Randy did a nice interview with the Herd. He has some really good inforamtion
Randy's transcript:
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I would say the leaders on offense clearly are Bulger, Holt and Bruce. On defense, it was Tyoka and...??? I guess you'd say Pickett, too. It's hard to lead when you're playing bad. Take away people like Proehl, Hakim, Ryan Tucker, Aeneas, Lyght, McCleon, Lyle, Mike Jones, Fletcher, Timmerman...that's a lot of leadership gone and now you have a young team. Another aspect to the drafts and guys like Thomas, St. Clair, Wynn, Scott, Trung, Lewis and Turley not coming through. Those guys that are supposed to be veteran leaders aren't even there.
Linehan. I had a chance to spend a half or or so with him last week, and I'm very impressed. He gets the leadership aspect of being a head coach, something I don't think Martz ever got. He uses the word "attack" alot, which I like. And, he stressed that they have to give time and effort to the special teams and defense. As a matter of fact, he said Wednesday and Thursday practices will start and end with special teams work. Overall, a month in, I'm impressed.
I asked Linehan if he’d have someone to help him with game management, and he’s going to have a guy in the booth (Jeff Horton, I think) who’s job it is to stay in his ear about challenges and time outs. Martz always did that himself, and made sure the media knew he was in control. Also, I’ve been impressed by Linehan’s plans to delegate. I bring those up because Martz’ management style always concerned me
FSN's Joel Goldberg reported that Linehan & Olson will run the West Coast Offense. Is Goldberg misinformed on this? Yes, Joel is. The Rams will run an offense similar to what Minnesota and Miami have run recently…much more vertical than the WCO. If you’ve watched Purdue, it’ll be that offense, but not as wide open. Joel may have said that because Olson ran it in San Francisco and Detroit…but not here.
The Rams will seek guard help in FA. I’d say that the line will be Pace, a FA at LG, McCollum and Barron at RT. I’d think RG will be a battle between Timmerman, Terrell, Incognito, Noll, Turner and Saipaea.
Incognito. His biggest problem apparently is being motivated enough to get to rehab. They want him to succeed and think he can be great, but he hasn’t been the greatest worker so far. He’s really immature.
Audibles. That’s one of the features of what Linehan does. He gives his QB more latitude in the offense, and apparently Bulger is excited about it. Not changing many, but when the need arises.
Fitzpatrick isn't ready and Bulger isn't durable, so they need a solid backup. I don't know how much Linehan and Olson like Garcia. Olson had him in SF and Detroit. I know Scott likes Rosenfels. And a longshot is Dave Ragone, whom Linehan coached in college.
No question Linehan wants Marshall back, and I think he will be. I talked to Scott and Greg Olson about how to use him…comparing him to Moe Williams in Minnesota (Linehan says Williams is much bigger) and Marcus Allen in K.C. Linehan and Olson agree that Marshall would be a much better version of the way Allen was utilized in Kansas City. They’re really excited about what he can do in the passing game.
I think Marshall will be back. I don’t think he’d have been at Rams Park last week if he wasn’t coming back, and apparently he likes Linehan. I would hope the Rams could get something better than Cason and Harris as third and fourth guys. I’m not sure how good Jackson is. He certainly has the physical ability, but I he doesn’t seem real instinctive to me. I’m not counting on him being a franchise type of back. I hope he becomes that, but I have a hunch the Rams are going to have to get someone better before they get back to a Super Bowl. To me, a RB coach is more of an emotional coach. Every great running back I’ve talked to (O.J. Anderson, Stump Mitchell, Payton, Faulk, Bettis, Roger Craig) has given me the impression that they play on instinct…and that good coaches keep their head on straight and reinforce what they see on the field. So, I think it’s all on Steven. We can see bad blocking, but he missed a lot of holes.
