

Thanks for a minute of your time!

Jim Thomas: 1.) Morale still good as mentioned before.
2.) I wonder about the turf at the dome. It gets replaced every year, and never gets worn in so to speak. Which means more friction. And maybe more leg and foot injuries?

William morris: Hey Jim,

I was just wondering, since we have done very little when it comes to getting talent in the draft, is there any chance we see a big move made via trade? I think this is a good idea, the raiders traded a pick for Seymour and it looks like a good move to make. What do you think?

Jim Thomas: Maybe it changes, but the constant impression I get is that the front office would rather keep the draft picks.

Gilbert Lucero: i thought the rams were going to wear the 1999 jerseys for the first home game n deacon jones # was going to be retired i didnt hear nothing about that can i get update thanks RAM FAN fron CALI

Jim Thomas: No, the throwback jerseys will be worn against Minnesota on Oct. 11, and against Houston on Dec. 20.

Rob Williams: Hi Jim. Have the coaches given any reason for why Chris Long is being taken out of the game on obvious passing downs? Seems to imply they don't think much of his pass rush skills, which would be a fairly disastrous claim for a DE taken number two overall and with a huge contract. I mean, you can get all-effort, limited DEs in the 3rd round and lower.

Jim Thomas: Actually, Long has played on most obvious passing downs. Not all, but most.

Bob: Is Ruvell Martin going to be active this week? If he's not active with Robinson being out, what does this say about his ability to help the team?

Jim Thomas: If he's not active, the Rams might be running the wishbone.

Steve: Time to throw wisdom away! Start Null and see if he's the future or not.Mark is a good Quarterback ,but not for the Rams after 13 loses you can't say some of the blame isn't his.Let him be good somewhere else!

Jim Thomas: I think they'll probably get an idea of what Boller can do first.

chris: Jim,

Please give us Rams fans a reason to be optimistic about the future of Rams football...

Jim Thomas: Sooner or later, the law of averages says the Rams will win a football game.

NotMyHome: JT,
Recognizing that your preseason prediction of a 6-10 record for the Rams was extremely optimistic, they now need to finish 6-7 in order for that to happen. Care to revise that prediction, or do you want to wait another week before doing so? Just so you'll know, I predicted a 3-13 season...and I thought I was being optimistic....I think delusional would have been a better word.

Jim Thomas: Six and 10 is how may week-by-week prognostication came out in the P-D preseason football section. I've also said on numerous occasions that if they won six games, they should hold a parade. So far, I think no parade permits are needed for Market Street in downtown St. Louis.

RamFanInCA: Hi Jim,

Can you tell us who the possible WR additions would be? Isn't this a consequence of going with such a small group? Obviously it will take time for anyone new to be able to contribute. Wouldn't Stanley's return be the first choice?

Jim Thomas: Well, it won't be Courtney Taylor, who visited today. The ex-Seahawk came and left without a contract.

RamFanInCA: Hello Jim, thanks for taking the time to see us all sound off! Can we expect Jason Smith to play this week? How bad is Avery's injury?

Thanks.

Jim Thomas: I think Smith will try to practice this week, but realistically, I'm guessing he misses one more game. As for Avery, it looks like he's OK. X-rays showed nothing broken, but we'll see if he practices Wednesday.

ifulani: In 4 seasons in the nfl, 4 years of college football, 4 years of high school football, plus several (i guess) years of Rec football, has no one yet explained to Ron Bartell that when your back is to the QB, you turn your head when the receiver turns his head for the ball?

Jim Thomas: Tough bunch, today. Tough bunch.

dinodavis1: Jim, Can you tell me how well prepared Keith Null is if he is called upon this week-end? Also, is Curry still available if any more injuries take place with the WR's?
Thanks for taking my questions
Dino

Jim Thomas: Curry's still out there.
The coaching staff seems to have confidence in Null.

8081RIP: I know he's only started 2 games but, any chance we trade for Kolbe? He's young, and has a strong arm, instead of drafting a QB that could end up being a bust, Kolbe IMO is a solid QB. Thoughts???

Jim Thomas: Kolb is considered the QB of the future in Philly, so I don't think he's going anywhere. That's it for this week, I must go and do some newspaper work. But one last thing, to the fan who asked about center Jason Brown not seeing quarterback Marc Bulger motioning for the ball in the shotgun (a delay of game resulted/or was it a timeout?) Anyway, Brown was gesturing to his left trying to make a line call at the time; he told me he simply lost clock awareness on the play. See you next week.