Mongo3451

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...ssey08.article# It took balls to write this after the weekend we all enjoyed. But how true it is. Nasty!

Ta Da! Thanks for the intro. Like I've said before, they run the team like a business, yet have been happy with their signing of players. They were still too cheap to fire Lovie... ...maybe they just don't know any better. Anyway, they do get a pass from me for awhile. They didn't have to do anything with a lockout looming and they did.

He was referring to the week the Rams can take to beat any offers made VS signing someone today.

Agreed. Unless Clark has lingering affects from his injuries last year.

Just trying to be a gentleman about it. You know my opinion of Lovie and company.

Otogwe

Good move sending Lovie to play guard dog. My reservations are still there on Peppers. Like I said before, he is the one out there that can make the difference on our defense. On that alone, I am more optimistic than I would have been with anyone else coming.

I'm wondering about coaching too. JA's draft record is average, while his planning has been above average. Lovie OTOH hasn't shown me anything past the 1st three years.

I suck at it, but my 14yo son is an assassin.

I sure hope you didn't get a true opinion from that article. That's typical JA. Nobody ever knows what he's up to, until it's done. I firmly believe Olsen will be traded if the right pick or player comes availible.

I'm actually good with trading Olsen for a 2nd rounder. If he's not a priority in Martzs system why not get value now. In a perfect world, we'd have a new staff, but we don't. We are stuck with what we have, so we might as well try to make the best of it.

You answered your own question Bradjock. DL in general is our greatest need. Peppers can be boom or bust. (Just like Cutler) IMO - he is the only player out there "capable" of making the rest our the defense better. Peppers, healthy Url and Pisa, 90% Tommie and one surprise could make for an interesting defense. This year in particular, we are going to have to get pressure and takeaways due to our offense. They will score, but will also give it back. If we are putting 20+ points every week, the D will have its chance to pin its ears back. We need a FS badly, but Peppers is the only X factor I see.

Gotta disagree with your take on the article. They are saying Omiyale will compete for a position, but will be left to compete for one of the those positions. Basically saying they are not going to jerk him around and hinder his development. (Like they have others) To me this is a good thing. I wish they would learn this with SS and FS. I also wish they would stop evaluating talent in shorts as well. Lovie keeps saying, "we'll have to wait until we put the pads on". But how often do things ever change after pads go on?

Yes Manning was drafted as a true FS, but he has shown he has no instincts for the position. What I do agree and disagree with is your assessment of his play at nickle. He's good at blitzing from the nickle position. Other than that, it's back to his poor instincts on coverage skills. Now, if he play SS he gets more blitzing opportunities which is good. On the other hand, he's still a safety and prone to be toasted due his slow read abilities. IMO - he needs to remain a special teamer and defensive backup only. I think they are trying to find something he competant at besides returning kicks.

Glad you are OK! Best of luck with the recovery.

I would like to have a stable of Forte, Westbrook, Bell and Wolfe. Dump McKie. He was avg to below in every aspect of his game.

Better now than never... Regardless, something has to be done. It's not like it's a huge investment, he's already on the team and not a very good corner. The upgrade at safety may be worth the gamble. You could even play your corners tighter.

If he wanted, yes. In a heartbeat.

As in "see Albert Haynesworth"... I definately agree that buyer beware!

He actually played safety in college. I realize it doesn't resemble the pro game, but he does have some experience at it. I can honestly say Tillman would come in and be an instant upgrade at FS. Make note, that I have no factual evidence to back this up, but to me he's a corner trapped in a safety's skillset/body. If you move him, leave him. I have had such a problem with our staff thinking everyone is interchangeable. If he's practicing as a safety, he's not thinking like a corner anymore. I agree, but... Long term solution will be determined after Lovie is gone. It's plain that he has no clue on how to develop a FS.

I'll jump on my soapbox for Tillman to FS, again, if we signed Robinson. Moving corners to FS has extended the carreers of a few good corners in the past. I'll disagree on the injury risk being greater for Tillman at Safety. His shoulders are the main problem and that may be alleviated by playing from the angle a safety would come from vs a corner.(more squared to the point of attack) Never know. I still think Tillman is average to below at CB and feel he could be really good. Anyway, you'd upgrade two positions at once by doing this. I wouldn't count on it though because the staff is so hard headed, they would probably move Bowman to safety and say, "we're going to play our 2 best corners and our safeties are interchangeable".

I'd actually like to see D Manning stay as a special teamer. On the other hand, I totally agree with you on seeing him the secondary. He as gifted as I've seen, but dumber than a fencepost. If other step up on kick returns (IE:Hester, Knox) We should send Manning packing.

Disagree, on the knee issue alone. Agreed that if Peppers attitude comes into question, I don't want him either. The main thing I don't want is a player that may not have it anymore. Add to that, our med staff sucks. I would want a clean bill of health from someone other than our doctors to even consider him. Looking at Peppers: Can anyone tell me what his supporting cast of pass rushers look like. I've seen Peppers enough to know he's a beast, but was he doing it alone or with a supporting cast? It makes a difference in trying to predict the impact he'd have on our team. (From pass rush to secondary)

I think we'll have a better likelyhood of getting Rolle. Our staff simply thinks pass rush is the key to the kingdom. So, if any premium money is spent, it's likely to be on a DE. FS being an ongoing need is also cheaper. I can see a CB drafted with our 1st pick though. Not how I'd do it, but I'm not JA.

Start renouncing. When they decided to keep Lovie they gave up being competetive. Reason: Money. Why would you think they would spend freely on free agents? The franchise may be in limbo until we have a new CBA.