TE. I've asked both Linehan and Olson about this...becuase of the use of Jermaine Wiggins two years ago in Minnesota and then McMichael last year in Miami. The Rams definitely want to overhaul that position. However, it's also their philosophy to get the ball to into the hands of their best playmakers. So, will they throw to the tight end more? If the guy is a capable enough receiver and runner, he'll get his chance. Marc is going to have to change in that regard, in terms of checking down. I don't believe the risk/reward turnover situation will exist here like it did with Martz.
Both the team and Bruce say they want him to retire a Ram. I’d be shocked if they didn’t do something. Maybe roll a big salary into the uncapped year? I don’t know what’s allowed.
Concerns. Adam Timmerman was one of the worst guards in football last year. Was it because of injury or is he done? Prohibitive to cut him. Can Bulger stay healthy, and can they find a decent backup? Can a new RB coach keep
Steven Jackson’s ego in check and keep Faulk happy? Does Armey still have the fastball to have one more impact draft? And, of course, the big one for me is, once the bullets start flying, is Linehan going to be a great leader? I’m glad he hired Boudreu, by the way. That was a huge concern for me.
Hasletts D. I asked him what he prefers, and he says if he has the right personnel, he'd like to run a 3-4. That being said, he also pointed out that he had 4-3 personnel in New Orleans and ran a 4 man front his entire time there. The Rams will feature a lot of both...they'll mix it up like New England and Pittsburgh do. Right now...primarily because Little isn't big enough to play 3-4 DE and likely isn't a cover guy, I'd anticipate them being a 4-3. Start with your best guy and work from there.
<CROMWELL21: I am one of the unimpressed as to Haslett/Venturi/DL coach's resumes. Is this a valid concern. Granted anything is an upgrade over Marmie, but the Rams are no longer the 2000 outscore anyone Rams. They will need to win some games for the Rams to be successful. I am just very nervous as I think the Rams success will be based on D. How confident are you that Haslett can at least make us an average D?> RK: I look at what Haslett did as a coordinator in Pittsburgh, and I'm impressed. Do I question Robinson, Milus, Venturi and Baker? Absolutely...we have to. But we also have to keep in mind what they've had to work with. They need the right players to mold...that's the key. Until those guys answer your questions, you questions and suspicions are valid.
<Blue and Gold: I can't stand Venturi. Never liked the guy, from him. Maybe it is the mustacache. Something about him bugs me.> RK: wouldn't be that 3-48-1 head coaching record, would it? 1-31-1 with Northwestern, 1-10 at Indy, and 1-7 with the Saints. If he takes over as interim, you know how many wins you're gonna get.
Tackling. In my opinion, that all goes back to coaching. There are reasons that teams like Carolina, the Bears, Baltimore and New England...across the board...tackle well. I don't think the old defensive staff paid enough attention to that...teaching guys to wrap up the lower part of the body. I was amazed at how bad it was at times. That staff said it was all about effort...and effort is a big part of it. However, if you're trying to do something the wrong way in keep reinforcing it, you're just going to be bad at it. Now those players have to unlearn all of that stuff.
Young defensive players emerging? In this order, I'd say...
Chillar
Atogwe
Bartell
Carter
Chillar won't have as much competition at LB. Atogwe has more ability than Carter...and seemed like he got his fuse lit against Dallas. Bartell needs polish...I hope Willy Robinson and Ron Milus can accomplish that. And with the staff liking Arch and probably drafting a S, I could see Carter not making the team.
Lewis is as good as gone, and Kennedy will be back. Pickett wants $4 mil a year, and the Rams aren't prepared to pay him that amount. I'm sure Howard will get a look from the new staff, along with Calahan. They need to sign one and draft at least one.
What about the Linebackers? First of all, one of the jokes going around Rams Park is that Haslett is the team’s fourth best linebacker. I was concerned about the Coakley and Claiborne signings when they were made, and they turned out to be bad. Haslett says his scheme will be predicated upon what the talent he has is capable of. Right now, I’d have to say the Rams are closer to being a 4-3 group (especially if they re-sign Pickett) than a 3-4. If they don’t re-sign Pickett, they could play Kennedy at the nose, then have Hargrove and a new DE up front, with Little, Pisa, Chillar and Faulk in back, among the current guys. We can only speculate, though, because there will be at least five new starters on defense.
