Rams Team Report
Posted: February 26, 2008
Jim Thomas
For Sporting News
FREE-AGENT PREVIEW
GAME PLAN: When you're coming off a 3-13 season, there are plenty of holes to fill. What clouds the picture for the Rams is the quantity of injuries that struck the team in 2007. For example, on the offensive line, LT
Orlando Pace, LG
Mark Setterstrom and RG
Richie Incognito all are coming off season-ending injuries. The team is certain to try to upgrade the offensive line, but it must factor in how much it can depend on those players in '08 before deciding on how to proceed in free agency. QB
Marc Bulger is one of the game's most accurate passers, but he spent way too much time running for his life last season. Center and guard, in particular, could be targeted in free agency. So could wide receiver, where the team lacks a deep threat. However, the Rams don't currently have much room under the salary cap. The only way for them to be active on the market will be to make some cuts.
TARGETS: There's no doubt the Rams will look at Gs Alan Faneca (Steelers), Jake Scott (Colts) and Jacob Bell (Titans). Faneca and Scott figure to be expensive. But the Rams are looking for more than a veteran presence on a young line; they want someone who provides leadership, and Faneca and even Scott could do that. Both players also come from winning programs, which makes them good candidates to spread a winning attitude in the locker room and re-energize the offensive line. Scott is a bit undersized, but he has been durable and is an up-and-coming player. With no proven center on the current roster, the Rams could have designs on either Casey Wiegmann (Chiefs) or Jeff Faine (Saints). New offensive coordinator Al Saunders is familiar with Wiegmann from his days on the Chiefs' staff, so he could be the preferred choice. At wide receiver, the obvious top choice is Bernard Berrian (Bears), who would bring the speed element the Rams lacked in their receiving corps after Kevin Curtis left last offseason. But the market is thin at wide receiver and a lot of teams have more cap room than the Rams, so they would likely have to overpay for Berrian.
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