Bruce released

[Rambos]

A few weeks back Holt said on NFLN that he's not sure he will be playing in two years. His knee is not doing all that well and he wants to have a life after he is done. If Bruce and Holt played two more years and both finished at the same time, we would be up a creek. We have to get younger ar WR. I wish we would have signed Curtis and moved him up to the number two spot last year. Dropped Bruce to the third spot and let him try an finish as a Ram. FO should have seen this coimg...

[RealRam]

From yesterday's article by Nick Wagoner:

As for the possibility of bringing Bruce back for another contract like they did in 2006, Linehan and Co. are leaving the door open for anything that might come up.



“I think the possibility is always open,” Linehan said. “The more and more these things get and you get up in years and these deals get almost to the point where you don’t want to assume anything is going to be done at that point so it’s hard to say what…we have no idea what is going to happen in free agency in the next couple of days.

Whether that is retaining a player or signing a new player, I think the possibility is always open, especially with Isaac.”

:bash:
Okay Coach, MAKE IT HAPPEN! You owe us; please make payment now: Bruce = RAMS.

[txramsfan]

You know I do understand the nature of the business here, and I am hoping that Bruce will come back. However, what chaps my backside is the stupidity of throwing money to Bennett last year. This guy is a waste of roster space and if he was really worth the money the Rams gave him, I would think the Titans would have done the same seeing how Justin Gage is their primary WR after Bennett left. They could have used that money on Bruce last year to restructure him till he retired but no, they wasted it on Bennett.

[HUbison]

Take the name out of it.

We're talking about paying $5 Mil for a 35-year-old who, last year, was.....

46th in catches
45th in yards
38th in yards / rec.
51st-T in TDs

Who would pay $5 Mil for that production? That is average #2 receiver production for a pretty steep price tag.

In 2007, his rec. per game was the 2nd lowest number since his rookie year. His yards per game was the 2nd lowest number since his rookie year as well. His yards per catch was the lowest number since his rookie year.

Last year there were 17 different #2 receivers that outperformed Bruce, and 3 different #3 receivers that outperformed Bruce.

Guys, I love Ike as much as anybody, but we just can't pay premium cap money for an average #2 receiver, OR a top tier #3 receiver.

[RealRam]

Originally Posted by TXramsfan

You know I do understand the nature of the business here, and I am hoping that Bruce will come back. However, what chaps my backside is the stupidity of throwing money to Bennett last year. This guy is a waste of roster space and if he was really worth the money the Rams gave him, I would think the Titans would have done the same seeing how Justin Gage is their primary WR after Bennett left. They could have used that money on Bruce last year to restructure him till he retired but no, they wasted it on Bennett.

Unfortunately, yes, that was a lot of money on DB. Talk about buyer's remorse! :\

One way that certainly justifies the Rams WR corps is having BRUCE in it!

[RamDez]

I love ike to bits. Hell I even named one of my greyhounds after him.

If he resigns to a cap friendly deal in March and slots in at 3rd wr then I would love to see him back (well I would love to see him back anyway) but as its been said time and time again, this is the NFL and last year we won 3 games.
We don't have the luxury of keeping players because of their service, if we want our team to get better. Yes, the front office blew it over the last couple of years with some of their deals and now we are in the mess we are in. Bruce is a casualty of that mess

Its sad, real sad but we need this team to get better. I hope against hope that Bruce comes back to us and finishes of as a Ram.

[RealRam]

Reference post No. 124.

HUbison, your Ike stats Vs. financial figures makes sense and yes, it is a business. Big business.

Under OC Saunders, maybe Bruce would have gone out with a big Ram bang this year and justified his presence, perhaps not with big numbers but with key plays (with the "special players make special plays on special days" tune).

:l ...Like a BIG touchdown!

[txramsfan]

HUb, I do understand that.....however, would you say that the depleted O line even affected Ike's #'s? So using stats for last year on anyone for the Rams to me isn't valid IF, and I stress IF, all of our problems were O line related like some tend to say on here? Not the way Linehan calls a game, not the way players execute, it's all about the O line.

[laram0]

When this situation happened 2 years ago I was stunned to say the least. This time around I kind of expected it. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it....I would love to see IKE continue playing in the HORNS. Problem is MONEY talks and this is big business.

[LaRamsFanLongTime]

I cant stand it anymore. Im sick of feeling that my team struggles do to poor management. I keep hearing this is a buisness, then why is it that the buisness end always seems suspect? Bennet is a 3rd wr period. He does not have the speed to be a number 2 with us. WR in the second round or a possible trade up for another first rounder seems eminant now. I want the biggest baddest O-lineman we could get with the second pick personally. Look at Bruces game against the Steelers last year the man still has alot left. Im sick to my stomach right now.

[btimsah]

Perhaps he just doesn't want to play for Linehan, a doomed situation?

[btimsah]

Oh and by the way, Malcolm Kelly would be worth the 1st pick, or trade down to get him. Big time deep threat at receiver with the best hands in America.


(Although Long is a freak of nature and would help a lot as well)

[LaRamsFanLongTime]

Oh and by the way, Malcolm Kelly would be worth the 2nd pick, or trade down to get him. Big time deep threat at receiver with the best hands in America.

Yeah but what good is that when there is no time to get the ball to him? We need a good o-lineman.

[moklerman]

Who would pay $5 Mil for that production? That is average #2 receiver production for a pretty steep price tag.

-The same team that made Bulger a top 5 earner but got 30th ranked production.
-The same team that paid more for Drew Bennett than guys like Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Antwan Randel El, etc. and got a receiver who ranked:
118th in receptions
111th in yards
150th in yards/reception
-They paid Randy McMichael $2.5 million last year!

Would anyone here even blink if they cut McMichael to keep Bruce? Let's just all be loyal to the crap that the idiots, who everyone knows are idiots, who everyone knows they shouldn't even have a job, bring in because "it's a business".

And the coup de gras. Jeff Wilkins, our 75%, 25th in points, 5 touchback kicker that was paid $1.4 million last year just retired. Does anyone suppose that the Rams could have gotten similar production for a lot less? Hell, Martin Gramatica was just sitting around and did as good as that.

But this will all make sense when the Rams top the Jets' 8+ million a year offer to Faneca. Cuz the Rams are just a Guard away from the playoffs.

[Tampa_Ram]

This truly just sucks. i dont even want to talk about it right now because its such crap.