The Rams will try to re-sign Arch before free agency starts, and apparently he likes St. Louis and what Haslett runs. So he may be here. I just haven’t seen big plays from the guy in two and a half seasons. I think he’s terrible in pass coverage and his tackling has been atrocious. Maybe it’s because of the injury. If it’s not, and these guys can get him going, that tells me that our old defensive staff may have been the worst in the NFL’s modern history.
I think, in the right system, Fisher can be solid...but not great. He's fine in run support and can cover a zone...he's a much better guy in a Cover 2 than playing man and being challenged one-on-one. I doubt he's in the long term plans. I'm sure they drafted Bartell with the idea of Fish leaving after next season...and of course they have Butler signed long term. I think it's probably one more year and out for Fisher.
I think, surprisingly to me, they'll go hot and heavy into free agency. The new coaching staff quickly determined who needs to be replaced...TE and middle of the O-line, RDE, DT, OLB, MLB and at least one S, plus a punter. I'm guessing that of those needs, at least five (half) will come from free agency.
I was surprised that Linehan wants to use free agency so liberally. The old standbys…get veteran OL in free agency, and LB’s and S’s can play at a young age. I also don’t see a great TE in free agency, so I’d expect them to draft one.
Linehan and his staff were going over the free agents late last week, and they haven’t been available since. I do know the Rams feel like they need to rebuild the middle of the offensive line, get a tight end, a defensive end, two linebackers, and two safeties in FA and the draft. I would think it’s natural to look at New Orleans, Miami and Minnesota guys. They’re actually reasonably comfortable about the corners (relative to other positions), and they do like Huff. LeCharels Bentley will be a priority. Hutchinson will be on their list, Seth McKinney of Miami, Darren Howard of the Saints, DeLawrence Grant of Oakland, LaRoi Glover of Dallas, if he gets cut, Julian Peterson and Derek Smith of San Francisco (Willy Robinson had those two in S.F.). I’m sure they’ll look at Will Allen because Ron Milus had him in NY…as you know they want to bring back Archuleta. Haslett likes Chris Hope. I read that Clements is going to be franchised, but he’d be great to go after if the cap room is there. He’ll get huge money.
For this off season, it’s be a committee approach. Linehan and his staff watched tape of FA’s all last week, and they’ll have the most say this off-season. Next year, there’s likely to be a pro personnel guy in place to aid them.
This draft will be run much like the last six, although I believe Charley Armey will have more input simply because Linehan is a first time head coach and is still getting his feet wet. So Charley and his group of scouts will put together the board, Linehan and his staff will have great input, and then hopefully the picks will be a consensus. Martz kind of took things over at times...and that's obviously one of the reasons he isn't here any more. If there is a discussion, Jay will have the final say. And, yes, he does have a great deal of input into the selection. He considers himself a football guy, and likes to be involved.
Pro personnel director. Teams aren’t going to let their guys go now until after free agency and the draft, so there isn’t any news to report. The names we’ve read, Spielman, Ron Hill and Bob Ferguson (who’s also interviewed in San Francisco). My impression is that there will be an overall personnel chief, who will then hire a college scouting director and a pro scouting director. At the moment, the chain of command is the same as it was when Martz started, where Charley and his staff work with Linehan and his staff, and then can be overruled by Zygmunt.
Shaw's personality is very laid back. Jay is much more intense. But I like to follow the money... . These guys have invested $11 million or more in bonus money to Holt, Bruce, Faulk, Warner and Pace. They gave Turley $10 million up front, and just gave a coach almost $2 million to leave. They're putting their money where their mouth is. I don't think this team is far away from being a playoff team. So, yes, I think they have an intense desire to win.
Unfortunately, nobody knows what Georgia’s will reads, or what Kroenke’s deal is. There’s speculation that he has a right of first refusal, and also that her son would get the team when she dies. I honestly don’t think there is a plan should Shaw leave. That would be her call…and I think she has no clue.
Linear Mode
