ESPN-Rams Whispers

[RamWraith]

We hear new Rams CB Fakhir Brown, who played under Jim Haslett in New Orleans, will get every opportunity to grab a starting job away from Travis Fisher, who the team believes is in need of a wake-up call in his contract year. Fisher was hampered much of last season by a groin injury but didn't play very well when healthy.

• Don't be surprised if Rams second-year CB Ronald Bartell moves to safety before long. We hear the Rams believe Bartell's size, closing speed and coverage skills, which got better as his rookie campaign wore on, make him a potentially good fit for the position.

• The Rams still plan on beefing up their personnel department, but we hear they will wait until after the draft before making any moves. The contracts of a lot of personnel types around the league normally expire after May 1.

[Nick]

We hear new Rams CB Fakhir Brown, who played under Jim Haslett in New Orleans, will get every opportunity to grab a starting job away from Travis Fisher, who the team believes is in need of a wake-up call in his contract year. Fisher was hampered much of last season by a groin injury but didn't play very well when healthy.

I would expect Brown to give Fisher a pretty significant run for his money, as well. I've always liked Fisher, but he just hasn't been the same player the last two seasons and can't seem to stay on the field. Is he another guy who's going to show up and be a great player in his contract year only to watch the Rams let him walk? I hope not; I hope if we do let him walk, it's because he couldn't contribute and we wanted to go a different direction.

Don't be surprised if Rams second-year CB Ronald Bartell moves to safety before long. We hear the Rams believe Bartell's size, closing speed and coverage skills, which got better as his rookie campaign wore on, make him a potentially good fit for the position.

He certainly has better size for the position than Atogwe or Carter, and has the speed to cover man to man, the ball skills and breaking ability to play a deep zone, and college experience at free safety. Bartell moving further into the defensive backfield could open the door for the Rams to draft a DB that has starting cornerback potential, such as Michael Huff, Tye Hill, Jimmy Williams, Antonio Cromartie, or even Jonathan Joseph, depending on how the Rams have these guys graded out.

The Rams still plan on beefing up their personnel department, but we hear they will wait until after the draft before making any moves. The contracts of a lot of personnel types around the league normally expire after May 1.

That's great, but I hope delaying it until after the draft doesn't cost us in the long run.

[RamsFan16]

What if we drafted Huff? Then would Bartell and Huff both play safety or would each get a shot at the position? I mean can Huff and Bartell both play SS and FS or are they both two small for SS?

[tomahawk247]

What if we drafted Huff? Then would Bartell and Huff both play safety or would each get a shot at the position? I mean can Huff and Bartell both play SS and FS or are they both two small for SS?

ive heard teams think Huff has the talent to be a top CB, so if we draft him its not definite it would be as a safety

[Nick]

I believe Armey actually said he thought Huff could play CB, so I wouldn't assume he'd be at safety for us. It'd be a fun problem to have, though.

[tomahawk247]

To be honest, i cam see Haslett using Huff in way similar to how Adalius Thomas is used in Baltimore. He will line Huff up all over the place in the secondary to confuse the opposing QB.

[sbramfan]

Don't be surprised if Rams second-year CB Ronald Bartell moves to safety before long. We hear the Rams believe Bartell's size, closing speed and coverage skills, which got better as his rookie campaign wore on, make him a potentially good fit for the position.

here we go again!