Pisa no longer a Ram ...

[81T.Holt]

i didnt see this one coming at all pisa was a very respectable player...anyone think that derrick brooks may take his place???

[general counsel]

I am quite confident that if we could have gotten a 5th round pick for him we would have taken it to answer the prior question. THere is no reason that we would walk away from value of any kind for no reason.

What happens here is that we are projecting our own personal evaluations (mine included) of pisa's ability on the evaluations and cap balance of other teams. An asset is always worth what someone will pay for it. In this case, no one was willing to give up value for him.

You know it HAS to be a money issue because there is no other explanation for cutting him now rather than later after training camp. We could have waited to see if our other guys got hurt and then made the move (ie kept him around as some kind of insurance).

Just in case no one gets it yet, the new regime is rebuilding and they dont want vets around at the expense of playing time for younger guys. Thus, we can all stop speculating about pricey vets that might come in for "leadership, mentoring or any other purpose." Spags clearly intends to provide those qualities on his own and with his coaches.

What i like about the approach is that spags and billy are embracing the reality that veteran depth is unlikely to matter much as this is more than a one year rebuilding program and therefore, they want to clean out the cap and give the younger guys as much time as possible to evaluate the future.

Its unlikely that there is a great use for the money we just saved today. It may just be a cash savings that goes into the owners pocket (or into jason smith's pocket!)

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[HUbison]

Sure. Let's cut our top tackler from last year. Sounds good.

And if this is a cap thing, I will be interested to see where those savings go.
Oh well........In DeSpags We Trust.

[SFCRamFan]

He'll be missed, but he was the odd man out in the new regime. NO ONE is let go without an attempt at getting value. Like others, I am certain that his contract, injuries and size made other teams shy away from trades. Why trade when other teams know that he may be cut anyway? This is just one more move that the new regime feels will improve the team long term, and I'll continue my unconditional support....

[MauiRam]

If you are going to do this, why wait so long? It's not that I hate the move but why not make the move a long time ago when there are free agents still available?

It's not like we knew for sure Laurinaitis would fall to us in rd #2. It is also possible Pisa was trade bait in the draft, and interested teams were able to get players they wanted without giving up a pick for Pisa. There are just too many possible scenarios for us as fans to ever know about. Bottom line, none of them worked out, and Pisa became expendable.

[AvengerRam]

Wha-wha-whaat!?!?!

Wow. I am very surprised by this move. Given that this essentially leave the Rams with only six LBs (Witherspoon, Laurinaitis, Draft, Culberson, Vobora, Chamberlain), I've got to believe that the Rams have their eyes on a veteran.

Napoleon Harris? Nate Webster? Dontarrious Thomas? Jason Babin?

Someone else? Another trade?

I'm perplexed.

[Richbert88]

..........

Just in case no one gets it yet, the new regime is rebuilding and they dont want vets around at the expense of playing time for younger guys. Thus, we can all stop speculating about pricey vets that might come in for "leadership, mentoring or any other purpose." Spags clearly intends to provide those qualities on his own and with his coaches.

.........

I think it's clear the way you've stated it. But I will add that I don't think Spags intends for him and his coaches to be the only source of leadership. Primary? They drafted high quality characters, I don't want to hear about Fletcher, for a reason. This team is going to be built with some character and leaders in it. I may take a season or two. Those who most likely will be there in a couple seasons, ie...Long, Lauriniatis, J Smith, Brown, Witherspoon, Otogwe etc........are the core of that for him, I bet.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This puts the BL trade in a different light for me. It also makes me think about some of the aging vet's on this team, and thinking who else might be at risk. Little? Seriously, aging, get injured, high dollar. Wroten? I know I'd cut him.

I also think that Pisa's release now is not a bad thing for him. In actuality, it's a favor. If this is the direction the Rams are going, better for Pisa to have time to land and catch on somewhere else. Waiting until later just limits his options and waiting until the end of training camp further limits those options. He's got some time now. I see it as an act of respect for a player whose been a valuable contributor but is no longer in the plans.

[ScottD413]

Because us as fans overvalue players on our team. A solid player like Pisa to us is just another player to the chargers, patriots, or colts..

^^This

Couldn't have said it better myself

[rams 24/7]

2 Questions??? How much do we have in Cap Space now? and what do we do now, Who will take his place.....some0ne on the team or a Free Agent?

[BernieM]

It turns out that this move was mandated by the league.

There is a little known rule that provides that a cannot have three LBs on the field who, combined, have 30 or more letters in their last names. With the addition of James Laurinaitis, the Rams had the potential of exceeding this limit if they ever fielded a unit of Witherspoon, Laurinaitis and Tinoisamoa (32 letters).

As a result, they had to release one of the three, and Pisa was the obvious choice.

--B

[hawaiianpunch]

i cant believe this this is a sad sad day for me. Pisa ill always be a fan of you. but i just wanna no why?

[richtree]

only reasons I can see is maybe

1. He was going to be suspended for violating the substance policy

2. We are going to sign another player like Harrison, Toomer, etc.

3. Wait til' spags tells us why he did that, cause this one is all on him

[tdog08]

Everyone was wondering what we would do with him so why all the shock?

[Ramblin` Ram]

i can see how Pisa didnt fit in with the system we trying to run..but what about some depth..im fine with say Witherspoon, Laurinaitis & Draft being the starting 3 but i sure hope we bring someone in..Chamberlain,Culberson & Vobora have some tools to perhaps be starters someday but i dont see them at this point,being able to play a full season should one of our starting 3 get nicked up early on...
theyve saved money with trading and cutting Leonard & Pisa now so im thinking theyve got their eye on somebody..perhaps a true SAM..tho who that may be i dont know..

good luck Pisa....thanks for always giving 100% and more for us.

[RamFan_Til_I_Die]

I don't get this either, it's not like we are very deep at the LB position. If we stay with what we have and Spoon or Laurinitis goes down, we're gonna be hurting.

I see a few possible reasons why he was let go, and it's probably a combination of all of them.

1) Spags & Flajole do not like something they see when reviewing past game film on him. Many people have critiqued his coverage skills and he would have had to try and cover TE's in his new position.

2) He has a lingering injury we don't know about. Or maybe just given his history of being injury prone, Spags just didn't want to take a risk. Yes I know he played thru most of the injuries, but his play suffered for it.

3) One or more of the younger guys is impressing the heck out of Spags & Flajole and was going to be taking Pisa's spot.

4) There is a trade or FA signing coming up , and Pisa and his 4 mil salary had to go to make room. Anyone know what he will count towards the cap after we released him?